収束ゾーンでのライフ: Life in the Convergence Zone

In no real order; any of these could’ve made my list, really, but I did think a lot about my choices and these are, I suppose, one tier down. Not necessarily in quality, just in impact.

1: On The Beach

JMS has gone off on the use of “Waltzing Matilda” in this film and said it better than I would. But also, it’s just a great story and a great film. Do NOT watch depressed.

2: Threads

YIKES

See above, but without music. Thatcher was a monster, but the Reagan/Thatcher combo on nukes was so much worse.

3: White Zombie

Slow, moody, atmospheric, and yet includes the single most horrifying moment I’ve seen in a vintage horror film. A brilliant Lugosi performance, a little understated and definitely underrated.

4: Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)

I still think of the title in Japanese. Deeply sad film in so many ways. Couldn’t rewatch it for years, but still formative.

5: Goldfinger

Now that is how you write a goddamn supervillian plot.

Goldfinger says, “Who said anything about removing it?”

…and suddenly it’s an entirely different story and you’re as impressed as Bond is. I love that shit. Fantastic.

6: Brain Candy

Ignore the implied kinda bad take on SSRI reuptake inhibitors and it’s amazing in every other way. Endlessly quotable. Best Kids In The Hall.

I’m sure there are more, but I think that’s enough for now.

And yeah, every film on this list? Recommended. Highly.

PS:

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

1. What did you do in 2018 that you'd never done before?

Wrote a bunch of novels.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really do that. I might this year for a change, and that's "be better at studying French."

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not really, but a former abuser did die, and I was entirely happy about it.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the US and Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?

Possible things only, I suppose... um... that leaves out a sane government... hm.

More musical inspiration, I think. And motivation.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

The whole fucking year, or should I say the decade it took, or the year. Holy shit.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

On my own: The Armourer and the Living Weapon. I mean, it got fan art. That was new.

As one of many snowflakes in the avalanche: your new Democratic representative from the 8th District of Washington State, Kim Schrier.

I'm also fairly pleased with the amount of old stuff I ditched. More to do on that in 2019.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not yet diamond in comp. Or plat, for that matter.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Eh, I got the flu. Or just a bad cold. Not sure which.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably the GT1030 silent (fanless) graphics card, or possibly the monitors I'm using with that card. Honourable mention to the giant utensil storage tray I bought. Sure, laugh, but I'm telling you, a well-organised drawer makes for a much happier kitchen.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

George, our cat.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Every Republican who didn't resign and/or actively, publicly fight the neofascist white supremacist movement. Which means almost (but not quite) every Republican.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Aside from bills, see the Washington State 8th District.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I fixed and/or rebuilt a lot of things. That's always fun. And I wrote and co-wrote some novels.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018?

I can't really think of one. I've been away from music for most of the last two years. I think that's part of the ongoing reaction to the current realities; fiction writing turned on, in a big way; music mostly turned off. But... maybe Mélovin's "Under the Ladder."

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?

Probably about the same.

ii. thinner or fatter?

Much stronger. Much more muscle. About the same weight, just ... more of it's muscle.

iii. richer or poorer?

About the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Anti-fascist rallies/protests/actions. I missed a couple. For reasons, but still.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

It's been overwhelming at times. Can't afford that.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

(Presumably, how did I, in this context.)

I didn't. It's not my holiday. I rather hate Christmas, honestly; I didn't, until the fundamentalists and protofascists at Fox News ginned up the "war on Christmas" horseshit, but years of that made me really hate it. Anna and I did the usual National Jews and Pagans Go To the Movies Day, and saw Ralph Breaks the Internet. It's pretty good. First 20 minutes or so spends too much time re-covering old ground from the first movie - I think because it's been a while - but then the actual film itself is pretty good.

21. Did you fall in love in 2018?

No.

22. How many one night stands?

None.

23. What was your favourite TV programme?

Either the new Doctor Who - isn't it nice to have actual Doctor Who back on television again? - or She-Ra. Seriously, She-Ra is kind of awesome.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nah, the protofascists and fundamentalists have been trying to kill me my whole life. I'm used to it.

25. What was the best book you read?

Emily Wilson's new translation of The Odyssey. Get it, read it, seriously. Nothing else I read this year is close, though I also quite liked Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, from 1962, which I'd not read before.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Somehow I had missed paying much attention to Florence and the Machine, and thanks to an online friend, I have now addressed that deficiency. Maybe also Sunflower Bean too.

27. What did you want and get?

See above regarding the 1030 and monitors. ^_^

28. What did you want and not get?

I rather want a cheap slider-based mixing board - analogue - with a minimum of six microphone/XLR inputs, for some experiments for, like, $40 or $50. I'd fix it, of course; I'd probably have to. But I'm okay with that. I've been watching Craigslist et all and have come close a couple of times, but not quite there.

29. What was your favourite film this year?

Honestly, Into the Spider-Verse. Christ that was good.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Sushi dinner, and I legit don't know. I also legit don't know my actual birthday. I use one, but it's questionable. Long story, don't want to tell it.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Two deaths, not just the one.

Maybe three.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

I wore a pair of blue jeans to book club one night and everyone fruck out because "...I didn't even know you owned blue jeans." So, apparently, somewhat sharper than previous years?

33. What kept you sane?

Overwatch.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Gail Godot.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Same old same old, for me, honestly.

36. Who did you miss?

Mostly, Genji. Fuck, that squirrelly little ninja can be hard to hit. Unless he's stupid and charges me directly.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

seaborn, who is mostly on tumblr and discord, but has an account here and might see this.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018:

I BELIEVE I SAID GOOD DAY.

39. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Oh, I hate telephones. Um... probably some repair service, if anything.

40. Quote a song that sums up your year:

Sorry.

41. What was your favourite moment of the year?

Honestly?

Okay, so. Overwatch. Competitive. Defence. Hanamura. Point one. I'm coming back from spawn. Enemy team hits some ult or other as I'm on my way back, kills everyone else on my team, and they've got five players standing, including D.va in her mech.

I hit the point, I pop D.va out of her mech in two shots, and she flees. The other four I take down in six shots, alone, as Widowmaker. When we win, and that bit is playing back as Play of the Game, our Reinhardt, who had been... skeptical... about me being Widowmaker... just kind of breathes, on comms:

"...fffuuuuuuuck."

Glorious.

(Second place: killing five of six enemy team on offence at Temple of Anubis, taking the point, and waving hello to the rest of my team as they finally show up. That one, I have video.)

42. What was your least favourite moment of the year?

Did you see 2018? Did you see it?

I don't know if it was a 'moment' but fuck, the fires, and the smoke. So bad.

43. Where were you when 2018 started?

Eh, just hanging out at home.

44. Who were you with?

annathepiper and our housemate Paul and friend Jenny. I think that's all.

45. Where will you be when 2018 ends?

Dunno yet? Might go out.

46. Who will you be with when 2018 ends?

Depends upon whether I go out. Not bringing anyone over, Anna's got a cold and we don't need to share it.

47. What was your favourite month of 2018?

Hard to say. Maybe the first charge through what became Of Gods and Monsters. That was pretty amazing.

48. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2018?

Nah. Less than usual, if anything.

49. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2018?

I don't in general. I'm anti-prohibition, but it's really not my thing.

50. What are your plans for 2019?

I think you mean 20biteen, don't you?

Well, it’s 2015, and I’m writing this as the fireworks are still going off around me and downtown; I didn’t go, I’ve been too busy working on all the tune parts for the live Bone Walker release party/concert at Conflikt at the end of the month.

It’s hard work, too. I have a little secret that isn’t very secret: I am not a natural tunes player, and, this being the trad album, there’re a lot of tunes in it. They were by far the most difficult part of the album, and they’ll be the most difficult thing to perform live, and even though I’ll be kind of miked down a bit on mandolin, I still need to get it right.

Seriously, though; rhythm parts: 10 minutes to learn. Melody on flute: maybe 20. Sung parts: 10-15 minutes, and I’ll make new parts. Tunes: weeks. No idea why. It’s such an outlier that Anna has incorporated it into the Free Court universe, in the background, as part of the way magic works; traditional Irish tunes and the Sidhe magics don’t get along, and that’s on purpose.

But I’ll manage, I always do.

Perhaps coincidentally, the Space Needle is currently fireworking Newfoundland colours. I’m not even making that up. Newfoundland Liberation Army, represent.

I’ve seen people say that 2014 flew by; not for me. For me it felt kind of endless; 2013 seems so long ago. 2014 certainly had some personal lows; two more rounds of eye surgery, including – hopefully – the last one; way too much hanging out at home (recovering) and studio (recording). But it had highs, too – the most successful nwcMUSIC to date, actually finishing the Bone Walker project (preorder OK!) and y’know what, I’m going to say it again:

Korrasami is canon and nothing hurts.

No, seriously, see… here’s yet another level of it. There’s this longstanding trope of having queer couples who end up dead, or in tragedy. I mean, sure, mostly we don’t exist, but if we do: tragedy or death. Not cake or death; tragedy or death. We get one or the other, and sometimes both. Mercedes Lackey did it, for example; big three-book queer love story; one ends up dead, and gets reincarnated (without memories), so he can fall back in love with the survivor… who then dies. Tragedy and death twice in one trilogy! It’s amazing.

Similarly, as much as I love Revolutionary Girl Utena, it did it too, more or less. Maybe Utena still exists; maybe Anthy will find Utena; we don’t know. (In the manga, she doesn’t, but the anime is different in many ways.) At the time, I was really angry about it, because it hit that same trope after teasing us with better; even though she’s not dead (or so it’s implied), they’re still ending apart, as stories say you must, if you’re queer.

Elfquest, too. Dart’s boyfriend Shushen? Introduced and dead in two issues. Boom.

Basically, as a rule, queers don’t get to go off into the sunset together, in fiction. That’s historically not for us. For us: tragedy and/or separation, often through death.

Until now.

I can’t overstate how much that changes the world. It may not seem like much to people who are used to having it. But in a desert, even a teacup’s worth becomes an ocean of water. And for that, I can forgive a lot about 2014.

We face 2015 with a whole new world. Gear up, everybody – let’s see what it brings.

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We’re watching the extended Desolation of Smaug tonight at the Lair.

Thorin to Bilbo, wild-eyed: Did you find the Arkenstone? Did you find it?!
Minion Anna, as Bilbo: Uh, Thorin… are you wearing your crazypants?
Minion Paul, as Thorin: I have more than one pair!
Solarbird, as Thorin: …and I’m wearing them all.

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I decided I liked how the LEDs looked where they were in the photo from yesterday, so here’s how I made a more permanent version using 100 year old knobs from knob-and-tube wiring!

The turns are knobs, pulled out of a 1911 house. The supports between long horizontal sections are foam core. To show a bunch of the colours, I decided to try panorama mode on the phone while the LEDs were in colour-cycle mode. It kinda worked, but really does more “look where Apple takes its samples” than describe how it looks in person. Still, it’s kind of cool:

And here’s what it looks like with the baffles put back into place. Only, not actually rainbowy all at once like this, it’s cycling through each of these colours as I pan the camera. Still, you can see how the shelf underlighting section works:

Finally, here’s a still shot, with only one colour, in this case GREEN! It’s actually greener in person than this, but my cell phone amps that up to white because it does and I can’t stop it.

People asked in comments yesterday how much power it draws. Well, it depends upon the mode. The green above is drawing about 10 watts. It draws as little as 5 watts while on, and 1.2 watts when “off” but listening for remote. At full brightness white, it draws nearly 40 watts. The colour-cycles draw anywhere from 18 to 38 watts, so that probably averages around 28.

Make sure if you do this that you’ve got a power supply capable of handling that 40 watts, and test it – the supposed 52-watt Radio Shack 12V power supply I had on hand blew out in 10 minutes! Badly done again, Admiral Shack! This one seems better, despite being rated for less.

I definitely want to order more of these, they are awesome. And they really do set a nice mood. If they blow up, I’ll be sure to post about that, too. :D

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Solarbird pokes at Scrabble tiles. I can spell ENERMAT.
Solarbird says, “Which sounds like it should be a word. From, idk, SF. In the 40s.”
GrendelFish says, “Sounds like part of the Cyberman lifecycle”
Solarbird says, “Or what they’d consider a cute corner cafe, really.”
GrendelFish . o O ( You see, Tegan, if a Cyberman doesn’t return to the Enermat at least once a week, their power source becomes dangerously unstable. )
Solarbird giggles at GrendelFish.
Solarbird says, “So the first warning of a Cyberman invasion isn’t the stompy, but the sudden appearance of Enermat franchise stories on every street corner.”
GrendelFish grins.
Solarbird says, “Coffee and battery recharge.”
Solarbird . o O ( and of course ‘Enermat’ in Cyberman language is actually pronounced ‘starbucks’ )
GrendelFish says, “it’s like how classic Daleks had to wait for civilizations to invent the equivalent of the ADA before invading.”
Solarbird [to GrendelFish]: Which means it’s amazing they ever invaded England at
all.
GrendelFish [to Solarbird]: Why do you think they had to keep doing it?
Solarbird says, “oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh”

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JFC shelves come with a lot of packaging. I was expecting a flatpack, not a box the size of a coffin.

Seriously, look at this.

AAAAAAAAH WHAT IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

OH SHIT IT’S FIGURED OUT DOORS WE’RE ALL DEAD

Goddamn, good thing I’m handy with scissors!

Y’know, that really was an undue amount of danger for shelving.

I will not be leaving positive feedback about that, let me tell you.

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Amongst the news that got somewhat overlooked during the petition-to-SFWA flap of the last two weeks:

• The INSTRUMENT OF MYSTERY! was identified!,

• The two-CD-long Destiny came out, with my first voice acting role, and,

• a genuinely nice desert lair went on the market. Any ground- or desert-oriented supervillains looking for a lovely redoubt?

Along the way, I fixed another guitar – I keep repairing instruments I don’t even know how to play XD – and a cool toy appeared! If you have a new enough browser, go play with it, it’s fun.

Finally, this is legitimately hilarious (h/t to Ben Deschamps):

"" (Watch on YouTube)

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Stickmaker: I’m a little worried. There’s a patch of ice at the far end of my front walk which I can’t scrape off and which isn’t melting. (In fact, as the temps drop it’s growing.) I piled snow at the end of the walk and then went though the yard to where the walk is safe. Hope that’s warning enough.
Anna: Dump some kitty litter out there if you have to.
Anna: Do you not have any rock salt?
Stickmaker: Kitty litter is all in use by the kitties. No rock salt.
Anna: Well I got nothin’, then.
Solarbird: you have gasoline, you have matches, i don’t see the problem here
Anna: I might suggest that when you go out again, get some rock salt. ;)
Anna: Or something otherwise appropriate for dealing with ice on your walk
Solarbird: like gasoline
Solarbird . o O ( foomp )
Solarbird: ok maybe charcoal?
Stickmaker: …That’s what I’m afraid of. :-)
Solarbird: you’re afraid of charcoal?
Solarbird: that’s just weird.
Solarbird: what did charcoal do to you?
Solarbird: or do you fear its revenge?
Solarbird: for all the things you’ve done to it?
Solarbird . o O ( so much burning )
Stickmaker: No, the ‘Fwoomph!’
Solarbird: wait so no you fear sound effects.
Solarbird: FOOMOHPH
Solarbird: scary!

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Solarbird: I ordered a metal aluminium NO Solicitors sign for the bottom of the driveway. $27.
Solarbird: Because we just got another one and do not want
Solarbird: And it has a stake and I imagine that if it’s at the bottom of the driveway and they see that sign and look up the climb to our front door they’ll go, “…yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah… okay.”
Taliesin: They’re climing all the way up there just to bug a known supervillan?
Solarbird: I just had to disintegate another one!
Anna nodnods re: sign. Good.
Anna: (And yeah, disintegrating solicitors, while fun, DOES distract from disintegrating MORE annoying targets!)
Solarbird: Plus it drains the capacitor and then I have to recharge it.
Taliesin grins.
Solarbird: and it’s a BIG capacitor.
Anna nods wisely.
Taliesin: So that’s what that annoying whine I’m hearing is?
Solarbird: Are you kidding? Hell no. Silent. You think I want that kind of noise pollution near my studio? I’m this close >< to using the magfield generator to move airplanes out of my sky. I’m not adding to the problem!
Anna Hee
Solarbird . o O ( and since they’re all aluminium and composites these days, that means I have to move it by moving the _people_… )
Anna stage whispers to Tal, “I’ve had to remind her to NOT use the heat ray on the neighbors.”
Solarbird LIES
Anna: (Most of whom are ooooooooooooold, it’d be like shooting fish in a barrel)
Solarbird: okay that much is true but it was not _me_ who wanted to liquify the people in the 80s house down the street after _somebody_ locked themselves out and _they_ wouldn’t let her use their phone.
Anna: Now see THAT would have been justifiable disintegration!
Anna: It is not justifiable to disintegrate your neighbors over hedge wankery XD
Solarbird: No, that is the BEST time. I would be a neighbourhood … hero.
Solarbird: Okay you have a point.
Anna: If however you choose to use the ray on the HEDGE…
Anna | *ZORCH* THERE! PROBLEM SOLVED!
Solarbird: Nah, that’s just taking a side at that point. I’d have to take out the hedge AND the trees AND the rockery. And I like trees, mostly.
Solarbird: _Mostly_.
Solarbird: Some of those guys along the north property line? Total fuckers.
Solarbird: But in general, they’re a good lot.
Anna: That’s TRUE.

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