Things

Mar. 25th, 2016 09:01 pm
issenllo: strawberry thief print from William Morris (Default)
A list:

1) Is it just me or has March been a really long month (and is still not over)? I've been to the wake of a friend's mum, to prison (work-related), to court (both subordinate and high, also work-related), transferred to a different mail system, witnessed an eclipse (sorta), wrote fic, missed a tutoring session out sheer exhaustion, reacted (or not reacted) to news reports on terrorism and disasters, and replaced all the furniture in my room (I did not know I owned that many books). Not to mention AlphaGo v Lee Se-dol.

2) Speaking of Lee Se-dol (or as some websites have it, Lee Sedol), AlphaGo won the game by defying basic human instinct. That post is useful for people like me, whose strategic gaming skill only extends to tic-tac-toe. Kinda fun fodder for fic too, methinks.

3) Read The Bone Swans of Amandale, by C.S.E. Cooney, which was recced on Asking the Wrong Questions, mainly because the book cover reminded me of the last scene in Bridge of Birds. It is actually a re-telling of Pied Piper, and a rather good one. Enjoyed the narrator Maurice, fascinated by the Nicolas the piper and between being put off and impressed by Dora Rose. Nice touch with the three children. Wished there was more of the villain.

4) Read A Queer Trade by KJ Charles. I read her Magpie Lord series previously, didn't know there were new stories set in the same universe. The ML series was a little over the top, but gave me the feeling that a crossover with Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown would be great fun.

5) Speaking of period fiction (or not), here's an atypical introduction to the laws of Singapore (tho' this was taken from a case I was reading this week):

The island of Singapore was part of the territorial domain of the Johor Sultanate before 1824 when its sovereignty was ceded to the British. As a British possession, its inhabitants were subject to English principles of law. However, it was not until 1826 when the Second Charter of Justice (“the Second Charter”) introduced the entire corpus of English law (common law, equity and English statutes of general application) to Singapore so far as it was applicable to the circumstances of Singapore and its inhabitants and subject to such modifications as those circumstances might require (as the courts later held its effect to be such). The consequence of this development was that the general law was applicable to all except where the customs and personal laws of the inhabitants required that the general law be modified to suit their circumstances.

Yadda, yadda, you kinda see this general gist whatever case you're reading: criminal, civil, family, procedural rules, etc. With some modification it'd make a great period fantasy setting: colonial powers try their best, but they didn't count on what the natives had up their sleeves. Hehe.
issenllo: strawberry thief print from William Morris (Default)
Guzheng exam ended earlier today. *checks date* Well, yesterday. I don't even know if I passed, because I made quite a few mistakes--but at least it's over; I've been stressing about it for weeks.

In celebration, I went looking for Hikago fic.

My humble unworthy self, by esama. I love this fic like whoa. It has some of the things that normally give me pause in Hikago fics: amnesia, Sai comes back, Heian shrine to Sai, and Sai/Hikaru, because those aren't always convincingly done, but that's not true in this case. I love the author's characterisation of Hikaru most of all, and the way the story comes together--perhaps a little fast in terms of pacing--but so lovely and satisfying. There are a few grammar hiccups, but nothing major.

Tips on Being a Pedophile Without Looking Like One, by Moonlight Memories. If just reading that title makes a certain Hikago character's name pop into your mind, you might like reading this. But be warned: while it's funny, it's not at all flattering to that character.

Non-Hikago fic:

Take Liberties, Jeeves/Wooster, by [livejournal.com profile] thehoyden. Beautifully done.

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Recced by [livejournal.com profile] sutlers: Contemplating the leap: fanfiction and original fiction and Horsehair plaster and engineering a story structure by [personal profile] kaigou.
issenllo: strawberry thief print from William Morris (Default)
Am full of hilarity over the idea of a betting pool for HnG Deathmatch. First there's wank and now gambling? Yup, the fandom's going over to the dark side. ^_^

In addition to Blind_go, I also signed up to write fics for X2009 and Imaginary Beasts, theme: monsters. The heat must be getting to me.
issenllo: strawberry thief print from William Morris (Default)
Haven't been writing any fics for a while, and feel bad about that. This is me, expressing a fervent determination to get with the writing. *nods*

To remind myself:

Upcoming issue of Imaginary Beasts ready for submissions. Theme: Rogue and scoundrels. Deadline: 12 July 2009 (for stories)

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The Eradication of Self, Waya/Shigeko, Morishitas, Hikaru no Go, by [livejournal.com profile] chaineddove

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Also, have two Dreamwidth invites. Anyone interested?

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