Spring is just around the corner, right?

[jadesfire]

You know, the next person to tell me that Britain has a temperate climate is going to get a ding alongside the earhole.

*shakes water out of brain*

Good lord, it's wet this morning. white_hart, did you get caught in it? I was seriously contemplating going back for my snorkel.

As you might be able to tell, I'm starting to come out of my post-holiday funk and feel like posting and chatting and generally resuming something close to my general posting schedule, i.e. frequent, verbose and random. This is being helped by new fandom enthusiasm (I'm crushing hard on Criminal Minds right now and cannot wait to watch the next episode, knowing that I've still got 1 1/2 series to catch up on \o/ Expect more soon...) and a vague sense that I know where my current WIP wants to go.

Also, general_jinjur, who is of the awesome, has done it again and started a project that pushes every one of my fan-buttons. Last time it was amplificathon. This time it's in_a_name



All characters in any fandom who share a name are eligible for this appellathon. Prompts will open on 26th January, and posting of fanworks (of any kind whatsoever) will be March 20-29th. There's a wiki here to help you with inspiration, and full details of what on earth I'm talking about are here. I had said I'd only participate in 3 challenges this year, but this is the kind of thing I've been interested in for a while, so I might have to add one more to the list...

Also, don't forget that_other_show



People are starting to talk over there, so do head in and see what's going on!

And because I love teasing you, and I know you love them



I hope these people didn't mind our taking a picture of their door...



The Berbers build terraces into the sides of the mountain for farming. They grow most kinds of fruit trees, as well as maize and some vegetable crops. It's a hard life, although our guide assured us that life in the next valley - where they're snowed in for 5 months a year and have to take in provision by mule - is much harder.



Fruit stalls and Orange Juice Sellers fill the main square by day. The shape and size of the carts is regulated by law, so that they are 'authentically traditional. We were advised that tourists probably shouldn't drink the orange juice, as the sellers use the same water all day for rinsing their glasses!

Comments

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

We were advised that tourists probably shouldn't drink the orange juice, as the sellers use the same water all day for rinsing their glasses!

Easy solution to this problem: be the first customer. ;)

And seriously, I really wouldn't mind moving to Britain now. 36C today and so freakin' hot and dry that the skin on my hand's cracking. :(

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Heh. that assumes they changed the water from the day before...

Oh hon, that's just unbearable. I am grateful we don't get that kind of thing...

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming they might want to bring the bucket home or store it at the end of the day so it doesn't get stolen, so logically, they would've empty it before putting it away... logically.

Tuesday? It went up to 41C. Stepped out of the office for lunch and it was like... you know how you preheat your oven before baking/cooking, you open it and this wall of heat hits you in the face? It's exactly like that.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The Morocco pics are lovely! Ahh, I'd love to go...

That fic-thon sounds awful fun. Just the Johns alone could cover most of my fandoms! Though the urge to have Sam Winchester meet up with Sam Carter and Sam Gamgee and Sam Beckett...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I've had a thing at the back of my mind about the name 'Jack' for a while, so now I just have to work out what to do with it. Your combination sounds...mind-boggling...

[aeron-lanart.livejournal.com]

The Sams do sound mind boggling and I'm not surprised that there are 'Jack' things in your head. For some reason the first thing I thought of was Owain Glyndwr and Owen Harper...

[travels-in-time.livejournal.com]

I'm pondering Sam Vimes and Sam Tyler and Sam Gamgee. :D

[naye]

Ah, such gorgeous pictures! In the middle one, you really get a sense of scale. And the details of doors and the colors of the wares in the stalls are so pretty!

Half a world away, and we're getting the same weather as you guys. It's wet!

The appellaton sounds like a super cool idea! Too bad the stuff I'm into right now is populated by people with very weird/very Japanese names. I don't think there are too many "Soul Eater" and "Gintoki" out there. *g*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Just when you think you're getting your head around Morocco, it goes and surprises you - everything is so huge in the mountains!

hee. I don't think you'd find it easy to make connections with those names, but it's amazing how many there are if you look at the wiki. The possibilities are endless!

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

What a cool door! And are the walls pink?

Eww on the orange juice! Sounds like you had a great guide.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

All exterior walls in the Medina are some shade of pink - it's part of the laws to preserve the heritage.

We were mostly very careful about what we ate, because while the locals have immunity to the various bugs, we don't really. But we read all the guide books and took advice and everyone was really helpful while we were out there, so that made things easier :)

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

Those green terraces are so lovely in that harsh landscape. And what a beautiful door! Clearly the home owner has pride in it -- it's so clean, polished and well-kept.

I think the phrase "temperate climate" is simply national propaganda to entice tourists. :) We also have a temperate climate, and it's been so cold that the thermometer inside my office has hovered around 58 degrees F. all week with the furnace running full-blast. On Tuesday, my fingers and toes stayed numb all day, and didn't start to warm up until I (rather dangerously) stuffed the hot-air space heater into the kneehole of my desk for a few hours.

Come August, though, we'll have weeks of 100 F.-plus days. It's either fry or freeze!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The mountains were surprisingly green. Every flat surface has something growing on it!

Brrrrr! We don't have it quite that bad - we get down to 20ish F in a very bad winter, but it doesn't really get much above 85 in the summer, and the humidity is rarely very high. Still, we get enough rain to compensate! Apparently there's a price to pay for a 'green and pleasant land'

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

in_a_name sounds interesting, if a bit brain breaking.

Beautiful pictures! Although, ewww on the juice.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Hee. The Wiki is quite helpful for thinking about it - I added some names and got some ideas. It's spooky once you start tracking them all down...

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I imagine Jack and John are going to be popular crossovers.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I love terrace farming. (I know it must be a difficult life, but it's so impressive, taking inhospitable terrain and working with it in a sustainable way.) That's a beautiful photo, too. The sense of space is amazing, and I feel like I can almost feel the cool dry air.

Hmm, I thought "temperate" just meant that the place doesn't get huge extremes in temperature - it's not boiling hot or covered in snow and ice much. The buckets of rain must get very tiresome, though. ::gives you warm dry socks::

I loved the "Who doesn't love a good Jack-off" graphic for in_a_name. *g*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*nods* The terrace farming is really incredible. It also means they can grow trees without them eroding away the soil and falling down the slope. The space was just... There's no way to describe it, with the mountains all around you and the sky above. And the air was clear and cold, and the sun was so bright my face got sunburnt. Just amazing.

Hee. It does, but I always think of Shakespeare "thou art more lovely and more temperate". Not much sign of a summers day around here at the moment...

*snort* Yeah, I had that graphic originally, but since I try to keep my journal as PG-rated as my fic, I thought I'd go with "One" instead ;)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I thought that was probably the reason for your choice. :)

I'm so glad you got to go to Morocco. What drew you to that place, initially?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The sun. We knew we wanted longer days, and that meant going south for the winter (it works for the birds). It also had to be within a few hours of flying, and not too expensive once we got there. We considered the Canary Islands, but they're very built up on the main islands, and the little ones take a ferry ride to get to, which didn't sound like a cunning plan in January. And Easyjet fly to Morocco, so it wasn't too expensive!

We booked the hotels and our first transfers through a travel company, and they gave us lots of help with cultural orientation, as did the Riad (guesthouse) owner. I was very, very nervous at first, but can honestly say that I felt safer there than I do sometimes in Oxford, and we had a brilliant time. It's an incredible culture-shock for about the first 48 hours, but once you settle into it, it's just wonderful. :)

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

Pretty piccies! And I'm sure they didn't mind you photographing their door :)

Another challenge already? *eyes you* I don't really understand - I'd have to find another Benton in another fandom and write a story featuring the two, is that how it works? Because I don't think there is another Benton... or another Ray for that matter :(

The one I was going to pimp to you was older_not_dead - you have to write a story featuring a pairing who are over 40. Any rating, any fandom (although there are some fandom specific and pairing specific prompts, some of which I think might appeal to you :)), but it does have to be a pairing-focused fic, so no gen :( But it equally doesn't have to be NC-17, so worth a look, maybe?

[white_hart]

I got the bus all the way into town. I made the mistake of walking in weather like this morning's last Monday and decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour this time!

[crystalshard.livejournal.com]

*I know what you mean - the roads are flooding around our way. I may need a canoe soon . . . or possibly a powerboat, there are docks only twenty minutes' swim drive away, and the place I work backs onto a river.

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

We were advised that tourists probably shouldn't drink the orange juice, as the sellers use the same water all day for rinsing their glasses!

Easy solution to this problem: be the first customer. ;)

And seriously, I really wouldn't mind moving to Britain now. 36C today and so freakin' hot and dry that the skin on my hand's cracking. :(

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Heh. that assumes they changed the water from the day before...

Oh hon, that's just unbearable. I am grateful we don't get that kind of thing...

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming they might want to bring the bucket home or store it at the end of the day so it doesn't get stolen, so logically, they would've empty it before putting it away... logically.

Tuesday? It went up to 41C. Stepped out of the office for lunch and it was like... you know how you preheat your oven before baking/cooking, you open it and this wall of heat hits you in the face? It's exactly like that.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The Morocco pics are lovely! Ahh, I'd love to go...

That fic-thon sounds awful fun. Just the Johns alone could cover most of my fandoms! Though the urge to have Sam Winchester meet up with Sam Carter and Sam Gamgee and Sam Beckett...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I've had a thing at the back of my mind about the name 'Jack' for a while, so now I just have to work out what to do with it. Your combination sounds...mind-boggling...

[aeron-lanart.livejournal.com]

The Sams do sound mind boggling and I'm not surprised that there are 'Jack' things in your head. For some reason the first thing I thought of was Owain Glyndwr and Owen Harper...

[travels-in-time.livejournal.com]

I'm pondering Sam Vimes and Sam Tyler and Sam Gamgee. :D

[naye]

Ah, such gorgeous pictures! In the middle one, you really get a sense of scale. And the details of doors and the colors of the wares in the stalls are so pretty!

Half a world away, and we're getting the same weather as you guys. It's wet!

The appellaton sounds like a super cool idea! Too bad the stuff I'm into right now is populated by people with very weird/very Japanese names. I don't think there are too many "Soul Eater" and "Gintoki" out there. *g*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Just when you think you're getting your head around Morocco, it goes and surprises you - everything is so huge in the mountains!

hee. I don't think you'd find it easy to make connections with those names, but it's amazing how many there are if you look at the wiki. The possibilities are endless!

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

What a cool door! And are the walls pink?

Eww on the orange juice! Sounds like you had a great guide.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

All exterior walls in the Medina are some shade of pink - it's part of the laws to preserve the heritage.

We were mostly very careful about what we ate, because while the locals have immunity to the various bugs, we don't really. But we read all the guide books and took advice and everyone was really helpful while we were out there, so that made things easier :)

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

Those green terraces are so lovely in that harsh landscape. And what a beautiful door! Clearly the home owner has pride in it -- it's so clean, polished and well-kept.

I think the phrase "temperate climate" is simply national propaganda to entice tourists. :) We also have a temperate climate, and it's been so cold that the thermometer inside my office has hovered around 58 degrees F. all week with the furnace running full-blast. On Tuesday, my fingers and toes stayed numb all day, and didn't start to warm up until I (rather dangerously) stuffed the hot-air space heater into the kneehole of my desk for a few hours.

Come August, though, we'll have weeks of 100 F.-plus days. It's either fry or freeze!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The mountains were surprisingly green. Every flat surface has something growing on it!

Brrrrr! We don't have it quite that bad - we get down to 20ish F in a very bad winter, but it doesn't really get much above 85 in the summer, and the humidity is rarely very high. Still, we get enough rain to compensate! Apparently there's a price to pay for a 'green and pleasant land'

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

in_a_name sounds interesting, if a bit brain breaking.

Beautiful pictures! Although, ewww on the juice.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Hee. The Wiki is quite helpful for thinking about it - I added some names and got some ideas. It's spooky once you start tracking them all down...

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I imagine Jack and John are going to be popular crossovers.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I love terrace farming. (I know it must be a difficult life, but it's so impressive, taking inhospitable terrain and working with it in a sustainable way.) That's a beautiful photo, too. The sense of space is amazing, and I feel like I can almost feel the cool dry air.

Hmm, I thought "temperate" just meant that the place doesn't get huge extremes in temperature - it's not boiling hot or covered in snow and ice much. The buckets of rain must get very tiresome, though. ::gives you warm dry socks::

I loved the "Who doesn't love a good Jack-off" graphic for in_a_name. *g*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*nods* The terrace farming is really incredible. It also means they can grow trees without them eroding away the soil and falling down the slope. The space was just... There's no way to describe it, with the mountains all around you and the sky above. And the air was clear and cold, and the sun was so bright my face got sunburnt. Just amazing.

Hee. It does, but I always think of Shakespeare "thou art more lovely and more temperate". Not much sign of a summers day around here at the moment...

*snort* Yeah, I had that graphic originally, but since I try to keep my journal as PG-rated as my fic, I thought I'd go with "One" instead ;)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I thought that was probably the reason for your choice. :)

I'm so glad you got to go to Morocco. What drew you to that place, initially?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The sun. We knew we wanted longer days, and that meant going south for the winter (it works for the birds). It also had to be within a few hours of flying, and not too expensive once we got there. We considered the Canary Islands, but they're very built up on the main islands, and the little ones take a ferry ride to get to, which didn't sound like a cunning plan in January. And Easyjet fly to Morocco, so it wasn't too expensive!

We booked the hotels and our first transfers through a travel company, and they gave us lots of help with cultural orientation, as did the Riad (guesthouse) owner. I was very, very nervous at first, but can honestly say that I felt safer there than I do sometimes in Oxford, and we had a brilliant time. It's an incredible culture-shock for about the first 48 hours, but once you settle into it, it's just wonderful. :)

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

Pretty piccies! And I'm sure they didn't mind you photographing their door :)

Another challenge already? *eyes you* I don't really understand - I'd have to find another Benton in another fandom and write a story featuring the two, is that how it works? Because I don't think there is another Benton... or another Ray for that matter :(

The one I was going to pimp to you was older_not_dead - you have to write a story featuring a pairing who are over 40. Any rating, any fandom (although there are some fandom specific and pairing specific prompts, some of which I think might appeal to you :)), but it does have to be a pairing-focused fic, so no gen :( But it equally doesn't have to be NC-17, so worth a look, maybe?

[white_hart]

I got the bus all the way into town. I made the mistake of walking in weather like this morning's last Monday and decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour this time!

[crystalshard.livejournal.com]

*I know what you mean - the roads are flooding around our way. I may need a canoe soon . . . or possibly a powerboat, there are docks only twenty minutes' swim drive away, and the place I work backs onto a river.