Satima's LJ

I've just put up a new web page about my editing activites. Go and have a look here and see what you think. I'd be pleased to have feedback as web page construction and marketing are both very peripheral to my experience:-)

And I've waffled on at length on this and other matters on my real blog.

Current Location: Perth, Western Australia
Current Mood: tired

Go and check out the new edition of The Specusphere. There are loads of articles, reviews (both book and film) fiction, poetry and what's more, I got to write my very first editorial.

And over at my real blog I've posted my first entry for a whole month. Busy, I was. Very.

Current Location: Perth, Western Australia

I've just filed the last of my four Swancon reports over at my real blog.

I shall try not to mention it again, or at least not very often or at length. My friends must be tired of my waxing lyrical on the topic. Enough already, Satima! But I can read everyone else's reports to keep the dream alive a bit longer:-)

Current Location: Perth, Western Australia
Current Mood: nostalgic

I'm gradually blogging my Swancon memories over at my real blog Such a fabulous con - I loved every minute, even the odd icky bit:-)

And more good news this morning, from New Zealand: Juliet Marillier won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for best YA novel with Cybele's Secret. Yay - go Juliet!

Current Location: Perth, Western Australia
Current Mood: excited

This one's doing the rounds. I smurched it from Stephen Dedman 

Bold the ones you've seen stage productions of, italicize the ones you've seen movies of, underline the ones you've read or listened to, and add a star to any you've performed in, done readings of or otherwise theatrically participated.

All's Well That Ends Well
Antony and Cleopatra
*As You Like It
The Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
*Hamlet
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
*Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
*Julius Caesar
*King John
King Lear
Love's Labour's Lost
Macbeth
Measure for Measure
*The Merchant of Venice
*The Merry Wives of Windsor
*A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Othello
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
*Richard II
* Richard III
*Romeo and Juliet
*The Taming of the Shrew
*The Tempest
*Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
* Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
*The Winter's Tale 

Next month I'm leading a session on the sonnets with the Shakespeare Club of Western Australia. It's a very old club - founded 1938 - and has a old membership. It breaks my heart that I, at 65, am one of the youngest members.  I wish some of you younger enthusiasts would join so we can see our club continue for another 70 years! We meet at the State Library on the third Saturday of each month.

Current Location: Perth, Western Australia
Current Mood: busy

Over at my real blog, I've posted my impressions of Adelaide's bi-annual literary bunfest.

Current Location: Adelaide
Current Mood: hot

Hi dear flist,

To see what I'm up to, check out my real blog, which I post to at least once a week, usually on Sundays.

I am skimming your blogs but seldom commenting because I'm on the road. Right now I'm in Adelaide for Writers Week and will be in Perth mid-next week. I hope to see many of you at Swancon if not before. Hugs to you all:-)

Current Location: Adelaide
Current Mood: cheerful

Over at my real blog I have posted an entry called "What is meant by the term Speculative Fiction?" Comments welcome.

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: calm

I snatched this from ladnews, who scored 93 credits.

Oh dear. I wonder if they do one for fantasy?

	I received 28 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Quiz by SheGoddess: Losing Weight

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: ABC TV news theme

I find myself really upset at the news of Heath Ledger's death. A West Aussie boy, he starred in one of my favourite fantasy movies, A Knight's Tale (I call it a fantasy because of its surreal elements and deliberate anachronisms.)

The horrible thing is that it looks as if it might have been suicide or murder. Either way, a terrible waste of a young life and a loss to the world of a great talent.

RIP, Heath.

I've just updated my real blog Still grizzling, with a bit of added waffle and angst:-)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: confused
Current Music: Chopin (what else?)

Over at my real blog I have posted an entry about my current writing dilemma. OK, so it's basically the same old, same old, but I'm still stuck:-)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: frustrated

Friends, you might want to check this one out:
The Story of Stuff.

I smurched the URL from Glenda Larke's blog. As well as being a fine writer, Glenda is an enthusiastic environmentalist and her blog is well worth reading on both counts.

I just updated
my real blog with a piece about my favourite reads for 2007.

Have a great year, friends!

I've just scored two more memes, this time from Stephen D. Being even handed, I'll put one here and one on my real blog. Here I shall be...which one? Cat or Elf? I think I'll go for Elf. BTW, apologies to those viewing this on their Friends page. It's long, and I haven't figured out how to do cuts. If someone will send me the code I promise to do it next time!

I Am A: True Neutral Elf Druid/Wizard (4th/4th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-10

Dexterity-9

Constitution-9

Intelligence-14

Wisdom-15

Charisma-12


Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.


Race:
Elves are known for their poetry, song, and magical arts, but when danger threatens they show great skill with weapons and strategy. Elves can live to be over 700 years old and, by human standards, are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. Elves are slim and stand 4.5 to 5.5 feet tall. They have no facial or body hair, prefer comfortable clothes, and possess unearthly grace. Many others races find them hauntingly beautiful.


Primary Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.


Secondary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (21)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (21)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXX (9)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXX (9)

Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XXXXXXX (7)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Chaos --- XXXXXXX (7)

Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Evil ---- XX (2)

Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Halfling - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Half-Orc - (0)

Class:
Barbarian - (-4)
Bard ------ (0)
Cleric ---- (-2)
Druid ----- XXXXXX (6)
Fighter --- (-2)
Monk ------ (-17)
Paladin --- (-23)
Ranger ---- (-4)
Rogue ----- (0)
Sorcerer -- (-2)
Wizard ---- XXXXXX (6)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: amused

I just smurched a cool meme from asimum (a.k.a. Dragonkat) and I've posted it at my real blog Do stop by and leave a comment!

I've just updated my Real Blog. If you enjoy writing doggerel, please go and leave some in a comment:-)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: ABC TV news theme

I've just updated my real blog to tell folks about a really super book I've just read and reviewed: Karen Miller's new one The Riven Kingdom. And, of course, to have a whinge about how poorly my own work is progressing, and what I do for displacement activity:-)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: discontent
Current Music: Britten's Variation on a theme of Purcell

I updated my real blog yesterday. Nothing exciting, just ramblings about the election. I'll try to go for Exciting next week, maybe:-)

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: listless
Current Music: At Dawn in Rivendell (Tolkien Ensemble)

As a Buddhist, I don't have one:-) But if I had, here's what it would look like:

What color is your soul painted? Yellow Your soul is painted the color yellow, which embodies the characteristics of joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, gold, hope, liberalism, sociability, friendship, death, courage, intellect, confidence, communication, travel, movement, attraction, persuasion, and charm. Yellow is the color of the element Air, and symbolizes the sun, grain, and the power of thought. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Current Location: Mount Gambier
Current Mood: sleepy