Legenda 15: Stuff worth reading — this blog seems particularly small today

Every since I started writing I’ve been dealing with the weird paradox that although I created the blog to vent what was on my mind on certain subjects, it’s actually never been big enough to accomplish that task. I’ve been preempting my own writing for the last few days because of stuff I found more important. Now I’m onto my weekly “other things that are important” post and I feel like I’m preempting other important things. You see my dilemma? I want to keep the important stuff at the top. So first. Really important: IF YOU ARE IN DANGER OF HARMING YOURSELF, PLEASE SEEK OUT SOMEONE TO TALK TO.  Yes, I had someone specific in mind. I’ve had two emails in the meantime, though, that suggest that the post was helpful in other circumstances than the ones I was thinking of. So the right person for the message is whoever reads it at the right moment, which is somewhat comforting. February is a really hard month for many of us. Me, too. So let’s just take it hour by hour, day by day; let’s just concentrate on getting through this minute. If you’re reading this and don’t or can’t believe that anyone you know would understand what you’re going through, please consider trying to speak to someone anonymously. Karen offered some suggestions for finding someone anywhere in the world who doesn’t know you, won’t judge, and will listen to you talk about your situation without prejudice as to how you should deal with it. Second. Also important.

• The SpReAd the Love Challenge continues at Facebook. Please consider donating blood or food in honor of your favorite crush on Valentine’s Day! The challenge continues to the end of the month. Jonia recently added a link to a Polish humanitarian group where clicks lead to donations to hungry children.
• The auction of a handmade quilt featuring Richard Armitage in his various roles continues at ebay. It’s now open to bidders worldwide. Current bid at this writing is £250 [GBP]. Proceeds to benefit Project Linus UK, a charity whose members make handmade quilts for traumatized children. Donate directly to Project Linus here.
• RichardArmitageNet.com has made its first two donations based on commission generated through Amazon affiliates. Thanks to everyone who supports this effort by clicking through their website to make purchases at amazon.

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And now, on to Monday Classic FanstRAvaganza! This week, it’s a post from FanstRAvaganza 2 by Natalie of Richard Armitage Fan Blog, collecting everyone’s funniest or most embarrassing story related to their Armitage fandom. Ever called your significant other “Lucas” by accident when his name is “Steve”? You’ll fit right in here. By the middle of this week we’ll be announcing the entire list of F3 participants, and I can already tell you’re going to love this event! For regular updates on FanstRAvaganza 3, “like” our facebook page or follow @FanstRAvaganza on twitter!

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And now, to Legenda! Finally. [Legenda offers a brief, non-inclusive index of stuff I noticed and enjoyed since the last episode. It doesn’t usually include materials presented on the major fansites, which I love dearly, but which are linked in the sidebar. Because I always forget or just miss stuff, please add additional pieces of interest via link in the comments.]

• Fanfic updates: “In Consequence” (Trudy’s Tattle) reaches chapter 8. Much delightful UST and romance, the perfect story for Valentine’s Day; Spooky Moo’s “The Sister”. Much delightful h/c; Womblingfree1’s “The Mexican Breakout”. Lots of sexy time. Thanks to these fanfic authors for making my day.
• Speaking of which, those who followed “The Sheriff’s Collector” on Mesmered will be delighted to learn that its publication in much altered novel form as Gisborne: Game of Pawns, is only weeks away. I’ve read the advance copy and I’m excited. Prue Batten and I have been chatting and we’ve got the basis for an interview here to coincide with publication. She premieres the volume’s cover here.
• C.S. Winchester informs her readers that in honor of Valentine’s Day, her Kindle books are free. Two that I have read are North & South fics, but she also writes traditional historical romance and paranormal stuff that I haven’t read. See here for details.
• And here’s something I ran across accidentally: a fanfic for a different fandom with Armitage envisioned in the protagonist role. Still wrapping my head around it, but what do you think? whatcatydidnext’s “The Ghost Story”.
• Men Servetus Loves: Loved this vid of Alan Rickman drinking tea at The Squeee.
• Collateral attractions: News of Lucy Griffiths’ next project on thearmitageeffect.
• mulubinba on Sylvester.
• Judiang on how to write porn.
• Fabo agrees with me about the clothing choices in that last photo. Swoon!
• See also Violet’s fantastic spoof on how it affects women! Funniest post of the week, one that we all needed.
• A relatively new Armitage blog, mostly manips. Here’s Richard Armitage in an afro. Surreal! I don’t think it’s his look, though.
• My favorite of Frenz’s recent posts, since she’s been blogging (almost) every day. What would you do if you met Richard Armitage? I ask myself this question all the time.

And some stuff that’s slightly more tangential and/or off topic.

• Re: how personal to be when blogging, a problem I face a lot. If you follow Heather Armstrong / dooce (she’s been a person of interest to me because she figured out how to support herself blogging about her daily life), how do you feel about the news of her separation from her husband, and more specifically, the way that she’s handled it on her blog? First: no potential divorce is anything to laugh at, of course, and I wish her, her husband, and her children well. Onto the media: I have to admit that I was cynical about its exploitative moments at the beginning, but the woman really put herself in a rhetorical trap by blogging so much about her family. What is she going to do now? Probably I should have seen this coming when her writing got so acutely painful before Christmas. She is really someone who writes well about suffering. It’s a weird dilemma for a blogger to have, I think; what to do when you’re not suffering? Her marriage is falling apart but as a reader you can’t stop reading what is stellar writing. I am a voyeur. I continue to be interested in how she negotiates it.
• Re: writing openly about celebrities, another problem the fangirl blogger faces: probably of general interest to anyone who follows celebrities, especially anyone who’s following the progress of the Leveson Inquiry, a piece from The Guardian on the European Court of Human Rights decision that the activities of celebrities in public places are matters of legitimate public interest.
• Also from The Guardian, something I’ve wondered idly from time to time with respect to Richard Armitage: was his stage career affected by his education and class background?
• Of interest for silent film buffs: the Hitchcock Blogathon, an attempt to raise money to create access to an early Hitchcock project that’s recently been rediscovered.

~ by Servetus on February 13, 2012.