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Topics - Shrain

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1
Brandon Sanderson / "A" is for Atium.... *Contains Spoilers*
« on: October 24, 2008, 02:47:51 AM »
So, at work I was spelling out my company's name over the phone. (Hey, wait, the story gets interesting, I promise.) Anyhow, when I got to the letter "a" in "Pearson," instead of thinking "apple" I thought, "atium!" After laughing (silently) at myself for having mistborn-on-the-brain, I finished the call.

Then I figured what the heck--I'll make a Mistborn HOA alphabet. I tried to focus mostly on people, places, and things that factored most into HOA rather than the first two novels. Fun way to waste time, that's all I can say.

Now... I admit that I haven't re-read the book now that it's been pub'd. (I was privileged to read it in manuscript form as an "alpha reader"--or maybe I should say "atium reader"? ;) But I'm anxiously awaiting my signed copies. Yay!) My point is, if you know a better "fit" for some of these letters, go right ahead and post it.

******Caution: SPOILERS*****





The Mistborn HOA Alphabet
A    is for Atium (or Alomancy/Allomancer or Allrianne)
B    is for Beautiful Destroyer (or Bracers, Breeze, Beldre, Boxings, or Brasspush)
C    is for Copper (or Church of the Survivor or Cett or the Contract)
D    is for Duralumin (or the Deepness or Demoux)
E    is for Elend Venture (or Electrum)
F    is for Feruchemy (or Fellise or Fadex)
G    is for Goradel (or Garrison, Gold or Geode)
H    is for Hero of Ages (or Hemalurgy, Ham, "Human" the Koloss or Hazekillers)
I    is for Inquisitor (or Iron)
J    is for Judgement under the Kandra Contract
K    is for Kelsier’s “Ghost” (or Koloss, Kandra or Keeper)
L    is for Lord Ruler (yeah, he's been dead since the first book, but his influence liveth on even after his passing)
M    is for Marsh (or Mistfallen, Mistborn, Misting, or Morag City)
N    is for Noorden (or the Northern Dominance or Nuggets of Pure Allomantic Metal)
O    is for Obligator (or OreSeur)
P    is for Preservation (or Pewter)
Q    is for Quellion
R    is for Ruin (or Reen or Rashek)
S    is for Sazed, of course (or... Spook, Skaa, Steel, Silver, Snapping, or Shrain--oh, OK, right; not the last one)
T    is for TenSoon (or Terris or Thug)
U    is for Urteau
V    is for Vin Venture (alliteration, sweet!)
W   is for War (or Well of Ascension which is the whole reason why Elend could start kicking butt)
X    is for the X’s that mark the spot on the LR’s steel map (oh, gimme a break, X is hard!)
Y    is for Yomen
Z    is for Zane (or Zinc)

2
Rants and Stuff / Seven years later...
« on: September 11, 2008, 10:48:51 PM »
Seven years later, even writing down the date "9/11" triggers a ripple of sadness in me. :(

This past July, I was in NY for an interview. I stayed at a hotel right across from Ground Zero. Yep, the construction was loud. But it kind of made me glad to hear evidence of rebuilding. I peered down at the site from the fourteenth floor of my room. Hard to capture how I felt. I have no idea how I would have reacted to the horrific events that day if I had been there.

Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I have not forgotten nor ever will.


3
Rants and Stuff / My car ate my paycheck
« on: August 18, 2008, 04:26:05 PM »
So... to top off this month's loveliness, my car ate my paycheck. I took it in this weekend for some routine stuff. This weekend here in Massachusetts, we have a special "Tax-Free Holiday." Cool, huh? It doesn't apply to actually buying  a new vehicle, but pretty much everything else is fair game. My 2002 Focus needed a state inspection, oil change, and a new tire. Plus, I was worried about this noise that my car made whenever I turned the steering wheel. Sort of like a groaning. I thought maybe I just needed more fluid.

Or maybe it had something to do with the new sway bar link that had to be put in after I drove over a wicked bad pothole back in June. Lost my hubcap, bent the rim, and broke the sway bar link. I had no idea what that was until it broke. =p Apparently, it connects the front wheels together as part of the suspension and helps prevent the car from rolling. Stupid freakin' potholes. The one I ran afoul of was fixed just a few days *after* I blundered into it. Ah, the irony.

Anyhow, back to the present problem. Unluckily for me, the "groaning" meant I had a problem w/ my car's power steering. But just putting in more fluid wasn't gonna cut it. The power steering pump was fine but the fluid was leaking out because my rack and pinion needed to be replaced. (yeah, I looked that up too so now I know what a rack and pinion are.) Not a cheap thing to fix, let me tell you.  :'( 

So I ended up paying for an inspection, oil change, new tire, alignment, and a new rack and pinion. All told, nearly $800. gak! Thank heavens I didn't have to pay tax on all that. whew. But holy crap this sucks!!

4
Movies and TV / Heath Ledger's Last Role: The Joker
« on: January 23, 2008, 05:04:58 AM »
So, while watching the news tonight, I hear that Heath Ledger, 28, was wheeled off to the morgue!! They say drugs are probably to blame. Or pneumonia. Maybe both. So now his last role is the Joker. Now, I have to say that I wasn't thrilled w/ the Brokeback Mountain fame Ledger received. But, I've been a fan of some of his other movies.

Batman's one of my favorite super heroes. When I saw the trailer for Dark Knight, I had no clue that it was Ledger behind the Joker's makeup. Not sure yet if that's a good thing. One thing I do know:   I really hope Ledger's Joker is killer.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/heath.ledger.dead/index.html

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Movies and TV / Writers of Hollywood Unite (and go on strike)
« on: November 05, 2007, 11:20:41 PM »
Well, this is lousy news, especially for those fall shows that may not have begun taping or haven't taped much. I don't blame the writers for wanting their share of profits made from online downloads of their shows and movies. In fact, I thought they did get a cut.

One of the more disconcerting aspects of this development is that this strike "is the first walkout by writers since 1988. That work stoppage lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million." Sheesh.

Link:
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=282448&GT1=7703

6
Books / Farewell, Madeleine L’Engle
« on: September 14, 2007, 03:07:18 AM »
PW DAILY: Madeleine L’Engle, author of more than 60 books for adults and children, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, passed away on September 6, at the age of 88. Here some of those who worked with her and were close with her pay tribute.

Margaret Ferguson
Madeleine was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 45 years. She received more fan mail than any of our other authors, and what was interesting about it was that the letters weren’t just from children, but also from adults—adults who read her books as a child and then moved on to read her books written for adults. These lifelong fans essentially grew up with her books and now pass them on to their children and grandchildren and begin the cycle again. Obviously Madeleine’s writing spoke to people of all ages.

Madeleine enjoyed having lunch at the Terrace and would begin with a Bloody Mary. We would sit near a window with an amazing view of the Upper West Side and have a wonderful time, mostly because she always had a good joke and was such an entertaining storyteller. She was a very loving person—accepting and open to different kinds of people and experiences. Above all, though, Madeleine was kind. She always remembered to follow up on some detail about my life, which was amazing considering how large her “extended” family was. She was exactly who she seemed to be in person and in her writing. We will all miss her.

Sandra Jordan
I edited two of Madeleine’s books—A Swiftly Tilting Planet and A Ring of Endless Light. As the books progressed I’d be invited to spend the weekend with Madeleine and Hugh at Crosswicks, their pre-Revolutionary War house in Goshen, Connecticut. We’d work in her “tower,” a book-filled study, up a narrow back hall staircase, until she decided “we need some fresh air.”
The back hall coat rack offered a battered selection of hats, scarves, and coats, and the two of us, bundled up like Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who, set out across the fields behind the house. She carried giant pruning shears to attack encroaching bittersweet vines and she’d gesture with them as we passed the property’s familiar literary landmarks—the twins’ vegetable garden where Charles Wallace met the dragon, the stone wall where the snake Louise the Larger lived, Meg’s star-watching rock—all of which figured in her books. We’d rattle on about pre-Roman English history, our families, 17th-century poetry, the Old Testament, and what makes bad boys irresistible. It felt like a break from working, but when the next draft arrived I’d see that she’d also been trying out new material. Like the good cook she also proved to be on those weekends, she wasted nothing, everything went into the pot. I feel lucky to have worked with her, lucky to have known her.   

Wow.  :'( I just saw this. Had no idea she passed away last week. Just today, I finished re-reading one of my favorite YA novels, A Wrinkle in Time. I think I started it on the 6th. How strange is that?

Farewell, Madeleine L'Engle. You've left quite the legacy!

7
Rants and Stuff / I got a letter from Tor!
« on: April 14, 2007, 01:14:08 AM »
Oh, wow. I can't believe it. Hurrrraaaaay!

After applying for a summer internship at Tor, I actually got a response--and a rather positive one at that. They sent me a letter informing me that my resume is under consideration. Woot! Plus, they sent me a book and asked me to write a reader's review by the 20th. (yikes!) The book is none other than OSC's Ender's Game.

Embarrassingly enough, I haven't read it--at least, not all the way through. But in my defense, I started reading it as a really young kid, and, well, boys playing war games and harrassing each other wasn't really exciting to me. (Boys were still icky to me back then. Well, more ickier anyway. ;))

So at least I'll be less "biased" than someone who had already read it and discussed it a lot, right? That's my hope anyhow. So now I'm off to do some reading in addition to working like mad on my desktop publishing project. Wheeee!

8
Writing Group / Type & Gripe 2007: Anthology of a Speculative Nature
« on: March 26, 2007, 03:02:58 AM »
Coming soon.... Deadlines for contributors to the final project for my desktop publishing class. I've decided it be an anthology of the major players in Type & Gripe: me, Jena & K, Nessa, and SE.

The book can't be too long folks, so I probably can only put in about 10 DS pages of your novels. But I will need you all to think about which piece you want to have "published." ;) Also, I have ideas for the coveer and such, so I'll try to scan those sketches in class tomorrow night so y'all can give me some feedback.
 
I think I'd like to have a separate folio treatment for each person's section. So that means you get to think what image might best represent your story. For mine, I'm sorta thinking of using a segment of DNA because of Gyel. I've got ideas for the rest of yours, but I wanna see what you guys might suggest. :)

Let's see, I plan to put author bios to the left of the first page of your sections. I thought it woudl be cool to include your avatars--whether the most recent or your favorite, that's fine. The bios will be short--maybe 250 words. If you guys don't want to write them, I'll try my hand at it. But given how much I like to make stuff up, you might want to write the bios yourselves. ;)

Okay, that's it for now. Should be fun!

9
Rants and Stuff / Losing a Pet...
« on: January 26, 2007, 01:54:59 AM »
Tomorrow morning, my Nikki dog, my "Devil Dog," needs to be put down. And I can't even be there.  :'(

At least she won't be alone, because my mom and my brother Cory will be there. Most important, she won't be sick any more. But you know, I sure wish I were home. Anyway, Nikki's been... declining for a while--she's almost 15--but as of last night she's suddenly really sick. She hasn't barked in days (very unusual for our beloved Devil Dog, believe me). And she can't really eat or drink because she suddenly has this vertigo problem. Poor little thing falls if she tries to walk; her jaw sorta trembles.

Okay, so some people will invariably say, "Oh brother, it's just a dog." Well, not to me. I'm gonna miss her so very much. I told my bro to give Nikki a kiss for me, and he's such a sweetheart because he paused and then said, "I'll give her fifty."

My favorite picture of Nikki. I call this The Prima Dogga:


And she'll always be part of the family:


10
Rants and Stuff / My First 911 Call...
« on: January 17, 2007, 06:38:13 PM »
So. Taking a sick day eventually led to calling the police. I was sorta in the wrong place at the right time. But it was ... disturbing all the same. In short, my neighbor's boyfriend decided to beat her up yesterday morning. He's always yelling/cussing at her or picking a fight. But this time was... different (though I'm sure that he's used her as a punching bag before). He seemed convinced that a friend/relative of hers had it out for him and had stolen his debit and credit cards. The fight started on Monday night, adjourned for the night, then started again Tue morning.

Becuase I felt crappy, I slept until 10:30 and decided to email my boss and just say I'd be taking a sick day. Unfortunately, my neighbors had just gotten up too. And M--- was working himself into a frenzy again. I was emailing my boss when I heard stuff crash to the ground. He was screaming about his bankcard, and I heard a few more things pushed to the floor--one of them was P---. The sound of fists on flesh made my empty stomach flop over and I started coughing again.

I scooped up my phone. I went to my door and unbolted it, then took three steps over to their apt. I rapped on the door three times, hard. “P---, M---, is everything okay in there?” I stepped back, ready to jump back into my apartment, and hoping he’d stop hitting her.

“Yeah,” he croaked. “Yeah, it’s okay. She just got a, uh, bad . . . phone call.”

Yeah, right. Anyhow, I retreated to my apartment, then called the police and gave my account. But when they got there, P--- just let her boyfriend feed the officers these lame excuses. (“I just went out for a smoke, and she tripped over this. See, it’s all broken. What do ya want from me?”) *sigh* But I did what I could.

My landlord is so awesome, though. After I phoned him, he spoke with the police (apparently, he's got a lot of cops for pals). Then he came by after work to meet with my neighbors. He even brought me some turkey soup from this deli (because he knew I was home sick). He told P--- that he rented the apt just to her and that the studio apt was so small it was too easy to "bump" into one another. So she'd have to go to M--- if she wanted to see him, because he wouldn't be allowed on the property any more. They decided to just move instead. Seems like all my call did was uproot the darkness so it could move on to another place.  :-\

11
Brandon Sanderson / Inquisitor, CSI Style (eek!)
« on: January 08, 2007, 02:09:19 AM »
Yeah, so I was watching this episode of CSI: NY. A serial killer is offing people in really creepy ways, leaving cryptic messages in these trendy T-shirts left at the scene. After seeing one particular victim with RR spikes through his eye sockets, I can see why the HB of Mistborn *didn't* have an Inquisitor on it.... *shudder* Here's an Inquisitor, CSI Style. warning: not a pretty sight!

12
Everything Else / Calling Archon & Gorgon!
« on: October 24, 2006, 10:44:27 PM »
Hey, guys, are you going to come down to the TWG gathering for all the fun hijinx or what? SE's got a place for you to stay, and we've even got a lineup of primo activities planned. Gaming, eating, writing, pumpkin slaughter, costume foolery, homemade vittles courtesy of Jeffe, etc., etc.

So are you gonna give us the pleasure of your company or go down in party-pooper infamy? ;)

13
Movies and TV / Jericho (the show, not the band)
« on: October 16, 2006, 01:27:20 AM »
Quote
"I'm sick of getting poked with needles every ten minutes. They'll be sorry when my spider powers kick in!"

The show's premise is beyond terrifying: multiple nuclear bombs go off in major city after major city in the United States. I never planned to get hooked on this show, but, hey, it's one of the free shows I get on my DVR from Comcast. So I thought I'd watch the pilot--give it a shot. This one is so impressive and real that it's scaring the heck out of me. The story focuses mainly on a small town near Denver, which was hit by a bomb.

Jericho has a go-to mayor, played by Gerald McRaney. Also in town is a prodigal son (the mayor's, in fact), who has oodles of surprising skills. He's been who knows where for five years (Skeet Ulrich plays this role). Oh, and don't forget the prodigal's old flame, whose fiance may or may not be dead.

Who else? Well, Jericho has an ex-St. Louis cop (or so he says) who has all this Hazmat stuff in his basement. This dude is a blessing and a curse, I think. Also in the character line-up are a farmer and his deaf little sister, whose family ranch is being audited by the IRS.

One of my favorites is a nerdy teenager with a heart of gold. A feisty grocery store owner. A deputy (another son of the mayor) who's pretty heroic except for the fact that--well, you'll see. Anyhow, this show rocks! Is anyone else watching it?

14
Movies and TV / Lost! Round III ***spoilers***
« on: September 10, 2006, 09:00:55 PM »
Quote
"You even got Locke to take a swing at you. Hell, that's like getting Ghandi to beat up his kids!"
--James Ford (aka Sawyer)

Oct. 4th 2006: my mom's b-day AND the day that "Lost" kicks off Season III. woohoo!! Suffice it to say, she's very excited about getting such a cool present. What will happen now that the hatch was blown to kingdom come? What is "Henry Gale" plotting next? When will Charlie stop being a git?! Will Hurley ever have another shot at love now that poor Libby's dead? Have we really seen the last of Walt? And Desmond (*sigh*)?

Anyhow, I've been watching Season II on DVD. Dude, I forgot how Jack's wife had been cheating on him when she took off! I had forgotten how the Others only put "good people" on their list. Also, I didn't remember exactly why Kate said she killed her real dad. I hope it means that she and Sawyer will never really get together. Oh, and Sawyer (who I am sure got his name from Locke's con-man daddy) squashed that itty bitty frog. waaaa!

I, for one, can't wait for the next chapter of "Islandtown."

15
Writing Group / Change of Venue for Group Two?
« on: September 09, 2006, 06:38:13 PM »
Hey, guys, the time has come. School is back in session. As of this week, I have Copyediting every Thur. night--which means I either hafta bow out of the group (eek!) or see if everyone can meet a different night. :P (Lucky for me, my internship class only meets 3x a semester.)

Lemme see... the Speculists meet Tuesdays now (right, Nessa and SE?) and Monday is out b/c of FHE type stuff and nobody'll come if we do it on Friday night (not that I'm ever on a date or anything....)

That leaves Wed. So, um, how does that sit with everyone??

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