As always, thanks for reading and reviewing.

( Showtime... )

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing.

( Showtime... )

So, in the interests of (1) updating my LJ so my mei-mei guitarsrawesome doesn't get on my case and (2) posting another Firefly fanfiction so the wonderful people who commented on the last one have something else to read, I am updating my LJ... with another Firefly fanfiction. Everyone wins.

Thus, without further ado:

( Showtime... )

"And so you're back, from outer space..."

Or not.

But I am back from somewhere not LJ, bearing a new toy - a Sidekick 3.

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen - Omega has a pocket-sized PDA phone now.

There's so very little that I can do on a regular computer that I can't do on this beauty.

Instant messaging, mail, text messaging, address book, web browser, calendar/notepad/tasksheet, camera, music player, and more cool downloadable tools than you can shake a bundle of sticks at - not to mention the actual PHONE function.

About the only things it DOESN'T do are read my mind and whiten my teeth while I sleep - although, I was REALLY looking forward to waking up every morning with whiter teeth.

Oddly enough, I seem to type far better on my Sidekick after only a few weeks than I do on a regular keyboard, as some of my friends will testify.

But strangest of all, my new gadget seems to have tapped some well of creativity which previously eluded me - fanfictions which had only a few stray sentences typed are suddenly ready to post after only a few hours thumbing away at that tiny qwerty keypad...

Perhaps it has something to do with writing on a personal device, but the future of my fanfiction career is looking very, very bright right now...

I need a name now...

Perhaps "My Precious"... nah, that's too creepy.



Or is it?

An event of monumental proportions draws near.

I have been steadily preparing for this event for quite a while, and most everything is in readiness.

This event represents a point of change, but from what to what I do not know.

I do know however, that during this event, some will be concealed and some will be revealed, some will be forgotten and some will be learned.

The potential for such radical evolution terrifies me.



Nevertheless, I am excited.



Those who know me well know that which I speak of.

Those who do not, I leave to guess.



What will transpire, I cannot predict.

What might happen, I cannot but hope.



Perhaps I'll see you there.

I went for a walk today, with no particular destination in mind; just felt like being outside.

As I was walking, I saw what appeared to be a decent-sized butterfly on the ground, I think it was a Monarch, I'm not really sure.

Since butterflies tend not to stay in one place on the ground unless something's wrong, I opted to investigate, figuring that if it had a broken wing or something like that, I could at least step on it and make it quick.

Maybe some people would say that's awfully cruel.

But I'd ask them this question: How many butterflies have they seen break a wing and ever fly again?

Flying is probably one-third of a butterfly's life, the other two thirds being eating and reproduction; neither of which it will be very successful at without all of its wings.

Besides, a butterfly's lifespan is what, two weeks?

Nowhere near enough time to mend that kind of injury.

I say killing it is an act of mercy.



But that's not the main point of the story.



As I got closer, I noticed that the butterfly was already decomposing, and had attracted the attention of a small colony of ants; it would seem that it was quite a while dead.

I wondered briefly if it had suffered, and if so, for how long.



Then I got to thinking about how certain aspects of human culture are somewhat like the butterfly and the ants.

In nature, the butterfly, widely regarded as a thing of great beauty, is injured, and at the first sign of weakness, other members of the ecosystem approach and begin to devour it for personal gain.

Sure, the personal gain is to stay alive, but still it's not very pleasant.



Then we have human society, in which things of great beauty, love for example, are so often attacked and devoured by other members of the society.

But do these devouring members do it for the purpose of survival?

Not for survival of the physical self, to be sure; people can't actually subsist on goodness and light alone.

Perhaps for the survival of the emotional self?

It is widely accepted that many people feel the need to bring others to ruin to elevate themselves; this is considered one of the prime driving forces of the school bully.

If this is the reason, what must we as a society do to eliminate the destructive desires of these devouring members?

Can we find a way to make the school bullies of the world feel more adequate without sacrificing others to them?

For in the end, survival of the emotional self by the death of the innocent is never long-lived; inadequacy is always looking for another victim.

It is approximately 3:40am now, and I'm still awake.

I don't know exactly WHY, but I am.

I guess I'm what most people call a 'night owl'; my preferred 'day' hours are between 1:00pm and 1:00am, stretching to as early as 7:00am if I'm working on something interesting.

For some reason, I'm reminded of a poem, I can't for the life of me remember the author's name...

Something along these lines:

My candle burns at both ends,
It will not last the night,
But oh my friends and ah my foes,
It makes such a pretty light.

I think I'll go watch another 'Dirty Harry' movie; that should keep me up long enough to be tired.

Then I'll get to bed and sleep until 10:00am, at which point I will get up and attempt to get some real work done...

Well, it's finally finished.

( Read more... )