Mostly compliments, though. Sounds like it.

True. And I know myself from judging how hard it is to explain sometimes why I'm giving something a 4 out of 5 or a 9 out of 10 or whatever. With a lower score I can usually point to something specific and fixable, but when something is almost there it's a lot harder to identify the flaw, and I'm left spouting vagaries like, "The characters just didn't come alive for me," or "The pacing feels just a trifle slow, but I can't put my finger on where to tighten it up."

Gerald Durrell is funny ... and he can be funny about himself. I remember reading one of his books from when he was young and his family was living on (I think) Cyprus.

Corfu. Yeah, My Family and Other Animals was one of my favourite books growing up. The scene where he's left an entire family of scorpions inside a matchbox while eating dinner had me rolling around on the floor.

Happy Birthday, Aimee!!

Stephanie, is there any chance you could e-mail me a copy of this picture? Even though your album is public, it won't let me do a capture. I'm collecting photos of all the buffista babes for my screen saver and I want to add one of Ellie.

Oh, fuck if I know. I just know you can't write it without the accent and not have it look supremely alien.

I think the biggest problem with patois isn't that the words themselves are that far in pronounciation or even usage than what most North Americans are used to, it's all in word order and the rhythm of the speech. I went to boot camp with two girls from Trinadad-Tobago and it took me nearly 6 weeks out of the 8 we were there before I even recognized the language they were speaking was a form of English. It had a very British pronounciation, but it was the syllabic emphasis and word order that had thrown me most for a loop. Once I realized that and quit trying to "translate" in my head, I found I could understand them pretty much all the time. But, I don't think you can translate that effectively to the printed page because we tend to write more formally than we speak and it all comes out sounding very stilted.

Stephanie, is there any chance you could e-mail me a copy of this picture?

This is like asking a little kid to look for a lost puppy, but way less sinister.

Insent momentarily.

Sail, I'd be honored if you included Sara -- even though she's not quite a Buffista baby, she is the baby of an often-lurking, still-kind-of-new Buffista. I can email you a picture if you like.

So, high scores, on the whole, which is good

Those are great scores, Susan! Way to write.

Cindy, sounds like you and the ped. worked it out -- he sounds like a good guy whose office had a bad day. And, of course, the best news is that Chris is fine. {{{Cindy}}}

AmyLiz, please do! I still need to get pictures of Mal and Emma, too. I know Aimee's posted tons, but I didn't start collecting until recently. I haven't found the OTMal pic yet, either. Heck, I still need ones of Owen, Kara, Aidan, casperflea and Frannie. I'm going to have to do some thread searching to find some of the cuter pics, like that one of Owen blowing dandylions which is too perfect for words. And, if I'm leaving anyone out, please feel free to remind me. We seem to be sprouting right and left and it's gotten hard to keep track.

hidey ho. It's much more comfortable in the house now that the coolant's been replenished in the AC.

Wedding madness- one of my BFFs is getting married on a Monday morning in the Poconos (it's Columbus Day, but still) and I got uncomfortable wondering if she'd invited my family (this friend has been invited to my sister's wedding, and both my parent's recent 60th birthday blowout bashes and has been close to the whole family for years). I was uncomfortable for my own sake, so I left a voicemail telling her I'd opened my mouth to my sister and maybe she wanted to call them herself (on the assumption they were invited). Anyway, she called back, and I very carefully did not make any judgement or plea for invitations for my family, though I know they are gonna be pissed/crushed, because they are not invited.

Blearg. This will be a thing. I think things are OK with my friend, but I'm pre-emptively hating the fall out that will occur once my parents find out.

But it's not about me. But I do, you know, have to deal with them on a fairly regular basis and I don't want to have to deal with the drama.

Sigh. I just feel like I messed up somehow, either by telling my sister about the wedding, or asking C. about their status.

Oh, Nora, that's a tough spot for you, but you didn't do one thing wrong. Your attitude is healthy about it, though. You understand why your family would be hurt. You respect her right to invite the people she can/wants to--to her wedding. I hope the fallout is minimal for you. Did she invite you and Tom?

((Nora))

...did I even say Happy Birthday to the Empress yet? I can't remember. If I didn't, belated Birthday wishes.

Wow. Am all shaky and kind of brimming-with-story-but-thirsty-for-more after mainlining Veronica Mars and just watching the last ep. Wow. What a fucking excellent show that was. Is. Want more. Well, actually, no, want fic, and that's what I'm going to do now - reading and pondering. And THEN I want more canon.

Meanwhile, though, I've thoroughly enjoyed this whole accent discussion. Oddly enough accents are already an issue in the story I'm working on right now. In the space of 3 chapters I've found myself writing someone who's Canadian (denoted by vocabulary choices and speech patterns), someone who's Scots (accent explicitly mentioned, occasional vocabulary choices indicative), someone who's from Jamaica (accent mentioned, impact on vocabulary/speech patterns negligible, so it hasn't cropped up otherwise) and someone who's Polish (accent mentioned, grammar choices and vocabulary specific to the character and pronunciation made explicit in a couple of words). And none of this was a conscious decision. Weird.

Veronica Mars. My new favourite show. Loving the illicit files I've got here, but I'll definitely be buying shiny DVDs just as soon as they're available. What a cracking show. Damn. Want more NOW.