cookiemom6067

Hey, online journaling - that was a thing

2025-01-29T23:36:17Z

I hopped back over here related to podfic bigbang and got amused at my DW "mini-bio." It's now duly updated since my kids aren't really "kids" any more and I am struggling to still call myself middle aged. Then, I got amused/sad about how many of my subscribed communities haven't updated in hundreds of weeks. Fandom, huh? We're real rolling stones.

Hit me up on Tumblr, Discord, or AO3 under the same user name. Fandom has changed. Yes, we're rolling stones - it's evolving and changing, the way things do, but nothing really matches the experience of the pre-AO3 LJ/DW days. I felt like I built relationships there more than I do now.. Discord does allow for that, too, but if you get tired of the subject matter, it's easy to feel like you've lost your community.

I'm working for the federal government now - please pray, consult the crystals, send me good thoughts and good vibes. I have been in flat disbelief since election day, but I don't have the luxury of completely tuning out - everything that Orange Julius Ceasar does now has a direct impact on me, personally. And, I know how much clueless privilege goes into turning away and not following the news. People are hurting. And that's the point of it all - the malice is the point.

I'm still obsessed with podfic. I had a bit of a hiatus from 2018 - 2021 related to *gestures around.* job changes - multiple since 2009, and a deeply painful one in July of 2020 that hurts to think about even now. Still struggling with food/binge eating/emotional eating, and I'm realizing that compulsive shopping is tipping over into the light orange. I feel like I'm being required to look at how I handle stress. I can't use my old coping skills if I want to survive the Regime with reasonable health and comfort.All in all, an obsession with podfic seems like a pretty benign coping mechanism.

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Dear Creator - 2016 Losers Ante-up Fanworks Exchange

2016-01-17T16:43:50Z

Hi -

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on DW!

Anyway -

Dear Creator,

I love the Losers! I like both the movie and the comic, so taking from either source would be fine. I am especially fond of fix-its for the ending of the comic.

I like anything about the team, but my favorites are Jensen and Cougar. I definitely ship it. Roque makes me sad, so things set before his betrayal, or things that re-frame it so that it's not a betrayal are also very welcome. Redeemed Roque is my favorite Roque.

I like AU's just fine, but I'm less fond of supernatural ones (they're werewolves, they're shifters, etc). I don't HATE them, they just aren't my favorite. I'm also really over a/b/o - kind of got my fill a few years ago.

Crossovers are OK, but not my favorite. They're better if they're fandoms I'm familiar with - my favorite fandoms are Marvel (MCU or comics), Stargate Atlantis, NCIS, Supernatural. I kind of like crossovers that use other characters that the actors in The Losers have played. In that vein, I'm more familiar with Chris Evans's, Idris Elba's, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's body of work. (Well, I know Pacific Rim).

Any rating is fine. Pretty open if you want to do explicit, especially explicit slash. I'm more than fine with anything except watersports and scat. Again, a/b/o is not my jam.

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Podfic love meme!

2012-09-29T02:10:06Z

Go here to send some love to a podficcer today! Podficcers Love Meme: ON DW | ON LJ

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An entirely fandom-specific giggle...

2012-02-13T13:42:53Z

From Slate this morning:

The new Gallup poll numbers, which represent the five-day average of its daily surveys, show both Santorum and Gingrich knotted at 20 percent each.

In view of the incredible popularity of "knotting" fics in SPN fandom right now, this gave me an entirely fandom-specific giggle this morning. I wish they'd go knot each other and leave the rest of us alone...

Not that Mr. "Frothy Mix" is ever inclined to leave anyone alone - particularly women and LGBT people.

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BLAAAAAAHHHHHHH

2012-01-03T01:55:33Z

I have been so "not me" for a little more than a week. I'm slipping back into being depressed and it's a REAL up-hill battle to make myself do much of anything. Even reading fanfic online, something I really LIKE doing, is not that fun. I did get out of bed today. I did take a shower. I did make something for dinner for the family. Go me. woo hoo. I know that I need to move my playing piece off "start," so to speak. I feel like I have just a TON of "have to's" and "ought to's" and "should's" weighing me down, even though some of them are thing that I ACTUALLY WANT TO DO, just the fact that there's a "should" attached has me reacting with much less than sparkly enthusiasm. How have you overcome this yourself, if you're the sort of person that "shoulds all over (your)self?" I'm also feeling down because of how I look. I really have quite a lot of weight to lose. I feel lousy and I look worse. My son is getting married in May and I would really like to "lighten my load" before then. I have been on a lot of diet and exercise programs in my life, only to gain back (and more). I have had, up until a couple of years ago, a fairly stable (if still obese) weight. I know what I need to do (and HOW do I know!!!!), I just have no enthusiasm to do it! ARGH. My son and his fiancee are talking about moving out of state ultimately, and I don't begrudge these two liberal activist types from moving out of our decidedly ruby-red state (seriously, NO ONE bothers to campaign here), I hate the thought of not having them close. ("But, Sweetheart!!! If you're going to fight injustice, you have to be where the injustice is happening!!") Little birdies gotta fly, I know. Wow - this is pretty much "word salad" - sorry about that. LAME.

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Sickened by Pedophile Protected by the Mantle of College Football

2011-11-10T15:25:08Z

I will freely admit to not following the news. I don't have network TV in my house, and I generally leave the house before the paper is inside. I realize that, at many times, I probably seem like a complete nincompoop to those that do, after all, know what is going on in the world.

So, knowledge of said goings on tends to come to me accidentally. My new job uses MSN as its default home page, and the headline "Child Sex Abuse Case at Penn State" caught my attention. I don't think I'm alone when I say that child sex abuse is a hot button issue with me, particularly when adults that could or should have stopped it don't do so.

( Click for high moral outrage )

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Podfic: "Running" by NotTasha (Magnificent 7; Gen; PG)

2011-09-12T06:15:21Z

Title: Running, by NotTasha
Author: NotTasha
Reader: cookiemom6067
Fandom: Magnificent 7
Rating: PG
Pairing: Gen
Length: 59:36
Download links: Temporary, at Sendspace

Summary: JD and Ezra are escaping from some bad guys -- choices must be made

Reader's note: Recorded for the multipodicity challenge. Originally podficced by nikojen

Crossposted to: amplificathon mag7fans multipodicity>

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Thoughts on a Friday I don't want to work.

2011-07-29T13:52:21Z

1) It was a bad thing to find out LJ is back up this morning - I've been at "work" for 2 hours, and I'm leaving in 2 for family wedding festivities (think good thoughts for Carrie, Brian and their families!!!). Don't ask how much "work" I've gotten done today, because I'll plead the 5th. And its month end. Yikes. I'd better make this short.

( what are your thoughts on Dreamwidth vs. LJ? )

( time management - headless chicken style )

( What's that SMELL?? )

( All manner of weighty things )

HMM - this was not short!!!! Back to work!! Hi Ho, Hi Ho!

p.s. This is not short and I'm not sure my cut is working - SORRY!!!! I'll get it figured out!

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Fanmix resources?

2011-04-25T17:56:24Z

Hi, there -

I'm looking for help from anyone that knows anything about fanmixes. My daughter is doing an assignment for school where she has to create a fanmix for the book she is analyzing - her English teacher does a lot of creative stuff in lieu of book reports.

Are there any sites that you like for finding songs by THEME? For example, she's doing Ender's Shadow, and she needs a song to represent Achilles. My husband, who is quite an audiophile and walking Music encyclopedia, tried to help us, but we really didn't come up with anything. So, I'd like her to be able to search for themes of powerlessness, vulnerability, violence...

Any suggestions for resources?

Thanks!

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Your prayers and advice, please!

2011-01-26T09:19:34Z

I really need to figure out what to do and would like both your prayers for clarity and your advice, if any.

*sigh*

( Here are the facts: )
Also, see with me a change in the hearts and minds of America - the truth that there can be enough for everyone; that no one has to be desperate in order for the economy to thrive; that liberalism and generosity are qualities that we can take pride in; that no one that has to be without options; that we really do care about the sick, the poor, the old and the young.

Thank you very much for your love and friendship.

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In Memorium - I'll miss you, Andy.

2011-01-24T18:02:14Z

In 1980, John introduced me to his brother-in-law, Andrew Fogarty. He was exotic for Kansas City, with a pronounced New York accent and a dry sense of humor. He was one of the kindest, gentlest, funniest and smartest men I have ever met. He reminded me in many ways of my own father - a thinker and a feeler, not a talker.
( Remembering someone extraordinary )

Andy - I will miss you terribly.

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Help a very worthy cause

2010-06-12T18:13:19Z

My son is off to Middle School next year! I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast!!!
Anyway - there has been a wonderful after school program for a number of years, but the funding for the program fell through for this year. This is a program with 90% participation among the student body and provides everything from bowling to theatre classes and homework help.
The wonderful industrial arts teacher at the school, Jason Circle, has applied for a Pepsi "Refresh Everything" grant to continue the program. Although I am normally dubious about corporate sponsorship of schools, I am also a parent that is all too aware of how infrequently taxpayers seem to step up to the plate when it comes to anything "extra" for the schools. Anyway, please go HERE and vote daily for the program to receive funding from Pepsi.

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I don't want to be here!!!!!

2010-05-21T15:21:42Z

I am hitting a wall today. I have been quite the productive worker bee for weeks and weeks, and recently changed my schedule so that I work 6:30 - 3:00 instead of 7:30 - 4:00. This would be an incredibly good thing if my sleep schedule had adjusted accordingly. I am still struggling against my nature to go to bed early, complicated egregiously by my chronic insomnia, complicated by medication issues. I have had several horrible night's "sleep" in the last couple of weeks, and have been on that hamster's wheel of caffiene, sugar, napping in the late afternoon, etc, that just makes it all the more hellish to adjust. In spite of the somewhat scary prospect of the Snarky Teenaged Daughter's Big 15th Birthday Bash this evening, I am SO ready to be home right now. I have just HAD it.

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Podfic Critical Feedback Exchange

2010-02-04T00:02:33Z

Podfic: The Long Engagement by omg_wtf_yeah

Read by: twtd

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Pairing: McShep

Rating: NC-17

Length: 4:43:07

I was tasked with critiquing twtd’s reading of omg_wtf_yeah’s SGA McShep slash epic, “The Long Engagement,” which is a steam punk AU, featuring John as an acrobat, Jennifer as his adopted sister, most of the cast as members of the Sheppard Circus Company, and Rodney in a frock coat driving a horseless carriage as the leader of Atlantis.

Let me say at the outset that the story was a good choice for a podfic. The character breaks are well defined, the scenes are not confusing, and it is written as a fairly straightforward narrative. There is a confusing switching of POV between John and Rodney during a sex scene that makes the story a bit confusing in that particular spot.

Twtd has a very pleasant reading voice, but there is a tendency to rush the reading somewhat. There is also a definite rhythm to her reading, particularly of descriptive/narrative elements, making every sentence sound nearly the same. While it is not monotonous in tone, it does make it very difficult for the listener not to zone out. With a story of this length, with as much description as is needed for a fantastical AU, this is a problem.

While it is obvious that dialogue requires emotional depth, description is no less in need of it. The descriptive elements, particularly in the steam punk realm, where ingeniousness reigns supreme, require a certain wonder in reading them. What’s more, the author uses the descriptions to set a certain emotional mood. The rainy scenes in part 5, for example, particularly the setting of the scene in the muddy circus camp and in the observation tower, are definitely included to convey to the reader or listener a sense of gloom and boredom. In contrast, the scene where John is practicing on the trapeze in part 2 seems to require lightness and excitement, with respect to John’s feelings when he is flying. [Just an aside that has nothing to do with the podfic and everything to do with the story as written: every time I listened to that scene I wondered how he was flying alone on the trapeze without someone acting as a catcher.]

I got the sense that the reader was just “getting through” the description, rather than focusing on it, listening to it, imbuing it with emotional feeling.

Her McKay is very good, throughout, and her Sheppard’s pretty good, too. She does a creditable job with the secondary characters as well, particularly Elizabeth. In general, I did not note the same rhythm and emphasis problems with dialogue as I did with description. However, the reader seems to shy away from pausing between characters in the midst of a dialogue. There are spots when the sentences ran together, to the extent that in some spots the characters were somewhat indistinguishable. This is particularly true in the pivotal scene of John and Rodney’s falling out in part 4/5.

I was a bit surprised by the fact that, in reading the sex scenes, the intensity of the reading was about the same as before, not differing significantly from any other scene between John and Rodney. Although I don’t necessarily see the need to “porn up” those scenes excessively (since that can be silly and even uncomfortable for reader and listener alike), and a matter of fact reading can be very effective, I felt that this scene, coming as it did on the heels of an argument, and revealing feelings that John, in this instance, has kept hidden from Rodney and to an extent himself, and even, for most of the story from the reader/listener, merited a bit more “oomph.”

I generally take mispronunciations as a matter of course. They annoy me, but I tend to take a very forgiving stance toward podficcers that are kind enough to undertake the effort and time to record a story for us, the fans. There is, however, an exception to this stance, and that is character names and place names from the series. The reader mispronounced “Emmagen,” “Sateda,” and “Satedan.” In my first fanfic, I misspelled Ronon’s name. Several readers called me on it with severity, very rightly. I view mispronunciations of this type in the same light. There were a very few commonplace mispronunciations, about average for podfics I’ve heard: I noted “octagonal,” “rivulets,” “impassable,” and “respite.”

Volume and sound quality was good, for the most part. However, there was a strange variation in part 2 – it was evident that the reading was done in two very different environments, or with two different setups. There was a marked increase/decrease in volume and background noise that was a bit jarring. In a couple of instances, this variation in sound quality marked her edits, which otherwise I would not have noticed. I did not notice any other edits in the fic. Occasionally, there was the same variation between chapters. It was noticeable, but not an insurmountable problem for the reader. There were a few repeated phrases and one case where the reader said “John” when I believe she meant “Jennifer.”

Overall, I think that twtd shows some promise as a podficcer and I would certainly listen to her again. I think her performance could be improved most by slowing down, allowing for breaks in dialogue, and really paying attention to the narrative/descriptive parts, varying the rhythm of the reading as called for by the story.

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Just wondering...reflections of a career seeker

2009-07-09T02:00:29Z

Hello, there, flist!!

I don't usually post, except when I have fiction to share, or comments to make about something someone else has written. I am in the process of changing careers and I am curious about a few things. I would love to get comments about any of these subjects:

1. How separate do you try to keep your online life from your "real life?" Do your boss, your lover, your sister, your children know about your online identity? Have they read anything you've posted? How would you feel if they did?

2. If you were looking for a job and you write slash, particularly explicit slash, how quiet would you keep that fact about yourself? Would you hide your online persona from hiring managers that might be looking at your Facebook, your Twitter account, your LiveJournal?

3. If you've had any exposure to me, as a writer or commenter, what word or words would you use to describe me - I'm not looking for praise, or anything, I just want to know, in all honesty, how I come across to other people.

Thanks!
Cookiemom6067

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