buffyprof

Hi, to everyone who friended/wants to friend. Friend away. I'll friend you back when I get to it.

Here's the new chapter. It's getting long. I think I still have 2 to go. And that pesky career. But now I can answer your lovely comments in all their fabulousness.

I come from the Keats' Hyperion school of epic plotting. Hyperion is a famously failed and unfinished yet also apparently interminable epic in which the only action is that Saturn raises his head. Nonetheless, it is a great favorite of mine. And OOPS! I think I fixed the lj-cut now.

( part seven )

Look Who's Stalking Fans! New Friends! Old Friends!

Thanks so much for your patience as I got an update on another little matter . . . I got to hear the friggin heartbeat!!! *buffyprof does the mommy dance of joy* Still below the magic 12 week mark, but lookin' good. Go Spawn!! (And no, not *that* kind of Spawn. My fic is Spuffy all the way).

If you haven't been following the fic, get on over to Seasonal Spuffy and read the first 5 chapters there, so that you too can know why Buffy does not smell like vanilla. Not One Bit. I'll be happy to cross post them here, or post a link or something, but that'll have to wait a bit.

To the rest of you, thanks for your support and all the really great comments.  I will get to the replies, honest, I've just been busy writing. There will be one long chap. or 2 short ones after this, depending on my napping schedule. And Buffy's. She's napping in this chap. She really needed it.

Fic is so far rated R, I'd say.


( part six )

Happy Birthday Mr Monkeybottoms!

From the very depths of my morning sickness, I salute you! fabulous creator of Spike Bot! artiste of many an adorable icon( like this one)! author of many a fascinating anecdote about Canadian Tire! You,yes, you!!!

and now, I return to my regularly scheduled malaise. . .

Well. All I can say is, I am so sick that it was all I could do to lie on the couch and watch 22 eps of Veronica Mars over the course of a 3 day period. I can see why Victorian women took to their beds because it was *so much better* than working, and I hired someone to clean my house!! Maybe I could faint or something. (although some evil mother told me that women never really faint, and villains always blink their eyes, and children are the only ones who blush, and life is just to die. . .) wait, no! It's for watching a season's worth of TV in 3 days! I could have done it faster if it weren't for all the napping I had to accomplish.

VM rocks, too bad the next season dvd won't be out until next year. I may even have to hook up my TV for the first time since Angel ended. . . (well, I have been watching Bleak House, but at my Mom's). I guess I can be glad for a month of reruns to get caught up. Because some people like to go out dancing, and other people like us, we gotta work (or, in my case, languish watching TV). But *oops* I have important professional deadlines and *gasp* a posting date for Seasonal Spuffy. It may well be my one and only fic, but look out March 6, here comes the Buffy-must-not-smell-like-vanilla-self-imposed-challenge fic (stuff of legend, folks). And now, before I swoon, I will comment. So look out.

Happy Birthday alwaysjbj

I think it is (still) your birthday over yonder, though it is not yet here. . .festive "icon" (um, resized and stolen from random internet pic) in honor of you and of my several months spent wondering. . ."she seems cool. Wonder what jbj stands for. . ." I should know better, of course, since I had girlfriends (and guyfriends, for that matter) with *shrines* to him back in the day, but, um, I didn't know better. I hope this is him. I mostly remember the hair, because those same girl and guy friends always cut it to match. And it's not there. But lordy, my hair's changed since the 80s too (thank God for small favors!!)

I am mostly too tired lately to do much except essentials, but I didn't want to miss out on your day!

Anyway. He looks easy to unwrap.

Well. I turned around for a minute and then *whoosh* classes started and *whoosh* you all went through a lot! First of all, I would just like to say a collective "Soo sorry that happened to you" to all who got plagiarized. I also would like to say how much I admire the community for how it responded collectively and supportively (at least from what I saw).

Plagiarism is always a tough issue, and of course professionally I deal with it from time to time (note to students: if you're going to plagiarize, don't plagiarize from the *Norton Anthology!!*). In general, however, I am a very big supporter of "fair use"--the creative use of others' work for educational or purposes that don't infringe on profits, and I think fair use is under attack these days. It is one of the reasons that I have been so pleased with Joss' and the other writers' support of fanfic. Fanfic trades on fair use in spirit (although it is technically illegal, I think)--which makes this kind of "unfair use" even worse. Credited borrowing is the name of the game, but straight theft violates the unwritten rules that make the whole thing possible.

Also, since fic writers have no profit motive and no kind of credit or currency other than reader enjoyment, reputation, and the odd review, it makes plagiarizing all the worse, somehow. It seems worse to steal something given freely than something sold with an eye to profit.

I love that this is a "gift economy"--writers rec each other, critique each other, gift each other with drabbles and fics and feel free to make requests. Since I also inhabit other *really, really different!!* writerly economies, I appreciate so much the kind of support I see people offer total strangers here, the many gifts of time, consideration and praise. I was sorry to see someone violate that.

Ok. So. I went with the girls (a collection of colleagues and colleagues' wives) to see Brokeback Mountain because none of our husbands/partners would go, even my own gay-acting straight guy. I tried with him. I said, c'mon, come see how the other half lives. Straight-acting gay guys're all the rage. Gay cowboys. Hot! Sentimental romance drivel, he replied, but I'll babysit. Done! But then I demurred. Maybe I should just go to the film and not have a drink with the colleagues and colleagues' wives because I have to prep my class. What kind of nonsense is that? asked my G-ASG. And he had a good point. Collective verdict? Great performances all around. Not enough gay sex for us straight girls. Sheep=excellent. Too long but nonetheless moving. Funny to name gay cowboy "Ennis," that Annie Proulx is wicked.
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Happy Birthday to the very excellent writer annapurna_2 !!

It's my dog's birthday too! he turned one. I gave him a greenie and a cardboard box to destroy. He is not a good writer but is really excellent at chewing stuff and flinging drool.

for speakr2customrs

Travel Plans

(Post NFA)

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Hey Happy New Year to my little flist. As part of a resolution to read more non-spuffy fic (well, I'll read anything funny) I bring you the following Very Spangel New Years I found-- in case any of you missed it when it went up last year. Don't click if you don't like Doll Porn Slash (but really, why wouldn't you?).

http://www.boosterevents.com/Default.aspx?tabid=89&g=posts&t=189

I did a google image search.

Yes, I did survive my grading, which was touch and go there for a while, and I had to stop doing everything else except shopping, cleaning, and hosting a very large Christmas Eve dinner which I also survived. Then I survived my sweetheart's parents and brother, my parents and brother and his wife and kids for Christmas, which was actually really fun, and I did all this surviving without ever having seen Survivor. And someone gave me Veronica Mars on DVD so I can be cool now too! Plus I got a triple CD set of Aerosmith which has given me more joy than I ever, ever, imagined, considering I never got into Aerosmith and then, suddenly this year, I noticed I became strangely happy whenever Sweet Emotion came on. It is part of my project: I am regressing and by the time I'm 40 I hope to be twelve.

I went skiing! I went down really, really big mountains! I went snow-shoeing! So did my mom! I hope everyone else's holidays are still in the process of being festive. I myself am rejoicing because my house, though completely trashed, is now empty. Even Babyspikelover has gone to visit her dad.

Speaking of which

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*looks up from grading/santaing festival and self-imposed LJ ban to say* All my sympathy goes out to New Yorkers!! And to say, Stupid transit workers. Stupid MTA. Make with the happy already!!

Hi new friends *waves* I am so. wiped. out. from the end of semester plus we got this dog. . .which came to class, to meetings, to the copy center because what dog really wants to be left home alone on his first week in a new forever home? But I will say it did not simplify matters.

In other momentous news, my babyspikelover has seen her first shows beyond OMWF--I described different episodes to her and she could choose the ones she wanted. We had to make sure no one important died and no people died and that it wasn't too scary. Her first choice of all the ones I described? Something Blue. Gee. What a surprise (although she thought Band Candy where the grown-ups act really irresponsibe sounded great, but, no Spike, so, no dice) So. Something Blue. At one point she paused it so she could ahem, kiss the screen-Spike. And now she goes around saying "Spike's evil, but you just have to love him anyway" and "Let's go kill something. For puppies, and Christmas! C'mon!" I've created a monster. A really, really cute monster, but

Will she still love me when someday (when she's in her thirties) she watches the end of S6? I think I'll be able to make a great moral allegory over it . . .but more on the adventures of babyspikelover will have to wait. Cause I could chat now, but I'd much rather, you know, grade.

Sure sign that I have piles of papers to grade. . .yes, not only am I feeling I should iron my linens but I am writing about it. And goodness! Unsightly dust (sure to be) on top of all the light fixtures! And perhaps, it's important to get on with the important *cough* research *cough* into the world of fan fiction. Once upon a time, when I was a TA at a university far, far away, I taught OMWF in a class. And ever since, my grading has a soundtrack

Every single night
I grade the papers
though they mostly really bite
Still I always feel this strange estrangement
nothing here is good nothing here is right
Will I have to grade forever
Sleepwalk through my life's endeavor
"how can I rewrite"--whatever
I'll give you a "B"

Going through the motions. . .

Generally, I am interested in any "crossover" fans if anyone happens by this, but I also believe that the world should know about this brilliant work:

http://www.lifeamgood.com/01aprbuffy.html

If you love Pride and Prejudice. . .you know you wanna dance. . .

OK, hosting a sleepover for 9 yearolds and should be writing my important and serious critical book but instead am exploring a whole new facet of my geekness. So what does that mean?

Thought of the day: When my little blonde daughter was 6 and afraid of vampires--she'd seen a scary looking poster while we were shopping for ears for her panther costume--I came up with the brilliant idea of telling her Buffy stories. "As it turns out, sweetie, the most powerful person in the world against vampires is a young girl with blonde hair, a girl not so different from you, as it happens. . ." and some time later, I decided it would be ok to show her the musical episode, which I had come to love because I had to teach it in a college course. Yes, I got into Buffy because I taught it as a TA--I did not even own a TV. My dad had been making me tapes of Buffy for years but I was like please, dad, I'm an intellectual, blah, blah, Anyway, so I finally show my daughter the show from which I've been stealing her female empowerment bedtime stories and who does she instantly fall in love with? Right. Spike. Rest in Peace became her "favorite song in the world." Still is. I only showed her the one episode. She watched it again, and again, and again. She wore out the video. We got the soundtrack. She got her friends the soundtrack. I had to explain to everyone's parents, ok, just the one episode unless you feel that the time for the S&M part of sex ed is now before 2nd grade. . .she had a OMWF slumber party for her 7th birthday. At 8 she's a vampire for Halloween (guess which one). She has a Spike calendar. This year we had a Spike pumpkin. 3 years, and still just the one ep. Spike all the way.

God I love female empowerment.