Hey all,
Just to let folks out there know I'm still alive, just incredibly busy with real world stuff, including a recent work assignment to China.

Yeah. China. I KNOW!

Shanghai and Beijing. I did get some time off, including a day trip to the Great Wall.


Other vids inside, if you're interested.
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And China is overwhelming, yo.

So HL puts out a press release to dispel rumors that he was simply too tired to continue the show and that's why it's ending. It includes, in his particular style, this sentence:
Very possibly, we could have continued with a re-worked formula — House gets a job in a shoe shop and high jinks ensue — but none of us could face that.

If that's not a call for an AU, I don't know what is.

For example:

House: "Your lips say stilettos, but your bunions say flats."

And hell, you don't even have to change the exchange:
Wilson: "They were Prada. It means she has good taste."

House: "They were not Prada. You wouldn’t know Prada if one stepped on your scrotum."

Really finding it hard to find a reason not to give myself this for my 50th Birthday Present this year. Except the money thing, of course.

A marathon. In Australia. Timed for the solar eclipse. And the package includes a day's snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef.

Hey all,

Just a quick note to say thank you to readers. I know I haven't been as productive in fic world this past year (though I'm still hoping to get another House fic finished soon), but I still appreciate anyone who swings by.

Also thanks to whoever nominated my sole Doctor Who fic for an award over at dr_river_awards. (I still don't consider myself a 'shipper in general, yet I went ahead a wrote a shippy fic. Go figure.) And thanks to whoever brought up one of my fics for discussion over at house_cuddy. (I don't know which fic, but was notified that LJ community will be doing some fic discussion posts coming up.)

In stuff I've been reading, I can highly recommend "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obrecht. It's a first novel that's ended up on a lot of "best" lists for the year, and she does an amazing job bringing together all these threads of mystic tales, personal history and the Balkan war period into one complex woven narrative, which is also beautifully written. She's also only in her 20s, which means she'll hopefully have a lot of stories ahead of her too.

So, next year, I turn 50. (Old fart, party of one!)

I've already committed to doing a half-Ironman triathlon in August -- a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile half marathon run. Which will be shortly after said birthday.

And now it looks like I'm going to do the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. at the end of October. My running group friends decided to do it as a group in 2012, and ... what can I say? Peer pressure ain't just for junior high school? We were actually looking at doing one in the spring of 2013. My coach says I'll be able to bump up to the marathon distance in time, since I'll already have plenty of experience at the half-marathon distance prior to that, and time to boost running miles between Aug. 18 and the end of October.

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Just posting this here because it's awesome. I've had a few occasions of starlings filling the sky from out of nowhere, but nothing like this.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Title: Mood Indigo
Author: Namaste
Summary: The Doctor insists this visit is all about the surprise. River prefers a challenge. PG, about 1,750 words, Doctor & River Song. Spoilers through the most recent season/series.
Author's notes: Thanks to leiascully for the quick beta. Any comments & concrit welcome.
Excerpt: Maybe this was some gift inherited from the TARDIS in the first hours of conception, cells splitting and doubling while exposed to all of space and time, telling her secrets she'd spend her life learning all over again.

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Hey there,

I know I've been kind of quiet. Lots and lots of work oriented stuff combined with real world family stuff (nothing critical, just time consuming) and I'm also wrapping up training for my second half-marathon. (Sunday, the Detroit International Marathon -- starts in Detroit, crosses over to Windsor and back.)

But I'm also playing with some new toys, just kind of testing them out right now. The start of something in the Doctor Who category -- River and the Doctor. I've got the whole thing mapped in my mind. One shot playing off the season finale. This is kind of early, but if you've got any feedback, I'll be open to it, since I'm new to this. I don't even have any idea where I'd post it, if/when I decide to.

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Hey there,
I'm in New Orleans for a conference, but took a couple of days to explore the city first. I've had gumbo twice, the biegnets at Cafe du Monde (seriously good, but it's not a place you go for the ambiance or service) and have done a little wandering.

Below the cut, a couple of videos I put together, playing with my Flip camera and just wandering around.

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Just thought I'd share this.

I was reading an interview at the AV Club with comedian/writer Patton Oswalt, and midway through, he got into an interesting bit on how his attitude has changed over the years and why it's a waste of time to hate on things. Commenting on stupid things is one thing, he says, actively hating is kind of a waste of time.

Every time a hipster bitches about Nickelback, they should send some money to the Red Cross, just to go, “Hey, look, I’m sorry that I spent one minute going off about Ke$ha and Nickelback. They’re not the best people on the planet, but I probably could’ve used that time better.” Ke$ha should do an ad for Doctors Without Borders going, “Hey guys, have at it. Rip my music apart. But every time you do it, just send a quarter to Doctors Without Borders.” [Laughs.]

AVC: The A.V. Club and its commenters would be sending a lot of money there.

PO: Oh my God, can you imagine how much money you guys could make if any time somebody wanted to write something negative about Dane Cook or Ke$ha, or anything, they had to pay? It’s a pay-to-complain site. Think of some kind of algorithm that can tell if you’re writing something positive. You can write that stuff for free. But if you want to write something negative, you have to open a PayPal account. Oh my God, you could wipe out third world debt with one article about Jim Belushi. [Laughs.]

...

AVC: That whole knee-jerk hatred of everything has become such a pervasive attitude with the Internet.

PO: Oh, yeah. I mean, it can be. It’s rewired my brain. I have to expend extra effort not to immediately roll my eyes at a new thing, and think about, even if something shitty gets done, maybe a person did it with good intentions or maybe. There’s all kinds of music and film I like that is of quality that is made by some pretty horrible assholes. And there’s all kind of frivolous, disposable pop-culture shit that’s made by some genuinely sweet people. So you sort of have to pick your battles. It’s hard to reconcile that as you get older. I’ve met certain heroes of mine and they’re fuckin’ douchebags. And then I’ve met people who, I don’t hate them, but I’m always like, “Whatever,” and they’re the [Yelling in agony] nicest people on the planet! [Grumbling.] “Would you fucking just be an asshole to me?” You’re taking away my justification!

The interview is here with lots of other topics involved. (Language is R rated, if that's a problem for anyone.