Spinning on that dizzy edge

Title: That's What's the Matter
Source: Star Wars movies (Rogue One, Episodes IV-VII)
Music: "That's What's the Matter", Stephen Foster
Vid Download Link: 183 MB m4v file at Sendspace (updated 3-30-2018) (If you'd like it in a different format, let me know.)

AO3 link.

Summary: The Empire would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those meddling Rebels and incompetent Imperial officers.

A Vividcon Auction vid for beatrice_otter.

Notes: It seemed like a good idea at the time to offer up my services for the Vividcon Auction, seeing as that annual collection of fanpeople has made me so happy and been inspiring me for many years. Then I got hit with the panic of "OMG I'm making a vid for someone FOR MONEY. What if they HATE IT? AAGGGHHH!"

I was talked down off the ledge by many people, and then beatrice_otter graciously bid a very generous amount on me so I could fulfill her long-desired dreams of an Imperial vid set to Stephen Foster's Civil War Song "That's What's the Matter". We back-and-forthed quite a bit as I built the vid; I'm pretty sure she likes the result. Certainly lots of people enjoyed it on the big screen at Vividcon, so I'm good with the reception. :) It was a very popular year for Star Wars, but it fit especially well for me, as I got to match General Leia with a whole verse about her as a General, AND cosplay her at Club Vivid. Win-win!

heresluck in particular gave me great support, so thank you, my dear!

( Vid here! )


( That's What's the Matter )

Title: Star Work
Source: Star Wars (Episodes I-VII)
Music: "Work Bitch", Britney Spears
Vid Download Link: 119 MB at Sendspace

AO3 link here.

Summary: Star Wars bitches get shit done.

Premiered at Club Vivid, 2016.

Notes: This song sucked me in the first time I heard it; there are at least four entries in my vid ideas list with this as the soundtrack. The one that really stuck with me, though, was an ode to space princesses, and after seeing "SW: The Force Awakens", it had to be about my favorite Star Wars ladies. Plus, once it occurred to me how well "Look hot in a bikini" and "Go call the governor" fit, I just had to do it.

Of course, making this meant rewatching Episodes 4-6 (still awesome) and Episodes 1-3 (ARGH ARGH ARGH still awful), plus all the extras to get just a little bit more of Padme being HBIC and not a razzer-frazzer damsel (or damnnsel, which is what my fingers typed the first time). There was much yelling at the TV, especially for choice tidbits like Lucas' proud statement of the fact that he's more of a technical director than a character one. (No shit, George!) I dithered for a while about tinkering with the song to give a verse or even a couple extra lines for Rey's section, but I talked myself out of it since Rey has only one movie so far to the other ladies' three apiece.

When I put out the call asking for a beta's eyes on this, sabaceanbabe rose to the challenge, pushing me to include more General Organa and tweak some other moments. Thank you so much, my dear!

( Vid here! )

( Work Bitch Lyrics: )

Hello, my fandom friends! Would any of the Star Wars peeps in the audience be willing to take a look at the first draft of my Club Vivid entry? Thanks in advance!

OK, it's not as bad as that. But this kind of grey (or rather dark, now that DST is done), gloomy, rainy weather is best appreciated from the comforts of my couch, with a blanket and some form of chocolate in hand.

I have several long and/or thinky posts in my head. This is not one of them. This is a "I have got to close some of these tabs I wanted to share before Firefox blows up" post.

David Hewlett posting covetous pictures of his son's shoes ("I know That thou shalt not covet thy sons running shoes...but they're Darth Vader light-up ones!") makes me all kinds of happy. One, because he again proves that he is a geek after my own heart. Two, I want a pair for me, and Three, because the Emperor would love those, too. (Though after reading the negative reviews, I think I'd be nervous about buying them.)

This interview with Kevin Murphy about Caprica is fascinating, as he talks about working with Jane Espenson, the problems in their storytelling, the process of writing, and overall making me :( that we never got to see what they had planned for the future. Even if you didn't watch Caprica or BSG, it's still a great article about sci-fi shows, writing for TV, and how advertising can adversely affect the path of a show.

This link (from inlovewithnight, I think?) about giving yourself permission to eat was both good and hard to read. It's a topic I struggle with basically every day. I wish I could rush out and show this to everyone, and internalize it myself at the same time. I hope it's one of those issues that repeated exposure will make it easier to adopt.

Wil Wheaton shared this link of an acoustic guitar duo named Rodrigo y Gabriela playing their hearts out. I love everything about this performance: their energy, the intricacy of the playing, the woman's enthusiastic percussive guitar playing (just look at her smile as she sweats!), and the delight of the audience.

Also, can someone explain why I can view YouTube links here at work through Google+ and through Gmail, but not YouTube directly, and how I can exploit this to view anything from YouTube? Right now, I can view embedded video and anything that comes up on the Recommended list or whatever YouTube calls the related videos, but I can't input a search. I love that it works (it's a pleasant relief from the relentless Big Brothering of my network access), I just want to bend it further to my own needs. *grin*

I don't own an iPad or iPhone or anything of that ilk, but with apps like this Warehouse 13 Farnsworth Video Communicator, I really, really want one. (Original messages from Artie and Claudia! What's not to love?)

Now I need to go home and similarly relieve my DVR by watching and deleting some of my saved shows. Too much TV to watch is not the worst problem to have.

...but the clipping that's the hardest part. I'm through the first verse of my vid and onto portraying Sheppard as Universe Man. The portion with McKay as Particle Man was soooo much easier in comparison. I still have two months until the deadline; hopefully I won't need it all.

Open tabs! Getcher open tabs here:

Star Wars cookie cutters. I need these like you can't imagine. Never mind that my cookie baking in recent years has been limited to Christmastime...with these I could conquer a galaxy! Or eat Yoda's face, your choice.

With thanks to seperis, and of hopeful importance to dsjones, Technique yields potential biological substitute for dental implants. Stem cells are so damned amazing.

Ancient Egyptian eye makeup might have helped prevent or treat eye disease and skin ailments. I wonder what Daniel Jackson would say about this. I can just picture the Egyptian scientists in the Stargate timeline scrambling to replicate Goa'uld tech once they buried the Stargate.

A review of "Torchwood: The Radio Adventures". These sound REALLY good. *ponders acquistion*

I was talking with miniglik a bit ago about how much I love "Glee", but that I would be leery of hanging out with Lea Michelle, since she gives off the impression of having more than a few of Rachel's more obnoxious personality traits. This interview with her and Jonathan Groff only further confirms my feelings. Um, yeah.

In other news, I continue to Hate Exercising. I've been hitting the treadmill most mornings for a 2-mile brisk walk for the past two weeks, and my weight seems to be bouncing up and down the same damned 2-3 pounds. I'm thinking (hoping!) that it's a case of my muscles gaining ground on the fat. The corners on my thighs seem to be re-emerging, and my husband has noticed a new firmness in my derriere. (He would know, since he checks it daily. *grin*) I have observed too that, though it's not really a burst in energy, I'm developing an aversion to being a couch slug. I've been gardening and weeding much more than last year, and I think I've kicked the Mafia Wars habit. Phew! But between the exercise and giving up chocolate at lunch, I had expected to lose more weight than this. *sigh*

In other other news, because I am a ridiculous fangirl for David Hewlett (and because my inner sulky brat is still pouting about missing the Vancouver opportunity), I am attending both the Minneapolis and Chicago Stargate Creation Cons, but I have doubts that the former is actually going to go forward. Ticket sales have been abysmal (why yes, I have been checking them on a daily basis), and the VIP passes and SGU people meet'n'greet didn't even have any bids. What would be awesome (like a renovated room) would be if they kept it going and simply went ahead with limited attendance - small crowd FTW!

*glares back at vid* John Sheppard, I'm going to make a Universe Man out of you no matter what. Onward!

(I know we're long past Christmas here - this was prompted by the long-overdue DL of pictures from my camera to the computer.)   

In my family, any interests you develop inevitably result in similarly-themed Christmas ornaments.  Since I've been a sci-fi and fantasy kind of girl for a very long time, this means I've racked up a lot of Star Wars, Star Trek, and celestial ornaments over the years.  

Sometime after I moved out on my own, I decided to devote a tabletop tree entirely to my crazy collection and proudly labeled it the Space Battle Tree.  (It couldn't be anything less with that many spaceships from that many sources!)  Over the years, my collection has only grown, and now it has a full-size (though skinny) tree.  The ornaments in boxes take up one full tote, with another couple partial totes for the lights and sundries.
( Many, many pieces of geeky evidence )

I love my tree.  It's one of the top reasons why I look forward to Christmas every year.

Ahhhh...after several nights in a row of one tantrum or another, we finally scored a peaceful evening with the Emperor. He zipped through dinner, had a fabulous bath (aided by Daddy's repertoire of TMBG - you know you're doing something right when your kid requests "Hotel Detective" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Even better when the whole family sings along!) and giggletastic bedtime shenanigans. Now, if only we could convince him to actually stay where's he's put and not go roaming...

The Eee was a big hit at work today. The co-workers were amazed at its size and capabilities, and astounded at the price and the turnaround with which it was shipped. I'm still enjoying the heck out of it. Husband had a brief pouty moment today - he wanted to take it to his workplace to show off. Heh.

Seeing as it's December and it seems like everyone is posting music (thanks wolfshark and kashmir1!), I've been recalling my favorite songs. I tracked down a download and a YouTube of Christmas Tauntauns. Anyone else remember that from the Star Wars fanvid special from 2002? Makes me smile every time.

*yawn* Lame, I know, but I think I'll be heading to bed early tonight. Too many nights of being stupid late are catching up to me. G'night, all!