According to Time magazine, House is "now the world's most popular TV show." So I guess that means the circus continues?

In other news: Today I discovered that I've been misusing the word "pith." It's one of my favorite words. But it means the complete opposite of what I thought it meant. On the upside, looking up "pith" and "pithy" led me to the word "cogent," which led me to the word "cogitate."

Right now I am cogitating upon the phenomenon that is Life, and also thinking about how terrific Matthew Fox's acting was in the pilot of Lost. I love watching the first 15 minutes of Part I, watching how the character of Jack as hero is established from the get-go. I love his first scene with Kate. The way their roles are shaped from the beginning. Has Matthew ever received a Golden Globe for the role?

On the downside, I need an antonym for "pith," something besides "insignificant." A neat, short, Germanic word that is as cool as "pith," but means what pith does not mean. This reminds me of the hours I spent trying to come up with the male equivalent of "bimbo."

Have you ever found that you've been misusing a word for years? Examples?

And in the "what did you do today?" category, I gave my husband his birthday gifts, for it is his birthday. We listened to The Kinks this morning for a long time and our conversation, could you see it, looked like a map of the London tube. We planned to go out for Indian tonight, but have decided to stay home and eat Jack's Frozen Pizzas and Dove ice cream bars and sit on our new brown leather sofa.

Come do the meme I posted yesterday if you're bored. It's kind of long, so skip questions if you want. I'm all for breaking the rules. I'll post my answers soon.

Has anyone read Sharp Objects or Dark Places by Gillian Flynn? If so, what are your thoughts?

How about the short stories of Denis Johnson? I was just thinking about a rather disturbing story he wrote called Car Crash While Hitchhiking. It was assigned reading in my graduate fiction writing workshop.

My friend/co-worker and I have been discussing the short story. If you don't read short stories for a long time and then pick up a collection, it's unsettling, the way it is if you are hiking and find yourself about to walk off the edge of a cliff.

What are your summer reading recommendations? Fiction? Nonfiction? Memoirs? Poetry? Lit mags? Anything goes.

FYI: Neither of our browsers are working, or so my husband informs me. So I will likely not be able to communicate over the weekend.

On another note. I joined Facebook. It is absolutely overwhelming. What are your thoughts on the Facebook phenomenon?

I like to take photographs using only natural light sources, to see what I can get away with when taking pictures in the dark. Light sources? Moonlight. The night sky. OK, a little light from a street lamp down the block from us.


This may be too dark to see. It's a pair of red tulips.


A pair of pears. My friend Carol made these ceramic pears. I bought them for my mom's birthday, only now I want to keep the pears. I love the shape of a pear. Or two.


Pears. A Japanese wedding chest in the background, I think.


Shooting straight up at the blooms on what I believe to be a Crabapple tree in our backyard.


Shot from our deck. It's perhaps 9 p.m. and rain clouds are blowing in. The treetop is in our neighbor -- Myrtles's -- backyard. Myrtle is nearing 90 and loves both versions of the movie, Sabrina. Me, too.


The Kalamazoo River. More rain clouds. Taken last fall, I think?


The docks. Saugatuck. Fall.


Can't recall if I ever posted this. My husband, reading. In the background? Lake Michigan. Good Harbor Bay. The Leelanau Peninsula. We have a little place there.

shipperfey requested more photos. Here are a few more self-portraits, taken between last summer and this spring. I will post some of Good Harbor Bay, where we spend time each August, as well as some of Doug and the dog as time allows: I have to down & upload my photos at work.

In other news, this evening I'm meeting my 3D friends Carol and Elizabeth downtown to talk about the artistic process, a topic that most of you know gets me off. Elizabeth and Carol are both visual artists, and Elizabeth also writes. Carol and I are into photography. And, of course, I write.

We're going to a great restaurant and I intend to blow my budget on French cuisine.

It's in the 50s here today, sunny, and the daffodils, crocuses, violets, and forget-me-nots are all blooming. There are little buds on my paperbark maple.

I'm working on a meme that will encompass questions in several categories, hoping that everyone can find something that they enjoy discussing among the questions included. I'll try to post next week, depending on how the writing goes.

And now for pics:


I almost NEVER wear my hair up. I must have been cleaning. Although, that rarely happens ....


This is me at work. I'm wearing makeup -- unusual for me -- including a new lipstick by, you guessed it, enots, Nars. It's the Casablanca, I think. fated_addiction turned me on to my skin care stuff by Decleor. I highly recommend it, particularly the Neroli oil.


The colour of that shirt is my favorite colour. I took this last summer at our summer place. My hair was blonder because of being outdoors so much.

Did anyone read spoilers for tonight's episode? If so, I would love to be spoiled. This evening in the states, President Obama is addressing the nation. According to some websites, Without a Trace will be "bumped" as a result.

Scenes for this episode made it appear as if some heavy stuff was going to go down. A car accident involving Samantha, perhaps? And Martin in the clutches of a femme fatale?

Welcome back to the House/Cameron Author Interview Series. Tonight our interview subject is one of my top favorite writers, enots. This accomplished author from down under showcases the most original and poetic use of language, and she does so without showboating. She turns verbage on its head without losing a sense of story or jeopardizing the intimacy between House and Cameron. To check out her stories, just click on her username and scroll down.

This interview was conducted by surreallis, jesmel, and blueheronz (that would be me).

If you have questions about the series, feel free to ask.

And now for the interview:



( Author Interview with Enots )

In an attempt to simplify my online life and to enjoy deeper relationships with a smaller group of people, I just edited my flist. I took off people where there was little to no reciprocity. If I removed you and you would like to remain on the list, please send me a message. If I removed you and you agree that we probably won't interact much in the foreseeable future, please feel free to take me off your list, too. And if I left you on my list but you are pretty sure that you don't have time to keep in touch, you can remove me with no hard feelings.

Nothing personal.

Note: My fanfic and the House/Cameron Author Interview Series is open to all.

TITLE: If It Makes You Happy
AUTHOR: blueheronz
PAIRING: House/Cameron
RATING: PG-13 or thereabouts
SPOILERS: Seasons 1 - 4
BETAS: enots and athousandsmiles
SUMMARY: Seems there was a scene left out of 97 Seconds. The one where Cameron confronts House in his office after House's stunt with the switchblade. Here it is.
EXCERPT: "You ... died. And now you're alive. What happened in between?"

A/N: For sgr11 who wanted a dramatic or traumatic life event, canon in events & characterizations, and a realistic ending. She did not want any mention of Cameron smelling or tasting like fruit, the fic to be based on a patient or a case, or mention of Cameron's dead husband.


( If It Makes You Happy )

I hear that a lot of you have already posted your ficathon stories. I've had a stressful and draining week and haven't had much time online, but I'm looking forward to reading and commenting on your stories in the next couple of days.

I hope to be able to post mine Sunday evening.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. We're about to watch Rescue Dawn with Christian Bale. My husband's choice. I was in the mood for Speed. Oh well.

I'm thinking of writing something that deals with the storyline in 97 Seconds in which House is intrigued with the patient who "died" for 97 seconds in a car accident, "the best 97 seconds of my life," and who, in front of House, sticks a switchblade into an electrical socket, hoping, it turns out, to replicate the good times.

I saw the episode just once, but just read the transcript to refresh my memory:

Patient assures House that no, the "something more" isn't just a happy result of serotonin and oxygen deprivation. This guy has tried every type of hallucinogen and there is "something more" out there. House, of course, mimics this later in the episode and dies for 100 seconds, I believe. Not highly original of House, but he chooses to give the afterlife a trial run in the same way as his clinic patient. Maybe it's the scientist in him?

So. Throughout the episode, House and Wilson discuss why the guy did it, and with the PotW, they argue over giving a patient with a belief in the afterlife false hope (House asserts that it would be a lie to offer comfort that is a cosmic hoax -- and here I paraphrase). Wilson thinks that this might be a good time to lie and to give the guy hope that after death, there will be beach time and family and friends who have gone before, etc.

Also in the episode, House is portrayed as being attracted to the idea of what it would be like to finally leave his body (and his misery) behind...

I'm curious about what everyone thinks of House's motives in sticking that knife in that electrical outlet. Why did he do it, in your opinion? The aftermath is cryptic, but do you think that for him, there was "something more" he experienced, or not, according to the episode? Why did he tell Wilson "I love you"? Why page Amber and not Cameron to come and revive him?

If you have time, read the transcript. I'm really curious on other people's take on this, especially since it was just kind of dropped during the rest of the season.

I finally finished watching all five seasons of Alias, and I thought I would take a hiatus from renting TV on DVD, but I find that I'm not yet ready to pull back and so here's your chance to pimp your shows.

I'm calling this the "What's so great about (your show)?" post.

Here is the list of shows that I'm considering. You can take these and recommend any, just please explain why I should bother and if there are any good ships woven into the fabric of the show(s).

Or, recommend something that isn't on my list. Sell it to me! You can pimp as many as you like -- and the shows don't have to be American, as long as I can find them on DVD.

My list of possibilities:

Stargate
Battlestar Galactica
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Mad Men
The Wire
Californication
In Treatment (I think that's what it is called -- the one with Gabriel Byrne)
Saving Grace
Brothers & Sisters
Gilmore Girls
Firefly
Life (Is that the name of the show with Adam Arkin and Damian Lewis?)
Boston Legal

Welcome back to the House/Cameron Author Interview Series. Tonight the series features a conversation with accomplished author teenwitch77. She was interviewed by blueheronz, sgr11, enots, jesmel, and surreallis.

For those House/Cameron 'shippers new to LJ, I started this series last year as a service for fans of our 'ship and its fanfic authors. I know I'm curious about the authors and I figured you would be too.

If you would like to read interviews with authors you may have missed, please go to my tags and click on Author Interviews.



( Read the interview with Teenwitch77 here )

Welcome back to the House/Cameron Author Interview Series. Please find an interview with starhawk2005 by elizabethswan_ and myself under the cut. Next up in the series is my interview with teenwitch77.



( Read Interview with Starhawk2005 here )

The House/Cameron Author Interview Series resumes tonight. elizabethswan_ has interviewed accomplished author and beloved House meta writer starhawk2005 for the series. I will post the interview this evening.

Next week, probably on Thursday, look for my interview with teenwitch77.

Enjoy!

Title: You Could be Anyone
Part Two: I intended this as a three parter, but katej is convinced the story must end here, as is, and I tend to agree with her. So consider this one complete.
Pairing: House and Cameron
Rating: R for language and sexuality
Category: Romance. And if anyone has a problem with it, they should watch the Stacy arc again to see what House is capable of in terms of being a romantic guy.
Disclaimer: Purely fan fiction. Hopefully, this delivers that which the show has lacked in terms of House/Cameron moments. Writing it was a balm for me during a H/C dryspell on the show.
Summary: AU. House loses his memory while doing something uncharacteristically heroic for Cameron. This story examines how it affects House, Cameron, and their relationship as they are forced to start fresh.

A big thank you to: katej, niicelaady, timbereads, athousandsmiles, and jesmel.

This story is for: sharp2799



( You Could be Anything: Part Two )

Title: You Could be Anyone
Part One
Author: blueheronz
Rating: PG-13 for now, but the rating will go up in the next sections
Genre: Romance
Category: WIP
Disclaimer: The only thing that David Shore has that I want is face time with Hugh Laurie
Betas: niicelaady and timbereads with help from athousandsmiles
Summary: An accident leads to House losing his memory. This offers House and Cameron a fresh start at a relationship.
Dedication: This story is for sharp2799, in honor of her birthday, which is coming up this weekend. She wanted a smutty one shot, but nothing is ever as simple as that for me


( You Could be Anyone )

Click here for Part Two of You Could be Anyone