tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186dustbunny105dustbunny105dustbunny1052023-01-17T04:21:32Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:171360dustbunny105 @ 2023-01-16T20:21:002023-01-17T04:21:32Z2023-01-17T04:21:32Zpublic0It's been a couple days since I did any granny square sewing and I don't even have any other projects to show for it, in spite of my intentions. I got myself so into the excitement regarding reorganizing my space, specifically how much more productive I'll be able to be once I'm in a less chaotic environment, that the thought of doing anything else <i>until</i> my space is reorganized is a non-starter. It's like I'm hyperaware of everything that I'll have to do to accomplish the end result I want and so I feel overwhelmed just sitting here <i>wanting</i> to get something unrelated done. I know I need to power through it but it feels so unaccountably exhausting. Heck, even complaining about it right now feels like a chore!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=171360" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:169475dustbunny105 @ 2023-01-09T20:07:002023-01-10T04:07:33Z2023-01-10T04:07:33Zpublic0My hunt for furniture continues and also continues to suck. There are so many scam websites-- and I'm so desperate that I keep almost being taken in by them, lol. At this point, I'm pretty resigned to the fact that I probably won't be finding matching furniture. I haven't seen a single thing that I like that matches my bookcase. Not that finding a full matching set was off on the right foot anyway, considering that I've decided to keep the hutch from my dresser and it already doesn't match the bookcase. I'm also looking to get my corner desk, which has been living in the living room these past few years, back into my room and it matches neither of those things. So, yeah, I already didn't having matching furniture. Why worry about it now?<br /><br />The three mains things I want to get done and out of the way are replacing the bed, dresser and entertainment center. I've found a mattress and platform I want, I've found shelves to replace the entertainment center. It's the dresser situation holding things back. The more I think about it, the more I dislike the idea of moving anything until I have those key components accounted for. As I think I mentioned, I want to start going through things and properly organizing whatever I'm keeping and I'm just wasting time and energy if I try to do that using pieces of furniture that won't be staying around.<br /><br />Maybe I'll see about checking some of the local thrift shops this weekend. I already have tentative plans to trade some things in at the used book store...<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=169475" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:151949dustbunny105 @ 2022-05-18T20:56:002022-05-19T01:56:26Z2022-05-19T01:56:26Zpublic2You guys, I feel like I'm losing my mind. Or maybe more like my mind is the object in a game of keep-away.<br /><br />My earlier post reminded me of my long-ago efforts to get a <i>Naruto</i> yuri webzine going. I tried and failed for a few years to drum up interest, then finally decided to just go ahead and post with only my own content as a sort of proof of concept. I figured maybe if I could just get it going, people would be more interested. They'd at least see that I was actually gonna do the thing.<br /><br />And I did! I did do the thing! I posted a very slim issue with only a couple of fics, a fic rec/review and I think maybe some icons? Or some image edits? Both? I may just be misremembering the cover page and title banners I did, though. Either way, that first, miniscule issue definitely happened.<br /><br />I <i>know</i> it happened. I know because I remember pushing past the embarrassment of not having any submissions. I know because I remember trying to make it as perfect as possible, to tempt people to submit for the next issue. I know because I remember the renewed embarrassment and hurt when no one took the bait. I know because I remember, for some reason, my awareness of the new domain name; it was the only site I made after the host I used rebranded.<br /><br />Despite knowing, down to my bones, that I made that first issue happen... I can find no trace of it whatsoever.<br /><br />I don't just mean that in the sense that it's gone. A lot of fansites from that time are gone now. I didn't actually expect it to still be there. But I expected to at least be able to find some echo of its existence and <i>I can't</i>.<br /><br />There are some old posts about that I can find about wanting to get it going but none were ever edited with any links. I didn't post on my own journal about finally getting it done, probably due to the aforementioned embarrassment. The one community that I would have posted about it in was purged years ago. Searching my emails for the zine title gives me nothing. Searching the internet for the zine title gives me nothing. Trying variations of the title as a domain name on the free hosting site gives me nothing. THE PASSWORD RESET EMAIL FROM THE HOSTING SITE INCLUDES MY DOMAIN NAMES FOR MY FIRST TWO FANSITES BUT NOT FOR THE ZINE SITE. AND MY OTHER EMAIL ADDRESSES GET NO PASSWORD RESET HITS.<br /><br />As if that's not bad enough-- to add insult to injury, my last-ditch effort to see if I mentioned the zine in my author notes when I cross-posted the fics to FFN has been stymied by the fact that FFN has chosen not to work today.<br /><br />Like. I am <i>this close</i> to saying, huh, I guess I never went through with it after all. But, you guys, <i>I know that I did</i>!!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=151949" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:103479dustbunny105 @ 2021-01-27T22:58:002021-01-28T04:58:51Z2021-01-28T04:58:51Zpublic0Not to suggest I'm ever looking forward to going to work but I am <i>really</i> not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. We've started to get heavier daily caseloads over the last couple of days and so there is a hekkin lot of stuff that was leftover for tomorrow morning. I wouldn't be especially bothered by that except the coworker who usually accessions these cases with me will be out for the day due to getting his second COVID shot (side note, still haven't been able to get an appointment... I might've jinxed myself). On top of that, the other building has been getting slammed as well <i>and</i> they're missing a person due to (non-COVID) illness, so they can't spare me any help. I hardly have the brainspace to think about my vaccinated coworker usually being my ride to work in the morning now, lol.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=103479" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:27841Comic book trade collections are really obnoxious2016-08-20T05:31:33Z2018-07-02T23:05:23Zpublic2<div>This is an established general fact, but the evidence currently on the table regards IDW Publishing's run of <em>Transformers</em> comics. What's so wrong with IDW's <em>Transformers</em> collections, asks absolutely no one? Well, I'll tell you.</div><div> </div><div>A bit of context first: IDW has been putting out <em>Transformers</em> comics steadily since acquiring the license in 2004, starting off their run on the brand with a succession of miniseries and one-shot character-centric <em>Spotlights</em> set in a rebooted Gen One universe that took cues from Marvel's <em>Ultimate</em> universe, written and built primarily by <em>Transformers</em> veteran Simon Furman. These books sold, but weren't drawing the warm reception that the company hoped for. In 2008, they switched tracks. While still putting out miniseries and one-shots, they tugged the reigns from Furman's hands and passed them along to newcomer Shane McCarthy, who revamped IDW's main output with ongoing title <em>All Hail Megatron</em>. Telling a story somewhat more inspired by that of the original cartoon, it was intended as a jumping-on point for new fans, especially casual fans more familiar with the cartoon universe. It, uh. It didn't go over well. Reconfigured as a maxiseries, the title wrapped up in 2009 after sixteen issues. It was soon followed by yet another intended jumping-on point ongoing, this time titled simply <em>The Transformers</em>, helmed by another newcomer, Mike Costa. It... wasn't terribly well-received either, though it ran nearly twice as many issues as its predecessor. IDW took another chance on yet another jumping-on point and found the third time to be the charm. One-shot <em>The Death of Optimus Prime</em> set the stage for twin ongoings <em>Robots in Disguise</em> and <em>More than Meets the Eye</em>, penned by John Barber and James Roberts respectively, both still running today-- though <em>Robots in Disguise</em> has been through a renaming and both titles are set to be renamed and renumbered in October-- and both critical and fan darlings.</div><div> </div><div>Of these two, it's <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> that holds my heart. I was introduced to the series through <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/'><b>scans_daily</b></a></span> and finally checked it out proper thanks to Humble Bundle offering, as I recall, all then-current volumes and issues available-- in digital, natch. I've been following pretty faithfully since then, also in digital. More and more, however, I've been craving the series in hard copy. For all digital's advantages, I like to have something to hold sometimes when I'm reading. Having a physical copy also grants me the option of lending the title out to people I've been trying to get to read it. And, at a glance, I'm in luck! IDW is pretty quick to collect their titles in trade, and in a small variety of options even. So, again no one asks, what's the problem? A combination of questionable choices on the publisher's behalf and my own picky aesthetic preferences.</div><div> </div><div><em>More than Meets the Eye</em> is available in nine-- soon to be ten-- volumes. Only, no, it actually isn't. Remember those <em>Spotlight</em> one-shots I mentioned earlier? Those pretty much came to a halt back in 2009, with only one being published in 2010 and then only because the story, originally intended as part of the ongoing <em>The Transformers</em>, was needed to placate irate fans of the title character (Prowl) after a questionable bit of characterization. The <em>Spotlight</em> line made a brief comeback in 2012, however, as a series of pack-in tie-ins to the <em>Transformers Generations</em> toyline as well as forming together a soft prequel to the then-upcoming <em>Dark Cybertron</em> event. Two of the six titles, <em>Spotlight: Trailcutter</em> and <em>Spotlight: Hoist</em>, take place between the pages of <em>More than Meets the Eye</em>. Despite this, the powers that be have not seen fit to release a <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> collection which includes them.</div><div> </div><div>But, okay, so a couple of character-focus issues are missing. They have a bit of foreshadowing and some characterization context, in addition to featuring characters who don't usually get the-- if you'll excuse me-- spotlight, but ultimately don't affect the story in any major way. A person could go through the run never knowing either of them-- <em>Hoist</em> in particular-- exist and not have any trouble following what's going on (though they may wonder what Trailguy's beef is in <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> #6 and wonder when Rodimus started handing out medals modeled after his own face). Is that enough to say the series hasn't "really" been collected? Even I would agree that, no, it isn't-- but that isn't all that's missing. You know what else you won't find in any IDW volume with <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> written on the side? <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> issues #23 through #27, that's what. See, those issues are the title's tie-in to the aforementioned <em>Dark Cybertron</em> event, a crossover marking the first time the casts of <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> and <em>Robots in Disguise</em> would meet again since the titles launched. Because they form a whole story along with issues #23-#27 of <em>Robots in Disguise</em> and the event's beginning and ending one-shots <em>Dark Cybertron</em> #1 and <em>Dark Cybertron: Finale</em>, they are instead collected-- understandably, even I can admit-- in the <em>Dark Cybertron</em> trades.</div><div> </div><div>What does that mean for a shelf of <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> trades? It means, if you want the series in order, you go from <em>More than Meets the Eye Volumes 1</em> through <em>6</em> to <em>Dark Cybertron Volumes 1</em> and <em>2</em> (or the full run <em>Dark Cybertron</em> hardcover) to <em>More than Meets the Eye Volume 7</em> onward. To round the title off, you'd need the upcoming <em>Titans Return</em> event trade, which will be collecting issues #56 and #57, which form a two-part tie-in story to the <em>Titans Return</em> event. And you'd still be missing <em>Spotlight</em>s<em>: Trailcutter</em> and <em>Hoist</em>, unless you also stick in the <em>Dark Prelude</em> trade, in which all the 2012 <em>Spotlights</em> are collected; they'd be out of order, though, since they take place between the fifth and sixth issues of <em>More than Meets the Eye</em>, which are both collected in <em>Volume 2</em>. Some, perhaps even many, would be unbothered by this disarray. I am not among those many. The very idea curls my lip.</div><div> </div><div>Lo, but there is another way. Starting in 2010, IDW sought to collect its entire output in oversized (typically over three hundred-page) hardcover volumes in a roughly chronological/"suggested reading" order. <em>Phase Two</em> of the initiative, collecting <em>The Death of Optimus Prime</em> onward, began hitting shelves in 2014. The day is saved, right? Not exactly, for a few reasons.</div><div> </div><div>First and foremost-- <em>Phase Two Volume 4</em>, due out this month, will see <em>More than Meets the Eye</em> collected in this format up to issue #16; the title is currently on issue #56. If I want the full run on the title in my mits, this isn't going to satisfy me anytime soon. The second reason casts a wary eye upon the first phase of the line, which is riddled with questionable placement of stories. There's been no tell of such a thing so far in <em>Phase Two</em>, but there hasn't been much to mess up yet either, since the collection is at a point where IDW's <em>Transformers</em> output wasn't terribly busy. Not that the post-<em>Death</em> years in general have been nearly as busy as IDW's first few, and the story has been told in a more linear fashion, but there are one-shots and miniseries still to be collected, as well as a third ongoing title. I can't help worrying. The final sticking point is easily the pettiest, relating to one of said miniseries to eventually be collected in this phase. It is <em>Sins of the Wreckers</em>, loose sequel to the only pre-<em>Death</em> story I especially care about, miniseries <em>Last Stand of the Wreckers</em>. <em>Last Stand</em> is also the only pre-<em>Death</em> IDW <em>Transformers</em> comic I own-- in fact, I own it physically, in both soft and hardcover, though I'm looking to sell off the former. It's been my intention to get the softcover trade and later the hardcover of <em>Sins</em> for some time, but I won't need to if it's properly collected in the <em>Phase Two</em> hardcovers (admittedly questionable, as the first phase hardcovers are missing <em>Last Stand</em>'s bonus story content). Which would mean having everything post-<em>Death</em> in the <em>Phase Two</em> collections and then just <em>Last Stand</em> on its comparatively little lonesome. Or everything post-<em>Death</em> in the <em>Phase Two</em> collections, plus an extra trade of <em>Sins</em>. Which would be on the opposite end as the lone <em>Last Stands</em>, if I maintain the order, as is my wont.</div><div> </div><div>I'm not going to deny that I have petty grievances-- but, honestly? Yeah. Comic collections are really freaking obnoxious.</div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=27841" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:27507dustbunny105 @ 2016-08-18T20:41:002016-08-19T01:13:45Z2016-08-19T01:13:45Zpublic2Do you ever get really wrapped up in wondering about something that ultimately doesn't matter much and that you can't really do anything about anyway? I've been stressing on and off about an anon ask I got on Tumblr yesterday and. Like, it's not rude or creepy or anything like that. It's really not that big of a deal, y'know? But I'm <em>so effing curious</em>, y'know?? It's in regards to the latest issue of <em>Transformers: More than Meets the Eye</em>-- or, more specifically, in regards to one or some of the live-blog posts I made about it. Or so I suppose, anyway, or else this is even more befuddling.<br /><br />The ask reads as follows: "Wow. Prowl is one huge asshole and not in a good way."<br /><br />Yes, that's it, in full. The anon is not incorrect, if you were wondering. But, I just. Who? The tone of the ask suggests to me that whoever it is is taken aback by the jerkitude Prowl displays in panels I used for my live-blogging. I can't imagine anyone who would've been in the tags or who follows me and is a fan of the series would be unaware of the kind of person Prowl is*. Ergo, my foremost thought is that this is someone who follows me but is not familiar with the series. Which, okay. But, I just. <em>Why</em>? Why send an ask instead of replying to one of my posts? As far as I know, I don't have any non-<em>Transformers</em> followers who are too new to do so. Why send an ask about this over anything else I've posted about in my live-blog posts? I've live-blogged every new issue for months and while Prowl hasn't been around in that time, to my recollection, a) he's hardly the first jerk who's come up and b) this isn't the first time he's appeared, in all his tarnished glory, on my blog. Why send an <em>anon</em> ask? This isn't a controversial opinion by any means; even if they're unaware of that, assuming they are unfamiliar with the series and fandom, I made no secret in my posts of what I thought of his behavior.<br /><br />I just. Yeah. Like I said, not a big deal by any means. But still I have so many questions...<br /><br />*Prowl is actually written really oddly in this issue-- I would not be surprised if next issue reveals he's drunk, aside from I can't imagine him drunk-- but not in the sense that he's any more of a jerk than usual. Just in the sense he's a jerk differently than usual.<br /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=27507" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:9129I am so not looking forward to the next couple days...2013-08-02T21:52:01Z2013-08-02T21:52:01Zpublic2I feel like I haven't posted in a long time, but maybe that's just a testament to how long I can go before craving the sound of my own voice (figuratively speak, obviously). As is my usual, I have nothing particular or interesting to say, so I'll just present some miscellany for consideration.<br /><br />First of all, because I don't think I've mentioned it before, I am now down to three cats. Surrey went missing on the fourth or fifth of July (we can't quite agree when she was last seen). On the bright side, she's chipped, so in the event that she makes her way to a shelter, we'll get a call. In the meantime, I just hope she's safe and happy wherever she is.<br /><br />That said and out of the way, I have decided that the bulk of this post will be dedicated to me whining about work. I hate it. And, I mean, usually when I say I hate something, I'm being overly dramatic. I'm certainly overreacting. But, no. I Hate. Working. At Walmart. I legitimately dreamed of burning my store down and salting the earth, and I was legitimately disappointed to wake up.<br /><br />Like, okay, I've actually been getting pretty decent hours as of late and the trend looks to be continuing over the next couple weeks. Yay for that. Does this increase in time show in the state of my department at the end of the day? Not typically, no, because I'm not spending that time on the floor. Many days, I spend a third or even half of my shift working the front end. Why? Because we're down a good number of our cashiers lately and the cashiers we do have get shafted on hours. It's cheaper to pull register-trained people off the floor than it is to hire more cashiers and schedule them reasonably.<br /><br />As if that wasn't enough, two people in apparel have been fired within the last week or so. That means the apparel schedule is going to show us as having two more people than we do for about the next three weeks. The reason for the firings I've heard third-hand is attendance issues, and if that's true, I am so pissed off that my teeth ache. One of the women fired was a new hire, only around for about two weeks; the other was a good worker who made a mistake with her schedule and ended up a no-call, no-show for <i>one day</i>. And someone decided they were both better off fired than just scolded? Just as we're getting into the back-to-school rush? For the love of criminy, this weekend is Tennessee's tax holiday! Most of the apparel departments are going to be strewn across the freaking floor, and we're down by two people? Our zone manager insisted that we're properly manned for the weekend, but I know for a fact that three of us remaining aren't there today, so I don't have high hopes for the next two days.<br /><br />Speaking of the next two days-- through gritted teeth, rest assured-- if I don't kill anyone, I think I should get a parade. A full-on parade, with balloons and floats and candy and musical acts of my choice. I've been scheduled a four to midnight shift for both days, and I have no doubt that I'll be spending much of those shifts running a register. I hung around until midnight last night so I could pick up some things while they lasted-- and, man, was it ever crowded with people trying to avoid the crowds. I heard about half of the night shift paged up to open registers, and that was just for the people willing to be at Walmart at midnight for back-to-school shopping. And on top of the tax holiday, it's the beginning of the month, so people on food benefits will be coming out to get their grocery shopping done. Even just thinking of how crowded it's gonna be, and how hot and stuffy, and what a mess... Yeah, I want a parade. Thankfully, I'm off on Monday, so my intention is to clock out, come home and sleep until Tuesday.<br /><br />So, uh. I ended up being a lot more negative than I originally intended when deciding to make a post. To finish off on a high notes, my collection of office supplies that I don't actually need has been padded out the wazoo \o/<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=9129" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-11-11:457186:7770Well, I know where I'd like my foot to boldly go...2013-06-06T19:28:10Z2013-06-07T01:54:50Zpublic2<i>“Nurse Chapel is a beloved [Trek] character,” says Orci. “Even before the first movie came out, a lot of online chatter was, ‘Is Nurse Chapel gonna be there?!’”<br /><br />Alas, although we hear Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) say “Nurse Chapel” in 2009’s Star Trek, we never officially saw Christine Chapel — and she’s still MIA in Into Darkness. Instead, Carol Marcus tells Kirk that she learned of his reputation as a ladies man from her friend Christine Chapel, who has become a nurse since her romantic encounter with him — which he does not recall.<br /><br />“We just figured that would be a great reference, and we loved that Kirk didn't remember her,” says Orci. “It’s an in-joke that also speaks volumes about his character when it comes to women. That’s why we used it.”</i><br /><br />Wow.<br /><br />So, Chapel is reduced to a forgotten conquest <i>and</i> these people don't know Kirk from Adam.<br /><br />Is there anything at all about this movie that should make me want to see it?<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=dustbunny105&ditemid=7770" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments