Archive | March 2014

Broad Universe Wikipedia Project – a signal boost

I think this will be relevant to the interests of several of the people who read my blog.

http://kalaity.com/2014/03/01/broad-universe-wikipedia-project/

Women artists made a concerted effort recently to get more of them written into history. More people turn to Wikipedia than to any other source. Women are still largely missing unless they are the few really big names in history…
Only 2% of the users edit Wikipedia. A huge percentage of them are male. And as time goes on fewer people are doing any editing, so diversity is bound to be an issue.

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Weight loss blog: I’m not talking to my scale.

Stayed well within points all week. Ate veggies, drank plenty of fluids, went to the gym three times. I’m being healthy and proper and everything.

I am not currently on speaking terms with my scale.

We’ll see if I am again in a couple days.

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Food Log 3/2/14

Bread pudding with banana (Small batch)
Cereal (Fiber One stuff, not very tasty)
Egg salad
Butternut Soup
Biscuits (Cheese biscuits, even)
Ice Cream

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Potential submissions – mostly a list for my own reference

Tim House, tribes, <10,000, April 15th http://www.tinhouse.com/magazine/submission-guidelines.html

Fiction magazine, April 5, http://www.fictioninc.com/submissions.html

Riptide http://riptidepublishing.com/call-for-submissions (several themes, several deadline)

Inscription, 500-9000, http://www.inscriptionmagazine.com/submissions/

Fantasy Scroll, microfiction on up, http://fantasyscrollmag.com/submissions/

Pulp Literature http://pulpliterature.com/submission-guidelines/ up to 75 pages “Any genre or between-genre work of literature or visual art “

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The Collar Job, Part VIII

Part I (and on LJ)

Part II (and on LJ)

Part III (and on LJ)

Part IV (and on LJ)

Part V (and on LJ)

Part VI (and on LJ)

Part VII (and on LJ)

This is … what happens when you let me watch an entire season of Leverage in a week and a half. *cough* Tír na Cali/Leverage fanfiction crossover.

It’s written in an experimental style for me, and, well, it’s fanfic, so pls. be kind.

(There are a lot of commercials. It’s being played on one of those syndicated-show channels, I suppose, TNT or Spike or something.)

Luck of the draw pulled it up twice on my list in a day, after being off rotation for over a week!

Fade back in from commercial. Sophie is wielding a folded piece of paper. “We are not Americans.”

“Because of your…” Parker squints. “Your take-out menu?”

Sophie seems to deflate. “Well, it’s supposed to be my passport, but I don’t exactly carry it around with me, do I?”

“Anyway, you might not be American, but I was born here, and so was Alec… Hardisson. So was Hardisson.”

“It’s cool, Parker, I’ve got this.” Hardisson held up both hands. “We can be English. We can be anything that we want. I’m just that cool. Going in as the Duchess, then? You don’t like her, do you?”

“I don’t like her.” Sophie’s smile is small and tight. “But the Californians love her.”

~

“Here, sit down here.” Lady Anastasia still has her arm around Eliot’s waist; she guides him to an overstuffed armchair in what looks like an expensive but rather spartan bedroom. He sits heavily, shifting and trying to get comfortable while still cuffed hand and foot.

“You really think I’m here to kill you?”

“You’re really not?” She falls into a cross-legged seat at his feet. “Here, hold still.”

“I don’t want to be here at all, lady.” He falls still. “What are you doing?”

She pulls the keys Alessia gave her from her pocket. “Unlocking you.”

Eliot stares down at her, angry all over again. “Why?” Pause. “My lady.”

She looks up at him, her expression serious – a mirror of the face he often wears, albeit in a more gamine face. “Considering the training you’ve likely had, if you’re going to kill me, the shackles will only irritate you. If you’re not going to kill me, there’s no reason to cause you further discomfort.”

“I never said I really was black ops.”

“You never said you weren’t, either. And besides -”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Something like that.” She scoots back, holding the shackles in one hand. “Wrists.”

He shifts so that she can reach the handcuffs, his back to her. “So, now what?”

“Well, first I’m going to get that monstrosity off of you. And then… then we can talk.”

“Look, I’ve got a team back home. Friends. Is there any way I could call them, send them an e-mail?”

She stills. The cuffs come off. “A brief call. But first, I want to talk about a couple things.”

He rubs his wrists. “You’re in charge.”

“Here.” She moves him with a couple light pushes. “One more piece of jewelry to deal with.”

Eliot’s hands go to the collar. “You’ll get this thing off of me?”

She reaches into her drawer and fiddles around for a few minutes. “There has to be a collar. But there doesn’t have to be that thing.”

He stills. “Do it.”

An estate in California

“These… these stepford slaves are creeping me out.” Hardisson closes the door. “We’d better get Eliot soon. I’m going to go postal here.”

Cut, once again, to commercial.

Part IX – http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/688747.html

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Food Log 3/1/14

Yesterday wasn’t too hard, because for once I ate in chunks.

Steel Cut Oats with butternut squash, sweetened
Fried egg with onions on toast
Clementines (x2)
Misc house/yard work
Butternut Soup
Chocolate Cake, small batch

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Wrong Door, a story of Facets of Dusk for the Giraffe Call

Written to slinkslowdown‘s prompt to the January Giraffe call; they prompted with their OC, Ashe.

Facets of Dusk has a landing page here; a team of explorers are searching out new worlds via inter-dimensional Doors that only one person seems to have the ability to open.

When they open their doors on the wrong world…


“What… what is that thing?”

Cole stared at the… thing. Creature. It looked a bit like a dog, a bit like a wolf, if you ignored the radioactive-yellow eyes and paw pads.

And mouth, you couldn’t forget the mouth. Because the thing was opening its mouth at them, and, oh, my, it was terrifyingly yellow.

“I believe.” Aerich coughed faintly, “that it is safe to assume that it is a demon-canine hybrid.”

“That’s your safe assumption?” Cole took two steps backwards and drew his gun.

“…and that it may be sentient. As such, it might recognize….”

It was too late; the beast was already leaping. Cole shoved Aerich behind him, made sure the mage was in front of their Door-opener, and drew a cudgel from it sheath, all in the second it took the thing to jump.

“Ashe!” Aerich coughed the word out as the beast landed, teeth almost making it to Cole’s throat. “Its – his – name is Ashe. And this is his territory.”

The demon-dog paused, one paw lifted, ready to slice Cole’s face open. It was entirely unclear whether he spoke or used telepathy, but mine came across clear as day.

“Yours,” Cole agreed. He holstered the fun. “We were just leaving.”

“Good.” Ashe grinned at them, or, at least, his mouth opened and he showed a bunch of teeth. “Stay gone.”

Alexa had gotten the Door open again. “Leaving?”

“Leaving,” Cole agreed. They backed slowly through the door. “Mark this one on the do-not-visit-if-we-can-help-it.”

“Good idea.” The demon-dog’s laugh followed them back through the dimensions.

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