This is the review I got this morning for the SPN fanfic I posted on fanfiction.net:

Oh my god. This was as beautiful~ Seriously, I read yaoi and stuff like this
all the time but never, ever have I read an author write anything this
captivating. Even in normal books I can never quite get a picture in my head
of whats actually happening but your writing plays out like a movie, every
detail perfect and flowing like stories ought to be.

I read the story before this, "Look in My Tormented Eye" and was in love with
the idea of Gabriel and Sam being together from the instant Sam touched
Gabriel's hand. I actually was a big RubyXSam fan till the last episode of the
fourth season but I must compliment you on how you dealed with Sam and Ruby's
relationship. Most authors would have left her out or slandered her character
to the point where it was completely ridicous or came up with some way of
killing of her character. I also appreciate how you kept the characters in
character, not simply having them ooc and bang in the bathroom like wild
animals. I was considering not reading anymore fanfiction because of ooc but
your stories have made me reconsider.

Lastly I would like to thank you for creating a character of your own that
was not only easy to like but for giving him reasonable limitations and
keeping his skills and abilites that of the same as Castiel. Please continue
to write.


My favorite parts? That the stories read like movies (because I see them as movies). And that apparently I have single-handedly redeemed an entire area of human endeavor.

My work here is done!

I gotta say, these chocolates look pretty awesome.

It's a bit sad to see all the people on LJ going: OMG I have no money! and asking for sales boosts so they don't get booted from their homes. Even more so because OMG *I* have no money and cannot boost their sales. But I can pass along links, and maybe someone who does have a job can buy things.

Polidori Chocolates

Notably:

Gothic Weekend Truffle Collection:

• Percy Shelley: Our Shelley truffle is an effete blend of white chocolate, lemon oil and almonds, dipped in dark chocolate for a bit of masculine bite.
• Lord Byron: The flavor of decadence is evoked in the Byron truffle, with tawny port and a hint of smoke infusing super-dark chocolate.
• Dr. John Polidori: We note Polidori's ancestry by lacing dark ganache with Amaretto and pistachios, for a more uplifting experience.
• Mary Godwin: We attempt a more delicious experiment, taking our combination dark/milk ganache and adding currants, pecans and candied orange peel, then bringing it to life with a bracing bolt of white rum.

Shocking, I know. But after a strange but otherwise generally positive interview in which I was basically told I'd be getting a call for a second interview, I did not, in fact, get a call. And after sending an email to get some kind of response, was told "we hired someone whose experience fit better", which frankly is what they all say. Maybe it's even true. Haven't even gotten anything from the efforts I made at BEA, so I have basically nothing to show for work-finding efforts.

Rock on. I won't make $10k this year.

I have recently been making a study of wacky grains to use as breakfast foods and possibly as flours. These are the results:

Teff: Salient quality: Smallest grain. Teff pretty much only cooks up as a porridge. It comes out the consistency of pudding when done. Everything says that it's slightly sour, but I always add agave before eating it, so I can't say if it's that noticeable. I like the resulting texture. And a little is quite filling, maybe because it's one of those complete protein grains. I have not yet used the flour in baking, though I have a recipe for teff cookies. And pie crust. I did try the pie crust but then promptly forgot about it and left it in the oven to burn. Turns into a solid rubber chunk in the fridge that doesn't break up so easily when you go to heat some up later.

Amaranth: Salient quality: Tastes like plant. Seriously, this stuff screams HAI I AM A GRAIN! It's a little bigger than teff. Looks a bit like really small quinoa, actually. The instructions on the bag make this cook up into a porridge too. I'm not sure if you could create separate grains by using less water. Pretty good, overall. Although it should be noted that I mix almond butter, ghee, and agave into my breakfast cereals, so it's not like I'm just eating a bowl of grain. Still, better than oatmeal by far.

Millet: Salient quality: Cooks like rice. If you follow the directions on the bag, you will end up with a grain that's separate, like rice, rather than a porridge. Add more water, and you can achieve breakfast porridge consistency. Millet had the least flavor, but because of the way it cooks, it has more uses. I've eaten indian food over millet, and there's pretty much no difference. It's a little crunchier than rice, but there's probably a water/grain ratio that will get it somewhere between the grain and porridge stage.

I just tried the X-Men: Wolverine demo. I know... very late in doing so. But damn! If I had the money, I'd totally get that game. It's exactly the type of game I like. Little bit Tomb Raider/Soulreaver, lot of beating things up. Bwaha. Maybe someday...

I most enjoy lunging at enemies from a long distance and flying into them claws first. Very dramatic and satisfying.

Also liked that Wolverine said "bub". ;)

Registered for Polaris. I didn't get the Blast Off Party ticket this year. No one I want to see badly enough to pay an extra hundred bucks to have them sit at my table. Claudia Black is going to be there, though, so that'll be fun. I'll get her to sign a DVD.

Won't have the party to use to get to meet people, but Jody will be there, so perhaps that will do for social introductions. No masquerade this year either. Just have to bring whatever steampunk gear I can. Biggest problem with that is that almost no readymade steampunk gear is in my size. I can't just pick something up. For tons of money I can have things made. But tons of money is not something I have.

So... I may end up having an uncostumed day.

I've listened to Green Day's new album a couple of times now, and this is my favorite song.

Next weekend I'll be going to Book Expo America. $75 to get in... and I get the chance to hand out resumes to sales folks and -possibly- editors. If I can get one company to send me work, the ticket will be paid for.

In addition, I get to haul home as many free Advanced Reader Copies of books as I can manage to carry. This is usually a lot. The problem is I don't have space for that sort of thing. So after I get back... it's free book day at my house. More likely, it's free book day at whoever's house I'm going to, so I'll try to get an assortment and people can take what they want.

If they weren't ARCs, I'd sell them. But people don't tend to want to buy ARCs unless it's like Harry Potter or something of that ilk.

BEA tends to be fun but tiring. And it really makes me put on my Confident And Can Approach People mask.

Allow me to share with you a piece of my childhood. This is quite possibly the oldest musical memory I have. This was on a Sesame Street record that my parents used to put on when I was going to sleep. I cannot, for the life of me, hear "Let Her Be" without instead hearing "Letter B" to this day.

Castle actually got renewed! It's such a great show, I can't imagine how this happened! Nathan Fillion gets to keep a job for once!

Excellent.

*snort* *laugh* Is it coincidence that today's Numbers ep is named Angels and Devils? (Note the release date of Angels & Demons)

Sliced my finger while making dinner.

Also, yerba mate still sucks.

If I'd like to have "Out, out, damn spot!" in Latin would it be something like:

Evanesco evanesco exsecratus macula

?

I went out to Cold Stone for some ice cream and was walking down to Borders to see if there are any Supernatural novels so I can check their style, when a woman came up to me and asked me if I would listen to a song.

I figured that this was odd, but what the hell, I wasn't doing anything, and she seemed to really want me to listen.

I didn't feel particularly afraid of a woman much older and smaller than I am, so I followed her to her car and sat in the passenger seat with the door open (cause I'm not entirely dumb) and listened to a song about taking Jesus into your heart and the power of conversion.

It seemed rude to just up and leave when she really wanted to tell me her life story and how awesome it is to be loved by Jesus, so I listened for quite awhile. And she really seemed to have had a tough life.

I wasn't quite sure how to extricate myself, since I wasn't going to be converted. But I listened and was sympathetic. Followed her into a store so she could keep talking. And then eventually she really did have to go buy the thing she was intending to buy before she saw me looking all... something that looks like it needs Saving. And she said that I could leave if I wanted, so I did, with sort of an apology. And she said she hoped we'd run into each other again, or something like that. That destiny would work its magic on me if it was meant to be, essentially.

It amuses me that the guy who plays Castiel on Supernatural is precisely 7 years older than me.

I feel like there's something meta about Castle. Something that I should be able to put into words but haven't quite gotten my head around yet.

Because it's like this: He's a writer of mystery novels. He is helping the police solve "actual" murders by thinking about what would make the "real" murder a good story. Where's the plot twist? What are the secret motivations in real people's lives? What would make this murder a juicy interesting story? And based on that, he goes down avenues that the police might have missed or pursues a line questioning that they wouldn't have and finds more and better information.

But this whole setup is in and of itself a story... in which murders are given motive and juicy plots and unexpected twists.

So it's this guy who is taking "real" crime and imprinting the cliches and framework of fictional crime upon it to make it a narrative. But it's happening within the confines of being fiction crime turned into a narrative. I don't know if it's in some way poking fun at itself. Or pointing out how we turn that which isn't a story into one all the time, casting people into roles so the fit into preestablished molds that we can understand.

I feel like I'm grasping fog.

But I also feel like there's something there.

Sir, I regret to inform you that I really like your new show. Under normal circumstances, one would probably consider this a good thing. However, I've liked all of your shows, and we know how well that's gone in the past. Based on previous experience, I think we can expect maybe a 10 episode run. I would offer to stop watching Castle now so that you might have the chance of making a full season, but that hasn't worked for other shows in the past, so I would just be cheating myself out of a good time, I think.

So far, I'm digging the slightly Gilmore Girls vibe between Castle and his daughter. Nicely done. Also nicely done? The fact that he's a loving single father who hasn't screwed up his kid or screwed up himself. Positive role models are A Good Thing. Kudos.

I wish you all the best with the project, but given that I find the dialogue amusing, the acting spot on, and the cases interesting, I think it's all doomed. My apologies on that. If you can agree to pick crappier projects, I'll agree to not watch them, and maybe we can keep you gainfully employed. Until then, wishing wells and rabbit's feet, my friend.