Category: Uncategorized

Pig Brother – you can’t deny it, it’s gotta be better than the human version…

Some interesting-mixture-of-painkillers induced rambling at Soulfreak. I think it does make sense, but apologies if not.

What I’d actually intended to write about when I went to post there, was Cruel Intentions. Not entirely sure how the connection between head and fingers got lost there. So I’ll mention it here instead. See, we finally gave in to temptation / the-lure-of-wrestling respectively, and got Sky movies and sports last night, and determined to get my moneys worth I hunted for a film to watch then and there. Cruel Intentions was on, I hadn’t seen it but I have seen (and love) Dangerous Liasons, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. And damn, good film!! Grabbed me immediately and completely… can see why the brother likes it so much (other than the obvious SMG factor). I did miss some of it, though, when there was some kind of cat crisis outside. And of course I was trying to work on Spiked and Skewered at the same time (why, oh why do I give myself so much work to do?!). So I’ll be keeping an eye out for it to watch again. Definitely one I’d recommend.

Well, I’m back at work. I’ve caught up on all my journal reading, just about. And I just had a Scary Experience^(TM) in, uh, Xperience, the alternative / goth / punk / bondage clothing shop next door to where I work. I was having a browse (and then a buy – more tops, must get skirt / trousers!!) at lunchtime, when a voice from behind me (talking to the shop assistant, though, not me) said “Do you have kid’s jeans here?”. And it’s this ‘normally’ dressed mother, with three kids of under-12 in tow. WTF? I’m at the back end of the shop – well past all kinds of interesting stuff. So the girl behind the counter (well pierced and tattooed, fab mohican) told her, no, they didn’t, and the mother turns to the kids and says “Oh well, back to GAP then……”. I seem to remember Megs telling me of a similar SE^TM she had in there recently, too. What is going on?…… And, brain meandering back to needing trousers, I think I might have those tartan bondage trews. Like muchly.

But anyway, where have I been the last 10 days or so? Well, I was off work, for a start. On the first day off – Saturday – I went to the cat shelter as arranged, with Becx from work, Megs, and Heather (who was visiting). And came home with the largest kittymonster there, “Jerry”, now renamed Alexander. Shall get pics up….. eventually. Like I said before, he’s pretty jumpy – expects to be hit at every turn, poor baby. He was even scared of the toy I got him! He wanted to be friends with Willow (bless), but she was a stroppy little mog…. they’re getting used to one another, though, so that’s good.

Saturday evening, we went to a wedding reception for one of B’s friends from school. We were both pretty knackered, and were also providing solidarity for B’s best mate (complicated ex issues and the like), so we played barfly all evening. Which meant we got to see almost everyone there with no real effort, since they had to come by to get drinks. Then the groom’s Mum came to say hi, and asked Those Questions – “Where did you meet?” and “You’ve known each other nearly two years? Are you engaged yet?”. I swear, one of these days I’m going to make up some plausible meeting place, because having to explain the internet-y truth is just way too much hassle….

I then spent a few days hanging around, working on Spiked and Skewered, and cleaning the house. Mum and Dad arrived on Wednesday late afternoon, dumped a whole load of stuff with me (my stuff, from home), and went off to their B&B. Thursday – Monday was spent doing little day-trips to local places of interest and the like. I probably got more fresh air in those five days that I have all year so far. Heh. It was fun…. though now I’m pining to live by the seaside again. I miss it. Saturday was the BBQ at Megs’ house, and that was most excellent…. B applied his manly skills to burning barbequing the burgers; Meghan got bird crap on her head then later informed my previously clueless parents that Martin and Heather had done far more than snog a bit on the dancefloor at Nocturnal…. hope he doesn’t get a Talk when they get home; we melted marshmallows with gusto; and then we all watch Sister Act. I have to get the movie channels.

And then yesterday, of course, after Mum and Dad departed to visit my Uncle Ted, various cousins, their children (roughly my age), and their children*, I went and got my hair snipped and dyed. Wheeeee! Then it was back home for further Spiked and Skewered toiling. I’m not going to get everything done for 1st September, but I’ll have plenty to re-open it with. The rest can be added later (thank god I simplified the navigation as far as adding sections goes!). I believe it’s going to be a fairly large site, now. I want it to be a good one. I think it is, but I hope other people will like it. The content, anyway. I’ve come to the conclusion that the design sucks….

* My Dad, at 68, is the youngest of five. Ted is 13 years older. Mum is 15 years younger than Dad…. Ted’s son Malcolm is a few months older than Mum. And so on and so forth.

Well, they do say write what you know. Hmm.

Kitty-update: going to the cat shelter at 2pm tomorrow. Fully expecting to return home with at least 6 feline additions to the family……

Things like this are why Willow drinks out of a mug. Oh well, OK, she does have a water bowl in the kitchen. But she prefers the mug. We are so under the paw.

The bars of my twix have moulded into a slightly flat, uber-twix entity. It’s somewhat disturbing.

But at least I actually finished a fic last night. Fred POV, my first attempt at such. And my first Angel fic in general. Go me. The Fred site is nearly done, too. Opening it tonight. I think I might drop the gallery, since there aren’t that many pics at the mo, and it’s a bit time consuming to do. Can always add it in later. The other bits that need finishing are more important. God, listen to me. As if this is actually important at all. H-o-b-b-y. LOL. Which is why I actually take time off work to do it. Mmmm.

Hoping to get a new cat tomorrow. Need to call the cat shelter place again – left a message last night. I want to adopt another fluffboy, a young adult cat, preferably one like Worf. Or maybe it’d be better to get one totally unlike Worf, lookswise. But a Worf-y temprement would be lovely. :-)

Meghan had this on her blog, and since I haven’t put anything like this up that I remember, I thought what the hell. So here we go:

TIME: 15:39
FULL NAME: Louise Anne
DOB: 17th Oct
SIGN: Stop! (Um. Libra)
BIRTHPLACE: Hastings, E Sussex, UK
HOMETOWN: Hastings. But I live in Beverley, E Yorkshire.
PARENTS TOGETHER/DIVORCED: Together, for just over 30 years.
CURRENT LOCATION: At computer, at work, in Hull
HOW OLD DO YOU LOOK: Apparantly, the same age as my younger brother (who is 21, 5 years younger). According to all the people who’ve asked if we’re twins, anyway.
SHOE SIZE: 4 (or 37 European)
EYE COLOR: Murky Puddle (green-ish, changes depending on what I’m wearing / the light / any old random factor)
HAIR COLOR: Errrm. Naturally, dark blonde, I think. Used to be, anyway. Currently kind of middle-y brown from washing out other colours. Soon to be black with red chunks.
CURLY OR STRAIGHT: Mostly straight with vague wavy bits.
HEIGHT: 5’2″
WEIGHT: Too heavy. Ask me again in six months.
TATTOOS/PIERCINGS: Only ears pierced once, so far. But I’m planning, and saving up, for a couple more piercings and a tat. Or two. *g*
WHAT ARE YOU WEARING: Usual work clobber. Black jeans, black/purple top, black hoodie, big chunky boots (w/ 4″ sole, 6″ heel).
WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED: Depends how hot it is.
PETS: Currently one kittymonster, Miss Willow (the perpetrator of mass birdicide…. I said we should’ve called her Buffy). Taking a trip to the Cat Home place on Saturday and planning to adopt another one and bring him home. :-)
BEEN TO CANADA: No…. but I’ve got some cousins there, and Mum and Dad went. For a month. Damn retired people.
BEEN IN A CAR CRASH: Yes, two or three. Horrible, especially when you’re driving and some bastard rips the front off your car….
SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER: ……. it was on offer in Safeways, and it’s pink.
EVER GIVEN MONEY TO A HOMELESS PERSON: I have, but I’m with Megs on the pointlessness of doing it round here. Used to help a guy out in London.
COLLECTIONS: Anything and everything, really. I’m a horder. But I spose domain names and websites mostly at the mo. Heheh.
IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE: Somewhere with pleasant but cool weather. I don’t know, though. Maybe parts of Australia, cos I found the heat there OK. Or maybe Ireland – that’s the weather I’m built for.
DREAM HOUSE: Big. Spacious. Comfortable. Huge-ass computer room, an octagonal music room (not sure why), enough rooms to have plenty of people to stay for parties.
DREAM VEHICLE: Right now, any car would be good. I’d really just like a fairly new car that runs well and is comfy. And has a CD player, of course. ;-) I also want a motorbike, but that’ll have to wait a few years.
DREAM JOB: Predictably, webdesign.
MOST ANNOYING THING: Online, moronic people who don’t *read* requirements or rules for things, or make any effort to learn netiquette. And txt msg spk in email. Offline, cleaning up crap / beer bottles / scum that isn’t yours.
FAVORITE NUMBER: 7 or 23
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Angel, Buffy, Andromeda, Trek
FAVORITE MOVIE: Hmmm….. Matrix, Evita, Star Trek: First Contact, Top Secret, Princess Bride, Interview with a Vampire….. several more.
FAVORITE TOOTHPASTE: Signal
WHAT’S TO THE LEFT OF YOU: A pen, a folder, a 500ml bottle of coke, half a flapjack, a nectarine, and my bag.
WHAT’S TO THE RIGHT OF YOU: Mousepad, mouse, my writing notepads, drink coaster with the company logo on, phone, work notepad, and the pen again cos I had a call and moved it in the middle of typing this.
CDS IN YOUR CD PLAYER: If B hasn’t changed it while I wasn’t looking, Skunk Anansie (Post Orgasmic Chill).
WHAT DID YOU DO TONIGHT: I didn’t yet. But what I *will* do is the Fred site. Really I will. Plus dull houseworky stuff. Blah.
THINGS YOU DO ON THE WEEKEND: Quite often, work. But if I’m off (and on weekdays when I’m off), I’ll veg out, faff around online, design and update stuff, go shopping, clean the house, and if I have someone to go with, go down the pub. Oh, and sometimes on Sundays we go to B’s parents’ for Sunday fooooooood.
THE THREE PEOPLE YOU’D TAKE ON A DESERT ISLAND: Superman, so he could fly me on and off at will; A portable cabin constructor (with materials) to, duh, build me a fancy cabin; Pretty man with guitar, for eye candy and entertainment factor (he has to be able to play it and sing well).
TIME IT IS NOW: 16:38. Heh.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING: 1 hour, 20 mins to go…. and mustn’t forget to get B a pie or something for tea…… I wonder if anyone wants the rest of this flapjack…..

Um. So yesterday I had my hair snipped, met Megs in town where we wilted in the icky heat, and when I got home, made the house marginally tidier. And did sod all towards the Fred site. I had such good intentions, too. Still, there’s not too much to do now, so I think we’re still on track for opening tomorrow. Better be. Also, I’m fairly happy with my design, so it’d be nice to open the site before I’m sick of the sight of it. ;-)

Oh, and I finally booked in to get my hair dyed. Right after payday, so it’ll be done before I work out that I can’t afford it again. Heheh. Black and bright red. Whee :-)

……… I’ve gone and done it again, and this time it’s all Heather’s fault. So now I have a grand total of:
1 .nu
1 .com
2 .net
9 .co.uk
Oh dear. But if people will email me and ask me to think up possible domain names…. *sigh*

Of course, now I need something to do with them. I might think about rearranging a site or two… we shall see. But not just yet… I have too much to do at the moment, site-wise. I have a grand plan for that though, and it goes something like:
1) Finish Fred site, hopefully by Wednesday, has to be by Friday 17th.
2) Open Fred site, on either Wed, Thurs or Fri.
3) Sat 18th – Wed 22nd, get my head down and work on Spiked & Skewered… I really need to get the bulk of the work done then, so I’m planning on not actually talking to anyone online, or doing anything else other than (ugh) housework for these few days.
4) Thurs 23rd – Mon 27th, parents up to visit, so won’t be online much.
5) Tues 28th – Fri 31st, finish off S&S… hopefully only small things left to do.
6) 1st Sept, re-open S&S. Phew.

Did I mention, I really hate mornings? I just could *not* get to sleep last night, and now I feel like utter crap. Couldn’t sleep with B snoring cos it was too noisy, couldn’t sleep in the spare room cos it was too quiet. Aarrgghh!!! (And his Mum told me yesterday that the snoring is fixable, if only he’d just go to the doctors. I feel some incessent nagging coming on……)

Oh, and for those people who keep hitting this site searching for Rachel Grant / Nina / Scifright, etc…. No, there’s nothing here of much relevance to her, but I am involved in the setting up of a site for ‘Nina’. Specifically, I’m doing the design… I know next-to-nothing about the content. If you’re interested in knowing when the site opens, drop a mail to lykan@tiscali.co.uk and if there’s enough interest we may start a mailing list. Ta.

And see that advert up the top there? I’m giving space away here, people, on a nice pretty domain. Come on!

It occurs to me that yesterday I had intended to respond to some things that some other people said, but then I forgot. So here goes… I just have to track down what they were…..

Oooo, here’s one – Rowan was talking about Diane Duane the other day. And at the time I had that feeling that the name was nigglingly familiar, but it wasn’t til Rowan mentioned that she’d written Star Trek novels that I realised where…. I have a whole stack of Trek novels somewhere, from when I was even more into TNG than I am BtVS now. Heh. I wonder where they went to. Rowan also mentioned Diana Wynne Jones, who was recently held up on the BetterBuffyFics list as being a superior author to J K Rowling. Now, I can’t judge that, cos I haven’t read the Harry Potter books yet (I will, just give me time), but I do love Diana Wynne Jones… I first read one of her books when I was in my mid-teens, I think, and I don’t remember why or how I found it, because by then I never went into the ‘childrens/teens’ part of the library. But somehow I picked the book up, and I was entralled and promptly made it my mission to track down some of her other books. They’re still prominent on my bookshelf now.

The ‘white’ bit of the nail on my left hand little finger is now longer than the ‘pink’ bit, and appears to be still going strong. Makes typing slightly awkward, though.

Didoodoodoo…. bored….. I’ve got a nice 10 days off soon when I may not post here at all, cos (a) I’m going to be working on Spiked and Skewered in an effort to get it back online by 1st September, and (b) my parents are coming to visit.

I might dye my hair. I can’t afford to get it done how I wanted it, so it’s a DIY job again. Black or maroon? Megs, did you make yours purple yet? Can’t wait to see that. Maybe when GB comes up next week we should have a big group hairdying thing. Or not…..

There’s going to be some website re-organisation in general. Things need to be made more manageable. And after what I’ve got planned at the mo, no more websites. Really really really. Honest. None. Nu-uh. No.

First of all, can I just say that Namezero are utter ratbastards. It’s true. See, last year some time I decided that I’d be moving Spiked and Skewered from Angelfire to it’s own domain, since Angelfire had decided it wasn’t going to let me actually update anything, and there were those irritating pop-ups, etc etc. So, I registered spikedandskewered.co.uk and intended to move the site over once I’d redesigned (hahaha – it’s still not done). And to make the moving process a wee bit smoother, I had the bright idea of registering the .com for free with Namezero, since it would redirect to wherever I wanted and therefore stay current when I moved the site. So far so good. And indeed, it worked fairly well. But then this year Namezero decided that I’d have to pay to keep the .com. “Pffff” I said to myself. “I’ve got the .co.uk, so sod it, I’ll let it go.” Which I did. But I’ve been vaguely musing on picking the .com back up since people do seem to still be using it. And then today while idly checking things out, what do I discover? Namezero have had the brazen barefaced cheek to register the .net and the .org as well! Now, clearly, no-one else in the world is ever going to want these but me. And in fact, I didn’t want them. I mean, how many domains does one site need?! But it pisses me off immensely that they have registered them so they’re sitting out there on their redirection page that says that the domain has ‘expired’ (when in fact I never had them in the first place). And clearly the only reason they have registered them is to (a) stop me registering them elsewhere, and (b) try and get me to buy them from them so ‘my’ domain name isn’t pointing the wrong damn way. Gahhh! Sneaky, underhanded bastards! And you know, it’s not even that expensive to pay to get them – it’s just the fact that they’ve done it. And it’s inconvenient for me if I do decide to buy one, since I’d have to get Dad to let me use his credit card since of course they won’t accept my debit card. Ahem. [/rant]

I did ramble about Star Trek at Soulfreak, by the way. And made a few extra changes to The Airlock. Yay me.

And because I am a hopeless domainwhore, I went and bought another one. I am now the proud owner of frozensoul.net, or I will be as soon as it’s finished registering. My .net craving is temporarily satiated. And I’m currently in the process of making a graphic-y mess for a holding page, since I haven’t got the first clue what I’m actually going to do with it. But y’know, it’s pretty! And it brings my domain total to a nice round 10. I had to have it…..

So yesterday it was raining too. But the fine stuff that soaks everything even when it looks like it’s just drizzling. Furry little Willow kept going outside, then indignantly bursting back through the catflap because she’d got wet. She was very bored all day. Because I was still feeling a bit under-the-weather, I decided to jack the housework and shopping in in favour of cranking the heating up, slapping Jerry Springer (and the like) on the telly, and settling down in front of my computer. And a very productive day it was in the end, too. I did what felt like a humungous update to Tomb With a View, which brought it up to date and added a new section. I had a break to watch the last ep of Voyager – and I’ll be rambling more about that, but I’m going to do it on Soulfreak a bit later – and then I sat down and redesigned The Airlock. I didn’t do quite what I’d intended, but I like the result. I think I’m going to make a few more small changes tonight, though. Hmm.

Why do I write? Certainly not because I “have to”. I don’t have to – even when massively inspired, I can be distracted away from the writing thing by the squillion-and-one other things that are going on. I write, I suppose, because I want to. Because I have the ideas or words in my head, and I choose to get them down on paper or screen. And it’s satisfying to do that. I write because I can – because once I’ve written, I can do something with it: I can post fanfic on mailing lists, or a site, I can stick general ramblings up on this site, or just write them in a paper diary which I can look back at later on and remember where and who I was when I wrote it. And I suppose I write because I’ve been in the habit of doing it ever since I learned how, and because I was encouraged to from a young age. And of course, because I enjoy doing it. Ta-daaah.

Did I ever mention how much I love the train system? Today, they actually announced that my train (the 12:38) was running 15 minutes late. Trouble was, the announcement was made at 12:55, just as the train was arriving. Yeah, thanks for that….. *g*

Still, on the bright side, it’s raining. Nice, fairly heavy rain. It’s cool but not cold, and this is the kind of weather that suits me down to the ground. Coat-wearing weather for the first time in a while. And it does feel good to be wrapped chin-to-foot in black leather again. Much better than all that nasty sun n stuff. Oh yes.

Freedom.freaky has it’s first hostee – the faboo Carolyn. Yay! But I think I need to find some way to advertise a bit more. Hum, where to go…. It’s a problem.

And Larry Adler died. That makes me sad. There are just too many wonderful old musicians passing away. And what makes this worse is that I should know all these little anecdotes about Larry Adler, but I can’t remember a one of them. See, our old next-door-neighbour’s Dad (this is when I was living at home) was a harmonica player, and he knew Larry Adler. And he used to tell us these stories…. huh. But I know that they were good. I’ll have to ask my Mum.