Hearts and Flowers (Make that Water Lilies)

Today my partner and I went to the Museum of Modern Art.  MoMA is a romantic place for us, because nine-and-a-half years ago, in the summer of 2000, we met in the real world for the first time (after having been friends on-line for about a year).  I came to NYC for academic research and asked her (nervously, and allowing her plenty of chance to decline!) if she'd like to get together.  She said yes!  I was thrilled and anxious, and my mother made everything better by sending me clippings about people who'd arranged face-to-face meetings with strangers they'd met on-line and then were horribly murdered.

Anyway, we went out for dinner on the first night and then agreed to meet the next day at MoMA (it being a Monday, when all the other museums are closed).  I honestly don't remember what we saw in the way of art, but I vividly remember sitting with her and the child (it was one day before his fourth birthday) in the MoMA garden on an astonishingly hot afternoon while protestors (no idea what they were protesting) shouted and banged on the metal garden gates with metal kitchen tools.  We were awash in heat and sweat and noise, and it was one of the most romantic moments of my life.

Today was also romantic, but in a different way.  It was much colder, for one thing, and there were no protestors.  We saw Monet's "Waterlilies" and a special exhibit about Bauhaus, and then we ate lunch in the cafe.  I find Bauhaus fascinating (form!  function! modernism! design!)  They had examples of various fabric prints that had been created using the Os and lines on a typewriter; it looked like a lot of binary code.  "These were people just waiting for the computer to be invented," my partner said.

The Monet was interesting, too, although I'm not generally a fan of Impressionism -- partly, I think, because it has been so over-reproduced.  By the time you've seen the waterlilies on a thousand greeting cards and two-pocket folders and tote bags and even umbrellas, they lose their impact.  But seeing these huge, paint-heavy works in the originals is quite a powerful experience.

Tomorrow I fly back to my brother's house and then, on Saturday, I'll drive back home.  Yes, the holiday is over; now I'll have to give up my  vacation schedule of staying up till 3:00 a.m. and playing in HP fandom for several hours a day.  Life is hard.  /g/  But it's been a wonderful break!

Fun Upcoming Things

Since soon I will be working again and won't have time to spam your LJs, I thought I would do it tonight. 

Are you feeling that after-the-holidays let-down sensation?  Do you miss those New Year's nights of drunken debauchery (or, in my case, just-nicely-buzzed, sadly-non-debauched TV-watching)?  Are you sad that the holiday HP fests are over, and it will be several weeks until hp_kinkfest starts posting?  Do you think the world is flat and dull and holds nothing for you but healthy eating and (in the US) thinking about your taxes?

Well, let me cheer you up with some HP pimpage (and can't we find a better word for it?)

--The Best Fest (aka hp_beholder) starts sign-ups on January 28!!  Read all about it here.  I missed the sign-ups last year, but this year I'm likely to be the first in line.  The quality of work in this fest is unsurpassed, and it's all about the rare and older characters. 

--There's still time to sign up for femmefest  (till January 15).

--Nominate your favorite HP stories for the forbiddenawards.

--The severusbigbang goes LIVE on Saturday, January 9th, the lovable git's 50th birthday.  I can assure you that there will be at least two (count 'em!  two!) Snape/McGonagall stories.

--hp_yule_balls  reveals will be up later tonight!  There were many fine stories in this fest; see my recs here and here and here, and there were more excellent stories I didn't get around to mentioning, but will try to do after the reveals.  I was convinced I knew who had written my gift, but I was wrong.  So I'm eager to find out who is who.

Rec-o-Rama

The hp_yule_balls  reveals have gone up, and my fabulous gift At Arm's Length was written by the ever-excellent Miss Morland (I can't link to her name because of the hopeless, useless LJ code, but you can find her on my friends list if you want her page).   I knew she had written it; I knew it, I knew it.   But then, Slytherin that she obviously is, she faked me out by leaving a comment to her own story -- a very crafty comment that did not require her to squee over her fic, but was actually a cleverly-concealed remark about her motivation for writing.  Of course, this trick will never work again, not on me, anyway!  (Consider yourself warned, Missy M!)

I'll do this fest again -- it was well-run and produced a lot of femmeslash.  If some of the entries were a bit weaker than others, that's not a problem.  They were all enjoyable, in their own ways, and it seems clear that most people took time and trouble in creating their works.   Among my favorites:  A Hogmanay Carol (McGonagall/Hooch); Open Hand (Snape/Lupin); The Magic of Christmas (Remus/Bill/Snape) (The link on the masterlist takes you somewhere else, and I wasn't really convinced by the ending threesome, but the part about Snape working in a discount store as Father Christmas is a treat.)

snapelyholidays has finished posting its gifts and has given us its anonymous master-list.  I loved this fest -- such a wide variety of Snape-pairings and genres and tones.  The entries sustained a high level of quality, and the fest was beautifully-run.  Truly, some of these stories are going to become classics of my Snapely library.  My top five favorites:  (I've mentioned some of them in earlier rec posts):

**In Memory of Sigmund Freud -- (Snape/McGonagall, Snape/Moody) -- This story is without question the best Snape/McGonagall I've ever read, and I've read some stellar MM/SS.  Hell, it's one of the best fanfics I've ever read, period.  I'm almost positive I know who wrote it, and I hope they will let me friend them, because I don't want to miss a single syllable they've ever written or will write. 

Subtlety Personified -- (Snape, Slughorn) -- This version of Slughorn has become canon for me; I love him, in all his crafty, subtle, funny, heart-tugging, comfort-loving, ever-so-efficient, endearing ways.  Not many stories bring me to tears, but this one did.  One reviewer said in her LJ that this story was smart -- yes, exactly.

By the Clock -- (Snape/Dumbledore) -- Charming in the best of senses, with a nosy busybody of a wonderful Minerva, too.  Adored this.

The Caretaker -- (Snape/Filch) -- Grumpy-old-man-romance at its finest; Filch's voice is a triumph.

Illustrations for Home Studies -- (Snape/McGonagall) -- "Home Studies," a story by bethbethbeth from 2005, is one of my favorite MM/SS stories, and for the fest, an artist created a series of five excellent illustrations for it; they capture a lot of the spirit of the story, and I just love Snape's look.  The last picture, in its home-sweet-home sort of frame, is a delight.  (The artist thoughtfully provides a link to "Home Studies," in case you haven't read it.)

Also really good --

A Place Between Sleeping and Waking -- (Snape/Harry) -- Most of my flisties know that I'm not much of a slash person in general or a Snarry person in particular, but I'm really an equal-opportunity reader when it comes to quality fic.  This story is very nicely-written, with characterizations of both Snape and Harry that I find IC and effective.  In terms of plot, it's clever and compelling.  I enjoyed this story thoroughly.

Joined-Up with Jobberknolls -- (Snape/Lockhart) -- A really strong, un-silly, yet IC depiction of Lockhart makes this fic a fine read.  And Snape is wonderfully himself, too.

Out of This World -- (Snape/Hermione) -- Snape lives and becomes a monk.  It works.  Really.  Very atmospheric and thoughtful.

Let's Play! -- Snape/Lupin paper dolls with little stories and drag-queen outfits.  I trust I need say no more.

A Way Out -- (Snape/Lupin) -- An inventive story with an excellent Snape; it's like an HP Waiting for Godot, but funnier.