Non-spoilery comment: So, I watched the latest America's Best Dance Judge Crew and honestly, what the hell is Lil Mama's deal? It'd be nice if she concentrated on giving her own damn crit (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...yeah) instead of constantly reassuring the contestants that JC is wrong and everything they're doing is just fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

( Spoilery comment )

In conclusion: In fanfic terms, Shane clearly hangs out at fanfiction.net and leaves squeeful comments no matter HOW awful the story is. Every now and then he'll admit a bit of confusion over a mangled sentence, but mostly he thinks all the stories are fabulous, and everyone deserves cake and cookies and hugs just for posting! No punctuation? Horrific grammar? Stop harshing his squee!

In fanfic terms, Lil Mama is the person who repeats (and sometimes blenderizes) comments of people who've left comments ahead of her. Every now and then she'll mix it up by saying, "Great story, but it could be better," without actually offering any advice on how this could be achieved. If she sees concrit in the comment above hers, she'll add an additional comment saying that [fill in the blank] totally worked for her, and the story was the best thing EVAR.

In fanfic terms, JC is the BNF that everyone wants to have beta their stuff, but they're terrified to approach. He'll tell you honestly what works and what doesn't -- if you're just there for fluffy hand-holding, you're wasting his time. If he's left a positive comment for your fic, you get all trembly and weak-kneed and squeeful because OMG, JC LOVED MY STORY! and then you have to email your friends to tell them about it because clearly, JC is completely awesome and knows his shit.

Okay, Supernatural friends, where do I go for fic? Any particular comms worth watching? Websites of interest? Authors of note? If one wanted to read a ton of good Winchester!slash, where would one go?

Help a sister out, folks!

I hardly ever talk politics in my LJ, but this was pretty amazing and I'm smiling now hours later thinking about it, and I want to make sure I have it here so that this time next year I can look back and go...yeah.

I listened to the local NPR station (National Public Radio) on the way home this evening and caught a piece of one of those "what the everyday Joe thinks about the upcoming races" kinds of things. The radio was set to scan, and just as it started to hop to the next station, an elderly-sounding, heavily accented voice said, "I'm voting Obama."

Weh?

I popped back to the station and listened to the rest of the piece, and when I got home I pulled into my garage, lowered the door, turned off the engine but left the radio on.

Between homey bits describing the atmosphere of the Bloomer, Wisconsin pie shop they were in, the interviewer spoke to the employees and customers. Most of them sounded in the upper ranges of middle age, with a couple of truly elderly folks tossed in the mix, both men and women. They talked about Hillary and Obama and what a mess the Republicans had made of things, and what they thought -- and hoped -- the two Democratic candidates might bring to the table. The most amazing thing? Republicans, all of them. Also amazing, none of them wavered when asked, "You're a Republican and you're going to vote for a Democrat?"

Without sounding like a huge cheeseball, I can't accurately describe what it felt like listening to those interviews...though I admit I may have teared up just a teeny bit. :-)

One of the truly elderly folks, a man, said he might vote for Hillary, but he was still undecided because the "black boy" had a lot going on upstairs and he just might vote for him instead.

When this man first starting voting, would he have ever have thought a black man could even run for president? Would he ever have thought he'd be voting for that black man -- or a woman! -- for the highest office in the United States someday?

How many of those interviewed, if asked even twelve, eight, four years ago, would have thought they'd consider voting Democrat? And how many of them would ever have thought they'd vote for a woman? A black man?

When the piece was over I kept thinking about it while I walked up to the house, and I thought, this is one of those things that I really wasn't sure I'd ever see in my lifetime, but, yeah. In my lifetime. And that, my friends, is a pretty freakin' amazing thing. :-)

Sitting here thinking about typing this up, I thought about Right Here, Right Now, an oldie by Jesus Jones. The video for this tune featured footage of the Berlin Wall coming down. An oldie, but a goodie, and it sums up how I feel tonight.

( Right Here, Right Now -- Jesus Jones )

Don't click the link if you don't want to know. Sorry if the pre-cut version pissed anyone off!

( Stargate Atlantis casting spoiler for season five. )

I watched yesterday, wrote notes as I watched, started to post about what I'd watched, then thought perhaps I should watch again. Well, I started to today, got about twenty minutes in and realized nothing had changed. So! Here are my as-it-unfolded reactions to the second episode of season/series two. ( LJ cut for freshness! )

I've been reading a Life on Mars/Doctor Who crossover crack!fic extravaganza starring Martha, Jack and Sam Tyler as the Master. Whee!

I seem to have developed a taste for Sam Tyler/Martha Jones fic, and sadly, there's not enough of it in the world. Sam Tyler (non-Master Sam Tyler) is a sweetie; he needs to be with Martha, and people need to be writing it.

Notes written while I watched the Torchwood finale, ( and was too enraged to fully flesh out. )

Holy crap. Heath Ledger was found dead today in an apartment in NY.

::is stunned::