"She fancied herself a cynic in the mode of Hamlet, or perhaps Benedick; in truth she most resembled Viola, a yearning heart hidden behind a wardrobe carefully selected to disguise." Slightly misquoted from "Mortal Love" by Elizabeth Hand.

"Ah well, I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God's fool, and all His works must be contemplated with respect" Mark Twain

Me: Sometimes cranky, but generally affable blonde girl from Western Pennsylvania. Interests include reading, movies, hiking, obscure 19th and 20th century American poets, poetry in general, plays (not musicals, I mean legitimate the-atre, as Homer Simpson would say,) and hockey.

Favorite fandoms: Dr Who, of course, as you can tell by my profile pic. If I could be anyplace, I'd be in the TARDIS as the Doctor's Companion--next stop, everywhere! Game of Thrones, the Marvel universe, particularly the Avengers and Captain America, Arrow, The Hunger Games, LOTR, Hannibal, Downton Abbey, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Gotham, and Supernatural.

OTP's: Aragorn/Arwen, Eomer/Lothiriel, Faramir/Eowyn, Sansa/Sandor, Oliver/Felicity, Katniss/Peeta, Sybil/Tom, Steve/Peggy, Clint/Natasha, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane, Fitz/Simmons, Han/Leia, Kylo Ren/Rey.

'Ships I dislike: Steve/Natasha, Bucky/Natasha, Bruce/Natasha

Dislikes: Slash fics (I have nothing against homosexuality, it's just not my thing,) stories where the idea is awesome, but the grammar and spelling are so bad as to render the fic unreadable, Mary-Sue romances, and Mary-Sues in general.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes brought over from my old profile:

"Let her never touch a novel. They print beauty more charming than nature, and describe happiness that never exists. They will teach her to sigh after that which has no reality, to despise the little good that is granted us in this world and to expect more than is given." Robert E. Lee in a letter to his wife, Mary, regarding the education of their children.

One of the best quotes on true friendship I have ever read. It's from General William Tecumseh Sherman to General Ulysses S. Grant, from a letter written in 1864: "I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come if alive."

A Song For Today, February 7th: "Walking After You" by the Foo Fighters

What I am currently reading: nothing new really. Rereading Austen. There is a dearth of good books out there right now, so it's mostly been rereading my old favs.

Modern novelists who don't suck. If you haven't read them, go start now:

Neil Gaiman: I'd recommend starting with his book of short stories, "Fragile Things," but "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" is also pretty much the perfect read. If you like graphic novels, don't miss "The Sandman" series. Really, I mean go out and buy them right now, or order them from Amazon, or whatever. His YA works, like "The Graveyard Book," or "M is for Magic," are also perfectly suited for adults, so don't pass them by. And read the novel of "Stardust," or, if you can, get your hands on the graphic novel version Charles Vess illustrated. Wherever you decide to start, you're going to want to keep going. "Way leads on to way" with Gaiman's work.

Elizabeth Hand: Start with "Waking the Moon," then "Mortal Love," and then her two latest books with where Cass Neary (rhymes with scary,) is the protagonist. She's also had various short stories published, nothing that really sticks in my mind, but worth tracking down. I will say I don't like her YA, so feel free to skip it. Also, she writes various books in the "Star Wars"universe (the old one, not the new one that Disney just announced a couple of months ago.) You can skip these too unless you are an SW fan, because they read like SW books and not Elizabeth Hand books. Very formulaic. She probably writes them to pay the bills.

Remember how I said up top that I liked poetry, and obscure poets especially.

Here are a couple of poems by a poet named Adelaide Crapsey. Adelaide was born in Brooklyn Heights, NY, in 1878. She was a graduate of Vassar College, studied in Rome, and taught poetics at Smith College starting in 1911. In 1914, she died of chronic tuberculosis.

Triad

These be

Three silent things:

The falling snow..the

hour before the dawn..the mouth of one

Just dead.

Night Winds

The old

Old winds that blew

When chaos was, what do

They tell the clattered trees that I

Should weep?

"He's killed the may and he's laid her by

to bear the red rose company"

Not thou,

White rose, but thy

Ensanguined sister is

The dear companion of my heart's

Shed blood

Two other really good poets I have discovered are Amy Lowell and Hazel Hall. I particularly recommend Lowell's "New Heavens for Old," and "Patterns," and Hall's "Woman Death."