Define "Geek"

Okay. So, it's come to my attention that I am a fairly odd girl. Yes, I know; oh the shock! I take three foreign languages, I'm not good with kids, I think the mass majority of guys are about as intriguing as bricks (not that intriguing), and a abhor cell phones. In fact, I've never sent a text message in my life. I like books more than people, and computers more than phones. For Christmas I asked for a food processor. I don't give a broken toaster about who's on American Idol, but I'd sooner eat glue than miss the newest episode of Stargate Atlantis (I never liked Star Trek that much, but Stargate is as good as it gets, believe me. If you don't, just go to GateWorld; then you will.) I believe I can be summed up in one word:

Geek.

I hear you cry; a geek?! Inconceivable! Not so. In fact, being a geek is way cool. You know more about computers than most of your peers, you're smarter than most of your peers, and know how to spell...or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, a lot of geeks are very into scifi; but what some of you don't know, is that not all of us go to Star Trek conventions, or go around spouting lines from Obi Wan. No, we come in groups. My group? I'm a GateGeek--or Gater, as some would have it. (English Translation: GateGeek/Gater: someone is absurdly obsessed with all things Stargate. Possess a certain knowledge of space, technobabble, and wormhole physics.)

We're also pretty darn loyal. For example: Amanda Tapping (known to all Gaters as the lovely Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, from SG-1) just got her own TV show, Sanctuary. Now, all of us are pretty proud of Amanda, and have been following all the news about the show, watching the behind-the-scenes stuff, and being over-all supportive fans. When the show premiers on Oct. 3, I can pretty much guarantee that about 70-80% of the viewers will be GateGeeks.

Now, despite what many, many people may thing, Stargate has an actual science to it. For example: all of us Gaters have a basic understanding of wormhole physics (even me, the one who sucks really badly at all things scientific and mathematical), such facts as:

1. The purpose of a Stargate is to maintain a stable wormhole for galactic travel, providing almost instantaneous transport from one 'gate to another.2. A wormhole can only be maintained for 38 minutes, unless powered by an almost unlimited power source, such as a black hole or, in some cases, a fully-charged ZPM (zero-point module).
3. The wormhole is powered on one side only, and can transmit matter from that side only. It does not act as a two-way transport, it is unidirectional. You can, however, communicate through radios, or video, such as a VHF band.4. The way that a Stargate transmits matter is by breaking it down (or, demolecularizing) and transmitting the matter through the wormhole to the other side of the 'gate. As Peter Grodin--a tech on Atlantis--put it, when a puddle jumper (ship) was stuck in the Stargate: 'The Stargate transmits matter in discrete units. The front half of the ship cannot rematerialize until the whole ship has crossed into the event horizon. The Stargate is essentially waiting for the contiguous components -- meaning the Jumper and everyone inside -- to enter completely before it can transport them.'

In English: the 'gate will only transport things in one piece.

5. Solar flares are one of the things that will screw will 'gate travel. A solar flare is capable of interfering with the wormhole, sometimes causing accidental time travel, whether it be thirty years into the past, or 47,000 years into the future. It can be reversed, however, by going through the 'gate at the time of another solar flare, but the calculations are extremely delicate, and it has to be a certain solar flare.
There you go, a crash course. There are a few 'sites to learn a few more tidbits, such as the wonderful and amazing GateWorld, as well as a Wikipedia article on the Stargate itself. Oh, and one more thing: there are two galaxies that Stargate has shown to have 'gates--the Milky Way Galaxy (yes, that's us) and the Pegasus Galaxy (where Atlantis is located). The 'gates look different, even though they were built by the same race (the Ancients). Here's a look:

A Pegasus 'Gate......and a Milky Way 'Gate.

I'll be preaching about it again sometime soon.

Breaking Dawn

Last night I went to the Breaking Dawn midnight release party--and I've gotta say, I prefer the Harry Potter ones. When it comes to HP, Borders really knows how to throw a party, but for Stephenie Meyer books? I'm wishing I'd just gone to WalMart or something...

Out of habit, I stayed up all night (of course; what else is the point of going to the midnight party?) and I wish I had just gone to bed and read later. Of course, I was so out of it that I only got about 530 pages in TEN HOURS. Usually, I could've gotten at least another hundred in there, but, there you go. Still got another two hundred to go, so... I'll take a break. I'm leaving it for another day or two. Just thought I'd complain and mention that I'm not looking forward to the two-week break until the next SGA episode (SG geek that I am).

Cat and Mouse

Well, I got a LOT of editing done at Girl's Camp this week. I printed out every story of mine (no FF) but one and edited all of it. Three times. I guess that's what happens when you have too much time on your hands.

Anyway, I got a nasty little homecoming present yesterday.

When Dad picked me up from the Stake Center, he told me that he was late picking me up because he was busy cleaning up a mess in the living room. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Starlight? [meaning our near-Bulimic cat]
Dad: Yeah, but not the usual mess. This one was in two halves with some guts in between.
Me:...he caught a mouse?
Dad: Yup. Sometime during the night, and it was a real mess.

So, I get home, and I'm there for a little while when I look up at the stairs and Chris is there, at the end of the hallway, and he says, "Oh, wow. There's another mouse in here!" So, we grab the two cats, and Tigerlily, our fat n' lazy brown tabby, grabs the mouse by the tail and runs into the kitchen with it. Only, I get a good look at the 'mouse' when she does.

It's not a mouse--It's my hamster, Fisk.

So, I ran after the cat and yelled upstairs, "Somebody check my hamster cage, NOW!" I'm already cornering Lily by the time Mom says, "Oh, crap. The cage is empty!" So I move the chair Lily is hiding under and try to grab her. She let's go of Fisk and tries to grab him again, but I swat her over to my sister, who grabs her. Fisk runs off, but, after a little game of cat and mouse (bad choice of words, sorry) I grab him and put him back in the hamster cage.

I don't think it's necessary to say what had happened to poor Michael the night before.

Book List 2

Okay, here's the latest from the Writer's Desk:

Stargate Atlantis: Halcyon ***
When it comes to the people of the alien world Halcyon, might makes right in every situation. But the government is corrupted and falling apart. Colonel Sheppard is given the green light from Atlantis to run negotiations on his own--but dismantling the planet's monarchy system isn't really what anyone had in mind. To add to the 'weirdness,' on Halcyon, the Wraith aren't feared--they're hunted.
Stargate Atlantis: Casualties of War ****
Colonel Sheppard and his team head to a new world, populated by two peoples: the Nistra, and the Falnori, who are fighting over the Stargate and the mines. Dr. Weir offers to help them negotiate a treaty, but things aren't running very smoothly--and to add to an already-rough day, the Great Hall has been raided--again. Both people suspect each other, but Sheppard and the team have other ideas.
Stargate Atlantis: Blood Ties ***
Sheppard and the team head to the SGC back on Earth for an emergency meeting: the possibility of a Wraith on Earth. Sheppard teams up with FBI agent Rebecca Larance, and SG-1's Dr. Daniel Jackson, and the three of them head to war-torn Iraq to check out a few leads, which lead them to startling and disturbing discoveries.
Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary ***
Major John Sheppard & co. head to a lab--possibly Ancient (gasp!)--and discover a possible Ancient who may be able to help them on Atlantis. But before they leave, strange things begin to happen, and Sheppard's people begin to attack each other. Leaving Sheppard and McKay to rot in the lab, the evil not-so-Ancient takes the brainwashed Lanteans and their 'jumper (puddlejumper, a ship) back to Atlantis. Sheppard and McKay have to get back to Atlantis and rescue the city--preferably before Sheppard drops dead of a DNA-mutating virus Dr. Evil gave him.
Outcast by Michelle Paver ****
[BOOK 4 OF THE 'WOLF BROTHER'/CHRONICLES OF ANCIENT DARKNESS SERIES]
Torak's Soul Eater mark is discovered and he is cast out of Raven Clan, made an outcast and hunted by all the clans. But he has a more pressing problem: the Viper Mage is out to get him and the Fire Opal, and he needs to stop her...at all costs.
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder ***
Yelena, convicted [and guilty, mind you] of 1st degree murder, is given a choice: execution, or a position as the Commander's food taster in a land of deceit ad treason. She chooses food taster [no, really?!] and is trained by Valek, the Commander's top assassin. Of course, there just has to be romance [of all the genres, why?] but all in all, a good book. Lots of plotting and conspiracy. Warning, though; Yelena's memories and flashbacks are violent/somewhat disturbing.
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder **
Not as compelling as Poison Study. Yelena goes to Sitia, the land of her birth, to meet her family for the first time and to learn magic. But as she learns, everything is put in danger, and she must be careful not to slip up--or she, and countless others, will lose their lives and be snuffed. (See? Aren't my sumeries fun? I could get a job like this...)
Mangler of Malibu Canyon by Jennifer Colt ***
Twin sisters and PI's Kerry and Terry McAfee are at it again. Their freakish Aunt Reba calls them to inform them that she's found a decapitated body in her Turkish rug, and when the girls show up--along with the police--so does Cousin Robert...with the head belonging to the body and no knowledge of what happened. Language, and a sort-of romance scene at the end.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Cello

So, on Monday I started Summer Orchestra, over at school. Being an Orc Dork (Orchestra Dork) is pretty sweet, and I was actually met there by four people I knew from Concert Orch. on the way in, Madison, Erica, Caitie, and McKenna (nicknamed the 'Lone Cello' for being the only cello player in concert orchestra.) On Thursday, I had a brilliant idea while my friend Maddie (Madison, my stand partner for the summer) and I were tuning. See, one of the pieces we're playing this summer is the 'Raiders March' from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Yeah, yeah, we've all seen the movie.) Well, the day before, when we were packing up our violins, we were teasing (friendly) McKenna for the whole 'Lone Cello' thing, and Maddie and I were saying:

Me: That should be the next Indiana Jones movie, 'Indiana Jones and the Lone Cello.'
Maddie: Yeah, we should write that!
(Maddie and I are both writers)

So, the next day, I thought up this: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Cello, an Orc Dork Production. Followed by Indiana Jones and the Viola of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Bass, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Violins.

I've already written the first scene.

Stargate Atlantis - A Short History

For those of you unfortunate enough to have never seen SGA, this should help. See? Aren't I nice? (See below post for explanation of my niceness.)

My Roommate Is a Wraith

New story idea.

Seriously, this is brilliant. Well, as far as complete nonsense goes, anyway. But hey, that's me, right?

It's a Stargate Atlantis FF, so the "Wraith" thing applies to this type of thing:

That's Steve, by the way. (Hey Steve!)

So anyway. The story: My Roommate Is a Wraith. It's going to be a ton of fun to write. If you've seen Stargate Atlantis, which you should, then you'll know that the Atlantis flag team has a lot of experience dealing with the Wraith. So imagine this: Sheppard (protagonist. This guy:

who is very cool) spends some quality time with the Wraith--but they're not as smart as they seemed. Especially Dave, Joe, and Dennis, (Shep's names for them) the Wraith threesome who very much resemble the three stooges, character-wise.

Well, I won't spoil it for any of you. If you HAVEN'T seen SGA, (shame on you!) then the video might help. (See above post.)

Summer Agenda

Finally, school is out (aside from the day left that's just to collect refunds and the third 'yearbook' day, that is.) My agenda for this summer consists mostly of write, read, watch a heck of a lot of Stargate Atlantis before Season 5 starts, write, Stargate, memorize the Emancipation Declaration (already memorized the Gettysburg Address), write, Stargate, try my hand at making a few videos, write, Stargate, write, and try to refrain myself from strangling siblings.

All in a days work.

Well, I need to finish up Spring With the Cullens, Dawn of the Personality-Challenged Power Rangers, and School's Out--For Now so I can start Summer With the Cullens and work on my own stories. For you fictional readers-of-my-fan-fiction, here's a bit of what's in store for Summer With the Cullens:

• Something Smells Fishy: the Cullens get a humongous fish aquarium for the "kids". But things get messy when Emmet's piranha-like fish, Sherman, eats Jasper's precious General Lee.
• Get a Job: Esme and Carlisle insist that the kids get jobs; but when the applications are shuffled on the coffee table, they apply for the wrong jobs. Oops.
• Route 66: Road Trip! When Bella gets stuck in the car on the Cullen's roadtrip, she sees just how childish they can be; and that vampires aren't as patient as she thought!

Well, there you have it. Psychic is going well, and I started another story a few weeks back: The Marcus Favonius Chronicles: The Hannibal Plot. 15 year-old adopted Italian Roman History buff Sewell and his adopted Native American brother Thom, a mystery novel expert who knows every trick in the book are put to the test when ancient maps and artifacts from the Hannibal exhibit downtown are stolen, it's going to take a lot of history, mystery, caffeine, and Sewell's radio show--the most popular for miles and miles around--the "Forum Romanum" (under the alias of Marcus Favonius) to crack the case. (Magnus gratias to Dr. Lillian Fodermeir, my AMAZING Latin teacher for the lessons on Hannibal, by the way)

So there you have it. I'll 'gate back in later.

A A K

New Book List

Well, here's the new book list I have. I guess I'll start doing one monthly/bimonthly. So, here it is:
(the ***** stuff is a rating, not curse-words, in case you were wondering. -/5.)
1. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Ninth Grade Slays--Heather Brewer ****
SEQUEL TO EIGHTH GRADE BITES. As teenage vampire, Vlad, starts high school, his 'blood cravings' get worse, and he is being hunted once again. He's still having problems with Meredith, the girl he likes, and doesn't neccesarily want to deal with some of the issues of being a vampire (slightly angst).
2. Battle of the Labyrinth--Rick Riordan ****
(PERCY JACKSON #4) Percy goes back to camp and Annabeth finally gets a quest: in the Labyrinth. Still trying to evade Luke and Kronos' nasties, they run into a barn of man-eating horses, a pet hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary, and demon cheerleaders. All in a day's work, of course.
3. Dracula--Bram Stoker *****
As Jonathan Harker goes on a business trip to Transylvania to visit Count Dracula, a man who wishes to purchase a home in London, Harker discovers slowly that the count is anything but human. When he is loose and in England, Jonathan sets out to stop him, aided by his recently-wed-to wife, Mina, Dr. Seward, who owns an insane assylum, Arthur Homewood, the fiancee of Lucy, who was killed by the count, and Quincy Morris, a friend of Arthur and Lucy.
4. Wolf Brother--Michelle Paver ***
(CHRONICLES OF ANCIENT DARKNESS #1) 6,000 years ago, 12-year-old Torak promises his dying father that he will find a sacred mountain and stop the demon bear that is killing the forest (and kills Torak's father, ironically enough). He is helped by Wolf, a wolf cub who is Torak's Spirit Guide, and Renn, a Raven Clan girl who wants to help her clan by stopping the bear with Torak--"the Listener"--before the demon bear kills everything.
5. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City; Kiki Strike: Inside the Empress's Tomb--Kristin Miller
(KIKI STRIKE #'s 1 & 2) ***; ****
What do 12-year old's Kiki Strike (girl superspy), Ananka Fishbein (bookworm/NY Historian), Luz Lopez (mechanical genius), Betty Bent (master of disguise), Oona Wong (master hacker and forger), and DeeDee Morlock (amazing chemist) have in common? They're the Irregulars, a group of girls who protects the Shadow City underneath NYC and be all-around good guys...well, most of the time, anyway.

6. Master and Commander--Patrick O'Brian ****
(AUBRY/MATURIN #1...of 20)
In the dawn of the Napolianic War, Jack Aubrey is given command of his own ship, the Sophie. He has to hire an entirely new crew--and surgeon, Stephen Maturin, who he knew for about a day before he asked him to be the surgeon.
7. Last Knight--Hilari Bell *****
(KNIGHT AND ROGUE #1)
I know that I read this a few months ago, but I LOVE THIS BOOK. So THERE.
Sir Michael Sevenson is the typical 18-year-old who has no idea what he wants to do (this is fantasy, by the way) until his father scornfully and sarcastically suggest being a knight errant. The idea sticks. While going through a neighboring town on his first quest, Michael witnesses a trial in which 17-year-old sarcastic and cynical rogue, Fisk (WHO ROCKS), is being tried for numerous shifty cases. Michael pays bail and takes on Fisk as his squire. Everything goes fine (for a few days) until Michael rescues a fair damsel from a tower who turns out to be a convicted murderess.

Happy readings

A A K

Insomnia

Okay, so I've always had really bad insomnia (like, not getting to sleep until three or four in the morning, kind of bad) so I just took this test on Apollo, and turns out I have DCR, Delayed Circadian Rhythm. And I scored a 74 out of 100, a "severe."

I'm proud to say that, yes, I am part vampire! Yay! (I wish.)

Well, on that happy note, I started a new story today: volume one of The Marcus Favonius Chronicles. It's about fifteen-year-old Sewell (Jack Sewell, if you had to know) and his adopted, Native American brother, Thom. Sewell runs a radio program--the most popular in the area--called the Forum Romanum, all about Roman history. When important historical artifacts from Hannibal go missing in the Hannibal exhibit, Sewell and Thom, who were there, attempt to catch the culprit and solve any historical mysteries in the way. It's all about Rome, folks.

On that note, I will not be updating my FanFic's until June 1st, for all you fictitious readers of mine.

Anyway, I also read Percy Jackson #4: Battle of the Labyrinth (by Rick Riordan), and it was very good.
And I've also read--last month, anyway, Ninth Grade Slays, the second Chronicles of Vladimir Tod book (sequel to Eight Grade Bleeds) by Heather Brewer, who is AWESOME!!!
Well, it's--hopefully, as I've got school in the morning, though not for much longer, thank toast--off to bed.

A A K

The Writer's Desk

Even though, at the moment, I don't really have a desk, this is what is what my "substitute desk" has all over it. This is what you get for writing:
~Books(mostly stuff like Mary Chestnut's Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Alex Rider--with the occasional Max Ride, of course)
~A whole freaking TON of notebooks (composition, spiral, bound, loose..you name it, I've hoarded it and then scribbled excessively in it)
~Writing utensils (pens, pencils, colored pencils, highlighters, sharpies, blah-de-blah)
~THE notes (I have a whole IKEA box full of loose notes...and those are just the one's I've found)
~sketches (I've got a ton of stupid architectural stuff for Psychic--stuff like floorplans to Bran Castle--and some sketches of Vannessa Toplin, a new character in one of my new vampire books that I'm writing--uncreatively called, for now, Coven 13.)

I'm not sure if it's as bad as J.K. Rowling's...But it's not pretty.

I also tend to carry around a bag with all of my writers crap (and Jasper Whitlock, my green nano rocks-my-socks iPod), with at least two notebooks at all times. I found this great video online (thanks Kaleb-who-I-don't-know-but-is-really-cool!) that puts a writers bag perfectly. Since my computer is being dumb and won't let me upload it, you can go to Kaleb Nation and then to 'videos' and 'what's in a writer's bag?' to see. it.

Also, School's Out--For Now is going well, and Dawn of the Personality-Challnged should be done soon, as will Spring With the Cullens. Next month or June, I'll be writing Summer With the Cullens, which will, undoubtedly, be better. I'll be writing another Kat/Max Ride story as well (tentatively called Saving the Flock and Other Extreme Sports) and I will make as many Kat's as JP makes MR's. So. There.

A A K

New People!

Yay! I got new psychics! Okay...here are the new protagonist psychics:

StephAlison

And here are some of the students:

Alexandria Hemmin

Cynthia Constantine

Lisa Zerrin

Well? Pretty good names since I just made up the last names on the spot. Well, I'd better get back to writing. No new Carrie yet.

A A K

"Psychic" Update

Right, so...Psychic is going well. I've got three or four scenes written out (and one that I need to type up). I've got the Graveyard Scene done, ready for editing; same with Meetings--where Bridge meets the psychics. I've got a rough draft of the scene where B-Squad lands in Romania, and a bit of a scene where Bridge is just walking around the academy (TAPS). The one I haven't typed, but is written in my notebook, is a scene at TAPS where Bridge sort of "compares" SPD to TAPS while James is being weird again.

Speaking of Bridge's psychic cohorts, here they are:

Carrie Blake, Grey Sector Rep

Living-Deceased Mediator

Bridge Carson, Green Sector Rep
Psychic Auras and Tracking

Cody Parkani, Red Sector Rep
Precognition

Alison Hollox, Blue Sector Rep
Telekinesis

James Manson, Yellow Sector Rep
Dream Discernment and Alteration

Steph Thompson, Pink Sector Rep
Telepathy

I'm happy with the boys pictures, but I'm not crazy about the girls. I will be changing them, so don't all go off now and make a Power Point. Well, these are them--oh! Wait! I need the Professor too...and the SPD rangers...

The Professor

Jack Landors, SPD Red Ranger

Sky Tate, SPD Blue Ranger

Z Delgado, SPD Yellow Ranger

Sydney Drew, SPD Pink Ranger

I'll change Alison's, Carrie's, and Steph's pictures later.

A A K