Patron Saint of Falling Over Things

I'm not doing very well. The prednisolone did not go down quietly, I had rebound inflammation and I've been back on pred once already for a massive skin flare up (let me tell you about the 1 in 10,000 chance of getting photosensitivity while taking frusemide.) The cellulitis came back and I had another round of antibiotics (let me tell you about the rare side-effect where you can taste clindamycin IN YOUR SALIVA.) I've had lots of meds changes. I feel wrung out and tired all the freaking time. I am pretty down about this. I want to feel well, and not like my skin is crawling off my body. It's busy at work, too, and that is more exhausting than it ought to be.

I've signed up for wipbigbang and Camp NaNo, so hopefully I can get some fic posted. I wasn't game to sign up for an actual exchange, so I sadly had to miss out on ssrconfidential. I'm starting to be more chatty on Dreamwidth, which is nice, and I did manage to do a big push on answering AO3 comments, which feels like an achievement. My only other achievement was to crochet a sock monkey hat with a big red pompom. I'm quite pleased with it, even if my sister says the button eyes are demonic. That's part of the charm, I think.

( Button eyes will eat your soul, my sister says )


I've been hoarding linkspam, too, which I shall try to group in themes:

The Expanse
- From Indiewire, The Expanse: How The Syfy Series Found the Unfindable Actress (Which Means Other Shows Can, Too)
About casting a S2 character, who is apparently female, Polynesian and tall/muscular. This is what made me want to start watching The Expanse, and I'm so glad I did. (I've just finished S1, so no spoilers, please. Apart from what's in this article, I guess.)

Podcasts (mostly The Strange Case of Starship Iris)
- From buzzfeed, 27 Podcasts You Should Listen To In 2017
Which reminds me, I've been listening to The Strange Case of Starship Iris and it's really lots of fun. The first episode drags a bit, but once there's more than a cast of two (from episode two), the dialogue bounces along, and the world building opens up. The story is building f/f UST between Violet and Arkady, it has a trans character and a gender fluid character, and I really like the crew of the Rumor. Would recommend.

You can listen here: The Strange Case of Starship Iris

For non-listeners, there's a transcript of Episode One, which isn't the best episode but it sets up the dynamic between the two characters well:
The Strange Case of the Starship Iris, Episode One: Violet Liu, written by Jessica Best

There's an official tumblr, where (I presume) the author discusses world building, nuances of the alien language, and other cool stuff: iriscasefiles


Iron Fist
- via netgirl_y2k, who also has an excellent post about Iron Fist, Here's The Important Stuff That Happens In Iron Fist So You Don't Have To Watch It
There were so many weird things about Iron Fist, (apart from the obvious weird thing of why they cast Finn Jones as Danny.)

( brief spoilers )


Dance-themed links
- From Pointe Magazine, #TBT: Watch Baryshnikov Do 11 Pirouettes in White Nights
Because Mikhail Baryshnikov is so pretty.

And through that video, I found a slo-mo analysis of the move, which was really interesting. It's mind blowing to count those turns in slow motion.
( embedded under the cut )

Speaking of ballet, the Dance Academy movie comes out next week!
( Trailer under the cut! )

More Dance Academy links:
- I wish I’d grown up with ‘Dance Academy’, ABC’s beloved teen drama

- The career of Joanna Werner, and how Dance Academy remains en pointe


Other random links
- From HuffPo, Dolphins Might Be Chewing On Blowfish To Get High
Dolphins are bastards and kind of sketch.

- From Buzzfeed, 23 Accidental Google Image Searches That’ll Make You Pee A Little
Very silly. Somehow very satisfying.

- via Nalini Singh's facebook, The Moistest Chocolate Mug Cake
The word moist has ceased to have any meaning that is not disgusting, but I do like a mug cake.

- via the medical tag on Ravelry, Dressed for Success
Crocheted stethoscope sweater. CN: anthropomophising of a stethoscope. Also not addressed is how this could contribute to spreading infection? IDK. The idea is cute though.

- via dine, Artist Paints Realistically Detailed Animals on Smooth Stones
So beautiful!

- From The Age, Police hunt for unicorn after attempted servo smash and grab
CN: armed robbery, only extra.

12 Yarn Ball Types and How to Knit with Them
Hankenstein. Heh.


I still need to post fic here that I've had up at AO3. And get planning on what I'm going to write for Camp NaNo which inexplicably starts tomorrow omg. Tomorrow is April Fools, too. *reminds self to watch out* I always fall for stupid shit, me.

I'm going to keep going with this meme, because I want to post more. And because people asked such interesting things!



china_shop asked for my favourite Aussie TV show.

It was hard! There's a lot going on in Aussie TV right now. I was torn between Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Dance Academy. I've already written about Miss Fisher, here, though, so I'll pick Dance Academy.


( Behold my crappy graphics )

So, that's Dance Academy. Tiny little Australian show full of ballet and growing up. I hope some of you check it out.

1. Had a much better run through work days than last week. Phew! Just as many interactions with the people who were stressing me out last week, but because I felt better, I dealt better.


2. I read a book - a whole book, end to end. This is noteworthy because for the last few months, my concentration has been so wobbly that I've only been able to read short paragraphs. I am proud. The book was A Trifle Dead by Livia Day. It's a murder mystery set in Hobart, and recced by coffeeandink. The ebook had no DRM, so the two people in this household could both have it on their devices - something I consider very civilised and the way ebooks should operate.

I liked the book - it wasn't difficult to read (thankfully!), the mystery was satisfying, and the way Livia Day writes Hobart as a small country town where everyone knows everyone was something I really enjoyed. I took a little while to warm up to Tabitha, the protagonist, but there were lovely descriptions of cakes while I was warming up, and I came to like her very much in the end. I'm looking forward to the sequel. And the author's tumblr, tabithadarlingsbedroomfloor, is lots of fun, too.


3. Today's Monster of the Week cracked me up: Nisei:
I’m sorry I didn’t have room for the dialogue at the end, where Scully is all MULDER DON’T GET ON THAT TRAIN and Mulder is like NO I AM GETTING ON THAT TRAIN IT IS AWESOME AND HAS ALIENS IN IT and Scully is all NOOOOO and Mulder hangs up on her.

*snorts*

And because of our great synchronicity, we watched the episode tonight. Pendrell! Mulder's amaaaaazing adventures on boats and rooftops and traintops! Skinner just lurking in the dark in Mulder's trashed apartment! Seriously, though, that moment when all the MUFON women hold up their jars and canisters that held their implants? So creepy, the first time around.


4. I was stressing out about how little I've written this year, so I'm trying to remind myself that I'm being creative in other spheres. Crochet, for one thing. Art journalling for another. I shouldn't worry about my creativity drying up, because it's always seeping out in other forms, even when I'm not writing. Proof:

( An art journal WIP, and a card I made for my mum's birthday )

5. I'm really enjoying Season 3 of Dance Academy, much more than I was anticipating: while the main message of the show is still "Which boy should I date?", there have been some good arcs for my favourite characters - Ollie, Abigail and Grace. And they've dealt well with the emotional fall-out of the character that departed the show last season.

Hey, Catholics on flist - can you tell me what it means when a child receives their reconciliation? A friend just posted some photos on Facebook, and I'm not sure what her kids have actually taken part in. I'd like to know, because I don't want to say something inappropriate.