worryingly jolly batman

Baaaa: a cooking meme!

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:22:51 GMT

First, a request: G/T (a local fancon for those of you from further locations) is coming up (*crowd goes wild*) and I offered to curate a vidshow themed around "Lord King Bad Vids". I might have fewer of these than I actually thought because some of my vid collection has gone missing somewhere, so I put the call out: what are your favourites? Any fandom, any pairing, any character, whatever you like.

Also, a meme.

Via a few people on my DW list:

Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, underline the ones you use at least once a month, italicize the ones you have and don't use, strike through the ones you have had but got rid of. And (my suggestion) add any items that you have that aren't on the list:

I wonder how many pasta machines, breadmakers, juicers, blenders, deep fat fryers, egg boilers, melon ballers, sandwich makers, pastry brushes, cheese knives, electric woks, miniature salad spinners, griddle pans, jam funnels, meat thermometers, filleting knives, egg poachers, cake stands, garlic crushers, martini glasses, tea strainersbamboo steamers, pizza stones, coffee grinders, milk frothers, ~~piping bags~~ [actually I broke them all but I've not replaced them on the grounds that piping is not for me], banana stands, fluted pastry wheels, tagine dishes, conical strainers, rice cookers, steam cookers, pressure cookers, slow cookers, spaetzle makers, cookie presses (it belongs to the flatmate and as far as I know no-one's ever used it), gravy strainers, double boilers (bains marie), sukiyaki stoves, ice cream makers, fondue sets, healthy-grills, home smokers, tempura sets, tortilla presses, electric whisks, apple corers, apple slicers, electric skillets, meat tenderizers, mortar and pestle, pastry blenders, french-fry cutters, waffle makers, candy thermometers, stick blenders and vegetable choppers [I am interpreting this as a mandolin] languish dustily at the back of the nation's cupboards?

I have a tiny kitchen but if I could own any of these (and would definitely use them though who knows where I'd put them): a full-on food processor, a pasta machine (I love making my own pasta but rolling out is a pain without a machine so I hardly do it), a salad spinner and an electric skillet. Also I'd really like a funnel but I don't know what a jam funnel is? Perhaps a metal funnel to avoid melting plastic? (Or would metal be reactive to the heat? IDK.)

ETA in the interest of full disclosure: the cookie press may actually belong to me. Um, oops. Apparently I bought one and forgot about it (it's also a icing gun and I think that's what I was trying for. It's a terrible icing gun, fwiw).

What the hell is a banana stand or a fluted pastry wheel?

Finally, I said this on twitter about a hashtag game earlier that I'd like to preserve:

What I really like about #kishi: As a fatty, and also as a woman, I'm constantly told by the TV, the radio, my mother, my father, my boss what it's acceptable for me to wear. If I can get up in the morning and try to approach my wardrobe with a spirit of adventure rather than with a spirit of shame, a spirit of what won't make me look fat today, what won't make my mother tell me seeing the shape of my body in jeans and a t-shirt makes people uncomfortable, what won't make my boss tell me my body is distracting - if instead I can think "what's fun? What's colourful? What expresses me and how I feel today? What would make me feel better about today?" or even just "what do I like about this comfortable favourite old slopping-around-home outfit", I'm going to. -- via

For context: Claudia Kishi is a character in a 90s-era pulp series about a Babysitters' Club. She is an artist and wears unusual outfits (very!) which are routinely described by other characters and by herself in breathless tones. Much use is made of words like "chunky", "oversize", "patterned" and "funky". Claudia *always* looks fabulous, even when wearing a burlap sack. A twitter buddy of mine started a hashtag game, #kishi, in which you tweet the outfit you're wearing as if you were Claudia. Trackpants and a t-shirt? "Oversized t-shirt and billowy pants". Preppiest outfit on the face of the planet? "Chunky pearl earrings and oversized shirt". I had an argument today with someone who described the game as "ludicrous vain faux-ironic hipster bullshit", someone who felt that it seemed like a contest. Now, I have some sympathy with people who would just generally prefer not to think about what they're wearing and find the game upsetting for that reason but that's not where he was coming from and it pissed me off and that's the context for that tweet.

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Long knitting story because Twitter doesn't appreciate those

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:36:48 GMT

Before you read my pointless knitting story: caramarie made another incredible Avengers vid, this time for Loki (incorporates footage from Thor as well as from The Avengers). I am far from a Loki stan or even fan, so when I say I've watched this vid five times, you need to understand what I mean. It's brilliant. Incredible editing and timing that give a very complete and kind of terrifying character study of Loki.

( cut for a really long and kind of boring knitting story )

Things that didn't make it into this post, but I hope will soon: a more-than-140-characters version of my rant about how the Pokemon theme is the song that best describes generation Y, and a post about last week's episode of New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker, feminism and homophobia.

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Apparently imma be posting Harry Potter fan vids for the rest of my life

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:30:02 GMT

BUT THIS ONE IS AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING

TEARS ON MY FACE

If you love Harry Potter, and especially if you love Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and the DA), WATCH THIS VID. (And if anyone knows if she has an LJ so I can download it and keep it forever and call it ~~George~~ Fred, please please please tell me.)

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Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:53:45 GMT

Insta-rec: A Charming Man, a Castiel-centric vid by giandujakiss - I don't get this vid at all, I need to watch it ten or fifteen more times (or read a commentary or something), but this vid is excellent, really well put together. Slight overtones of Dean/Castiel, if you're squinting, but I think you can read it as a gen vid.

SPN starts again in a few days and I'm super-excited! When was the last time I was excited for the premiere of, hell, any show? IDEK. Which reminds me: a post about what I'm watching this season! Gosh.

( New shows I'm going to try/am trying: )
Returning shows:
Supernatural
Grey's - Maybe; I stopped watching half-way through last season (Izzy and Alex break up, I break up with show), but they had a killer finale.
Brothers & Sisters - Mmmmaybe? I kind of got sucked in last season?
Community
Modern Family
Gossip Girl - Probably not, but I hear they're in Paris for the premiere and that I do want to see.
Vampire Diaries, Bones & the Big Bang Theory - I'll let my flatmate download these so they don't count against my share of the bandwidth, probs. *guilty face* I've been watching Entourage for the same reason.

In other news, last night I went to bed at five and slept till 8:30 the next morning. It was lovely. I was late to the doctor's, but who gives a fuck? Bliss.

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Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:28:34 GMT

1. Just FTR, this week's issue of Batgirl is epically funny, reminiscent to me of YJ and its slashy, sassy, pop culture loving ways. Overall I have been hugely, hugely impressed with this series. Bryan Q Miller really "gets" Steph and I have been charmed by the way he's kept the book light and funny, while simultaneously dealing with what are, to me, very serious issues for Steph: independence, adulthood, her worth as a crimefighter. I have always loved Steph, but he makes her tremendously appealing to people who aren't fans as well; her sincerity, her good cheer, her terrible jokes, her tendency to narrate her own life, her desire to be her own woman and her awareness of her own flaws - I really think this is the best writing Steph's had since before she became Robin. The first seven volumes of this run have just been collected into a trade, Batgirl Rising; give it a go!

2. Last vid meme post!

Day 19 - A movie vid you love
Sorry, did you say a meta vid I love?

Kill A Man by zimshan
Supernatural, gen/Wincesty overtones, spoilers through season 5, violence, use of screencaps and stills

( read more )

Day 20: A narrative vid you love
Hurricane by laurashapiro
Farscape/BSG, Starbuck/Aeryn Sun, two pilots walk into a bar, sex, little bit of violence

So everyone has seen this vid already, but if my some faint chance you haven't, RUN DON'T WALK.
( read more )

OKAY WOO ALL DONE LOOKIT THAT *twirls*

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Vid meme days 16-18: an Issue Vids post

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:15:01 GMT

I just made a whole bunch of new friends, so OBVIOUSLY what I'm doing is posting another meme post. SORRY GUISE. For those playing the LJ game, I just unfriended a bunch of people and communities: people I'm following on dreamwidth who don't flock their entries, and communities that got annoyingly spammy. I really doubt I got up anyone's nose and as you guys know I'm way, way too lazy to flock, but if I defriended you and you want back on, tell me tell me. I was really aiming at consolidating, not cutting. (Also: defriending amnesty. If you've been wanting to, do it, I promise not to cry.)

So this is particularly bad timing for three vids that are all basically Issue Vids. If you have Issues with Issue Vids, steer clear! For these vids I think it's particularly important that you watch them before reading my commentary, so uh. Please do?

Day 16 - A vid that told you something new about a show/movie you already loved
My Medea, by yunitsa
Joss Whedon shows; Girls in Boxes; premise spoilers for Dollhouse; spoilers for Firefly; Buffy included but (IMO) no significant spoilers; violence against women, general creepiness.

( blah blah )

Day 17 - A vid you wish you had made
Let There Be Guns, by kuwdora
Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis; everybody has guns; tv violence, no spoilers worth mentioning.

I'm not a vidder, so this was tough for me, but this is sort of an attainable goal: I wish I was as witty as this vid. Of course it starts off with a bit of an advantage because it uses a hilarious song, but the spark of genius that first combined the two - well, I desire it! There's nothing much to this vid except wit, and I love it.

Best Bit: Definitely "naw, not me, I got me a rifle." &Vala; The timing on "we could go out and shoot things" is really good, and "we wouldn't need the police no more" is extra-good because it comes from an episode about, like, separationists so I think it's hilarious. The vid mostly depends on visuals rather than canon knowledge, so I like that that's a scene where canon knowledge makes this extra funny.

Day 18 - A vid that made you investigate that vidder's other work further
Bachelorette, by obsessive24
BTVS, ensemble, spoilers for the whole series, rapid cuts

GUISE GUISE, I know I've recced like fifteen vids which are all RARR JOSS HAS PROBLEMS, but this vid? sort of pro Joss! You should watch it!

( etc etc )

SO THAT WAS A LOT OF TL;DR. Watch some vids, guys!

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Vid meme days 13-15: This is a Happy Vid Post!

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:23:21 GMT

I DECLARE TODAY HAPPY DAY.

Day 13 - Your 'pick me up' vid of choice
Can Delight by jescaflowne
Bring it On, BTVS (movie and TV series), ATS, Heroes; cheerleaders; dancing, flashing lights, no spoilers, watch it now!

THIS VID. I think what I love about this vid is its clarity of purpose. I showed it to my sister and she was like "It's about cheerleaders?" in the first five seconds and then, at around 0:32, she said "... who save the world! It's about cheerleaders who save the world!" Yes. Yes, it is. This vid isn't as polished as the vid most people, I would say, would know jescaflowne, Another Sunday (get it at her website), but it uses similar techniques - silly, fun, OTT 80s music video effects, lots of split-screen, etc. Fast and, I'm sure, impressive editing. The cutting from the different teams of cheerleaders and dancers is really seamless and incredible - it leads the eye really well. It's mayyyybe just a little bit long. But who cares about that shit? It's a vid about cheerleaders! Who save the world!

Best Bits: Claire's hair-flip at 2:22 is my absolute favourite bit if this vid. It says everything. It says: I'm cute and I'm a cheerleader and you think I'm adorable but not worth much and I know that. But actually? I'm totally fucking indestructible. Get the hell out of my way. Movie!Buffy's knowing look at 0:34 works the same way.
( more )

Day 14 - A mood vid you love

IDEK what a mood vid is, but I figure More Joy Day vids count. Here are a couple of my favourites:
Outerspace by kuwdora
Stargate SG-1; violence, spoilers through Ark of Truth

Smile, by charmax
BTVS/ATS; SMILING YES.

If It Gives You Joy, by thedothatgirl
All Joss Whedon TV shows; ridiculousness, kittens, Giles monsterfied chasing Dr Walsh through Sunnydale. It does give me joy so THERE.

Day 15 - A vid (by someone else) that has defined a con or period of time for you

This is a bit of a cheat. But I don't really go to cons and I've never been the kind of person who remembers a time by a song or book or vid. However...

One Night Fandoms, by eruthros and thingswithwings.
Very, very multi-fandom; The Yuletide Vid; SEX SEX SEX.

The time when I feel most connected to fandom as a whole is in December, when I'm scrambling to finish my Yuletide fic and screaming down gtalk at sushiflop and messaging hippos in yulechat and dicking around writing snippets of maybe-this-is-an-extra-fill-OK-maybe-not. And this vid simultaneously manages to convey that feeling and the Yuletide Process (love, smut, agony, happy farewells...) AND ALSO the huge joyful sprawling nature of Yuletide itself. *twirls it*

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Vid meme days 10-12

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:26:40 GMT

More vids! I don't think I'm going to be very talky today, though.

Day 10 - A vid that makes you laugh
United States of Pop, by llenka
Community; dance moves; warning for very fast, very highly-lit cutting that even I, who have no vision issues, find a bit difficult to watch; spoilers for the whole season
( Read more... )

Day 11 - An AMV you love
This one was tough for me because I'm not at all into anime and the only AMV I've ever really liked is Failed Experiments in Video Editing, which is really good and funny and I'm sure if you're a vidder you'd find it even funnier.

However, I don't really feel that's enough of a sample for me to rec AMVs with authority, so instead I'm going to rec a vid that I love that I could fit into one of these categories:

Big City Life, by lithiumdoll (You can get it here, I couldn't find a vidpost.)
Dark Angel; Max; spoilers for the whole show; violence.

( Dark Angel spoilers )

Day 12 - A relationship vid you love
( three under cut )

And one thing about food:

So the other day I prepared and froze some World Peace Cookies, except I stupidly left out the chocolate chips so I was like, wow, they're gonna suck. (protip: even without the chips these biscuits are still pretty great, I was just making excuses.) BUT then I was thinking about something I was reading on Debbie Does Edmonds the other day about yoyos and thinking how GOOD the icing that sandwiches together a yoyo is, and I thought - ooh, yeah. That would be awesome.

And it was.

Butter Icing

50g butter, very soft
1/2 C icing sugar
2 T custard powder - USians and other non-Commonwealthers, I believe the standard sub is vanilla instant pudding mix, although that's usually in Nanaimo bars and IDK how it'd work here.

1. Beat all together
2. Enjoy on delicious cookies.

A highly recommended combination, although you really can only eat one.

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Vidding meme days 7-9

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:26:37 GMT

Day 7 - A crossover/constructed reality vid you love

Unnatural Selection and Seven Nation Army, by charmax.
Multifandom; Terminator, BSG, others, Charles Darwin's Origin of Species; killer robots take over the world; violence, fascism.

( read more )

Day 8 - A vid you had to watch multiple times to understand.

Origin Stories, by giandujakiss
Buffy/Angel, It's Nikki Wood's Fucking Coat, violence & how. If you like Spike (or if you don't!) you should watch this vid.

( read more )

Day 9 - A vid that makes you cry

Ing, by laurashapiro
BTVS; Anya; gore; downer ending. Spoilers through 7x05.

( anya! )

OMG BED.

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we have the technology [vid meme days 4 to 6]

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:26:47 GMT

So this is the post in which I'm chronically incapable of picking only one vid. I'll try to do better next post.

A preamble: I don't think I've said this stuff before, so: I recommend that you watch the vid at least once before you read my commentary. Although I hate to advise using up other peoples' bandwidth, if stuff is available for direct download (especially at MU or wherever) I recommend that you do that rather than streaming. They're around 50mb and it's the days of miracles and broadband, splash out! And remember I'm not a vidder and in fact I haven't really studied visual texts at all, so where my language is not right please forgive me. Also, just like fanfiction, vidders appreciate comments if you like their work.

Day 4 - An ensemble vid you love
Imma Be, by talitha78
Leverage; Hardison, Parker, Eliot; Spoilers through S2; crappy song but awesome vid.

I don't even have to put my comments about this one below a cut. It's not real deep, it's beautifully, cleanly cut, it's basically a romp. A romp heavy on the Hardison, which is nice because he's my TV boyfriend, and on the Parker, which is nice because she's my TV girlfriend. Eliot's also in there which is nice because I care about him! But not as much as the other two. Um, so yeah, it's a romp.

Honourable mentions: (Glad I'm) Not a Petrelli, by my besties sixth_light and lady_larla, Heroes, Claire & the Petrellis, season 1; umpteen billion awesome Buffy vids that I couldn't list if I tried all year. (Never seen a good Angel one, though. Recs?)

Day 5 - A vid everyone should see at least once
( some 'splaining )

And now for something completely different!

~~Day 6: A vid you've watched more than 10 times.~~

So I immediately went to one of my favourite vids, and then I stopped and looked at another one, and another one, and another one, and then I thought: this is ridiculous. This could be a themed post all of its own. and then I thought: but I goddamned freaking love these vids! So I'm going to talk about them and that's that.

Day 6: Women: They're Pretty Fucking Incredible

Bionic, by tallulah71; Glorious, by such_heights; One Girl Revolution, by arefadedaway; and I'm Your Man, by charmax.
Very, very multifandom; women; not specially spoilery for anything in particular; TV violence.

( I go on for awhile )

Now I'm going to finally go and watch the vids caramarie has been reccing!
Vid Meme: Days 1-3

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I'm a sprinter, not a stayer (Vid meme days 1-3)

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:52:52 GMT

So everyone's seen those 20/30 days of vids/tv shows/fanfiction/whatever memes going around, and I really like them because I like to rec and I like to read other people's recs but I rarely do it without some kind of structure/being forced. So I like that. On the other hand, the chances of me being able to post 20 times in a month are slim to none. Plus, I figure I'd get boring. So I'm going to do my version three at a time, which is one week, and if it takes two weeks then so be it. Also, I'm doing the vidding one, because vids are cool. I figure three vids is about as many as I can expect my random flistie to watch in one day.

Preliminary Notes:
- I really like multifandom vids. Like, really. Half of the vids I plan on reccing are multifandom, so if you don't like those, steer clear.
- The recs are going to be, obviously, skewed towards fandoms I'm in at the moment. I tried for a bit of range, but you're going to see a lot of Jossverse vids, partly because I'm watching Buffy really heavily at the moment, and partly because I have probably read three or four BTVS fics that I enjoyed, but the good vids seem to come one after the other. There are a couple of fandoms that I think have fabulous vids that are notably missing: Battlestar Galactica, Stargate: Atlantis, and Doctor Who. Yeah, IDEK what's going on there, but I'm in a Jossverse place so I'm just going with it. Supernatural gets a little work-out, too.
- I really like political and meta vids, so there's going to be some of that.

Day 1: A vid that made you start watching a brand-new show

Channel Hopping, by ash48, and Channel Surfing, by ash48 and maichan808.
Supernatural; humour; gen; spoilers throughout but not specially significant post-season 4; violence, gore, horror, 90s television.
( read on )

Day Two: A male character study vid you love

Jesus Walks, by mimesere, sadly presently only available on youtube.
Angel: The Series; Charles Gunn; spoilers throughout; violence, language.
( and so on )

Day Three - A female character study vid you love
I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker, by kuwdora.
Stargate: SG-1; Doctor/Captain/Major/Lt. Colonel/Colonel Samantha Carter, in multiple universes; spoilers throughout; explosions.
( Saaaaam )

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