Spinning on that dizzy edge

My brain continues to be fixated mostly on Avengers. It's kinda crazy. I made a vid FOR NO REASON (no cons, no vid exchanges), other than I wanted to. (Anybody wanna beta my Avengers vid? cee_m, I'm hoping you'll still have time this weekend.) I've got the beginnings of a kink_bingo story brewing, in which Steve Rogers wants to get a tattoo. (Which I hope I can churn out in a week, because I don't want to default and miss a year of kink_bingo.)

However, Stargate has been popping up lately, like an ex that's become an occasional friend-with-benefits. For instance...I was curious about the next Stargate con and read today that Rachel Luttrell is bowing out of the Chicago Creation con, on account of being pregnant. Sad for fans, happy for her. But they booked Kate Hewlett to fill her spot, which is pretty freaking awesome.

My husband's brother, who is living with us, has raced through most of our TV-on-DVD sets and is now on SG-1. Having just finished season 6 and beginning season 7, confronted with Daniel Jackson's naked re-entrance, the BiL's quip was "Shanks but no Shanks."

Then to top off the weirdness, I tuned into the radio today just in time for a call-in interview with Michael Shanks himself, who is stumping for his new show "Saving Hope". The radio hosts weren't total idiots, and Shanks was his usual charming self. He said that being a ghostly surgeon is using different acting muscles than sci fi, so it's been an unusual stretch for him. He also mentioned bonding with Bruce Campbell during his "Burn Notice" stint, as he's exactly as personable, "have a beer with" kind of guy as he seems, and on the both of them doing bad movies.

In completely other news...I have never been a girly-girl type who coos over shoes. However, I think I've been channeling too much fanon Pepper Potts, because I suddenly want this pair of Mary Jane Louboutin pumps. "But they're on sale!" Really, brain?

The end of day camp, two cons, and the start of school all done - I may yet survive August. Whew!

Two weekends ago was Vividcon. It blew me away. I was expecting the intense happiness of getting to meet friends finally in person, and talking nonstop of fannish things, but the friendliness and inclusiveness bowled me over. Almost everyone was welcoming and happy to hang out with a complete n00b like me, even the vidding BNFs. And such a world of fandoms! I got to gush about "Grease 2" and SGA and BSG, all in the space of a few minutes. Club Vivid was so much amazeballs fun that I wish it were a monthly event. And the vids! OMG the vids. Someday I aspire to make something half as good as what was shown. I am so going back next year if I can. And next year, I'm not leaving at 11 PM on Sunday to drive home. I was so wrecked the next day at work.

Then this past weekend was the Chicago Creation con, and boy, did they con me out of a lot of money, heh. More and more, I wish for chances just to squee with my fellow fans who have become friends, and not be rushed from celeb event to event. But I can't complain too much about getting to see Ben Browder and David Hewlett that many times.

Lessee, first there was Ben at the breakfast on Saturday, then his panel, photo op, and signing. (Many blessings and thanks to mercury973 and gyri for giving me their Ben autographs. I still think you guys are kinda nutty, but it certainly benefited me!)

On Sunday, while waiting for David Hewlett's meet and greet with ailurophile6, we got to see him come in with his luggage, head back upstairs, then return with coffee and breakfast. The meet and greet itself was the usual outstanding fun. I got to ask him about the uncanny similarities of Paul McGillion's new project with David's ongoing Starcrossed plans. He hemmed and hawed, then stated that at first he "didn't love" how close they seemed, but explained that Paul's thing will be focused on the actor's life and his friends, where Starcrossed would be more of a behind-the-scenes of a sci-fi show. Not only is David Hewlett awesome, he's classy, too.

Then there were autographs (David was very nice and scribbled a Mars pawprint on my "A Dog's Breakfast" DVD booklet, since I had everyone else's signature) first thing for everyone but the day passes, so Joe wouldn't be signing things on his way out the door and David wouldn't be there until 11 PM.

Finally we were treated to the David-and-Joe panel of TOTAL RIDICULOUS ENTERTAINMENT. I swear to God, Creation could make a mint if they just taped their damned panel and sold it already. The panel was supposed to be equal parts David, David & Joe, and Joe, but Joe literally would not let David leave the stage. Why does Creation even bother? They should just let the two be together the whole time. (Wait, there I go trying to apply logic to their motivations again.) I would recap it, but crysothemis did such an amazing job here, you should just go read hers. I love those guys so hard.

Oh! And on Saturday, right before Paul's panel, Creation announced that my vid won! Yay! But then they said it was a Carson-focused vid, which I had to politely refute and explain that it was a team vid. Then Gary defensively asked, "He's in it, though, right?" Technically, yes, for all of two brief seconds. But I had my shiny certificate and voucher, so I was happy. Then we waited and waited and WAITED for it play, and BOO. It had to be skipped due to technical difficulties. Once again, I couldn't win for winning. They played it later after the costume contest, when there was almost no one in the room. *sigh* It did look very pretty on the big screen.

However, I left so late on Sunday I didn't get home until almost 3 AM, and it's taken all week to get my brain back from zombie land. I think there may be suspicious chunks still missing.

My pictures! I have to share my pictures with you, because they make me so giddy.

Me and Ben Browder (I will never tire of hugging that man):

( My happiness, let me show you )

Me and David (who continues to indulge me with goofy poses. I simply asked him to choose his weapon, and he went to this):

( Are you ready for this? )

I LOVE DAVID HEWLETT, AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS.

Many thanks to nakedwesley for being a lovely roommate, and all the rest of you guys for making it so much fun to be a fangirl. I can't wait to see you all next time.

Brains, Muse, that creative factory of words in my head, I love Love LOVE that you've decided to push forward and attempt to knock out five stories for kink_bingo before the deadline tonight. You got one done last night. The impediment now is to FINISH THE CURRENT DAMN STORY. It does not need to be a freaking epic saga to how much John Sheppard loves it when Rodney McKay puts a gag on him. Thank you.

I am still disappointed by the news that David Hewlett, and by extension, Kate Hewlett, will not be making it to Dragon*Con. In the spirit of enforced maturity, though, I am choosing to make hard lemonade from these lemons and look forward to attending lots of different panels and hopefully meeting up with many people. And drinking lots of alcohol.

Oh! I completely forgot to mention in my tired post that my Particle Man vid won! After I obsessively attended every vid slot in the program and annoyed the crap out of my fellow fangirls by complaining at the entries that won on Friday and Saturday, I resolved to take a Zen attitude towards losing. Of course, they played it first thing on Sunday before the SGU talks (evidently they didn't get enough SGU entries? Surprise, surprise) while we were lounging in the lobby. I missed the announcement, but thanks to a quick text from a friend, I got to catch most of it on the big screens. Nobody set the place on fire or threw rotten produce at the screen, so I'm guessing it wasn't completely hated. *grin* Now I have another $100 GC to dither about, in a year when I'm not looking at going to any more Creation cons for a long while. First world problems, I tell you...

OK, John Sheppard, you're going to end this story and LIKE IT. Later, y'all.

Here's the thing: like some/many/most of you, I've been telling myself stories in my head since I can remember, usually stories inserting me into the movies/books/TV shows I loved, or RPF where I got to interact with my objects of crushdom. I never even heard of fanfic until, huh, the mid-to-late 90s or so? Sometimes I feel decades behind all y'all, which is so ridiculous considering I've had an email account since 1990. (I am utterly and woefully ancient.)

Every so often, the characters take off and become people in their own right, with full-fledged backstories and futures and feelings, FFS. They stand around in my head like they're waiting for the literary bus, chatting at me the whole time. At what point can you point and say, here this was me, obviously committing an act of grievous self-insertion, but now, wait, she's all growed up and her own original personal character, really truly?

( Nattering on idtastic navel-gazing )

( Why do the OCs have to be SO DAMNED LOUD )

It's like I'm waiting for the authorities to issue an authorial bull saying "You have our permission to suck...but we hope you won't."

*Razzer-frazzer* head. Why couldn't you just be content with churning out the stories, and stop demanding that I set them free?

If only all Mondays could be this cool...

The husband called me earlier today to let me know that the company that he submitted an application for almost a freaking MONTH ago finally called him to set up a helpdesk aptitude test for later this week. He would be so perfect for this job that it's just amazing. Plus, he hasn't been this excited about a job opening since I can't even remember. Please send out the good juju for him on Wednesday.

I should mention that aside from a few assignments for a crappy consulting company (who still owe him a goddamn paycheck from last year), he's effectively been out of work for 4 years. If he were to get this job, my life would be about 3000 percent better. So yeah, wish him/us luck.

To add to the excitement, I just found out that Ben Browder is planning on attending the Stargate Creation Con in August. In Chicago. So I don't have to fly to Burbank in November to see him in person. (Which would make flying to Maryland in July to see David Hewlett at Shore Leave financially possible. Con slut, baybee!) And yes, I am fully aware of how lame I am that this news makes me just as happy as the former. (Getting the job will, however, rank above getting my hands on Ben Browder. So please don't fuck with me, Fate.)

So yeah, I'm sorry if I ruptured your ears with the SQUEEEEEEEEs that involuntarily escaped me today.

I've recently become enamoured of "Stargate: Atlantis", and the character Rodney McKay in particular, so I figured I would watch the "McKay and Mrs. Miller" and "Tao of Rodney" episodes from this season. To even my show-killing score, I figured I would even throw the makers of the show some money and buy the episodes off of iTunes.

It took for freaking ever to download them last night, so I've been looking forward to watching them all day today.

I've now spent 2 FUCKING HOURS trying to get the damn videos to play, with both picture AND sound. *Gasp* If I watch an episode through Quicktime, I get sound, but the video only refreshes every other minute or so. If I crack open iTunes, the sound just goes away, and the picture gets all jerky, but (sort of) plays.

Fuck you, Apple, Quicktime, and iTunes. I'm going to get the damn things off of Isohunt and actually watch them. Tomorrow. NYARGH.

Right now I'm drinking wine and trying to get my blood pressure back under control.

G'night, flist.