Friends mostly! I still do a lot of public posts, but non-friends are screened by default.

Make sure to read this first: http://fayanora.livejournal.com/838343.html

Buy my book! (science fiction)

Buy my dad's book! (nonfiction)

( for existing friends )



(Click the picture to get at least an idea of the meanings. Only "ingenuus memes" are defined there yet. That and the opposites of the others.)

Friends mostly. Mainly means there's a bunch of content friends-locked. Also, non-friends and anonymous posters are screened by default. If you are an ass in your comments, your comments will be deleted.

Comment to be added. And if you're an old friend getting a new LJ, let me know that information.

Friending must-knows:

1. I do not tolerate myself or my friends being made fun of for any reason. If I find you have done this, you will be unfriended and banned.

2. I NEVER do friend-culls. If you find you've been banned, it's either a mistake or for the above reason. If you believe it to be a mistake, let me know.

Also, there are three stages here:

1. There's an "Acquaintances" filter, for people I don't know very well. Not much more they get to see than public does, but some things. If you never see any friends-locked entries here, let me know. It seems I have to add people to the Acquaintances filter.

2. Friends - They see the most.

3. Multiplicity - Ask me about this one. It's got the most personal stuff of mine.


One last thing: Unless you're a friend, your comments to all posts will be screened.

( Fun stuff and more information. )

Peace;
---Fay


Join the magick
and join the posting contest!

Communities of mine:

wtf_humans - Something in the world making it hard to have hope for humanity? Post it here!
ljswritersblock - Need something to write about? Then visit this archive community with over 500 Writer's Blocks archived!
kohrain_vwon - Cast a prayer into the aether, or post prayer requests, regardless of your spiritual/religious path.
omni_magick - For all practitioners of magick, regardless of their path.
nocturnaproject - Towards the founding of a city specifically for nocturnal folks!
nonsense_poems - Post or discuss nonsense poems and poetry!

Hello! This is where you can donate to my cyberfunded/crowdfunded creativity project, Ye Olde Goldyn Appyl Presse. Just specify which particular sub-project of the YOGAP project you wish to fund. Anything not specified will go to the general fund, to be used for any one of the sub-projects.

If I am pimping a project that is already done, I will tell you in the pimping post what project it is. :-)

Nota bene: This button doubles as my "emergency donate" button because I'm too lazy to go back and change it. Any donations not specified as going to a particular project will go to the YOGAP general fund.

The rain is coming so hard and fast off the roof of this building right now, you'd think it was a broken water main. I've seen slower fire hose streams! This is a damned heavy rain for Portland; it's coming down by the kiloliter!

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1087942.html
You can comment either here or there.

• Fri, 17:46: The wizarding world http://t.co/aCXbIo31
• Fri, 17:59: Good and evil http://t.co/D3TMo1hT
• Fri, 18:05: Scary thought http://t.co/ZqEO0GLU
• Fri, 19:55: Walking the Twilight Path: A Gothic Book of the Dead by Michelle Belanger http://t.co/0H2AFVOi via @amazon
• Fri, 19:56: The Urban Primitive: Paganism in the Concrete Jungle by Raven Kaldera http://t.co/BfqtHsz1 via @amazon
• Fri, 22:52: Writer's Block: Over and Over http://t.co/k9tSWhFV
• Fri, 22:59: Mexican mother arrested after son's eyes gouged out - Yahoo! News http://t.co/Bri2aree via @YahooNews
• Fri, 23:33: Priest Claims Schoolgirl Was Kidnapped for Vatican Sex Parties | Disinformation http://t.co/UTU01uqX via @disinfo
• Fri, 23:34: FBI’s New Secretive Surveillance Unit Can Spy on Skype and Wireless Communications | Disinformation http://t.co/VSeUmdLW via @disinfo
• Fri, 23:46: Animal Poachers In India Can Be Shot on Sight | Disinformation http://t.co/shWUcytM via @disinfo

( Read more... )

Dolores Haze (Lolita). I would let Humbert Humbert molest me over and over and over again.

The Harry Potter series. I've re-read them so many times, I practically have them memorized.

Scary thought for a fanfic: Dudley Dursley recieves his Hogwart's letter. (And, somehow, actually manages to go to Hogwarts.)

Another scary thought: Casper movie/Harry Potter crossover, Moaning Mertle ends up in the machine that turns ghosts back into people, becomes a living girl again.

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1087512.html
You can comment either here or there.

The concepts of "good" and "evil" are merely concepts, human judgments. Good is "that which I like/agree with." Evil is "that which I don't like/don't agree with." Morality is a very rigid good/evil view of the world, something adopted by those with minds too feeble to make their own judgment calls, too feeble minded to think for themselves. Ethics, on the other hand, are what you get when people think for themselves and decide right and wrong for themselves. Sure, there will always be some people who decide that anything they want to do is right, that they can do no wrong, but the majority of human beings would still be good people if they thought for themselves. In fact, I think humanity would be better off without morality, because people tend to reject rules forced on them by others, as in the case of morality. And so morality, for all its good intentions, turns into an excuse people hide behind to justify unethical and dis-compassionate behavior; by calling someone else immoral, they can get away with acting unethically towards the immoral other.

Because "good and evil" are human concepts, human judgments, they have no place in nature. Nature is neither good nor evil. As such, I think the concept of good and evil should have no place in paganism, either. That concept is another one, like morality, used as an excuse to be hateful and even violent toward others; supposedly good people commit evil acts on those they claim are evil, while most so-called evil people do more good than the self-described "good" people do.

I have personal experience of this; I have suffered more hatred and evil acts at the hands of people claiming to be the good guys, "good Christians" and the like, than I ever have from anyone on the Left Hand Path. There are still people on the LHP I don't like, but most of the Satanists, Luciferians, dark or non-fluffy pagans, and other LHP people are generally much nicer people than many of the "good Christians."

Which is why I started the Lyria Spellspinner novel and stories. Because here we have a protagonist who does "dark, forbidden magic," is "morally ambiguous" with her own sense of ethics, has even committed murder to protect and/or avenge her family, and is considered by many to be evil, but she loves her family, she struggles with the ethics of some things, and ultimately, her sense of ethics makes her a better person than most of those who think her evil, a creator of life where others think her a destroyer. AND she helps in the fight against Hagalamadji, helping the side of "good" to save the multiverse.

Besides which, morality is too limiting. And, at the same time, not limiting enough; ultimately, morality is just an illusion, a lie people tell themselves to hide from themselves and others the truth, which is that everyone in the world for all of history is, was, and will be practitioners of subjective morality. Morals change almost as much as ethics do, and morals are frequently suspended or reinterpreted with one convienient excuse or another. The fact is, when morals get in the way of something someone wants to do, they are suspended or re-interpreted to agree with the present desire of the "moral" person. This is different from situational ethics/subjective morality in name only. There are no truly moral people. It is an impossibility; too much changes, and humans are too selfish, for morality to ever be more than a lie people tell themselves and others.

About the only real difference between morality and ethics is that "moral" people suffer the same kind of debilitating self-doubt that plagues the hyper-religious; they don't really believe the things they say they believe, in their heart of hearts, and can't be honest with themselves about it because it terrifies them. So, to try to convince themselves, or ease a troubled conscience, they push their morality on others, and surround themselves with other self-doubting moral people. This is the same principle as "misery loves company." The moral and the hyper-religious both require everyone around them to be just as secretly doubtful, just as miserable, as they are. The fanaticism masks a powerful doubt; if they weren't so afraid of being wrong about their beliefs, they would be atheists or agnostic, or perhaps pagan.

And then there are the worse kind of moral people: those who know their moral code is all a scam, and use it as a facade so they can do whatever the hell they want to, which usually includes "having power over others." These people tend to become politicians (especially Republicans), evangelical preachers, FOX News pundits, and so on. This kind of "moral" person knows morality is a lie, and relies on that, so they can use it as an excuse to have no ethics at all. That's why they tend to have so many sex scandals and other kinds of scandals, because the morality is just a mask for them. These people tend to behave in even more "evil" ways than anyone else. Especially when they have a lot of power over others.

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1087298.html
You can comment either here or there.

You know, the wizarding world of Harry Potter is one I'd really love to be a part of. I wish I could get my Hogwart's letter. Still, there are things about it I wouldn't like. Parchment and quills instead of paper and pens or pencils? Seriously, parchment is expensive to make. You'd think the wizarding world would have switched to paper, at the very least. And quills are messy and a royal bitch to write with.

Then there's the sticky issue of house elves. I agree, in principle, with Hermione's S.P.E.W., but it's also plain that the house elves don't want to be free, except for some weirdos like Dobby. And I think I know why, too. It's because freedom is too big of a scary change, too much uncertainty, for most house elves. Especially considering that it was only Dumbledore who would hire any freed elves. I'm sure house elves have to eat, and so I figure that house elves only get to eat when they have a place to work. I think that even with their magic, they're so small and so sheltered that they're scared to try to fend for themselves, and so while they might like the idea of freedom otherwise, the fear of the unknown is too much for them, so they act aghast at the very idea. I suspect Dobby only took to freedom because the Malfoys abused him so badly that his fear of fending for himself was less than his fear for his safety and well being. Then, finding work, he continued loving the idea of being free because then, if he ever found himself in a bad situation again, he could just leave.

So, instead of ignoring these fears the house elves have of freedom, I think S.P.E.W. should focus instead on teaching wizards and witches to treat house elves with respect, kindness, compassion, and gratitude. I think only when the wizarding world has built up a history of being kind to house elves - even freed elves - will the elves get over their fears and start wanting freedom.

Also, I think "Muggle Studies" class should be a required course for all school years. Or maybe a broader-ranged "acceptance/embracing of non-wizard people" class that includes centaurs, goblins, house elves, and so on.

I bring these things up, because these issues and others are explored in "Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle" and later stories. (Books, really; the files on my MP4 player for the Alexandra Quick stories have almost twice as many pages as some of the novels I have in it.)

The Alexandra Quick series is a fanfiction series taking place in the Potterverse, but with original characters. It takes place in the USA, at an American school of magic called Charmbridge. And I have to say, it's at least as good as the canon materials, so far. Even though these book-length fics are nearly twice the length of some adult-level novels I'm reading, and I only started the series a week or so ago, I'm already on the second one!

( Arr, matey. Here there be spoilers. )

Anyway, excellent series. I'm gonna read the entire series!

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1087041.html
You can comment either here or there.

• Mon, 18:31: Genocide? Pastor Says Kill All 'Queers And Homosexuals' By Airlifting Into Electric Pen http://t.co/mcdmVpg5 via @gaycivilrights
• Mon, 18:31: Watch: Parents Put Toddler In Laundromat Washing Machine, It Turns On... http://t.co/Sto7zrJe via @gaycivilrights
• Mon, 19:01: Writer's Block: Eeeeeeeek! http://t.co/9NMTqssn
• Mon, 19:01: Writer's Block: Eeeeeeeek! http://t.co/zr9UaKwB
• Mon, 22:16: This weekend 500 read timeout
• Mon, 22:57: Check Out the Horrifically Inappropriate Outfit That Got a 14-Year-Old Sent to the Principal's Office - http://t.co/9ofPn80O
• Mon, 23:05: Shark Becomes Vegetarian (And Eats Lettuce Now) After A Near-Death Experience | Disinformation http://t.co/0bPT2eem via @disinfo
• Mon, 23:27: Congressmen Seeks To “Lift” U.S. Propaganda Ban on Americans | Disinformation http://t.co/KMARWuH5 via @disinfo
• Mon, 23:49: The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal http://t.co/ld1bhVn8 via @unitedrep
• Tue, 00:04: hatching Cadbury Creme Eggs: the horrifying opposite of Chickam - The Something Awful Forums - http://t.co/Qtr2pUtD

( Read more... )

Saturday night, I got tired early, and went to bed by midnight. Because of this, I woke up at 8:45 AM. And because of *that*, I changed my plans. My initial plan was to go to the OTO's gnostic mass at 3 PM, then go on to this "Rhythm" thing at DeForest House. Since I was up so early, I decided to go to the UU church, which I hadn't done in a while.

The UU church service this week was mostly music, and there was no sermon. It seems that the pastor who was supposed to do the sermon was elsewhere, tending to his wife, who had gotten hurt. (She'll be fine, I hear.)

The sermon was, thus, replaced by this three-part music thing that was very beautiful but long enough to get tedious toward the end.

After the UU service, I went to the library briefly. Then I went to the gnostic mass. Almost didn't make it in time, because I missed a bus stop. But I made it, and it was beautiful again.

When I was done there, I left for the Rhythm thing at DeForest House. Basically a drum circle kinda thing, lots of drums and stuff there to choose from. That was lots of fun, I'll definetely be going again.

One of my favorite things I tried there was combining two instruments together. There was this pair of bell-like things welded to a u-shaped metal rod, which was fine on its own, but at one point I put this pair of wooden clackers in my hand, one half in the hand holding the bell thing. Whenever I hit one clacker with the other, it caused the bell thing to make a metallic clank at the same time, which I liked a lot.

I found, while there, that I'm really good at finding a place in a group's playing to fill a hole with a simple complimentary bit. For one example, I rang the bell at a certain point in the pattern. A lot of what I did was counting, or feeling the pattern, until I got to the point I did my thing. Though I also did some continual pattern stuff, like 1 2, 3... 1 2, 3 continuously. When it came time for me to start something and lead, I was horrible at it. I chose to try to mimic a song bit I made up the other day, but it was too complex. I had a hard time doing it right, a hard time getting into the rhythm of it, and an even harder time maintaining it. We were about halfway through mine when I gave up and changed to something simpler, and by that point I doubt anyone noticed.
But all in all, I had a lot of fun, and I will most definetely be going back to next month's Rhythm thing. :-)

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1086943.html
You can comment either here or there.

Animal: Dogs. I don't like dogs. They scare me. I don't know why, other than many of them are big, fanged, rambunctious, and noisy. But even the small yappy dogs startle me and make me mildly nervous.

Insects: Wasps. Because while I've never been stung, I know what they can do, and something about them... they just radiate a "don't fuck with me" vibe. Probably why one of Lyria's creations is a spirit similar in personality to a wasp.

I propose that a group of humans now be called "a hubris of humans."

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1086510.html
You can comment either here or there.

Just learned that while 'tis "a murder of crows," it is "an unkindness of ravens."

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1086348.html
You can comment either here or there.

• Fri, 17:17: Glass gem corn - Boing Boing http://t.co/3rhQGtYm via @BoingBoing
• Fri, 17:26: Evil Dead trilogy http://t.co/HjbsV8Ct
• Fri, 20:46: Photo: christinathena: http://t.co/6o4DA392
• Fri, 21:16: Daily Kos: MS legislator suggests gays should be put to death, claims they spread disease http://t.co/z33c53mF via @dailykos
• Fri, 21:29: Daily Kos: First VA, Now OK: Gay Election Board nominee denied vote in senate committee http://t.co/gbEXou9A via @dailykos
• Fri, 22:48: Pink Cross Publishing: A gay-friendly bible in every motel room - http://t.co/UFNkFVVK
• Fri, 23:12: White Births No Longer a Majority in U.S. | Disinformation http://t.co/6UfB73iA via @disinfo
• Fri, 23:37: Help for a 'hidden population' of caregiving kids http://t.co/AcqK8720 #cnn
• Fri, 23:50: Romney: I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was: http://t.co/RwKxLNhb via @youtube
• Fri, 23:51: I liked a @YouTube video http://t.co/EqKI2AuV Romney: I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was

( Read more... )

Tara Lipinski. I haven't seen much of her in years, which is a shame. (Women's figure skating.)

So, I decided to watch Evil Dead 1 and 2, since I like Evil Dead 3 (Army of Darkness) so much. Thought, like the third movie, they would be horror comedies. But Evil Dead 1 is just plain old horror. Very well done, especially for its time, but not funny. Just fucking creepy, even scary in places.

I just started Evil Dead 2, and so far, I'm like "WTF?" So far, it has Ash (the sole survivor of the first movie) going back to the same fucking cabin he survived. With his new girlfriend, no less. After he had to kill his posessed sister and his posessed girlfriend in the first movie. What possible level of insanity would compel someone who survived such a horrifying ordeal want to go back? He even gave his new girlfriend the same necklace his old one had. He's either insane or a serial killer, or both.

Wait, what? The book is back. The Necronomicon, which burned up in the first movie, is back. Oh, and he's playing the tape recorder again like he's never... wait a minute, this isn't a sequel, it's a reboot! Has to be! Nobody sane would behave that way after having survived something so awful.

The pace of the second movie is MUCH faster than the first. First movie took a long time to get its action going. Now, it's been barely 15 minutes in and already he's fighting demons. And it's taking place in more than one night, too. The entire action of the first movie all took place from sundown to sunup.

LOL! Okay, so where the first movie was a serious horror film, this second one is definetely horror comedy. Like, he cuts off his own demon-posessed hand and puts the demon hand under a pan, weighing it down with books; the book on top is "A Farewell To Arms." :-D There's some of the slapstick of the third movie in here, too.

Still pretty creepy/scary, though.

Okay... now, having seen Evil Dead 1 - 3, I'm confused. Because I clearly remember seeing a scene with the character Ash that took place in S-Mart. A witch or something of the sort had followed him to S-Mart, I think, and he was gearing up with stuff from there, taking a gun off the rack, even, before dealing with it. But that scene isn't in any of these movies. Was there an Evil Dead 4?

This was cross-posted from http://fayanora.dreamwidth.org/1086192.html
You can comment either here or there.