Interests meme

[khaosworks]

Gacked from several people.

Go through my interests list and pick one that 1) you know nothing about but sounds intriguing, or 2) you know something about but can't fathom why yours truly would be interested in it, or 3) you know a lot about and love and want to natter on with a kindred spirit and request an explanation (or natter away:-). Could be fun, could just be a new way to start a conversation.

Comments

Nattering?

[daphnis.livejournal.com]

How do you manage to find the _time_ to do all that you do?? I truly enjoy reading your perorations and rants ~ you are of a most erudite and eclectic nature, not averse to sharing findings and opinions with friends/acquaintances.

My LJ world would be poorer without you on my friends list! Long may your fantasies bloom, your humour express itself, and your Universes continue to expand.

Re: Nattering?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I don't have time. I just procrastinate a lot on work I have to do - which usually means late nights, catching up frantically, etc. and as a result producing a lot of irrelevant stuff which manifests itself in the form of songs, rants, etc. while avoiding work. The fact that I seem to do this with ease simply indicates that I really need a life, or a girlfriend, or both.

I spend my life not living up to my potential.

Re: Nattering?

[daphnis.livejournal.com]

And if one doesn't live up to one's potential?? (Does _anyone_ ever manage that, save for a very short time?)
Do the Potential Sheriffs, aka the Potentiate's Pushers, come and beat you every month or so, or shall you simply have to come back numerous times until you complete your self-determined lesson plans.

Personally, I consider songs and writing and making others think and laugh to be an important part of the curricula for our lives, so fritter away.... and I'll continue to enjoy the results, thankyouverymuch!

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

wold newton?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Ah, a subject close to my heart.

In 1972, Philip José Farmer wrote "Tarzan Alive: a definitive biography of Lord Greystoke." In it, he drew a family tree for Tarzan which included among its members such luminaries as The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, Doc Savage, Captain Nemo, Lord Peter Wimsey and many other characters of modern heroic literature.

How was this possible? Farmer postulated that in 1795 near the town of Wold Newton, England, a meteor fell from the stars. Nearby was a carriage carrying five couples, who were exposed to radiation from the meteor. As a result, the various descendants of these five families came to possess exceptional intelligence, strength and/or other talents which led them to heroic (or villainous) destinies. Thus was created the Wold Newton universe.

Yep, there is little doubt that Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was heavily influenced by this.

Farmer tried to tie as much as he could into a consistent universe, playing the same kind of mind games that members of the Baker Street Irregulars had been doing for years by trying to come up with explanations to explain inconsistencies in the stories. He expanded on the concept in his biography of Doc Savage ("Doc Savage: An Apocalyptic Life", 1973) and several novels. The game in the Wold Newton universe is one of creating fictional genealogies.

Fans of the World Newton concept have tied in more and more characters into the universe - Zorro, James Bond, even Star Trek. There's an excellent essay that connects every incarnation of the Invisible Man, from novels to movies, together. You can get these essays, timelines and more on the official Wold Newton site at http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Pulp.htm

There are also associated sites, which you can connect to off the site as you explore. If you're into this kind of gleeful fanboyish activity imagining all your favorite heroes and villains in the same larger universe, that the stories you read are either accurate or thinly disguised accounts of real events... you'll love this.

[dietbubba.livejournal.com]

That is all so awesome.

[cellio]

What is "television without pity"?

If I may do another, what prompts your interest in freemasonry?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Television Without Pity (http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/) is a website devoted to synopses/recaps of various popular television programs. It would just be an ordinary review site if not for one thing - its writers and readers are unbelievably snarky, and absolutely vicious in tearing the shows apart if they are stupid. Which is not to say they don't praise it if they get things right, but they are merciless when the shows get things wrong.

I used to hang out there, primarily on the Enterprise forums - you may remember my "Thoughts as I watch" reviews from a year or so ago when I was still watching Enterprise. I gave up on that because it wasn't even fun making snarky comments about it anymore. I kind of miss the TWP forums, but I have no real reason to hang out there anymore.

As for freemasonry, I have the same interest in them as I do any secret society or cult or conspiracy theory. Freemasonry in particular because it's so sinister and so silly at the same time.

I got into them through my interest in Ripperology (the study of Jack the Ripper and the Ripper murders), because of the now discredited theory that the freemasons orchestrated the murders to cover up the illegitimate wedding and offspring of Prince Albert, the Duke of Clarence, Victoria's grandson (the graphic novel and movie "From Hell", as well as the Christopher Plummer Sherlock Holmes movie "Murder By Decree", was based on this theory, which was very popular in the 70s.)

The Freemasons claim they are not a secret society - they are "a society with secrets". Now how stupid is that? And yet, they take it all completely seriously, and there are freemasons in influential places all over the world. If you thought Skull and Bones were creepy, wait till you realize how many people are freemasons. Now, I'm not saying they're all part of a mega conspiracy, but consider if they really wanted to organize all of them at the same time...

[sdavido.livejournal.com]

PLEASE can I steal this icon? Pretty please?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Only if you send me that Wedding CD you still owe me! :-)

[gingicat]

Aaah! Car Wars! Why?

(the aah is mostly in fun, but those were really poorly written, if interesting in concept.)

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

It was a fun game! Maybe it's a guy thing - designing your own car, getting it onto the road and blowing the beejeezus out of the opposition. Haven't you ever felt the urge, while stuck in rush hour traffic or when some maniac passes you on the freeway with nary a warning that you just had some surface-to-surface missiles, or just a .50 caliber machine gun to play with?

The RPG was crap, but man, it was a fun beer and pretzles (or soda and pizza) game. logam and I even contemplated designing a Cannonball Run scenario for GURPS Car Wars - a coast-to-coast gaunlet - but things got in the way as they often do.

[gingicat]

Okay, I never encountered it as a game; I'd likely have appreciated it more. I encountered it as poorly-written fanzines that my ex-husband Would Not Throw Away.

[eviltofu.livejournal.com]

Another fun game. Nuclear Holocaust!

[tibicina.livejournal.com]

Who's Bernard Cornwell?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Bernard Cornwell is a former BBC journalist turned writer - he is most famous for writing the Sharpe novels, which have as its protagonist the rough-and-ready Richard Sharpe, who fights his way as a member of the British Army against the historical backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. The various Sharpe novels ("Sharpe's Rifles," "Sharpe's Eagle," "Sharpe's Gold," and so on) are characterized by swashbuckling adventure and pretty good historical accuracy in the battles it portrays, even if Sharpe's exploits themselves are fictional.The books were adapted into a series of TV movies starring Sean Bean.

Cornwell has written other books, most notably the Starbuck Chronicles, ("Rebel," "Copperhead," "Battle Flag," "Bloody Ground") which chronicle the exploits of Nathaniel Starbuck, a Yankee who finds himself joining the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Starbuck has never achieved the popularity of Sharpe, though - probably because Cornwell has never quite mastered the American "accent" in his writings, despite having migrated to America ("Redcoat," his Revolutionary War novel, isn't that hot either).

Cornwell's also done a trilogy based on the Arthurian legends ("The Winter King," "The Enemy of God," and "Excalibur") and currently is writing a series of novels based around the Hundred Years War, weaving with it the adventures of his new hero, Thomas of Hookton, and his quest for the Holy Grail ("Harlequin," "Vagabond," and "Heretic"). I haven't read any of it, though, so I can't really comment on it.

I do heartily recommend the Sharpe novels, if you're into that kind of historical fiction. Even if you're not, if you think Sean Bean is hot and you're into lots of hot sweaty romance (not to mention slashy subtext with Sharpe and his loyal Irish sergeant Patrick Harper), the TV movies are excellent.

[syphilis.livejournal.com]

Why on earth are you interested in sex?!?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

It's hereditary.