Gay Partnership Measure Approved By Voters

Washington state's people have spoken, approving their 'everything but marriage' law! Domestic partners now get every right afforded to married couples. They just can't call if 'marriage'.

I, for one, do not give a damn about semantics. While we lost Maine, we got Washington! Gay, sparkly vampires rejoice!

This is great news for the equality fight. We lost Maine by such a minute margin. The scales are starting to tip.

And, in other good news, I'm goin' home for the weekend! Yay family, free food, and laundry! Yay!

Shooting at Fort Hood, Texas

This kind of shit should not happen, you guys. I was terrified when I first read about it, wondering if someone I knew was now dead, shot down on American soil.
Men go to war, survive, and come back home, only to be shot on base by an officer.

I come from a long line of military families, and I plan on serving myself. So this hits home in a really bad way.

Blue eyes. Blue eyes blue eyes BLUE EYYYYEEEYEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!

Omg, I am a sucker for blue eyes.

Okay, okay. Crime show. Criminal catches the criminals. I can dig it. However.


Dear Leverage,

Because of you, I now expect criminals, such as the ones in White Collar, to be way more stealthy and Machiavellian than they really are. I keep expecting a new twist.
This is not a bad thing. I can still appreciate things like BLUE EYES. It's just, you know. You left an impression.

Luvs ya!
Z

I just knocked the hell out of my knee on the edge of my desk. My roommate is asleep behind me, so I couldn't even yell.

Owwwwww.

We lost Maine.

Yesterday, Maine voters put equality to the test, voting on whether or not they should permit gay marriage. The winning side received 53% of the votes. 53%.

Washington state voted on a similar principle, yesterday. So far, the vote has been too close to call.
Washington is not voting on marriage. They're voting on rights. R-71 is a fight for everything BUT marriage, affording domestic partnerships the same legal rights as married couples, such as child support, social security, and the rights to visit your partner's fucking death bed.

I am angry, but cautiously hopeful for Washington. This is a bitter blow to people who just want equality, but the silver lining is, we're not going away. We haven't died off in the years that the US has ignored us.

Pray for Washington, if that's your thing. Hopefully, we'll have some victory.

Book rec time!

I read The God Eaters effing years ago, forgot about it, remembered, and read it again. I think it got better.
It is an absolutely brilliant story by Jesse Hajicek, aka Chartreuse (the mad genius behind the webcomic, Metanoia) that inspires and captivates with its sparse prose and intricate details that suck you in and make you beg for mercy.

The book is available via Amazon, but Mr. Hajicek has offered the world an online copy, which is the whole fabulous story, word for word. For free.

The God Eaters


Like I said, the story is amazing.

The author has also drafted two other (amazing!) books, both of which go under the heading "The Kastor Stories," and a series called "Summerlands" of which I know nothing about! ::cries a little:: So that one's next on my list.

Anyway, to read these stories as well, click on the links found here. I would provide the actual link, were it not for the open letter requesting that I not do exactly that. But as the links are provided on a perfectly public LJ profile page (where I came across them in the first place), I figure escorting you that far is okay.

(And something else I found: If you delete the "kas_index.html" from the html I'm not supposed to give you, you go to an index with two more Kastor tales. I don't even remember how or why I found these, but I'm extremely glad I did.)

Please, please read these stories, and if you have the cash, buy the book. They are what brought back my faith in the writing community, after discovering that my dearest literary loves had whored me out for cash. Mercedes Lackey, Robin Hobb, I am looking at you.

Also, read the webcomic. It is the shizz.
Fucking hell, read everything this man writes. Or I will find you.

Okay, not really. I had a very sedate weekend, made better by the fact that Halloween lasted an hour longer than usual.

Got my final recommendation for my RA application over the weekend, as well, so I have officially submitted my application for the coming semester. One of the awesome things about this job is that if you submit a complete application, you get an interview. Mine is next Thursday.

Today my interest was sparked in Psych class by a speaker who came to pitch a student volunteer program, where you can go to Costa Rica, Thailand, Australia, etc. It sounds like fun, but upon further study, the cost does not equate what you can do there. For $1,000 plus, you can go for two weeks to work towards conservation of a country's ecosystem. For almost $4,000, you can go for a month to just play.
I would love nothing more than to spend time in another country, again, but a) I have a lot of course work that I have to get out of the way if I'm going to graduate on time and b) there have got to be less costly opportunities. I don't doubt that I can do it, if I really want to. It just may mean putting off buying a car for another few years. (probably worth it...)

I'll do some research.

And now, Religion class.

Come my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?
Pioneers! O pioneers!

For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O you youths, Western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the
seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the past we leave behind,
We debouch upon a newer mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing as we go the unknown ways,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we and piercing deep the mines
within,
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high
plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental
blood intervein'd,
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the
Northern,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O resistless restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult, I am rapt with love for all,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress,
(bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang'd and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon'd
mistress,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

See my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions frowning there behind us urging,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

On and on the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly
fill'd,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill'd.
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the pulses of the world,
Falling in they beat for us, with the Western movement beat,
Holding single or together, steady moving to the front, all for us,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Life's involv'd and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores amid the shadows, with the apparitions
pressing,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Lo, the darting bowling orb!
Lo, the brother orbs around, all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait
behind,
We to-day's procession heading, we the route for travel clearing,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

O you daughters of the West!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands, you may rest, you have done your
work,)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Not for delectations sweet,
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged nodding
on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you in your tracks to pause oblivious,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the daybreak call-hark! how loud and clear I hear it
wind,
Swift! to the head of the army!-swift! spring to your places,
Pioneers! O pioneers!

~Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass

Happy November!

Today I have two awesome Halloween movies for you to watch, the first being Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
I saw this on TV years ago, and missed most of it as I was in New Orleans at the time. Just this year I've managed to find it online, and it's better than I remember. It goes through movies everyone has seen, and some you've never even heard of and it makes you want to watch them all. (With some exceptions. Audition comes to mind.) For a person who talks through movies no matter what, it was great to see some of my favorite horror scenes dissected by those who love them as much as I do.

Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments
- Part I (100-76)
- Part II (75-51)
- Part III (50-31)
- Part VI (30-11)
- Part V (10-1)


Next up is a movie I found through 100 Scariest Movie Moments. Basically after seeing them describe it, I couldn't not watch it. They said all the magic words: 80's, vampires, road movie, Bill Paxton.

The movie is Near Dark.

But before we get to that, let me explain my love affair with Bill Paxton. If he is in it, I will watch it.
Spy Kids, Titanic, I do not care. The man is a beast. He has been in a million movies, and not one of them has earned him the recognition that he deserves. He is a character actor. He is that guy who's name is mentioned twice, and who gets killed off in the goriest way imaginable, Near Dark being no exception. Aliens. Tombstone. Predator 2. Terminator. Bill Paxton is the heart and soul of grunge, so-bad-they're-good 80's movies. He's Kevin Bacon and Micheal Biehn, all rolled into one, glorious goofball package. Watch Twister again, sometime. Would it be the same without Bill Paxton swearing, driving fast, and yelling at tornadoes? I don't think so.

Okay. Now let's discuss Near Dark. It is a vampire western. It's a road movie. It's like From Dusk Till Dawn and John Carpenter's Vampires got together and had twins. One of which is The Forsaken. And the retro elder brother is Near Dark.

Okay, bad comparison, but it's true!

But best of all of that? The music is done by Tangerine Dream, the German geniuses who created the awesome music for Ridley Scott's Legend. They are the 80's electronica band.
So, seriously. If 100 Scariest Movie Moments doesn't convince you, then Tangerine Dream should. Watch it.

Watch Near Dark via zshare.

Happy Halloween!

Yeeeeah. Spent 10+ hours yesterday studying for a Stats test, which I proceeded to dominate in a manly fashion. Stats is my bitch.

Carved a pumpkin last night, which did a lot for getting me into the Halloween state of mind. I've been having trouble getting into the groove, mostly because of school. I've done a lot of partying for Homecoming, but none of it has been particularly Halloween-esc.
People at home have made noises about me coming home for Halloween, again, but they seem to expect me to be able to get there myself. For the record, I still don't have a car and I will be god damned if I get back on a bus anytime soon.
I do, however, have my costume done! I'm going to be a counselor from Camp Crystal Lake (read: Friday the 13th). I made the shirt myself, tracing the design with sharpie. I'm going to wear short-shorts, white socks, tennis shoes, and a lot of pink makeup. I even have a whistle. I'm pretty excited, even if I don't end up going anywhere, because Halloween necessitates dressing up.

The Stats test was my main headache for this week, so I'm going to be hanging out, eating candy and pumpkin-related foods, and trying to have a great Halloween week.

If you don't watch Merlin, you fail to the ^1110th power. Watch it. Seriously. Don't make me come over there.

( Anyway, new season! )

OH, SHOW!!!!
SUPERNATURAL, YOU'RE NOW SECOND IN MY AFFECTIONS. COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING MORE THAN DEMONS TO SHOW FOR FIVE F-ING SEASONS.

SHOW!

WATCH IT QUICK BEFORE THEY COPYRIGHT THAT SHIT!

Congress Takes FINAL Vote on Hate Crimes Bill; On to President’s Desk

You guys.

This is a federal law that protects the GLBT community from hate crimes. A FEDERAL law. No finicky, good-ol'-boys police force can hush it up. There will be funding for investigation and prevention. People will not be able to skate by on Twinkie Defenses or minimum sentences with a wink and a nudge.
And President Obama has promised to sign the bill. Promised. He used those words.

I recommend clicking the link to send a thank you letter to the families of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, who have been working towards this bill being passed since day one.

My sister has apparently broken her finger at karate. There seems to have been talk about surgery. I'm guessing it's not too serious, given how my mother can't tell me about it on account that she's at work.

I'm still fuzzy on how we've made it this long. Darwin must be sleeping on the job or something.

Oh, wow.

See, yesterday was a strange mix of boredom and pain. I had no class (one was canceled and one teacher failed to show up) so I endeavored to get other work done. I finished my application for being an RA in the spring (I'm just waiting on the recommendations), I printed out my Art History midterm, sold back a book I'd finished reading for Lit, and finished my Halloween costume.

Finishing the Halloween costume, however, involved a lot of sharpie. By the time I'd finished, I had a pounding headache and a bad mood to match. I spent the rest of the night in my room, sulking and eating ice cream.

This morning, I rolled out of bed for Psych and as I was going to Statistics, I passed a school carnival. Statistics took second place to free food. It's a beautiful day outside, so I enjoyed the sun and wind and food, while unfortunately having my ear chatted off by a very earnest boy who might have been trying to flirt, might have not. I don't think he knew how old I was.
I feel like such a cougar, talking to boys, sometimes.

Anyway, I retreated inside to kill time before Religion, and found, on my friend's page, a gloriously colored strip of nothing but filthy, delicious porn.

My day just improved exponentially.

afflicted with a sort of motivated apathy that can only be appropriately illustrated by a combination of absinthe, tvtropes.org, and Cage the Elephant.

I'm struggling a bit with my art at the moment. This is a big step up from not doing art at all.

Lately I've been working on my coloring style. I can't seem to be consistent.

I find myself drawn to the haphazard side of coloring, as well as very stark, cell-type shading. I get very frustrated with realistic shading, as it rarely fits what I have in my head.

I also don't think I have the patience for it.

On top of that, I really need to work on diversifying the people that I draw. I've been working long and hard on backgrounds, as I had previously cast those off as too picky to bother with. But now I need to get back into figures and, perhaps more importantly, faces.

I need to draw all kinds of people. Guys, girls, young, old, fat, skinny, muscular, or anorexic. And then I need to simplify them to a few defining lines. Because I seem to want a very simple, sketchy style. No minute details, no meticulous etching of texture (although I'm trying to incorporate more of that, as well). I want to do more with lighting, too. Maybe create a picture only using black and a highlight color.

Ah. I dunno. As I said, I've only recently re-entered the art world, and very slightly at that. One thing at at time.

So, this is old news, but Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki were both the stars of separate horror movies this past summer, My Bloody Valentine and Friday the 13th, respectively.

More importantly, they looked hot doing it.

Fanfiction has been written about far, far less.

the mirror is stealing the light to reveal us both tonight

and the sequel

I've been riding with the ghost by hateable

MBV/F13 Tom/Clay slash. Amazing and insightful, and as you read it, you feel just about as crazy as they are. Rock on.

Let's have some Halloween music, shall we?

Here are some more unconventional songs mixed in with some classics that don't often see the light of day. Enjoy.



( Playlist and Lyrics )

DOWNLOAD HERE

Please note the utter lack of anything resembling The Monster Mash. Why, you may ask?
Because those songs got old when we were ten. It's time to let them go.

Harry Potter Wand Universal Remote

You can change the channel, adjust the volume, and fast forward with a wand.
I want to know if Lumos and Avada Kadavara turns it on and off.

Guess what I want for Christmas.