I never feel quite so good about my day as when I start my morning with a few uninterrupted hours at a coffeeshop, with soft morning jazz playing in the background. I should do this more often, and not just when I have to wake up early to drive a sleepy brand new officer (&miarr;) to her base and then meet some fandom writing deadlines.

Yesterday I woke up to a holiday card from bironic! It had snowflakes and glitter and happiness :D Remember that week of rain we had about a month ago? Needless to say the rain has not yet dared return to our sadly summer districts, and yesterday I wore a short sleeved blouse to work. Oh globe, why you be so warm.

Since I do have writing to attend to, I will share just a handful of links that bear no delay:

1. girlmarauders's drumming primer. One of the truly fucking cool things about fandom is when you can just learn cool things from cool people who know stuff you don't. I never knew I wanted to know anything about drumming, even being in music-based fandoms for the past few years, but this primer is just interesting and cool and informative and hey, I know a little bit more about drumming now! It's got photos and gifs and videos and notes and sound samples and yes, Spencer Smith, drummer of Panic! at the Disco. You don't have to be in Bandom to read this, you just need to like learning things. (<-- see also my assumption that you don't already know things about drumming, ha. sorry for that.)

2. reena_jenkins has recorded an awesome podfic of Respectable Policework (Discworld/AI8/Bandom), which makes me happy to the bottom of my heart ♥. She is really great and has a special DEATH voice filter and I love her podfics a lot ♥. You can see her (uh, flattering :D) post and download link here.

<3>3. derryere made a Merlin falling asleep at his desk cake. How fucking cool is that.

4. Rec: Wherever it Goes by ruintooeasy and stele3 - Panic! at the Disco, Brendon/Spencer, 20k, PG-13, baseball AU. I'd meant to rec this when it came out, but it's one of those fics where I felt I would need time to write the proper rec it deserves and then you end up never getting around to it, so this is me, getting around to it.

Rookie pitcher Spencer Smith has a lot on his mind. His baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds, have made it to the post season, and reporters keep asking about his 'good friend,' singer Brendon Urie. All Spencer wants to think about is getting his team through nine innings... but the past keeps creeping in.

This is a fic for people who love (a) baseball and/or (b) closeted celebrity coming out stories and/or (c) great stories. Two boys meet in college and fall in love and become a little bit famous and suddenly things aren't as simple as they should be.

The story takes place throughout the course of a single major (or minor? uh) league baseball game, from the POV of Spencer, the rookie pitcher, inning-flashback-inning-flashback, woven together. The baseball scenes are riveting and the flashback scenes are like a punch in the gut, and if you like any of the things I mentioned above I urge you to read it even if you are not in Bandom. Baseball people, I'm looking at you <3

5. I will end with my desperate need to share a stupid pun which made me LOL IRL but since it involves Hebrew slang which requires explanation and explaining jokes is REALLY EMBARRASSING I will be putting it under the cut:

So if there was a Gabe Saporta/insert your Jewish character/Hanukkah PWP fic it would really have to be called... אז אגמור בשיר מזמור /o\ /o\ /o\

LOLOL I'M SORRY I'M STILL LOLING UGH. So: אז אגמור בשיר מזמור = "Az egmor be'shir mizmor" = "I will finish with a song" = the ending lyrics of the traditional Hanukkah song Maoz Tzur, aka Rock of Ages. The verb egmor (finish) in modern Hebrew also means to come. Sexually. If there was a WORSE WAY to explain that joke I don't know what it was /o\ Yes, this is me, keeping this post classy.

--Brought to you by me youtubing Maoz Tzur yesterday and reaching this guy, who, LOLing IRL again, what the fuuuck. He was inspired by David Archuleta (lol) so he thought he'd sing his own "holiday" song -- apparently Hanukkah is not a holiday but a "holiday" -- and he gives that dazzling performance and he has 36 thousand hits. I just. What is going on there.

Hmm maybe tonight I will post my own version of Maoz Tzur, as I have just gotten my mom to teach me the second-part-harmony so now I can harmonize with myself.

For now, have a wonderful day, and if you're lighting a candle tonight, chag sameach <3