Yes, I am fully aware that this is the fourth time in four months that I've changed my layout.

Yes, it has been less than a month between layout changes.

Yes, I am well aware that the entry below this is the layout credits for the last time I changed my layout.

Yes, I meant to have a meme separating both layout credit entries. Do you know how hard it is to find characters whose name begins with "K"? IT IS VERY DIFFICULT, OKAY?!

Yes, this layout is brighter than the other layouts I've used. I like the green. It's very Spring-y.

My LiveJournal, my layout, my rules.

So:

Layout credit still belongs to songstressicons at citadel_icons; modified by me. Original layout code can still be found here.

Header and default userpic made from an original photograph copyrighted by Simon Filip.

So I made a deal with myself that, if I wrote 5K of anything, I could change my layout. I know, I know; I've changed my layout three times in as many months. But this one is my favorite (not in the least because it was stressful as hell to get the coding correct).

Here are the details:

Layout credit to songstressicons at citadel_icons; modified by me. Original can be found here.

Header and default userpic made by using a photograph copyrighted by Viona-Art; more of her stuff can be found at her website.

Also, thanks to scholarslayouts for her helpful FAQ for installing customizable layouts. I never would've tried using one without her detailed instructions.

Okay, now that I've wasted my time on that, back to writing!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It made me feel ~all the feelings.

Thin Mints; especially if they're thrown in the freezer first. My mom and I fight over them. Seriously. The kitchen turns into a Law and Order interrogation room when there's only three Thin Mints left in the package, while my brother sits in the corner munching on Tagalongs.

Saw this iPod meme floating around:

You can learn a lot about someone by the music they listen to. Hit shuffle on your iPod or mp3 player and write down the first 20 songs. No cheating or skipping songs that are shameful. That is the fun!

( List this-a way )

I believe my love for Miss Emilie Autumn has been documented thoroughly here. But since I'm getting over a cold that knocked me out of commission for five days, I'm presenting another piece of evidence:



I wish she'd release an all-violin version of Opheliac. (For reference, here's the song complete with its lyrics.) I can't wait for her new album.

Back in time since we're already closer to the future than to the past.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I've never had a valentine, so Valentine's Day is otherwise known as 4 More Days 'Til My Birthday Day.

Today I spent it doing laundry, organizing my icons folder, and (finally!) deciding on a new WiP. Tonight I'm curling up with chicken alfredo and watching my three hours of Tuesday night television: Glee, Ringer, and Justified. If I'm feeling ~crazy, maybe I'll watch the recent remake of Jane Eyre before going to bed. Don't want to exert myself *too* much. :)

Okay, so not really a meme but I've seen this posted on a few other blogs, and out of simple curiosity I wanted to know what district I'd fall under. I was...better off not knowing.

Using this fan-made map (located at the top), apparently I live in District 10 which, according to the Hunger Games Wiki, is the livestock district. Here's the thing, I could see this being accurate seeing as Chicago had the Stockyards for many, many years; although the last animal to be processed there was in the '70's. However, in Hunger Games Land, District 10 only raises the livestock; the animals get slaughtered someplace else. Also, where I live it's pretty built-up. There is hardly a strip of land to raise actual cattle/pigs/chickens on. There's an ol' timey milking farm nearby and that's it of our farmland. All the viable farmland is to the north of us, going into Wisconsin and to the south. (There's a reason why Cook County--the county I live in and that also incorporates Chicago--is considered a whole different state compared to the rest of Illinois.)

So what I'm trying to say is that if this map is accurate, and Illinois is part of District 10, and our only job is to raise the cattle, and if the Capitol wanted to keep us all in line and focus on just raising the livestock, then I'm pretty sure Chicago and all its suburbs have been wiped off the map. Basically I'm homeless and probably dead. *sad face*

*sigh*

It's not even February yet and I've gone and changed my layout. Again: *sigh*

Anyway! I mentioned one of my resolutions this year was to read outside my comfort zone (*coughYAcough*); so I've decided to read the entire Sherlock Holmes catalog. I can't believe I haven't read them sooner because the stories have everything I like: Victoriana, mystery, eccentric characters, scientific method. I've enjoyed both Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law Sherlock movies; I love the BBC's new series, Sherlock, and The Great Mouse Detective is my second favorite Disney movie. (Or my first favorite, if I'm trying to be a hipster.) Also, from a purely selfish reason, one of my characters is insisting on being a prodigy of sorts--or highly observant--and I figured why not study the greatest detective ever written. So I trekked on over to the library and checked out these bad boys. No, I'm not reading the annotations. These were just the only ones at the library that contain all the stories; although, some of the annotations are hilarious*.

And because I normally don't do things half-arsed, I'm reading them in publishing order. First up are A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four (the first two novels in Volume 3), then all of Volume 1, back to Volume 3 for the two remaining novels, The Hound of the Baskervilles (*squee* I'm really excited for this one!) and The Valley of Fear, and then finally all of Volume 2.

So far, I've only read the first two novels, and here are my not-so-deep thoughts:
( Read more )

*For instance, the annotator--who writes as if Holmes and Watson were real people who really lived in real-life Victorian London--has this wack-a-doodle theory that Watson isn't Dr. John Watson, that the real Dr. Watson died in the (first) Afghan War and his footman took his identity because in more than one case Watson forgets/acts like he doesn't have a wounded leg. Maybe the piece of paper where he had notes on Watson's character went missing. Maybe Mrs. Doyle used the back of the paper to make her grocery list. Maybe in the heat of writing Doyle forgot, m'kay?