Memory for me - Dreamwidth

Okay, most people won't recognise her of course, because most of my readers haven't met me on Dark Ages, but this is Estara Swanberg in her long-time favourite outfit, the Rucesion Elle (as can be seen here in the upper left corner). She should be smaller but they only have one female body type on offer. Heh ^^. Creation software link courtesy of telophase.

The author I've bought most books of this year - except for Elizabeth Bear - has been Sherwood Smith with the novels published in her own worlds (she's been a long-time collaborator of some great names in the scifi genre and has written media-tie-in novels, as well) - whether they have been YA or not.

I first came across her a few years back with an entry in Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction by the Firebird YA imprint and right away bought Crown Duel, as her story was a sequel of that. I then ordered the Wren trilogy published by Firebird and quite liked the first two volumes. I bounced off the third because it started with an irreparable tragedy for one of the major characters who already had to suffer from something similar for years and I couldn't handle reading about having to deal with this and the aftermath.

That's actually one of her strengths: her books may have focus protagonists but no matter what age those are, child or grown-up, there are no guarantees that they will survive to the end (with the exception - so far - that if she names the book after that protagonist they haven't died yet). Her young adult worlds are just as hazardous, although the characters there go at their troubles and triumphs with less gray-scale in feeling (sometimes: this is not the case if your parents have died and you are heir to a throne), and more positive energy.

However, even if a character whom the reader loves dies, there's a good chance that they still have other characters to root for without hurling the book at the wall. Smith's books are always ensemble pieces with some starring roles sticking out. She manages to make even the side-characters so interesting and relevant when she highlights their role in her world/plot that you don't mind spending the time with them - there are no fillers, at the end you realise every bit of focus was necessary for you to see and appreciate the whole.
( Review of all Inda books released by DAW so far )

I seem to be turning into some kind of author stalker. I've exchanged comments with Sherwood Smith, P.C. Hodgell, Elizabeth Bear, E. Wein, Emma Bull and now I've found the Bookview Café run by unknown (to me) and well known sf/fantasy authors, which linked me to Vonda N. McIntyre's Basement of Books, where I promptly ordered one I haven't read and one which has gone missing.

Today I get an e-mail thanking me for the business and asking how I found the page and promising to sign the books. This is one of the authors whose Star Trek novels I read in the 80ies... *shivers running down spine* and who has a great SF universe of her own in the Starfarer novels.

Thinking back on this year I have obviously turned into a female sf/fantasy author groupie. I have no regrets.

I think I've never followed one of our own elections in Germany with as much interest as I do your current one (well, we don't have the possibility of voting for our chancellor directly - we vote for the party and the one with the most votes - or the best attempt at getting other parties to vote for her, like with Merkel - wins and chooses the chancellor).

The fact that our economy broke down right after yours did (and lots of German-based banks were speculating on your housing market and have to get loans from the federal states or the Bund) makes most of Europe (and certainly Germany) sit up and notice.

Personally I believe that the person who thinks carefully and tries to listen to many views before he makes a decision should win. I'm also one of those people who doesn't want a person as president whom I'd invite to a bar, but one whose mind can grasp the enormous challenges coming up.

And even if the bearer of hope will disillusion some of his most fervent believers (as they always do, because they are not gods), I believe he has a better chance and a better mind & heart than the alternative (what I've seen of those two on youtube - in real quotes from their rallies - frankly scares me utterly).

Good luck to you, guys!

I keep forgetting about this song from 1984, then I try to find it again and it's hard to do, but today I finally got it. Basically it's a one hit wonder (although they had some follow-ups, but this is the song people remember the band for). And it actually keeps up very nicely on repeated listening. It's got to be inspired by stuff like Rapper's Delight, I'm sure, with the very regular rapping and pseudo-scratching.

I love this song. It's not just good for parties it's simply solid and funky, heh.

Rodgau Monotones - Die Hesse komme!

"Da packt euch das kalte Grausen,
unser David Bowie heißt Heinz Schenk."

And for the record, I don't count this song as Neue Deutsche Welle, in no way :P.

~ first posted at bookish.net where you can listen to it via plugin, here you have to download the mp3 to do so

I keep buying up her bookmarks because they're so cheap and lovingly painted... and then I laminate them to make them survive longer... and she keeps making more and I keep buying them... *sighs* you can check the sales, all the bookmars are MINE!!! muahahahahahahahHHH-AH!

And the shipping is cheap and fast, too. At least to Germany.

I already spend too much money online-shopping as is, especially for books and games, and when I have a doctor's appointment and I'm a bit early or I have to get a parcel from the post office, I just always find something to buy near there.

Today was the day I finally sent out the Bavarian Care Package I auctioned off on Live Long and Marry and while waiting for the Post Office to open after their lunch break, I saw that the annual children's flea market in the street before the post office was on. Since I had time to spend I walked the stalls and sure enough a few pupils from my school had stalls with their parents.

I even found a really cute box with crosspoint needle work which I put into my Bavarian Care Package at the post office later.

But that's not why I'm writing this post. A pupil at my school was selling his Nintendo Gamecube, having gotten himself an Xbox 360, and I've been wanting to play Tales of Symphonia for ages... remember, I'm the person who bought the Dreamcast when SEGA had already announced its discontinuation because of the Japanese Sakura Taisen series, as well as Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II (which I now also own for PS 2). Tales of Symphonia is out on PS 2, but only in Japan! So I bought it with a memory card for € 30.

And then went home and bought Tales of Symphonia and Skies of Arcadia Legends (it never came out for PS 2) for € 60.

*sigh, happy sigh, but sigh*

There will always be places that are good for you on the internet in many different ways but the nature of the internet being what it is, you won't always find them. Author Sandra Schwab just linked to an online game site that only offers flash games with the most adorable, soothing animations and music.

To the anime readers: it's like Aria the Anime - only as a flash game site.

Here's the link, so go and explore

I don't know if you have seen the community already, but I'm offering something there as well, so if you want to get Bavarian stuff this would be the opportunity.

If you're into anime, manga, scifi, comics, fanfics, fantasy, jewelry, perfume and what have you not, there are professional and hobby makers of all this, it's incredible to browse through.

Bidding is open till July 15th, but they also offer Buy Now options sometimes.

Edit: May I just say that I love the internet. The first comment came from author Sherwood Smith, whose last hardcover I'm in the middle of reading and whom I could compliment on her book, whereupon she told me there's another book in the series coming up. I reiterate: occasions like these make all the dark sides of the internet worth it.

This page has the most delicious and expensive collection of architectural antiquities for sale from salvage I could have ever imagined: Urban Archaeology | Salvage.

I desperately lust after the Tiffany Window and the Library Staircase, but I'd have to have a library space for it first. *sigh*