Since distortedmya hasn't been around, I'm really struggling to write.

I feel like Fear of the Dark part three was dropped when I got it out of the sink and is now in a thousand pieces and I hace noe idea which part should go where.

I usually start my timelines after writing the story, to keep track of what happened, but Im having to write it in advance, this time, to fit it all together and work put what I need to do. Some of it will be repurposed from the eight thousand words or so that I already have, but I really think I need some new scenes which tie the Patroh thread with the magic thread. Something to prepare for part four, which is when the mystical shit hits the proverbial fan.

TWNW 21 is also proving tough to hit the right tone on. I know what essentially needs to happen, but getting it there is tricky, which is why I'm working on FOTD.

I guess it's a kind of writer's block and I just need some time away from it. Maybe this weekend I'll do some of my Bardic Grade coursework, instead.

Also, tomorrow is Bear's and my fourth anniversary. FOUR YEARS. He remains my adorable little bucket of dad jokes and cute aggression.

Except it's Tuesday and we're just back at work from the winter break and KILL ME NOW I WANT TO SLEEP.

At least I'm off on Friday for Bear and my anniversary.

So, the redesign is complete! It is now centred on the Wilmington Long Man, where I spend a lot of time celebrating the turning of the year.

I've got rid of some of the crap I used to have on here (needs more work, I think) and now I need to get into the habit of using it again.

How is everyone? Anyone still posting?

Did not see this coming.

I just found out my very dear friend, Chris, passed away over Christmas. I don’t have a lot of details yet, but I know it wasn’t intentional and I know that there are a lot of people in this little city who are absolutely devastated by his loss.

I first met Chris when I went for an interview at the games company where I went on to work; he was in HR. And yes, he did come to work with a mohawk and a large spider tattoo on his head. It was that sort of place, and he was that kind of person. He was also the kindest, most loving and most generous person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. No matter who you were, Chris would welcome you with open arms and then probably tell you something completely shocking and inappropriate, or get his knob out to show you his piercing. He was so good-hearted that you couldn’t help but love him, even if you expected him to be some mad anarchist who’d spit in your face. He was an anarchist and a little bit of a lovable maniac, but he was more likely to embrace you with a huge, “ELLO, MAAAATE!”

He loved animals, and every day, his little woof, Leonard, would come to work with him and demand to play ‘tuggy’ with anyone who passed through the HR Department. They were both so playful and energetic - absolute kindred spirits. I’m sure Len will go to live with one of Chris’s dear friends, now, but no matter how much he is loved at his new home, no one will ever love him as much as Chris did.

I know it’s a cliche, and everyone feels it when someone close to them passes away, but it’s like a light has gone out in Brighton. He’ll be so pissed off if he’s gone to Heaven, as well - he’d be much more excited about seeing what Hell was like. xoxo

Okay, kids, I've had enough. I'm moving over to Dreamwidth. If you're there, you can add me here.

I may need some help understanding it.

I'm not sure if anyone here has been following it, but in the UK, Channel 4 is airing a short documentary series about seven trans people who are at various stages of the transitioning process.

It isn't entirely compassionately managed - the focus can at times be on the dramatic, rather than the crucial factors and experiences each of the group are facing and which feel most important to them - but every one of the guys and girls involved is an amazing and inspiring individual who deserves all the support they can get.

In the past few weeks, I've seen some of them be treated extremely cruelly online, and tolerate it admirably. Two of the guys, Lewis and Fox, are now seeking help to fund their top surgeries as local authorities won't pay for it until such time as they complete their lower surgeries - if they choose to.

If you would consider donating, or at least passing on the details so that others may consider doing so, I'm sure both of the guys would be really grateful. xo

Fox | Lewis

...by accident.

So, we originally went into London to see Phil at the First Direct Dialogue Festival. Less than an hour before the show, he tweeted me (! -- he doesn't really @reply people, but I'd tweeted to say we were going and tagged him in it) to let me know it had been cancelled. We went to find the venue anyway, which in itself was hidden in a way which left us really confused, to see what was going on, and someone who worked in another part of the building said they hadn't sold enough tickets, so it had been called off.

At a loss for what to do, and not wanting to come all the way back to Brighton immediately, we decided to head down to Leicester Square and see if there was anyone giving out flyers for comedy nights (there usually is). By a massive, massive fluke, it turned out that Phil was also performing at the Comedy Store (as far as we can tell, he was aiming to do three, if not four separate shows over at least two, possibly three venues, tonight, because he's back on for the 11pm show and ran out of the venue with his guitar as soon as we'd got outside, apparently going somewhere).

We talked to the bouncer outside and by total luck, managed to get the last two tickets, which someone had left on the door for resale. We got in at the end of the first act, and got to see Jeff Innocent and the truly awesome Doc Brown before Phil came on.

He was absolutely brilliant. Some familiar material from older shows we'd seen before on YouTube and clips on TV, but live it brings a completely different feel to it. There was a point where he chased a man out of the room because he was going to the toilet during the show, and then when he came back, Phil climbed on his chair, sang him a song and put his crotch in his face. The man, brilliantly, started to undo Phil's jeans in response. By the end of the gig we'd all seen his rainbow-striped banana hammock, but after the dream sequence in Holy Flying Circus, I suppose it's a bit tame, all things considered.

I was amazed by his ability to get a room full of Brits to sing along to The Only Gay Eskimo. In fact, he got a retired (?) policeman who was there with his wife, daughter and son-in-law to get up on stage and sing a chorus solo. It was bonkers. But brilliant. And hilarious. And totally worth the fucking around with the Dialogue Festival.

All in all, an awesome day. Would totally go to see him live again.

Also, he looks rather attractive with a beard.

Found this, last night: a self-made promo video for Rufus Jones and Alex Kirk's father-son double act thing from Edinburgh last year. Got excellent reviews. I wish I'd seen it.

Drawing John Cleese is weird. It's like... you spend ages drawing him and it looks nothing like him, and then all of a sudden, you'll put in one like and BOOM. There he is.

Eric is a little bit scratchy because my hand got so tired and he was the one I drew last.

I think I'm happiest with Graham and Jonesy.


Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam

Also, have a gif of Rufus!Terry because I am in love with him, now. I wish there was better reference material so I could do an ensemble of the Holy Flying Circus versions...

So, I bought a tablet recently and I hadn't really used it, so at about 2.30am this morning I decided what better time to do it.

What resulted is this half-finished sketch of the Pythons, in their Holy Grail costumes, but out of character during filming. Graham was a bastard to draw because in the reference photo he doesn't really look like himself to begin with. Also, drawing people with their mouths open is really hard. Managed to choose a picture in which half of the subjects have their mouths open. Well done, Rosie.

I haven't actually drawn anything properly in ages, so I'm massively out of practise, but this hasn't turned out too bad.


Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, John Cleese
Click for larger image

L-R: Darren Boyd (John Cleese), Charles Edwards (Michael Palin), Rufus Jones (Terry Jones ♥_♥)
Steve Punt (Eric Idle), Tom Fisher (Graham Chapman), Phil Nichol (Terry Gilliam)

HOLY FUCKING FLYING CIRCUS, YOU GUISE!

If you didn’t watch it, go to iPlayer, or a torrent site, and find Holy Flying Circus — a comedy drama about the Pythons and the censorship battle over Life of Brian — and watch the fuck out of it.

I was always a huge Michael Palin fan (for those unfamiliar, the Nicest Man In The World Second Picture), ever since I saw him running around in a loin cloth playing an ex-leper, but I am now officially a huge Terry Tewwy Jones (third picture) fan. I especially like the idea of him as Michael Palin’s wife. It’s a fannish wet dream, I promise you. There’s a kiss and everything.

And I also now really fancy Rufus Jones, who played Terry. I want him to be my manwife with fake tits.

---

And from a later post...

I have to admit... my little shipper heart is already building a little backstory about fictional!Mike and fictional!TerryJ getting together in University and how in the context of this film, Terry totally knows that John is in love with Mike, but he's pretty laid back about it because Mike is The Nicest Man In The World and there's no way he'd reciprocate, because "John is the Annoying One" anyway...




…and the whole thing with Terry as his wife is a running joke amongst the Pythons because as soon as they get in the front door they’re such an old married couple, even though they’re completely private about it outside the house.

The whole thing could be so utterly, gloriously ridiculous.

Is there literally nothing my little slasher brain will not fuck with?

---

If you haven't seen this already, I will provide it for you. You NEED TO SEE THIS.

So, I know I've been quiet for a while, but I return to promote something awesome.

Those of you familiar with X-Men: First Class (or Miley Cyrus *cough*) will know Lucas Till, who played Havok. Well, when he's not hula-hoopin' like a boss, Luke and his friends -- primarily Jason Trost, who writes and directs -- make indie films. To date, they have put together VS, a superhero movie which is described as Kick Ass meets Saw, and Vacation 8, which I affectionately dub 'The Beachception'.


Luke (Cutthroat) & Jason (Charge)
Official VS Promo Poster

Prior to making either of these, Jason and his older brother Brandon also made a film which is currently doing the rounds at festivals -- if you're in New York you can see it on October 14th. The film, called The FP, is a parody played 100% straight, in which rival gangs duel for supremacy of their shit mountain town via the medium of Dance Dance Revolution (or, officially, Beat Beat Revelation).


Jason as JTRO in The FP

In short, these kids are amazing and hilarious and awesome and I have a bit of a massive crush on Jason. I admit it. I truly do. He's precious.

BUT HERE'S THE THING!: In order to make their next film, There and Back -- directed by Jason and produced by Luke and fellow Disney boy, Tony Oller -- they've been raising money via IndieGoGo. With just 11 days left, they are down to the last $750 or so. I've personally donated $100 to the cause, but they still need more or the project will strike out and they won't receive any of what has been accumulated so far. They have all of their own kit and will do all of the work themselves, all they need is the help to get to Asia to make the film.

Each value of donation comes with a reward. You might get a signed postcard thanking you, or a download of the finished film -- if you can donate $50 or more you'll be credited on the IMDb page for the film. BUT THERE'S MORE! If you make a donation of any value, and then let the boys know, they will personally Skype you to say thanks. Genuinely. Here are some videos of them being goofy and explaining how.

If you can't personally donate, then please help spread the word. This is something I really want to see succeed and they're so close to making it -- it would suck to see them fail at the very end.

DONATE HERE!

Thank you! ♥ ♥ ♥

You know what’s really annoying about writing a Sean-centric bigbang fic set in 1962? Music. Because imagining the Sean we see in the film without suspecting he'd be spending what money he had on records is just... inconceivable to me.

First of all, there’s the temptation to confuse his interests with Creepy Kid’s, but even Bob wasn’t seeing much success in 1962, so that point is moot.

The big music scene at the time was Surf Music of bands like The Beach Boys, which I just mean... LOLNO and the year opened with The Lion Sleeps Tonight at #1 on the Hot 100. I MEAN, SERIOUSLY, 1962?

This is a kid that you just know would be into the British Invasion bands and Psychedelic Rock/Pop, if not Prog Rock, a few years down the line (he’s practically wearing drainpipes and we all see the Morrison mop, right?), but at the point the film is set, most of the Brit bands are two or three years from breaking the UK, never mind the US. The Doors didn’t form until 1965, as did the Mamas and the Papas, The Small Faces and the inevitable Pink Floyd; the Yardbirds didn’t form until 1963, which was also the year the Rolling Stones released their first single; The Kinks and Lynyrd Skynyrd until 1964 and Led Zep not until 1968. The Beatles were only just entering Abbey Road in 1962. Janis Joplin only began her music career in 1966.

Even The Zombies, who formed in 1961, except they didn’t really achieve success until 1964.

Personally, I can't see Sean being much of an Elvis fan, neither can I see him being much into Do Wop or Rhythm & Blues (if only because he grew up in small town Texas, in my ficverse). Frankly (no pun intended) the Four Seasons would probably destroy his hearing because they're so shrill (selectiveness or none).

I'm not even totally sure I can see him being into The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash's band). I feel like it'd need to be a bit groovier, for a youngster of his age in that era, no?

So, I'm in a headcanon quandry. I need the knowledge because I've already spent two hours researching this and I'll be fucked if I can settle for anything realistic. Therefore, I am turning it over for discussion: Sean Cassidy, 1962, record collection. Go!

For anyone interested in my weekend in Devon, jumping out of a plane, falling two miles in 60 seconds and getting tea for the cast of band of brothers, click on the picture below!

Potentially cool news, today - Paramount seems to be going ahead with a remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary - a film I was somewhat obsessed with for a while, during my early teens.

It's the story of a young family who move to rural Maine, and find that their house is adjacent to a former Micmac burial ground, which has dark powers to revive the dead - although anything buried there comes back 'changed.'

Within the film, there is a character called Victor Pascow - a college student, if I recall - who dies in the arms of the family's physician father and returns as a ghost with half his head missing/falling off, to keep Louis from making terrible choices.

The second I saw it was being remade, I thought, "Caleb NEEDS to be cast as Pascow." He's the right age for the character, he does creepy magnificently (see: The Last Exorcism - no, literally, see it... but ignore the ending) and he's already so pale he'd have no trouble working the not-so-recently deceased look. He's also about the right level, success-wise.

He would genuinely be FUCKING AMAZING and a couple of people I know from outside the CLJ fandom have already agreed on that. So, now I'm spamming the movie sites with the suggestion, in the hope that Paramount pick up on it.

Feel free to join me in doing so...

Caleb (looking quite young, as it's a couple of years old)



( Relatively minor cinematic gore in character photosCollapse )

Just signed up to do a Sean/Alex XMFC Big Bang fic. No prompt, really, but I'll probably write his story according to the film - as in, switching the whole thing to his POV. I've been thinking about doing that for a while anyway.

15,000 words is piss easy for me, most of the time. Watch as I now cannot think of a single fucking thing to say.

Caleb has a heavily locked-down Facebook. He doens't even have his own picture on the profile.

Today, he added a fan - a dude around his own age, from Brazil.

But the thing is, this dude fanboys with the best of them, and talked about it on Tumblr. Now all the fangirls are asking for links to his profile and flailing and trying to get added.

I have already seen one screencap of his profile (nothing massively personal on it, but still) and people are talking about stalking his personal photos.

I cannot headdesk hard enough, right now.

The guy keeps himself private. Very private. He clearly does not want his stuff posted all over the internet and he almost certainly does not want millions handfuls of fangirls trying to talk to him any time he's online.

If you're going to add the kid, add his MySpace, which is open to the public and is regularly updated with his new songs.

Leave the boy some privacy. Don't repost his photos. Don't repost his comments. Don't repost things his friends and family say to him. He's young and he's very new at this. Don't scare him away from his fandom before he even understands it.

But if you have the opportunity, a one-off suggestion that he gets a Twitter account, where he can manage the communication himself, may not go amiss.

Edit: Boom! There are the personal photos which have almost certainly come from his Facebook - posted by someone other than the Brazilian guy. Sounds like he's added a handful of others, too.

*sigh* Steep learning curve, you say?

Edit 2: Someone just said she has "about 20" pictures from his Facebook to post. She has already posted maybe five. This is really not good.

...or does tiny!teenage!Caleb (the kid on the right, obviously) bear something of a resemblence to a very young John Lennon in this photo?

I can't find the specific image it reminds me of, but look around the eyes, and the illusion of the shape of his nose (which is actually quite different, really).

Edit:

Not the picture I was thinking of, but:

My nonno (my father's father) passed away, this afternoon. He was 89, and had suffered from Parkinson's since before I was born. Over the last six months, his health deteriorated dramatically and suddenly, until Dad and I made an emergency trip out there in February.

He nearly died while we were there, due to a negligent GP, but he hung on until today - despite breaking both hips in a fall a few weeks ago.

One of my clearest memories of him - aside from being the one person who sat with him and held his hand while the doctors tried to unblock a catheter at a critical moment, and the rest of the family flailed around and argued about whose fault it was - was of my brothers and I, then 11, 8 and 6 years old respectively, sitting on the porch at the family's country house and singing rude rhymes in English, while he clapped and cheered, oblivious to the obscenities his grandchildren were chanting.

He was a serious man, with a dry sense of humour. In February, when my cousin's fiance, Gaetano, asked how he was feeling, he glanced at him for a moment and said, "Yeah, I'm going dancing, now," before shuffling into the kitchen in his pyjamas.

Despite being in his late 80s, and working hard for most of his life to support his wife and sons - even moving to Germany for a few years when my father was a child, so that they could afford to rebuild the decrepit family home in Collesano - until Christmas, he was still wandering around the steeply hilled mountain village where he had been born and raised, lugging home food and doing all the things Sicilian men are expected to; a real trooper.

I wish over the years I'd had more time to spend with him, and I think he felt the same, but I'm glad he's passed, because I know he's been in a lot of discomfort and while he was sharp as a knife, mentally, he has had to watch my Nonna - his wife of nearly sixty years - descend into dementia, and I'm glad he's gone before she became unrecognisable.

So, for those of you who drink, raise a glass of Italian red like the wine he used to make from his vinyard, and for those of you who don't, some Nutella on crusty bread is one of the most Italian things in the world. Indulge in his honour.

Buona notte, amore mio. xoxo