MILES to GO || before I sleep

I wonder... does everyone know someone, within six "degrees" or less (e.g. friend of a friend of a... etc.) who is, in some way, involved in every fandom someone could possibly be interested in? That doesn't mean the person needs to be a participant in fandom-- maybe just a lurker who knows of a good site. That's good enough.

Because here I am, and I'm into all these anime and manga fandoms. Most of them are shoujo, some are shonen. Some I've watched and enjoyed, but never contributed anything to fandom for. Some of them I'm a former participant in, others I'm an active participant in.

"Participant" can vary from fandom to fandom, too. For some fandoms, I write fanfiction and/or submit art. For others, I just comment on forums, read fanfics, and so on. For example, I'm highly active and participatory in the anime and manga fandoms, but more of a passive participant within my favorite TV show fandoms like Star Trek, Alias, and more recently, CSI. Sure, I'll read forum postings and check out wikis and the like, but I have yet to write a fic for any of them.

A while ago, I made up my mind not to try and find good fanfic on Fanfiction.net (or its ilk) anymore, except by the following methods:

a) updates from friends or favorite authors that I'd already established on my account as "Favorite Authors"

b) recommendations from those friends toward other writers, whether directly (e.g. Mamono recommended to me via email/PM/LJ comment/whatever that I check out Atlantis2's fics!) or indirectly (Atlantis2 is listed as a Favorite Author on Mamono's profile, or one of Atlantis2's stories is listed as a Favorite Story on Mamono's profile)

So far, that's worked out pretty well for me, except when I'm getting into a new fandom. Unless I'm lucky and I already know of a friend who's in that fandom (e.g. if I ever get into Slayers, I know I can turn to dqbunny, and if I ever watch Stargate: Atlantis, I know I can pester mklutz with questions), I have to hunt down "good" sites, communities, C2s, and the like just to find people that might make good friends and therefore good connections to OTHER good people-- good writers, active participants in fandom, whatever.

So, as of right now, my favorite CSIs are in this order:
* CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
* CSI: New York
* CSI: Miami

I've been reading more CSI: NY stuff than any of the others lately, mainly because I think the characters have gripped me more than the Miami cast and because the season premiere for CSI: NY (and Miami) have aired already, while the original CSI has yet to have its Season 9 premiere. You'd think CSI's fandom would be buzzing with activity and fics, but... it doesn't seem like it. I read the winners of the CSI Fic Awards, and that was it.

I think I complained that the CSI: NY wiki sucks, and I wonder if it's because I haven't found a better Wiki for it on Wikia or somewhere else (like the CBS website). It's one of those nagging, disgusted feelings with the State of the Web that would otherwise compel me to do it myself, EVEN THOUGH I'm a n00b to the fandom and other people, more dedicated fans, have been around longer and could almost definitely do it better. It just bugs me that it apparently hasn't been done (to my satisfaction; I guess I am a picky fan) YET.

Fanfiction isn't much better. Does anyone on this FL read CSI: NY fic? I'm in desperate need for some good stuff (esp. Mac x Stella, which I refuse to call SMacKED! because that's... just kind of dumb. I've never liked portmanteau 'ship names or variations thereof), now that I've exhausted the supply of fics by the late great Christina D-- can't spell her last name-- and Banana Tooth.

I wish I could make myself unpicky, but if I read a fic where the dialogue isn't punctuated properly, where words like "your" and "a lot" are misspelled, and where Inspector Gerrard slaps Mac Taylor OPENLY in front of the whole lab, I just... I die a little inside. I have to click back before my stomach stages a revolt and takes me trachea along with it. I can't read fics where some random OC *koff* Mary-Sue! *koff* is paired off with a main character (especially in the CSI 'verses; aren't their lives complicated enough? It's like, if you introduce an OC, make her either a victim or a criminal, not a love interest and/or long-lost relative!). ( And little things can really bug me, too.... )

And though this makes me a bit of a hypocrite, there'd have to be something REALLY compelling about some part of a story for me to hate it enough to not read it all the way through, not review, but still check out the author's profile in the hopes that they wrote a better story. (I say "hypocrite" because I feel if someone read "Only 16" and thought that fic was the best I could do, I would cry bloody foul. I don't take it offline BECAUSE I've come so much farther than I was when I wrote that, and because SOMEDAY I'd like to revise it and see if I *can* make it better!)

With so many things that knock me out of a fic within the first few paragraphs, I'm really relying on the recs of other great authors (or simply well-read fans within the same fandoms as I) to find some truly good stuff.

So, if you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who writes good CSI fic that's:
* CSI: NY - Mac x Stella or Danny x Lindsay
* CSI: Nick x Sara (Snickers; the closest 'ship name to a portmanteau that I'll tolerate because it's just so durn cute) OR Grissom x Sara (aka GSR)
* CSI: Miami
or is just generally well-written and preferably complete (and it can be gen, crime/drama, but preferably not tragedy or angst) regardless of which CSI it hails from
please let me know!

LET'S SOCIAL NETWORK YAY!

Just as Grandpa and I were coming home, a champagne-colored sedan squealed around the corner of Superior and Wystone. Two guys immediately emerged from said sedan, which came to a rough, immediate stop at the house on the right corner of Superior and Wystone, one block and on the same side of the street as my house. Said guys came out with guns drawn, and said "Freeze! Put your hands up!" to the three or four guys outside of a red pickup truck, driver's side door open. My first thought was "Oh, some college guys are pulling a prank." Seriously. I thought they were just messing around.

But Grandpa didn't think so, and he purposely drove down a further street, taking the long, roundabout way home. When I got home, I wanted to check out what was going on, but when I got out of the car, all I saw was the sedan still pulled next to the pickup, both the doors still open, and I couldn't see any people-- presumably they'd gone into the house.

I think it was a drug bust! :O! Wow.

I've been on a theme song binge lately-- I got two versions of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme song (the original, by the Nerf Herders, and the cover, by The Breeders), and the Seasons 1-3 and Season 4 themes of Alias. I want the Season 5 remix of the Alias opening song, but I can't find it! GRR! Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'd like the long version, if possible.

Speaking of Alias, this 2nd to last episode wasn't too bad. I was screaming at the TV the whole time, of course. :D I'm just glad Vaughn's alive. Sark made me laugh (he sounds so sexy when speaking Italian. Or maybe it was the Italian that sounded sexy, and he just looked good doing it), and it looks like the finale will really be the end-all-be-all (without killing everyone off or without making it too ambiguous) with LOTS of old characters returning for a guest appearance. It's a shame they had to kill off Nadia and Renée the way they did, but alas! Such is life in the spy biz.

Better news! I got an A- on my English paper which I stayed up till 2am working on. I'm thrilled! :D I'm not so sure about my latest editorial for journalism, but it's the profile due next Wednesday that I really have to get cracking on. guardian_kysra, are you free to be annoyed this weekend?

I've also managed to finally get Thunderbird links to open in FF, but who knows how long that'll last? I only wish I could use the HTML form for replying to comments... but for whatever lame reason, TB misinterprets them, and LJ thinks there's no POSTID. Feh.

twilighteyes8120 updating her SxA piece "Mixing Business With Pleasure" has got me itching to finish up WDKY-- that and my sudden obsession with trailers. Yes, trailers. So I'm thinking of trying my hand at "AMVs" that aren't really, literally AMVs. I'd do Flash instead, which means people could view them embedded in webpages. I'd like to do one each for WDKY, CO7, and ED, but the question is... what do people want to see trailers of? WDKY's already been out for 2 years now, so people doubtless don't want to see trailers of things that have already happened. Also, the trailers would be entirely musical/textual. I don't have the time/energy to do/find voice clips, let alone appropriate ones, so that's why these trailers would be closer to AMVs. So here comes the fun part:
If you could pick ANY chapter of WDKY (up to 3) to influence a WDKY trailer AMV, which one(s) would you pick? You can pick chapters that have already come out, chapters I've hinted at/mentioned, or random numbers. Assuming the art isn't too hard to pull off, I could (and will) do it.
CO7 and ED are different matters altogether, and those are things I'll be storyboarding on my own time.

Music suggestions are also welcome, but I already have some ideas.

( My room smells like corn chips, so I'll light an incense. But if I get another freaky dream, I'm switching incense brands. )