random drive by AIG moment

A couple of days ago I was talking about how the market, as far as I can tell, is schizophrenic.

Example:

American International Group (AIG) is currently being raked fore and aft over that entire messy bonus issue. Late last week, it traded at less than fifty cents a share. I know this because I have a spreadsheet, and you know, I'm anal. You would think--you know, in a world where the market had something to do with what was going on in the actual business end of a company--this would be bad for the price of shares. Yeah, I would too. You know. Until this morning.

However, I cannot login to my account right now, as suddenly and inexplicably, there is too much trading right now. This was new, and I went to pull my spreadsheet and realized things looked wrong, as there was money there that really shouldn't be, since come on, it's not like I'm using logic here in my buying sprees.

This is because AIG tripled in price*.

Let me point this out again. AIG is being investigated for bonus stuff and is going to get ass-raped by the government with government subsidized lube which is also known as sandpaper and this morning the shares reached two dollars each. Bank of America is also still trading above seven (as of the last fifteen seconds), and see, this is why when people look grim over the state of the economy because the DOW looks unhappy, I kind of laugh. The DOW is not unhappy. A whole bunch of hedge fund managers and assorted brokers just bought new BMWs and are making a down payment. Check car sales in the area. Or you know, whose child was arrested recently. I mean, seriously.

*taps fingers on desk*

So far, two hours of high trading and counting. This is hysterical. And I cannot participate in this historical moment. Not that I would. But I do like to boggle at it in real-time.

deliciousness without salmonella

My boss came around offering peanuts.

We all looked at them warily.

"From Nigeria," he says reassuringly, offering the container.

We all eagerly took some.*

[Me: From a Nigerian scammer who bought them in America?
Him: ....
Me: Never mind. Give me some?]

(* in case you did not know, a major peanut and peanut-paste supplying corporation let loose salmonella in their peanuts/peanut butter. Otherwise, this joke makes very little sense, unless you read it as a play on the Nigerian scammer email thing, and wow, this becomes less funny by the minute. I would say this is a good argument for keeping up on current events so this is funnier. If it ever can be.)

fiction and recs for merlin

In nearly a decade (a decade! This year!) of fanfic writing, there's one very important lesson that I have to remind myself of on an hourly basis--once the story goes to beta, do not touch it. You would think this would be easier than it is, but it's just not. Every time, it's just freakishly stressing not to open it and start editing it in very unproductive ways. This is how a person gives themselves an aneurysm. Or like, takes up recreational coffee addiction or other less savory pursuits.

It is in beta. Correcting page thirty-five sentence ten right now will lead to correcting sentence 21 and a new paragraph, and since I sent to beta, I've added like, half a page of uselessness.

It's also because a story is in beta, I can't work on something new. No, really. I can snippet--hey, anyone want to see the horror that is a short, terrible Lex Luthor/Arthur Pendragon?--but I can't write or I'll be making corrections to the beta story in the new story. Yes, it's possible. It's freaky, but it's possible.

Merlin

Blood by lazy_neutrino, gen - this is almost entirely action and interestingly formed as well. I wish I could explain the visceral power, because the author's style played it down, but it's a good view of post-Roman Britain's daily dangers, and the way people have to live their lives around those dangers.

The Night, The Light, and the Half-Light by the_moonmoth, preslash, Merlin/Arthur - this was a small and brilliant piece of art. The style is beautiful, and the changes between present time and dreams are pitch-perfect. It's one of the best, if not the best revelation fic I have ever read, and it read like a revelation--powerful and world-shaking and wonderful. For both style and content, this is going to the top of the list, and let me add, please stay with us, the_moonmoth. Maybe we should institute retention bonuses for good authors.

Ceremony of Innocence by snarkydame, Merlin/Arthur - the only complaint I could possibly have was I wish this were longer and a novel, but as a short story, it does not disappoint. History changing, and why, and the price of fixing it.

Soar by transtempts, Merlin/Arthur - Wingfic! And funny wingfic! I had fun reading this in progress and perhaps nagged for it a while. This is a great read.

Merlin RPS

Teaching the Indie Kids to Joust Again by bookshop, Colin/Bradley RPS - okay, here's the thing. I am not really into RPS, not for any particular reason except time management and interest. If a fandom has a ton of fic, I go that way. However, a dark and terrible couple of weeks ago, there was no new fic and when I checked delicious.com/tag/merlin, I needed something to read and what do you know, there was RPS. And there you have it. Speaking of, I need to do a rec set for that.

But that aside--I loved this. I mean, it was an incredible read. And honestly? It's not like Aja is not fairly well-known as a writer, but we never shared a fandom and I was curious. And so I went in, a bit wary, a bit hopeful, and came out dazed and startled and re-reading it three more times. I should feedback that sometime, but I'm afraid it would be something rather unreadable. I like the beginning, I like how this never really slows down or speeds up but changes beats instead, going from four to three to cut-time, and the slow growth of something happening that's terrible and wonderful and inevitable, too.

Oh, for convenience--I tag my recs recs: merlin if you are looking for earlier recs. I haven't added that to my main page sidebar due to laziness and because I really do think I'm going to convert to S2, but I get wary of change and I kind of just want someone to like, I don't know, do it for me or something. I've been saying that for years. I don't know. I never promised logic.

Note to self: no, do not open Word. Go listen to So Long, Goodbye by Ten Year and get melancholy instead. Or something.