My darling lives in a world that is not mine
An old child misunderstood... out of time
Timeless is the creature who is wise
And timeless is the prisoner in disguise
Oh who is the beauty... who is the beast
Would you die of grieving when I leave
Two children too blind to see
I would fall in your shadow... I believe
My love is a man who's not been tamed
Oh...my love lives in a world of false pleasure and pain
We come from difference worlds... we are the same (my love)
I never doubted your beauty... I've changed
And when I call
Will you walk gently
Thru my shadow
The ones you dream of
The ones who walk away
With their capes
Pulled around them tight
Cryin' for the night
Cry for the nightbird
-Stevie Nicks, "Nightbird"
12/30/2002
My Author and Fic Recs
I'm a voracious fic reader. I spend way too much time at my computer reading about Strange New Worlds written by people whose only payment is a few comments by the people who read their fic. If you like any of the recs below, please be sure to drop a note to the author letting them know that you liked their fic and if possible why you liked it. Most of these authors have heard from me - and I can personally vouch for them. They don't bite and they do appreciate feedback. My thanks to each one of them for sharing their works and for providing entertainment in my favorite fandoms.
I blame this fic readers meme on Seldear (There's a meme there for writers, too.)
In which fandoms do you usually read fic? Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, and VOY, Harry Potter, and Stargate SG-1
Which genres do you read? Het and Gen
Do you have a favourite author/set of authors? Who and in which fandom?
Star Trek: TOS
Jungle Kitty: Start with the first story in the Kirk/Brandt chronology and continue. JK does everything well and often has me laughing and crying in the same story.
Star Trek: TNG
Lori writes Deanna Troi like no other. Marina Sirtis should have been so lucky to portray this character instead of the one she got to play. Start with "Elephants in the Lift" and keep going. Lori sprinkles her well-plotted fic with wonderfully written aliens and original characters. And don't miss Kerzoinky Blue, either.
Star Trek: DS9
Sara looks at Trek from different eyes. Most enlightening.
Star Trek: VOY
Barbara Watson does Tom Paris very well. "Connect the Dots" and "Be Careful What You Wish For" - don't miss them.
Claire Gabriel I just loved her series "A Second Season" beginning with the lovely "Fireflies"
Jemima's Trek filk is second to none, but I personally like her fic "The Dance" the best.
m.c. moose If you want to learn about Janeway's life before Voyager don't miss mc moose's stories. They are all super, but I especially like "Lies Our Father's Told Us"
monkee's special brand of humor keeps you coming back for more. Try "Her Strut" and don't skip her episode reviews.
Morgan Stuart I've linked to "The Mention That I Miss," but you also need to read "Survivor's Epitaph." Both are wonderful.
Penny Proctor Go. Read. Anything. She's one of the best there is.
Rocky's Lieutenant Series details Janeway's early life as a Starfleet officer and her relationship with Justin Tighe. It's excellent. And don't miss the Glory Days Universe (co-written with Seema) It's the best post "Endgame" Voyager fic out there.
YCD is another terrific Janeway author. "Once and Future Captain" is one of my all time favorites.
Star Trek: Multiple Series
Djinn writes odd pairings and makes them work - in fact, I'll read any pairing if Djinn has authored it.
Seema writes excellent detailed drama fics but I like her best when her wicked sense of humor is revealed in the occasional intentional bad!fic. Example: "And Baby Makes Five"
Harry Potter
Liz Barr Check out "No Such Place." Liz has perfected Snape/Lily.
RJ Anderson's Darkness and Light series is a classic!
Stargate SG-1
Alli Snow's recent "Sleepers" is a tightly woven, plot driven novel. A very good read, as are her other fics.
Christinecgb's fics are written with layers of meaning and depths of emotion that are truly brilliant. See "Light to Dark, Dark to Light"
Gunfodder is a master at UST. In fact, the best UST I've ever read has to be the Prologue to "The Things We Say."
Sally Reeve I love Sally's characterization of Sam and Jack. No favorite story here - they're all wonderful.
Seldear's "The Lemming Effect" is one of those fics that pushes all kinds of buttons inside of me. I don't think I've read any other story that I identify with so fully.
Suz It takes tremendous talent to write a good drabble, but Suz is a master. She packs more emotion and details into 100 words than anyone I know. Check out "Moments," but don't stop there. All her stories are well worth reading. She also has made some great videos - my favorite is "Here With Me."
Vicki James' "One Little Kiss" Series is a favorite.
Do you have a pairing preference and if so, what do you like to see in that writing?
My favorite characters are Janeway, Kira, and Troi, of Star Trek and Samantha Carter of Stargate SG-1. I will read them paired with almost anyone, but my favorite pairings are:
Trek: Picard/Troi, Kira/Odo, Janeway/Chakotay, Janeway/Paris, Paris/Torres
HP: Snape/Lily, Snape/Maud, Marauder fic
Stargate SG-1: Sam/Jack, Daniel/Janet, Sam/Janet
Mostly, I like anything with UST, the more gut-wrenching the better...and if it gets resolved by the end of the fic...that's just icing on the cake. I'm a sucker for romance and happy endings - so shoot me. I also like plot and good characterization. My favorite fics tend to be long and involved.
Is there any genre or category you haven't yet read that you'd love to try someday?
Not really, I read everything I want to and pass over the stuff I don't want to read.
Djinn takes minor/original Star Trek characters and develops them into something really amazing. These two fics have stayed with me for a couple of months now. I keep going back to them and pulling more out of them each time I read them. Anything by Djinn is special, but these two are extraordinary.
What's your favourite story? Why?
Michele Masterson's Contrition. Well, it's Janeway told by B'Elanna. Angsty, sweet, and gut-wrenching. Lovely really. Gets to me every time I read it.
Name a story which has received short shift but which you thought was really good. Why was it good?
Lori's Pilgrim. This story, a part of the Captain and Counselor series, was recently posted to ASC and got no feedback, which is quite shocking. Lori gets into Deanna Troi's head like no other author I know, and this story illustrates her talent perfectly. It's excellent, really, and should be read by all Trek fans. Lori makes Picard/Troi so believable and so much more plausible and interesting than the now-canon Riker/Troi (blech).
Name a story that got a lot of praise but which you didn't enjoy as much as you hoped. Why do you think it failed to reach you?
Macedon and Peg's Talking Stick/Circle. I waded through this whole series and although I enjoyed it, I certainly don't have it on my top 10 Voyager stories list. Maybe not even on my top 25. The story used Voyager as a vehicle for illustrating the victimization of Native Americans. While I am sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans, I want my Trek to be less realistic and more hopeful. Plus, I thought the story wandered and meandered - in other words, the plot was not tight and concise. I think this was due to the way it was written, but that doesn't excuse it's flaws. I think it's become a nostalgic favorite because it was one of the first stories to take advantage of the power of fanfiction on the net. In that it did succeed.
One of my mother's best friends passed away last Saturday. The funeral was Christmas Eve. I was glad I was able to go. Marge was my friend, too. She was always smiling, always interested in everyone and had a way of making everyone she was around feel accepted and cared about. I liked her a lot. I got to know her personally when I was in college. Occasionally, Marge, her husband and I would go out for dinner. We always had a good time and I would come home with my face hurting from laughing so hard. I even dated their son for a short period of time and although I liked him and had as much fun with him as I did Marge, we were just good friends. I saw him at the funeral. We hugged and shared a few tears.
Each year, Marge would make peanut brittle to give away for Christmas presents. It was the best. (Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe.) One year, Mom and Dad hid the peanut brittle from my brother, his family and me. (Very smart of them.) Marge would often call when I was visiting Mom and Dad's and this year she asked how I liked the peanut brittle. Not being too subtle, I said "WHAT Peanut Brittle?!?" and turned to glare at Mom. After that, I got my own bag and it became one of those family 'in jokes.' Unfortunately, this year, there was no peanut brittle and none will be coming in the future, which I wouldn't mind at all if I could see Marge one more time. God bless you, Marge. I will miss you.
One of my favorite family holiday traditions is to make (and eat) oyster dressing. This task traditionally fell to my grandmother, because "no one could make it like her" even though the rest of the family had the recipe. Several years before her death, I started assisting her in making this holiday delicacy. Each year I looked forward to preparing this special dish while she gave instructions on the proper technique of making oyster dressing. I found out why hers always tasted better than any one else's. She would always add extra butter and oysters because the pan "didn't look right." The following is the result of a few years of experimentation to re-create the actual recipe that we experienced in those days gone by. I share it with you in honor of my grandmother who loved to be with her family at the holidays.
Grammy's Oyster Dressing Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients:
2 c. dry bread cubes
1 stick butter
1 lb. Fresh oysters
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
½ c. milk
¼ c. oyster liquor (juice that comes with oysters)
Salt
Pepper
Chopped parsley
Nutmeg
1 c. crushed Waverly Wafers (or Club Crackers)
Melt 5 T. butter. Pour in dry bread cubes and stir.
Spread ½ of the buttered bread cubes in an 8"x8" pan
Layer ½ of the oysters over the bread cubes
Grammy's comments: "Be sure that the bread cubes and oysters are spread into the corners and sides of the pan." Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and parsley
Repeat with rest of bread cubes and oysters
And again Grammy told me: "Be sure that the bread cubes and oysters are spread into the corners and sides of the pan." (She liked to say this a lot) Season new layer with salt, pepper, nutmeg and parsley
Combine soup, milk and liquor. (Should be 1 ¾ c. of liquid)
Grammy's next instructions: "Take a knife and poke about nine holes through the oyster/bread cube layers. Pour soup mixture into the holes, making sure the liquid reaches the bottom of the pan. Continue to pour liquid over oysters until finished." Melt 3 T. butter. Add crushed crackers and stir. Sprinkle over oyster/soup mixture. Top with salt, pepper, nutmeg and parsley.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bubbling. Let cool 15 min. before serving.
This is one of those recipes that is actually better the second day. The flavors blend and enhance one another, so it would be OK to make the night before, but as Grammy would always say: "Serve piping hot!"
Thanks, Grammy, for the wonderful memories. You are missed.
I started out as a fan of the movie back in the mid 90's - in particular the first part of the movie with all the Egyptian mythology and Daniel's translation of the coverstones, the gate addresses, and the Stargate itself - It also didn't hurt that Kurt Russell was in it either. But SG-1, I didn't get serious about until about 2 months ago.
What was the main reason that you became a fan?
I think I was primed and ready for a new fandom. I come from Star Trek, but just cannot get into Enterprise. And Voyager's ending disappointed me a lot - for a number of reasons. I caught SG-1 "Solitudes" on Sci-Fi one Monday nite and the rest is obsession.
The ONE Stargate SG-1 episode you think is the best they've done, that you can watch forever?
Picking one is tough. I'll pick "Torment of Tantalus." It was the first ep I saw that set off the "Wow, the possibilities of this show are amazing!" response. It made me think and want to watch more.
What is the ONE Stargate SG-1 episode you think could be timeless--as in always be played on the TV years from now?
There are many really, but I'll go with "Solitudes." Two people don't survive an experience like that without being changed. It's where Sam and Jack started.
When was Stargate SG-1 at its best?
Stargate SG-1 is always at its best when it explores the reactions and interactions of its characters. Jack, while always ready with a sarcastic, joking comment, has some of the most heart-wrenching and conflicted decisions to make. He makes none of them lightly and is usually tormented by them. He's an excellent, multi-dimensional character.
Who is the ONE character on Stargate SG-1 who you can't get enough of?
Sam. I want to BE Sam. I've wanted to be Sam all my life.
Your favourite B-storyline (underlying thread) of Stargate SG-1?
The Tok'ra. There have been some great stories when they're involved.
What's your favourite line from a Stargate SG-1 episode?
There are so many - usually involving Jack. I loved this exchange from "Unnatural Selection":
Jack walks in where Sam is working on something.
O'NEILL: They didn't go for it.
CARTER: They didn't approve the mission?
O'NEILL: Oh no, they did that. Once they knew the stakes and the fate of the universe stuff. Both the President and Hammond realised we had no choice. He sends good luck, godspeed and all those things he says when he thinks we're gonna die.
CARTER: So what didn't they go for?
O'NEILL: The name I suggested.
CARTER: For the ship?
O'NEILL: Yeah.
CARTER: Yeah Sir, we can't call it the Enterprise.
O'NEILL: Why not?
CARTER: The codename for the project is Prometheus. What's wrong with that?
O'NEILL: It's a Greek tragedy. Who wants that?
There is so much said here between the lines. I wish Jim Wright would do reviews for Stargate.
What's Stargate SG-1's best season out of all their seasons?
Let's just say that the first 2 seasons weren't nearly as good as the following ones.
How many Stargate SG-1 conventions have you been to?
None yet.
Do you think you are a fan of the show for its content or for the actors?
Content definitely, But I have to like the characters to keep watching a show. And they are the product of the writing staff and the actors, all of whom I've developed an affection for.
What is your favourite show of all time that's NOT Stargate SG-1?
Star Trek: Voyager - except for the end.
Favorite pairing of characters on Stargate SG-1?
Sam and Jack - hey, it's canon - and they do have a chemistry.
"The Lemming Effect" describes the Sam Carter I fully understand and identify with.
It reminds me of a quote from Daphne du Maurier's "Frenchman's Creek:"
"Why are you a pirate?" she said at last, breaking the silence.
Why do you ride horses that are too spirited?" he answered.
"Because of the danger, because of the speed, because I might fall," she said.
"That is why I am a pirate." he said.
"Yes, but..."
"There are no 'buts.' It's all very simple really...It just happens that the problems of piracy suite me...And then-well-then I have my fun, my spice of excitement, my beating of the other fellow. It is very satisfying, very absorbing."
Yes," she said. "Yes, I understand."
