hector_rashbaum | Entries tagged with recs

1. Everyone immediately go read

blackwayfarers' new Kevron fic, Home Is Not A Harbor. It's a Titanic AU and it's AMAZING.

2. Apparently I'm wired to do this meme every single time it gets posted. Post a line or paragraph from one (or more!) of your works-in-progresses, and encourage your flist to do the same.

( Way Too Many Kevin/Bandom Crossovers )

Kevin Jonas is my fandom bicycle.

So far,

jb_ficexchange has been really bad for my ego. Baww. I really need to finish my

sodamnskippy exchange fic, but every time I sit down to write I get stuck at CLEARLY YOU ARE THE WORST WRITER EVER STOP DOING THIS. YAY BRAIN.

Everyone should go read the story I got for Yuletide Madness, It Hurts Me Too. It's Maybelle Stubbs/Corny Collins, which is one of the OTPs of my SOUL, and from the title I thought it would be all WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT HERE IS THE HANDSOME WHITE GUY'S PAIN but it's not. It's AWESOME. Also I feel I should remind you I got the best story ever for Yuletide proper and you should be reading it every minute of your life.

I've had a headache of varying intensity for about five days straight now. It's awesome, except for the part where it's the opposite of that.

We did second Christmas at my aunt's today; my cousin's kid is six and obsessed with Hannah Montana. So we played Hannah Montana Uno and Hannah Montana Barbies and quoted the show at each other and she showed me all her badass Hannah crap. It was basically awesome.

So my Yuletide story is the best thing ever written, oh my God. I want to, like, cry for an hour, and hug everything forever.

It's here, and it's Kevron, and it's amazing. Like. Amazing.

SORRY GUYS, but the entire universe has been WON, you can all go home. SORRY NICK J, YOU MISSED THE BOAT.

What the Hell am I babbling about. What the Hell am I ever babbling about.

KEVIN JONAS/MIKE CARDEN MPREG

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SPARKLEPEEN BUT I THINK YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S NECESSARY. KEVIN MPREEEEEG

When stripping labels off cardboard cans, you use a safety blade to cut the labels in half, and that requires pinching the label to make a little gap to slide the blade in. We got a bunch of new temps today, and one of them was having trouble with the cutting; she kept referring to the gap as a "hole", saying she was "having trouble finding the hole".

And in the midst of a bunch of us loling about the unintentional double entendre, she busts out with "well, I ain't a fucking dyke" to, presumably, explain why she's not good at hole-finding.

Guess how many people acted as if "dyke" isn't an okay thing to say. I bet you guessed right, unless you have any faith in people at all.

One guy, one of the ones who started today, said he didn't think anyone there was. Because three hours is enough time to tell that, because any amount of time is enough time to tell, because everyone's a stereotype.

And I kind of felt like garbage for not saying anything, but seven or eight people not even flinching - more than that, laughing like crazy - at the word, at the very idea that someone around them might be omggay, that's a little daunting.

IDK. I mostly kept my headphones in for the rest of the day after that. And I...if nothing else, I feel like maybe I'm making the right decision being closeted, even if it makes me feel kind of cowardly and leads to awkward situations like the brother setup.

Speaking of headphones, I'm gonna need you all to buy or download Mika's new album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much. It's a big rainbow in audio form, like Life In Cartoon Motion but better. Toy Boy (lyrics) is completely 100% about Kevron (and actually works fairly neatly as a several-years-in-the-future Zac-POV coda to

blackwayfarers's Slow Dancing In A Burning Room. I was jotting down fic notes earlier and realized that's all I was doing, writing embittered Burning-Room-'verse future!Zac).

Seriously:

It’s a cruel cross that I have to bear
If you come a little close I’m going to pull your hair
More than just a toy in a patch-blue suit
Hold me in your arms I’m just a boy like you

But your mama thought there was somethin’ wrong
Didn’t want you sleeping with a boy too long
It’s a serious thing in a grown-up world
Maybe you’d be better with a Barbie girl

Anyway, Kevron aside, it's completely impossible to be anything but happy listening to Mika.

In other music news, I finally got around to downloading Cobra Starship's Hot Mess, and I'm really disappointed no one told me there was a Cash Cash remix of Good Girls Go Bad. That is just way too much electronic cheesy scene awesomeness for me to handle unprepared.

Current Music: Good Gone Girl - Mika

I knew Kevin would remind me why he's my favorite once I started drifting Joe-wards.

I was kind of disappointed that his interview thing in the Rolling Stone was with Brad Paisley, because I really, really don't like Brad Paisley - I think his music's okay for the most part, with a few standouts, and the less said of what I think of him-the-person the better. BUT he listed one of his favorite songs as Nickel Creek's "When You Come Back Down" and I AM THE MOST PATHETIC PERSON EVER I got all dopey-mushy about it.

Because, okay, I basically think Nickel Creek is the best band in the entire world, ever. I cried when I found out they weren't together anymore, actually sobbed. Their music is beautiful, incredible, and I wish everyone in the whole world would listen to them and love them as much as I do. I don't listen to them as much as they deserve because I can't just put them on in the background, I have to immerse myself, put them on and do nothing else for a while.

And "When You Come Back Down" is the song that made me fall in love with them, and it's beautiful, and I love it like burning, and I maybe possibly cried or wanted to, a little bit, to see it and them get a little love from KJo. IDK I am pitiful. It's the best song ever, I always forget how much I love it and I always cry when I listen to it PITIFUL.

Anyway. Everyone should hear it. So listen to it and then go buy some Nickel Creek albums and try to be HALF AS AWESOME AS KEVIN.

Current Mood: enthralled

You guuuuuys I have the coolest room EVER now. Also I shouldn't be allowed in Wal-Mart (or, alternately, trusted with my own money?), they have TOO MUCH DISNEY SHIT. But I have a CAMP ROCK BLANKET so I can sleep with the Jonai EVERY NIGHT LOL (last night it was WAY TOO HOT FOR A BLANKET, did that stop me? OF COURSE NOT) and a Troy Bolton pillow so I can put it on top of the blanketKevin when I'm not sleeping and there can be KEVRON ON MY BED, and a Camp Rock window valance so Jemi can PROTECTIVELY HOVER OVER MY HEAD oh god what is my life.

I went in for BLINDS. ONLY BLINDS.

( Pictures of THE AWESOME )

Also have a gratituous kitty picture that was apparently on my camera.

Also also, go see Bandslam it is legitimately good. I am completely in love with it and wanna go see it A BAJILLION TIMES. I know my taste is suspect but it is NOT REALLY DISNEY-Y at all even a little, I promise! Go see it.

( Top Five Kevin Pictures: )

( Top Five Songs: )

( Top Five Kevin Fics: )

( Top Five Favorite Things To See In Fic: )

( Top Five Things People Should Write More Of: )

So, basically, I learned with Bon Jovi that it's entirely possible to have too much music with a band I like (seriously, if I want to listen to Jovi these days [LOL SEE WHAT I DID THERE] I end up having to make a smart playlist with about 400 requirements to get down to the Jovi I'm actually in the mood for), so with most bands now I tend to stick to just studio albums and the reallyreally cool extra stuff.

Which is why I hadn't heard the ballad version of Tonight (which is my favorite song of the moment) from back in January until now and RIGHT NOW I AM KICKING MYSELF and am tempted to go into full-on NOW I NEED 400 BILLION JONAS SONGS IN ITUNES OR I'M NOT A REAL FAN overdrive right now.

I am pretty sure that none of you trust my taste in music right now, but SERIOUSLY, there are several of you on the flist (I'm mostly looking at the people who appreciate Jovi, especially post-80s Jovi, especially 00s Jovi) who would really love the Jonas Brothers if you give them a chance, and this is as good a song as any (it's possible I'm blinded by my current obsession with it) to start with. SERIOUSLY. LISTEN. GET SUCKED IN.

Also! I want Kevin Jonas to be my girlfriend. I am the worst lesbian ever. Or...best lesbian ever?

1. David Bryan's first musical is gonna be on Broadway starting in September, yay! Website's here. I am delighted.

2. I've started a del.icio.us recs list here. I haven't even finished adding the fic I have bookmarked yet, not to mention the stuff I love but haven't needed to bookmark, so it's very small right now. I'll finish adding stuff soonish and then keep it maintained; if you share fandoms with me and think I have good taste (which, tbh, makes your own taste suspect), you may wanna check it out.

3. For the crafty/DIY-prone on my flist, check out Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion, books about converting t-shirts into...whatever. I find the author's writing style incredibly grating - very LOL OMG LOOK HOW ~PUNK~ I AM OMG PUNKPUNKPUNKPUNK DID I MENTION PUNK - but just skip the introductions (to the book and to each pattern). I've done nothing but sew all day, and most of yesterday, and even just hand-sewing I've got two new shirts and a pair of gloves already.

4. You will all roll your eyes and not listen to this rec anyway, but for serious give the Jonas Brothers' new album a listen. Especially "Much Better" - if I posted that without any info, and asked people to guess who sang it, I am 90% sure no one would guess Jonas.

mayqueen517, I'm looking in your direction specifically. YOU'LL LIKE IT I SWEAR. They're getting very Hanson-y, and I could use more Hanson-y bands in my life.

Aside from the fact that summer clothes are my favorite, and my mood tends to be better overall (not counting days where the heat gets to me, because nothing gets me crankier faster than being too hot), my opinion of summer isn't particularly high. Not necessarily low, either, really, just...middling. We've had a few decently hot (hot for Vermont in April, at least) days, and while it's been nice to get out and enjoy the sun nothing saps my energy like a hot day. Add to that the fact I don't sleep well unless I'm just-this-side of chilly, and temperature issues aside I've slept like shit this weekend and today I resemble nothing so much as a walking zombie, even after a 12-hour NyQuil sleep (the cold can't decide should it stay or should it go) and a 3 hour nap. It doesn't help that the kittens are no better than any other pets we've ever had - they go into super-purr-cuddle mode right at the moment I'm summoning the willpower to not give in to another nap.

But I'm a zombie in a very pretty outfit.

Go watch this Merlin vid by

fizzyblogic; it's my favorite so far and that includes all the ridiculous crackvids (and you know how much I love my crack). I was never into vids before this fandom, go figure. ANYWAY. It's to "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna which is unexpectedly fitting and is ridiculously hot. Also awesome. Also go watch it.

Sister, mother and I went to the Maple Festival craft show for a bit on gorgeous 80-degree-sunny Saturday; I got a really pretty necklace, a silver pirate ship (*pokes

arrys_girlie*) on a sparkly dark blue stone. I love the stone, it's very dark and looks black with most things, but I've been wearing lots of blues and purples and they make it look like the blue it actually is. I'll have to dig out some batteries for my camera, both Photo Booth and the phone camera have failed to capture the pretty. Pirate necklace was in lieu of a big beautiful hematite-and-blown-glass cross that was possibly the piece of jewelry I have coveted most in my lifetime, but I likely wouldn't have worn it that often - it was bigger than I like, and heavy, and entirely too dressy for everyday, or even just everySunday - and it was five times the price of my pretty pirates. So. Jewelry acquired, we wandered down to the overpriced food booths where sister and mother got maple milkshakes and I tried a maple piña colada, which tasted nothing like maple and more like someone had put far too much sweet-something in the colada mix.

The kittens (it feels absolutely ridiculous to call them kittens now, really, one is actually bigger than his mother and another is the same size as she) have ear mites, so we've been running kitty hospital. They do not like kitty hospital but none of them have particularly long memories and have forgotten (it's not quite accurate to say forgiven) within ten minutes of the ear cleaning each night.

Last night I found a full High School Musical sheets-and-comforter set on clearance at Sears; I am not ashamed to admit I hope it's still there when birthday money starts rolling in.

I thought this conversation would leave me angrier than it has; it's frustrating, but not on the level I was expecting. If nothing else, the fact that I went in to the conversation expecting to gain nothing and get nowhere leaves me rather immune to disappointment.

It's given me a chance to articulate things I believe but rarely talk about, at any rate.

I have started a post about what people are actually saying when they attempt neutrality by claiming there has been "bad behavior on both sides", while refusing to say anything about what that behavior is. I keep scrapping it; words aren't working for me the way I want them to lately.

Consider putting something up for auction, or bidding on something already up, at

con_or_bust; being too broke to bid on a thing but wanting to contribute, I plan on auctioning fic off once I work out some specifics. If I decide it wouldn't be too much for the anxiety, which has been horrid lately, at least.

Also, if you're into poppy-cheesy-emo a la Fall Out Boy (

mayqueen517 I'm looking at you, among others), check out The White Tie Affair and Secondhand Serenade. Cheesy, but very fun.

There are a few actors I can't stop thinking of as actor rather than character, no matter how compelling the character or how good the performance. Pierce Brosnan is one of those; I almost couldn't watch Mamma Mia! all the way through because it was "lol Pierce singing ABBA" rather than "Sam expressing his emotions". But, seriously...Pierce singing ABBA. LULZ.

Other than that I highly, highly recommend it. Good cheesy fun.

*

My sleep timer is so fucked up I don't know that I'll ever get it back to normal. I've been getting consistently tired - like, doze-in-front-of-the-screen, can't-get-awake-for-anything tired - around 8 or 8 pm, then waking way up at 11ish and not getting tired again until 4 or 5 am.

I've tried staying up all night, going to bed at 6 but setting an alarm so I didn't sleep all day, nothing's budged that OMG 8 IS BEDTIME feeling. Last night I gave up and went to bed at 9...woke up at 1:30 am. Went back to sleep at 8 am, woke up at 12:30 pm. Today I feel all caffeine-withdrawal sluggish, so I'm not sure I can judge whether that worked or not.

*

I've been quiet lately because most of my urges to post come from RARR ANGRY OVERSENSITIVE LESBIAN FEMINIST WHITE ALLY GRAAR things, and I just...don't have the energy, or desire, to go over again why something that looks little to you (for any value of "you") doesn't feel little to me.

*

If you're not reading

hectorsims, now's a good time to start; I just posted the first update of a new legacy.

Also, if you're into reading legacies,

shoefleesims' Flora Legacy and The Life and Times of Meadow Thayer are fantastic, and I spent last night reading

simgaroop's Broke Legacy, which is very good if you can get past how convoluted the later updates get, and the variety of grammar/spelling/usage discrepancies of an ESL writer.

I knew I wouldn't remember to do this every day.

Yesterday's Christmas Eve service at church was lovely. Hard, but I'm glad we went rather than hiding at home. The part we knew was going to be hardest - Angels We Have Heard on High, which was the last hymn at my aunt's funeral - wasn't so bad at all, for a couple reasons: rather than a hymn for the congregation, it was performed by the little kids' choir, and it is hard to be sad with a bunch of 5- and 6-year-olds totally not knowing the verses but belting the fuck out of the GLO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-RIA part; secondly, it was followed by Joy to the World, which has been a massive family in-joke since my dad spaced out and belted out a JOY when...no one was supposed to be joy-ing. And I do mean belted. It was nice.

And Christmas has been wonderful. We did a no-present Christmas, out of necessity, and it was nice. Dinner was fabulous, and my Dad got everyone 10 lottery tickets...and every single one of us won something. My mom, who thought she'd gotten the least, misread the directions and almost threw away $30 worth of tickets. We actually came out ahead - $64 from $50 worth of tickets. And we made quite a lovely holiday tableau, frantically scratching off tickets around the table.

Also, between yesterday and today, I got my Yuletide story and OMGSOAWESOME. I was...worried I'd be disappointed if someone wrote my last choice...but someone did and disappointment is the last thing on my mind. If you're into Mad Men (which you all SHOULD BE) go check out Split Run, a wonderful FABULOUS Sal/Ken fic.

I've been toying with another post about the flaws with "it's just a story", but I don't have to anymore! A post came up on

metafandom I like better than anything I've gotten put to paper.

stellaluna_: Storytelling

As a reader, I have a right to consider how other people are using their words. I have a right to look at the deeper implications of a story and to consider what's going on there. I have a right to talk about, for example, how depictions of race in some television shows have been problematic, or about how depictions of gender in a book are equally unsettling. I also have a right to talk about TV shows and books who get it right, who strive for better depictions of people of color and women and GLBTQ people. I have a right to talk about the too-prevalent invisibility of GLBTQ people in primetime television.

I also have the right to talk about more general story-related issues, about character and theme and setting, about how a story deals with these things, about how its subtext and its symbols work (or fail to work), and how thematic throughlines strengthen a story when they're in place and when they're consistently developed.

I don't want to say it's every reader's responsibility, because some people just want to engage with a story for the exciting plot developments or for their favorite characters, and that's fine; we all seek out what we need from a story, and hopefully we find what we're looking for. However, for people who are interested in discussion of any of the issues I mentioned above, it is vitally important that we have these conversations, both because conversations about race and gender and sexual identity need to happen, and because conversations about theme, etc., need to.

There is new David music online! OHMYGOD YOU GUYS. I am dying.

His (and other people's but who cares screw them) new musical is premiering in Jersey at the end of this month, and some of the music is online, and OMG. David. So much David love, for reals. I just. I can't even. Go listen. I'm dying.

http://site.thetoxicavengermusical.com/flashmo.html

ETA: omg HOT TOXIC LOVE. what is this shit. I AM IN LOVE. YOU GUYS. OH GOD.

ETA 2: VERMONT GOT A SHOUTOUT. FUCK YES.

Current Mood: enthralled

Um, cutest movie ever. And I cried like a baby.

Very simple equation.

Cheap Heartstring-Pulling x (Shamrock Boxers x [Hilary Swank + Gerard Butler]) + 8 Billion Irish Accents + Flogging Molly = Me Likey

Current Mood: moody

So right now I'm all about an immaculate desktop, for whatever reason. And one thing that's been bugging me has been the inability to get rid of drives - no matter how quickly I get rid of whatever stray files find their way to my desktop, I can't get rid of the hard drive, the external drives, the dvds, to get a totally clean desktop.

This actually has a really "duh" fix - under Finder Preferences (which I actually didn't know existed, and I've been using Macs how long?), in the General section there are ticky boxes for what to display on the desktop. Included are "Hard Disks", "External Disks", and "CDs, DVDs, and iPods". Three tickies later, and I have my immaculate desktop <3.

( Behold teh Pretty )

Except! What if I wanna get to those external whatsits without opening a new Finder window?

Volumizer is an exceedingly simple solution - a prefpane that gives you two options: display your external drives in the dock, or as a dropdown menu item. Ridiculously simple, lightweight, fills a need, and does exactly what it advertises. Badass.

Are you male or female, based on your browsing history?

I'm 94% lady. Were I feeling wanky, I'd rant about biological determinism. Or gender essentialism, I can't remember which one of those is which. /iz gud feminist.

Def Leppard have released the video for C'Mon C'Mon. In case you've forgotten my flailing, this song is close to being the most perfect piece of aural candy ever released, bested only by Love and Candy In Your Hands. Lepp have really cornered the market on candy.

The video is just. Oh. SO MANY HEARTS. How can anything be wrong in the world when that video exists.

Current Mood: pleased

2:10:19 AM

sunomabitch: Would you put stand up kick love into motion in your top 10 dl songs?
2:10:27 AM Hector: absolutely
2:10:36 AM

sunomabitch: okay good.
2:10:53 AM Hector: it's pretty close to number one, even
2:11:01 AM

sunomabitch: same!!
2:11:32 AM

sunomabitch: ....top 10 DL songs, make a post about it when you have it ready, I'll do the same
2:11:40 AM

sunomabitch: doesn't have to be in any order
2:12:01 AM Hector: excellent
2:12:30 AM

sunomabitch: and include why!!
2:12:34 AM Hector: ooh
2:12:41 AM

sunomabitch: yah I kicked it up a notch

Animal
Favorite favorite Hysteria song. I dunno, I just like the mellower-but-still-bouncy stuff they do. Sometimes Joe's voice just makes me kinda die. This is one of those times! If someone pointed a gun at me and said YOU CAN ONLY LISTEN TO ONE DEF LEPPARD SONG EVER AGAIN CHOOSE IN FIVE SECONDS GO, this'd be the first one that came to mind. I'm not sure it'd still be my choice if I had more time to think, but it'd be close.

Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)
When I was first getting into Leppard, and listening to them exclusively, I didn't immediately realize how much I was falling in love with this song. It was only after I went back to regular rotation and this song came on amidst a bunch of random other stuff and my instant reaction was "OH FUCK YES", turning it up, and singing along when I hadn't even realized I'd known the words It hit me just how fucking much I love this song. Good goddamn, I love it. On a stairway to heaven, what a way to GOSTANDUP. Fuck yes.

From the Inside
Lepp's attempts to be serious and topical generally either make me giggle, or wonder why the Hell they started singing Christian rock (*cough*Cruise Control [sorry Viv]*cough*). But I love this one! I love when anyone uses atypical instruments and I love the mellow and I love how rough Joe's voice is and I love how deeply serious they really really are.

C'Mon C'Mon
I am TOTALLY NOT ASHAMED that my heart is easily won by cheesy fuck lyrics and stompy beats. THIS SONG. It is made for a) driving, as long as I'm on a straight fast stretch of highway and not likely to rear end anyone b) shower singing. It's entirely possible Sav composed this in the shower! And now I get to have that image EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO THIS. Which is a lot. I AM IN LOVE.

When Love And Hate Collide
I love me some ballads. And some piano. And Joe's "oh shit I can no longer sing high" voice. And yes <3

Love
I'm still entirely convinced this was Sav seeing if he could actually get Joe to say "no. No this is too corny and I cannot sing this with my dignity intact". But Joe's not giving in yet! And thank fuck. The backing vocals just make my little heart go pitter-patter. And when it gets all epic! Oh truly my life is complete.

I Wanna Be Your Hero
This is similar to Stand Up for me, except I knew the first time I listened to it I liked it. I know every time I'm scrolling by I like it. But it's not until I'm listening to it I remember how MUCH I like it. It's one of very few songs I actually like to hear Joe straining his voice to hit those way-high-up notes; usually it just makes me cringe with sympathy throat pains.

21st Century Sha La La Girl
I KNOW you guys. All the cheese and guilty pleasure songs. I KNOW. This is actually the very very first Leppard song I listened to for the sake of actually listening to Leppard, as opposed to, y'know, hearing Leppard music and not turning it off, or whatever. At least if I remember right. I think it was this, and then All Night. Another bouncy fun singy yay song.

Tonight
I didn't think I liked this song! After my first listen-through of all the albums I kept skipping it because I remembered not liking it. And then I went on a video downloading spree and decided to actually watch this video...and I have NO BLESSED IDEA where I got the idea I disliked this song because omg. I am so nuts sometimes, for serious. I do hate the video, but god. The verses! Yes.

Hysteria
I can listen to this over and over and over and over. I have, before - it's one of those songs that I'll almost certainly put on at least for a second listen before I'm ready to move on. I don't even really know why! I love the lyrics, and not even in the "lol so cheesy I love you" way, I legit like them. And the tempo, and the way Joe sings it, and...the whole mood, I guess. I love it.

Bonus! Three that barely didn't make the cut: Four-Letter Word, Slang, Who Do You Love

Heaven in Hard Times

Entries tagged with recs

Rec & WIP Meme

whining, recs, etc.

(no subject)

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i'll be the harmony to every lonely song that you learn to play

i am so cool

Top Fives

More Jonas

Several Things

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Random

Happity, Days 5 & 6

Meta Rec

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PS I Love You

App Rec: Volumizer

Some Un-Wanky Lighthearted Goodness

as per sunomabitch's wishes