fanaticize is an exercise/wellness community for fans! We run a low-key team challenge; the main benefit for me, personally, is having a place to track my exercise and a group of fans to check in with every week.

Right now you can sign up to participate during September-November, read the rules, or let me know if you have any questions. New participants are welcome!

So just yesterday I was counting on SGA to be my happy place, my refuge during this busy time of year. And when I first woke up this morning, for a few moments it felt like I must have read all of those posts about the cancellation in a dream, rather than just before I went to sleep. It still feels a bit unreal; I was not expecting this.

fight_for_sga: supporting this kind of effort feels like the right thing to do, though to be honest I don't have much hope.

A Portrait of Atlantis is a gorgeous image/text collage by jhava. SGA - the show - may have a lot of flaws, but this is a reminder of much of what makes the canon a fun basis for a fandom.

This is the most recent post at anything_ucando; it's worth taking a look at the other great art in the comm, too.

wistfuljane made the coolest set of icons - badges for many of the different roles we have as fans. A few that I took:



I love looking at the entire set, all of these different ways we express ourselves as fans. Take a look!

I read a bit about china_shop's fandom appreciation challenge, but had very limited online time last week. So I'm having a go at doing it this week instead.

For today - recs of several stories over 6 months old. The only other thing they have in common is that they're all short (because I had to be realistic about what I could reread just now!)


Aphelion by carmine_ink.
Harry Potter: Remus/Sirius, but mostly it's about Peter. Written for rs_small_gifts. Author summary: "Peter only realizes the impact of the rift he has built between Remus and Sirius after he's gotten himself in too deep." An interesting Peter POV that looks at how personal his betrayal was.

Katherine's Wheel by irisbleufic.
Doomsday Book (Connie Willis) - an alternate ending, a once-possible future for Katherine. Does a great job of capturing the historical setting and mood.

untitled SGA story by liviapenn.
SGA: McKay/Sheppard. Rodney has amnesia! I love good amnesia stories; this one captures the characters perfectly in just a few scenes. And includes a great first kiss!

Wedding Night by thistlerose.
Prydain: Taran/Eilonwy. Author summary: "He's perfectly willing to be romantic, if only she'll let him get a word in edgewise." Taran and Eilonwy, on their wedding night. (But PG-rated.) I adore their voices; it's lovely - and different - to see them alone together.

( spoilers and ramblings )

I know some of you are seeing this linked for the 10th time, and others don't generally pay attention to fandom drama. But if you just happen to hang out in another pocket of fandom, and haven't heard of this yet, I think it's worth knowing that this is a person who should not be trusted:

partly_bouncy/Michaela Ecks/Laura Hale/purplepopple has behaved in ways that are deliberately harmful to other fans, including publicly and repeatedly connecting legal names with fannish pseudonyms, against the fans' express wishes and deliberate attempts to keep them separate.

Read this excellent post by ithiliana to learn more. I don't think you have to be friends with partly_bouncy's targets to disagree with her behavior.

I have been stewing about this since reading related posts during lunch, and now I'm at home resting on the couch, and kind of feverish, and not feeling very coherent. But I am so annoyed at how much time and attention this person's destructive behavior has wasted over the years, and also relieved that some first-hand stories are now public.

ETA: There's lots more, in particular liviapenn's post detailing how partly_bouncy is trying to make money off her so-called fan history wiki.

Today's fannish5:

Name five fandoms that you're not (yet) in, but which seem intriguing.


1. Due South. I have plans to try it someday, but I want to wait until I'm in the mood for a new major fandom, because it seems possible that it could be one for me.

2. Babylon 5. About 5 years ago I borrowed my dad's old VHS tapes and watched the first season, which I enjoyed. But I wasn't in the mood to pursue it as a fandom at the time, and I was watching on my own, and the tapes were sometimes not the best quality, so I ran out of enthusiasm and stopped watching. I definitely want to try it again, eventually; maybe I will need to watch with someone else, or a group.

3. P.G. Wodehouse, Psmith. I have never read the books, so I'm thinking of tracking them down for airplane reading before an upcoming trip. And then check back for the fanfiction that I remember seeing, somewhere. (Yeah, not exactly a *fandom*, but I think expanding my reading of P.G. Wodehouse is a worthy venture.)

4. Slings and Arrows. Saw a bit of this at blingfest - seems to be a show about sarcastic, drunk, and/or depressed Canadian theater people, which suits me. Then I put it on hold at the library, and hmm...that was quite some time ago. I should check and see what's happened.

5. What would you recommend? Anything other than music fandoms, or Buffy/Angel.

In a New York Times article (it feels weird to get fan news through the NYT, but I don't keep up with X-Files fandom communities) Gillian Anderson said she "finally kind of got" the fans' investment in the Mulder/Scully relationship when she saw "a YouTube montage that a fan had put together of Mulder and Scully. Clips of our growing intimacy through the series. One, it was really moving, and two, I couldn’t believe how many times we held hands and actually kissed."

So, props to the unknown vidder for helping Gillian feel the MSR love!

As I worked my way though seasons 6 & 7 the past few months, I had a reaction not entirely unlike Gillian's; I had forgotten how many Mulder/Scully teases and touches there were in those years.

I just finished season 7 earlier tonight. I'm not sure what I'm going to try to fit in this last week before the movie, if anything. The way "Requiem" brings things back to the pilot, it's a good place to take a break, even with the cliffhangers - Mulder abducted! Scully pregnant! CSM possibly maybe a little bit dead!

In one way I'm glad this movie has come so many years later; there's been time for my bitterness at the messes to fade, and I now feel a fond nostalgia for my X-Files years. Though my main hope for the movie is simply that it won't be a total train wreck.

Oh! That does remind me that one of the scenes online here ( spoiler )

There are so many offers at livelongnmarry, it's a little overwhelming. Two offers not to overlook (separate offers but in one post): rainbow afghans, one wool and one machine washable, created by a community of crafters.

I'm going to contribute some squares, and there are some fantastic knitters and crocheters particpating. The effort is being coordinated at rainbowafghan. It may seem unlikely that assorted knit/crochet squares contributed by lots of people can create a great final product, but every time I've seen a similar effort the end results have been beautiful.

livelongnmarry is a fandom auction to benefit marriage equality! Bidding runs through July 15th; see more details about how to bid.

I couldn't put up any knitted items at this time, but there are quite a few knitted or other crafty offers there, and baked goods, and of course fanfiction, vids etc. All for a worthwhile cause!

A while ago I mused that it would be fun to see vids made in the style of silent movies, but I didn't find any at that time. But - look what I found recently! (Thanks to someone on my flist, I think.)

The Lost Button by chayiana is a Stargate Atlantis/Doctor Who silent comedy vid. It is upbeat, funny, and fun to watch and can probably be enjoyed by anyone with a passing familiarity with these fandoms. I'm not much into Doctor Who but still loved it.

I've realized that there isn't a law that I have to write up everything interesting about going to con_txt at once, so here are just a few highlights to get started.

First, the con committee did a great job; it was a good venue, information was clear, everything seemed well-organized, and there were many opportunities for fun! They all deserve...something fabulous, but thanks will have to be enough!

Craftiness: lots of people were doing various kinds of needlework while hanging around and in the panels. There was a fannish stitch and bitch session at which gblvr provided a list of resources, someone showed off a very cool Dalek and we tossed around the knit puddlejumper. The arts and crafts show had some wonderful works, and at the auction someone contributed an astonishing amount to the con charity for the Dalek I finished knitting right before the con. I won a lovely bright scarf (I somehow lost the label, but I think it was knit by neotoma). I now own scarves knit by several fans, including gritkitty and eccentricweft!

Panels:

Ok, the main thing about the panels was that my failure to read a (very clear!) schedule correctly, leaving early on Sunday, and my occasional need to take a break all meant that I didn't attend all of the panels that sounded interesting.

Dreamwidth - synecdochic talked about their plans for this new social networking/journaling/etc. platform; read more about it on the web site or the intial announcement. A few potential features were mentioned that I really, really want: scheduled posts (omg! How that would simplify running certain communities!) and file attachments to posts (my suggestion.) I'm going to be very curious to see where this project goes.

John Sheppard: Action Hero as Dork with mrsronweasley and drlense was one of the SQUEE! panels, where the main point was to have a good time. Though there of course some thoughtful comments (unsurprisingly, fans are just as intelligent in person as they are online.) But the main note I made about this panel was the effectiveness of continuously running a powerpoint of dorky John Sheppard screencaps in the background. If only I could use the same technique the next time I give a professional presentation!

More next time....

I am at con.txt! Sort of. I made it to the hotel and I'm finishing knitting a Dalek for the arts & crafts auction before I go to sleep. I am a big big procrastinator. I hope I can find scissors tomorrow morning.

Yesterday I took a few breaks from knitting and checked out some of the stories at 800_words; all written previous to the reveal of JKR's 800 word story. I haven't had time to read them all but I can recommend:

magnetic_pole's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, twice as long as JKR's story, but ten times as thoughtful. (Lily)

rose71's The Werewolf Who Was a Ghost, funny in a slightly twisted kind of way. (Remus/Sirius)

florahart's Good Example, with fantastic dialogue between James and Sirius. (Adult)


I did enjoy JKR's 800 word story (transcribed if you missed it) but ( spoiler, I guess )

eccentricweft is using the knit puddlejumper as a neck pillow. And I think I am also ready to quit for the night.

fanaticize is an low-key, fun, exercise challenge community. If you're looking for some extra motivation to help make movement a regular part of your life, sign-ups are open for June - August.

Take a look at the rules or let me know if you have any questions. Everyone is welcome, all levels of ability!

lgbtq_recs is a great idea by magnetic_pole, and I will keep things simple and explain by quoting her post:

"Throughout the month of June, we'll be reccing fun LGBTQ-themed stuff here. Interested in reccing some books, movies, etc. in the next few weeks? Sign up and participate! Just want to watch? Join or watch the community. Hopefully we'll all get to enjoy some queer-themed stuff we might not have discovered otherwise."

I'm at the point where I'm not satisfied with this knitting project, and also rather tired of it and not motivated to finish. (I want to fix the pattern and knit a smaller - hopefully cuter and less lumpy - version before sharing the pattern.) Still, I needed a break so I thought I would try to enjoy the puddlejumper despite its problems, and took it for an expedition outside:



Stargate in rocky landscape, or, using nature to attempt to conceal the missing gate piece.




Crash landing in foliage!


And don't forget to vote in the Live Journal Advisory Board election! Poll closes May 29. There is another good set of links to discussions about candidates and voting here.

If you're curious about my choices, I voted for legomymalfoy (first choice), rm (second choice), and vichan (third choice) because I think it's that represents the best chance for a fandom-positive board member.

You may be aware that there is an election underway for a user representative the LiveJournal board; you may also be aware that there is an organized effort to try to get a member of fandom elected as that representative: fandom_votes. Or, you may not be aware of all this, in which case I encourage you to check it all out!

As I understand it, the goal of fandom_votes is to use fandom's numbers to elect not just a fan, but a fan who is a good candidate, a thoughtful person who will be an excellent user representative for fans. We won't know how much difference a user representative will make until there is one on the board, so I think it's in our interests to have the best person possible elected. And though not all fans use LiveJournal, I personally think those of who do will be best represented by someone who understands and participates in fandom.

Now I'm going to be lazy and direct you to wistfuljane's excellent collection of links for more information.

twistedchick pointed to the news that the BBC gave a takedown notice to mazzmatazz, a fan who had posted Doctor Who knitting patterns. If I'm following the discussion at crafty_tardis correctly, the patterns were originally brought to the BBC's attention because someone else (not mazzmatazz) was reselling them on eBay. There's also a good post about the case at TechnoLlama.

And penwiper337 has also taken down her knitting patterns, the fabulous Extermiknit! Dalek pattern and also the plush Tardis.

I understand why the BBC did not want someone *selling* patterns without authorization. (Though I don't know anything about British trademark/copyright law, and whether there's any difference between unauthorized sale and unauthorized free distribution.) But scaring fans so they won't share their creativity and love for a show...how annoying. I'm just so frustrated that the BBC took a hard line on this. It does not seem like good publicity for them, either.

Today's fannish5:

What 5 series/books/movies can you rewatch/reread time and again?


1. The Lord of the Rings - the books: I was about 11 when I first read them, and reread twice in my teen years; I remember feeling that I didn't want to read them too often, in order to make the experience feel special, with room for surprises. I reread a few times in my 20s, and listed to the audiobooks at least once (the unabridged recordings are excellent.) During the years the movies were coming out I read and listened to the books...a lot. 4 times? I read the books somewhat differently at different ages; when I was very young, there were elements that I just didn't get (or that bored me - I always skipped the poetry.) But other things stayed constant; my love for the hobbits (particularly Pippin and Merry) and the *journey* and the feeling of being completely immersed in Middle Earth.

2. The Lord of the Rings - the movies: I rarely feel a need to rewatch movies in the theater, but I saw each movie at least 3 times on the big screen. Fellowship, 5 times, if I remember correctly. I've watched the DVDs at home on my little tv...hmmm...probably an average of 4-5 times each? Again, mostly during what I think of as the LOTR years. The last time we watched them was Christmas 2006; I think now I'll probably feel like watching them all every 2-3 years. In some ways I prefer the shorter, theatrical versions; I think for the most part they are better films - more coherent, better flow. But I'll probably continue to watch the extended versions every other viewing because I also want *more*.

3. Persuasion - the 1995 version, with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds, of course!

4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. This a great film on its own (I really want to see it on a big big screen again, it is so gorgeous) and I think it's also a highly successful adaptation of the books. I saw the movie before reading the books, and I'm glad. It still works wonderfully for me now that I have read the books, but I think I would have been distracted comparing it to the books and noticing which pieces came from which books. It doesn't show everything about these characters and their world, but it does a fabulous job of capturing the most essential elements, the Aubrey/Maturin relationship, and the lives of the crew and the ship on the ocean.

5. Singin' in the Rain. I like quite a few in this genre, but Singin' the Rain is just about pure happiness and silliness. With fab music and dancing!

I could keep going and going. Though I don't think I could put any complete tv series on the list, I could definitely include many individual episodes. Maybe another Friday.


How about you?