antelope_writes

01 January 2012 @ 12:33 pm

This journal is dedicated to my writing, fiction and not, fanwork and original, good and bad.

Most of what I have written so far is for the Torchwood/Doctor Who fandom, with a few others thrown in. I have a small but growing body of Muppet Show crackfic that I am pleased with beyond all reason. Original writing tends to be of a distinctly scientific and mathematical nature, with a liberal helping of snark.

Welcome, and enjoy!

Giant Eland

( My favorite things I've written )

Gemsbok

( Standalone fan-fiction )

Black Lechwe

( Episodic Fan-fic )

Bontebok

( Original Writing )

Puku

( Reviews and Metas )

Impala

( The slushpile. )

2 stories | spin a yarn

11 November 2009 @ 07:45 pm

I'm not dead

Two months away from NZ turned into 5 months, followed by several different countries, my trying and finishing a fic, deciding it kind of sucked, and back-burnering it for later resuscitation. Props to

adina_atl and

peasant_ to reading over it, and hopefully it will see the light of day soon.

I've started on another one that I like much better. I'll be working on it in between cover letters and my resume, because I'm being made redundant at work. Without work my visa expires, and without a visa I have to leave New Zealand. Thus, busy.

I've moved out of my flat, arranged for things to go back to the states, and am trying to sort out financials. Back in the US, I have a hard bite from one resume I dangled in the water and an expression of interest from a second...but not yet, not yet, not yet.

It's also taken 3 weeks after getting off that ship to get my insides back in proper working order. Between a diet of starch and meat and a nasty airplane cold, I just wasn't right for a while. Three weeks of progressively more and more dried fruit and orange juice did most of it, and a soak in the hot springs in Rotovegas oughtta take care of the rest.

Also, I ate more sausage and pork on that damn ship than I had in months. And not the kind of sausage I wanted. (That would be spicy elgin with jalapenos.) Over even that kind of sausage. Believe me, I would absolutely love to go down on a willing sort, nice and slow and easy...but I don't want to see, touch, or taste pale, flaccid canned bockworst ever again. Ever. I mean it.

7 stories | spin a yarn

01 October 2009 @ 09:33 pm

I'm not dead

I'm in Falmouth for a few days, and then out to sea again as soon as the starboard engine is fixed.

And I'm tired.

And I want a hot bath with bubbles, and as long as I'm wishing, a tesla coil. But not in the bath with me.

spin a yarn

17 September 2009 @ 04:27 am

The Political Muppet

When I was a kid, there were two shows the whole family would sit down to watch: Star Trek (TOS) and the Muppet Show. I didn't develop the Trek-love until much later--the family called it Star Fish and it was something that we just did. The Muppets, now, that was a whole 'nuther story. I distinctly remember being about 8 years old and torturing my sister by chasing her around the house saying "Merdelidop!"

Then I grew up:

From the distance of thirty years, it's easy to forget that at the time, the Muppet Show was a fairly avant-garde combination of fun for the kiddies and vicious, stinging social satire, often to the point of controversy. The episode from which the above was taken was aired in 1980, only five years after the US pulled out of Viet Nam.

This wasn't the first time the Muppets had explicitly skewered the gun-toting mindset, despite the fact that the first show in the series aired after the US evacuated Saigon. The popular war protest song For What It's Worth (aka 'Stop, Children') was featured in the second season, thinly veneered as an anti-hunting song. The whole character of Sam the Eagle was a parody of the uber-patriotic mindset, taking the concept of patriotism and the "American way" into the bounds of the ridiculous. Like their predecessor Sesame Street, they were on the leading edge of putting people of colour on TV, starting with songstresses Rita Moreno and Lena Horne in the first season, Rudolf Nureyev in the second (a Russian and publicly gay man), Sam the Eagle calling Elton John an "affront to culture" one episode later, and so on.

This post isn't apropos of much, other than my musings on the way culture changes over time and more specifically the ephemera of media. The more controversial Muppet sketches have by and large been lost to the pool of banality and incomprehension, the way most political commentary does after a generation. In a sense, though, they are the spiritual predecessor of things like the Daily Show as well as the spiritual descendant of a pair of statues in Rome, some two thousand years old, that have been carrying on a satirical political conversation for their entire existence, surviving the fall of Rome, the dark ages, several cement-shoe naps in the Tiber courtesy of various popes, and the diligent efforts of the locals to keep them talking some two millenia later.

carmen san diego: Port of Newlyn

sweet as?:

calm

3 stories | spin a yarn

11 July 2009 @ 04:04 pm

CoE

( That was brilliant. )

62 stories | spin a yarn

04 June 2009 @ 08:41 pm

The sounds of Abu Dhabi

It's 8:40 pm.

I heard some strange noise, something that caught my attention. Not loud, just loud enough to register in my brain.

It's the final call to prayer of the day, and it's sung. And very beautiful.

I don't cotton to religion as religion, but listening to a highly skilled, elegant delivery of the best the human voice can do is quite pleasing.

what's playing?: Vespers

2 stories | spin a yarn

27 April 2009 @ 05:42 pm

Torchwood Body Language: Jack and John, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Torchwood Body Language: John and Jack, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This is a continuation of an occasional series that was started in April of 2008. Parts 1-6 can be found here. Times given are from the U.S. DVD release. The time for UK or Aus/NZ releases may vary slightly; adjust as required.

Obviously, this will contain major thematic and plot spoilers for 2x01: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Lots of thanks to my awesome Eye in the Sky, onebrightroad ,

who bravely hid her disappointment that the minute and thirty seconds of KKBB I asked her to watch was not that minute and thirty seconds of KKBB and did a bang-up critique.

Courtesy of torchwood.time-and-space.co.uk

(Image courtesy of www.torchwood.time-and-space.co.uk)

( This scene got a lot of attention for a certain comment about an orgy, but that's not the real thing going on here. )

44 stories | spin a yarn

23 April 2009 @ 04:27 am

(no subject)

Okay, everybody. Somebody I know showed me this video, which is by the French pop singer Zazie:

I sent it to a couple of members of my f-list. One of them made some laughing comments about Jane Austen. Thing is, I think it's a bit more Bronte-esque, myself.

So, I made my first poll ever!

Poll #1388554 Watch it, love it, tell me.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9

Come on...is it Austen or Bronte?

View Answers

I'll take the Sense and Sensible Option for $200, Alex.
7 (77.8%)

These Heights are giving me a nosebleed. Let me ask Emma.
2 (22.2%)

Mary Shelley.
0 (0.0%)

Who?
0 (0.0%)

Ticky Box
2 (22.2%)

sweet as?: jet lagged

12 stories | spin a yarn

04 March 2009 @ 06:10 am

Travel

Things I like about Malaysia:

*The colours
*The fresh tropical fruit. Yes, I will sell my soul for a pineapple.
*The way Bahasa Malaysia sounds on the tongue. It's the only language I know of where "no smoking" sounds like a fun, happy sex act (at least that's how I interpret "dilarang merokok").

Things I don't like about Malaysia:

*The fact that I can't eat anything except plain bread, peanut butter, and fruit.
*The fact that everybody is so tiny that I feel excessively large and awkward. Seriously, most of the women and over half the men don't even make it to my chin.

Things I like about the Netherlands:

*The fact that I am a normal sized human being again.

2 stories | spin a yarn

23 February 2009 @ 01:16 pm

Gallifrey One: I get publicity

At the panel with Gareth David-Lloyd and Kai Owen, one of the questions posed to the actors was about "something I read on the internet about body language."

I was not at the con. I've had a couple of people mention this to me.

So if you haven't seen it yet, and are wondering what on earth the con-goer was talking about, here you go.

11 stories | spin a yarn

25 January 2009 @ 01:53 pm

gratuitous self-congratulatory post

In the last 3 weeks, I've received a bit of attention for my writing:

Phalaenopsis was recced here by

sam_storyteller as part of his </a></b></a>

tw_season_zero post as a good "intro to the characters."

My Cyberwoman fic, The Space Between, was recced here by

fairyd123 .

And finally, I got an LJ message from somebody I'd never seen on my f-list before, saying that I've been nominated for a Children of Time award for Symphony Eroica, Accompanied by the Shipwrecked. I'm in the Episodic category, along with a few other very good fics. I have no idea who tagged me, but whoever you are, thank you.

Finally, hat tip to

onebrightroad and

demotu for pointing out the recs to me.

So: 2 recs and a nomination, for three different fics, all of which were posted (or in the case of Eroica, re-posted) since the end of November! When I am done with my egotistical self-congratulation, I get to start writing the next one.

6 stories | spin a yarn

04 January 2009 @ 06:32 pm

My thoughts on the Eleventh Doctor

I present to you the WORLDS WORST FAN MANIP!!!

Obviously, casting spoilers for DW 2010.

( The older he gets... )

carmen san diego: Crew Flat

sweet as?: puckish

13 stories | spin a yarn

01 January 2009 @ 01:57 pm

Fic: Symphony Eroica (second movement)

Title: Symphony Eroica, accompanied by the shipwrecked (revised)
Characters: Ianto, Gwen, implied Jack/Ianto
Rating: Mature for themes, open for content
Spoilers: Major for TW 2.11 "Adrift"

Author's Note: Back in March, after I'd been writing creatively for only a few months, I wrote the original version of Symphony Eroica, Accompanied by the Shipwrecked. Knowing that I could be a better writer than I was, I put it up for concrit and review at the Torchwood Writers' Union. It was duly shredded, and I went back to rewrite it and fix everything the kind folks there suggested needed fixing.

Here is the revised version, kindly beta-read by

jbs_teeth and

sanginmychains .

( “This is Matilda, and she has an unusual story. You won’t see any birds like her anywhere in Britain, or even anywhere in all of Europe. She’s a turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, and she’s from North America.” )

13 stories | spin a yarn

31 December 2008 @ 08:47 pm

Original Writing: How to Cook a Pumpkin

( How to Cook a Pumpkin )

sweet as?: puckish

1 story | spin a yarn

15 December 2008 @ 03:09 pm

Fic: The Space Between (TW)

Title: The Space Between
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, some Toshiko
Rating: Mature for language and themes
Spoilers: 1.04 Cyberwoman, 2.10 FOOTR, 2.11 Adrift, 2.12 Fragments

Summary: After the events of Cyberwoman, Jack attempts to fix his working relationship with Ianto.

Many, many kind thanks to both my beta-readers,

definehome and

onebrightroad who helped me beat this into shape. Thank you!

*****

( Ianto snorted. “Which once are we doing here? Love or war?” “War, of course.” Jack took his pawn en passant. “We're playing chess.” )

115 stories | spin a yarn

11 December 2008 @ 11:22 pm

But you should have named her Galatea!

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/11/inventor.female.robot/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Words fail.

1 story | spin a yarn

02 December 2008 @ 01:36 pm

New and shiny!

Because

onebrightroad is eight kinds of awesome and organized, I have a fic index now!

Thanks so much! You rock!

1 story | spin a yarn

26 November 2008 @ 03:28 pm

Fic: Phalaenopsis

Title: Phalaenopsis
Characters/Pairings: Toshiko, Jack (gen)
Rating: PG for themes and very minor language
Spoilers: Big ones for 2x12 "Fragments"
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, done for the love and not for any money at all.

Summary: "Toshiko, at least twenty other brilliant minds thought what you did was impossible."

Author's notes: Hey, look, I wrote gen-fic! (Shocking, I know.) Many, many kind thanks to blackbird_song for her superb beta and britpick job.

ETA: I am aware of the font bizarreness, but on a very, very slow connection and I'm about to go to work. I'll get to them as soon as I can--but in the meantime, please enjoy.

( Phalaenopsis )

Tags: fic, tw

39 stories | spin a yarn

24 October 2008 @ 06:59 pm

The most breathtakingly stupid/ironic thing I've heard in ages

Okay. Put aside your religious beliefs, political beliefs, questions of morality, the lot, and put on your thinking caps.

While listening to NPR this morning, I heard the following (paraphrased, because my memory isn't perfect):

“I don't care if the country goes broke, so long as we don't have abortion or gays getting married. If we have a moral country, God will take care of the rest.”

...

Wow. I don't even know where to start.

If I take this man (who owns a restaurant and lives in a state in the middle of the country) at the literal meaning of his words, he thinks that:

Safe, well-maintained roads so that he can and his customers and suppliers can get to and from his business, aiding his livelihood;
Oversight of the construction of the food-prep equipment he uses, intended to insure that his restaurant equipment will not explode, taint his food, or otherwise damage him or his customers;
Inspection and licensing of food production mills and plants, so that the food he serves is likely to be of good quality and free of contamination, or if contaminated food does get into the system, it can be traced and people who are sickened can be helped;
The construction and maintenance of power, water, and sewer services that he uses to run his business;
Police services, both as a deterrent to criminals so that they don't mess with his home or business or, if criminals do mess with his home or business, that they are found, caught, and kept from doing that again;
Firefighting services, so that if his restaurant business (which has a deep-fat fryer) catches fire, it is put out in a timely manner, or, if the business next door catches fire, that fire doesn't destroy his business;
Education services for his children, grandchildren, and neighbour's children, so that they know how to read the menu and count whether they have enough money to eat at his restaurant...

...are of zero importance to his life, so long as the government enforces a particular behavioural code of conduct.

WHAT THE FUCK, PEOPLE!

Of course, the great irony is that if the government goes broke, it won't have the means to be able to enforce that particular behavioural code of conduct.

THINK, people. Just...THINK before you say something so mind-blowingly stupid. Okay?

40 stories | spin a yarn

12 October 2008 @ 07:47 pm

That photo meme

So I'm only about a month late on that photo meme...

Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair - just take a picture.
Post that picture with NO editing.
Post these instructions with the picture.

I didn't follow the instructions to the letter--the beautiful fuzzy purple thing around my head and neck is the Mobius Scarf, knitted by the fabulous

onebrightroad for her half of the "By Golly We WILL Get It Done Transhemispheric Craft Exchange," and I changed my shirt to look complementary with the scarf. Because it's just not fair to the artist to set her beautiful work against schlock.

carmen san diego: The beige company apartment

sweet as?:

happy

9 stories | spin a yarn

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