Taking Back the Feminine

So I'm in Washington DC for Spring Break, and ironically, I leave tommrrow, and I'm just now posting. But it's okay.

Liz and I have been tromping around the outsides of the city, exploring, checking out the campus, having fun.

We generally get in by eight or nine o'clock, exhausted from having walked different suburbs of Washington. Yesterday we went to Silver Spring, where I found amazing 30-40s tawdry paperback novels. You know the kind I mean, with a seductive looking woman and a leering man? Pulp fiction is what they're called now, but they're not exactly that.

Here, have an example:



In any case, I found five of those little lovelies, but I only bought four of them, because one was too expensive.

Today I finally manage to get some work done at U of Maryland's gorgeous library. Then tonight, Liz is going to show me how to dry paint with acrylic. It should be interesting.

Oops, I have exactly ten minutes to catch a bus!

Okay, okay. I know I promised I'd post my birthday gifts. Sorry. I got distracted.

Annyywaaay...for those still interested...( MIND THE GAP. Don't ask. )

Step One

- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two

- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

I saw this idea courtesy of Iscaris, who just rocks. Anyway, everyone on my friends list should really try to post this. It's a great way to give gifts, and you can get closer to your online friends.

Okay, okay. My list...

Top Ten Holiday Wishes

1.) I collect Barbies of the World. (You can stop laughing). They're sometimes hard to find, and they go under a variety of names. Basically, I'm looking for Barbies under the names World Collection, Princesses of the World, World Explored. I'm particularly interested in getting an Indian Barbie (as in India) and a Japanese Barbie. For the curious, I already have Ireland.

2.) Anything Alexander related. Perferably a very slashy icon of Alexander and Hephastion, or a hot fic, or a desktop wallpaper. Just...something beautiful and glorious and something I can cry my eyes out about. But no sad endings. And for fics...when I say hot...I'm talking NC-17, melt-the-plastic off my computer hot.

3.) Donating to a local Masonic Lodge. The Masons are very important to me, as my father's best friend was a Mason before he died. The historical context of the Masons is also fascinating to me. So yes, a donation to the Masons is cool. There are thousands of Masonic lodges all over the country, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

4.) Holy Virgin Goddess. I want this dress. http://pyramidcollection.com/. In case that link only goes to the main page...the dress is under the title Purple Dragon Dress.

5.) Celtic Jewelry. There are several good websites out there. I prefer knotwork, not spirals, and anything with a Goddess-theme is awesome too.

6.) The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Enough said.

7.) A corset. Black, plain, fancy, it doesn't matter, but it needs to be an overbust corset.

8.) http://www.gaelsong.com/Gcart/index.cfm/page/_ProductDetails/ProductId/J5001. A bracelet, like this one.

9.) Artwork. Amazing, beautiful, breathtaking artwork. Anything from the Medeival or Rennissance era. Michelangelo or Leonardo in particular. And it doesn't have to be a print. I don't care if you email me a picture from the web, I'll cheer. Also...I like artwork by Amy Brown as well. She can be found at http://www.amybrownart.com/. Yaya Han's artwork, at www.furiousfeather.com, is also appreciated.

10.) Please, please, PLEASE donate to Angelic Star, the website of model, artist, and anime contender Yaya Han. Her website is here: www.angelicstar.net. Also, her artwork, on her site Furious Feather, is amazing.