Rose's Rambles

As has been discussed in the comments, there are plenty of reasons not to buy the idea that the World Will End In 2012--not least because Scripture says that no one but God the Father knows, so when a date is predicted, it's guaranteed to be wrong.
I'm also not a conspiracy theorist. I don't think Breitbart was done in by the Obama administration; his heart attack (and the one he had last year) can be easily explained by the fact that according to his nearest and dearest, the man didn't have an off switch. You can overclock your system for only so long before it burns out on you. I also see no reason to suspect foul play in Lex's crash or Chuck Colson's illness or any of the rest.
My wondering is not, so far as I can tell, predicated on despair. Times could be worse; they have been worse. Leadership can change hands. And I've read the end of the Book.

Still, there's more than one way to interpret the old Chinese curse about interesting times, ways that don't involve things that are end-of-the-world big. And *that* is what I'm wondering about--just how interesting our times are about to become.

First Davy, then Breitbart, and now Neptunus Lex, naval aviator and milblogger extraordinaire.
I think I'm stuck between "Three times is enemy action" and "How long, O Lord, how long"....

Davy.
DAVY.
I just... can't even.

Not dead yet. Happy New Year and all that. :)
Sorry to have delayed the answers on the Name That Movie post--the only one nobody got was Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie!

I actually come bearing News, via the Blogfather: Eric Cantor has pulled the plug on SOPA. The House version is still on the table, but at least the Senate version is essentially dead.

Fic roundup coming later in the week, I think. And I've signed up for sncross_bigbang again and may end up doing two fics for it if I have time. Think I know what I'm doing for this year's spn_gen_bigbang, too, but I'm still debating on lotrgficbigbang--not sure if I'll be able to get 20k worth of timestamps out of the Gwaith i Innas Lain 'verse.
And speaking of LOTR, y'all know about Mark Reads LOTR, right? I think he's finishing FOTR this week and starting TTT. It's been fun to read his reactions (even when I disagree with the position from which he's approaching the text), but it's been even more fun to reread now and again. I'd forgotten just how stirring the March of the Ents is in the book, for example.

I will not--I cannot--forget.

But I will rejoice in beauty that has risen from ashes. I will give thanks for men and women willing to stand in harm's way, those who gave some and those who gave all. I will honor them by living as a free-born American woman, unafraid and unashamed of my heritage, my faith, my education, my freedoms, my rights, my responsibilities, my country. I will support our men and women in uniform even when the powers that be forget that they are some of the finest folks our nation has ever produced, and I will do my part to ensure that Washington does right by both our military and the rest of us--to remind politicians that they are supposed to serve us, not the other way around.
And I will remember, too, that justice and mercy belong together, that love is stronger than hate. I remember very clearly a moment during a celebration service when the American missionaries (one of whom was a friend of mine) were rescued from Kabul and people started chanting "Jesus loves Afghanistan." It's true; He does--and Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc.--or at least the people who live there, especially those who are oppressed, and who don't understand that they're being taught lies. Islamist ideology grieves Him as much as does the Nazi ideology it draws on. I don't have a problem with people noting that we're not the only ones who've suffered, only with those who say we should have done nothing.

And where is the band that so vauntingly swore,
'Mid the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country they'd leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling or slave
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave,
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blessed with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that has made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause, it is just,
And this be our motto: IN GOD IS OUR TRUST!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Banner seen on a paint-n-body shop in the next town over: "BARTER WELCOME"
It may not be a new policy for that place, but man....


Ducks are en route. Folks to whom I owe emails or LJ replies, my apologies; I've been fighting sinus headaches, due largely to the amount of dust and spores from drought-loving mold (!) in the air, and haven't gotten around to it but will do so soon.

I'm especially remembering my Grampa, who was shot by a sniper in France, and my Granddad, who was a gunner's mate in the Coast Guard. God bless all those who put their lives on the line for our freedom and those whose love went (and still goes) with them.


In other news: I have another kitchen chemistry success to share! Took a bit of trial and not too much error, but here it is: (behind the cut to spare f-lists, though it's not terribly long)( Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... )
And in other other news, I've just gotten a major project for work and am likely to be around even less than usual. Sorry. Big Bangs are still on, though, and I may have a Memorial Day ficlet to post shortly.

Don't you hate it when you're writing about characters eating and end up making yourself hungry? :P
(I'd fix supper, but I'm going to a friend's house for pancakes in an hour.)

The good point is that I'm over the 10k mark on my lotrgficbigbang story. It's not all in one piece yet, but still.

Happy New Year, y'all!

I did survive that project last week, and I did finally finish the two stories I'd promised to write for hoodie_time. They are:
Still, Still, Still, part 3 of my deaf!Dean AU
Red Fell the Dew in Rammas Echor, a "Changing Channels" missing scene in which Sam and Dean are thrown into movie-verse ROTK and have to join Aragorn on the Paths of the Dead. Long-time Tolkienist friends may recognize some names and titles when Dean starts musing on the Deplorable Cultus! ;)
And now: breakfast. :)