Sol Crafter's Blog, page 3
August 3, 2014
Silk Leaf seems amazing to me. Have you heard of this? I can’t even
“Julian Melchiorri on the first synthetic biological leaf” — http://www.dezeen.com/2014/07/25/movie-silk-leaf-first-man-made-synthetic-biological-leaf-space-travel/. This is completely and mind-blowingly amazing. I am surprised more people aren’t shouting this from the rooftop.
RCA graduate Julian Melchiorri says the synthetic biological leaf he developed, which absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant, could enable long-distance space travel.
We would finally be able to travel to Mars and further without having to pack so much oxygen. The weight limits would be bypassed, and more equipment could be carried. Along with the Tesla/(Elon Musk) Space X rocket, which can land and liftoff for multiple journeys, it would be an easy endeavor to have people travel back and forth from the “colonies.”
Melchiorri’s Silk Leaf project, which he developed as part of the Royal College of Art’s Innovation Design Engineering course in collaboration with Tufts University silk lab, consists of chloroplasts suspended in a matrix made out of silk protein.
These pieces of silk leaf fabric are able to photosynthesize oxygen. Just shine some light through the leaves, and there’s oxygen creation.
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The article is getting a lot of negative response, but it’s really quite a remarkable idea.
At some point in the future, we could have oxygen producing drapes on our windows, wall hangings that literally breathe, and the assurance that whatever happens, we’ve got clean air in our home.
I believe there are going to be many technological marvels discovered in the coming years. The world will be terrible ecologically, but I hope that will only be in some areas. Places like China and Texas will have terrible air and bad stuff, but most of the rest of the world will be better off. Still, it would be worth the cost to purchase an air conditioner that also cleans and creates oxygen, or clothing that literally breathes.
A filter of silk leaf could be part of a person’s breathing mask. If its able to be kept alive, it could last for decades.
An outfit made of breathable material. Flip up the hood and keep from suffocating while in a place packed with people. The perfect party suit. (Translucent bubble suit of silk leaf. Bicycle shorts-wearing grinding body, twisting and bending, cami top clinging, dancing within the safety of her private world. Holland watched her for a moment, tracing the curves and bends, admiring the nubile young beauty; his admiration was abstract but honest.)
Apartment complexes would offer the luxury of a silk leaf shell that produces clean oxygen for the occupants. That would be something people would want available.
I don’t know. I am really enthusiastic about some of the newest technologies coming out.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
June 28, 2014
Mixed Thoughts
This all began after trying to watch The Taking of Pelham 123 while intoxicated. Sometimes I let my thoughts wander. They decide to go to strange places.
RE The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
I attempted to watch this movie, and it felt like I was waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever happens and the action seemed forced. It’s a story with a potential that never appears. The wrong actors were chosen for the roles; the dialogue isn’t very enthralling, but there’s a lot of it; and it felt like a character piece, but they were playing it as an ensemble. There’s the pieces of a good story, if only things had been taken in a different direction.
Seriously, movie dudes, if you’re going to redo a badly done movie, put some work into it. Correct the mistakes of the past and make a better story. Change the setting and the scenario. Make a frickin’ TV movie to create the backdrop of your universe. I mean, that doesn’t really apply to Pelham 123, but for other reboots it seems like a much better idea than destroying everything and not giving people a chance to adapt.
Take Star Trek for instance: I might have appreciated the rebooted movies more if JJ Abrahms had run a TV mini-series explaining all the ginormous changes taking place in the universe. I need a meta to build on in my imagination so I have some idea of what’s going on; it’s the way I enjoy things. I also need a fanbase to fall back on, because when I really like something I immediately search for the fanfiction and the fanart.
Star Trek is a giant franchise. Sure, the reruns of the TV show and the movies were beginning to lose money, but that’s because they’re not syndicated anywhere. Or if they are, they’re not being played in the right way. (Pick a time and stick to it. Nobody needs an episode marathon every night; it burns out the interest quick. Just one episode a night, every night at the same time, maybe two episodes if the show is only a half-hour long. Make sure the episodes run in order, then build your programming around it. The show will begin to pick up interest, as most humans like patterns and stability.
Remember being a kid and racing home to watch your favorite show? It was on every single day at exactly the same time. And even when your life was crazy and stressful and your parents were fighting, your show would always be there for you. Life was falling down, but there was Sailor Moon, there were The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there were The Tiny Toon Adventures.
Well, dudes, life has gotten hard lately. The economy stinks, war is about to break out all over the place, there’s stress piling up everything; the world seems like it’s about to fall apart and there’s no hope in sight — and I blame all of that on American television programming.
1. We’re showing way too many infomercials, people. It’s beginning to warp the perspectives of the world. We need to start showing the good stuff again. I mean, when someone in the Middle East pays to get American TV, I don’t think they were paying to get our worst crap. It makes people a little testy and it makes us look bad. We need to be more like BBC-America. They seriously put some work behind their programming, and they’re really getting popular. Meanwhile, all the basic cable channels have turned into garbage and I have no idea why. They don’t even bother trying to syndicate shows anymore, and I don’t know if it’s because the copyright holders are charging too much money or if the network owners just don’t care or something.
People still watch TV! People want to watch TV. There’s something soothing about clicking the remote, tuning to a station, and just knowing I’m going to be entertained, no extra thought required. And I haven’t felt like that in a long time. The stability I love and need is gone. And it’s been replaced by some guy trying to sell me Magic Beauty Wonder Cream and softcore pornography commercials starring not very attractive people doing stuff I don’t like.
I want to tune to a station for 2-4 hours and know that there’s going to be something I want to watch. Since there’s never anything good on, I end up watching a lot of American Dad. It can be entertaining and I like the self-contained stories, but I want other stuff to watch too.
Don’t networks ever ask the opinions of their viewers? The big companies keep gobbling up different channels, then they sell out their customers by getting rid of everything that people liked. I get that they’re trying to force people to buy the pricier cable packages, but maybe they’d make more money if they showed a little consideration.
Not everyone has a ton of money to spend on entertainment. $20 a month is a lot of money to some people. They still should have something good to watch on TV.
Shows that rock:
Almost Human [partner cops, sci-fi, action],
American Dad [animated, humor],
Angel [paranormal, drama, action, angst, feelings],
Being Human [paranormal, drama, angst],
Better Off Ted [humor, office, Evil Corporation],
Bones [FBI, crime-solving partners, ],
Buffy the Vampire Slayer [action, drama, girl power, great ensemble],
Charmed [paranormal, action, girl power, sibling unity],
Dead Like Me [reapers, drama, angst, feelings],
Dollhouse [action, sci-fi, drama],
Earth: Final Conflict [sci-fi, aliens come to Earth],
Firefly [sci-fi, spaceship in the future, cargo hauling and thieving],
Futurama [animated, humor, sci-fi, ensemble],
Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda [sci-fi, spaceship in the far future, post-apocalyptic],
Hannibal [psychological, serial killer, angst, drama, lots of blood and awful],
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys [action, humor, gods and goddesses],
Highlander [action, a fight to the death every episode, Methos, dated material],
Lost Girl [paranormal, action, girl power, lots of sex and violence],
Metalocalypse [animated, brutal humor],
Pushing Daisies [crime solving partners, humor, romance, paranormal],
Rick and Morty [animated, sci-fi, sharp humor],
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles [action, sci-fi, drama],
The Tribe [post-apocalypse, Lord of the Flies-ish kids battling each other],
Xena: Warrior Princess [action, humor, romance, redemption, gods and goddesses],
The Venture Brothers [animated, superscience, sharp humor]
For a lighter crowd:
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy [animated, humor, reaper] Hikaru no Go [anime, ghost friend, championship board game],
Invader Zim [animated, sci-fi, humor] Ouran High School Host Club [anime, high school romance, crossdressing],
Princess Jellyfish [anime, adult humor],
Sailor Moon [anime, action, girl power],
Tiny Toon Adventures [humor, talking animals],
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [action, talking animals hiding from the human world]
2. What is with all of the reality television? We get it, it’s cheap to make and the returns can be gigantic and blah blah. Those shows have actually been proven to make children stupider. Look it up; there’s scientific evidence. Where are all the concerned “Don’t vaccinate my kid!” parents at when their kids are watching that crap? Instead of sitting back letting that kind of lazy and exploitive programming run, why aren’t parents petitioning for actual shows?
When I was a kid some of the shows were pretty stupid, but at least they were actual family programming, as in, anyone could watch the show no matter there age. There was no surprise graphic sex. The language didn’t try to be edgy. And there were actual non-dysfunctional families getting along and enjoying spending time together.
But reality TV shows a life that most people can’t afford to live or wouldn’t want to live. The people seem so fake, the story lines are improv, and there’s no real point to anything. It’s a fishbowl glimpse into someone’s life, a chance to ogle and snark freely.
At least a story with a moral to it imparts some beneficial bit of knowledge. Reality television is people making money by pretending that their lives are more interesting than they really are.
“Watch me I’m rich and spoiled!”
“Watch me do my job, it’s exciting!”
“I used to be famous, pay attention to me!”
No thank you. I’ll be watching the rerun of a rerun, the same episode of The Cleveland Show that played four hours ago on the sister channel.)
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I wish I could turn on the TV and be entertained again. But there’s no longer a channel I can trust to give me what I want.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 27, 2014
How do you write? (Do you write?)
I read this thread => “George RR Martin: “Why I still use DOS”
There’s something about words flowing straight out of my hand onto the paper that appeals to me. Plus it keeps me from being able to go back and edit myself while I’m writing — the only direction is forward. When I make a mistake, erasing it involves scribbling things out, so I try not to make mistakes in the first place. I am forced to keep the story moving because there’s no room to change things without making a mess.
How do you write?
[Me: pen and paper => Scrivener => OpenOffice]
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 15, 2014
MERS: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
First of all, DON’T PANIC!
I realize CNN and other media outlets are trying to blow the situation out of proportion and freak out as many people as they can, but really, it’s not that bad.
Two confirmed cases in the US and possible exposure of other people that have not shown signs of the virus. As in, blood cultures and what have yous don’t show the mass outbreak the media is trying to scare the public with.
Unless you were exposed in the waiting room where one victim waited for FOUR HOURS before he was seen by a physician, or on one of the planes or the bus he rode in on, you should be fine.
The CDC advises that you:
Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze then throw the tissue in the trash.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact, such as kissing, sharing cups, or sharing eating utensils, with sick people.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs.
Basically, don’t let people cough in your face, and please don’t cough in the faces of anyone else. Wash your hands after using the bathroom, coughing, or before handling or eating food. And if you have cough or cold symptoms, please do not rush to the hospital or hang out in places full of people.
Otherwise, unless you’ve been to the Middle East or hung out with someone that’s just come from the Middle East, you’re probably okay. The virus incubates between 2-14 days after exposure.
My first thought:
Dear United States Congress,
Stop cutting the budget for the CDC. Underfunding the people that keep us from being overrun by diseases is ridiculous. As is cutting Medicaid so poor people have to hang out in emergency rooms for care versus being able to make an appointment and see a doctor like should be the norm in a civilized country. (And don’t even get me started on the subject of medical care costs in this country, which are ludicrously expensive. You wait four hours to see a doctor, then you get charged $800 for someone to feel up your lymph nodes and give you a prescription for super Benadryl that costs you another $40.)
Thanks a lot Congress. You totally rock your job (if your job involves either not doing anything or ruining the things that work). I love how you constantly give yourself raises while cutting Federal aid programs and raising the taxes of the middle class.
I mean, kids don’t need food or educations. If they’re tough, they’ll figure things out on their own and everything will be okay. That or they’ll be so outraged and ignorant when they reach adulthood that violence and robbery is their answer to everything and “steal from the rich” will become the widely accepted way of solving all problems. But that’s no big deal, ‘cos when you’ve got money you can afford bodyguards and powerful security.
So thank you, Congress, for making the world a worse place. And oh yeah, I’m kinda blaming global warming on you too, since you guys refused to believe it was real until this =>West Antarctic Glacier Loss: “We have passed the point of no return”
Someone that works with livestock says that when you buy animals from other countries (including Mexico) you are required to quarantine them for 14 days. Why don’t we have this practice when people fly in from other countries? I know some people will decry human rights violations and not being able to get where they want to go, but come on. Nothing stops international airports from having nice facilities on hand for people to stay in before they get released back into the public. Things don’t have to work like a Third World country, and if everyone is stuck in the same facilities … I’m sure all those uber rich travelers that like to hop a plane and go all around the world will come up with the money to make the facilities awesome, or at the very least not like something out of the movie Hostel.
Besides, telecommunication was developed for a reason. In most cases, people don’t really have to go to another country.
And if you’re there to take care of the sick — you know, people infected with MERS or SARS or ebola and need medical professionals to tend to them — I would hope you would voluntarily quarantine yourself. At least wait the 14 day incubation period before hanging out in high traffic areas.
Links of note:
CDC – Coronavirus: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html. On May 11, 2014, a second U.S. imported case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler who also came to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. This patient is currently hospitalized and doing well. People who had close contact with this patient are being contacted. The two U.S. cases are not linked.
CDC MERS – Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/MERS/faq.html. Q: Is MERS-CoV the same as the SARS virus? — A: No. MERS-CoV is not the same coronavirus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. However, like the SARS virus, MERS-CoV is most similar to coronaviruses found in bats. CDC is still learning about MERS.
Wikipedia – Middle East respiratory syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Eastern_Respiratory_Syndrome. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a newly identified syndrome resulting from infections with an apparently new pathogen, the MERS-coronavirus.
NPR Health News – MERS 101: What We Do (And Don’t) Know About the Virus: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/05/14/310407444/mers-101-what-we-do-and-dont-know-about-the-virus. Symptoms: Affects the lower and upper respiratory tracts, leading to coughing, shortness of breath, fever and pneumonia. The virus aims for cells in the lungs and possibly the , which may explain instances of kidney failure. But some people who have been infected report no symptoms.
Reuters – Florida MERS patient sat in busy ER for hours: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/14/us-usa-health-mers-hospital-idUSKBN0DU06520140514. The second U.S. patient to be diagnosed with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) spent at least four hours in the public waiting room of a busy Florida emergency department before he was seen by a doctor, a hospital official said.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 12, 2014
I don’t know what to think
So, my dad bought a Wacom Cintiq that arrived today. He’s very happy about it, which is good, except I wasn’t aware of how much it cost.
He complains of chest pains, but it’s too expensive for him to use his medical insurance and go to the doctor. Never mind that he had a quadruple bypass over ten years ago and is past his “warranty date.” He is constantly complaining of aches and pains, of not having enough money for essential things, yet he bought this massively expensive toy.
I’m concerned about his foolish spending and lack of care about his physical health. He has these frightening rages and riding with him in the car is terrifying. Maybe it’s that he’s getting older, or maybe he’s coming out of a depression and is showing it by spending too much money, I don’t know. I’m worried, but he doesn’t listen to me and it’s his own money that he’s spending.
I’ll be keeping a closer eye on him. The Cintiq was a big splurge, but as long as he doesn’t start buying a whole bunch of things it might be okay. I’ll keep trying to get him to see the doctor and get new glasses and go in for a hearing test … Ugh, there’s so much that needs to be done around here and I don’t know what to do.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 11, 2014
RE: Usagi Drop/Bunny Drop [Japanese movie]
Based on a manga, I just watched Usagi Drop (or Bunny Drop if you’ve got a Viki movie pass) and it was adorable. Featuring the guy that played L in the live action Death Note, and the little girl that played young Mako in Pacific Rim.
Daikichi (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a 27-year-old office worker that goes home for his grandfather’s funeral, only to find out that his grandfather has a 6-year-old daughter Rin (Mana Ashida) that no one in the family wants to take in. After listening to the older members of his family coldly discuss dropping the girl off at an institution, Daikichi steps up and takes her home with him.
It’s a hard road, but he finds love in his life as he takes care of Rin. He’s still kind of a weird guy, but it’s adorable how he becomes a father — or a “Daikichi!” — to a little girl that doesn’t have anyone else.
Based on the manga “Usagi Drop” by Yumi Unita.
This movie was adorably uplifting. They’re two people that don’t have anyone else, but find happiness with each other. Daikichi didn’t even realize how empty his life of work and play was until he had Rin there with him, counting on him to take care of her. He may have spoken up before he’d thought about it, but he really stepped up with the responsibility and the love. As a result, Rin goes from being a solemn child that’s constantly afraid of being left behind, to smiling and laughing as she knows Daikichi will always be there for her.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 4, 2014
My first thoughts on Buzzfeed’s “Paul Ryan’s Inner City Education”
So, I read this =>http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/paul-ryans-inner-city-education
I want to believe in the goodness of humanity and that someone like Paul Ryan could become a better person, and through him, the GOP might actually wake up and realize their rhetoric is just that. 10% to charity is not an excuse to make a tax right-off, and that’s supposed to be 10% of everything. So if a business is now being counted as an individual, shouldn’t that individual give 10% too, as well as taking care of their workers? (Remember, a happy healthy worker is a worker that doesn’t come after you when the revolution rises.)
But whatever.
My problem with Paul Ryan is that every time I see him I hear the soundtrack from The Omen playing in the background. I mean, didn’t Damien turn out to be a politician? I’m not calling Paul Ryan the Antichrist (don’t put words in my mouth!) but I am highly suspicious of his motivations and I find him an untrustworthy individual.
So kudos, Paul, on becoming a better person. But if it turns out you’re becoming a “better person” in the hopes of running for President, does that really mean you’re a better person? Or are you just a wolf putting on a sheep’s coat and expecting the baffled sheeple to accept your guidance (as you pick off a stray or two here and there)?
And in other news, Seattle is raising the minimum wage to $15. That’s a difference from Wisconsin’s (and Texas’) $7.25, and no one’s talking about Georgia and Wyoming’s $5.15.
Still, the amount people are paid should be calculated by the relative poverty of an area and the cost of living. Though it’s kind of an outrage that a matinee movie ticket costs more than a person makes in an hour. Add in popcorn and a couple of kids’ tickets and a trip to the cinema could be a person’s whole day’s wage. Wow.
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
May 2, 2014
EXCERPT: Faizel 02 [vampire, dark, mm]
While I wait for Hannibal to start …
Title: Faizel 02
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: vampire, supernatural, dark, mm
A/N: This is how I started this monster. I’m not sure if I want to leave this as the beginning, or insert a different scene. I’m not sure. Thoughts?
Sometimes Ewing wondered if they had invited a devil into their midst. Because there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Charlemagne was possessed. And the devil was named Faizel. Charlemagne’s darling love. The mysterious vampire that had appeared from nowhere to steal Charlemagne’s heart and rearrange the natural order of the world.
Ewing personally thought of Faizel as a booty call gone wrong, though he would never say it aloud. He valued his life too much.
Charlemagne wanted to keep Faizel secret, and Ewing was willing to go along with it. Because honestly, how could he even explain someone like Faizel? The guy scared the ever living fuck out of him, and that was no lie.
“Are you certain this is how you want to do things?” Deacon asked in her “I’m a complete hard as nails Law Officer” voice.
Ewing fought to keep still where he knelt on the hardwood floor along with the other low level vampires. It was pretty boring, but he wasn’t one to battle the status quo. He didn’t want to get tortured and killed.
Isadore had been summoned by Prince Lucian, which meant they’d been forced to accompany her to display her level of awesome to the rest of the Lords and Ladies. They were each showing off how powerful and bad ass they were, which meant uncomfortable outfits and unnatural poses for their followers.
It was a relief to look across the banquet hall and see the other retinues; some of those guys had it really rough. Ewing didn’t even want to think about what was up with the guy with the weird metal clamps on his face or the chick with the fish hooks through her nipples. All he had to do was wear old fashioned clothes and serve imaginary tea; that didn’t seem so bad in comparison to what those other schlubs had to put up with.
Seeing that everyone was focused on the drama unfolding in the middle of the room, he risked stretching his back and cracking his neck before getting back to his frozen position. He even dared to lick his dry lips a minute later.
Back when he’d been human he’d fantasized about what it would be like when he was Turned. He’d imagined lounging around wearing cool clothes. He’d imagined driving fancy cars and owning the city and everyone in it. Instead, he dressed like a complete hose-bag and catered to a woman that made his testicles shrivel. She was hot, with long waves of inky black hair and eyes that seemed to have been permanently rimmed with heavy black kohl. She was also hardcore pathetic, though she expected them to do whatever she wanted.
He’d thought being a vampire would mean freedom. Instead he’d been forced into the life of some old lady’s permanent bitch-boy. His place in the Hierarchy was so low he didn’t even get to sit in a chair–he spent his time kneeling with his palms to the floor.
He wasn’t jealous of Charlemagne’s higher rank though. That guy was in a much worse position: he actually had to sleep with the old broad whenever she wanted. Isadore was sexy, but Ewing had no desire for her. Which was probably the reason why he was kneeling on the floor rather than standing behind her throne-chair all mannequin-faced like Charlemagne was doing.
Stuff was getting loud and there were angry words being said. Law Officer Jenny Deacon was looking for some missing girl and she’d requested that Prince Lucian gather all the master vampires in the city so she could question them. She seemed to think the girl was in an Enclave somewhere, and of course all the vampires knew which one because none of them could keep a secret.
Ewing had never realized Deacon was so arrogant. Storming the Prince’s Citadel and demanding answers as though Lucian were a peasant. She was lucky Prince Lucian had the hots for her, because Law Officer or not, he would have torn her apart if she were anyone else; Ewing had heard the stories. But she was so raw to the job that she probably thought she could take on a Prince.
Charlemagne thought she was an idiot, and Ewing couldn’t help agreeing.
Ewing risked a peek, and there that expression was on Charlemagne’s face. He had to muffle a snort. Most people would have thought Charlemagne’s face was blank, but Ewing knew the guy better. There was an extra bit of arch to Charlemagne’s brows and a barely smoldering flame in the back of his eyes. He was holding back a sneer through sheer force of will.
Charlemagne played his role perfectly, but Ewing knew how much he hated to have his time wasted. He had to put up with it from Isadore, but Deacon was only human. Charlemagne would never be indecorous enough to step out of line in public, but Ewing could tell he wanted to.
From the minute he Woke for the first time as a lesser vampire, Ewing had known the best he could hope for was being a master’s lackey. His place in the Hierarchy had been set by his biology and there was nothing he could do to change it. Charlemagne though, he was one of the lucky ones. He was of the master class and Ewing had never seen him hit his limit. He was strong enough that Ewing wondered why he took orders from some masters that were obviously inferior. Yet Charlemagne would just bow his head and do as he was told. It was weird.
There was a loud crash and a load of screeching and Ewing found himself caught up in the show. The boring posturing was over and it was time for some action. He was reluctantly entertained.
The nobles had broken up into various cliques encircling the room, leaving the main floor open. The first time Ewing had seen it happen, he’d felt like he was back in high school being herded into the gym.
Isadore was next to Felix, as he was her Patron. They were seated on large throne chairs with their personal entourages around them. The lower level vampires were at parade rest in bunches around the thrones. Ewing was supposed to keep his head facing forward, but that didn’t keep his eyes from moving. He just had to be careful not to catch the eye of any of his “betters.” He wasn’t fond of being punished.
Deacon was standing facing Prince Lucian with one gloved hand knotted in the hair of a vampire man, her gun pointed at the side of his head. “Are you gonna try anything stupid when I pop this guy?”
There was an amused lift to Prince Lucian’s lips. “You may do as you wish. You are the Law. It is your job to punish him, is it not?”
“Good. As long as you remember that, I won’t have to come for you next time.” There was a slight ripple of outrage through the room; she had dared threaten their Prince.
Lucian’s laughter was a rich, touchable thing. “You are bold,” he said, like it was a good thing and not something that regularly got people killed. Ewing wondered if Deacon knew how much the Prince indulged her and how rare that was. Probably not. People like Deacon usually took adoration as their due.
“You are bold, Jenny Deacon, like a well-honed blade.” Prince Lucian waved his hand. “Take him as you like, my gift to you.”
Her snort of derision wasn’t exactly subtle, but Ewing didn’t think she cared. She had been disrespectful before and the Prince had never said anything about it, so now she acted as though it were her due.
That was a stupid kind of ballsy right there, but from what little Ewing knew of Jenny Deacon, she wasn’t the kind of person to ever back down. She was the lunge-lunge-lunge forward kind of woman that always thought she was going to come out safe on the other side. She didn’t realize she was jamming herself headfirst into a meat grinder, and Prince Lucian controlled the crank.
“Who’s that guy?” Ewing asked out of the corner of his mouth. He’d never seen that vampire before in his life, and he’d made it his business to know anyone even the least bit important.
“No idea,” Paris said. He was a tall redhead with dark bronze skin that looked like he was covered by one giant freckle. He could be a funny guy, but there were shadows in his blue eyes that spoke of the kind of life Ewing didn’t even want to think about.
Paris had belonged to several different masters before he’d found himself in Isadore’s control. He’d even said it before, that he didn’t mind her as a master because things could be so much worse. The look in his eyes had made Ewing understand more about where he was coming from than he was ready for.
“Glad you’re not going to stop me,” Deacon said, and pulled the trigger.
There was a dull pop and the splash of shattered brain and bone being sent across the marble floor. The vampire she held didn’t even have time to realize what was happening before he was dead.
“Well, that certainly was very … messy,” Prince Lucian said, completely unbothered by the death of a vampire he didn’t even know. “Are you happy to have gotten that out of your system?”
Deacon’s smile was shark-like. “It felt good.”
“Ah, and did you get what you wanted? Did you somehow figure out where the girl you’re looking for is, before you killed him?” Prince Lucian sounded amused. He was sitting on his throne with his legs crossed. The cut of his trousers made his legs look about three miles long. He had neatly trimmed golden blond hair and an intelligent looking face, though there were depths to his hazel eyes that showed his age.
“I’ll find the girl,” Deacon promised. She turned an accusing stare toward the other nobles. “If you know anything, you’re better off telling me where she is now. I wouldn’t want to have to cut my way through to the truth of the matter.”
“Well,” the Prince clapped his hands, “I hope you have fun finding your truth.”
“This is going to be messy,” Paris said, low-voiced.
Ewing jerked a quick nod. “Might be a great time to take a vacation somewhere far away.”
Paris snorted. “A woman like that would chase you across the world.”
Watching Deacon threaten a whole room full of vampires, Ewing had to admit that Paris was probably right. There was no hole deep enough to hide from her vampire slaughtering ass–she enjoyed her job way too much.
“Do you think we’re going to be here much longer?” he asked.
“Why don’t the two of you shut the hell up?” Gladys whispered. She’d been Turned in the 1940s, and though she was smoking hot, her name was still very retro. “I don’t want to have to stand around while you get your asses reamed out by the Mistress. I’ve got plans for later.”
Ewing pressed his lips tight together and Paris jerked his back straight where it had begun to sag at the shoulders. Neither one of them wanted to end up on the receiving end of a bunch of bad feelings.
It was one of the worst things about Isadore’s idea of punishment. It felt like being trapped in his crotchety grandma’s house, standing in a line with his sisters and cousins as one of their number was yelled at while they were forced to listen to the crazy. Isadore didn’t get quite as frothy at the mouth as Grandma Hillary Robinson, but that didn’t mean a whole lot when the discomfort was about the same. Getting lectured at was bad enough, but afterward there was the ragging from the other minions. Depending on the seriousness of the misdeed and the amount of time lost, there could be weeks of hard feelings.
Embarrassing Isadore in front of the other nobles was the kind of screw up where he would be better off running for the hills because it would be a never ending torment. It was better to just behave until they could finally get out of here.
Ewing glanced toward Charlemagne and caught him subtly checking his watch. He wanted to get out of here as much if not more than the rest of them, as Faizel was waiting for him at the secret apartment for their regularly scheduled booty call.
There was no trace of impatience on Charlemagne’s face, he was just as blank as always, but Ewing knew the guy was probably counting down the seconds until he could flee the scene and get back to his little love nest and the psychopathic killer waiting inside.
Faizel made Ewing’s skin creep, but Charlemagne loved the guy to a terrifying degree. It was hard to tell how far Charlemagne was willing to go, but Ewing had a fear that it was all the way.
Ewing winced and held back a yelp as a lash of pain shot through his nerves. He forced himself not to move, to hold himself completely still and put a look of attention on his face. Desmond would give him another nerve lash if he made a wrong gesture, and no one else in the room would see anything happen.
That was the thing about vampire life that he didn’t think he was ever going to get used to, the fact that everything was about appearances. It was all posturing and looking good in front of crowds. It was like dealing with the worst parts of high school and not having a graduation day to look forward to.
The guys in the trenches with him were trying to keep their heads down and not make waves, while the higher ups were clawing their way up the ladder, all desperate to be at the top. He’d learned to meld into the background and keep his mouth shut unless he was asked a question. And he was grateful not to belong to some of the other masters.
He’d asked Tamlin if he’d wanted to have a spike implanted in the head of his dick. The guy’s response had involved the words “fuck” and “no,” and Ewing had walked away with the knowledge that if he was ever traded to another master, there was no way he wanted that master to be Benton Lamoux. The sick fuck.
Isadore was more annoying than anything else and he was happy to stay off her radar as just another nameless minion. He was available for fetching and carrying, but it was nice not having to worry that she was going to call him up for sex and violence.
Being called in to face all the other minions and their masters put his life in perspective. His worst nights didn’t involve even a quarter of the horror that some of these guys faced every minute. The body mods alone were nightmare inducing.
He zoned out on Jenny Deacon smacking around a female vampire he’d never seen before. As a method of intimidation it didn’t do much for him, and all he felt was annoyance that his time was being wasted.
I can’t wait to get out of here, he thought. This is awful. And afterward the Mistress is going to want to “Discuss her feelings” for another two hours. Ugh.
/EXCERPT
The post EXCERPT: Faizel 02 [vampire, dark, mm] appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 27, 2014
Me and Twitter; Yoono, Why You No Work?
I’m sorry I get so chatty scattered on Twitter. I use it to mark pages I want to revisit and things I want to remember. It’s kind of like my roving notepad while I’m doing whatever.
I have whole conversations in my head, reams of dialogue and theme designs, so I write out the thought key that opens all those ideas up for me. I have concepts I want to develop, but not right now. And since everything gets sent to my tweet log, I have my notes neatly collated for me. It’s very helpful and I can expand the ideas on LJ.
I have a Pinboard account, but even with the little bookmarklet, it’s still easier for me to see everything on the clean plains of my Twitter dash and later on my tweet log. I bookmark things, but I rarely go back to them if the bookmark display page feels weird. (Delicious has a better GUI.)
I think there’s something strange with my brain. I don’t think I think the same way that other people do (sic). My thought processes come together in a different way than other peoples’. It makes me feel wicked exposed to talk about it, but yeah, I think I might be weird. /irony
I like the Yoono sidebar because it lets me minimize Firefox and have Scrivener and VLC over most of the screen. When Firefox is fully open, I get easily distracted by the Internet.
I need the Yoono sidebar to be fixed so I can get back to work. I’m desperate without it.
My writing process:
Scrivener — writing, compiling.
OpenOffice — editing, submitting. (Used to be LibreOffice, but OpenOffice just did something cool that I can’t remember off the top of my head. I do all my font choosing in Scrivener, because Multiple Languages and Sections happen in OO and LO when I mess around with fonts too much. It’s pretty lame.)
Yoono Sidebar — tweeting, chatting, noting ideas.
VLC Player — distraction, inspiration. (My brain is made for multitasking. I need the sound of voices around me and some kind of running storyline. I prefer short episodes to story heavy movies when I’m writing.)
Semagic — blogging, WordPress, LiveJournal, Dreamwidth. (I love Semagic. It’s simple to use and it can do a lot. I wish there were a few upgrades, but in all, it’s the awesomest blogging program for what I do. Does more than a lot of paid programs, yet it’s free. LJ-cuts are awesome, though I wish the WP More tag was a one-click option, because I can never remember how to make it.)
I write in Scrivener with the Yoono Sidebar to the left and VLC player to the right. When an idea developes in my head, I have Semagic open beneath the VLC player so I can journal and write myself fanfic notes.
*
I’m kind of an island by Internet terms. I put out a lot of fic (between 39 and 100 fanfics depending on splitting collections into separate pieces), meta considerations, original content, and kudos. I tweet and blog, but most times I feel like I’m talking to myself, voicing my reactions to the various things I come across. Which probably makes me sound kind of weird and scattered. (There’s a whole side being left out of the story.)
It’s just that most of my Internet interactions are related to fanfic. It makes it hard for me to figure out what all the hullabaloos in Writer Land are about.
I’m either writing my shit (mostly original fic at the mo, sorry fans), or reading other peoples’ shit. So when I go on Facebook or Twitter or Goodreads or wherever the supposed social meccas exist, I’m way behind on anything going on. Even Tumblr makes me feel like I’m not doing it right.
So, TL;DR, follow me on Twitter if you don’t mind that I’m weird.
Lots of links to Cracked articles, Buzzfeed, social injustices, people I’m trying to impress, and Triberr posts.
Scatalogical thought streams, movie and TV babble, wank, and music videos.
Fandom shit for no apparent reason.
Random moments of neurosis.
I’m terrible about starting a conversation, but if you @ me, I’ll respond. If you send me links and stuff, I’m happy to share or have a thought about whatever. I do not respond to DMs from people I don’t know, sorry. (There are way too many “Now that you’ve followed me, here’s a link to my book/movie/crap” automated DMs. Seriously, if our first interaction is you direct spamming me, ugh. That’s a bad impression, dude. I’ll give you a chance, but I’m not going to respond to it.)
If you’ve got a cool fic, send me a link. I post recs to my fandom blog, so I’d love to hear about good stories. I read other fandoms, but my faves are: Avengers (mostly Stony), BtVS (I love a good hardcore Buffy story), Chronicles of Riddick (Riddick/Vaako), Dark City, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda (Harper!), Hannibal (Hannigram), Harry Potter (crossovers), Highlander (Methos), Hikaru no Go (Hikaru/Akira but not all depressing, Hikaru/Sai), My Boss My Hero (Japanese, Maki/Jun), Naruto (Kakashi/Iruka, time travel, Naruto is grown up), Ranma 1/2, Smallville (CLex), Superman Returns (Kal-El/Richard), Teen Wolf (Sterek), Torchwood (Ianto-centric), Vorkosigan Saga (Miles/Gregor, Ivan/Byerly), X-Men. I’m mostly into slash, though I can get behind a good genhet piece. Choosy character pieces, bad assery, lots of action. Plot over porn, please.
You can tweet me links, but unless you say you’re the author, I’ll Pinboard rather than retweet. I try to keep specific fandom stuff to my fandom accounts. But I only have one Twitter (and Tumblr) that I actually use.
Twitter: HarperKingsley0.
NOTE: Yoono sidebar has been down for weeks now :/ Without it, I miss seeing a lot of stuff on Twitter because I don’t check my email as much as I should, or I’m checking from my Kindle. (One of my weird things is that I don’t respond to things from the email on my Kindle. It’s like how I can’t use a toilet for 30 minutes after I know someone else has used it.)
Also, I’ve recently discovered the “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” Charlie/Scientist fandom. I don’t watch the show and I find most of it distasteful, but Charlie/Scientist goes hand-in-hand with the whole Newt/Hermann thing I’m developing. So if you want to write me something … I reciprocate (and I’m a fandom whore, so your dreams could come true).
The post Me and Twitter; Yoono, Why You No Work? appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 19, 2014
How do I make my comments have line breaks? (Infinitano theme)
Updated: April 19, 2014
Yes, the site is running WordPress 3.9 and everything from the core outward is up to date.
I really like the look of the Infinitano theme and I’ve used it for my beta site, but it displays comments without any line breaks. Which makes me really sad 
If I add some stuff to the CSS editor page, I should be able to effect the look of the comments. But I’m not sure what to put to have it add line breaks. I don’t like seeing the big wall of text. Especially since I’m really babbly, so a wall of text from me could be miles deep.
The post How do I make my comments have line breaks? (Infinitano theme) appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
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