What's New Archive

What's New - December, 2000


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Saturday December 30, 2000

Random Ramblings (By Celine): Note -- I have consumed absolutely *no* alcohol, drugs, or other mind altering chemicals today, or any other day for that matter. What follows is straight (we use that term loosely) from my brain (again, we use that term loosely). Do not be alarmed. My cat, Tango, will keep me from harming myself or others.

No update tonight, but really, it's not my fault. See, our lovely Beyond Uber editor Raven sent me some stuff to post, and unfortunately it requires me to think to figure the stuff out. No, it's not complicated, but my brain isn't cooperating at all tonight, so I'm gonna have to try again tomorrow night.

I don't blame Raven, either... I just wanted to make that clear so she won't threaten me with that virtual Xena sword letter opener again. You know, Raven thinks you folks think she's completely strange because of me mentioning her here in the updates. Imagine that. So let me just say it now to clear up any misconceptions -- she is a perfectly lovely individual whom I admire greatly, with a great sense of humor, compassion, and a strong sense of what makes a true friend.

And she's a little on the strange side. But, really, that's a good thing. After all, if you were normal, you wouldn't be reading this right now. So there. We all belong to the same club for the strange. No, wait... that sounds too much like the hair club for men. Club la Strange? Chateaux Strange? The Group For the Strange People Who Love Uber? That last one has possibilities.

Did I mention Raven gave me an Exposure "Straight My Ass" hat for Christmas, signed by both T Novan and Fanatic? I think that says everything. Seriously, Raven is a great person, and I'm honored to have her as a friend.

As for what's she's doing hangin' out with me... well. I'll leave that alone. She does have that sword letter opener, after all.

Can you tell I'm really tired? I'm taking rambling to a completely new level. Usually, I don't make much sense, but it's in a somewhat less confusing way (maybe). Tonight, I'm just not making sense at all.

Oh, hey... Maggie A says not only do I look like my doctor's nurse's friend in Idaho and the lady who works at a store in Salem, OR, but I also look like Maggie's best friend! The world is a spooky place, friends.

Wait! That's it! That's why my brain is fried tonight. All these people who look like me -- it was just too much for my brain to compute, so it just shut down! Yeah, that's it! There are *waaaaaaaaaay* too many Mini-Me's running around! Okay, I'm short, so I probably qualify as the Mini-Me, but you get the idea.

Or... maybe not. Who knows.

Friday December 29, 2000

Random Ramblings (By Celine): I'm a fairly non-descript looking individual, so it's pretty strange knowing I have a twin in a neighboring town. I've heard tell of a woman who works at a store in Salem (Oregon), which isn't too far from where I live. I first heard about her four or five years ago, and hadn't really thought about it since... that is, until I went to the store a couple of days ago and some guy asked me why I wasn't at work. When I replied I work from home, he said, "No, you work in Salem." He thought I was the other woman. When I explained I knew I had a double, he said she and I could be twins.

I'm scared. I hardly ever go to Salem, but one of these days, I'm gonna have to find this person so I can be properly freaked out in person. I've also heard tell of someone in Idaho who looks like me. Or I look like them. Or whatever.

In other news, I want to thank Janice for sending that adorable Garfield eCard, and Happy New Year to you, too. There wasn't an email address on the card, so I couldn't write back to you privately.

Long update tonight, since I didn't get a chance to update the last couple of days. I've been working. A site I maintain for a realtor is undergoing a redesign, and it has to be up by the first of the year. So if you're wondering why there are so many 'summary pending' listings in this update, I haven't had time to read. I hate it when that happens.

What's New:

Monday December 25, 2000

Random Ramblings (By Celine): Ho, ho, ho... I've returned from Christmas Eve spent at my brother's house where nobody killed each other, the kids were fairly well behaved, the turkey tasted very good. All in all, it was a nice family get together.

My father looked the part of Santa, with the hat and all:

  • http://www.specialweb.com/christmas/santa_dad.jpg

    Yes, the beard is real, so he looks like Santa all year round. Don't tell him I put that picture up... he'd probably strangle me.

    For the record, I didn't actually do any uber reading while at my brother's house. No, my time was spent pretending things like chocolate pie were good for me. And brownies. Then there was that ranch dip... They are good for me, right?

    Don't answer that.

    I'm a groovy person now because I am the proud recipient of a lava lamp. I've always wanted one. Okay, so I wasn't technically alive in the 60's when the were first the thang to have, but that's not the point. The point is the lava lamp is very nifty. And I have one.

    I hope all of you are having a very happy holiday season.

    What's New:

    Sunday December 24, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): It's Christmas Eve! Time to gather with your family and friends, and let them take part in the holiday festivities while you sit in the corner and read uber.

    That's what everyone does... right? Okay, that's not what I'll be doing either, but I will be taking my Palm Pilot, which presently has several uber stories on it I have yet to read, just in case.

    I'll be over at my oldest brother's house for Christmas Eve, and my other brother's for Christmas Day. My oldest brother is a Christmas fanatic (in many ways, he's worse than me... scary, eh?) and he just can't wait every year to host the opening of the presents. He sits beside the tree and helps the kids pass them all out. Although, he's informed us this year we will be proceeding somewhat differently, and will all take turns opening presents. I'm not sure, but I think he has it all diagramed out. Maybe even assigned seating. I would put nothing past him when it comes to this stuff. You should see him during the Forth of July... him and his hundreds and hundreds of dollars of fireworks.

    Ooooh... in sort-of-holiday news, I am now a proud owner of an Exposure (http://ausxip.com/exposure) hat, autographed by Fanatic and T Novan. Yep, our lovely, kind, nifty, nice, spiffy, and giving Beyond Uber editor, Raven, gave it to me for Christmas. It's the "straight my ass" version of the hat (there were different phrases you could get on the backs of the hats), and Raven doesn't believe I'll wear it in public. But I will. Oh yes, I will. I'll be a good ol' scandal my small home town. ;)

    I hope everyone is having a fun and safe holiday, and thanks to all of you for reading and being a part of this site and list. I have had and am still having a blast helping run this darned thing, and it's really nice to get email from you guys letting me know you appreciate things. That makes it all worthwhile. That, and it gives me an excuse to look for new uber. :)

    UFFD What's New Temp URL:

    The Ultimate's (UFFD) What's New page has a temporary location right now, while an uploading problem is fixed. You can access it at:

  • http://www.geocities.com/xenafiction23/whatsnew.htm

    Yes, the Ultimate and Beyond Uber are on the same server, but thankfully I haven't been having difficulty. Hopefully the site will be back to normal soon.

    What's New:

    • Love's Journey - Part 11 Conclusion By Carrie Carr posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Conclusion to a wonderful story. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    • The Awakening - Part 6 (A Christmas Miracle) By Lena posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

    • The Hunt - Part 2 By Teagen2 posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Valerie - Part 2 By Dreams posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    • Gossamer - Episode 54: Books and Their Covers Posted on the Gossamer site (Beyond Uber)
      Kris Hollingsworth and Bruce Dooley have an inspirational rendezvous. A Gossamer Falls citizen runs afoul of the law. Constance Hollingsworth and her daughter get answers.

    • Soul Crossing - Part 13 By Web Bard posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. Reese and Beth travel to Potidaea and are mysteriously drawn to oceanside cliffs just outside of town. *****Celine Recommends*****

    Saturday December 23, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Happy holidays to everyone! All kinds of holidays are happening now, and I hope all of you have wonderful ones, whichever ones you celebrate.

    Yesterday I went shopping with my parents, so I had to brave the mall and several stores. It was awful, my friends. There were people everywhere. And when people are shopping for a holiday, they (in other words, anyone but us) automatically become stupid, leaving their cards in the middle of isles, standing in the middle of isles, sleeping in the middle of isles, camping in the middle of isles, etc.

    I should have taken one of those really loud horns with me so I could just honk those stupid people out of my way. I could just come up behind someone and *HONK* and they'd be dazed enough so I could just nudge them out of the way.

    I had to buy a new CD-RW drive because my old one decided it didn't want to burn CDs anymore. That's the third one I've had to buy in the last few years. I have rotten luck in trying to keep any sort of electronics equipment from malfunctioning. But the bright side is the new CD-RW drive is twice as fast as my old one, so I can create CDs in a rather rapid fashion. Which is a good thing. I keep download so much Xena related stuff, there's no way my hard drive could hold it all. No, I'm not addicted... nah. Not at all. Nope.

    And if you believe that, I have this nice Arizona beach front property I'd like to sell ya.

    My kitten Tango keeps redecorating my Christmas tree. He seems to think all the decorations would look better laying on the floor beneath the tree. I happen to disagree, so he and I haven't quite been seeing eye to eye. It could be because he's much shorter than me. It's hard to be eye to eye unless I pick him up. And I can't pick him up when he's underneath the tree.

    Oh, hey... Raven, our lovely Beyond Uber editor, has told me to lay one rather large Raven Recommends on Minerva's story, White Nights, which can only be found via Minerva's eGroups mailing list at http://www.egroups.com/group/Minervasplace .

    What's New:

    Wednesday December 20, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): I tripped the circuit the Christmas lights are on today. Again. So, I had to unplug part of the lights. *sigh* Guess I'm at the limit of how many lights that circuit will hold. I'm going to have to get another one wired before next December. :)

    I got my printed copy of advocate's excellent story "The Story of Me" (http://www.btinternet.com/~a.e.c/me1.htm) today in the mail, so I'm having fun reading that story all over again, squirrels and all. That book is actually the first printed uber I've purchased. I really have to fix that someday, when I get a little extra money (hehe... haha... whoooo.... as if that's gonna happen! :) ). I really, really have to get Tropical Storm one of these days. It seems somehow anti-uber (or whatever you want to call it) not to have a copy of that.

    URL Update:

    Mythe has created a mirror site for her stories:

  • http://www.geocities.com/mythe_bgon/mythe.html

    If you're having any trouble with her Crosswinds site, head on over to the GeoCities one.

    What's New:

    • Valerie - Part 3 By Dreams posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story (a long time comin', but well worth the wait ;) ). *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    • Gossamer - Episode 53: Secret Identities Posted on the Gossamer Site (Beyond Uber)
      Lisa and Mark experience teenaged growing pains. Abigayle finally gets her way. And Constance finds her brother, who is more than Constance bargained for.

    • Losing It - Part 13 By Mythe posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Undeniable - Conclusion By KM Moon posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Conclusion to a wonderful story. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    Tuesday December 19, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): I had to go to the hardware store today to pick up more extension cords. I ran out when putting up lights yesterday. I already had several extension cords, but all of them are presently being used in the lights display. That's a lot of cords. So I spend $20 on more today.

    I'm hopeless.

    But it's worth it when people stop their cars to look at the lights. The other night I was out working on the lights when a woman stopped her car and started saying "thank you" to me, repeatedly. She said she comes to the neighborhood every year just to see our house, and that her two kids were in the car saying "ooh" and "ahh" at all the lights.

    That's why I do it. That, and I think I was dropped on my head as a child.

    I've recently been pondering becoming Canadian since I'm less than thrilled with my country, the U.S., and our president-elect, George "Wubba Wubba" Bush. So Pat S., an actual Canadian, has been giving me the requirements to be a Canadian citizen. She's been very helpful to me in this regard. But, since I can't ice skate and I don't watch or participate in hockey events, so I think I'm out of luck. Hey, maybe I can get a pass since I know that another actual Canadian, Michael J. Fox's real middle name is Andrew.

    Or maybe not. That's okay, I like the U.S., anyway. I'll just pretend Dar and Kerry from Melissa Good's stories are really the president and vice president for at least the next four years.

    What's New:

    Monday December 18, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): I took some pictures. Yep, now you too can see some not very good photos of my Christmas lights. Do you know how difficult it is to take pictures of Christmas lights? I do. It's *very* difficult.

    We're not finished putting up the lights yet, but you can get a general idea. I also took pictures of most of my animated Santas, etc., collection. Head on over to:

  • http://www.specialweb.com/christmas

    In the 'lights' directory, there's one photo called cat_murphy.jpg. Murphy, one of my cats, was laying inside the living room by the window, and I took the photo through that window when I was outside taking pictures of the lights. Anyway, the rest are of actual lights... not the greatest photos, unfortunately, but they aren't all that bad, either.

    The Santas are much better. They're in the cleverly titled 'santas' directory. I thought that up all by myself.

    We finally put up the Christmas tree today, so you can see it in the photos of the front of the house. It only has lights on it so far because Tango, the lumberjack kitten, has climbed up in the tree several times already. We aren't sure it will be safe to actually put decorations on. On the plus side, the tree stand held the tree up quite nicely.

    My cocker spaniel, Kira, gets rather strange whenever there's a Christmas tree in the house. She gets close to it and starts moving in slow motion (and I mean this literally) around it, under it, etc. I don't have a clue why. It's a strange thing to watch. She doesn't do that with anything else.

    What's New:

    Friday December 15, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Hmmm.... short update tonight. I didn't do it, I swear! Okay, let me rephrase that. I did do the update, but I didn't make it so short. No, wait... that's not it. Okay, um... the update is short, I included everything I could find, so I couldn't help but make it sure, and it's not my fault.

    Yeah. Or not.

    Anyway, I am happy to report I am definitely on the mend as far as my strep throat is concerned. However, my insanity is a lost cause. I'm sure all of you had guessed that already.

    In the absolutely adorable department, Felix Brat has created the cutest most adorable graphic. It's of my kitten, Tango, king of all he surveys. The graphic is entitled Santa Tango:

  • http://www.specialweb.com/kitty/santatango.jpg

    Have I mentioned it's adorable? A very big thanks to Felix for creating such a wonderful graphic.

    In this here list news, we now have 156 members! I want to thank all of you for joining the list, and I hope y'all like your stay here. It does get me to thinking, however... which is always a dangerous thing. Strange things happen when I think. Weird things. It's really best if I don't think at all.

    So, I was thinking that having 156 members on this list means 156 people, provided everyone who gets this update actually reads it, are reading this. My ramblings. My completely illogical, unstructured, ridiculous ramblings.

    Now, we all know I have more than a few screws loose. Should I take comfort that so many people continue to receive this update even with the ramblings contained therein? Or, should I be scared that so many people receive this update and several of you actually seem to *like* these ramblings?

    That's too deep for my brain. I think I'll just settle for being happy all of you are here, whatever the reason. Let's get on with the uber, already.

    Site News:

    Happy 4th birthday to MaryD's site, the Australian Xena Information Page! And, as if there could possibly be anyone out there who doesn't already know where her site resides, the address is:

  • http://ausxip.com/index2.html

    In other news, Kodi Wolf, uber and classic X/G bard, has a new site:

  • http://www.geocities.com/kodiwolf/xenafic/

    It will be changing again as Kodi has registered a domain name, so keep your eyes peeled for its permanent home. There's some good stuff there, so I'm sure you won't want to lose track of the URL.

    What's New:

    • Illumination - Part 1 By Jules Mills posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Latest in the wonderful Nano series. It's very nice to see this series back with a new story. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • Assassin - Chapter 10 By Kodi Wolf posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Passion's Plaything By Sally Bud posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
      A parody written in round robin style by various members of the illustrious Swollen Bud committee. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • Unfinished Business By Fantasy posted at ForevaXena (Beyond Uber Alt)
      The fifth part in this continuing series has Cody and De coming to some sobering decisions.

    Thursday December 14, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Okay. So, a computer tech came out to my house to look at my computer -- my old one, not my new one -- because it's been having this bizarre sound problem for as long as I've had it. The tech is the sixth one to come out and look at it over the last year. He came out, looked at it, and said he didn't know what the problem was. Well, duh. He's going to talk to the computer manufacturer and get back to me. Well, duh. He was a nice guy and it's not his fault the manufacturer doesn't know its corporate head from its corporate... um, basement.

    That was the highlight of my day. In uber news, I actually managed to read some today, so I guess I am starting to feel better. I was a couple of weeks behind on Exposure, so now I'm all caught up. And Pat S. forced me to read the angsty first chapter of the sequel to Silent Legacy by Ciarán Llachlan Leavitt (called Blow the House Down -- see the What's New section for the URL). Okay, so maybe *forced* isn't exactly the right word. In truth, I begged her to send me the URL because I couldn't find it. But the fact remains... um... what was it again? Oh, yeah. I read it. It's good.

    Well, duh.

    What's New:

    • Love's Journey - Part 9 By Carrie Carr posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    • Culture Clash - Chapter 20 By Malaurie Barber posted at XenaEyes (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

    • Blow the House Down - Part 1 By Ciarán Llachlan Leavitt posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Sequel to Silent Legacy. This time around, it's more of a thriller than a romance, but there will be plenty of that too as Jae and Reed work out how to build a life together. Falling in love was the easy part - now they have to make it stick. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • Soul Crossing - Part 11 By Web Bard posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Reese and Beth arrive in Amphipolis and meet Reese's grandparents. Reese asks Beth a life altering question on Christmas Eve. Beth has a surprise for her friend, as well. Continuing story. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • Adventures In the Dust Trade - Part 4 By WolfDragon posted at Amazon Nation (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    Wednesday December 13, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): "Grandma got run over by a reindeer... walking home from our house Christmas Eve...." Really, you haven't lived until you've seen an animated reindeer sing and dance to that song. If you ever happen to be in the neighborhood of my house, you can stop in and see it. You can even press the button to make it play. Then you can say you have truly lived.

    In other news, I was chatting with our lovely Beyond Uber editor, Raven, today and she was naming off a list of stories she wants me to put a Raven Recommends on. The list is rather long. Forgive me if I forget a few here and there, but I'll do my best. I told her to make a list so I can keep track. By the way, some of the what's new listings are repeats... I'm adding Raven Recommends to them, hence the re-listings. It's not my fault. Raven made me do it. :)

    Congrats go to Missy Good, who is writing her third Xena episode. This is so very cool. Her first two were great, so I'm sure the third one will be, as well.

    Did I mention I forgot to tape Return of the Valkyries *again* the other day? Raven, bless her heart, is going to send me a copy. She's such a nice person. Did I mention I got her a lump of coal for Christmas? Really, I did. It came in a cute little tin with Santa on the cover.

    In my own story news, I actually wrote a little bit on my Uber Is As Uber Does sequel. Okay, mainly I wrote disclaimers... but they're really *good* disclaimers. As for the story itself, I wrote a little of that, too. I'm struggling with how I want the sequel to play... more serious, same type of humor, etc. I'll figure it out one of these days. I will say the story has a title. I like the title. But I won't reveal it until the story is completed. That should be sometime before the next century.

    Uber News:

    Two new stories will be published only to mailing lists, so here's the info:

  • Valley of Deep Shadows - Novel #6 - By MaryD (Beyond Uber Alt)

    VODS is a sequel to New Beginnings. This story will be not online but if you wish to follow it you can subscribe to my mailing list where I will post beta chapters of the story. To subscribe send a message to mdfiction-subscribe@egroups.com. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • White Nights - by Minerva (Beyond Uber Alt)

    White Nights is the story of two women finding each other and themselves on the back drop of Minnesota blizzards with danger and jealousy not far behind threatening to tear them apart. Meet Michelle St. Jean, on the run from her old life and searching for a new one. Learn about Dr. Bobbi Waszinski, a woman who has been apart of enough tragedy that it has changed her, seemingly irrevocably, making her devoted to her patients-- giving them so much that there is nothing left for herself or others. Minnesota is a small world for them, and Ivanhoe is even smaller, where they literally run into each other. It is only available through egroups at Minervasplace--you can join at http://www.egroups.com/group/Minervasplace . *****Raven Recommends*****

    What's New:

  • Soul Crossing - Parts 9 and 10 By Web Bard posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Continuing story. *****Celine Recommends*****

  • Culture Clash - Part 20 By Malaurie Barber posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • Cold - Part 7 By Migit posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • The Bluest Eyes In Texas - Part 1 By Linda Christ posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Summary pending. Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • Stage To Phoenix (aka Hellcat's Honeymoon) By Barbara Davies posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
    The latest in the Zee and Christie series. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

  • Scars - Chapter 6 By DJ Wood posted at Tigg's site (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Conclusion? Not sure. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • Up In the Air - Part 3 By K. Darblyne posted at Amazon Nation (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

  • Sedona Rain - Part 12 By Carole Giorgio posted at Amazon Nation (Beyond Uber Alt)
    Continuing story. *****Raven Recommends*****

    Tuesday December 12, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): You know you don't feel well when: you don't feel up to reading anything... at all... including uber. This is depressing, friends.

    I'm afraid this horrid affliction is currently afflicting yours truly. Oh, I've tried to read. I have a few ubers recommended to me by our lovely Beyond Uber editor, Raven, loaded onto my Palm Pilot. I couldn't even finish the latest Kandis Glasgow update! *sigh* Oh, the heck I must endure.

    I want to thank Pat S. for emailing me with a "get well soon" wish. In answer to your question, Pat, yes, I do sleep. Frequently. It's one of my favorite activities, and I engage in it nightly. Thanks for your concern... I definitely appreciate it.

    On the palm pilot front, one of my favorite bards, GabGold (http://www.geocities.com/gabskokopellicafe), has put her stories online in Palm Pilot doc format. This is very cool.

    Some New URLs:

    The ex-Guards mailing list is getting a new name, The Bards' Village, at the beginning of the year. Check out their site:

  • http://www.art-with-attitude.com/exguards/exguards.html

    Also, Lunacy's Reviews, a site which has provided many of us with hours upon hours upon hours of entertainment, now has it's own domain:

  • http://lunacyreviews.com

    What's New:

    Saturday December 9, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Well, I unpacked my animated Santa collection. Technically, the Santa collection includes animated reindeer, snowman, and mice, but let's not be too picky. In fact, the mouse was purchased yesterday. He shakes and sings a Christmas version of "Jailhouse Rock" entitled "Christmas Rock." It was virtually impossible to pass that up.

    I have Santas who snore, soak their aching feet, paint, make lists, sing duets with Mrs. Claus, disco dance, rap, sing 50's style, rock 'n' roll, rock in a rocking chair, wave a lighted candle around, and several other things. All told, there are over 30... not a huge collection, but it's good enough for me. Until I buy more, that is.

    Yes, I'll be taking pictures, as soon as I can clear out the outdoor lights and boxes so things are at least halfway presentable.

    In illness news, my throat's better... I can't talk worth anything right now, but at least it feels a little better. The plus side of getting sick is I'm not eating as much as I usually do, so I'm hoping I lose a little weight. Not exactly the Richard Simmons approved method, but I'll take what I can get. ;)

    What's New:

    Friday December 8, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): I have strep throat. That explains why my sore throat wouldn't go away. It's not too bad, so the antibiotics should clear it right up (in theory). In the meantime, I'm going to use this as an excuse to read more uber. And to read my new Dave Barry book ("Dave Barry Is Not Taking This Sitting Down") because he's my idol. If you want to read some very funny stuff about absolutely nothing, read something by him. His weekly columns are online at http://www.herald.com/content/archive/living/barry/content.htm . You can see where I got the inspiration for my Random Ramblings. My Ramblings are but pale imitations of his masterful work. :)

    Someone asked how one keeps a Christmas tree up in one's house when a cat resides in said house. Well, the trick is, get a really good stand, place the tree in that stand, and lock the cat(s) in the garage for the next few weeks. Or, place some bolts in the wall behind the tree and wire the tree to the wall. Or, Leave the tree laying on the floor and decorate with bows, etc., which are to be permanently glued to the branches. Or, just live with the fact you will have to pick up the tree several times a day.

    Actually, the stand I have makes it darned near impossible to tip over the tree. I'm hoping it will once again be cat proof this year, as my kitten Tango will be putting it to the test, I'm sure.

    What's New:

    Thursday December 7, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): 'Twas a boring day today. I can't even think of anything to ramble about. How depressing is that? Um... have to go to the doctor tomorrow for a sore throat... okay, let me rephrase that. I made it sound like I'm going so I can get a sore throat. No, I'm going because I have one and it won't go away. Maybe I can leave it with the doctor.

    I bought two Christmas decorations yesterday... a little snowman who wiggles his feet and sings a Christmas song in country twang style, and a musical Santa Claus who has a snow globe for a belly. There's a fiber optic Santa at a local store I've been drooling over, but it's also $40, so drooling is as far as I'll go on that one. It's not my fault I have this fairly large animated Santa collection. Personally, I blame my mother. She feeds my habit, despite her many declarations that she won't buy any more.

    A reader named Kit said I need to take photos of my decorations, and that I shall... as soon as they're all set up. I'm hoping to accomplish that feat sometime this weekend or early next week.

    Huh. Guess I found some things to ramble about. That just proves my mind is just filled with all kinds of meaningless, pointless, and all around irrelevant things.

    What's New:

    • Love's Journey - Part 8 By Carrie Carr posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    • In the Air By sorcera posted at the Atheneum Archive (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Summary pending. Recommended by reader Myst R., who calls the story a "funny, ticklishly romantic uber" and that people should read it... so give it a shot. I plan on doing so here when I get a chance.

    • Cold - Part 6 By Migit posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Up In the Air - Part 2 By K. Darblyne posted at Amazon Nation (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Finding My Way - Part 3 By Mavis Applewater posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Losing It - Part 12 By Mythe posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Drag King: The Burning Dream - Part 30 By Smitty posted at the New Library of Alexandria (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Taught By Love - Part 17 By Zoe posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • Starting Over By Kelly Aten posted at Lynka's (Beyond Uber)
      Summary pending. Complete.

    • Moving On By Kelly Aten posted at Lynka's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Sequel to Starting Over. Complete.

    Wednesday December 6, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Oooh... I just took some cough syrup, and now I'm really dizzy. And it's not even a good kind of dizzy.

    In other news, the fantastic bard GabGold sent me some Christmas lights for my computer screen today, and they are very cool. If any of you want me to email you the little program, let me know at celinec@wvi.com. And, in case you're curious, the program is virus-free, so no worries there.

    Speaking of lights, I put up an animated angel, a lighted snowman, a flashing candy cane, three large lighted snowflakes, and a lighted wreath today in the yard. And, I read "The Fenced Fields" (http://merwolf.com/academy/dee_fencedfields.html) by dee today... nice story. Heartwarming and sweet. It's beyond uber alt, and is finished.

    Something curious I just noticed -- at Migit's what's new page (http://www.btinternet.com/~a.e.c/new.htm), she has the following: "Tuesday 5th December: Rebuilding Advocate's Briefs." Does that sound odd to you, too? How does one rebuild one's briefs, anyway? ;)

    Short update tonight, since I'm dizzy and all.

    FF Site News:

    Shadowfen's fan fiction site has a new site address!

  • http://shadowfen.com/ffindex

    You've probably noticed it was offline for a bit, but a new host was found so the site is back in business.

    What's New:

    Tuesday December 5, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): In the process of buying a heat deflector for a heating vent, I inadvertently bought some more Christmas light shape thingies -- a little sleigh and a little reindeer. It was a complete accident. I don't know how they ended up in my scooter's basket at all.

    But, I will confess I really have nothing on Sue. She emailed me to let me know she has not one but three Christmas trees. And she lives in an apartment. Now *that* is what I call true holiday decorating. And, Sue, I hope you get that scanner from Santa... I really want to see photos. :)

    We tried to acquire a Christmas tree over the weekend, but the one lot in town (which is pretty small) had only really short trees. So guess it's off yonder to a bigger town to get one. It's strange... I live in Oregon where we grow Christmas trees everywhere (there are at least three tree farms within a mile radius of my home), but getting one is darned near impossible this year.

    Maybe I'll just stick some lights and decorations on Tango, my kitten, and stand him in the corner.

    What's New:

    Monday December 4, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Well, I'm a dork. I had the cable box on the right channel, the VCR turned on, but I wasn't able to hit record when the latest Xena ep was on today. And I couldn't set the timer because my nephew had absconded the TV to play video games. I'm so depressed. I'm gonna have to wait until Saturday to tape and see it. Ah, well... guess I'll have to read more uber to make up for it.

    On the plus side, I put up more Christmas lights... which is why I wasn't at my VCR to hit record. I still have quite a ways to go on the lights, but at least I'm a little closer.

    On an uber-related note, I've been reading Conspiracy of Swords (http://merwolf.com/academy/CS1.html) (unfinished, beyond uber alt) by Shadowriter, and I'm really enjoying it, and hereby give it a Celine Recommends. The little scroll button on my Palm Pilot is getting quite the workout.

    What's New:

    • Soul Crossing - Part 7 By Web Bard posted at the Merpup Academy of Bards (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story. *****Celine Recommends*****

    • The Dark Huntress By Katia Davis (formerly Archeobard) posted at her site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      In a time long ago, when the Tuatha de Danann ruled Erin, a threat rose from across the sea. The Sons of Mil sought vengeance for the death of Ith, and invaded, ravaging the land and creating much slaughter. Many of the de Danann fled in the wake of this terror. Yet, one woman stayed; a human. She was called Dorche Giomanach, The Dark Huntress. Together with the fae woman, Isolde, the Huntress battles against the mounting foe in a desperate attempt to bring peace once more to the land of Erin.

    • Darkfin - Chapter 10: Fishing By Lizzy TJ posted at the Darkfin site (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • A Sacrifice For Friendship - Conclusion By DS Bauden posted at XenaEyes (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Conclusion. *****Raven Recommends*****

    • Best Friends - Part 6 By Maiacat posted at XenaEyes (Beyond Uber Alt)
      Continuing story.

    • Bombshell By FlyBigD posted at MaryD's (Beyond Uber Alt)
      #26 in the Plan D series. ****Raven and Celine Recommend*****

    Sunday December 3, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): Those who do view the web version of this have probably noticed I have a heck of a time keeping the dates and days of the week straight. A kind person named Talarian asked me what calendar I'm using because it apparently does match the standard one (which is so... boring and predictable, quite frankly ;) ), and I must say, I'm not at all sure. As I told Talarian, I'm kinda just making dates up as I go along.

    If you happen to notice me screw up on a date (or anything else, for that matter), feel free to email me at celinec@wvi.com to let me know. Go ahead... I can take it.

    Put up some Christmas lights today, and have quite a ways to go. Tomorrow (and the next several days, for that matter), be sure to think of me, out in the cold, with a loaded electric staple gun, putting up string after string after string after string of lights.

    Uber Stuff:

    DS Bauden has added two covers for her 'Raven Recommends' story, A Sacrifice For Friendship:

  • http://www.crosswinds.net/~dsbauden/friendship.html

    The covers by Calli and Geist, and are quite cool. And so is the story, from what Raven tells me. It's high on my to read list.

    What's New:

    Saturday December 2, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): The new Swollen Bud awards are out. All kinds of excellent bards received awards -- Advocate, T Novan, Fanatic, BL Miller, etc. Check 'em out at:

    http://members.spree.com/entertainment/sb_awards

    In random other news, does anyone find it comical the book to my Palm Pilot is over twice the size of the Palm Pilot itself? I haven't actually read it yet, but I'm sure it's filled with all kinds of useful information. I have, however, installed a little program which has a guppy swimming around. That's it. The little fish just swims around on the screen. Things like this can't help but make my life more efficient.

    In Tango the kitten news, he's presently walking across the top of my books on the top shelf of my bookcase. Earlier, he spent a good deal of time getting thoroughly washed by Kira, my dog. He has such a tough life. I want to be a cat when I grow up.

    What's New:

    Friday December 1, 2000

    Random Ramblings (By Celine): I'm now the proud owner of a Palm Pilot -- a IIIxe, for those who are interested. I was going to buy an eBook (thanks to Vicky for the suggestion :) ), but practicality won out... and I can easily justify it as a business expense. I know it's not as nifty as an eBook for reading uber and other such text, but it will do. The first part of Conspiracy of Swords (http://merwolf.com/academy/CS1.html) by Shadowriter is now sitting in my Palm Pilot, waiting for me to read it.

    I received my first Christmas card today from our lovely Beyond Uber editor, Raven. It has Sylvester the cat on it, and is very cute. So I guess it really is officially the Christmas season. I've already been buying Christmas music by people I've never heard of, and humming Christmas tunes at random. Frosty the Snowman is a perennial favorite, and it just gets worse during December.

    By the way -- I apparently missed a day of updates the other day at the Merpup Academy, so those are listed first in the What's New section (sorry, KM!).

    If I have forgotten any updates, please email me and let me know, at celinec@wvi.com.

    New Uber Bard Site:

    Fantasy has a new site up with a whole bunch of good stuff, including the Lost and Found series...

    What's New:

    The Beyond Uber What's New from November has been archived