Striking Sparks

I seem to be finding more unnecessary quotation marks in these headers lately.

1. Warnings: Slash, Language, Smut, Does dirty talk need a warning? Non-Con (past) and the sexual abuse of a child [Wow, good to know your priorities are in order for warnings there.]



2. A/N: Yeah I know 'lame title' but hell, it came to mind on a spur of the moment type thing, and it's 4:20 AM here in Baltimore City, MD (No beta- mistakes are mine and I take full blame for any. Please don't flame. Writer does not take hateful criticism kindly.)



3. A/N: READ THIS!!!!!
   Okay so the alternate chapter five was accidently posted yesterday out of mistake, and i am truly sorry for that I hope u all forgive me and clumsy ways. I hope this one is as good, I heard people were disappointed that Frank didn't die....*cough*.



4. Summary: AU - Story takes place on the Titanic.
   Warning: This isn't like the movie. That being said, the ship does sink. (*spoiler alert*)



5. Summary: When Adam confesses his feelings to Kris just before the Idol finale, Kris's reaction is not what he'd hoped for. Hurt and rejected, Adam is vulnerable to the advances of a young man who seems to be just what he needs to get over the new American Idol. But all is not as it appears to be, and he ends up in a dangeous situation that he can't escape on his own. Will Kris be able to help him -- and after the way things were left between them, will Adam even be willing to let him?

Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2765569.html. Comment there or read comments.

Parker is a cutie. Here is proof!



Look, he's smiling! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a picture of a tiny little baby actually smiling? They always stop before you get the camera. Or right before you push down the button. He's so cooperative, lol. Most of his pictures have this really confused look with his eyebrows pulled down. His hair is that fuzzy but his eyes are not really that red ;)

AND I have a picture of him in one of Chiya's outfits! I always meant to post pics of Larkyn in her international outfits but I don't think i ever did, doh! He's a little blurry and he's not smiling, but he's still cute.



His pacifier isn't really half as big as his head, it just looks that way in the picture, lol.

In other news, I think this must be what the inside of Chris Claremont's head is like:

Last week the House of Representatives voted to adopt the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the Affordable Healthcare for America Act, prohibiting abortion coverage in the public option and restricting abortion coverage in private healthcare entities that participate in the federal subsidies exchange; you can read the Amendment here.

Basically, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment takes stipulations from the Hyde Amendment (which prohibits coverage of abortion services to low-income women on Medicaid, federal employees and their families, women serving in the military overseas, women in federal prisons and women in DC) and applies them to the new public option and to private companies participating in the federal subsidies exchange. However, the Amendment also stipulates that any private company that sells healthcare coverage to people who are subsidized by the government must either (a) not cover abortion services, or (b) offer two plans that are identical in every way, except one doesn't cover abortion services. The latter is anticipated to... not happen.

From the Planned Parenthood website:

The Stupak-Pitts amendment prohibits any coverage of abortion in the public option and prohibits anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion.

This sounds like a compromise with anti-choice activists, and it is; a seemingly reasonable response to anti-choice taxpayers who blanch at the thought of federal money subsidizing abortions. However:

It also prohibits private health insurance plans from offering through the exchange a plan that includes abortion coverage to both subsidized and unsubsidized individuals.

To summarize: even women who are purchasing private health care plans with their own money will not necessarily be covered for abortion services.

Thus, if a plan wants to offer coverage in the exchange to both groups of individuals, it would have to offer two different plans: one with abortion coverage for women without subsidies and one without abortion coverage for women with subsidies. These private insurance plans would need to be identified as either providing or not providing coverage for abortion. Health insurance plans are highly unlikely to operate in this manner, and it is not even clear that this is feasible under the administration of the exchange and affordability credits.

The Stupak amendment purports to allow women to purchase a separate, single-service “abortion rider,” but abortion riders don’t exist. In the five states that only allow abortion coverage through a separate rider, there is no evidence that they are available. Furthermore, women are unlikely to think ahead to choose a plan that includes abortion coverage, since they do not plan for unplanned pregnancy. In addition, it is not clear that health plans would even be allowed to offer two separate plans under other provisions of the act, such as the guaranteed-issue provisions. Those elements of the bill, which are very important to consumers, may make it impossible for plans to provide two separate plans, one that includes abortion and another that does not. Realistically, the actual effect of the Stupak-Pitts amendment is to ban abortion coverage across the entire exchange, for women with both subsidized and unsubsidized coverage.

Bonus:

Currently, a self-employed graphic designer or writer, buying coverage from Kaiser Permanente in the individual market, likely has abortion coverage. Under the health reform plan amended by Stupak, she would purchase that same plan from Kaiser Permanente in the exchange, but it would not include abortion coverage because it would be barred. This ban would be in effect even if she were paying the full premium.

What can you do to prevent the Stupak-Pitts Amendment from becoming law? ...Probably nothing. It sounds like a compromise, and it is, though it is an ill motherfucking omen. I can't wait for the litigation re: morning after pill = abortion.

But you can support Planned Parenthood in (a) its petition to sideline the Amendment, or (b) its efforts to provide reduced-rate reproductive services to those who could not otherwise afford it.

These boots are kind of baffling to me. They look toasty and also kind of cute, yet when looked at in isolation, away from the foot, they're undeniably weird - the colored leather, the big eyelets, the sort of mukluk-meets-moonboot sculpting. They look like they COULD be ugly, but the inset shows them on, and they're obviously not. Well... good for them! Actually, Hush Puppies is probably the best place to start if you want toasty winter boots: they've had a good range, reasonably priced, for several years, that spans a bunch of styles and genres.



Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2765499.html. Comment there or read comments.

I know that Tim Burton wants to be Johnny Depp and all, but in terms of looking crazy-awesome, that's true of most of the other characters in all of his movies, particularly the new Alice in Wonderland. I mean, Alice is perfect, the Red Queen is amazing and dead creepy, etc etc.

SO, it would be nice, Total Film, if in a movie about a female protagonist - in one of the most famous works of literature about a little girl of all time - the promo poster you choose to include for free in the magazine was not of a dude.

Also, come on. Every movie magazine fan has about 10 posters of Depp hanging around, at minimum. We weren't panting for the frizzy red hair.

Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2764852.html. Comment there or read comments.

cimorene: Sometimes I want to take out a billboard world-wide about Uggs being slippers, not street shoes. It's gotten to the point that 70% of the autumn outfits in the H&M online catalog are styled with imitation Uggs [This is an exaggeration, of course. It's only the casual outfits - over 50% of H&M outfits are styled with trashy-looking trend-slave heels, as usual.]
isilya: OH MY GOD. And also, I want to shame everyone who owns Crocs.
Cim: Okay, in the H&M plus-size section, they have this image of a hot, chubby woman... wearing yoga pants tucked into fake Uggs and a long tunic and a sweatercoat with big butterfly sleeves and a shawl collar, if I remember right.
Cim: And she's like, wearing makeup and styled hair! And carrying a status bag!
Cim: YOU DO REALIZE THAT THAT OUTFIT IS PAJAMAS, RIGHT
Cim: Are you a trophy wife stopping to pick up groceries on the way to get your kids from soccer before going to the gym? No? THEN PUT ON SOME DAMN PANTS AND SHOES.

Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2764628.html. Comment there or read comments.

 

 



Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2764481.html. Comment there or read comments.

Um.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws54lrylm7c&NR=1


In the video I just linked, Derren Brown hypnotizes a film student into believing that he's invisible.


ok i have no idea whether this NLP stuff has a proven basis in cognitive science (but i totally bet it does) or whether this kid's just acting and Derren Brown's really creepy.

all I know is that about the time I got here:



I really wanted awesomely creepily hot invisible-stalker!slash.

(I am perfectly normal, stop giving me that look.)


SO UM. you wouldn't, flist, by any chance, happen to have awesomely creepy hypnosis and-or invisibilty and-or ghost and-or random-other-paranormal/mind-control fanfic, would you? ALL RECS WELCOME.

A pair of fingerless mitts for myself, also my first ever knitting with buttons!

( Silvery and leafy )

It's the time of year to start pasting non-denominational winter hats on my icons in case they get cold! As you can see, this particular hat isn't very warm, but it is cute. I kind of went nuts with saving the little hat images this year (they all come from pupe.ameba.jp).

Anyone else want a non-denominational winter (well, mostly winter) hat put on an icon, feel free to comment!




Original post on Dreamwidth at http://cimorene.dreamwidth.org/2763853.html. Comment there or read comments.

If your car breaks down under warranty, or you have the right kind of insurance, they give you a courtesy car while it's being fixed. So if you have to send your computer away to be mended, shouldn't they give you a courtesy laptop?

In entirely unrelated news, note to self: next time, research it before you write it. Some of this stuff I can fix, but I think a couple of things are going to have to remain under the artistic licence umbrella >.>