Huh.

Usually I just post the same "philosophical" letter because my requested fandoms are, shall we say, thematically related. The elements I enjoy in one are pretty much the elements that attract me to the others and I think from my details it's obvious those things are.

Not so this year. I'm all over the map.

So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.

( My Yuletide Philosophy )

( E. E. 'Doc' Smith & Stephen Goldin - Family d'Alembert series )

( Jekyll (2007) )

( Lucky Number Slevin )

( Susan Matthews - Jurisdiction series )

Hope that helps and doesn't add to the inevitable, and traditional, Yuletide pressure!

Would you trust this woman?



( No, really! She's a doctor! )

So, the "alleged" serial killer in Cleveland.

You know the lesson some people learn in prison? Don't leave a living witness.

So this is the dress I'll wear whilst accompanying borgmama 's and ishyko 's broods tomorrow night.

Sans cunning hat and sign, which were required accessories for the Dragon*Con Parade in Atlanta. Though if it's cool or damp I'll probably be longing for the hat. Not that anybody in the neighborhood would get it. It's kind of a targeted joke.

From Television Without Pity's Halloween Without Pity: Dress Like TV Characters:

Adam Lambert (American Idol)
The character: This Idol contestant caught our eye with his flamboyant looks and outrageous theatrical voice.
What you'll need: You'll need a short, highly coiffed black wig, a hell of a lot of eyeliner and black nail polish. After that, pretty much anything goes. As long as the pants and shirt are tight and the ankle boots are four inches and either black or sparkly, you'll be on your way to a very Glamberace Halloween. Don't forget to over-accessorize!
Bonus features: If you've got a short straight friend who doesn't want to dress up and is willing to wear boring jeans and a t-shirt, he can pretend to be Kris Allen and just talk about how great you are all night.

Methinks TWOP's been readin' the fanfic....

Look, people. I can tell you exactly what happened to the adorable wee Antichrist in last night's Supernatural episode.

( 'cuz the children are our future )

I swear, narrowing down fandoms to nominate for Yuletide is harder than choosing ones to request. I've never been disappointed in the stories I've received so I've stopped angsting over picking just the right ones.

But there are so many I'd love to write -- and I need the pressure of Yuletide to make me do it -- that it frustrates the hell out of me that I can't nominate a bunch more. I do refuse to offer a fandom that I've already written for Yuletide so at least I cull the herd a bit. *g*

Aaaaaaaanyways, here's the final cut:

Alien vs Predator
E. E. "Doc" Smith and Stephen Goldin - Family d'Alembert series
Jekyll (2007)
Lucky Number Slevin
Queen of the Damned (movie)
Susan Matthews - Jurisdiction series

Jekyll, the 2007 BBC series, is the only one that I wasn't the original nominator of. The Family d'Alembert series and Queen of the Damned (movie) are new-to-Yule noms and I put the other three in in years past, though Susan Matthews is the only one I've requested every year.

Now the waiting game starts. First, for nominations to close and requests/offers to begin. Then for assignments to go out. Then do decide on which request to fill. Then for source material to be found and reviewed. Then for inspiration to strike.

Which leads to the very, very, very best part.

I call it "waiting for the very last moment to write my Yuletide story".

However, since I somehow managed to upload last year NOT at the very last moment, I'm planning hoping praying that I can beat that and finish a bit earlier. And if I can manage a little bit earlier every year, I just might win a gold star someday. Like, before I die. (Never say I don't set realistic goals, people.)

The time: 6:00 a.m.

The scene: The White House

The place: The First Couple's bedroom

An aide enters.

"Sir. Sir, you have a phone call."

"Five more minutes, mom."

"Sir, it's Oslo. The Nobel Committee has awarded you the Nobel Peace Prize."

A head pops up from the other side of the bed and regards the aide blearily.

"They what?!"

"'Chelle, I'm having that dream again, the one where I'm elected President and I win the Nobel Peace Prize. God, I love that dream. And then I run in the snap with 5 seconds left on the clock in overtime and win the Superbo--"

"Barack, I think you need to wake up now and take the call."

Before anyone feels like defending Roman Polanski, they should familiarize themselves with the original grand jury testimony, cited here in an LA Times article.

Then I can't dismiss your opinion as a matter of ignorance.

Rather, I'll dismiss your opinion as a matter of inhumanity.

ETA: Triggery grand jury testimony is very very very triggery. My apologies for not noting that before.

Because everyone should have a little crack to get them through Monday....

May I suggest Captain Jack Sparrow/Miss Piggy?

Go on, you know you want to click it.

Hey, look!

Shadow Lass from the Legion of Super Heroes is totally real.

Just not, you know, blue.

I call it my Betty Broderick rebuttal:

If your response to rejection is to go on a murderous rampage, maybe there's a reason people reject you.

The very first entry in the most recent spnnewsletter is a link to 'Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed' inventor dies at 92.

Oh, fandom! Never change!

(Made even funnier by the fact that when av_lad and I saw a clip on tv last weekend focusing on the controls for a hospital bed, we turned to each other and said, "The guy who invented "Magic Fingers" just died!"

Oh, brain cells! Never change!)

Rode the Blue and Orange lines yesterday. Got out of our Crystal City office just around 5 and only vaguely heard a system announcement of a problem on the Red line when I got out at Ballston. It wasn't until I rendezvous'd with av_lad and we turned the radio on that I found out about the horrific incident. Decided to work in the Chantilly office today but I'll probably be back in CC Thursday, if not Wednesday and Thursday both.

Morgana and Nimueh have totally become bffs and are taking Eurovision by storm!

ETA: Morgana's totally the happy wasted one on the right. Nimueh's the pissed one (American and Brit definitions) on the left. Oh, those eyelashes!

As always, the Fug Girls have a whole write-up.

People, people, people!

I am pleased to announce that this year, the great kingdom of Camelot has sent a contender to the Eurovision Song Contest!

Fug Girls write up here

I keep forgetting to take a picture of this myself (fortunately, someone else was equally boggled and had a camera) but everytime I go into Giant Food I am struck anew by the epic cross-promotional fail that is the Little Debbie NASCAR team signage:

Oooo, oooo!

And I also managed to be totally undercover-geeky at lunch yesterday. After shaming the two people who ordered their filets medium-well into at least trying medium (seriously, folks, it's a filet in a good steakhouse), the talk turned to the usual silly, "it's still mooing!" jokes.

I piped up, "Cows don't go moo. Cows go sizzle."

Cue laughter. Such a great line. People get it even if they don't get it.

Ah, I'm good.

For Administrative Professionals Day/Week (not that I technically am one, it's just that my boss needs an Emergency Back-Up Brain as much as she needs a Financial Analyst, so....), I was given a Starbucks gift card, a bag of very nice chocolates, calla lilies in a pot, and taken out to lunch.

A two hour lunch. At Ruth's Chris. I had the mixed grill: stuffed chicken breast, small filet mignon, crab cake. Seriously awesome, people.

And creme brulee. Creme brulee of the gods.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

A number of people are calling for my death.

....I'm not sure I can disagree with them.