OMG! It's National Popcorn Day!

Jan. 19th, 2012 01:45 pm
heidi: (popcorn)
How do you make your popcorn?

Do you use a microwave, or an air popper, or are you obsessive like me?

Because I use infused oils - usually rosemary, lemon-pepper or basil - sometimes mixed with a few drops of habanero oil. And I put it into a pot with a clear lid, turn the stove up to high, fill the bottom with kernels, and, when it's done, grind a mixture of pink sea salt and rosemary onto the top of it.

I love popcorn!
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OMG! It's National Popcorn Day!

Jan. 19th, 2012 01:45 pm
heidi: (popcorn)
How do you make your popcorn?

Do you use a microwave, or an air popper, or are you obsessive like me?

Because I use infused oils - usually rosemary, lemon-pepper or basil - sometimes mixed with a few drops of habanero oil. And I put it into a pot with a clear lid, turn the stove up to high, fill the bottom with kernels, and, when it's done, grind a mixture of pink sea salt and rosemary onto the top of it.

I love popcorn!
Tags:
  • ...There to Remind Me
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Stop SOPA

Jan. 18th, 2012 10:23 am
heidi: (Fair Use)

You may have seen this image on the internet today:


And you've probably read about SOPA and PIPA on Twitter and Facebook and tumblr and websites like reddit and boingboing and google and Wikipedia.

But there's a few issues that are of particular concern to those with a fannish bent. theoatmeal.com touches on some of them from a parody perspective, but basically, the "Stop Internet Piracy Act" (and PIPA as well) are written in such a way that they give any owner of any copyright, trademark right, right of publicity or other intellectual property rights the ability to shut down a site's ability to accept donations made via credit card companies, PayPal or Amazon, or bar a site from hosting Google or Groupon ads or being part of the WBShop or Amazon Affiliate programs just because they think that one icon, one User Profile, one piece of fanart, one fanvid or one fanfic infringes on their content - regardless of whether that story, icon, vid or art is transformative, or created pursuant to fair use.

"Fair use is a lawful use of copyright." That's what the Northern District of California said in Lenz v. Universal Music back in 2008. So much of what we do on fansites - from the discussions and reviews to art and fic and vids we host and link to - is fair use, but there's no Fair Use provision in SOPA.

"Think about this for a second: think how many bogus DMCA takedown notices are sent by copyright holders to take down content they don't like," writes TechDirt's Mike Masnick. "With this new bill, should it become law, those same copyright holders will be able to cut off advertising and payment processing to such sites. Without court review."

Donations are vital to fansites; if they can't accept financial support from users and visitors, many will not be able to keep the site online; it costs between $20 and $1000 per month for servers at fansites of various sizes. Ads are vital to other sites - Googleads, the BlogHer network, store associateships, etc.

If SOPA passes, and one copyright-holder who doesn't agree with the law of Fair Use complains to PayPal or Google or Amazon, it is likely that at least some sites will lose the ability to accept donations from users like you, and many will be unable to use ad revenue to keep the sites online.

And fandom-run sites are just a small portion of the internet, in the grand scheme of things. YouTube hosts fanvids, parodies and reviews, Tumblr and LiveJournal host every type of content that can be created, and Google links to everything. One person can choose to abuse the provisions of SOPA and damage each of those sites for everyone - or the sites themselves may curtail certain services, or limit what they allow people to share, discuss and distribute.

That's not an Internet that any of us would recognize.

The worst part of SOPA and PIPA is that the worst case scenarios are extremely likely, plausible and conceivable.

The good news is, the White House has threatened a veto of the bills as they were last week, and the House has put off votes for the immediate future, because we on the internet - we content creators and we content distributors and we content users - have said no, this proposed law is bad and will destroy something we need, use and love.

We can’t sit down now.

If you live in the US, please sign Google's petition, or click here to visit the EFF's website and have an email automatically sent to your representative.

*Not the right word when only one of the six entities testifying before Congress is an Internet-purposed company!

ETA: More discussion here; this post is also on Tumblr.

  • My Everchanging Moods aggravated
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Updated STOP SOPA/STOP PIPA post

Jan. 18th, 2012 10:22 am
heidi: (Fair Use)

You may have seen this image on the internet today:


And you've probably read about SOPA and PIPA on Twitter and Facebook and tumblr and websites like reddit and boingboing and google and Wikipedia.

But there's a few issues that are of particular concern to those with a fannish bent. theoatmeal.com touches on some of them from a parody perspective, but basically, the "Stop Internet Piracy Act" (and PIPA as well) are written in such a way that they give any owner of any copyright, trademark right, right of publicity or other intellectual property rights the ability to shut down a site's ability to accept donations made via credit card companies, PayPal or Amazon, or bar a site from hosting Google or Groupon ads or being part of the WBShop or Amazon Affiliate programs just because they think that one icon, one User Profile, one piece of fanart, one fanvid or one fanfic infringes on their content - regardless of whether that story, icon, vid or art is transformative, or created pursuant to fair use.

"Fair use is a lawful use of copyright." That's what the Northern District of California said in Lenz v. Universal Music back in 2008. So much of what we do on fansites - from the discussions and reviews to art and fic and vids we host and link to - is fair use, but there's no Fair Use provision in SOPA.

"Think about this for a second: think how many bogus DMCA takedown notices are sent by copyright holders to take down content they don't like," writes TechDirt's Mike Masnick. "With this new bill, should it become law, those same copyright holders will be able to cut off advertising and payment processing to such sites. Without court review."

Donations are vital to fansites; if they can't accept financial support from users and visitors, many will not be able to keep the site online; it costs between $20 and $1000 per month for servers at fansites of various sizes. Ads are vital to other sites - Googleads, the BlogHer network, store associateships, etc.

If SOPA passes, and one copyright-holder who doesn't agree with the law of Fair Use complains to PayPal or Google or Amazon, it is likely that at least some sites will lose the ability to accept donations from users like you, and many will be unable to use ad revenue to keep the sites online.

And fandom-run sites are just a small portion of the internet, in the grand scheme of things. YouTube hosts fanvids, parodies and reviews, Tumblr and LiveJournal host every type of content that can be created, and Google links to everything. One person can choose to abuse the provisions of SOPA and damage each of those sites for everyone - or the sites themselves may curtail certain services, or limit what they allow people to share, discuss and distribute.

That's not an Internet that any of us would recognize.

The worst part of SOPA and PIPA is that the worst case scenarios are extremely likely, plausible and conceivable.

The good news is, the White House has threatened a veto of the bills as they were last week, and the House has put off votes for the immediate future, because we on the internet - we content creators and we content distributors and we content users - have said no, this proposed law is bad and will destroy something we need, use and love.

We can’t sit down now.

If you live in the US, please sign Google's petition, or click here to visit the EFF's website and have an email automatically sent to your representative.

*Not the right word when only one of the six entities testifying before Congress is an Internet-purposed company!

ETA: More discussion here; this post is also on Tumblr.

  • My Everchanging Moods combative
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VID: Girlfriend! (Jim/Sherlock, John/Sherlock)

Jan. 17th, 2012 08:12 pm
heidi: (vidding)
Title: Girlfriend

Song Credits: Avril Levigne!

Characters/Pairings: Jim/Sherlock, John/Sherlock

Genre: Crack, Shippy

Rating: PG

Spoilers: For all episodes of the BBC Sherlock. BE WARNED.

What the hell were you thinking? Well, there was this this gif on Tumblr which [personal profile] emmagrant01 reblogged and of course the song popped into my head, instantly matched with specific clips from 2.03, and I had to get it out of my head because, really, do you want Jim Moriarty living in your head?

Summary: Do you know the song? Okay, then! That's the summary! :D



( I don't like your girlfriend! I think you need a new one! )
  • My Everchanging Moods silly
  • Now That's What I Call... Girlfriend by Avril Levigne
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VID: Girlfriend! (Jim/Sherlock, John/Sherlock)

Jan. 17th, 2012 08:12 pm
heidi: (vidding)
Title: Girlfriend

Song Credits: Avril Levigne!

Characters/Pairings: Jim/Sherlock, John/Sherlock

Genre: Crack, Shippy

Rating: PG

Spoilers: For all episodes of the BBC Sherlock. BE WARNED.

What the hell were you thinking? Well, there was this this gif on Tumblr which [personal profile] emmagrant01 reblogged and of course the song popped into my head, instantly matched with specific clips from 2.03, and I had to get it out of my head because, really, do you want Jim Moriarty living in your head?

Summary: Do you know the song? Okay, then! That's the summary! :D



( I don't like your girlfriend! I think you need a new one! )
  • My Everchanging Moods silly
  • Now That's What I Call... Girlfriend by Avril Levigne
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Мои твиты

Jan. 15th, 2012 05:23 am
heidi: (Default)
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Мои твиты

Jan. 12th, 2012 04:54 pm
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I just freaked Aja out...

Jan. 11th, 2012 07:19 pm
heidi: (Disney)
By sharing this breaking tweet with her:
BREAKING: Rob Marshall to work on a film adaptation of the Broadway musical Into The Woods for The Walt Disney Studios

Source

And now I am dreamcasting this movie, but only if we can keep Bernadette as the Witch (or, you know, Idina?) and have Chip Zien cameo as The Mysterious Old Man.

I want Dan Radcliffe or Chris Colfer as Jack, Anne Hathaway as Cinderella, Amy Adams as the Baker's Wife, Neil Patrick Harris as the Baker... Can Lea Michelle sing Rapunzel or should she be Red Riding Hood? Guh, who would make good Princes? Zefron and Darren Criss are too young but would be amusing - maybe James Marsters as Rapunzel's and it would be so amusing to have Hugh Jackman as Cinderella's prince as he's also the Wolf? And for purely ironic purposes, Kristen Chenoweth as The Giantess.

Oooh, this is almost as good as dreamcasting Chess.

Let's just keep Taylor Swift far, far away from this!
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I just freaked Aja out...

Jan. 11th, 2012 07:19 pm
heidi: (Disney)
By sharing this breaking tweet with her:
BREAKING: Rob Marshall to work on a film adaptation of the Broadway musical Into The Woods for The Walt Disney Studios

Source

And now I am dreamcasting this movie, but only if we can keep Bernadette as the Witch (or, you know, Idina?) and have Chip Zien cameo as The Mysterious Old Man.

I want Dan Radcliffe or Chris Colfer as Jack, Anne Hathaway as Cinderella, Amy Adams as the Baker's Wife, Neil Patrick Harris as the Baker... Can Lea Michelle sing Rapunzel or should she be Red Riding Hood? Guh, who would make good Princes? Zefron and Darren Criss are too young but would be amusing - maybe James Marsters as Rapunzel's and it would be so amusing to have Hugh Jackman as Cinderella's prince as he's also the Wolf? And for purely ironic purposes, Kristen Chenoweth as The Giantess.

Oooh, this is almost as good as dreamcasting Chess.

Let's just keep Taylor Swift far, far away from this!
Tags:
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Мои твиты

Jan. 9th, 2012 07:31 pm
heidi: (Default)
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So we're putting together a picspam of Snapes at HPEF Events

Jan. 8th, 2012 06:26 pm
heidi: (Nimbus)
For posting to tumblr tomorrow, and I was looking for photos or ANYTHING from <lj user=flourish>'s Snape panel at Nimbus, and I found this:


It's hard to believe it, but eight months from now, Nimbus 2003 will be fandom history.

When the dust settles, what part will you have played?

We really need your help...

Are you convinced that your ship is true love... or do you think all ships should sink?

Are you in love with poor ickle misunderstood Draco Malfoy... or do you think he's a nasty little bugger?

Can you remember the Dark Ages of Harry Potter fandom... or are you an baby newbie?

Do you think Snape is a vampire? Do you think he's hot? Do you think he's just *greasy*?

We are looking for a Few Good Fans to talk to Other Fans at Nimbus about different aspects of the Harry Potter series. Just talk, in a moderated roundtable panel-sort-of-discussion. No academic credentials necessary. No strings attached. No catches you can't live with.

Who can sit on one of these panels? You can!

You don't have to run a website or write fanfic or run a marathon or do anything besides be a fan of the Harry Potter series. Hey... you can even be a lurker! We'd love to meet you!

The only requirement in order to be considered for this fun and historic happening is to be a registered attendee at Nimbus.

So if you began to go on one of your famous rants when you read one of the hot-button questions about... we're looking for you!

Yes, you! And you!

And you too!

The Nimbus Programming Committee would like *you* to serve on one of the following moderated fandom culture forum-style panels:

--Resolved: Can Draco Malfoy Be Redeemed?
--Once Upon a Time-Turner: The History of Harry Potter Fandom
--Slytherins, Smoke, and Shadows: The Secret Life of Severus Snape in Fanon

You will be required to do the following, if chosen to present on one of these teams:

a) Register for Nimbus. You must be registered for Nimbus on or before Wednesday, January 15, 2003, in order to participate.

b) Prepare a 500-1000 word "opening statement" on your chosen topic, with examples from accepted Harry Potter canon sources. ("Canon" for our purposes will be defined at a later date.)

c) Be willing to make a positive contribution to Nimbus!

Or... if you have another idea, you may...

Propose another topic as a panel, paper, or other presentation!


You know, those panels could all exist at Ascendio, too - content obviously updated, but the same titles could definitely fly. I am laughing hysterically at the reference to "the dark ages of the Harry Potter fandom" - especially when anyone who was a newbie in 2003 is a serious oldbie by now. And the dark ages meant 1999 - maybe 2000 when WB was sending C&D letters to kids who were using Harry Potter character names in domain names. 

And wow, Wednesday, January 15 2003 (my birthday! I was so young!) turned out to be the day that we found out the title of Book Five, which is really weird to look back at. Not only did we plan 99.9% of Nimbus without knowing the content of Book Five (hence the Marauders theme, intro panel, etc.) we actually did all the initial planning without knowing the release date, or the title!

Weird, ironic and neat.

And if you have any photos from any Snapey moments at Nimbus, please zap them over to me or share the urls so we can add them to the picspam tomorrow. We have stuff from every other con, but digital cameras weren't very widespread in 2003... Ancient times, that.
Tags:
  • ...There to Remind Me
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So we're putting together a picspam of Snapes at HPEF Events

Jan. 8th, 2012 06:26 pm
heidi: (Nimbus)
For posting to tumblr tomorrow, and I was looking for photos or ANYTHING from <user name=flourish>'s Snape panel at Nimbus, and I found this:


It's hard to believe it, but eight months from now, Nimbus 2003 will be fandom history.

When the dust settles, what part will you have played?

We really need your help...

Are you convinced that your ship is true love... or do you think all ships should sink?

Are you in love with poor ickle misunderstood Draco Malfoy... or do you think he's a nasty little bugger?

Can you remember the Dark Ages of Harry Potter fandom... or are you an baby newbie?

Do you think Snape is a vampire? Do you think he's hot? Do you think he's just *greasy*?

We are looking for a Few Good Fans to talk to Other Fans at Nimbus about different aspects of the Harry Potter series. Just talk, in a moderated roundtable panel-sort-of-discussion. No academic credentials necessary. No strings attached. No catches you can't live with.

Who can sit on one of these panels? You can!

You don't have to run a website or write fanfic or run a marathon or do anything besides be a fan of the Harry Potter series. Hey... you can even be a lurker! We'd love to meet you!

The only requirement in order to be considered for this fun and historic happening is to be a registered attendee at Nimbus.

So if you began to go on one of your famous rants when you read one of the hot-button questions about... we're looking for you!

Yes, you! And you!

And you too!

The Nimbus Programming Committee would like *you* to serve on one of the following moderated fandom culture forum-style panels:

--Resolved: Can Draco Malfoy Be Redeemed?
--Once Upon a Time-Turner: The History of Harry Potter Fandom
--Slytherins, Smoke, and Shadows: The Secret Life of Severus Snape in Fanon

You will be required to do the following, if chosen to present on one of these teams:

a) Register for Nimbus. You must be registered for Nimbus on or before Wednesday, January 15, 2003, in order to participate.

b) Prepare a 500-1000 word "opening statement" on your chosen topic, with examples from accepted Harry Potter canon sources. ("Canon" for our purposes will be defined at a later date.)

c) Be willing to make a positive contribution to Nimbus!

Or... if you have another idea, you may...

Propose another topic as a panel, paper, or other presentation!


You know, those panels could all exist at Ascendio, too - content obviously updated, but the same titles could definitely fly. I am laughing hysterically at the reference to "the dark ages of the Harry Potter fandom" - especially when anyone who was a newbie in 2003 is a serious oldbie by now. And the dark ages meant 1999 - maybe 2000 when WB was sending C&D letters to kids who were using Harry Potter character names in domain names. 

And wow, Wednesday, January 15 2003 (my birthday! I was so young!) turned out to be the day that we found out the title of Book Five, which is really weird to look back at. Not only did we plan 99.9% of Nimbus without knowing the content of Book Five (hence the Marauders theme, intro panel, etc.) we actually did all the initial planning without knowing the release date, or the title!

Weird, ironic and neat.

And if you have any photos from any Snapey moments at Nimbus, please zap them over to me or share the urls so we can add them to the picspam tomorrow. We have stuff from every other con, but digital cameras weren't very widespread in 2003... Ancient times, that.
Tags:
  • ...There to Remind Me
  • Something to Talk About

Мои твиты

Jan. 7th, 2012 02:18 pm
heidi: (Default)
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Мои твиты

Jan. 6th, 2012 06:51 pm
heidi: (Default)
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Мои твиты

Dec. 31st, 2011 03:07 am
heidi: (Default)
( Read more... )
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Dec. 29th, 2011 01:52 pm
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If this is real...

Dec. 28th, 2011 06:49 pm
heidi: (Livejournal)
Via [livejournal.com profile] tresa_cho, if this is the new and mandatory layout for LJ, I'm not reading here at all anymore. But I'll crosspost until that ability is gone.

Does anyone know how to move my mood theme to DW with relative ease?
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2011 and 2012

Dec. 26th, 2011 08:40 pm
heidi: (Default)
Looking back, looking forward( with the meme that is stolen like a stolen relic )
  • My Everchanging Moods nostalgic
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2011 and 2012

Dec. 26th, 2011 08:40 pm
heidi: You're busy blogging! (Busy Blogging)
Looking back, looking forward via the meme I have stolen from various and sundry: 

Which TV shows did you let go of in 2011?
I'm still watching DW and Glee but not in an omgitisairingRIGHTNOWmustwatchinsilence sort of way. And I haven't watched an episode of this season of Leverage, but I WILL!

Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2011? Why?
I wanted to watch both Ringer and Revenge and I've seen some of both but not consistently. Mostly because I haven't had enough time.

Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2012?
Magic City! Jeff Morgan, running a hotel in Miami Beach that's based on a hotel I can see out my window, which filmed in my neighborhood! YAY!

Which TV show impressed you least in 2011?
I had issues with the season finale of DW. And I still don't believe that Blaine Anderson was a sophomore during Teenage Dream etc last year on Glee. Retconning by showrunners to keep Darren in high school for one more year, yes?

Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2012 unless things significantly improve?
I may possibly not restart watching Royal Pains. I'm very bored with it. And I have to let go of Chuck! WAH!

Which TV show impressed you the most in 2011? Why?
Supernatural has hit some massive home runs (although there have been serious foul balls, too) and omg ONCE UPON A TIME you are perfect and adorable!

Which TV shows do you think you'll never let go of no matter how crappy they get? Why?
I am with Supernatural until the end, and I don't know if that's this spring, or one year more.

Your main fandom of the year?
Probably Supernatural, but Harry Potter is still around! And I've been dabbling in Thor-Avengers, but I've been in the Iron Man comm since the first movie...

Your favorite film you watched this year?
The movie that impacted me most was definitely Deathly Hallows 2, but LOKI! THOR! - I mean ~*THOR*~ - is a significant second place contender, with The Muppets in third.
Then again, I have not seen Sherlock Holmes 2 yet.
How can I not list DH2, though? The series changed my world, changed my friendships, changed my life. So this cinematic conclusion was massively impactful.

Your favorite book read this year?
HUNGER GAMES. Probably the whole trilogy because I loved the story and Katniss/Peeta relationship in the first book, the worldbuilding and Finnick in the second book, and many of the concepts - if not the execuitons - pun intended - in the third book. Cannot WAIT for the movie and hoping it makes enough money to justify a sequel because Jared Padalecki needs to play Finnick.
Other than HG, I absolutely loved Lev Grossman's Magician King, liked the concept and a lot of elements of Ready Player One and the concept if not the specifics of The Story of Us.

Your favorite tv show of the year?
Does The Muppet Show count? No?
Supernatural, then. It's my one and only mustwatchwhileitairs series.

Song of the year?
One Republic's Good Life. I first heard it a few weeks before heading to London for the first time in almost 20 years, and it was perfect walking around Leicester Square and down to Picadilly listening to it.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
TOM HIDDLESTON. I... I just do not have a reasonable explanation. But this deleted scene is my justifiable if unreasonable explanation.
Also, I have finally discovered tumblr. My shame and my joy, they are apparent.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Livejournal is a disappointment in their treatment of many of their users. Why, LJ, seriously? Test your damned code on your userbase and if they say it sucks, it may very well do so. And the new DJ Earworm mashup of the songs of 2011 isn't as amazing as the ones from 2009 or 2010. May not vid it.

Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Jason Isaacs showing up at my Harry Potter panel at Comic Con! And the entire week in London around the HP premiere, including but not limited to seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado because it was insane and hilarious and brilliant and perfect. I wish I'd had time to see it a second time.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
AVENGERS! Loki throws Tony out the window! And if the Central Park photos are really the ending, then SQUEE.
The Hobbit! I saw the trailer in 3D today and it is going to be mind blowingly gorgeous, isn't it?
Seeing Darren Criss in How to Succeed for my birthday with fandom friends!
Also, hopefully, a release of David & Catherine's Much Ado on DVD.
  • My Everchanging Moods nostalgic
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