Sporadic Simple Submissions

Birthday Greetings

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:26:39 GMT

Hope your birthday is a happy one, orthoclase !

White Men Can't Jump?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:15:24 GMT

I've been really enjoying what I can catch of the Olympics, but am now getting really excited about events I did not get to see - the games so far of the Lithuanian men's basketball team.

This morning Lithuania beat China to win a spot in the semifinals, which means for sure a chance to play in a medal game. (Whether they can beat world champion Spain on Friday, will determine whether they play for Gold/Silver, or for Bronze). The team was not a medal favorite at the outset this time around, but is a perennial contender. They were 4th in Athens, and have three bronze medals since 1992 (the first year Lithuania competed since WW2). Lithuanian stars were also the core of the Soviet team that won the gold medal in 1988.

Oh, and an amusing little tidbit...Jonas Kazlauskas, coach of the China team, criticized the tactics of the Lithuanian team, which chose to double and triple team 7' 5" Chinese star Yao Ming. No, he's not Chinese...how did you guess? He's Lithuanian.

I just think it is too cool that a country of 3.5 million can excel consistently at a sport that is quite popular in much, much bigger countries! It's one of those fun little things about the Olympics.

SQUEEE - Kids and HP

Sat, 10 May 2008 18:17:44 GMT

What is an LJ for if not to bore my friends with things that make me happy?

As I have mentioned before, I am raising my kiddos to be bilingual, in English and Lithuanian. I am also (yes, I know this will shock you all) an avid fan of the HP series, and this created a dilemma. I want Josh (5, and soon to start kindergarten) to share my enjoyment of all things HP, but I don't want to spend hours reading a book to him in English - he gets that from everyone else in his life.

The obvious solution - buy the translated books, available from an online book club in Lithuania that will, for a price, ship books around the world. Not too bad, actually - I paid less than I would for all 7 books in hardback in the US, and got a copy of "The Amulet of Samarkand" (which I have not read despite recommendations from several HP liking friends) as part of a promotion the club was running for the release of DH (in March, when I originally ordered the books, in Lithuania).

SQUEEEEE! They arrived! And they look nice. They are hardbacks, and use the US cover art, only printed onto the covers instead of on a book jacket (cool, cause I lose/destroy those promptly). And I can complain in great detail about the lousy translation, too!

I am soo looking forward to starting to read them with Josh, hopefully tonight. I already tested the waters with another Lithuanian book I borrowed from my sister, who has older kids (Lindgren's "Brothers Lionheart", not so far as I know available in English), and Josh does has the attention span for chapter books, if they contain adventure. And of course, he has seen the HP movies, so he is primed to like the book... It has been a long wait. The place does nto take credit cards, so I had to mail a paper check in US funds, and then wait for over a month for it to clear with the bank in Lithuania, and then have the books shipped to me.

Guy Gavriel Kay

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:46:01 GMT

So, as my flist know very well, I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series. I am also a big fan of the fantasy genre more generally. A favorite writer of mine is Guy Gavriel Kay, who writes really amazing fantasy novels (he also helped to edit "The Silmarillion", for the Tolkien fans among you). His strengths are writing a large cast of interesting characters, avoiding trite "happy endings", and creating a detailed sense of a world in a way that reminds me of well-written historical fiction.

I have recently comverted a couple of HP friends to this author, and we plan to embark on a reading of his novel "Tigana", a wonderful book set in a place similar to medieval Italy. (Here, to tempt you, is a review of the book from the Toronto Star: http://www.brightweavings.com/reviews/revtigana.htm ). We've started up a Yahoo! group for this activity, and would love to have others join us if this sounds like fun. Just post here if you are interested, and I can send you an invitation.

Triwizard Tournament

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:03:56 GMT

Chamber of Secrets Forums is having a “Triwizard Tournament”, a contest for its members consisting of three tasks which in some way mirror the three tasks of the tournament of the same name in the Harry Potter books. I thought it would be fun to join in, so I am among the many “champions” competing.

The first task was to create a fanart representing dragons (the entries can still be seen, by those interested, here: http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=11494). It was judged by a panel consisting of CoS Staff members. The second task was to write a fanfiction of not more than 1000 words, which includes the Lake at Hogwarts as a key element. I guess the staff don’t want to read a bunch of fanfics, because this task’s judging will be done by popular vote.

Anyone wishing to participate in the judging may do so here:

http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=115211

(You must be a CoS member, naturally!)

Birthday Greetings

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:23:46 GMT

I have not seen you either here or at CoS in ages, but in case you still check in...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, melaszka

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:16:51 GMT

Ilgiausų Metų, nomeda_g !!

(That's Happy Birthday, folks!)

GOOOO TIGERS!!!

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:22:41 GMT

Well, well, well! For the second time ever (the first was in 1960) the University of Missouri at Columbia's football team has achieved a number one national ranking. If they can beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, they are on their way to the national title game. W00T! Though the Sooners are going to be tough - the Tigers' only loss of the season was to them. This is pretty big news here!

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/

FictionAlley's Official Harry Potter Podcast: Reading of my story

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:05:35 GMT

Well, the podcast reading of my story is finally up. I love it - the voice actress has a British accent! She sounds sooo much better than the American accent of my mental voice writing it, tee hee.

http://cdn.libsyn.com/spellcast/SCR202.mp3

Spellcast, FictionAlley's podcast, to include reading of my story

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:10:48 GMT

I was thrilled this morning to get an email asking for my permission to do a reading of my DH fanfiction "Return to Hogwarts". (In a surprise move, I already replied in the affirmative... haha). It will be so interesting to hear someone else's interpretation and the comments of the reviewers on the show.

W00t!

A Good Cause for Potter fans

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:10:04 GMT

The release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be unique in many ways. One lesser-known way is that this book will be available in a Braille print version on July 21, the same as the regular version. For the first time, blind HP fans will not have to wait months or years to read a book their sighted friends are already enjoying. This book will be made available by NBP (National Braille Press) for the cover price of the regular hardcover book.

The catch? Braille books cost a lot more to produce, so NBP needs the help of donors to cover the higher costs so that the book could remain affordable for blind readers. HP for Grownups, a discussion group of which I am a member, is sponsoring a fund drive for this cause. For more information or to donate, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HP7/.

Ratatouille - Two Thumbs Up

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 03:41:19 GMT

I went to see the movie "Ratatouille" tonight, and loved it so much that I shall now proceed to gush about it to anyone who cares to read. The last movie I went and saw in a theatre that I loved as much was King Kong (not at all similar, except in that both were brilliant in their own ways and both made me cry).

"Ratatouille" is a Pixar animated movie. The main character, Remy, is a rat who lives in France. He is blessed with very acute senses of smell and taste, and aspires to create gourmet food. The events that lead Remy to pursue his dream in Paris are excellently conceived - imagine all the zany fun you might have combining the snooty world of haute cuisine and rats, and then forget it, because the creators of this movie topped whatever you just came up with.

The movie is not just a hysterically funny comedy with a lot of rat humor, though. I found it a touching story about pursuing dreams, family, and friendship.