Distracted By Something Shiny

net neu·tral·i·ty
noun
1. the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.

As you may have seen, today has been a call to action for net neutrality, to stop the rollback of the internet. Do you want a fair & equal internet, where all sites are treated the same, where the time it takes to load a page remains the same for Amazon as it does for an individual person's handmade jewelry page, remains the same for NBC's page as it does for small independent news bloggers, remains the same for HarperCollins as it does for self-publishing authors' personal pages? Should the internet be ruled by who can pay the most or should all sites be equal? Should the internet be ruled by corporations or should everyone have the chance to utilize the amazing tool that is the internet on an equal basis?

If you stand with net neutrality, take this call to action today! (and if you didn't get to it today - some of us had wall to wall appointments today! - then try tomorrow. It's alright, you can still join call!)

Some articles with information on the net neutrality rollback bill and today's internet protest...
Link 1, Link 2

Some ways you can answer the call to action...
Link 3, Link 4

(copy/paste anywhere you wish). Join the call!

My grandmother passed away yesterday. It looks like she went in an instant, no suffering. And at home, like she always wanted. We tried, since Grandpa passed, to convince her to move to a senior apartment. She wouldn't hear of it. It always broke her heart that Grandpa didn't get to pass at home, and she wasn't going to stand for it herself. She almost always got her own way, after all. My grandma was one of those people that you always thought was perfect and then you grow up and realize, naw, she's just human. But even then, you couldn't help but look at her in some way like a person of iconic legend. She would have told you that she was a just a silly old woman, but she was so much more.

She lived through horrid poverty and family illness as a child, married my grandpa less than a week after graduating high school and turning 18. Chased his naval boat across the country, with my 3 month old uncle on her hip. Ran the little village general store all on her own. And oh, she pitched a fit when Grandpa said they were buying a farm. She wanted nothing to do with it. But then there she was, fixing breakfast at 3am so Grandpa and their boys could get to the farm chores. Adopting every stray cat she could get her hands on. She loved a good dog, but Grandma was a cat lady, thru and thru. She never wanted that farm, but oh boy, she wasn't leaving it. She and Grandpa were married for 70 years and she lived just as long as that down a dirt road, at the end of a dusty driveway, in an old farmhouse surrounded by corn and barns and the echoing sound of our childhood whiffle ball games still ringing on the wind.

The last of my grandparents to go, survived by three sons, ten grandkids and fourteen great-grandkids and that is her legacy, the one she is really proud of. Most people would have thought Grandpa was the glue that held this family together, but it was Grandma all along.

She always joked that when she finally got to heaven, that Grandpa would ask her, "What took you so long?!" But neither one of them have to wait another day.

Together now, they can rest in the peace they've so greatly earned.

Ava Marie - May 3, 1925 - August 30th, 2016

Photographer unknown, but Grandma loved her hummingbirds, so that's why I chose this one.

I was going to post about my awesome weekend, but I didn't get around to it this afternoon - took a nap with the dog instead - and now it's kind of late and I'm tired again. So instead I'm going to do this fun meme I saw on rockstarpeach's journal. (For the record, she did hers to The X-Files and it was brilliant!). Since Firefly didn't have enough episodes to use here - rawr, Fox! - I decided to go with a comedy and picked 'Friends'. Here we go!

Using only episode names from one TV show, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat an episode title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "My life according to ..."

Pick your Show: Friends

( Answers under the cut! )

Whew, that was harder than I thought it would be. I did go with my sister in the best friend question, cuz it was too perfect an answer not to use! And I would just like to point out that if I were a male, I would have answered the gender question with, "The One with the Giant Poking Device". That was loads of fun! I kept switching my answers around though, omg. Play along, friends!

So, Tuesday the 13th is my LJ anniversary! The day, four years ago, when I made my first official LJ post! I usually like to do something on that day to celebrate - special fic, a fandom meme, let you guys ask me questions, whatever. But this year since I'm still feeling so under the weather, I was hoping you guys could help me out. I remember seeing (and answering on some of my friends' journals) a meme about 'name five things that you relate to me' and I really liked it. Maybe you guys could answer with five things that make you think of me and I can post all the answers on the 13th! (I've got a dr's appt that day, but this should be fun and easy enough!). So let's celebrate my anniversary! Come and play!

What are 5 things you associate with me? Can be a book, movie, character, person, place, memory, animal, food, plant, anything!

I'll even respond back to you with my top 5 things that I associate with you...once I actually get around to answering comments. (I'll take this opportunity to say I appreciate all the 'get well' wishes and comments you guys have been leaving me! You're the best!)

As it so happens, the 13th is also The Nephew's birthday...he'll be eight! It doesn't seem like that long ago that he was playing with his imaginary dog, Zoom Zoom, and telling me stories about what he did that day with his brother, Iceman, and now he's eight! My little man!

Ever been trapped somewhere that you can't get out of and everything is pounding, pounding and shaking and you can't get out? Yep, welcome to being stuck at home while the roofers are re-roofing your house. At the ass crack of dawn. Right over your bedroom. Seriously, they’ve been here all day and while I am glad they are pushing through before the rain comes tomorrow, holy shit, I just want some silence! Also, my sister is sick with some sort of virus and has stayed home the last few days, so I canceled my therapy appointment for today because I didn't want to make her have to drive me. She needs to focus on resting up so she can go back to work and also, tomorrow is my mom's birthday and she is really excited that we are taking her out to dinner, so my sister needs to rest up for that as well. But...we mustn’t despair, not today, not on Rex Manning Day. Because...

IT'S THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE X-FILES!!!

Here, have Time Entertainment’s list of the Best 9 X-Files episodes.

I admit that while I watched The X-Files religiously in those first few years, life circumstances had me slacking off (on TV in general) during those middle years. But now I can say that I have seen every single episode of The X-Files, in order! (Oh wait, I forgot about those other two seasons, never mind, /hand wave/, saw those when they first aired). I can see so much influence from The X-Files - really my first in-depth, feet first intro to genre TV - in everything I watch, read and write these days. But mostly, this was my first real bonding experience with my sister over media. I was too young during the 21 Jump Street and Beverly Hills, 90210 days, but then The X-Files came along. When she was off at college, my sister would call me the day after a new X-Files episode aired so we could discuss it in great detail. Before Lord of the Rings brought us together, there was The X-Files.

So, what about you guys? I know a bunch of my Flisties have their roots in The X-Files. What do you remember about first watching it, getting into the fandom, having your first feels about it?

The Canadian Invasion is over! And I have some cute stories about the kids and some real life updates and all, but it is still my Weekend Of Rest, so I'm just going to save all of that for later. I did, however, want to get this post up because queenklu asked me for some Darcy/Bruce recs over a week ago but then The Canadians arrived and I just didn't have time to put a rec list together. So here are some Darcy/Bruce recs for you all!

( 6 recs Under Here! )

Enjoy those! Under the next cut you will find two Avengers-themed videos that I felt I HAD to share with you all. Because they amuse me! The first is some sort of ridiculous crack that makes me laugh hysterically and is adorable to boot! The second is an absolute must for any Agent Coulson fan!

( Under Here! )

Lastly, this tumblr thing that amused the fuck out of me. I went back through and read them all! I have linked you to the beginning of the tag, but it's only three pages long. RDjr Advises Chris Evans on His Life Choices!. - "But how do you know it was awesome, Robert?"..."Because it was me doing it, Chris. Because it was me."

Enjoy!

So, my sister claims she actually works at her job, but then she comes home and shows me what she has been doing with her time. Like making up a royal schedule for if Fili & Kili were Kings Under The Mountain. Yes, King(s) plural, because they would have to rule together, because they are BROTHERS!

The Royal Schedule:
Breakfast
Braid each others hair
Royal blah blah blah
Nappies
Snackies
Wrestling
Go here to see more, as it only gets better from there.

She also sent me this picture of a Bag-End Litter Box and I WANT!! But apparently you can’t actually purchase it. /pout/

( Picture Under The Cut )

We also had a very serious discussion here at FanGirl Central about whether or not Dwarves have knots and alpha/omega relationships. I’d like to say it took us awhile to go there, but sadly I’m pretty sure that topic was broached within hours of the first Hobbit viewing. Yeah, we’re a classy bunch. But then again, come on, if it makes sense anywhere, it’s among the dwarves, what with so few females and the whole ‘other species’ thing going on. Idk if it has happened in the fandom yet, but there is MPreg out there already for The Hobbit. Though the general opinion at FGC, concerning Thorin being pregnant, is that it does rather impede all his ‘being majestic’ time. Being majestic is his number one job requirement, after all.

Also, The Nephew was talking to my sister about The Hobbit the other day but he doesn’t know any character’s names except Bilbo so he called Gandalf, ‘that one real tall guy who gave Bilbo his sword’, and Galadriel, ‘that guy’s lady friend’, and Lindir, ‘that guy’s friend who ran up and told them that the dwarves were leaving’. Idk why that amused me so much, but it was all kinds of adorable-awesome.

To Sum Up: I got my hair cut today! It took for-freaking-ever, well beyond what it should have and I will not use that stylist again, but it looks really cute and feels so good not to just have a mop of hair weighing me down. So, accomplished!

I saw this cool meme on Tumbler and I wanted to do it. But I decided to remix it a little for Livejournal. So this is kind of A Remix Meme. But it is about Zombies, so...yeah, I am all over that. I don't know who started the original meme, but whoever it is, they are awesome.

Your Zombie Apocalypse Team - these are the people you gather at the end of the world, the survivors you find amongst the hordes of the undead. These are the people you will be fighting the masses of brain-eaters with, struggling to survive against impossible odds. These are the people you will be carving out a place in the world with when the undead have decomposed and left you behind, the people you will be starting over with should you survive that long - if your team is good enough.

Your team consists of...

The Last Musical Artist You Listened To.
The Main Character(s) Of The Last Book You Read.
The Main Character(s) Of The Last Movie You Saw.
The Main Character(s) Of The Last TV Show You Watched.

Who is your Zombie Apocalypse Team?

My team is Pink, Katniss Everdeen, The Avengers and The Office personnel (season four).

I WIN THE APOCALYPSE!!

( People who almost made the cut for my team. )

It is clear my team will survive to the part of the apocalypse where we get to start our own commune, so now I have the toughest decision of all - which one of these guys do I want to start trying to repopulate the earth with?

I was really sick to my stomach all day on Sunday. I had cramps so bad I was sweating from it. I figured it was Awesome Time of Month but 30-some hours later I still hadn't started. Then I was a little worried. Also, all the chocolate was gone, which was upsetting. I have finally started my Awesome Time now, which is good as in it means there isn't something terribly wrong with my stomach (it was much worse than usual this month) and I have made it through Day One (which is always the worst) and now I have to just convince myself to be productive and do some writing tomorrow, instead of trying to get that damn treasure chest on that damn cliffside. I swore to myself I would never play a video game that was so complicated that I had to look up a guide on the internet, and yet today, I found a guide to Go!Vacation. I don't have to get the treasure chests to enjoy the game but now it is a matter of pride, dammit!

Also, I took this quiz today about which Sherlock character I am (saw it on mandatorily's LJ and had to give it a try!). I usually don't post the results of these things but I am so amused by the fact that I am Lestrade that I had to share with ya'll.

You are Lestrade. You’re a hard worker who is seriously dedicated to your job, even when it might negatively impact other areas of your life. A bit jaded in your view of the world, you nevertheless value success and competence, and are willing to embrace unconventional methods if they will help you achieve your goals. Plus, you’re great at getting along with a wide variety of people — whether they get along with each other or not.

Pretty damn accurate. Take the quiz here.

In final and most important news - Here is a trailer for Les Mis the musical movie!!! I AM EXCITE, PEOPLES!! Called The Little Brother to tell him the trailer was out and the kid didn't even know they were making a movie. He is a huge Russell Crowe fan and Javert is his favorite character of all (very possibly mine too - he has such a great arc), so my brother was extra super psyched to hear about this.

This looks freaking awesome!

In Sum: I had a nightmare last night about having to ride on a camel with my mom. Idek.