Fortress Of Summer

Everybody ready for the eclipse? :)

I don't have any special glasses so I'm going old-school: I made a pinhole projector. Easy as pie: take two pieces of paper or cardboard (preferably heavy card stock or white cardboard, though regular paper and brown cardboard will do), and take a pin and make a hole in one piece. During the eclipse stand with your back to the sun, put one paper on the ground or a flat surface (shade it), hold up the pinhole paper and the sun's rays will stream through the hole and you'll see the eclipse. :)

There are slightly fancier projectors (using tin foil and another uses an empty cereal box). You can google 'pinhole projectors' and there are plenty of how-to videos to watch. :)

Hopefully it won't be cloudy tomorrow!

(Preseason) Week 1: Jacksonville Jaguars 31, New England Patriots 24 (0-1) (Thursday, August 10, 2017)

The Super Bowl Champs are back in business! :)

Even though preseason games are glorified scrimmages and the points don't matter, you can learn things about your team. For instance, back=up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looked pretty sharp even though he was throwing to second-stringers, as the starters didn't start. Tom had to look pretty on the sidelines. :)

So the offense was pretty good but the defense gave up three long bombs. Again, second-string, but these guys are trying to make the team. Special teams was so-so. Once again kicker Stephen Gostkowski has the yips!

When Jimmy G. left the game (after a spectacular circus TD catch by rookie Austin Carr), third-string quarterback Jacoby Brisett took over. He's still sailing balls over people's heads and has poor touch, but he's good in other areas. Still needs lots of work!

Six years ago, Bill Belichick initiated joint practice with a team (1 out of 4) they would face in the preseason. Years ago some NFL teams would hold joint scrimmages but the practice fell out of favor until BB revived it. This year the Patriots will be holding joint practices with 3 out of 4 teams. Since joint practices allow teams to beat up other guys rather than their own teammates, the players like it, and so much work gets done, the starters can sit out the first game.

Next game is against the Houston Texans. They are attending Texans' training camp in Greenbrier, West Virginia and flew down on two, brand-spanking-new private airplanes bought by the Pats owners, the Kraft family. The planes are Airkraft One and Two. ;)

Title: The Sisterhood Of The Ruby Stilettos XIV: Hola! (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Natasha/Pepper, Steve Rogers
Continuity: The Avengers (2012)/Wonder Woman (2017)
Genres: Challenge, Fluff, Romance, Slice-Of-Life
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: All women are Amazon Warriors under their bracelets.
Date Of Completion: June 16, 2017
Date Of Posting: August 4, 2017
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Marvel, Paramount, DC Comics and Warner Brothers do, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 660
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author's Notes: Written for my 2017 DCU Fic/Art Wonder Woman Love Diamond Anniversary Challenge (DW) and (LJ). The entire series can be found here.

( Steve seemed uncertain as to what to say next. Natasha was going to take pity on him when Pepper appeared. Both Avengers stared. )

Happy Birthday to Tom Brady! He's 40 today, and that's ancient in sports years, but he looked pretty good to me when I was at training camp at Gillette Stadium. ;) The Patriots have baby goats at camp today for fans to take pictures with, because Tom is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time). Tom had his picture taken holding a baby goat years ago for a GQ shoot, and he got plenty of ribbing from his teammates for that one! ;)

Today he will be serenaded by the fans in camp, and his teammates will have something for him. He'll be embarrassed by the whole thing, but we don't care. He deserves birthday accolades. He's certainly given us New Englanders years of joy! :)

It's practically a state/regional holiday! ;) Our local news are mentioning it; sports talk radio is all over it; it's Tom Brady Day on ESPN; Twitter's afire; and people are saying, "Happy Tom Brady's Birthday!" to each other. It's really a lot of fun, and in this crazy world, grab fun when you can get it! :)

July was a busy month in RL so not much writing or posting. However, there are some gems! :)

( Details behind the cut )

Title: Renaissance Men (2/5)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Brando/Riccardo (Bruce/Dick), Timotheus (Tim), Jason, Luigi Marcello
Genres: AU, Challenge, Historical, Drama, Romance, Slice-Of-Life
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Claim: For my 2017 Bruce/Dick Bingo Card.
Prompt: Write That Art!
Pattern: Row B (Straight/Vertical Line Bingo) (1/3)
Prompt Count: (6/9)
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
General Summary: Brando Venucci is a great artist/sculptor/jeweler in Renaissance Florence and is desperately in love with his beautiful model, Riccardo Graciano, the centerpiece of an ambitious artistic project which will make them forever famous.
Chapter Summary: The Great Project begins.
Date Of Completion: April 29, 2017
Date Of Posting: July 16, 2017
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count (this chapter): 1502
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: All chapters can be found here.

( The Great Project was to begin immediately. Riccardo assented to being the model, excited by Brando’s enthusiasm. On the first day he arrived right after breakfast, dressed in his rainbow finery. He said good morning to Timotheus and Jason and went upstairs. )

Title: Collared IV: What I Am (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Bruce/Dick
Genres: BDSM, Challenge, D/s, PWP
Rating: NC-17
Claim: For my 2017 Bruce/Dick Bingo Card.
Prompt: Dirty Talk
Pattern: Row A (Straight/Vertical Line Bingo) (2/3)
Prompt Count: (7/9)
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: For their first official session as Master and slave (24/7), Bruce has dirty talk on his mind. Dick approves, though the ball gag keeps it silent approval.
Date Of Completion: June 6, 2017
Date Of Posting: July 9, 2017
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1682
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: The entire series can be found here.

( The study was all dark walnut and red leather, the wine-red carpet beneath his knees thick and plush. A very good thing, since he was naked while kneeling. )

Happy Canada Day to all of our friends up North! :)

My paternal grandmother was born on Prince Edward Island, so I've got some Canadian in me! ;)

I've also been on a Canadian kick since the Due South Archive was transferred to AO3 and I've been going through 154 records to reformat where I can, add tags, and break up the stories into chapters. I've been rereading the old stories and poems (I wrote a LOT of DS poetry!) and remembering the friends I made in that fandom, many of whom I'm still in contact with today.

The show aired on American TV from 1994-1996 and was revived for a 1998-1999 run. The show was quirky with subtle humor in the first two seasons, poking fun at Canadian and American stereotypes, and it became a hot fandom with the Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio slash pairing. The show's subtext sometimes was more text! Ray bringing Benny home to meet his mother in the Pilot? Ray the only one to call him 'Benny'? Meeting in a closet at the Chicago Precinct to discuss strategy? Riiiight! Saving each other's lives? Dief (short for Diefenbaker), a deaf wolf who had saved Benny in the Yukon, welcoming Ray into the pack right away? I could go on and on! :)

The revival went on without David Marciano (Ray Vecchio), who was no longer available, so Callum Keith Rennie played Ray Kowalski as the new partner. Paul Gross (Benton Fraser) was given complete control (never give an actor complete control!). He wrote the scripts, starred in the show, and produced. The show's humor went from subtle to broad, and the tone was completely different. Kind of reminded me of the old '70s British SF series, Space: 1999, with Seasons 1 and 2 drastically different. Anyway, there are a lot of Fraser/Kowalski fans out there, but there are still Benny/Ray V. fans carrying the torch. The episodes, including the Pilot, can be found on YouTube.

Due South was one of the first fandoms to successfully straddle zines and on-line archives. During the show's first run, dozens of zines were published, not only in the U.S. but also Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. Hundreds of stories were being uploaded to Hexwood (the old name for the DS Archive), and the show stayed hot for several years. I wrote the first Benny/Ray V. slash story (as Jeannie Marie) that appeared in a zine, The Straight And Narrow (the story title, not the zine title). :) In addition to the 154 stories and poems that I uploaded to Hexwood, I wrote dozens more for zines. A great creative time! :)

I also went to the DS con, RCW 139, in Toronto in '97, '98, and '99. I was the DMOB (David Marciano Oestregen Brigade) liaison to David Marciano in '98, and let me tell you, I've never seen more gorgeous green eyes! :) I continued DMOB duties in '99, but David was not a guest that year. I did bring Ray Doll in '98 and David got a big kick out of the knitted doll. :)

In '98, the Toronto Daily Mail published a story on slash fiction with Benny and Ray V. excerpts. I can only imagine what David thought reading the paper with his morning eggs! ;) But he's a very cool guy. Very courteous to the fans and a good sport, too.

I've finished 140 records and have 14 more to go! Whoo hoo! :)