I went to a holiday party at chez kyabetsu & boytoy yesterday - okay, Saturday - okay, it was a full 24 hours of party, don't judge! - and it was brilliant, as parties usually are at their place. As a part of my ongoing quest to be geekier than thou (though winning the math contest at math camp is still my zenith), I missed out on singing along to The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny on Rock Band in order to sit in the basement and discuss early 20th century technology (for a Top Gear/The Secret Garden crossover fic) with a former curator of the Edison Museum NHP.

Like I said, brilliant party. :D I am so lucky to find so many amazing geeky fannish people around me in 3D space as well as you all in the magic box.

On the other hand, I am so, so behind on answering comments in various places. And updating the Dr. Seuss thing, and the lolitics WIP (and have unwisely started another one--) and my yuletide story. And holiday gifting, too, which takes talent considering I buy for less than half a dozen people.

Downloads of early sound recordings from the Edison Collection. Early cylinder recordings -> as always making me want more Madelyn Mack, people! (Specifically the story where she and Irene manipulate Holmes into recording himself on violin that I started last year about this time.) But I have so much other stuff I need to do first.

And once Yuletide is over I have to decide what I am writing for the Top Gear Big Bang I signed up for: finishing the Doctor Who crossover of doom like I originally intended (which is looking at more like 10^6 words than 10^5); the prequel to the Doctor Who crossover, set during The Sontaran Stratagem, in which many things are set on fire; or the Secret Garden crossover where young James, c. 1909, is sent to live at a glass factory in Yorkshire with an old friend of his Mum's, and discovers first the spoilt hypochondriac son of the family, and then Richard the street kid with his amazing motorbike, and then a rusty, neglected old Daimler hidden away in a secret garage that they proceed to fix up together. I should do one of the first two, but Dickensian steampunky Secret Garden crossover! It is calling me! Even if the research involved would be ridiculous.

...this post is very random. To continue the randomness, why did nobody tell me, back when I was desperately looking for a good mp3 of The Green Hills of Earth that Rhysling had "borrowed" the original from a Russian cosmonauts' song? Heinlein would be annoyed. :P

Those of you who are also in lolitics fandom can probably guess what led to me discovering that. Those of you who aren't probably don't want to know. And are wondering when I will go back to writing fic about something other than middle-aged British men.

But to finish a post that seems to be themed around "random music and fannishness", everybody should go listen to nextian's Ballad of the Lone Centurion. (I support the interpretation where it's some kind of sovereignty myth; hidden sleepers and lone guardians usually are, in British myth. Also I really want to draw that cartoon now where Horton and the elephant-bird go to visit Rory and reassure him "There is the Long Watch, and then longer watches; but oh is it worth it when she finally hatches!" I should probably actually watch The Big Bang first, though.)

Oh and speaking of sovereignty symbols: Whoever on my reading list is watching the Mad Hattery blog and got it onto my network page, I salute you. Ruefully. :P It is at least partly your fault I am so behind.

ETA: I knew I was forgetting something! Per a conversation with lindentreeisle at the party, I am going to attempt a proper fanlore page for the D/s AU shared universe - does anybody have any advice, or links to stories in the 'verse that aren't on AO3 that I should know about?

ETA2: OMG, the Library of Congress has a ton of old sheet music online, how did I not know this?