Christmas Wishes Meme

[kerravonsen]

Gacked from fikgirl.

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.

My wishes:

1. An mp3 player that plays Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) files (and will talk to a Linux system). They probably exist only in Japan.
2. DVD boxed set(s); there are a bunch coming out soon (as well as ones I keep on putting off): Space Above and Beyond; New Tomorrow People; UFO; Star Cops; OS Tomorrow People Seasons 5,6,7; Blake's 7 Season 3
3. The full set of Girl Genius.
4. Cinnamon candy and/or chewing gum; it's plentiful in the USA, but nonexistant here. About the only cinnamon things we get here are cinnamon scrolls.
5. A recording (video or DVD) of the Doctor Who special "The Christmas Invasion", as soon as possible after it airs in the UK, because I have no idea when Auntie ABC will show it here.
6. For synaesthete7 to finish "Incarnations".
7. a Bible-related icon; I'm not sure what. Some ideas:
   • "In the Begining was the Word" in Hebrew, Greek and English; that would be Really Cool.
   • A picture of the galaxy with the caption "Behold, it was very good." (given by vilakins)
   • something with a scroll or a Bible with something like "Written on the heart" ("I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts" or "...in their hearts I will write it")
8. someone to complete one (or more) stories based on my orphan plot bunnies from last year; see here (1), here (2), here (3) and here (4). Consider them to be challenges. And don't tell me if you're working on one, not until it's finished.
9. I wish for detailed, insightful feedback/reviews on my stories. Or squeeback, or an amusing flame. Whatever you can spare.
10. A story written Just For Me. Especially if it's Avon/Cally. Or 9th-Doctor.

My contact address is here (under Cat-Out-Of-The-Bag Productions).

Comments

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

*is simultaneously flattered and crushed by guilt*

[kerravonsen]

Listen to the flattery, spit in the eye of the guilt.

[lonemagpie.livejournal.com]

Think I'll wait till, like, December for this.

Meanwhile, looking back at what I put in the list when this meme did the rounds last year (November 29th)...

1) A long, healthy and happy life for all friends and family>

Well, we're all still alive, except, in the friends part, Mike Sheard.

2) To clear off the credit card bills.
3) Someone to release Le Samourai on DVD

This latter has happened.

4) A handmade katana by one of the few remaining Japanese swordmasters
5) Better self-discipline
6) To be asked to write a Bond movie
7) Bush's second term to be a bit more sensible than the first (Reagan sort of managed it)
8) Blair and Blunkett out

Well, Blunkett was out a week or so after I posted, then back, and now he's out again. Blair hasn't gone yet.

9) Proper crisp snow to walk in the countryside in
10) My local Oxfam (Wetherby) to start selling that Strength 5 filter coffee that some of the larger city Oxfams sell.

The latter has now happened, but only last month, so hardly for Xmas 2004...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

An mp3 player that plays Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) files (and will talk to a Linux system).

Get a Rio Karma! They're discontinued but you might find them on eBay. We have Mpegs from the same company, a very innovative UK company bought out, I think, by a US one. astrogirl2 has a Rio Karma. We have the earlier Mpegs in our cars; you see the little penguin when they boot up. :-) They're programmable too but I don't think they play ogg files. I know the Rio does though.

You don't want to make those icons yourself? You're good and you enjoy it; I'd hesitate to make anything for you in case you were disappointed and too polite to say.

[kerravonsen]

Get a Rio Karma! They're discontinued but you might find them on eBay.
I'm not sure I want to get into the laberinthine dungeon that is eBay.

You don't want to make those icons yourself?

The one I want the most, the Hebrew/Greek/English one, I don't have the language knowledge or fonts to be able to make. Well, I have a Hebrew font, I think, and I could probably bug my Dad for the Hebrew, but he's so busy and exhausted at the moment, I don't want to bother him.

The other two I don't have any good images for.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I know some Hebrew and a Greek font is easy with Symbol. :-) I'd have to get the quotes right though. That's NT, right?

[kerravonsen]

Yep. "In the beginning was the Word," is John 1:1
Though of course, there's also "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Dunno if you've already got there, but this gof is what it looks like in Greek, with the breathing marks. I don't quite know how to do the breathing marks in this font; there's obviously some manoeuvre I haven't worked out for overtyping, but in the end I had to type out the words, fix them, and then type the breathing marks in a new layer. This is assuming you want breathing, of course.

PS

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!

Re: PS

[kerravonsen]

Thank you!

[kerravonsen]

Thanks!
I'll see if vilakins has come up with anything in the Hebrew line...

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I don't know it, but wouldn't Aramaic be more relevant to the Gospels?

[kerravonsen]

But I don't want it to be just relevant to the Gospels, I want it to resonate with "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" in Genesis also.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Ah, a crossover!

[kerravonsen]

LOL!

But they're the same universe!
Then again, I always consider spin-off series to be in the same universe.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, and you could search for Rio Karma in Australia only, and there are brilliant galaxy pics in NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day archive; you just have to browse.

[kerravonsen]

Thanks.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

::sigh:: I did intend to write you some Avon/Cally from your list last year, but that pairing just doesn't give me any ideas, alas.

What is a cinnamon scroll? And when you say cinnamon candy, what exactly are you thinking of?

[kerravonsen]

I did intend to write you some Avon/Cally from your list last year, but that pairing just doesn't give me any ideas, alas.

Oh well, you can't force it.

What is a cinnamon scroll?

You get them from a bakery; it's a soft, sweet, bread-like roll-like thing, where the dough has been rolled out, sprinkled liberally with a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar, rolled up, and sliced into bun-sized shapes (that have this spiral of cinnamon stuff) and baked. They're called scrolls because they're rolled up like scrolls. My father used to bake them for Easter, and you can get them here in shops that specialize in different varieties. I'm surprised though -- I thought they were an American import. I'm certain I had them in San Francisco.

And when you say cinnamon candy, what exactly are you thinking of?

I'm not really sure, because I can't recall what different types exist. I used to be quite fond of cinnamon flavoured chewing gum. And I recently managed to find some cinnamon flavoured TicTacs in a store that had lots of imported candy in it. I don't know. Candy that's cinnamon flavoured.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see; I believe that's just a slightly different name for a cinnamon roll. Thank you. :)

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

Cinnamon flavoured Chelsea bun.

Ogg music player...

[dawnmist]

1. An mp3 player that plays Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) files (and will talk to a Linux system). They probably exist only in Japan.

Look at an iRiver T10 player, available from Dick Smith.

mp3, ogg, WMA, ASF and connects via usb, is recognised as an USB Mass Storage device, and uses a standard AA battery

http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=32&products_id=694&osCsid=5df2160f6fe7c749a6a6f09a4c434c8c

Re: Ogg music player...

[kerravonsen]

Ah! Thanks.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

There is now a box of cinnamon candy swimming stealthily in your direction. It should arrive in early February (Dad said the guy at the Post Office told him six weeks--I sent it by boat since it's non-perishable and kind of heavy).

[kerravonsen]

Oooh! Thank you!

I'm afraid your present is going to be very late -- I attempted to post it last Wednesday, was foiled by Jobsworth Postoffice officials, Thursday we had a farewell lunch, Friday I was desperately running around to buy a Secret Santa present which had been sprung on us on Wednesday afternoon, yesterday I was nowhere near a Post Office, and today I forgot to bring any photo-ID. (sigh) I was so hoping it would get to you before Christmas. (sigh) You will have to ignore the bit which says "open me before Christmas"...

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Oh, not to worry, I like presents whenever I get them. And I'll just open it before Christmas 2006--very far before. :)

Mind you, there's rather a lot of candy in that box, don't think I expect you to eat it all at once! I just wasn't sure what you'd like.

Um... and now I'm wondering if it's as non-perishable as I thought it was, since it will be high summer down there. Oh, well, if it perishes, we'll just try again. Absolutely let me know if any of it's gone bad.

[kerravonsen]

Mind you, there's rather a lot of candy in that box, don't think I expect you to eat it all at once!

Of course not! If it's non-perishable, there will be no hurry.

now I'm wondering if it's as non-perishable as I thought it was, since it will be high summer down there. Oh, well, if it perishes, we'll just try again. Absolutely let me know if any of it's gone bad.

Well, if there's chocolate involved it will melt, but stuff that's mostly sugar should be fine, so long as it doesn't get attacked by ants or something. Sugar is a preservative. 8-)

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

No chocolate; I'd have known to ship that airmail. Cinnamon and chocolate isn't a common combination here, though I think they have it in Mexico. It's hard candy (boiled sweets?), jelly beans, and gum. Some regular, and some hot. I think the only concern is that it might get a little sticky, if it's very hot in the ship's hold. But I'm going to put that out of my mind, and assume it will be okay, until we know for sure.