One of the many things I love about fandom. Go check it out, and don't be afraid to ask for something. I'm very lucky that there's not much I need--for the moment--but I know I'll be asking for something soon enough, here or elsewhere.

WHAT THE HELL, OBAMA? I thought we were done with this shit.

Originally posted by alizarin_nyc at More signal boosting for Internet Privacy.

Took me two days to, essentially, add less than a full paragraph worth of words to a scene in the novel I'm editing.

I'm on page 66. Just thought I'd mention that.

::argh::

Do you want angry Sasquatches to attack your children? Or to allow Glee to make the WHOLE WORLD GAY? Of course not! Oppose Gay Marriage!

The 5 Strongest Reasons to Oppose Gay Marriage

I know Russia isn't exactly my country, but this seems to be an instance where international opinion will make a difference. Please check out this website and sign the petition.

All Out

Via The Mary Sue, naturally. Waldo had one too many fingers pointed in his direction and he's gone all Jason Bourne on their asses. If you see red and white stripes, run!

Where's Waldo: The Movie

I put my original fic, Seeds up on AO3. If you'd like to read it, you can find it here.

And yes, I would love it if you read it. But no one is obliged. :)

So. My first-ever finished novel: the one I started back in 1997 or '98; the one I kind of abandoned for five years and then finished in June (July?) of the year my son was born because I didn't want to have to tell him I'd never managed it; the one that got me an agent and then never got a publisher; the one I spent nearly two years waiting for Edge and Tesseract Books to finally reject and the one I recently decided I would edit--again--so I could self-publish it and maybe, actually, possibly, make some money with and hopefully get my name out there. Yeah, Dauntless. That one.

Well, I did indeed start editing it (again) this week, and it turns out it actually sucks.

Yep. There is suckage. It's slow (I knew it was slow; didn't think it was this slow), kind of histrionic in places, has too many characters, too much plot, too many dead ends and internal logic that's only logical if by 'logical' you mean, 'ridiculous'. I feel like I should apologize to everyone I've ever sent it to. (wpadmirer, you are a better friend than I knew.) Obviously when my agent said a big part of the reason he took me on was my willingness to accept suggestions, he really wasn't kidding. It sure as hell wasn't the book.

Naturally this is kind of disappointing, though sadly not as much of a surprise as I would've hoped. I spent a long time--too long; way, way too long--on this fucking thing and put a lot of effort into it (though not in the right places, apparently), and I like the characters and at least some of the ideas. So to have it come to nothing is pretty sad. I suppose it shows how much I've improved as a writer since my late 20s, but I was hoping the difference wouldn't be quite this dramatic, you know?

I could salvage it by losing at least eight characters and basically rewriting everything else, but maybe it's just time to give it up as a bad job and set it aside once and for all. I have plenty of other ideas, and now I even know how to write an outline.

I haven't erased the novel, though. I'm not quite ready to do that. Maybe one day I'll be known enough as an author that it'll be publishable. Or maybe years from now I'll open the file again and have a good laugh, or cry, or just smile and finally put it in the recycle folder. Or maybe I'll print it out; we could always use more scrap.

Today we had to put Hannah down because she had liver cancer. I'm incredibly sad but Javier is devastated. When he was four he decided that Hannah was 'his' and today he lost his beloved pet.

Of course Hannah was mine long before that. I got her early in 1998 from a local cat rescue group in Toronto. I'd already adopted a cat from them so they had my number (literally and figuratively), so when one of the members was handed a skinny grey cat with five kittens and all of the other members' houses were full I got Shanghaied into looking after her and the babies.

Initially Hannah was scrawny and sickly looking, and so undernourished that one of her shoulders popped out of joint twice in the first year I had her. But she was devoted to her kittens. If either of the other two cats dared go near them, Hannah would chase them away with a wild-eyed ferocity that was more like her vicious great cat ancestors than a domestic long hair.

She was devoted to her kittens, but other than the protectiveness she was actually a terrible mother. I'd have to hold her down to get her to stay put long enough for her kittens to get a full meal, or occasionally stop her licking a kitten so enthusiastically that the poor thing couldn't get to her belly to eat.

When the kittens were weaned I found a home for them, but by then I already knew I'd be keeping their mama. Over the next year Hannah went from a scrawny former alley cat to a fat, sleekly fluffy matriarch who looked constantly pissed off but who was actually the sweetest, most even-tempered and laid back cat I've ever known.

That's why she became Javier's cat. Initially she just was too old and arthritic to run away from him when he began crawling after the cats. But when he got older she began sleeping on his bed with him and coming to him for cuddles. Of course she would still curl up next to Dom on the couch and sleep between us on the bed. Hannah was one of those awesome cats who loved (and put up with) everyone, and was always happy to be hoisted into a lap.

Jav and I loved her so much. Tonight he was crying because he wouldn't have a kitty to sit in his lap anymore. I promised him that we'd get him his very own kitty in a month or so. I'm sure he or she will be lovely, but Hannah was one of a kind.

My US Flisties: please take a minute (seriously, that's all it takes!) to sign a petition and/or contact your representatives to stop this bill which will greatly reduce the quality of life for battery hens for the next 18 years (at least). The website's already done all the work so all you have to do is fill in your name. It's super easy! And very important.

Thank you for the chickens!

Humane Farming Association, enriched cages, battery cages, United Egg Producers - Stop the Rotten Egg Bill