Entry tags:
Link dump
I haven't watched new Highlander (*waits for shock to die down*) so I'll toss out some links instead! I have quite a backlog ...
Special stuff:
My friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vogelein just (re)started her webcomic Clockwork Game, and it is gorgeous. It's somewhere on the boundary between history and historical fiction -- the story of the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing, human-shaped automaton that was built in Europe in the 18th century. It's meticulously researched (seriously, I know how much effort she poured into not just getting the historical details right, but also finding visual references for architecture, costumes, historical figures and so forth) and -- even though it's just getting started, I can say this with authority because I've *coughcough* read the script -- it's also a fascinating, nuanced look at Europe at the end of the "Age of Enlightenment" that intercuts the scientific wonder with the ugliness of colonialism. And the art is gorgeous -- black and white, with a woodcut-inspired style. The story begins here.
Livejournal stuff:
Things You Should Know When LJ Goes Down-- by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
caras_galadhon talks about LJ's current slowdown/shutdown (basically an extended denial-of-service attack) and offers information and links to ways of finding out what's going on with LJ when you can't actually get on LJ. This useful link is buried near the bottom so I figured I'd repost it here: personally, when I can't connect to LJ I usually go to http://status.livejournal.org. It's a good site to bookmark, because it's up even when LJ is down, and if the whole site's gone down for some reason they are usually pretty good about saying what's wrong. http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ is an all-around useful site, too.
synecdochic talks about the LJ denial-of-service attack and Russian bloggers.
![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
denise asks people to please hold off on doing new imports to let LJ's servers recover and the import queue clear out. (As she says in the post, it's usually quite quick -- I back up my LJ to DW semi-regularly and I've never had it take more than about 15 minutes -- but right now it's backed up 24 hours or more, and it's adding to LJ's server stress load.)
Fandom stuff:
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fanart_recs is always looking for reccers! Here is the signup post - you just ask for a fandom (any fandom) and which month you'd like to rec it in. Like most of the fic-rec comms, you have to rec four pieces of fanart in the month you sign up for. I'm not signed up this month, but in the past I've done A:tLA, SGA and Artemis Fowl, so really, it can be any fandom as long as you know of four good pieces of art to rec! (Since the comm is on Dreamwidth, you do need a DW account to rec there.)
Just discovered via Metafandom, a very interesting post on alternative marriage customs in fictional worlds bymelannen.
Love what you love - a scanned postcard sent to a fan by Ray Bradbury, in which he talks about throwing out his old comics because the other kids thought he was wasting his time, then realizing that the only person he was hurting was himself. "Be your own self. Love what YOU love." (This could probably go in the section below just as easily, but I'm putting it up here in the fannish stuff because I think most of us have had times when we were embarrassed or ashamed of loving the stuff that we love. I spent a couple of years, prior to getting into SGA, trying my hardest to stop writing fanfic and focus exclusively on my original fiction. So what happened? The well dried up -- I could hardly write anything at all. Lesson to me!)
Cheerful/happy/interesting stuff:
Abd el-Kader and the Massacre of Damascus is a blog post on one of those amazing little stories of human triumph and courage that lurk among all the wars and disasters of history -- the story of a Muslim man (and former fighter against the French) who personally saved the lives of as many as 10,000 Christians during the 1860 riots in Damascus.
Re-reading Woolman after 20 years is another amazing story, this time about John Woolman, an abolitionist Quaker minister in 18th-century New England. Later on, the Quakers were famously opposed to slavery, but I had no idea that one guy essentially made them that way, one household and one person at a time.
Special stuff:
My friend
vogelein just (re)started her webcomic Clockwork Game, and it is gorgeous. It's somewhere on the boundary between history and historical fiction -- the story of the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing, human-shaped automaton that was built in Europe in the 18th century. It's meticulously researched (seriously, I know how much effort she poured into not just getting the historical details right, but also finding visual references for architecture, costumes, historical figures and so forth) and -- even though it's just getting started, I can say this with authority because I've *coughcough* read the script -- it's also a fascinating, nuanced look at Europe at the end of the "Age of Enlightenment" that intercuts the scientific wonder with the ugliness of colonialism. And the art is gorgeous -- black and white, with a woodcut-inspired style. The story begins here.Livejournal stuff:
Things You Should Know When LJ Goes Down-- by
caras_galadhon talks about LJ's current slowdown/shutdown (basically an extended denial-of-service attack) and offers information and links to ways of finding out what's going on with LJ when you can't actually get on LJ. This useful link is buried near the bottom so I figured I'd repost it here: personally, when I can't connect to LJ I usually go to http://status.livejournal.org. It's a good site to bookmark, because it's up even when LJ is down, and if the whole site's gone down for some reason they are usually pretty good about saying what's wrong. http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ is an all-around useful site, too.synecdochic talks about the LJ denial-of-service attack and Russian bloggers.denise asks people to please hold off on doing new imports to let LJ's servers recover and the import queue clear out. (As she says in the post, it's usually quite quick -- I back up my LJ to DW semi-regularly and I've never had it take more than about 15 minutes -- but right now it's backed up 24 hours or more, and it's adding to LJ's server stress load.)Fandom stuff:
fanart_recs is always looking for reccers! Here is the signup post - you just ask for a fandom (any fandom) and which month you'd like to rec it in. Like most of the fic-rec comms, you have to rec four pieces of fanart in the month you sign up for. I'm not signed up this month, but in the past I've done A:tLA, SGA and Artemis Fowl, so really, it can be any fandom as long as you know of four good pieces of art to rec! (Since the comm is on Dreamwidth, you do need a DW account to rec there.)Just discovered via Metafandom, a very interesting post on alternative marriage customs in fictional worlds by
melannen.Love what you love - a scanned postcard sent to a fan by Ray Bradbury, in which he talks about throwing out his old comics because the other kids thought he was wasting his time, then realizing that the only person he was hurting was himself. "Be your own self. Love what YOU love." (This could probably go in the section below just as easily, but I'm putting it up here in the fannish stuff because I think most of us have had times when we were embarrassed or ashamed of loving the stuff that we love. I spent a couple of years, prior to getting into SGA, trying my hardest to stop writing fanfic and focus exclusively on my original fiction. So what happened? The well dried up -- I could hardly write anything at all. Lesson to me!)
Cheerful/happy/interesting stuff:
Abd el-Kader and the Massacre of Damascus is a blog post on one of those amazing little stories of human triumph and courage that lurk among all the wars and disasters of history -- the story of a Muslim man (and former fighter against the French) who personally saved the lives of as many as 10,000 Christians during the 1860 riots in Damascus.
Re-reading Woolman after 20 years is another amazing story, this time about John Woolman, an abolitionist Quaker minister in 18th-century New England. Later on, the Quakers were famously opposed to slavery, but I had no idea that one guy essentially made them that way, one household and one person at a time.
no subject
no subject
no subject
also, ray bradbury uses that story in his book on writing. yay.
no subject
That Ray Bradbury story is just the absolute best. And I didn't know he had a book on writing! I ought to look for that, because I really admire him as a writer -- do you know what it's called?
no subject
which is kind of a dumb title, actually. it's a collection of essays he wrote over the years on writing, and then some new stuff just for the book. you can get it in paperback, used, etc.
it's really good! despite the title.
no subject
... just added it to my Amazon wish list. I am always looking for good books on writing!
no subject
*cheers*
no subject