Concordia Discors

Wow, I haven't posted in quite some time. That's partly because if I had posted, it would have been to say how weary fandom makes me these days - and no one needs more of that - and partly because I've been extremely busy. But today the second X-Files movie opened, and, well. You know, I've been an XPhile as long as I've been in fandom, basically; I started off with XF and HL fandoms back in like '95, on atx and the HL big list, and so no matter how much crap I talk about XF and how bitter it made me - NEW X-FILES MOVIE OMG.

( Saw it this morning. Lots of spoilers. )

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

And in conclusion: I love my country, and will never apologize for loving America, even when certain things about my country make me sad or angry. Patriotism is not a dirty word. And now, I am off to enjoy friends and fireworks and food - the three f's of a fabulous fourth. Happy 4th, fellow Americans!

Three Gifts Sam Gave Dean (whether he wanted them, or not)
Gen, pre-series, about 3,575 words, PG

( Below the cut. )

Ugh, Mondays. I have returned from a business trip to the northeast, where I was without internet for what seemed like an eternity. However, I saw a wild bunny, a horrifically ugly statue of Rocky, several long bridges, some overpriced tourist souvenirs, two deer, many beautiful trees, some fantastic murals, a groundhog, the Liberty Bell, gorgeous architecture, horrendous traffic and angry horn-abusing drivers, a robin with a ruby-red breast, and a barkley. Not in that order. Or all in the same place. I also acquired a sunburn, two magnets, and a box of leftover Dali Chicken from P.F. Chang's.

Now that I'm home, I have a couple things to pimp to you. halfshellvenus wrote me a delicious J2 story for my birthday, Denial Only Gets You So Far, featuring adorably panicked Jensen and towel-clad Jared.

Also, for those SG-1 fans reading this who might not have seen it yet, barkley has a gorgeous new SG-1 vid, Compromise. I'm not in the least objective about it, but I can tell you that it rekindled my J/D love (very briefly) and it is awesome. *g*

And! - two Big Bang stories I loved - lemmealone's Fire or Fire, a gen SamnDean story that made me incredibly happy, and lazy_daze's You Take It With You, a Sam/Dean story that's bittersweet and wonderful. I haven't read any of last week's stories yet. Um, I've read very few of them, truth be told. I'm behind, and I will never catch up! AUGH.

Just when you thought I was done: a Sam/Dean/OFC story from annalazarus, Over Yonder in a Minor Key, which blew me away with its Dean POV and the emotional connections. Love, love, love.

It has been so hot here, I don't know how people aren't melting the moment the sun hits their skin. I actually decided to forgo getting groceries yesterday because it was BLAZING HOT. Both Saturday and Sunday, it was 108 or more. Sadly, this means I will have to start bitching about how much I hate summer *early* this year. And it will go on longer. *g*

And finally, I meant to post a little gen story last week before I left on my trip, and I forgot. So I'll do that, um, today!

I had an extremely wonderful birthday yesterday, and you guys were way too good to me. :) But I totally fell down on my last happy things post, D'OH. I ate too much cake and fell into a sugar coma while watching The Dog Whisperer. I will have to get busy and finish that up for Monday!

( some thank yous )

And now, some links! Because some gifts are really meant for the world!

troyswann made me a funny, adorable J24EVA!!! birthday card/vid, over here, which is full of beautiful images of SamnDeannJarednJensen and it fills me with GLEE!!! So much eye candy. Yum.

And some birthday stories, which are all wonderful:

In Totus Tamen Nomen by teand - Bobby and Sam, in the aftermath of 3x16; so fabulous.

Triangle by dotfic - gen, pre-series. Sam is sure of three things. Gorgeous family dynamics as seen through wee!Sam's eyes.

The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by innie_darling - a touching glimpse at a gift Sam gave Dean long ago.

The Benign Prerogative by musesfool - Sam/Dean/Jess, and it's hella hot. *g*

Plus! deirdre_c posted a music mix that is eclectic and awesome! Lots of stuff there up for grabs. *waggles eyebrows*

And! tvm made some beautiful graphics of SMILING BOYS, over here. eeeeee, BOYS! AND! oxoniensis created some gorgeous headers, which you will soon be able to see on my journal page.

I am such a lucky, happy girl. *hugs you all*

A year ago, I didn't really grasp the full meaning of this poem, but I do now.


PACKING FOR THE FUTURE: INSTRUCTIONS

Take the thickest socks.
Wherever you're going
you'll have to walk.

There may be water.
There may be stones.
There may be high places
you cannot go without
the hope socks bring you,
the way they hold you
to the earth.

At least one pair must be new,
must be blue as a wish
hand-knit by your mother
in her sleep.

*

Take a leather satchel,
a velvet bag and an old tin box -
a salamander painted on the lid.

This is to carry the small thing
you cannot leave. Perhaps the key
you've kept though it doesn't fit
any lock you know,
the photograph that keeps you sane,
a ball of string to lead you out
though you can't walk back
into that light.

In your bag leave room for sadness,
leave room for another language.

There may be doors nailed shut.
There may be painted windows.
There may be signs that warn you
to be gone. Take the dream
you've been having since
you were a child, the one
with open fields and the wind
sounding.

*

Mistrust no one who offers you
water from a well, a songbird's feather,
something that's been mended twice.
Always travel lighter
than the heart.

-- Lorna Crozier


In memory of my mother, who has been gone a year now. I miss you, mama.

OK, technically it's not money for *you*. But this is better! You can do good for someone else. For the first ten people who comment, I will donate $20 to your charity or non-profit of choice.

ETA: wow, you guys are fast! All ten slots (plus one, possibly) are taken, and $$ are going to: Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, ACORN Katrina, Mercy Corps, City Kitties of Philadelphia, The Fistula Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, American Red Cross, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. \o/!

And see, here is the fabulous part. If you are feeling like giving to something, there are many wonderful links in comments, some to charities I've never heard of but which seem very worthwhile. That's the awesome side benefit to this. *g*

Here are the simple rules.

1. Comment here and list three choices, in order of preference.
2. I won't donate to political campaigns, PACs, or politically affiliated organizations. Ditto militant organizations. I also won't donate to an organization that supports something that goes against my personal beliefs, or has questionable fundraising practices. Which is why it's important that you list three choices. I'll let you know which of the three is getting the bucks.
3. Pick recognized charities/organizations I can easily find a donation address for and/or provide me with linkage, pls.

Some people take vacation and they...go places. Do stuff. Sometimes I do that, too. But not this summer. In fact, I've been on vacation since May 31, and I haven't done much of anything. Here are some illustrations.

( My vacation, let me show you it. )

It seems to me that in the deluge of other much less important stuff the past week, there was no commentary about many of the new old pics from
SPNMEDIA.

( Let's start with a new old picture of Jensen. )

I'm a little burned out on fandom drama and aggravation. So for that, and for some other personal reasons, I'm making this week all about happy stuff. Hopefully I'll be posting smile-worthy things each day this week. I'm starting off with an icon post, all non-fannish images.

( Icons )

This is going to totally bore anyone who isn't either thinking about switching to a Mac, or nostalgic for the day they got their first one. I'm just warning you now. *g*

( Adventures with Mac: day one; or, My house smells like newly unpacked computer )

Well, I did it; I ordered my iMac. I am VERY NERVOUS, because I've always been a PC girl. I'm terrified that I'll be allergic to the Mac interfaces and its assorted weirdnesses. (Some of which can be overcome; yay, Mighty Mouse and its sekrit right-click ability!!) However, I'm also very excited, because -- with my new Mac, I will be able to vid again!!! Eventually, that is. First I have to, you know. Learn to use the Mac. It will be here sometime between Friday and Tuesday, and then I'll sit and stare at it in terror for a day or two before diving in. *g*

In case you have been living under a rock inside a cave underneath a mountain that has collapsed into a black hole, I thought I'd point out that there's an election going on for the user representative to the LJ advisory board. There are various unsavory types running, and then there are the three candidates most of fandom has thrown its collective weight behind, for better or worse. At any rate, I encourage everyone who cares about LJ as their primary fannish playground to vote; there's a whole community dedicated to getting out the fannish vote and explaining stuff.

I think I'll conclude this post with my three new favorite behind the scenes and outtake pics, which came from SPN Media, where lots of pretty pretty things can be found.

( Yum. )

I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a post about the entirety of season three, but for now, just a few more specific thoughts about 3x16.

( Couple of points, now more coherent and with pictures )

Amidst the Wars of Elements
7,452 words, PG, Sam/Dean
Notes: This story contains spoilers for season three, particularly the season finale. Huge thanks to my beta readers, luzdeestrellas and audrarose, for talking me down off the ledge and for their incredibly helpful betas. This is for tvm - happy birthday, honey. :)

( story! )

Dear fandom: please to be awake and chatty now.

( um. )

Last night, a miracle occurred: I wrote something. (It's schmoopy Sam/Dean, so don't click unless you are into that.) There are a couple things I'd change if I could, because that's what happens when you haven't been able to write anything in a long time and you're all rusty and then you try to write spontaneously in comments, but. I wrote something. I might have shed a wee tear of relief. You guys just...don't know. Also, there are tons of gorgeous J2 and Sam/Dean schmooplets in that meme; you can find the master list here, courtesy of that fabulous enabler, tvm.

Five things I probably would not know about if it weren't for fandom:

1. O RLY?
2. LOLcats
3. the perfection of single emo tears
4. Charlie the Unicorn ("Charlie! Chaaaaaarlie!")
5. How hot Jared Padalecki is. Um. I believe I am melting from the inside out.

In other news, here is a curiosity-driven poll. I was going to write an introduction about it, but. Eh. Please vote and comment to elaborate, if you like.

Poll #1175821 Unlocking locked posts after comments: yes, or no?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Making a locked post public after people have commented under the lock is:

And finally: here is the trailer for Stargate: Continuum.

( cutting for trailer spoiler )

One day to new SPN! Yay!

Farewell, Charlton Heston. I have loved you since I was a kid, since before Ben-Hur/Messala was canon for me. You were iconic in my childhood - you've been Michelangelo, Moses, Ben-Hur, Antony, John the Baptist, Jefferson, El Cid. You are George Taylor! "Get your stinkin' paws off me, you damned dirty ape!"...You were the voice of apocalypse, of our dread of futures not yet realized, of the Statue of Liberty and all we stood for, in ruins - on your knees in the sand, your fists clenched, your hope destroyed. "Ah, damn you! Damn you all to hell!"

You were the voice against conformity and accepting government propaganda! "Soylent Green is people!"

You were the Omega Man, long before Will Smith decided to make that role his own. Will's pretty awesome, but even the king of the summer movie releases wasn't able to give that role the gravity you gave it. You were even in Tombstone; Kurt Russell loved your iconic Will Penny western-ness so much, he had to find a tiny role for you, and even that brief glimpse made me happy. You are epic. You stood and marched for civil rights, for the things that matter, and all that is necessary and right in this world. Never mind all that NRA nonsense you were involved with before you admitted your Alzheimer's; you are one of the greatest actors who ever lived, and I loved you. You are legend. No one can compare to you. I will miss you, so much.

Farewell.