Below are the most recent 24 friends' journal entries.

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
gemfyre	8:22p	Hey guys, it's still the middle of winter! Some of the swans at Herdsman are keen. Saw a couple with 6 cygnets this afternoon. The coots were also getting rather frisky. Two LARGE flocks of Glossy Ibis flew by, and I saw a Whistling Kite swoop down and take a very large fish from the same area where I saw a Darter with a similar sized fish - must be good fishing there. I reckon the fish are introduced carp. I stood by the water for about 10 minutes looking for fish, but didn't see any. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
azhure	3:53p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft one New words: 4,535 (combined total for the last two days) Total words: 21,069 Goal: 100k Writing: Today was kind of a slow day, mostly because I feel pretty tired.  Thankfully, I was working on edits of a pretty easy chapter.  The next few days will be harder, since I’ll be juggling around bits of the story now.  Hopefully the brain will be a bit more useful then. Real life: Bit of grocery shopping, visited the chemist.  Thought about gardening but decided that I was too tired.  The poor garden is getting neglected right now.  Now I need to make a start on some review work. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 13th, 2009
gemfyre	9:58p	BJ's Birding Lessons - Part 11 - On the Wings of a Dove Before we start, there is no fundamental difference between a dove and a pigeon. The birds in this family called pigeons are often larger while the doves are more petite, but this doesn't always stand. The Perth area is home to 5 species of dove/pigeon, 3 of them feral (and the two native ones are hard to find in the metro area). ( Coo-coo C-joob ) Current Music: amp *** 4637. Pink Floyd - Keep Talking (4 Comments |Comment on this)
aquaviann	3:20a	Argh Which is worse? 1) Writing crappy, embarrassing poetry and keeping it stowed away in private places, only to be amused by it years later. 2) Writing crappy, embarrassing poetry, submitting it to a legit means of publishing, having a committee of people accept it for publication, only to be horrified years later by the fact that it's in print. Today I came to the realization that both have happened to me. I'm trying to process the reality of this, but every attempt ends in a cringing facepalm. Current Mood: argh (2 Comments |Comment on this)
gemfyre	3:45p	Today's XKCD Scarily true. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
azhure	6:13p	Writing musings I feel like I’ve moved into a new level of writing. There’s nothing concrete to put forth to present this.  But I find that, when I look at stuff I wrote even six months ago, I can see so many places where my writing is weak.  I can step back from it, and – even better – I can see how to fix it. Undoubtably I’ll be saying the same thing in another six months about what I’m writing now. This is a good thing.  There’s no point in writing and learning unless you can progress. How has this come about?  Lots of different things.  Reading a lot – reading critically, especially of books that are popular (and often not considered “good”) is a really important way to learn.  It’s not all about dry technique – we can all point to a book that shows very little actual writing talent, but is loved by the public all the same.  I’ve also been listening to a lot of writing podcasts – namely I Should Be Writing, The Secrets and Writing Excuses. Finding an awesome group of beta readers who are willing to deconstruct my writing word by word is probably worth more than all of these things combined.  I cannot express how valuable all of my betas are.  Anyone who’s writing in a vacuum – find yourself some first readers.  You won’t regret it. I learn almost as much betaing for other people, too.  I read or heard recently that we’ll often look for the things in others’ work that we’re actively working on ourselves, which is a really interesting way of looking at it for me. It’s challenging myself, forcing myself to keep on learning and developing.  And it keeps on going. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
gemfyre	10:02a	OMG *jivejivebop* ( Dance Spoiler ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 10th, 2009
azhure	3:34p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft two New words: 3,889 Total words: 16,534 Goal: 100k Writing: Yesterday was a useless day, hence the lack of update.  I did mess around and try to get some words down, but they were all pretty much worthless. Today was better.  Managed to get this chapter edited, which was my goal for the week. Real life: Laundry.  Listening to the rain. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (Comment on this)
gemfyre	7:52a	An attempt to inspire myself Good news for beautiful people Watching the world go by Make love in the middle of a war zone Hey we're never gonna die Don't rock the boat Keep your head down Just another fool in the crowd Everybody knows you can be a winner C'mon and shout it out loud On the fat of the land I've been living It's only a matter of time Sooner or later you open your eyes and you Return to the scene of the crime Dig deep at the top of the heap Now you've bitten off the hand that feeds you You got nothing but your soul to sell You got nothing When the river runs dry You will return to the scene of the crime When the river runs dry Salvation will rain on you one more time When the river runs dry You got the power, I got the money Another million miles to run I'd cry, cry for the future But I wouldn't get anything done Relax, abandon ship Turn your back on Mother Nature Blind luck, destiny Do me a favour When the river runs dry You will return to the scene of the crime When the river runs dry Salvation will rain on you one more time When the river runs dry Good news for beautiful people Watching the world go by Make love in the middle of a war zone All of God's children Are never gonna die You will return to the scene of the crime When the river runs dry Salvation will rain on you one more time When the river runs dry You will return to the scene of the crime When the river runs dry Salvation will rain on you one more time When the river runs I'm going home to where the river runs dry Salvation will rain on you one more time It's only a matter of time Only a matter of time When the river runs dry Hunters and Collectors - When The River Runs Dry (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
gemfyre	3:23p	WTF Foxtel? That's the third time now I've answered the phone at work and it's one of these pre-recorded calls. I actually listened for a few seconds to this one, "This is an important message (I usually hang up by now) from Foxtel." WTF? Why are Foxtel making annoying pre-recorded calls, and why are they calling a bloody office? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
azhure	3:20p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft one New words: 2,076 Total words: 14,721 Goal: 100k Writing: Not the best progress today, but I’ll take it.  For some reason, I’m really sleepy this afternoon, and my brain is refusing to behave itself for further writing.  It’s safer not to push it, for that’s when I just start producing rubbish and have to go back and rewrite anyway. Write the first draft quickly, revise slowly.  *Repeats a thousand times* Real life: Got a hair cut this morning, and as a result my head feels really light and weird.  Got quite a lot chopped off – went from approaching thigh length to just above waist length and layered.  It needed to be done, though, and it’ll grow if I decide I want it longer again.  I just wanted to be able to wear my hair down occasionally without it driving me crazy and tangling like mad. Also did some more review work, and am about to see if the brain will comply enough to do some beta reading.  Then I think I may goof off for a little bit with computer games and then do some reading. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
gemfyre	10:05p	The devil is in the details Here I am, trying to write, and I get caught up on nitty gritty details again. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
ms_pravda	12:00a	engagement party kiss (Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
gemfyre	4:13p	Work headdesk Typing a dictated letter. I think I've repeated essentially the same message about 7 times now, just worded different ways. *sigh* (Comment on this)
gemfyre	3:51p	Writer's Block: Firsts What was the subject title of your first-ever LJ entry? Submitted By paperxflowerz View other answers "I am here, yes I am." (Comment on this)
azhure	3:15p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft one New words: 2,738 Total words: 12,645 Goal: 100k Writing: Not a bad day, though I got off to a later start than I like to, hence the slightly down word count.  Still, I finished off the chapter I was working on, which pleases me.  Now I need to decide if I rework the next chapter or cut it completely.  I could start work on it today, but I think the subconscious needs to mull it over a bit more. Real life: Cleaned the house, including two loads of laundry.  Felt very thankful that I have a job that keeps me inside and warm while it’s raining and cold outside. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (Comment on this)
ms_pravda	9:29a	I am amazed at how rude some people are!!! Had our engagement party on the weekend at Little Creatures Loft in Freo. WIll upload some pics later. I was a bit annoyed at the organisers - essentially - despite us pre-paying for the food & drinks some $1500 and booking a month in advance, when we arrived they hadn't put reserve signs on any table, or ribboned an area off. I knew it wasn't an exclusive 'booking,' but thought our 'area,' would be clearly indicated. To make matters worse, some other members of the general public who weren't our engagement party guests were taking food off our platters and trying to rack up drinks on our bar tab. A good half a dozen people did this! I saw a couple doing this and indicated to the waiters not to give food to a few of them that weren't our guests. My mother-in-law to be noticed two of these non guests actually took an ENTIRE platter of food that was ours! She asked them, was that meant for them, they said they didn't know and kept eating it anyway! My partner noticed a couple in the drinks queue standing next to him saying "we're with them," and P interupted them and said "Oh really, that's funny because I don't actually know you and it's my engagement party and I know everyone on the list!" I'm sending a complaint off to Little Creatures management today. APART from the rude gatecrashers we had a good time. P had too much of a good time, and was very, very hungover! We also got some good presents (I was expecting a few duds, but they were really all fanastic and thoughtful). (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
gemfyre	5:43p	BJ's Birding Lessons - Part 10 - Green Parrots This is probably an edition everyone's looking forward to, because everyone seems to love parrots. They're gregarious and pretty and easy to see and identify. But you may be surprised to discover that there are more parrots in the metro area than you think, and the majority of them are dwindling rapidly due to one particular introduced parrot... ( Who is the culprit? ) Current Music: ger In This Town - Winamp *** 4918. Richie Sambora - Stranger In This Town (4 Comments |Comment on this)
gemfyre	3:51p	Today's haul Herdsman Fresh Food Festival was this weekend. I made a lovely morning of it, heading down to park at Herdsman Lake (the parking at Herdy Fresh wasn't as bad as I expected) and taking the short walk to the shop. It was very pleasant - a sunshiney day after so much rain! It was a gold coin donation to get in, and all money went to the zoo, which was motivation enough for me to give them another $4.90 in change after I left. I spent too much money, as I expected I would. A lot of this stuff I wouldn't buy under normal circumstances, but when you actually have the chance to try it and see how good it is, buying something is a lot more likely. The fresh squeezed juice up the back was on special if you bought three. I got mango, apple and cranberry and berry basket. Hibiscus flower vinegar - I was really wowed by these, they also had blood lime and tangerine vinegars, to my surprise I liked the hibiscus one best. This will be great on salads and in marinades. Seeded mustard with olives in it. Leaf chai tea. riverstar will be proud. A goats milk peccorino - this was quite sweet and mild, none of the sharpness of regular cows milk peccorino. A fancy French cheese made with cows and goats milk. I also bought basics like bananas, and a Mt Barker free range chook because they had $2 off vouchers, and I recently bought a cleaver that I want to try out on an unsuspecting chicken. I spent about half an hour or so wandering around Herdsman Lake afterwards and birdwatching. Some moron was letting their little dog splash around in the water and hunt through the reeds and scare the birds. Obviously one of these poor illiterates that can't read the "dogs must be on a leash" signs. Was delighted by FOUR reed-warblers in plain sight hunting insects on the flooded boardwalk area. Then went to Jackadder Lake to use the toilets there (one big problem with Herdsman - there are NO toilets anywhere around it, this will be a big issue if I'm to ever walk the whole lake in one day). Much smaller lakes like Monger and Jackadder have plenty of facilities. Jackadder Lake recently installed gym equipment around the lake. Had a go on the rowing machine, might try to get down there regularly and do circuits, it's certainly a much nicer setting than a gym, but you have to deal with kids playing on the exercise equipment. *sigh* I then dropped by Seafresh and bought some threadfin salmon for dinner and seafood chowder for lunch. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
gemfyre	9:26a	SYTYCD I somehow doubt having Melissa do the Pas-de-deux was a completely random pick-a-dance-out-of-the-hat moment. But my gosh you could see she was bloody overjoyed to be in her pointe shoes doing Romeo & Juliet. Lovely. :) I wonder if they'll have Talia dancing with Melissa in the finale. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
azhure	3:45p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft one New words: 3,025 Total words: 11,370 Goal: 100k Writing: Not bad, but not great.  I’m making major changes to these first chapters and it’s taking much longer than I’d like.  I’m trying to be ruthless and cut out huge swathes of stuff that’s no longer relevant to this version of this story.  Which sucks, because it’s a lot of work, but is strangely cathartic. Real life: Laundry.  Excitement. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (Comment on this)
ms_pravda	2:36p	Dates! I wish we could finalise a wedding date, right now there are about 4 different options...i think once the venues are booked everything else will be easy to organise around it! (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
gemfyre	4:26p	SYTYCD so far I got impatient with the screening of the American season on TV here, so I went and downloaded it and am now caught up (except for last night's epsiode, which I hope to download tonight). ( Spoilers ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
azhure	4:05p	White Raven progress Today’s progress: Project: White Raven draft one New words: 1,772 Total words: 11,492 Goal: 100k Writing: Not a good writing day.  Just couldn’t find that hole in the page, for whatever reason.  Days like today are frustrating, because I try to push through it to get something written, and it all just feels like crap.  I suspect that everything I wrote today will end up getting rewritten tomorrow. Real life: Woke up early for no reason at all.  Did grocery shopping.  Got a termite inspection done on the house. I’m frustrated today at the lack of writing progress, especially since things have been going fairly well lately on that front.  But I guess not every day can be a good one in the word mines.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better and more useful. Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn. (4 Comments |Comment on this)