{"@attributes":{"version":"2.0"},"channel":{"title":"Diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/","description":"Diamonde - LiveJournal.com","lastBuildDate":"Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:20:35 GMT","generator":"LiveJournal \/ LiveJournal.com","copyright":"NOINDEX","image":{"url":"https:\/\/l-userpic.livejournal.com\/265623\/210456","title":"Diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/","width":"100","height":"81"},"item":[{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40237.html","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:20:35 GMT","title":"Signs and portents","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40237.html","description":"Most of you have probably heard me explain the rule that things Australians say about hazards are frequently untrue, but the signs are deadly serious.

Lying on the ground next to my path home from work is a sign that says 'Bike path subject to flooding'. This outstanding understatement reminds me where I live every time that the underpasses turn into foamy brown rivers that have been known to tear off metal railings (and uproot signs).

Further up the path, past the flooded parts, there is a much smaller geographical reminder - the perfectly flattened corpse of a cane toad. What I love about that, aside from it being a dead pest, is that it's on a bike path. You expect them on the roads, but on a bike path you just know that some jogger or cyclist did that deliberately and with a certain level of personal risk.

At least that was the thought that went though my mind when I spotted a non-flat toad tonight. I instinctively swerved towards it, then suddenly reconsidered how much traction I was prepared to give up in the dark and the wet. But I feel like I've been a bit derelict in my duty as a Queenslander. A good citizen would have hit that sucker, even on my little bike.

Posted via Journaler<\/a>.<\/small><\/em><\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40237.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40095.html","pubDate":"Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:20:57 GMT","title":"Long time no post","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40095.html","description":"So one of my new years resolutions was to get back online and start using this journal again. I don't actually have anything much to say at the moment, so this is more of a heads up. If you forgot that you had me friended and aren't interested, feel free to defriend. Otherwise, I'm probably going to rename this journal as soon as I'm sure what I want to change it to.

And it's my bedtime. Night all.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/40095.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39794.html","pubDate":"Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:10:48 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39794.html","description":"So, my fandom life seems to have come in something of a circle. I followed other people from comics to popslash when Marvel decided to kill and\/or cancel all of my favourite characters in one month. In popslash I met many lovely people, including two current housemates, and when the source material for popslash dried up and what was left just brought massive fandom psychosis and side-taking (solo albums are so divisive) one of them introduced me to Supernatural.

Well. You've all known me for a while, so if you've seen the show you can probably guess how much I was all over that one. Like a rash. Winchesters. Summerses. It's like somewhere there's a factory devoted to making issue-ridden fantasy-plot-having families of attractive men just for me.

Anyway. The source material for Supernatural is as good as ever. But one of the other lovely popslashers of my acquaintance is Sin, the two of us and said housemate are going to a Supernatural con in the US this Friday. We were on AIM working out some details, since Sin lives in Sydney, comics came up and Sin uploaded the Madrox limited series and 1-10 of X-Factor.

I loved it to pieces. I stayed up until two in the morning reading the damn things and went to work the next day nearly crying and yet somehow not sorry. So, with Cable and Deadpool, that's two titles I like and want to read. I might have to make purchasing arrangements. As a non-committal baby step in that direction I went into the shop that used to be the highlight of my week and bought a couple of comics. (I never went cold turkey, I always picked up the odd one or two but usually back issues and never on any regular basis. I get a Fables trade whenever they feel like sending some out to this rugged frontier of non-Sydney.)

All the staff seem to have changed from my heyday, there's nobody there who recognises me anymore. Which fits, I guess, since there's a lot of stuff in the comics that I don't recognise anymore and I keep finding new horrible things that they've done to stuff I used to recognise. Still, it's a bit sad. When I was in high school I used to go in all the time, the counter was too tall for me then (I'm much the same size as I was but they've moved premises) and they used to recognise me and my uniform and not let poorly socialised males push me out of the way. I had an argument with a manager about whether I looked like my sister or not. When a storm that was pretty impressive even for Brisbane came up while I was in there, he offered to drive me home. I hope him and the nice redhead who found me Cable #25 went on to bigger and better things.

So there's the circle. And when I get back from my trip, I'll set up a box at the shop and start getting comics put away. My income's double now what it was at uni, so it's not like I can't afford it. Of course, it did occur to me that I could purchase a few things while I'm ON the trip. So I looked up the comic shop that I remember with the great action figure discount bin. And couldn't find it. And Sin couldn't find it.

And then I finally found an old entry in someone's blog that mentioned that it changed its name and burned down. Which, as Mel put it, is about as definitively gone as you can get.

So. If you've stuck with this entry from someone who's been absent for a very long time this far, thank you. And, if you know of a spiffy comic shop between LA and Nashville (inclusive, although we're planning on getting out of LA as quickly as possible) that I should visit so I can continue the tradition of action figure porn in the backseat, please leave a comment.

If I survive the con without permanent trauma or injury or being arrested for my unsavoury political history and sent to Guantanamo Bay, I'll think about DexCon. Yes, I have to make as many jokes about being arrested as I possibly can now, since I won't be able to make them later.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39794.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39658.html","pubDate":"Thu, 22 Dec 2005 15:37:18 GMT","title":"I think maybe I'm missing the fanatical point...","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39658.html","description":"I've read a few things about the controversy of the season and been thinking. There's the school debate, which according to the papers must be either a) a three-hour long Christian service and hellfire lecture that must be attended by every K-12 student or b) a total ban on the words 'Christmans' or 'Jesus' ever being spoken aloud in a state school. (I imagine that the history and social sciences teachers may be permitted to mime the naughty words when required.) I don't quite get it. It's a state school, yes, no enforced Christianity IS an assumption in that entirely secular and government funded institution. No, that doesn't mean that mentioning the existence of organised religion and religious holidays is forcing Jesus on kids. Like sex and drugs, they're gonna find out eventually and if you want them to find out your way you'll have to get in quick.

Mostly I'm confused by the level of outrage over whether retail employees should be saying merry christmas or happy holidays. Call me crazy, but I don't think the teenager selling me my shit cares whether it's my grandmother's Christmas present, my mother's solstice gift or something I'm giving my dad just to piss him off because he believes in none of these things and is very determined to avoid them as much as possible. Why do people think it's a huge deal that they get the well-wish of their choice by every underwhelmed and overtired cashier?

I shopped yesterday, bought some stuff. The nice young man taking my electronic money handed me my receipt, smiled at me and said 'have a great afternoon'. A sentiment I was happy to return and something I certainly did my best to actually do.

Why the drama? Why the sudden tizz over what on earth retailers can say to their customers that won't offend somebody to the point of physical violence? Did we just invent shopping yesterday or something? Because I thought we'd had it figured out for years. It's become almost annoying in its constant, generally insincere presence.

Have a nice day.<\/i>

No religion, no de-Jesusification of a religious holiday, no sharp edges we might cut ourselves on.

Enjoy your meal\/movie\/evening.<\/i> How complicated is it, really?

I haven't said 'merry christmas' to a single caller who didn't say it to me first, and I haven't had any of them complain. Most have seemed quite happy with a variation on 'thanks for calling', 'enjoy the rest of your afternoon' or 'good luck with getting that ticket sorted out'. The exact same things I say the rest of the year.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39658.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39190.html","pubDate":"Fri, 09 Dec 2005 10:41:55 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39190.html","description":"Dear Apple,

I knew I disliked you for a reason.

I am unable to watch the X-Men 3 trailer because I won't install iTunes. Ridiculous, you say? Not at all. Because the only links to the trailer I can find are with Apple, and they of course will only play with Quicktime. And more specific than that, Quicktime 7. Which I refuse to install, because it comes inextricably bundled with iTunes. I mean, I've got nothing against iTunes. I'm sure it's great. I know people who totally like it. It's just that I already have enough programs competing for mp3 dominance, thanks. Winamp thinks it's king and occasionally is, the iriver plus software that came bundled with my mp3 player thinks it's king and I don't want to piss it off because it's the only thing that can talk to the player, and Windows Media Player fondly imagines it's king but is actually only used when winamp or DivX fuck up.

I just have no patience left for media-player histrionics, you know?

So thanks for totally validating my prejudice by doing the bundling crap that you deride others for. It just gives me a fabulous excuse to get up on my beloved high horse over not installing your crappy product.

Love,

Me.

P.S. Bundling sucks. No matter how mind-shatteringly good your product is, if I don't want it then I don't want it and I won't bloody well install it. I'm looking at you Adobe, you adding-shit-to-an-acrobat-reader-update fucktards.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39190.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39075.html","pubDate":"Thu, 21 Jul 2005 14:14:08 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39075.html","description":"Neil Gaiman is the coolest cool that ever cooled, bar none. He not only tolerated drunken me with the slurring declarations of love, he signed all three peices of stuff with incoherent explanations and complimented drunken me on her attire.

Both drunken me and sober me reiterate their earlier slurred statement.

Neil, you delight me. Thank you for everything.

Pissed bitches in red coats of Brisbane, signing off. If I owe you an email, I probably haven't read it yet because I'm too busy preventing myself from sending 800 emails of apology to Neil for breathing red wine fumes on him and possibly insisting on touching him but I'm fuzzy on that. If I took your book to get signed, I'll curse you and tell you the whole story later.<\/small>

P.S. Yep, Mel assures me I touched him with this hand. I'm oddly glad it was the relatively coordinated hand.<\/small><\/small>","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/39075.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38532.html","pubDate":"Wed, 01 Jun 2005 03:10:55 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38532.html","description":"I love firefox. I really do. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally attached to a browser before. It works so consistently, with almost no popups, it's secure and stable and lovely.

Except that I would quite like a bit of Java capability to view one particular page. Missing plugin? Not a worry! Click here to get it!

So I did. Twice. Didn't install, despite it assuring me it had. It didn't even show up on the plugin list. So I sigh and go to the 'missing pluging' page to download it the old-fashioned way. Ironically enough, the page to download missing plugins for firefox doesn't display properly in firefox. But nevermind, I found the right link after only one wrong guess, and installed away. The installer sunnily asked me which browsers I would like that Java enabled for, Microsoft Internet Explorer?

No, really. That was the only option presented.

Careful trials revealed that it did actually work for firefox too, but still. A page that doesn't display in firefox and a plugin that doesn't recognise it?

Firefox is a bloody wonderful browser. Too bad the people over at Mozilla don't seem to use it, I think they'd like it.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38532.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38173.html","pubDate":"Sun, 06 Mar 2005 10:58:18 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38173.html","description":"On the fandom front, I started buying comics again at Auscon. And have persisted. Cable and Deadpool, it almost<\/i> has my name on it.

Also, I've been watching Lost. And by 'watching', I mean downloading and watching over and over compulsively and getting other people to watch it too so I can vicariously watch it for the first time again. Even the episodes that don't have Naveen Andrews featuring prominently. (Although those are my favourite.)","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38173.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38051.html","pubDate":"Sun, 06 Mar 2005 10:50:52 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38051.html","description":"It's been a long time, but the urge to make a livejournal post for absolutely no good reason other than to hear myself talk has appeared again. It may not have seemed like it, but I missed it while it was away. I do love to hear myself talk, and whatever bizarre phase took all the fun out of doing it here was quite unpleasant. For one thing, I had to talk to other real people a lot, which isn't always for the best. Like, at work, sometimes it's important to shut up about shoes and whether the real reason why Lynn Flewelling and Kate Elliot aren't cranking out more books like they're supposed to is because they're off having kinky sex somewhere.

Like if you like orgasms, but masturbating's no fun anymore. Eventually people are going to get sick of you pestering them for sex. Or, in my case, hearing about my unhappiness with my current bank and whether or not any of the disciples were gay. (Me and Mel and Dana did have that discussion. \"What about those fishermen?\" \"Brothers. But Jesus and the other Simon...\" \"Brothers.\" \"Really?\" \"Yep.\" \"Bugger. But there were three fishermen, so maybe one of the brothers and the other one...\")

Other new gems of something I have to impart:

Harvey Norman are not bad at everything, they're in on an entirely new level of appalling service that sulky teenagers working the graveyard shift can only dream of one day attaining. And no matter what, there is ALWAYS somewhere else you can go. JB HiFi are nice, and their name always gives me a giggle. Tandy are dumb as toast, but at least it's relatively attentive toast. I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir with the Australians, but in case any of the people from other nations on my friendslist find themselves in Australia and in need of a keyboard or an iPod - seriously, just stab yourself in the eye with a fork. It'll feel about the same and be cheaper. I've now dealt with them as a customer and as a call centre operator for GE Consumer Finance and both ways I've wanted to beat them unconscious with their own merchandise.

On a related note, the hold music for GE will be godawful for the forseeable future. And as everyone in the call centre gets to hear it several times a day as they talk to each other and try to get things sorted, GE Money employees are now probably overtaking postal workers in the Will Just Go Fucking Nuts And Kill You All olympics. The Beatles-raping propaganda was only on for my last week there and thought I was going to die.

People say 'never live with your friends'. This is not necessarily good advice. For someone as lazy as me, living with your friends is a remarkably pleasant way of socialising without any effort or, necessarily, wearing pants.


Also, I have a new computer. It's new, black, has a 19\" monitor and was custom-built just for me. I love it so much it's obscene. Also, the monitor says 'DiamondDigital' with a little red diamond next to it. It's got my NAME on it. My joy is great.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/38051.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37874.html","pubDate":"Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:23:36 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37874.html","description":"I like Remembrance Day. I like ANZAC day too. Not in a 'yay!' way, but I like that we have them and I do like the reminder to think back. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of the poem about Flanders Field, except the line about crosses row on row. Because I remember that a few times a year when I lived on the Tablelands we'd be on the way to Yungaburra and go past the cemetary with the war dead. It took a minute to go past, and the flashes of white going by so fast made my eyes go funny. It certainly wasn't the biggest ever, probably really only in the hundreds. But for me as a child in a very sparsely populated area? There were probably more dead local boys in that graveyard than people I knew by a fair margin, it was hard to imagine.

I don't really find anything much in those days to glorify war, and I get uncomfortable around people who do. I don't believe the rhetoric about them dying to keep us free. I know that most Australian soldiers died a long way from home, and often for stupid reasons. And too many of them weren't given a choice. I can believe that WWII people were fighting for something good, although I wish it hadn't been necessary and know it shouldn't have been. But even in that war, I can't really believe in passing on the glorious torch of righteous battle against a completely evil foe to defend freedom. I don't consider European colonial interests to be freedom. You can't defend colonial interests in Africa and fight against them in New Guinea and have both be defending liberty.

But we did both and people died in both, and I think both should be remembered. Because I think the worst thing that we can possibly do is forget or just ignore that all the casualties on all sides of our long and bloody history were people. If we turn them into numbers or an embarrassing incident that nobody likes to talk about, we only compound the injustice done to them. And if we lose track of the knowledge of what happened, of what really happened rather than numbers and maps and dates (although I like those too), we will repeat our mistakes. I do think there are things we can be proud of in our military history and many, many more we should be ashamed of. But they should be remembered, because it's a part of who we are, and maybe a vital part of learning who we want to be.

I don't support John Howard's attacks on befefits for veterans. Whether the cause was unjust or conquering heroes shouldn't need namby-pamby health care, that's not the point. As a society, globally and nationally, we know what war does to people and we should do everything we can to help them recover, because they are people<\/i>. While I don't support the war in Iraq or the governments that started it (who are also people and should be ashamed of themselves), I regret the people who were sent to fight it and were traumatised, wounded or killed in the course such a morally corrupt invasion. Even though I wish that more of them would decline to participate, and that some in particular end up at the wrong end of a war crimes court.



I watched the war on Iraq on TV. Not very passively and certainly not for entertainment, it was hard to watch but it was harder to look away. Mostly we left the TV on the BBC News, since Fox obviously resulted in shouting at the TV and throwing things. On the china cabinet next to the TV my mother had a picture of a group of Iraqi children, on bad days she'd light candles in front of it and probably pray, although I didn't ask. The picture was a good representative, those children put a face on the country and the civillian death toll.

The other images that stuck with me are these.

This is the peace rally I went to in Brisbane. A bit under a tenth of the population showed up. It was the largest gathering I have ever, ever been a part of. Towards the end we ducked out to get liquid and food at a 7-11 and watched the rest go by. It took an hour for us to leave the staging area (which had proven to be faaar to small), maybe half an hour to walk as far as we did, and by the look of things when we left they were going to keep walking past for another hour or more.

Rageh Omaar was the BBC's correspondent in Baghdad and, essentially, the face of the war fo my family and a lot of others. He was much more than a talking head in front of an appropriately photogenic background, he was living there. He got kept awake by the bombing and suffered through the dust and heard the rumours and never seemed to be trying to turn what was going on into a soundbite. You could tell what things were like that day by what he was wearing. On cold days, he'd be wearing that red jacket he's got on in this picture - everyone got to know that jacket well, and I suspect it's one of the things that the BBC got emailed about, because the anchor commented on it once or twice. On bad days, he was wearing a helmet and a flak jacket.

On the worst day, all we saw of him was a very worn pair of jeans running up the stairs. When the Palestine was hit, he and a lot of the other journalists ran upstairs to find out what had happened and help. The cameraman was behind him as they ran up the stairs. They didn't show us what happened when they got up there and had to deal with dead or injured colleagues, at least not when I saw it.

After the war was officially declared over and was anything but, he suddenly disappeared from the television. The BBC was so swamped with emails from people all over the world - including my mum - asking where he was and if he was okay that they had to put a notice up on the website and have the anchors reassure people that he was fine, he was just going home for a rest. For people like us, he was the only person we 'knew' in Baghdad and we'd got quite attached to him. And after people living a few floors away from him were killed, it didn't seem at all far-fetched that one day he might be killed or inured. Especially on helmet-and-flak-jacket days.

(He's since written a book on the experience. One of these days I'll have to track it down and have a look.)


In the beginning of my BBC viewing, there was Basra. Fought over for days, and I couldn't find any good pictures of the exterior view that I saw so much. I do remember that it was a light brown city on a light brown desert with a light brown dustcloud all around it, so I suppose that explains it.

But the lack of water and food, I remember. That it became glaringly evident that there was no effective plan for resupplying cities with the basic necessities of life. Why should the prisomeners of war risk the guns and the barbed wire and escape? Out there there was water.

Inside, there was chaos every time a truck came in with supplies. Hard to be one of the men on the trucks, worse to be the civillians.


Although for sheer imagery, it was hard to go past the buring oilfields. The BBC kept showing them, and I kept staring. The BBC restrained themselves from saying 'scorched earth', I didn't.



It was also interesting to get to watch things live, uncut and in real time. There were two incidents in particular that I watched, live or mostly live, that have stuck ever since.

The Iraqi health minister's speech. The civillian casualties and the deploring of depleted uranium didn't shock me, I'd seen the pictures of that already. What got me was how much he was dismissed and belittled as a party puppet, which he probably was, while they missed the thing that floored me.

I've since seen someone claim that there is no evidence that depleted uranium does any harm. This man spoke very poor English - he had to consult his notes a lot, his sentences were stilted, and he had difficulty with different forms of words. He wasn't particularly persuasive or charismatic, unlike the other Minister who made everything that much more inappropriately entertaining. What got me was that Mubarak didn't know the singular form of 'women', but he could use 'congenital defect' right, and pronounced it perfectly. Not 'birth defect' which is what most people would use, particularly if they were fishing for a reaction. Nope, the proper medical terminology. And that part he didn't need his notes for.

The second thing was the aftermath of the bombing of an American convoy, one of the many 'friendly fire' disasters. The convoy had an imbedded BBC crew. Their translator was killed and both the correspondent and the cameraman were injured, giving people like me watching at home a first-person view of one of these moments that we were otherwise hearing very little about.

The not-quite-live was another moment of vertigo-inducing camerawork as the two Englishmen ran around, smoke and bits of truck and injured or dead soldiers everywhere as they looked for and found the body of their translator. That was bad enough to watch, and then the picture started getting obscured.

The cameraman was bleeding onto the camera. His hand came into the shot a few moments after this and wiped it off, but the rest of that footage has a blood-smear across it.

The live part was after things were a bit more under control and the camera was cleaner. The correspondent, John Simpson, looked a bit like my great-grandfather. And he mentioned that the officer in command of the convoy and apologised - because he'd radioed in their position ten minutes before they got hit. That terrified me. That he thought it was his fault because he radioed in the position of the convoy to his own side<\/i>. And that someone had known exactly where they were, and somewhere along the line this had turned into an attack run.

But even one degree of separation lessens the impact. What had me crying over this was the way that Mr Simpson had to ask the anchor on the desk to repeat a question. In that lovely polite English accent he said \"I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you... I'm bleeding from the ears.\"


Those were my moments. This las picture is a lovely piece of photojournalism that I don't remember when I first saw, but I think will be a lasting image of the Iraq war for a lot of people. Including me.


<\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37874.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37430.html","pubDate":"Wed, 10 Nov 2004 11:46:25 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37430.html","description":"News just in, I would totally whore Lynx<\/s> myself out for a copy of Sims2 and a computer capable of running it. Except that that sounds like work.

Anybody need a kidney?","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37430.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37214.html","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Nov 2004 16:23:27 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37214.html","description":"So I figured it's the back end of November 4th, probably time to start on that novel writing month thing.

I did. A new idea, because that was supposed to be a fun and easy thing rather than trying the same story I've been trying to write for years again.

Got 890 words done. Then I reached that point in the creative process where you have to go to the 7-11 or you'll die<\/i>. And because all great revelations come when in search of overpriced milk products at 1:30 in the morning, I've decided that I will go back to that story again, and just stop fucking around. Instead of angsting because I don't have plot to fill up a few years, I'll just cut those years out of the story. Because if they look boring when I'm trying to write them, they'll certainly be boring to read.

I'll put the stuff I need into a nice prologue, then skip ahead so the characters are old enough for the sex and action.

So now I'm back to zero words. But I have coffee-infused milk, candy, and a plan. All I need now is a playlist and we're good to go.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/37214.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36919.html","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Nov 2004 08:27:02 GMT","title":"I believe in the free flow of ideas. Especially mine.","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36919.html","description":"I know <\/a>doqz<\/b><\/a><\/span> was talking about the pros and cons of the actual policies<\/i> in the US presidential election. And I think that's a fine thing, because heaven knows my vehement support for Labor in this last election hinged greatly on their new policies. (I gave them my preferences last time for the dubious benefit of not being the Coalition and not overtly wanting to rip our tertiary education system to pieces. But grudgingly, and because I knew that if they'd got in they would have known it was through Greens\/Democrat preferences and thus been more attentive to that demographic. This year I loved Labor. I love Mark. Needless to say, my heart is broken<\/i>.) But talking policies rather than personalities is more open to discussion and although it's a bit late, I'd like to discuss.



Let's start with free trade, to get warmed up.

I feel best informed and entitled to talk about the Bush administration's proposed Free Trade Agreement with Australia. I say the administration, because I'm damn sure he didn't write the seventeen hundred page document himself. He probably didn't even read it. I don't mean that as an insult, because I'm pretty sure John Howard didn't read it either, or Mark Latham. They're way too busy. That's why Labor got a Senate inquiry into the damn thing, so somebody else would have to read it and work out what it meant and then explain the tricky parts.

Firstly, it's not really 'free' trade. In fact, 'more restricted trade for you, more monopolies for us agreement' would probably be more accurate, but it doesn't sound as cool. Sure, the deal's a good one for the US. Of course it is. In Senator Kate Lundy's words: \"The Howard Government's participation in bi-lateral trade talks with America was inevitably going to lead to an imbalanced outcome. This is because America is really big and Australia is really small.\" The US imposes its patent and copyright law on Australia, but without the fair use loophole. Meanwhile, tariffs on our primary exports to the US and the Farm Bill remain. Nice deal for the US, huh?

Would be if it had passed. The deadline's gone by. It may yet pass, and with the new Senators here it probably will, IF the US signs off on the amendment. In its original form it wasn't going to pass the government it was presented to, making it a really big gamble on the Bush administration's part (were they counting on nobody reading it or do they really think we're that dependent? answers on the back of a postcard to John Howard) and potentially a huge, stupid waste of time.

The inquiry brought out all sorts of interesting stuff, including the fact that the agreement directly attacks the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which is what Labor's amendment is supposed to address. The PBS means that Pensioners and other people with low incomes get prescription medicines subsidised by the government (meaning the government puts up most of the money), and so pharmaceutical companies who want in on the Australian market negotiate with the government. And frankly, our government favours the lowest bid on health care. The changes proposed in the FTA would benefit American pharmaceutical companies, I admit, because by changing our patent law they wouldn't have to put up with any competition from other companies. But Australia is far too attached to the PBS to give it up without a fight.

From my perspective, the Bush administration's trade policies suck. They're certainly not very free. And for the American companies, well, they're great if you can force your trade partner to agree, but shithouse if you can't. The FTA proceedings have been both long and expensive, and the longer the Senate looks at it the more they find that they don't like. As a strategy for dealing with a supposedly valued military ally, it kinda sucks.



Now for the controversial stuff. Iraq.

Now, I can see the point of view that we're well into it now, so we have to stick with it rather than pull out and leave an enormous mess. I wouldn't say that Bush's group is who I'd want to be in charge of that. The number of mistakes and atrocities since the invasion doesn't speak in their favour, nor do current living conditions in Iraq or the attitude of the populace.

The Bush administration angered a large portion of the world by invading in the first place. The biggest anti-war demonstrations in history, all over the world. And the country that was the most pissed off was Iraq. But, most of all, it's been a failure. The quality of living for the Iraqi people has not improved, it has sharply declined. There is no education. There are no jobs. There is no health care. Electricity hasn't been restored. Since their 'liberation' educated and previously independent women in Baghdad can no longer leave the house without a male relative due to the rise in kidnapping. And there's the extra risk of having your house blown up while you're in it. Sure, under Saddam people disappeared and were tortured or killed. That's still going on at quite a busy rate, both by insurgents, criminal gangs and the US military. See, there is no apology big enough to cover Abu Ghraib. There is no possible way to repair that kind of damage to your reputation. I'd like to think that's why the only apology made over it has been aimed at the King of Jordan, but I'm more inclined to think that it's because Bush doesn't or can't distinguish between different groups of Arabs.

But the saddest and most condemning part is that the way the Bush administration handled Iraq has produced an enormous increase in Muslim fundamentalism in a previously secular and tolerant state. (Equal rights for women were written into the law and they had free tertiary education, don't even think<\/i> about coming at me with that one.) The whole reason the US originally supported Saddam was as a bastion against Iran and fundamentalist rule. Now we have wall-to-wall violent Muslim fundamentalists and we know exactly who to thank for it. The Bush administration has produced more terrorists. And probably not just in Iraq, but Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

The Bush administration should not control the continuing attempts to sort out Iraq. Not because they were wrong to start the war, which I personally believe they were, or because Bush himself is personally hated, but because they are so incredibly bad at it<\/i>.




More detail than you can shake a stick at on the FTA can be found here<\/a>, for an inside view of Iraqi politics and Baghdad living conditions I recommend Baghdad Burning<\/a> - she has an open letter to Americans on the front page at the moment. Kate Lundy is a Labor Senator and the Shadow Minister for Manufacturing and Consumer Affairs.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36919.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36818.html","pubDate":"Thu, 26 Feb 2004 07:54:50 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36818.html","description":"Lynx: Eeeew! Most disgusting meme ever. This one generates whcih HP guy will knock you UP!

Me: Eeeeew! Put your name in and see how gross it is.

L: No!

Me: Put mine in, then.

[details filled in]

Result, first try:

Which Harry Potter Guy Will Knock You Up? by jazzedsoprano<\/font><\/th><\/tr>
Name\/Username<\/font><\/td><\/font><\/td><\/tr>
Age<\/font><\/td><\/font><\/td><\/tr>
House<\/font><\/td><\/font><\/td><\/tr>
The Father<\/font><\/td>Fred...or George...or both<\/font><\/td><\/tr>
How\/Why it happens<\/font><\/td>No reason..you're just a slut<\/font><\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/tr>
Created with quill18<\/font><\/a>'s MemeGen 2.0<\/font><\/a>!<\/font><\/td><\/tr><\/form><\/table>

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! No fudging! No effort! I am just that fucking good. And a slut. *does the twinslut mambo*","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36818.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36601.html","pubDate":"Thu, 29 Jan 2004 13:37:00 GMT","title":"Daredevil - Ben, I'm genuinely sorry that a fellow fan had to be part of that.","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36601.html","description":"Thinking on it, I suspect that the goodness of X-Men and Spiderman really raised my expectations on comic-based movies. There was a time when all I needed was cool explosions and a witty line or two.

And yet, Daredevil still sucked. And it was worse, because it could have been a good movie. If they'd taken the heroes out and just had Bullseye and Kingpin snarking at each other and destroying shit it would have been good watch. Okay, they couldn't call it 'Daredevil', but I would have been happily entranced for hours.

It could even have been an enjoyable<\/i> movie if Jennifer Garner hadn't been in it. Despite his freakish personal life, Ben didn't entirely blow. Not the Daredevil I pictured, but I guess it kinda worked. But a crybaby American white girl who you wouldn't have given decent odds in a fight against Christina Aguilera? For all the jumping around and attempting to look dangerous, it still felt like Jubilee could have totally fucked her shit up without chipping the nail polish.

I mention this because I was looking at the Daredevil DVD in Target the other day. It's cheaper than Spiderman, despite being newer. In fact, it's cheaper than many things, being a wopping $16.50. And at the time, Target was having a 25% off sale. So it would have been $12.40. And I looked at it, and I just couldn't buy it. Colin Farrell was lovely, but he didn't make up for Jennifer Garner $12.40 worth.

Given that I paid $10 for 'Batman Forever' on video<\/i> without a qualm... that's a whole lot of suck she's bringing.

And I don't understand why, when Elektra is such a damn cool character. Squish Salma Hayek into the old red vinyl thing from the 'oops! I did it again' video and have her bite somebody, it would have been better than Jennifer's entire performance. For one thing, while being equally not Greek, Salma at least has black hair and more than two facial expressions. I really don't understand how they managed to fuck it up so badly, Elektra's pure archetype.

If they were determined to have her as a blue-eyed American girl, why the hell didn't they cast Uma Thurman?


If I can't bring myself to buy it for $12, I think I'll have to download it. Then edit out all the Elektra bits.

Possibly I could fix the plot holes by sticking in the dance break from 'Toxic' and replacing the relevant Daredevil dialogue with Eminem lyrics.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36601.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36128.html","pubDate":"Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:36:13 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36128.html","description":"I just watched my first episode of American Idol. Houston is, apparently, home of crap.

And I'm disappointed. I was expecting evil and drama and stuff, like the tabloids told me there was. But noooo. Just crap and Ryan Seacrest.

We all know about my patriotic leanings and stuff, but this is Idol so there's nothing to be proud of anywhere. My point is, that Australian Idol had people who were really<\/i> stoned, genuinely painful to listen to without being coached, and hosts who actually did something. That it was bounce around in increasingly bizarre shirts and be homoerotic obviously scored points from me, but you saw them in genuine activity.

Ryan Seacrest has the best job ever. He gets paid to stand there and do nothing.

But then again, Australian Idol also didn't result in me consuming three drinks in half an hour. *hiccups* You people should replace Simon with Dicko, honestly. Still English and more originally insulting.

You're the worst singer I've ever heard. No, you are. No, unlike the other five people I said this to today, YOU are the worst singer I ever heard.

Oh well. American Idol doesn't have Mark Holden, so I'll keep watching it in the hopes that it gets more crude and slashy later.

And. They called the police for that? Ahahahahahahaha! Throwing water is assault<\/i> now? In that case, my class in high school should have been arrested approximately 459897823 times and classed as criminally insane or something.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/36128.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35841.html","pubDate":"Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:29:07 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35841.html","description":"I'm not dead. I have fic. Alicia's seen it, but it gradually occurred to me that Alicia is not, in fact, the entire world. (Just a goodly proportion of the nice part.) I think I'll do the mailing list thing tomorrow, I've edited and shuffled things, so I should check through for typo embarrassment before I put it somewhere I can't edit it.

Also, <\/a>jim_smith<\/b><\/a><\/span>? It's not a flaming vagina. At least, I never saw one. It was definitely one of the most impressive dicks I saw in the movies.

Seriously. That 'eye' is on top of a big phallic tower. It was like a gigantic cock that was looking back at you. And it was trying to point right at Frodo! Okay, it would have been the most impressive bukkake scene ever, but the tower was huge and Frodo's only about three feet tall. Poor little bugger would have drowned in spooge just because the big angry cock wanted it's magically size-changing ring back. (What? Come on, I have a whole bunch of slashers and dirty-minded women watching here! You were all thinking it!)

Anyway, there was fic. And this is it. Standard disclaimers apply, nothing mine, blah blah. No, I don't even have a giant-magical cock-tower, but I'll wear a cowboy hat if it makes you feel better. *settles cowboy hat on head*

Right.

WARNING: Those who really don't like the slash or the incest might wanna skip this one.

And that's:

in\u00b7cest n.
1. Sexual relations between persons who are so closely related that their marriage is illegal or forbidden by custom.
2. The statutory crime of sexual relations with such a near relative.

not:

mas\u00b7tur\u00b7ba\u00b7tion n.
1. to touch or rub your sexual organs in order to give yourself sexual pleasure
2. to touch or rub someone's sexual organs in order to give them sexual pleasure

2 is a little up in the air here, on account of the non-explicit part, but the first person to imply 1. to me is asking to be flamed. Seriously. Bottom line is that they have two distinct personalities and cannot feel what happens to the other one, so it isn't masturbation unless it's the mutual-touchy kind.




IMPERFECT


\"Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.\"<\/i>
Friedrich Nietzsche



The headquarters of New Canaan never stopped, never slept. But where it newest resident stood was quiet, physical and mental noise dampened by technology that few private citizens could have afforded. Stryfe wasn't listening, however. He was looking. In fact, he was almost mesmerised by the identical face staring back at him. He reached out unconsciously, needed to be sure it was real.

It was. His hand touched cool metal, perfectly smooth. Flat. Perfect. Stryfe pulled his hand back, snorting at his own foolishness. It might have been a while, but in his life as Apocalypse's heir he had seen countless mirrors. He would get used to them again soon enough.

Admittedly, his reflection was very different from what it had been then. Taller, stronger, older, with the simple clothes appropriate for a child replaced by armour and smooth red cloth. Not his own early attempt, but what had been created for him as his official Canaanite uniform. It was more practical and not as heavy, but he rather missed the cape. The one on the new battle uniform was somewhat appreviated for practicality. Stryfe decided that he would still wear the large version with the dress uniform, however. It was far too flattering to abandon.

He wasn't about to admit, even to himself, that having one more small thing stay the same would be comforting. Moving from the failed guardianship of Ch'Vayre to the fanatic teachings of Sanctity then, as so many others were, joining the ranks of New Canaan. Alone. Except for Zero, of course. But Zero was... Zero. Quiet, comforting, perfect, silent. He talked, but he didn't have a mind that Stryfe could read. So even when Zero was there, Stryfe couldn't help feeling alone.

At least he was an opinion, though. And an honest one, because Zero didn't know how to lie. \"When did my hair get this dark?\"

Zero was silent for a moment. *Your hair has become a marginally darker shade in the last two months. This is probably due to the decreased exposure to strong sunlight in the last year.*

Stryfe sighed and looked back at the mirror. \"How boring.\" Boring was the right word. Without the streaks of blond, his hair was an average, even shade of brown. He looked... ordinary. Stryfe detested ordinary. \"This has to change.\"

Frowning at the mirror, he focussed on his hair. If he could just change the pigment, or some of it, it would lighten again.

Sanctity's teachings had vastly improved his ability to manipulate things on a molecular level. It was still difficult though, especially on biological molecules. They were so much larger and more complex. And, Stryfe realised belatedly, could have some strange effects. \"Well. I wasn't expecting that.\" Instead of lightening to the dark blond it had been when he was younger, his hair had gone a rich, dark auburn. \"I like it, though.\" It complemented the uniform nicely. It also looked much less average. \"Yes, this is even better.\"

#Stryfe<\/a>.# The telepathic call from the Canaanite MindNet was characteristically restrained, polite and unarguable. The MindNet operatives would sound calm and polite if you set them on fire. That was their purpose. The communications weren't colourless, but the colour they were was beige. #Parridian<\/a> Haight desires your presence.#

That, of course, was Polite for 'you are summoned, run'. #I<\/a>'ll be there,# Stryfe replied. Polite for 'I'm going, keep your astral pants on'. Stryfe turned away from the mirror. \"Stay here,\" he told to Zero.

*As you wish.*

He went obediently, but didn't do anything so undignified as to run. He was an faithful ally, not a fawning servant. Waiting a little wasn't likely to do Haight any lasting harm. He entered the War Room calmly and walked across to stand next to Haight at the window. \"You wanted me?\"

Haight smiled with amusement. \"Yes.\"

Stryfe resolved not to use that wording to this man again. It turned his mind into an absolute sewer. But he diplomatically pretended not to notice, which amused Haight even more.

\"Normally people bow, you realise.\"

\"I don't,\" Stryfe said evenly. He was Apocalypse's Heir and deferred to no one. Haight knew that, he'd been around when Stryfe was a child trotting around the palace and getting the guards to fight imaginary wars. Perversely, it was his memories of Stryfe as a child that had convinced him that the adult would be a useful ally.

Stryfe knew from that alone that Haight hadn't paid much attention to his behaviour back then. Then again, Haight had been too low on the scale of importance to see someone like Stryfe very often.

\"Of course you don't. Because you're the new High Lord.\" Haight laughed softly and looked him up and down. \"The uniform suits you.\"

\"Thank you.\" Stryfe waited patiently for the man to get to the point.

\"Mmm. It'll be just the thing for a little expedition I'd like you to take.\" He looked at the map currently occupying the main table. \"You mentioned before that you had something of a grudge against those people who are now calling themselves the 'Clan Chosen'.\"

\"Yes.\" He wasn't going to say any more than that. Sanctity, the Askani and... other things were none of Haight's business.

\"Yes. Well, I have no interest in your grudge, but it does tell me that you know a little about them. I suspect that you fought them once or twice, before you... allied yourself with us. Therefore you are likely ahead of most others, possibly even enough to recognise them if you found them.\"

\"Certainly. They have several telepaths at least in their ranks who use distinctive techniques, and I would recognise one or two faces.\"

\"Good. They're stirring up trouble again and letting people get away with that really gives the wrong impression. We wouldn't want to be the kind of government that lets fanatics like that terrorise the populace, would we?\"

\"Of course not.\"

\"No. This will be something of a test, to take their measure, but also a demonstration of power and our concern for our subjects. So learn what you can but, more importantly...\" He looked up to emphasise his point. \"Most importantly, you will win.\"

\"There are no certainties in war or in government, except that things will rarely go to plan. But I do not forsee any particular difficulty, the Clan Chosen is small and has had little time to recruit more fighters or train any that they have gained.\"

\"Let me put it this way. This is your chance to prove your ability and value to me and to this government. Whether you win or lose may have little impact on me or on anything much outside that small area, but it will have great importance to you. Is that clearer?\"

\"Perfectly.\" Stryfe fept his face perfectly bland as he stared at his commander and decided that he hated the little slimeball already.

* * *

Stryfe looked out at his force and sighed. For someone so determined that the battle be won, Haight really hadn't given him many soldiers to fight with. Then again, maybe Haight was worried that Stryfe would try to use them in a military coup. It was a silly idea, but Haight wasn't very sophisticated that way. Quite paranoid, though.

He was just enough of a threat to make the Clan Chosen fight hard, not enough to do anything so drastic as wipe them out. He knew that, and Haight knew that. The aim was to send them running back into the forest to lick their wounds and have a public victory. If you kept on killing your enemies you had to go to all the trouble of finding new ones.

Still. A fight against the Askani'son and the ragtag remnants of the Askani was still worthwhile, even if he couldn't win definitively. It would do them good to be reminded that he was still around and now had a far, far bigger army at his disposal.

Really, why bother to build up his own when he could just use somebody else's?

He looked over at the hill to the north, feeling a flicker of attention. Yes, they knew he was there and knew that there was no getting around him. So what were they going to do about it? They had better come up with something soon, he wasn't going to start marching in large circles and wait to be ambushed. Really this was their best opportunity - it was nearly sunset, he had been following their trail since dawn and his soldiers were tired. The Clan Chosen weren't restricted to moving all day and only when there was light to see.

And now someone was watching him. Him personally in fact, he could feel it. Patience running out, Stryfe faced the unseen observer and waved. The mind at the other end flared busily.

\"My Lord...\" one of his two officers began uncertainly.

\"They're watching us. Get ready.\"

\"For what? There's maybe an hour of daylight left.\"

Stryfe looked at the edge of their half-completed camp, where a sentry suddenly broke out of the trees and ran towards them. \"Sir,\" he panted. \"The-\" The rest of his sentence was cut off by an explosion against Stryfe's telekinetic shield.

\"The rebels are coming. I noticed.\" That they were shooting at him in particular. That was just rude. Well, if that was what they were doing, the best thing he could do was take himself away from everything important.

Above and to one side of his force, Stryfe had a perfect view as his camp became a battleground. _That's right, come out of the trees..._ A ball of glowing gold power sailed smoothly out from the air in front of him to at least deafen and probably kill or injure several of the enemy's fighters. He didn't have enough men to be able to use that method once they got close to his soldiers, but when they'd just left the forest... Stryfe took aim at another pair that were charging together.

They made it into the fray unimpeded as something hit Stryfe very hard in the side, throwing him further away from the battle before he recovered and stopped himself. \"You again.\" Well, who else was it going to be? It always came down to the two of them. He didn't know if the Askani'son really understood that yet, but he would.

\"Me again,\" Nathan said lightly and raised the psimitar to make a valiant attempt at taking Stryfe's head off. Stryfe ducked and responded in kind. Without the weapon to give away the direction and timing of the attack he managed send the Askani'son falling, barely catching himself before he hit the ground.

Stryfe followed him most of the way down but stayed hovering a few metres above the ground. \"You really aren't used to fighting in the air, are you, Nathan?\" He shook his head. \"Silly question. You wouldn't be, you weren't strong enough until recently.\" He looked around and tilted his head, a mockery of a friendly confidence. \"You might want to work on it some more.\"

Recovering quickly, Nathan floated, watching him carefully. \"Well, don't I feel at a disadvantage all of a sudden,\" he said sarcastically. \"Here you are, all knowing my name and shit, and I just didn't give a flonq who the hell you are.\"

He'd suspected as much, but having it confirmed still... stung. Stryfe dropped the pose. \"You really have no idea who I am, do you?\"

\"Not one. Because I really cannot overstate how _little_ I care.\"

\"Stryfe,\" Stryfe supplied, hoping for recognition. \"The new High Lord. Something that you would do well to remember.\"

Nathan winced. \"Oh dear... someone really should have told you what happened to the last High Lord. It's not a title you want to take. Anyway, your new little Canaanite friends might object.\"

Stryfe fumed. \"I-\" he managed to get out before, in an attack he really should have seen coming, he crashed to the ground with the Askani'son on top of him. The fall knocked all the breath out of him and only the armour saved him from broken ribs, his opponent was remarkably heavy. But the words had to come out somehow. #It<\/a>'s MY title! How dare you not know who I am! How DARE YOU!!#

Nathan reeled, losing track of his follow-up under the telpathic onslaught of anger and the sheer volume of the shout that was being pushed directly into his head. Furious enough that he didn't care that it was still hard to breathe, Stryfe pushed him off and sat up, ignoring the rules of smart fighting and pulling off his helmet before punching Nathan as hard as he could. Given his position and the angle that wasn't as hard as it could have been, but it still stopped Nathan from getting up.

\"You f--\" Nathan stopped and blinked, staring at him.

\"Remember yet?\" Stryfe twisted and tried to get another good, cathartic punch in but Nathan wasn't quite startled enough for that and caught his arm.

\"You've grown.\" His voice was suddenly neutral.

\"Exactly the same amount you have, apparently. What a coincidence.\" Stryfe watched, waiting.

\"What-\" Nathan shook his head, but wasn't stupid enough to let go of Stryfe's arm. \"Why? After what Apocalypse did to you, why are you going along with this-\"

\"Because I _want_ to!\" Stryfe snarled. It felt good to have him there to yell at, to throw in his face that he was still an ignorant puppy who didn't understand anything. \"You thought you could just get rid of me? Pack me off with a senile old man who hated me so he could kill me and you wouldn't have to get your hands dirty? I was too strong for him years ago, and I've always been too strong for you. I am Apocalypse's heir, I am the High Lord now and I will do what I please!\"

\"I didn't think he'd kill you, he said he wanted to help-\" Nathan broke off as Stryfe laughed. \"You don't have to be the High Lord. You can just be yourself.\"

\"Oh, let me guess.\" Stryfe smiled. \"I could go with you, fight for justice, liberty and the betterment of the world. Be used as a weapon by a bunch of condescending bitches and take myself far, far too seriously. Thanks, but no thanks. Nobody uses me.\"

Nathan's touch was light, Stryfe had to give him that, subtle and hovering at the edges of his mind, picking up leaks rather than trying to get through his shields. Mismatched eyes looked thoughtful, then the Askani'son obviously made an effort to seem less violent and confrontational. \"It's not too late. You can still change things if you want to.\"

Stryfe felt his lip curl at the willful ignorance of the man. \"Monsters don't change.\" It was what Ch'Vayre had thought over and over again, towards the end of his life. He'd looked at Stryfe and thought 'monster'. Which was fairly hypocritical, Stryfe had always thought. That twisted abomination calling _him_ a monster.

\"Do you want to be a monster? Because if you keep on doing this, killing people because you can, because you enjoy it, you always will be.\" Nathan was vehement and a little angry. A little disgusted. At Stryfe.

That burned far more than it should have. \"Don't be sanctimonious with me, you're as much a monster as I am. You kill. And deep down, you like knowing that you can. That you can win, that underestimating you will be the last thing someone does.\"

\"I do not! I'm not like you.\" Nathan's disgust became more obvious. And more defensive.

\"Yes you are. You want to think you're better than me, that you're _different_ and special, but you're not. You're just like me, you'll always be like me. Look at us now! No matter how far you run, how many new 'friends' you make, how much you think you change, there I am. Look at me.\"

\"I'm not you!\"

\"Look at me!\" Stryfe wasn't sure when they'd forgot to fight, but they had. He could push Nathan's head back to look at him easily, lean until their faces were only inches apart. \"We're identical! We have the same face, the same power, the same voice! That will never change, you'll always be like me. We'll always fight whatever war there is, and there will always be a part of us that likes it.\"

\"I don't like-\"

He would keep saying that, Stryfe realised, until he learned better. There was a hot blur of adrenalin from the fighting and fury at Nathan's refusal to understand and the confusion of being so close all pushed into one need to wipe away that stubborn expression. Kissing Nathan seemed the perfect response. And it brought things nicely back to a physical setting which was so much more comfortable than words.

If they hadn't been fighting it might have ended there. If they hadn't been so young and angry and confused and, even if only Stryfe would admit it, excited by the battle. \"See? You do,\" Stryfe muttered quietly, moving in closer and kissing his enemy again, longer and harder. His free hand was prssed against the back of Nathan's neck before he thought about it. He didn't have to think about this, not anymore. The strongest survived, and the strong used every weapon at their disposal. Stryfe was good at being desired, making people want him. He'd been doing it for a very long time. The lightest brush against the outside of Nathan's shields, not forcing any effect just giving an idea, then follow it up with his body so the two are properly associated. Associating sexual want with him. Letting telepathy and body language and voice indicate his own overwhelming need. Another person's arousal was exciting, that it was because of you was enticing and flattering. And it was so easy to get trapped in.

Nathan wasn't fighting him anymore, he was kissing back. Half-unwillingly, but Stryfe knew he'd give in. They always did. And if he was as close to Stryfe's age as he'd always looked he couldn't be much more than eighteen, which would make it all the easier. His body didn't care what side Stryfe was on, didn't wonder why they looked alike or care about Stryfe's past. All it cared about was that Stryfe was against it right then, touching and teasing and making it feel so very nice.

That was easy too. It turned out they were alike in a lot of ways. Sensitive in the same places, equally young and just as... invigorated by fighting. And if anything, Nathan seemed to like men more than Stryfe did. Which, to be honest, wasn't an awful lot, but under the right circumstances he forgot that.

These were the wrong circumstances. Stryfe knew that. If Nathan had been someone else, he wouldn't have been attracted at all. He wouldn't be touching and undressing and giving the arrogant, impossible scientific abomination free run of his body. And he couldn't forget how wrong it was. He didn't understand how people could just hurl themselves into sex wholeheartedly and not think about what could go wrong, no matter how foolish it was. He always knew exactly what he was doing. He mad damn sure he did.

Nathan seemed to be able to ignore it. Just put it out of his mind for as long as it took, and not let thought intrude again until afterwards.

Then Nathan looked at him, still thoughtful and a little wary but hopeful. And he reached out to touch Stryfe's face, curious and soft. Stryfe flinched away. \"Why do we look alike, Stryfe?\"

\"You're my clone.\"

Nathan flinched and pulled his hand back. Clones were slaves, ghosts, not real people. \"I guess we are alike then. Both abominations in our own way.\" He sighed, then looked up. \"But we don't have to be. You can change if you want to.\"

\"What would I be instead? An Askani pawn? A figurehead for you to use to try to convert people? A performing pet to show how right your cause is? Because I don't believe in it. You're just the same as all the rest, you know. Another group in different uniforms telling people they know what's best. They'd be better off with me, at least I know what I am.\"

\"What are you?\" He'd try, Stryfe could see that. There was too much power at stake. Stryfe's power. Nathan would try to convert him because he was a general, he saw intelligence and power and a useful spy and he wanted it.

The same thing everybody always wanted.

\"A leader. A soldier. A killer. The world's penultimate attrocity.\"

\"I don't think you want to be.\" Which just went to show. Nathan didn't understand anything.

\"I think...\" Stryfe gave up and reached out with all the power that made him so wanted. \"I think that you shouldn't think about this anymore.\"

Nathan's shields were strong, but sex and his attempts to seem sincere had undermined them. And they just didn't seem to work very well against Stryfe. It wasn't easy to get past them, but it wasn't hard. And once there, he could bundle all the memories of the last half hour up and make them disappear. Erase the conscious thought, bury the subconsious echos so deeply they'd never be found.

He couldn't do that to himself, though. And weak as it was, even if he could have he probably wouldn't.

* * *

\"I had to do something. He didn't understand. Wouldn't understand, he didn't _want_ to, he just treated me like I was some other person who he could _save_. I'm not! I'm...\" Stryfe shook his head, hating that there were no words for it. \"I'm more than that. He just can't see it.\" He was fighting a losing battle to keep the tears from falling. Once one escaped, the rest always followed. \"Cursed Askani. Telling him that he's so special and perfect and chosen. He's not, he's just like me. Practically is me, but with that virus. He's not better than me, no matter what he thinks. Even if I did what I did, he did it too. And at least I knew why.\"

Zero tilted his head. The perfect listener. *Why?*

\"Because I wanted to. I wanted to make him understand that I'm real and not just another enemy to fight. We're connected. If making that connection physical was the only way he'd understand it, then what's wrong with that?\"

*But you said that it was not simply a physical connection. So if that is all that the Askani'son thinks there is, he still does not know the truth.*

Stryfe pushed his hair off his face, it was sticking in the wetness of tear-tracks. \"So WHAT? I wanted to touch him, to get close to him, because it's like there's a black hole in my mind being alone all the time and I just wanted it to stop for one second! Just one _second_. Why doesn't he feel that?! Why doesn't it hurt him too? It's not _fair_.\"

*You feel that you lack something. That the Askani'son is a part that is missing from yourself?*

\"I wouldn't put it that way. I'm fine by myself.\"

The words must have sounded equally hollow to Zero. *You feel this lack, but the Askani'son does not. The simplest explanation is usually true. The hypothesis that requires the fewest assumptions in this case is that he simply does not lack anything, while you do.*

\"He DOES!\" The mirror exploded into sparkling powder and Stryfe realised with furious self-disgust that he'd even held his hand out towards it to direct his power. He hadn't done that since he was six. \"He doesn't have ME! He's my clone, he's a part of me that got taken away and turned into somebody else! And we're telepathic, we _are_ connected. We can't not be. We always know where we are, when we're close by... we just pretend sometimes that we don't.\"

*You know. You pretend. You do not know that he does.*

\"He does, because _I do_! I feel it all the time!\" Stryfe clenched his fists. He wouldn't break anything else, his control over his power was complete. \"I just wanted to really feel it for once, and he thinks he won something. It didn't work and he didn't even understand. And neither do you.\" The mental routines to keep his powers under control were calming ones, once he'd removed excess emotion everything was simple. Simple and logical.

When he finally looked up at Zero, the anger had faded to a cold, rational numbness. Zero, who didn't understand Stryfe's perspective of the emotion or the need, the act or the stigma. Who heard all and listened to everything and never lied. Perfect listener. Imperfect confidant. \"You don't understand. And you never will. So I think...\" Zero had no mind to be influenced, no memory that could be wiped through Stryfe's power. He was just electronics and programming. That Stryfe had built, and wanted to be perfect. He could be, really, with just one change. \"I think that you shouldn't talk anymore.\"

It was so simple to just disconnect Zero's ability to produce a voice, but nobody would ever be able to get around it. \"I order you never to speak, or to attempt to.\" And the programming said that his orders must be obeyed.

His secrets were safe, locked inside Zero's head forever. Because Zero was perfect.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35841.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35595.html","pubDate":"Mon, 10 Nov 2003 22:42:30 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35595.html","description":"Want to share a funny secret?

I can't wait until Dex comes to visit. Then he'll find out that I was lying about the house, I actually live in a cardboard box near the railway station. He'll be sleeping in the gutter.

And the only wireless internet access in this entire city is a small patch in the middle of the CBD. The image of unwashed, sleep-deprived Dex walking in small circles through the Queen Street Mall waving his laptop around in a desperate quest for reception just tickles me.

I mean, what sort of person wouldn't<\/i> find that funny? He should have known better than to trust me.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35595.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35499.html","pubDate":"Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:15:01 GMT","title":"On slash, AGAIN.","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35499.html","description":"Welcome to the latest in a long line of arguments I've had about slash. If I didn't record it somehow, it'd blur into the long line of others, because mostly they're all the same.

But I want to keep this one. I think I'm being remarkably calm and reasonable - for me, anyway.

Original here<\/a>.




<\/a>diamonde<\/b><\/a><\/span>

I just want to make sure I'm understanding your implication here. those of us who find slash inappropriate to the characters or actors (and I speak of any genre here, not just LoTR) should just shut up and ignore it?<\/i>

It depends. If you want to get into a debate over the characterisation and situations and why you think A and B wouldn't have sex, I say go for it. I personally find the idea of Frodo\/Sam pretty stupid. I don't think that people who write it sould be stopped or made to go sit in the corner away from decent folks, though.

No matter what you or I think about the pairing, people are going to keep writing it, and should be allowed to. So, basically all we can do is avoid places where it's common, tell someone if they go off-topic with it in a community or mailing list, and pretty much shut up and ignore it. Personally, I go the route of avoiding LOTR fanfic like the plague I think it is. Works pretty well.

this is precisely the reason why people are afraid to speak out against slash. anyone who does is instantly pointed to and railroaded into keeping silent against the current fad in fanfiction.<\/i>

Steady on now. That's a bit inflammatory. You're not being sat down at gunpoint and forced to read child porn. But why would anyone need to speak out against slash? If it's on-topic for the community, what the hell's wrong with it?

If it's just to say 'I'm not a big fan, I much prefer het porn to m\/m and I don't see any tension between the men in my fandom of choice', um, okay. I don't really see that that needs a public announcement, but whatever. Honestly, f\/f porn doesn't do much for me either, but I can't think of any real reason why people would be burning to know that about me.

But slash isn't a fad. As far as I can tell, it's just becoming less segregated from the rest of het\/gen fanfiction. Coming out of the closet, as it were. It's not really surprising, gay people\/characters and relationships are becoming more acceptable in movies and on television as well. It seems glaringly obvious to people who aren't used to seeing it around so much, but they'll probably get used to it. And if it's not their thing, they can just scroll on by. I skip past pairings and characters that don't interest me all the time, het and slash, and over the years it's become so automatic that most of the time I don't even notice.



<\/a>silverwraith<\/b><\/a><\/span>

So, basically all we can do is avoid places where it's common, tell someone if they go off-topic with it in a community or mailing list, and pretty much shut up and ignore it.<\/i>

I understand what you're saying here and I agree whole-heartedly. the thing that ruffles my feathers is that even one is passing through a community like this, it's blatantly there. it's not that I favor censorship or anything like that--believe me, censorship is the last thing I want, being a writer myself--I just wish that more slashers were more discrete.

Personally, I go the route of avoiding LOTR fanfic like the plague I think it is. Works pretty well.<\/i>

yes, that's what I do as well.

But why would anyone need to speak out against slash? If it's on-topic for the community, what the hell's wrong with it?<\/i>

yes, I admit that remark was a bit inflammatory. understand that I'm not talking about crusading through the internet and threatening anyone who thinks S\/F were gay and decides to write a story about it. this isn't at all what I'm advocating here. all I'm asking for is to be able to say something like \"I don't appreciate slash, m\/m porn fic doesn't turn me on, and I don't understand where your S\/F reasoning comes from\" and not get flamed or called a homophobic prude who needs to get laid. in all honesty, I've never spoken up in a forum like this because I've seen this exact thing happen to not one but two of my friends--in their own journals, no less--and I'm sick of it. comments like that anonymous poster's are what I meant by my railroading remark.



<\/a>diamonde<\/b><\/a><\/span>

the thing that ruffles my feathers is that even one is passing through a community like this, it's blatantly there. it's not that I favor censorship or anything like that--believe me, censorship is the last thing I want, being a writer myself--I just wish that more slashers were more discrete.<\/i>

So what we do in the privacy of our own mailing lists is none of your business, but we shouldn't bring it up in public? While not the exactly same thing, it is only a short step away from 'you perverts can do what you want in your own bedrooms, but good, God-fearing people don't wanna see a couple of fairies kissing in the street'. And I'm sorry, but that is offensive. I'm not saying your a homophobe, because I don't know whether you are or not, but you're sounding increasingly slashophobic.

Why should slashers have to be 'more discreet'? Is it abberant behaviour? Is it offensive? Why should it be treated differently from fiction\/photomanips with heterosexual themes? If there's nothing wrong with writing\/drawing\/manipping two men together, why the hell should I have to be more discreet<\/i> about it?

I'm sorry, but I can't see any rational reason why Harry\/Hermione fics and icons can go up all over the place but if I want to pair up Justin Finch-Fletchley and George Weasley I have to be discreet<\/i>. Back in the closet with me, I'm scarin' the normal folks.



<\/a>silverwraith<\/b><\/a><\/span>

in this case, an LJ cut of the picture would have been enough. and I would expect the same discretion whether someone posted a picture of Aragorn and Arwen naked as I would with Aragorn and Eomer. I've said this before and I'll say it again--it's not the fact that it's male sex. I'm not a big fan of any fanfic, really. but I'm not saying that it shouldn't be written--my personal feelings about fic aside, it's unreasonable to expect people not to show their appreciation of a book or movie or what have you and create stories outside the canon, and contrary to what everyone seems to think, I do understand that because I know what it means to be part of a fandom.

I feel like a broken record, but I'll say this again: disliking slash is a dislike of a genre, not an orientation. I don't like Harlequin romance novels, nor do I don't like slash. *shrug* call me a prude if you want--I'm past caring--but I just appreciate not being bombarded with ANY form of pornography, het or slash. it's a personal taste, nothing more.

<\/i>So what we do in the privacy of our own mailing lists is none of your business, but we shouldn't bring it up in public?<\/i>

no, that would be censorship. what annoys me is exactly what happened here--a friend of mine and I state our own opinions and are flamed for them, because we said we didn't like slash--not homosexuality, but a FIC GENRE. I don't see how that's fair.




<\/a>diamonde<\/b><\/a><\/span>

I also like LJ cuts for large pictures and understand that. But that's not what you said. You said \"I just wish that more slashers were more discrete\" I'm sorry if that isn't what you meant, but it is what you said. You didn't say \"I wish people would LJ-cut for pictures\". You said that slashers<\/i> should be more discrete. And unless things have changed severely since yesterday, slashers aren't the only ones inflicting un-cut pictures on people.

I feel like a broken record, but I'll say this again: disliking slash is a dislike of a genre, not an orientation. I don't like Harlequin romance novels, nor do I don't like slash. *shrug* call me a prude if you want--I'm past caring--but I just appreciate not being bombarded with ANY form of pornography, het or slash. it's a personal taste, nothing more.<\/i>

You're more than welcome to dislike slash. Go for it. I hate horror movies, myself. But that picture was hardly porn, given that they were both fully clothed and not touching. If it's off-topic for this community, say so. If it should be cut, say so. But don't crap on about how slashers need to be more considerate. I've been a slasher for years but I have never bombarded anyone who didn't want it with porn in my life, and I don't intend to start now.

what annoys me is exactly what happened here--a friend of mine and I state our own opinions and are flamed for them, because we said we didn't like slash--not homosexuality, but a FIC GENRE. I don't see how that's fair.<\/i>

And slashers get flamed regularly for being evil, godless perverts because they don't think every fictional character\/celebrity ever is straight. I don't think either is fair. Many slashers are hypersensitive and need to get over it, and many people who don't like slash need to learn how to skim past and move on rather than bitch about it.

To be honest, if I jumped into someone else's discussion about horror movies and said 'wow, I really hate 'em' I wouldn't be at all surprised if I got snarked at. What the hell is the point<\/i> of jumping into a slash-themed post just to say 'hey, I don't like it!' Seriously. Why not just move onto the next post?

You say 'but I don't like it!' Okay! I get that! I honestly don't care whether you like it or not, and restating it over and over won't make me care. But if you\/your friend\/anyone else can't stand the thought of on-topic things-not-to-taste coming up in a community, I suggest you\/they leave it rather than piss and moan about not liking it and how slashers persecute people.


Edited 5:22pm to include more posts.<\/i>","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35499.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35232.html","pubDate":"Sun, 14 Sep 2003 09:21:14 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35232.html","description":"Hey, Ali!

I finished that teenage Cable\/Stryfe.

*evil laughter*","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/35232.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34852.html","pubDate":"Sun, 14 Sep 2003 05:33:09 GMT","title":"comiiiics...","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34852.html","description":"So, went to Supernova with <\/a>elidyce<\/b><\/a><\/span> today. Got an Ultimate Spiderman signed by a very sweet Mark Bagley (he uses two exclamation marks on his signature and looks like a forty year-old Luke Skywalker). Also fell whimpering on the stall that shouted 'everything half price' and ended up with an interesting mix of early Cable (#1 for $3.50, hard to argue with that) and X-Factor. Mmm, early government!X-Factor. Tasty. Had to put the AOA stuff back though, if only because it was $10 and kinda shitted me. Yeah, Alex had cool hair, but it's like he stole all Scott's whininess for himself, leaving poor Scotty with nothing except a vague tendency to brood until something shiny comes along. Whine should be equally distributed between Summers brothers, otherwise it's just not a fair fight.

Speaking of warm-weather brotherly relations, one of the Cables is part one of Fathers and Sons. Just part one, the others didn't appear to be there. Lynx suggests that this is because their existence - in this hemisphere at least - is merely a vicious rumour. Sigh. There goes that ownership ambition for a while longer. (I have neeeaarly every major Stryfe storyline there is. Nearly.)

But. Tasty fucked-up Summerses. How I adore them. (And Alex wearing the Malice collar and boardies. Could he have looked any funnier? He's so giggle-worthy when he's evil.)","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34852.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34572.html","pubDate":"Fri, 12 Sep 2003 01:37:29 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34572.html","description":"GIP because I'm writing my baby again. I've missed him a lot.

Also, Cable #25 and some other bits and pieces were apparently left behind when I moved. Dangit. (Dyce, check the box of stuff that's waiting to be sorted? I must have been readint them or something.)","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34572.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34447.html","pubDate":"Wed, 10 Sep 2003 06:21:44 GMT","title":"Moi. Again. I'm just that interesting.","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34447.html","description":"Having had a few months to get used to it, I've come to a conclusion. No, it doesn't always take me that long. Shut up. Yes, I'm looking at you, Mr. Smarty-Pants.

Anyway. The conclusion is this: I really lucked out with my living arrangements.

Seriously, I did. I know some of you probably think that living with Lynx would not be all shiny happy fun (she's a kitten, really - she bites, scratches, hisses and thinks it's funny to jump on you when you're asleep), but it's working pretty well for me.

It's like the house of ultimate fandom compatibility. I like comicfic. I like boyband RPS. I like to get drunk. I have no shame.

<\/a>julad<\/b><\/a><\/span> used to write boyband RPS. She now writes Harry Potter. She likes to get drunk and eat indian food - together or separately - and she has very minimal shame.

<\/a>lynxie<\/b><\/a><\/span> likes comicfic. She currently writes Harry Potter. She is being convinced that pop RPS is a fine and dandy thing, and that Wade Robson deserves many thanks. She likes to get drunk. She used to have vestigial traces of shame, but I killed them. And she doesn't kill me when I dive at her screaming \"little feeties!!\" and tickle her feet. She does bite<\/i>, but it's usually worth it.

All of us are kinda slobby, but not unhygenic. We like to watch Queer As Folk, Buffy, Angel, Making The Video: Pop and Australian Idol together. (Me and Julad are pretty convinced that the hosts come pre-slashed. There needs to be no effort at all on our part, other than watching and laughing and aaawing a lot.) We don't like to wash up, but after a day of no teaspoons someone may eventually make some kind of effort. We cook from time to time, but prefer pizza. We all agree that DSL is more important than disguising the eye-searingly awful carpet.

We do disagree on some things. Namely: Wade Robson, red capsicum, onion, chili, Amiel's 'another lovesong', cigarettes, Eminem, who should get to read things first and who should do the washing up (we all say 'not me', which I suppose is an agreement of sorts). Mostly food. And Wade Robson.

But we're compatible on the important things: we all use AIM, and will use it to talk to each other while we're in the same house (or room) - even if Julad's a filthy mac user, we all happily drink cheap booze until we're crawling around on the floor laughing and scaring the cats, we all worship at the altar of MGF and we all have one or more livejournals.

The house is fucking huge, so we aren't too close and irritating to each other. The house is also really close to three -count 'em, three - bottle shops (liquor stores). And it's in an area serviced by the people who bring you unlimited-download DSL with a free modem for $69.95. It's within walking distance of Mel, too, so she comes over and joins in the crawling around on the floor drunk. So do other local ficcers (okay, slashers) like <\/a>lastrega<\/b><\/a><\/span>, <\/a>ms_maree<\/b><\/a><\/span> and <\/a>jedinic<\/b><\/a><\/span>.

Life's pretty good on the home front. I'd like to say it happened because of my intelligence, diligence and winning personality, but I'm pretty sure I stumbled on it by accident.

All three of us sat together and read Dex's revelation of the True Nature Of The Comic Fandom Elite<\/a> and laughed until we cried, though.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34447.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34161.html","pubDate":"Sun, 29 Jun 2003 17:01:09 GMT","title":"What an I doing? Where am I? What's the deal with the linen closet?","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34161.html","description":"So, I live in a new house now. It's very old, was extremely dirty when we moved in, and my cat hates it (he's currently hiding in the linen closet). I think it's pretty cool, though. It's huge for three people and close to everything and the ceilings in most of the rooms are eleven feet high.

And hopefully in a few days it'll have ADSL. I say hopefully because there's already been hiccups on that and I fear more - first the ISP wanted three months upfront (which, combined with the setup fee, made a lovely $348.80), then when I went to Harvey Norman to try to buy a network hub I was ignored for half an hour. Well, not ignored. The guy did carefully look at me twice, it's just that each time rather than respond to my hand gestures he went to find someone with a penis to talk to instead. I had no idea that a dick was an essential piece of equipment to connect three computers to each other, but apparently it is.

Someone did come over and talk to me eventually. He was very nice. He also lied, and said that the cheapest I was going to get was their $100 dealios. That sounded kinda silly for a big double adapter to me, so I checked the independent place down the road.

$31.

The moral of this story is that Harvey Normal Indooroopilly are shits, don't give them your money, and I am going down to complain today. After I complain at the real estate agent - one of the chandeliers in the lounge is coming down and there are panes of glass missing in the sunroom. Hey, if I really get the righteous indignation up, I might even pop into Vodafone and point out that since they've just scuttled their only pre-paid perk as of 28 July, they're forcing me to abandon them for someone who isn't a money-grubbing piece of shit. Okay, another money-grubbing piece of shit with a better deal.

\"I used to be a Vodafone slut, but now I'm a born-again Virgin!\"

I'm sure there's a slogan in there somewhere.

Of course, if that doesn't take care of all my frustration, I'll probably have to go smack Cassandra Claire. Just for the fun of picking word origin against someone who doesn't know the difference between Hebrew and Aramaic and thinks that 'magi' is Latin.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/34161.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/33909.html","pubDate":"Sun, 22 Jun 2003 03:00:49 GMT","author":"diamonde","link":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/33909.html","description":"We<\/a> are<\/a> the<\/a> Australian<\/a> ficcers<\/a>. Resistance<\/a> is<\/a> futile<\/a>. You<\/a> will<\/a> be<\/a> assimilated<\/a>.

Bring<\/a> beer<\/a>.

Lots<\/a>.","comments":"https:\/\/diamonde.livejournal.com\/33909.html?view=comments#comments"}]}}