In this LJ you will see me writing about life, travels, family, and fandom. The fandom of the moment is Torchwood. Anyone looking for LOTR or VO, I've finished with that and will not be participating further. Thanks for stopping by!

I think I was just so excited that no matter what I wouldn't have been satisfied.

Could have been much worse, though.

Happy birthday to rosi_smaabu.

I know that having a birthday so soon after losing a parent can be really hard. I've been there twice now. I wish I could say something to make it better for you, but I know I can't. I'm thinking of you, and I promise, it gets better. It never goes away, but the loss takes on a different quality and becomes livable. If you ever need to talk, you know where I am. *hugs*

Holy Doctor Who.

That episode was like fanfiction. maybe even more than the TW Fragments episode. Pure, unadulterated fanfic.

ETA: Spoilers in comments now.

I live in the District of Columbia, which is the capital of the United States.

It is a city that has always been overwhelmingly Democrat. Because of this, we have been prevented from becoming a state or having representation in Congress. The 2/3 majority we need to be given these rights will never happen because some Republicans would have to vote in our favor, thereby giving Democrats an extra vote.

So we are often at the mercy of others for the laws that govern us. 30 years ago, DC decided it didn't want handgun ownership. It didn't ban rifles or whatever, just handguns.

The Supreme Court knocked this law out this week. Now, anyone in DC can own a handgun, despite the fact that most of us were in favor of the ban.

I don't really know where I stand on guns in a practical sense. Abolishing them would be impossible in the United States, given that it is integral to how we gained our independence and is right there in the Constitution.

I do know I have lived places where guns are strictly controlled. I liked it. I have never held a gun, and until recently never even saw one outside a policeman's holster. I don't like hunting, and I don't like guns.

I once refused to stay in my aunt's house because her crazy husband had a collection of unloked guns in the house with a toddler.

I know all the arguments in favor, and I can't disagree with all of them. Vermin control, individual rights, self-protection, well-armed militia in case the US Government goes dictatorial (um, we're a little late for that no? :P). But realistically, what are the figures?

( An interesting editorial with some facts from peer-reviewed studies of gun violence )

This editorial has its bias. The most rigorous of studies can still have a bias. That being said, I am disgusted with the Court's ruling. I don't want to live in a place where my neighbors can have loaded handguns about. What is next? Concealed carry permits? Does that mean only the criminals have them and it is an unfair advantage leaving us defenseless? Perhaps, but I would rather live that way than with a gun. As would most people in this city, apparently, but we don't get a choice in the matter.

I seem to have a lot of visitors today. Hello, TW/Barrowman fans! Most of this LJ is locked, so all you are seeing is the blandest and lamest of my posts.

I am not very active in TW fandom. You all are sort of scary. Even at the Rift, I found it difficult to chat with people. Maybe it was the Marsters fans. And I'm not that timid, really. I've traveled alone on six continents.

But I promise I do my research. I over-research and over-analyze. I can't help it. It's what I do. Some people think this means I have no life, but truth be told, I just read and write really fast. It's true! Always the first person to finish an exam, paper, or Identity Code. I might also not have a life. Except I do. Even worse.

And I am a *~fun fandom contributor~*! Just ask the many people here I have been in fandoms with before. You guys will vouch for me, right, flist? (psst, try not to mention the wank, k? I am a changed woman, as this post CLEARLY evidences)

I walked a half a mile and my back was only starting to get sore at the end. Sure, I was slow. I DON'T CARE. I can has relative mobility?

Also...

( minor Dr Who finale casting spoiler )

Happy Birthday lauralynn22!!

Link: The What Gender Are You? Test geschreven door leop123 op OkCupid Gratis Online Dating, bron van de De Dating Persoonlijkheidstest View My Profile(leop123)

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I almost fell off my chair when I got that result.

The heat index is currently 107 degrees.

For the rest of the world, that's 42 degrees.

*sits inside like a wimp*

Gareth David-Lloyd's reaction to his first-time appearance (at #11!) on AfterElton.com's Hot 100 List:

“I'm delighted to be bringing so many people pleasure in whatever way I can. I understand I'm underneath John Barrowman, which seems to happen quite a lot. Maybe, next year, Ianto can be on top."

Torchwood withdrawal sucks. I wish the final episodes of Doctor Who would hurry up, so we could see Jack at least (and who knows who else if you listen to random magazines).

When's that radio play again?

I really need something to cheer me up. I'm pretty low this weekend, despite many friends' best efforts (and I love them for it).

Number of journal entries: 1,983
Number of people on flist: 177
Person who introduced you to LJ: pigwidgeon37
Still friends with this person? I never was, she was just an author I liked to read
How many people have you introduced to LJ? none that I know of
List everyone on your flist that you have met in person:
abluegirl, akashaelfwitch, ames1010, bitofaspaz, charly2004, claireyfairy1, eirien_rhovan, elanna9, elflady_2001, enoneoftheabove, floatingleaf, hazyshade, ima_totalgeek, jassyskie, jenlynn820, lady_razzle, lauralynn22, londinensa, loyaldreamer, orlisheart, pseudonihilist, rinimac, romi, sakurazukalori, salixbabylon, serein_03, stjarna1984, timijames, willowwing
Anyone on LJ you can't stand? Sure
Name one person on your flist who you'd most like to meet: dollface_uk who was my first friend on LJ and even though I have gone to London a few times she is never there when I do!
Date Journal Created: April 8, 2004
Comments Posted: 16,221
Comments Received: 22,371 (oy vey, I suck)
Virtual Gifts Received: 22

René Lenore Nelson was born in Princeton, Illinois on August 31, 1947, the middle child of Russell E. and Dorothy Nelson. She had two brothers, Scott and Ronald Nelson. The family grew up in Rock Island, Illinois, in a GI Bill house on a ravine where she and her brothers built tree houses and played hide and seek.

René attended Illinois State University and received a BS in Education in 1969. She taught first and second grade in Downers Grove, IL. In 1974, she married Mark Vernon Sweeney; in 1975 their daughter Caryn was born. Scott was born in 1978, and finally Katherine in 1986.

René enjoyed science fiction, cooking, nickel slots and especially her granddaughter, Taylor. She died on May 15, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema and lung cancer.

She was preceeded in death by her father, Russell Nelson, in 1981; her husband, Mark, in 1998; and her brother, Scott, in 2007.

She leaves behind her loving mother Dorothy, brother Ron, daughters Caryn and Katherine, son Scott, niece Christina René, and beloved granddaughter, Taylor René, who will all miss her terribly and remember her fondly.

The family will recieve visitors on Monday, May 19, 2008, from 6-8 pm, follwed by a private farewell for the immediate family.

Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Home
Historic Downtown Chapel
516 South Washington Street
Naperville, IL 60540

Her ashes will be scattered together with her husband's on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin later in the summer.




Rest in peace, mommy.

Longest day ever.

Poll #1184111 Poll Dancing
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Where do I go next?

Saving the World

GDL is

Letting fangirls whip your ass in public is

Is Ianto Jones the coolest, most complex, most nuanced, badass teaboy ever?

And happy birthday to londinensa who actually is a cooler fan than me. ;)

And I thought I had found a fandom where people weren't wanky or played the "I'm a better fan than you" game.

:/

So we are protesting, apparently?

I hate to be obtuse, but why exactly is what LJ is doing so wrong? So, you can't have a free account without ads. If you don't want ads, you pay a small amount of money for service that for many people occupies hours a day. What exactly does LJ owe people who don't pay for anything but still enjoy their bandwidth and interface?

Also, LJ is apparently messing around with stats that say how many people are interested in sex or fairies or depression. Yeah, that's weird and random, but...

I can't imagine any circumstance in which I would care for aggregate statistics on how many people are interested in sex or fairies or depression. And since I like sex and am frequently depressed and am a researcher/stat geek, well, that is saying something.

Not snarky. Just genuinely wondering if this of all things that LJ can/has pulled is the thing to really put a flag down on.

Englighten me plz?

To jassyskie!

You are one of the most talented people I have ever met, and I am so grateful to have met you. *hugs*


And you're a great person to roadtrip with!

This article was posted today in the NYT. The social worker they speak with throughout the piece is from Pratham, the organization we worked with during my trips to India.

---
Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
More children in India are attending school than ever, but the quality of education remains poor.
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: January 17, 2008

The school in Lahtora was crowded and cold, so classes were held outside.

LAHTORA, India — With the dew just rising from the fields, dozens of children streamed into the two-room school in this small, poor village, tucking used rice sacks under their arms to use as makeshift chairs. So many children streamed in that the newly appointed head teacher, Rashid Hassan, pored through attendance books for the first two hours of class and complained bitterly. He had no idea who belonged in which grade. There was no way he could teach.

Another teacher arrived 90 minutes late. A third did not show up. The most senior teacher, the only one with a teaching degree, was believed to be on official government duty preparing voter registration cards. No one could quite recall when he had last taught.

“When they get older, they’ll curse their teachers,” said Arnab Ghosh, 26, a social worker trying to help the government improve its schools, as he stared at clusters of children sitting on the grass outside. “They’ll say, ‘We came every day and we learned nothing.’ ”

( More inside )
Continues...

I am bringing this post back up to the top and have added my 2007 trips. Sorry to take up room on your friendslists but I like having this updated. :)
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In honor of my new camera (is it possible to feel lust for a piece of machinery?) and my upcoming trip, I present a look back at my travel picspams, for those on my list who weren't there at the time. This also is good because I am able to go back and tag them. :)

December, 2004:

South Africa Part 1
South Africa part 2

Random pre-2004 travel

October, 2005:

LOTR New Zealand
Non-LOTR New Zealand
Australia

February, 2006:
India 1
India 2

March, 2006:
China 1
China 2
China 3

April, 2006:
Brasil 1
Brasil 2
Brasil 3
Brasil 4

June, 2006

Western US Roadtrip with Jassy 1
Western US Roadtrip with Jassy 2


January, 2007
Paris
Paris II

Niger, West Africa
Niger Part II

May, 2007
Sao Paulo, Brasil

Just going back through these was so weird, a little like reliving the years. While tracking these posts down, I read the minute-by-minute posting I was doing about my mom's heart attack while I was in Brazil, and then Ritz's surgery, and my mom's cancer diagnosis, and my various medication issues over the summer, and the weird freak out I had last winter, and the trips to Toronto, and the hundreds of comments I never replied to. :| It's amazing how much I have just plain cast into the attic of my mind.

Anyway, those are the picspams. Now I have a real camera, so who knows what's in store in 2007? ETA: Niger and Brazil are with my new camera!

As a side note: goddamn I travel a lot. o.O I mean, I grateful for it, but I guess seeing it like this brings it home. I mean--this picspam covers 6 continents. damn.

Okay, so a bunch of people have done this already. But 'tis the season, right?

Almost everyone here I met through the V/O fandom. Many (dare I say most) of you have moved on to greener pastures. Maybe we used to IM all the time, or exchange emails, and even meet in person. Maybe we never did, but hey, there's always 2008.

Anyway, now you all have expanded flists with fans from all over the place. Bring them over too!

Comment with your user name, or someone else's user name, and tell other people so they can leave compliments and warm fuzzies for you, anonymously or not, their choice.

I've seen some of these get thousands of comments. I was a BNF for a good four or five seconds in these small parts, dammit. Okay, so it was over 3 years ago. Sue me. Surely I have to be able to use that for SOMETHING?

ETA: This will be so embarrassing if no one does it. :P

ETA2: This isn't actually a meme. I just stole the idea from someone, I wrote this language myself. I was thinking about a way to connect a lot of old friends again, and this is what I came up with.

( Picspam from my trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil last month )

In other news, it is 9 pm. I have been up since 7 am, and have not felt the need to nap.

( A Public Service Announcement )

I need to sleep soon, but before I do... I am home and have uploaded a few of my favorite shots from the trip.

( sand, camels, and school kids... )

That's it for tonight; I am just so exhausted. More soon, I promise. :)

Paris again...

( maybe one of my favorite sets of pics I've ever done... )

Speaking of moving, we walked for about 8 hours today and I hurt. Tomorrow I head off to Niger.

I don't have time to answer all the comments. I just hope all is well with everyone! ♥ We're going back out now.

So, here we are in Paris.

My roommate on this trip is my roommate from college. She has been lots of fun though she informed me that I apparently stop breathing when I sleep, which I did not do the time we slept in the same room which is...um....12 years ago?. Crap. o.O Sleep apnea? or just too much alcohol? :P Yikes. :/ Something to see the doctor about when I get home, then.

( rambling and photos )