Author Archives: Sam

Posted on by

Watched Black Lightning last night, 2×06 so that’s one episode behind I think.

Anyway, woah

I called it (the whole world called it) and so they didn’t even make it a thing, just bam Gambi was back. Second major mysteries batman, like what is going on???

aaaaand that is my one criticism. I think this show is incredible. I adored how season 2 started with the theme of consequences and actually addressed the fallout from the end of season 1. Most shows just brush it under the carpet and move on but they didn’t.

BUT they have introduced so many new angles, everyone is separated and ugh I know that’s probably the point but dammit it makes my heart hurt.

Lynn is hurting desperately, Jefferson should be with her. Everyone seems to be ignoring Jennifer and I predict that’s going to blow up soon. Anissa is constantly going off on her own and I applaud what she’s doing but dammit I much prefer when characters talk to one another! Gambi well … if he has access to an armed drone, surely he could drop a note to Jefferson?

Plus with all the new angles there isn’t the time in the episodes. Like when did we last see Garfield school? Jefferson was demoted, those kids in the hallway who were fighting were suspended/expelled, there were issues and then dropped because of this element metal in South Freeland new thing. It feels like they are trying to pack too much in, like each episode should be twice as long or something because there’s not enough time to do everything justice.

Also am I the only one slightly disappointed that Grace is a meta/tied to this South Freeland story somehow? I was really hoping that they would take Anissa and Grace and sort of echo Jefferson and Lynn, one powered, one not and explore that dynamic. It would have been a learning experience for everyone because Anissa and Grace aren’t Jefferson and Lynn. So Anissa and Grace would react differently but at the same time, would history wind up repeating itself?

I guess they felt that Grace had to be tied to the plot somehow because they hadn’t brought her into the storyline enough otherwise. It’s a shame, I think they should have. Grace could have represented the perspective that is lacking – of someone on the outside. Henderson could have been that but he’s barely a guest star at this point. So Grace could have been like a mirror, letting the Pierce family see how Black Lighting/Thunder etc. are seen by those who don’t know the truth.

Then you know tropes aren’t bad. There could have been the cliche secret identity issues, with Anissa making bad excuses and then my personal favourite resolution, where finally Anissa decides to come clean and Grace could have just rolled her eyes “I figured it out ages ago, took you long enough to tell me”.

Also I haven’t forgotten that whole “bringing people back from the dead” plus the tattoos of the dead storyline in season 1 – what was up with that? Can we get some resolution please?

Posted on by

Ok I got to know

Does anyone else write hundreds of posts which basically boil down to “screaming with frustration, misery or despair” and then delete them because don’t want to seem whiny or spread negativity?

It’s like how do I purge this awful unsettled feeling? Answers on a postcard.

Posted on by

I’m really starting to get sick of being marked down for formatting.

I will format any way they want – but they need to tell me what it is first!

Seriously I am not a mind reader. Taking marks off for not doing it the way they exactly like it, when they have never previously said what that is, that is just impossible and unfair.

It feels like attempting to jump through invisible hoops, or that the goal posts keep shifting unexpectedly. There is zero consistency even within the faculty and it is driving me mad.

/end rant

15 Questions

Posted on by

@mariequitecontrarie thanks for the tag! 🙂

1. Are you named after anyone? Funny story. I completely changed my name when I was 18. Literally all I wanted for my 18th birthday was a deed poll, I was in the solicitors office on my birthday signing the papers. So … I picked my own name! Obviously I chose it because I liked it, because it felt right etc. but inspiration has to come from somewhere right?

My first real fandom was Without a Trace, and that had a character called Samantha Spade – hence how I first really heard the name ‘Samantha’. I’d been out of that fandom for a couple of years so I didn’t name myself after her, that’s just how I heard the name BUT Samantha Carter – Stargate. I did not discover this until 2014 (6 years later) but it’s like fate, or serendipity or something, because if I have a fictional role model then it’s her. I’m absurdly pleased that we share a name and should I have known about Stargate when I was 18, then I definitely would have named myself after her.

2. When was the last time you cried? Wednesday, big meltdown, very bad.

3. Do you have kids? Nope. Not now, not ever.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don’t know. It depends on my mood. I have been told that I do have quite a dry sense of humour so maybe?

5. What’s the first thing you notice about other people? Proximity to me (do I need to move out of the way?), then what they are wearing.

6. What’s your eye color? Brown

7. Scary movie or happy ending? I do not do scary, so definitely 110% happy endings.

8. Any special talent? Erm I hate these kind of questions. Ugh, erm, I don’t know, I have a talent for self-destruction certainly. Oh! I have crazy fast reflexes, that’s kinda positive.

9. Where were you born? In apparently the most disgustingly dirty hospital in England. The stories mum tells *shudder*

10. What are your hobbies? Writing, digital drawing, pen and ink drawing, painting/colouring, 3D modelling, Lego

11. Do you have any pets? Nope

12. What sports do you/have you played? Best part of two decades ago I played cricket for half a minute. More recently? I do enjoy swimming laps, I’m not particularly fast or anything but the repetitive motion is nice. Unfortunately it’s difficult (and expensive) to go to the swimming pool so I don’t do that anymore.

13. How tall are you? 5′2″

14. Favorite subject in school? History, English

15. Dream job? Author. But more realistically something freelance, where I can work from home, communicate with clients through email.

Tagging: @sarashouldbestudying, @bookwormchocaholic, @winterswanderlust, @wizzygold, @worryinglyinnocent, @jackabelle73

Posted on by

Creative writing tutor talking about the summative assignment “this isn’t about handing in something you wrote last year”

*side-eyes-self*

“I’m sure nobody would do that”

Oops should I? Shouldn’t I? Or I suppose the real question – will I get caught?

Posted on by

Why is it so hard to get started on tasks? Like I waste so much time doing nothing, thinking I need to get on with something /headdesk

Also I’ve become slightly obsessed with my rubix cube…

why self?

Posted on by

Hehe 🙂

This most recent gifset on my dash is from the Season 7 episode Heroes from Stargate SG-1. The guest star is the documentary filmmaker. When I first watched this episode back in 2014, I don’t believe I’d seen him in anything else.

Subsequently I watched Leverage and I don’t believe I connected him with Victor Dubenich, so the actor was just Dubenich in my mind

and then I watched Warehouse 13 – and of course he’s Artie.

So now I’m just sitting here sniggering like a five-year-old because some part of my brain thinks this is funny and I don’t even know why. Maybe it’s because one of my things when watching stuff is ‘name that guest star’ – I’m not good at remembering actors names but I can list what else I’ve seen them in. Which for a fan of Canadian sci-fi is pretty much every other actor sometimes heh.

So yeah Artie, Dubenich, now Stargate documentary man – cool 🙂

#what even is my brain

Posted on by

Excuse me while I have a minor tantrum.

I did a foundation year pre-degree because they weren’t certain I could hack it at degree level without some preparation. I hadn’t done English at A level (and that was too long ago to count anyway). They said it would “put me on par with my fellow students” etc.

So I paid attention. I already knew how to write an essay but I dutifully made sure to use their designated referencing style, and I formatted it how they liked etc. Not all my essays were good, some were, but a couple did bomb a little as I missed the point of the question BUT the mechanics were solid.

PLEASE TELL ME WHY THE ESSAYS ARE COMPLETELY FUCKING DIFFERENT THIS YEAR??????

Reference style – changed.

Formatting – changed.

^^ this I could deal with without the minor tantrum BUT they are also completely different forms of essay. Last year we did research ones. This year I was panicking like crazy because I couldn’t work out what I was supposed to research only to learn it’s textual analysis – reference the text itself and no research required outside of it – aka totally different methodology and not anything I have ever done before.

They said I had to do a foundation as otherwise it would be like throwing me in at the deep end.

I’m thinking they just wanted another 9 thousand pounds out of me. As if they cared at all about throwing us in at the deep end, they would have covered these utterly different essay structures last year.

Not happy! Gah!

#genuinely pissed off to be honest#I mean with the amount of student loan debt I’m carrying an extra year really makes no difference but still I feel scammed#they should have covered this last year as otherwise what was the point in last year? please somebody tell me

NaNo 2018: Week Two Pep Talk

Posted on by

“Measure your worth by the dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic.

Heya everyone

It’s Day Twelve, so coming up on the end of week two and the mid-point of NaNo madness, and I figured now was as good a time as any for me to pontificate on the magic of NaNo.

What NaNo is is that magical time of year where we get to be proud of being writers, we get to immerse ourselves in a supportive community and be part of something bigger. I don’t know about you but I just love how it promotes the written word and helps people fall in love with storytelling.

What NaNo isn’t is a stick to beat yourself with. Pulling out my trusty copy of No Plot? No Problem! Chris Baty says that the 50,000 word target is arbitrary. He picked up the shortest book on his shelf, thumbed through it and guesstimated. The 50k has merit, it’s long enough to be a challenge, short enough not to be intimidating but it’s a guideline only.

NaNo is a self-challenge, it is a fantastic tool, one which can walk with you no matter what stage of the journey you are on. At this point of the month we all have different word counts, and it’s possible that you aren’t where you want to be. There’s still over half the challenge to go and that’s kinda my point – the journey isn’t over yet!

“There’s always another chance, there’s always another trick, there’s always something more to learn.” – Flynn Carsen, The Librarians

If you are on pace – fantastic! If you are steaming on ahead – brilliant! If you are a little behind – don’t worry! NaNo is a self-challenge and what matters most is that you don’t give up. If you reach 50k early then go for the stars and write more. If you aren’t going to reach the 50k then keep writing anyway. No matter what you are going to end the month with more words than you started with. You will have faced the dragon of resistance and you will have won.

#had to work a Librarians quote in there somewhere it makes me happy#wrote this for my region and figured might as well share with my friends

Posted on by

“Do you have the grappler?”

“That’s not standard warehouse equipment.”

“It was in 1890”

Can I just say how much I LOVE that Myka is using HG’s grappler 🙂

“You can owe me one”