Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:40 AM

Found this quiz over at Julia's. I'm saner than 95%??? No wonder this world is going to hell in a handbasket...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:50 PM

I feel like I'm falling apart.

I can't entirely put it into words, and in my current mental state I may not be evaluating myself correctly, but right now it feels to me that I have no control dealing with everything the external world is throwing at me (coping with the aftermath of the fire) and I'm correspondingly losing emotional control.

I'm keeping my head at work, but in the evenings I've been getting both snappish at Ian and weepy, and sometimes both at once.

I think one complication is that this hotel room is smaller and more isolated than our apartment, so I really haven't had any alone time in ages. I'm at work during the days, and if one of us goes out for the evening, either the other comes along or is stuck isolated at the hotel. Over the weekend I tried dropping Ian off somewhere and then I went into the office to get work done. Hotel -> there -> office was probably at least 90 minutes each way. Not terribly conducive to other such outings...

Plus, I don't think I've been getting enough sleep this whole week. Again, some of that comes from the location of the hotel, which is close to work, but far from the places we've been going to visit people. So every time we have gone out, we've gotten back to the hotel far later than I'd intended. :( And even when I have gotten to bed in time... well, it's not our bed, not my pillow, and thus not totally comfortable.

And I have no idea when we'll be able to return to the house. [Can anybody in the Boston area recommend good housecleaners that are environmentally/ecologically/hypoallergenically -friendly, and can thus clean our house of the chemicals the previous housecleaners used?]

I'm just not a happy camper this evening.

I know things aren't really this bad, but the mood I'm in seems to be turning every molehill into a mountain. The hotel gives us free papers (cool pics of the Narnia movie in yesterday's USA Today!) and a good breakfast...

Anyway, we're checking out tomorrow and taking a weekend trip to Florida for my sister-in-law's college graduation.

I will probably still need some cheering up when I'm back. If people want to share happy or hopeful or nice things in the comments, I'd appreciate it.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:45 AM

Like any good fan, I keep talking up Firefly to other friends, but the real proof of the show is in the watching. And, well, Ian and I only have one copy of the DVD box set, which we enjoy enough to not want it too long out of our hands, and it's a bit too expensive either for us to buy a lending copy or for uncertain viewers to necessarily take the risk.

I wonder if anybody in charge would consider making a cheaper "teaser" DVD. One disk. Just the pilot, or maybe the pilot and one other episode.

Regardless, sell it for cheap. Dirt cheap. Make it an impulse buy. Maybe $5 to $10, with a coupon inside giving purchasers a discount on the full box set if they like it.

I think that could help garner a lot more viewers in time for the movie this September. [Especially if they can throw in a trailer for the film as a bonus!] Not only would it entice the curious, but existing fans might be willing to buy a few as gifts.

So. Anybody know anybody who could pass this idea on to the appropriate parties?

[PS: I just heard that Harry Potter, Batman Begins, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are going to be released in IMAX. Any hopes for an IMAX Serenity? <drool>]

Added slightly later: Here's what I see:

DVD with just the 2-hour pilot for about $6, or with the 2-hour pilot plus one episode (I'd vote for "Our Mrs. Reynolds) for $9. [Assuming the 14-episode box-set goes for about $40.] Packaging may be as simple as a cardboard sleeve. Bonus feature includes trailers for the Serenity movie.

The package includes a coupon (with the UPC code from the box -- no receipt necessary, so it can be a gift) for $5 or $8 off the box set. That way, if new viewers like this taste of the series, they can buy the rest of the show without paying twice for what they've already got. And then, once they have the box, they still have this little sample DVD to lend to their friends. [And the studio won't risk borrowers double-dipping on the rebate/coupon, since the UPC will already have been cut off.]

And this wouldn't just appeal to potential new viewers.

Even though we already own the box set, I might consider buying the $6 version to lend to friends and coworkers, so I don't have to part with our existing DVDs.

Win all around, don't you think? Other than the risk that Fox wouldn't want to be promoting a Universal picture, do you see any downsides?

PPS: See these other TV Starter Set DVDs for a similar concept already in place.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:42 PM

Wow, I am feeling down tonight. I should've gone to bed hours ago, but just haven't felt like moving.

So what do you do to cheer up when you're feeling blue? Have you got any reliable pick-me-ups you could offer?

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:50 PM

I know posting has been sparse, I haven't had much energy (nor information) to share. Lots going on in life, which is not only giving me less time to post, but what time I do have in the evenings, I've been feeling flaky and inarticulate.

SpringHill hotels have been a godsend. There's one located halfway between home and work. Big rooms, reasonably comfy bed, good shower (before we leave, I may try to find the brand & model 'cause it's better than ours at home), free Internet (wifi with free connection kits for computers that need to be wired) and newspapers (Globe and USA Today at the door and WSJs in the lobby), and a really great continental breakfast every morning. Getting through the day is a lot easier with a good hot meal.

I've delegated most of the dealing-with-insurance hassle to Ian, but haven't been able to let go worrying about them (and him). The fire was on the 15th and have no idea when the house will be habitable again, much less fully repaired and repainted. And as expenses (such as hotel bills) rack up, I can't help feeling fearful that insurance will refuse them and this is going to cost us arms, legs and other limbs...

Earlier, I intended to natter on a bit about Firefly and Hitchhikers but right now I'm just not in the mood.

I do have one piece of good news to convey, which also helps explain my recent quiet spell.

Over the weekend, I completed writing another story.

Again with the disclaimers: This is a work of slash for mature audiences. And I'm not talking about "slasher movies" either. The OED defines slash as:

A subgenre of fiction [...] in which characters who appear together in popular films or other media are portrayed as having a sexual (esp. homosexual) relationship.

Get the picture?

What I'm trying to say is: Don't read the story solely out of loyalty/friendship to me.

If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the concept of slash fiction in the Harry Potter universe, I suggest you just skip it. You won't hurt my feelings. My primary audience for this work was other Harry Potter slash fans, so if you're new to the genre, this probably won't make the best introduction. [If you are new to the genre and looking for recommendations, let me know and I'll find you some better intros to the field.]

Still interested?

Taken by surprise

Rating: NC-17

Length: about 4800 words
Characters: Percy Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy
Summary: When the Malfoy men need information from Percy Weasley, sometimes pleasure can be as effective an incentive as pain.