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Little details for a fic
Jun. 27th, 2025 06:53 pmWhat do we think a late Victorian politician is likely to have studied at university?
Details for a fic
Mar. 29th, 2020 02:36 amI need the name of an early-2000s US teen girl magazine to fit into the following sentence.
"They'd given him a hair cut, made him look like a jarhead, sure, but it was better than looking like the cover of (insert magazine here)."
I have no idea if Teen Beat was still going then, and I don't know if Just Seventeen was ever even a magazine in the US.
"They'd given him a hair cut, made him look like a jarhead, sure, but it was better than looking like the cover of (insert magazine here)."
I have no idea if Teen Beat was still going then, and I don't know if Just Seventeen was ever even a magazine in the US.
American Details Needed
Sep. 22nd, 2018 05:53 pmOne is for a fic and the other is for some data scrunching.
The fic detail - does anyone know where I'd be able to find out information on the US school system in the 1940s and 1950s. Mostly, I need to know when primary/elementary school began, and what sort of qualifications you needed to get into university.
The data scrunching - is there any way of estimating how big, population-wise, a US town/city is? From things like number of police or facilities. Like, in the UK, I know if a place hasn't even got a pub it's a hamlet (so probably less than 100 people).
The fic detail - does anyone know where I'd be able to find out information on the US school system in the 1940s and 1950s. Mostly, I need to know when primary/elementary school began, and what sort of qualifications you needed to get into university.
The data scrunching - is there any way of estimating how big, population-wise, a US town/city is? From things like number of police or facilities. Like, in the UK, I know if a place hasn't even got a pub it's a hamlet (so probably less than 100 people).
(no subject)
Aug. 11th, 2018 05:53 pmApparently, when I write, I like to make things difficult for myself, because I have having to write a sex scene where no word can be explicit. Because argh! (actually because historical fiction and two characters who are both, for plot reasons, trying to ignore that they are having sex with each other).
For horrifying related reasons, I now need to know
1) did Belle Epoque Europe have lollipops?
2) What they called them, if they did?
Wikipedia is not being helpful.
For horrifying related reasons, I now need to know
1) did Belle Epoque Europe have lollipops?
2) What they called them, if they did?
Wikipedia is not being helpful.
Clothes Question For A Fic
Mar. 31st, 2018 11:56 pmDoes anyone know what the parts of this outfit
Because both google and wiki are failing me (or I am asking the wrong questions).
Because both google and wiki are failing me (or I am asking the wrong questions).
Norse Mythology Question
Nov. 14th, 2017 07:00 pmIt is that time of year again, where I list my WIPs and archive the ones that are going nowhere, slowly (my rule is if the last time I wrote anything is more than an Olympiad ago, it gets archived), and I have discovered that I require a Norse mythology equivalent of the Furies.
The two obvious things (Vali or any number of Norn) just don't work. I require something both tearing and flapping for my purposes. Ghostly and tearing will also do.
Anyone got any ideas?
The two obvious things (Vali or any number of Norn) just don't work. I require something both tearing and flapping for my purposes. Ghostly and tearing will also do.
Anyone got any ideas?
Russian Bird Question
Oct. 9th, 2017 10:42 amFriends, Romans, people who know about Russian wildlife - for a bit in a story I require a Russian bird. I would prefer if it were something small and fluttery. Any ideas? The web has not been useful.
Little Details For A Fic
Aug. 27th, 2017 01:28 amWhat would the average posh private school in the US have on their history curriculum? I'm writing a fic that features Bruce Wayne's school days and I am stuck. So far so good on most of the obvious Ameri-pick issues (he is studying math. Much though I want to know where the 's' got to.) but I cannot find any info on the great wide web.
Quick Ameri-Pick
Nov. 15th, 2013 09:32 pmWould an average now-era American know what "cupboard love" is? Would anyone know who isn't my Grandmother use that expression?
1) Does anyone have time to read a 2200 word TNA gen fic? I've been writing it on and off for 7 years so I could do with someone who isn't me giving it a once over for coherence and stuff.
2) Has anyone travelled through Heathrow Terminal 5? Or picked someone up from there? I've never been, and all the photos I can find are shiny publicity photos which I suspect differ a lot from what it really looks like.
3) Unless a really stonking prompt gets submitted, I think I know what I plan to write for this year's lgbtfest (or why I still call it that despite everything).
2) Has anyone travelled through Heathrow Terminal 5? Or picked someone up from there? I've never been, and all the photos I can find are shiny publicity photos which I suspect differ a lot from what it really looks like.
3) Unless a really stonking prompt gets submitted, I think I know what I plan to write for this year's lgbtfest (or why I still call it that despite everything).
TV, politics, translations and writing
Oct. 16th, 2012 04:44 pmI'm on to the penultimate episode of Revenge, and they're doing interesting things. ( Spoilers )
Also ( spoilers for Revenge and the Count of Monte Cristo )
At some point I really need to write a proper post about Revenge which I enjoy immensely.
~~~~
Politics:
Could the US-ians, or anyone else who might happen to know, answer me a couple of questions? They're both very simple.
1 - The early voting - is it like postal voting or something else? How is it regulated? Do you think it increases overall turnout?
2 - Is there a reason why the Dems are targeting young voters? Or to rephrase it, in my experience, and the experience of my mother, when we were young voters, people our age were no more likely to vote for the less right wing candidate that people older than us. Is there any reason to expect this to be different in the US?
~~~~
Translations:
While I was over at a friend's, she let me read her copy of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", which I liked. However, I now want to track it down in either the original Swedish, or since I can't read Swedish, German, because there's one particular point where the translator translates something into a word, which while it is fine and upstanding, is highly unlikely to have been the original, and it's a dashed odd choice of word given what I think he could have used, so I want to know what the original said.
~~~~
Writing:
So I'm writing something set in a pseudo-medieval society, sort of middle medieval (moving away from feudalism, but before muskets and canon), and I needed to know how fast horses travel. So I googled, and the average answer is ~ 30 miles per day. So in a day and a half that'd be 45 miles, maybe 60 if I use exceptional horses. The problem is that I could do with it being ~70 miles. So how far is it reasonable to bend reality on a small point like that?
Also ( spoilers for Revenge and the Count of Monte Cristo )
At some point I really need to write a proper post about Revenge which I enjoy immensely.
~~~~
Politics:
Could the US-ians, or anyone else who might happen to know, answer me a couple of questions? They're both very simple.
1 - The early voting - is it like postal voting or something else? How is it regulated? Do you think it increases overall turnout?
2 - Is there a reason why the Dems are targeting young voters? Or to rephrase it, in my experience, and the experience of my mother, when we were young voters, people our age were no more likely to vote for the less right wing candidate that people older than us. Is there any reason to expect this to be different in the US?
~~~~
Translations:
While I was over at a friend's, she let me read her copy of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", which I liked. However, I now want to track it down in either the original Swedish, or since I can't read Swedish, German, because there's one particular point where the translator translates something into a word, which while it is fine and upstanding, is highly unlikely to have been the original, and it's a dashed odd choice of word given what I think he could have used, so I want to know what the original said.
~~~~
Writing:
So I'm writing something set in a pseudo-medieval society, sort of middle medieval (moving away from feudalism, but before muskets and canon), and I needed to know how fast horses travel. So I googled, and the average answer is ~ 30 miles per day. So in a day and a half that'd be 45 miles, maybe 60 if I use exceptional horses. The problem is that I could do with it being ~70 miles. So how far is it reasonable to bend reality on a small point like that?
Saw a Holmes I hadn't seen before (yes, yes, I have a problem), called "A Study In Terror" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059764/), with John Neville as Holmes and Donald Houston as Watson. Not particularly good, with the dialogue letting it down. It does however explain where Moffat/Gattis got the "Mummy" thing from. I knew it wasn't from the books, and quite often they've pinched things from films. Robert Morley played Mycroft in this and him vs Sherlock was brilliant in the film.
~~~~
Doctor Who
( Unexpected guest star squee )
Moto GP
It's been a been a bit of a weepie weekend. I foolishly watched the San Marino Grand Prix, and, well I, like everyone else, miss Marco Simoncelli. And I'm so pleased for Gresini and Alvaro Bautista, and I know he won't get the ride next year but please Gresini Honda, please consider Alvaro.
On lighter matters, I seriously become convinced that Jorge Lorenzo is a Bond villain. In between Spies's bad luck, and Pedrosa's terrible luck, there's only been one winner. And Spies's luck is apparently catching, and poor Karel Abrahms caught it. Two bike failures, and the kind of failure that leaves brake fluid on your tyres at that. He looked so down-hearted afterwards.
Pedrosa has also had bad luck but his pre-dates Ben Spies's. Honda are going to go spare, because even if Hector Barbera had yet another crash, it was their fault that he was anywhere in the Barbera zone to begin with.
Valentino Rossi is adorable. But that doesn't really need to be said.
~~~~
Question - I need a US equivalent for "jury-rigged". Any suggestions? Or will jury-rigged do?
~~~~
Doctor Who
( Unexpected guest star squee )
Moto GP
It's been a been a bit of a weepie weekend. I foolishly watched the San Marino Grand Prix, and, well I, like everyone else, miss Marco Simoncelli. And I'm so pleased for Gresini and Alvaro Bautista, and I know he won't get the ride next year but please Gresini Honda, please consider Alvaro.
On lighter matters, I seriously become convinced that Jorge Lorenzo is a Bond villain. In between Spies's bad luck, and Pedrosa's terrible luck, there's only been one winner. And Spies's luck is apparently catching, and poor Karel Abrahms caught it. Two bike failures, and the kind of failure that leaves brake fluid on your tyres at that. He looked so down-hearted afterwards.
Pedrosa has also had bad luck but his pre-dates Ben Spies's. Honda are going to go spare, because even if Hector Barbera had yet another crash, it was their fault that he was anywhere in the Barbera zone to begin with.
Valentino Rossi is adorable. But that doesn't really need to be said.
~~~~
Question - I need a US equivalent for "jury-rigged". Any suggestions? Or will jury-rigged do?
Meme Frenzy (part 2)
Jun. 27th, 2012 06:09 pmShakespeare Meme - Day #24: An actor or actress you would love to see in a particular role
The obvious one would be Matt Smith as Hamlet, because he's one of the few actors I can think of that is young enough to be Hamlet, and good enough to portray him. That being said, if he doesn't want to, I'd love to see him as Andrew Augecheek as well.
If Kenneth Branagh (Sir Kenneth Branagh!!! So very happy) ever decides to do The Tempest I and my mother, god willing, will be there in a flash, hang the cost.
Polly Walker as Cleopatra is also on this list.
( Other Days )
Meme related - re: the AU meme (http://redfiona99.livejournal.com/778797.html) I'm trying to come up with a female version of 'hasn't got the cojones'. I've toyed with the obvious 'hasn't got the ovaries', but I'm not sure it works. I know "hasn't got the balls" comes from the habit of various cultures (I know the Roman definitely) for men to hold their genitals when swearing oaths etc, and I'm not sure there is a direct equivalent for easy grabbing, unless we're going for ODB style 'bam'-ing.
The obvious one would be Matt Smith as Hamlet, because he's one of the few actors I can think of that is young enough to be Hamlet, and good enough to portray him. That being said, if he doesn't want to, I'd love to see him as Andrew Augecheek as well.
If Kenneth Branagh (Sir Kenneth Branagh!!! So very happy) ever decides to do The Tempest I and my mother, god willing, will be there in a flash, hang the cost.
Polly Walker as Cleopatra is also on this list.
( Other Days )
Meme related - re: the AU meme (http://redfiona99.livejournal.com/778797.html) I'm trying to come up with a female version of 'hasn't got the cojones'. I've toyed with the obvious 'hasn't got the ovaries', but I'm not sure it works. I know "hasn't got the balls" comes from the habit of various cultures (I know the Roman definitely) for men to hold their genitals when swearing oaths etc, and I'm not sure there is a direct equivalent for easy grabbing, unless we're going for ODB style 'bam'-ing.
Music Videos, Fic Detail and a Meme
Apr. 1st, 2012 09:11 pmKaty Perry's new (ish) music video, the one for 'Part of Me' looks and feels like it could have come straight out of the Federation propaganda in the film version of 'Starship Troopers'. This is not a compliment.
~~~~
Quick question, you know those things you see in old time medical films, where the person has their arm in a sling and then the arm is suspended up on a pulley system. What are they really called, because much though I can fudge the detail, and might well do so anyway, I'd like to know that I'm at least fudging by choice, not by necessity.
~~~~
Fic meme
1. Go to page 7 of your most recent WiP
2. Count seven lines down
3. Copy and paste the next seven lines of text
I tend to work on a lot of things at once so what I've done is arranged them by date, and then seen the most recent thing I've worked on that is at least 7 pages long. If nothing else, it's going to mean I'll get to do some editing.
(some time later)
I can't use one of them because the seven lines in question give away a huge spoiler for the film the fic is based on. And I can't use the other fic that's long enough because it's a surprise for someone. So I shall postpone this meme until I have something suitable.
~~~~
Quick question, you know those things you see in old time medical films, where the person has their arm in a sling and then the arm is suspended up on a pulley system. What are they really called, because much though I can fudge the detail, and might well do so anyway, I'd like to know that I'm at least fudging by choice, not by necessity.
~~~~
Fic meme
1. Go to page 7 of your most recent WiP
2. Count seven lines down
3. Copy and paste the next seven lines of text
I tend to work on a lot of things at once so what I've done is arranged them by date, and then seen the most recent thing I've worked on that is at least 7 pages long. If nothing else, it's going to mean I'll get to do some editing.
(some time later)
I can't use one of them because the seven lines in question give away a huge spoiler for the film the fic is based on. And I can't use the other fic that's long enough because it's a surprise for someone. So I shall postpone this meme until I have something suitable.
(no subject)
Jan. 22nd, 2012 09:16 pmSaw Dragonball Evolution. It is merely bad as opposed to abysmal. Justin Chatwin is hopelessly mis-cast, but appears to be trying, ditto Emmy Rosum. I refuse to believe that there aren't two Asian-American actors (if there have to be Americans in there for it to be made, I can live with that) that couldn't have produced equally good performances.
One of the fight scenes (oddly enough, the one without super-powers) was well done, the rest, not so much. You could tell which member of the cast was actually a Dragonball fan (he's the one in green) and Chow Yun-Fat totally stole the film, which was not unexpected.
~~~~
Other than that, I've mostly been avoiding the snooker because I can't abide the idea of watching Shaun Murphy win, even if he's losing at present.
~~~~
I've finished one fic, which will probably be posted in a couple of weeks, and I'm doing background reading/research for another. Is there any consensus on how canon DVD extras are? There's a character who is described in one as a Republican senator but for my own evil purposes I'd prefer him to be a Blue Dog Democrat. I'm going to re-watch the film and if it's mentioned in-text, as it were, I'm fine with him being a Republican, but if it isn't do you think I have leeway on the matter?
One of the fight scenes (oddly enough, the one without super-powers) was well done, the rest, not so much. You could tell which member of the cast was actually a Dragonball fan (he's the one in green) and Chow Yun-Fat totally stole the film, which was not unexpected.
~~~~
Other than that, I've mostly been avoiding the snooker because I can't abide the idea of watching Shaun Murphy win, even if he's losing at present.
~~~~
I've finished one fic, which will probably be posted in a couple of weeks, and I'm doing background reading/research for another. Is there any consensus on how canon DVD extras are? There's a character who is described in one as a Republican senator but for my own evil purposes I'd prefer him to be a Blue Dog Democrat. I'm going to re-watch the film and if it's mentioned in-text, as it were, I'm fine with him being a Republican, but if it isn't do you think I have leeway on the matter?
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nwhyte linked to a kerfuffle over a review of a book, and some interesting comments were made about it in his post here - http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1880791.html The part that I'm interested in goes like this - an author makes an absolute hash of early modern English in his book. Reviewer points it out. Defenders of the author say 'so what, it's not like it really is early modern English, it's an archaic language that the author is choosing to represent as early modern English'.
The original reviewer made the point that having chosen to do this, the author (or his editors) ought to at least make it accurate.
nwhyte then illustrates the point with an analogy, saying that it'd be the same as having an astronaut walk on the surface of a Jupiter-esque planet. Anyone who knew anything about Jupiter or gas giants would find it hard to continue to suspend their disbelief.One of the commentators on the post says that it's an unfair analogy as the writer of the review happens to be history specialist and a specialist is bound to pick up on things more than a lay-person.
I find it interesting because I've been complaining about the science in the last Sherlock ( Spoilers )
but I'll give it a pass because it's not actually wrong. It's the same with CSI and it's spin-offs, I'm more tolerant than my friend whose Dad is a SOCO (scene of crime officer), because I see it as merely over-stating the powers of the science rather than being flat-out wrong, but when it's actively wrong, such as getting AMF the wrong way round, I'll complain.
To me, it makes more sense to be as accurate as possible, where it is possible, because it won't harm your work, and then fudge the details that you absolutely need to because you can't know what your audience knows more about than you. It's probably better to assume that they know more about it than you do.
Fic Detail Questions (Again) and Le Tour
Jul. 18th, 2011 06:57 pmQuick question, which is going to sound odd, but please remember an awful lot of my knowledge of US culture comes from the krimis, where everyone who gambles is a degenerate. If I had a character try to explain something using betting terms, a man of world secret agent type would know what the character meant, right? Related to that, is an each way bet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Each-way_%28bet%29) called that in the US?
Mostly I'm terrified of accidentally doing this (http://andrewhickey.info/2011/07/16/hugo-blogging-connie-willis-may-be-the-worst-writer-in-existence/) but in reverse.
~~~~
On to Le Tour, where everyone who isn't Tommy Voeckler is giving him a chance and he's saying he doesn't have one. The commentators are suggesting he's just trying to be sneaky, but I don't think he is. But oh how I'd love him to win it.
Mostly I'm terrified of accidentally doing this (http://andrewhickey.info/2011/07/16/hugo-blogging-connie-willis-may-be-the-worst-writer-in-existence/) but in reverse.
~~~~
On to Le Tour, where everyone who isn't Tommy Voeckler is giving him a chance and he's saying he doesn't have one. The commentators are suggesting he's just trying to be sneaky, but I don't think he is. But oh how I'd love him to win it.
RAW and Wrestlema XXVII blathering
Apr. 2nd, 2011 12:23 amBut first I need a bit of Ameri-picking, or rather Canadian-picking. Is 'froth-mouthed loony' something that's even possibly going to be said? Suggestions gratefully accepted as I'm aware it sounds more like Regal than anyone else.
With regards to matters Wrestlemania:
Okay fine, WWE, you win.
I still don't care about either title match, but I'll be damned if I don't care about HHH vs the Undertaker.
( Spoilers, the RAW before Wrestlemania )
( Wrestlemania Predictions )
With regards to matters Wrestlemania:
Okay fine, WWE, you win.
I still don't care about either title match, but I'll be damned if I don't care about HHH vs the Undertaker.
( Spoilers, the RAW before Wrestlemania )
( Wrestlemania Predictions )
Two bits of fic-detail
Jul. 24th, 2010 11:34 pm1) I'm looking for something less UK English than 'molly-coddled' for, well, molly-coddling. Suggestions are gratefully accepted because the character in question is not a native English speaker and I'm drawing a blank.
2) New York autumns, if I go with cool and slightly damp, is that more or less accurate?
2) New York autumns, if I go with cool and slightly damp, is that more or less accurate?
Here - http://opera142.livejournal.com/410335.html
a different question.
You Character one speaks. Performs an action. Speaks again. Do you need a new paragraph for his second speech?
a different question.
You Character one speaks. Performs an action. Speaks again. Do you need a new paragraph for his second speech?
