Home | Fan-Fiction | Original Fiction | Poetry | Artwork My Diary | Miscellaneous Pages | Links | Email Sailor Coruscant Sailor Coruscant... My day to day life is sometimes interesting, sometimes full of insight, and sometimes just plain weird. So, here for the very first time is the totally insane rantings and ravings of Catherine. I don't normally approve of sharing my thoughts with the internet at large, but what the heck. Let's give it a try, shall we? Wednesday, April 23, 2008    Only 78,800 to go... Spent all day working on the thesis, and got a fair amount done, though it doesn't feel like it. Have 2.5 pages that I wouldn't be ashamed to show my supervisor (though a few notes to myself that are still in there would be a bit embarrassing) and some highly edited and tightened up plans for the rest of the lit review. I'm still embarrassed that it's taken me this long to get around to doing it properly, and a bit bummed that my brain has decided to shut down in the last five minutes when I still have two more paragraphs to write before bed, but I'll just go to sleep early tonight and write them in the morning before uni. I've got my notes mostly sorted, now I just need to find the words and check the references when I've got my head on straight. Oh, and I guess I need to actually get my original research working, but that's a problem for tomorrow afternoon when I check in with the boss (please let me be up to four pages and a plan for the next section by then). Labels: 1000 words, phd, thesis ftw, writing posted by Catherine, 9:15 PM | permanent link | (0) comments Friday, October 19, 2007    Dear Legendary Writer Who Is Stuck With The Task of Writing For Me... (For the rest of my friends: Yuletide is a multifandom secret fiction exchange for obscure or rarely written fandoms. I signed up as a challenge, because it's been years since I actively dabbled in fandom and I really wanted to get back into the fun side of it. Anyway, you guys don't have to read this, since it's just for my anonymous writer.) Anyway, dear writer, Wow, you like your fandoms obscure, don't you? Me too! *grins* I hope I haven't made things too hard for you with my requests, but just in case, this is a post with a bit more detail on my choices. This is my first time participating in yuletide, so I hope you forgive me for any gaffs made. About me I love fanfiction. All flavours, all positions, and I'll happily read and enjoy just about anything (well, anything except "Chibi-Usa's seventh birthday"-no, don't google it, losing your sanity isn't worth it and I was squicked by the summary). So I guess there's a not-too-far underage thing. Actually, I think that so long as the characters have hit puberty I'm good with whatever pairing you might decide to come up with. I'm something of a happy ending person in my own writing, and I tend to lean towards preferring canon pairings by default. Then I get online, and I discover that the universe is full of the most amazing collection of weird-arse ideas, and they're all such fun to read. I thought that "Slave Bear of Care-a-Lot" was the most brilliant and disturbing piece of yuletide fanfiction ever conceived of, but on the other hand fluffy love stories make me smile all day long. And gen stories, things that might just be a moment from the original canon, something the author missed or just another perspective on the original text, how wonderful! So when I said I was up for anything, I meant it. Go crazy. Yes, I put down suggestions for things to write about, but that's because I personally need more concrete ideas to work from and they were probably the first fics I would write in those fandoms if I ever get to them. If you have an idea for a story in the fandoms I've chosen that isn't covered by my requests, don't worry about it. Trust me, I will love it. And if it's witty or humourous I'll love it even more, though again that's not a requirement. The *idea* of getting a fanfic written "just for me" is special enough that I don't care what it is. Oh, I suppose I ought to write a little disclaimer: Please don't waste your time reading over my fanfiction here on my site. It's been years since I updated those pages and they really don't necessarily reflect me as much as they used too, since the majority were written over five years ago. My style has improved a lot too, in case the poor soul receiving a story stumbles across my site. About the fandoms themselves The Slipper and the Rose I grew up with this movie. When I was a child we would watch a battered old VHS whenever we went to visit my grandmother. A few years ago my mother bought the DVD and we were amazed to discover the depth of colour in the film, as we was so used to seeing it in washed-out shades of gray. It was also as a grown-up that I discovered just how very much was potentially implied by some of those looks John and Edward were giving it each other. (Though I dislike the implication that Prince Charming became straight for Cinderella, so maybe I'll just put that to one side and not think too much about it. (*smiles*) As I said in my request, the Fairy Godmother is my favourite character, though the Stepmother comes a close second. Then Cinderella (though I do wish something would smack her upside the head sometimes when she's being dumb; on the other hand she's such a *nice* person). The Fairy Godmother is the person I try to channel when I rant, she's the perfect mix of classy and long-suffering. (Any of my friends who have seen Slipper will know that the Fairy Godmother is a grown up version of Palomene. You, dear author, probably have no idea who Palomene is, and should consider that a good thing.) Frank Beddor - The Looking Glass Wars I discovered this novel back when it was shiny and new and latched onto it immediately because I've always been a fan of Alice's adventures but thought there should be more to it. Or because it's published fanfiction, though I hadn't realised that before. As of this moment I haven't read the second book, but that's because I haven't found it in any Australian bookshop yet. But don't let that stop you, I've read lots of fanfiction for fandoms I've still not seen any of the original for. The power of imagination is a theme that's always resonated with me, and I'm not sure why. But the theme I love best (that you might have spotted if you recognise any of my other fandoms) is the idea of someone traveling between worlds, finding a world that is more fantastic and amazing than the one they left behind and growing from the experience. And of course while Alyss is a really fun character, and I wish I was more like her, I really wish I was more like Redd. She's a strong female rolemodel, even though she's a little bit evil and did kinda kill her sister and take over the world. The problem with teen fiction is that they don't let you dabble enough with the dark side of things, to see how easy it would be for any of us to fall. Right now I really want to reread this book, but I think I'll wait and see, since I have a feeling you'll write something that will make me love this story more than ever. Isobelle Carmody - The Legendsong If I could change anything about my requests, it would be this one. Not that I want to take it back, I don't, I love these books and have read them so many times. And it's been so long that although I haven't read any fanfiction I really want to know what happens in this story. Anything, building on the world here. What I would change was my request of characters. I put down Ember because she is the character that intrigues me most, but I think Glynn is my favourite. Or Wind. So I probably should have just put 'All', since I do love it all. I think I wanted one request to be a bit more specific, because I was tired of painting myself as a fanfiction whore. *grins* Every time I read these books I discover something new I hadn't seen the first time. The first reading (when I was sweet and innocent - well, 16 and before my first crush), I never even noticed the strong lesbian subtext between, well, everyone except the boys. But the second time through I couldn't believe I had missed it. So show me something different that was always there in the original, if only Isobelle would get off her butt and actually write it. Kirsten Miller - Kiki Strike series Again, I haven't read the second book, but I read the first one a few weeks ago and thought it the most fun thing I'd found in a while. I can't really say why, but I imagine it's more of the same: a girl travels to a different world (or a hidden place in this one) and while having somewhat traumatic adventures she grows up. And she gets to meet a princess, and live a life of crime and play with explosives, all of which appeal to my sense of longing for a life more exciting. When I was growing up, I wanted to be one of the Irregulars. I think I would have loved for the Girl Guides (Scouts) to throw me out (though I would have cried endlessly if it had happened); and to break into parties and be a master of disguise would be fun. I dabbled in forgery (which was useful when you consider that I always forgot to bring in permission slips to school) and I really wanted to be a spy when I grew up. Or maybe an investigative journalist, the sort you see on tv. I sat down and really thought about this fandom, and decided that the character I wanted to know more about was Oona. (As evidenced by the existence of the second book, the author agrees with me on that.) If you feel able, tell me her secrets. Her family, her friends, her pathway into becoming the girl that Kiki was so interested in. In Conclusion I think I've waffled on enough for one night, really. I tried to explain my love for the fandoms in my requests, but it's been a long week and I'm not particularly articulate when I'm this tired. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me through the mods, or the "friend of a friend" technique - I promise I won't try to track you down through them - or just by posting anonymously here (though if you could ask several questions and not spoil the fandom for me that would be great). Don't worry about me not liking what you've written, I know I will love it just because you've taken on my crazy fandoms. We may be the only two people on the planet to think that particular universe is worth writing fanfiction for (and considering that two of my requests ended up with only two offers that seems likely), but I love you for being my conspirator in it. Oh, one more thing (and this one is actually important): I'm going to be overseas when the stories are posted. And I'm not sure about what my internet connectivity will be like. So if I don't squee with happiness in the first few days after the big event, don't stress. I will. Thank you for the time that you are putting into this, and for signing up to be part of something this much fun. I hope you have a great time. Labels: 1000 words, deadlines hurt my brain, writing, yuletide posted by Catherine, 7:47 PM | permanent link | (0) comments Wednesday, August 22, 2007    100 word posts... So, way back in April or something I wrote a bunch of drabbles. 13 of them, in fact, following the first list of prompts from the 13drabbles community on livejournal. They’re all Domus Prime stories of one sort or another, all dabbling with an individual character, though sometimes it’s hard even for me to know whom they were written about. It occurred to me that I really ought to get around to posting them and so I ask you, dear blog and planet peoples, should I post them here, to the forums or to the DP archive? Labels: Domus Prime, fickle-Cat, the Harry Potter / Domus Prime crossover seems more likely every day, writing posted by Catherine, 3:30 PM | permanent link | (1) comments Wednesday, August 08, 2007    300 posts later... ...and I still want to do this blogging thing. Who would have thought? So, in the personal news, Minako is back! Woo! *does the happy laptop dance, which sounds much dirtier than it actually is* James bought me some stickers from MOO with my flickr photos on them, and I've been gleefully sticking them all over my once immaculately white iBook. I'll post photos later, I imagine. Actually, on the subject of photos, the other week I knitted a scarf in three days for my dear friend Nilanka's birthday. It was the short row rib from Magknits, knitted in Vintage Hues by Cleckheaton and it was really fun to knit something fun and simple for a change. Which is to say something other than my jacket of doom (last seen in this blog post by my mum), which is coming along nicely, but the last stages (knitting the collar and sewing it up) are going very slow. As a part of her birthday present I also promised to teach Nilanka how to knit herself, and so last Sunday I went to see her and taught her how to both knit and purl and she's now the proud creator of the first 15cm of a scarf in a 3 rows knit, 3 rows purl rib (much the same as the one I knitted for her, but without the short rows). It's very pretty and I hope she enjoys knitting from now on. I may have to go back in a week or two to teach her how to cast off. I've also knitted a scarf for Heidi in the last few weeks, but I forgot to photograph it. :( I'm currently at 6 pages on "Skirting the Paradox", for those who care about my fictional works. I'd love to have this finished soon, but I'm really bad at writing fight scenes, and when you get right down to it the whole story is one long string of fight scenes. *sighs* I kinda just want to skip them and get on with the fun mystery stuff, because that's really the point of the story, but the violent setting keeps getting in the way. Oh, and I suppose you want to know about the PhD. Well, I think I finally made a breakthrough today. I'm still not going to finish anytime soon, but I feel like I know what's going on and where I'm headed. I'm sure that'll only last a day or two, but right at this moment, I'm feeling good about it. James has started a new job today. That makes me inordinately happy. I imagine he'll be blogging about it soon enough. In the meantime, everyone should go and read his post where he points out the uncanny resemblance between the latest iPod posters and screenshots from Battle Royale. Because it's awesome and while I believed him when he first told me that was what they look like I didn't realise just how similar the imagery was. My sister has packed herself a "go-bag" in case of terrorist attack during the APEC summit next month. We're reasonably certain she's being ironic, since it primarily consists of her St John's Ambulance first aid kit (which she keeps in her car anyway), a change of clothes and a packet of timtams (which will someday run out), but you can never be too sure. My grandmother on my father's side is currently in the Sydney Eye Hospital (she had the cataracts removed from one eye last week and it promptly became infected) and yesterday she had an operation which was apparently successful. She's in the room next door to Anthony Mundine, who's got himself a horrible eye infection because he noticed a speck on his contact lens and licked it to get it clean. The good news is that my nanna will be fine, the bad news is that no one is sure about "the Man". Actually, while we're on the subject of Catherine's relatives, my grandmother on my mum's side recently loaned me her collection of newspaper clippings about her father (my great grandfather), Edward Michael Boland. My mum took the time to scan them all into a pdf file for posterity, and it's available for download if you are interested in my family history. He was a great man (even the Queen recognised it, giving him an OBE *smiles*), being Apprenticeship Commissioner in NSW for more than 20 years, known for being fair minded and working with Liberal governments in power despite him being a Labor man through and through. Grandma informed me that the Liberal government actually changed the age of retirement laws so that he could stay on longer in his job. My favourite quote from the collection reads: The Commissioner is not concerned that his OBE puts in the same order of chivalry as the Beatles with their MBEs. But he commented wryly: "I still prefer youths with hair short back and sides." - (We think the Sunday Telegraph), 27th June, 1965 Moving on to the world outside my circle of peoples, we have a couple of great bits of news to discuss: Giant Lego man washed up on Dutch beach This is just amazing. Both for the quotes ("I saw the Lego toy floating towards the beach from the direction of England.") and for the thought that maybe he was made to walk the plank on a giant Lego pirate ship. Or maybe he was just washed overboard. We may never know! China tells living Buddhas to obtain permission before they reincarnate You read that right. The Dalai Lama must now ask permission (no doubt in triplicate) before he reincarnates. And while that sounds amusing at first (and indeed, those of us here in the office laughed when we first read it), it's also terribly sad when you think of the Chinese government using this power to corrupt the beautiful mysticism of the Tibetan people. Skipping away from depressing news, the new iMacs were released today. I think they're pretty ugly, what with the giant black border around the screen (which is really a quite clever way of hiding the fact that you can't actually fit a computer in the space behind the screen alone), but they're better than the mockups James showed me last week and still reasonably sexy. And I'm sad to say that I want one like burning. Good thing they haven't released Leopard yet, or I'd be in trouble. Bloody Steve. And this story about Magic has just made my day. I must wire some of those switches into my life. So, this is the end of my 300th blog post. Was it good for you too? Labels: crafty-Cat, Domus Prime, family, history, iCatherine, knitting, lego, longest blog ever, magic, never going to graduate, news, old photographs, phd, reality distortion field, web stuff, writing posted by Catherine, 9:52 AM | permanent link | (2) comments Tuesday, May 01, 2007    In your internet, googling your people... So I was vaguely searching online for my friends and I found this fanfic by one Devron Zal... It's almost enough to make me dredge up all the old fanfic from the junkyard, which is sitting on a disc at home somewhere, so I can properly embarrass my friends. Labels: Devron Zal, fanfiction, writing posted by Catherine, 2:41 PM | permanent link | (0) comments My Diary Diary Archive What My Desktop Looks Like Current Craft Finished Craft Rose's wrist warmers What I Can Hear Made in Twenty (20) by BoA Pocky I have loved Décoré: -Montblanc Chocolat -Strawberry Gateau Mousse: -Hokkaido White -Honey & Milk -Yoghurt -Chocolate Orange -Pumpkin -G -Almond -Milk -Coffee -Mens -Strawberry -Original Current Anime / TV Code Geass Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori Hikaru no Go xxxHOLiC Recent Movies TMNT (woo!) Hot Fuzz The Illusionist The Holiday Casino Royale Websites The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation Wonderella James Crisp's Website Spamusement Cheap (last-minute) Accomodation John Howard, Prime Minister Project Gutenburg Distributed Proofreading God Ate My Homework Neighborhood Hazard Big Bunny Sydney Harbour Webcam Brendan's American Pie Archive Sailor Jupiter's Colouring Page PrincessSerenity (Where I got my sm eps from) My friends are like that sometimes. Lee Soo Young Elemental Haiku [German] Anime Cocktails (I'm hanging out to try a Dr. Tomoe's Special) [FF] "Nothing Special" Sailormoon Cocktails Korean Teas Japanese compliments Cool Photo of the Columbia Amusing (The US should go to war with everyone) All original content on SC.com © Copyright 1998-2007 Sailor Coruscant / Catherine Braiding.