i-con see you!

[asimplechord]

I am supposed to be doing something chore-related, but the washer and dryer are both full, and the kitchen is still occupied by a crazy man with hops and boiling malt, so I'm doing the icon meme-thing.

harriet_vane picked six icons, and if you comment, I'll pick six of yours to explain.


I made this one when I was really frustrated about the utter ignorance of basic chemistry that one of the grad students in my group exhibited. Her inability to do simple factor-label calculations to determine how much of a chemical to weigh out and dissolve in a specific volume was not directly related to the icon, though. The picture choice has its origin in my amusement at popular culture's idea of what a working science lab looks like. Whenever I see a laboratory in the news or on a TV show, I just shake my head in bemusement. Most chemists and biochemists don't work with solutions that brightly colored. Unless they do classical coordination chemistry, which is a very very rare thing, nowadays. And even if they did, it's unlikely that such concentrated solutions would be sitting around in 500-mL bottles on shelves.




I have a ridiculous love for Stephen Colbert's The Word. Sometimes it's just so spot with respect to what I'm feeling about whatever ridiculous headline is occupying the "real" news. This one was a screen shot from an episode a few years back, and I don't remember the general topic, off-hand, but I imagine it was Iraq-war-related. I have to admit: I was more fond of TCR during the Bush administration than I am right now. When the show first started, it felt like The Daily Show was stagnating, and Colbert was new and different and hilarious. He's still funny, but my love for Jon Stewart has re-emerged, and I think I'm just so tired of the pundits that SC is parodying that even the parody has gotten old for me.




I think I took the text for this icon from one Despair's Demotivators. I love that website's merch a lot. Mostly this gets used when I'm frustrated at stupid people. Obvsly.




I like to just look at this icon. It was from an interview that Brendon (and his bandmates, but we all know my priorities, right?) did at a Parisian radio station, I believe. I have no idea who took the photo, or I'd credit it. There is nothing about the composition that I do not like here: the mic in the foreground, the way the earphones frame his face and match his sweater, the way his smile occupies his entire face and his eyes crinkle up with it.




I would read a million words of fic about Patrick and Brendon being BFFs. Or about Brendon looking up to Patrick and needing his guidance when Panic first got signed. Or, you know, just them hanging out and talking about music. *chinhands* Yes, that. They could talk about composition theory forever, and I'd listen. But it doesn't get written. And for all that we see pictures of Pete and Bden splashed on the internets, how often is there a Patrick present? Minus, of course, all the stage pics from the blink-182 tour. (I sort of love Pete for putting them on stage, singing together. A lot.) So, yeah, this photo was from some article about the singers on FBR, and I had to make SOMETHING with it. I... actually, I think I even wrote a drabble to go with this icon at some point, as a result of a fic-meme.




LOL, I made this icon for me and why_me_why_not, because it seems like lately half our fic-writing is stuff that starts as text message pick-me-ups between us and shutyourface, and somehow it always degenerates to Brendon/Spencer porn. It's all Lesa's fault. The weird thing is that I made one icon and shared it with why_me_why_not, and something about my MacBook vs. her PC makes mine look purple, while her copy is pink. (The original was meant to be pink, as that's shutyourface's color.)

Comments

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

THAT IS WHY I PICKED THAT BRENDON-N-PATRICK ICON. BECAUSE THERE SHOULD BE BILLIONS OF WORDS OF THEIR BFF-NESS

I started a story like that one time, but I only wrote 10 or 15k of college!AU before I gave up. I forgot about that.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

It's like people don't understand the awesome power that Brendon and Patrick combined could be. Clearly, we need to convince someone to write about them for us. Patrick is too often a supporting character in Brendon-related fics. (I'm deliberately not acknowledging his starring role some of the really bad Pete/Patrick fic that probably exists, but which I ignore.)

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't really do Pete/Patrick, but I want Brendon and Patrick to be the best of best friends.And there to be EPIC fic about it. They would dork out together! I think I was writing about Spencer as Brendon's college roommate and Patrick as his music TA, and eventually -- 100k later, probably -- they would all have been bffs. I can't remember how it was going to end.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

*squeaks*

Like, Brendon would be SO BORED in whatever intro to composition class he was required to take? And Patrick doesn't mind teaching, but he does not like the fact that 19 of his 20 students are clearly there for an easy passing grade for the music/arts part of the general ed requirements, but he's excited when this term he has this dude who's actually talented, and into it, so discussion/studio sessions go much better than he ever remembers them being before?

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

YES. Like that. And he and Spencer don't hit it off immediately because Spencer's always hanging out with Ryan, but then Ryan meets Jon and kind of vanishes off to the cool kid parties and Brendon and Spencer realize that actually they are totally video-game playing soul mates.

And meanwhile Patrick's all "OH THANK GOD THIS ONE CAN ACTUALLY PLAY THINGS." ♥

I need to find someone who will finish this fic for me. I have a lot of set up! Someone just needs to write all the stuff.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

:D Brendon wipes the floor with Spencer the first time they play [insert video game here], which is an unpleasant shock b/c Spencer ALWAYS beat Ryan and Brent with no problem; he was the undisputed champion. But that just means he sets a new goal: school Brendon at said game, and Spencer is a very goal-oriented dude, so they spend a lot of time practicing.

And when the term ends and Patrick no longer has to not hang out with Brendon b/c he's responsible for grading him, Patrick totally takes up Brendon's hanging-out-with-Spencer time, and he complains to Haley, who laughs and says he sounds lovesick. Which he's NOT, because he's not gay (although he admits that if he were, he'd be into Brendon - what, he likes brunettes, okay?), he just, you know, misses his friend. Who has abandoned him just like Ryan did. >:/

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

Maybe I will pretend it is WIP amnesty week and post the first 8,000 words. Because that is exactly what should happen and then maybe someone will write the rest of it for me.

And then they fall in LOVE. Also there is a super awkward conversation where Brendon's not sure what they're doing about housing next year and he's afraid to ask Spencer in case Spencer's going to move in with Ryan, so he's been putting it off, but then obviously they are going to come back and be boyfriends in the fall. I don't know. It would have been the World's Longest Story.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Can there be pining? Like, Brendon realizes early on that he was crushing on his roommate. Could he be any more of a cliche? But Spencer always talks about his girlfriend back home, Haley, so Brendon puts it out of his mind and focuses on having this really cool friend, a better friend than he's really ever had before. So he dates other people (Audrey was a mistake; Pete was entertaining, but clearly in love with Patrick, which made him safe, if frustrated by Patrick's oblivious straightness; Sarah might've worked out if only he had put a little more effort into it) and hangs out with Spencer and he doesn't even realize how fast time flies by until it's finals. And then he goes home for two weeks. Well, he was GOING to be home for two weeks, but he ends up leaving early because he feels like his skin just doesn't fit anymore when he's in his old bedroom at home.

And he runs into Patrick, who's taking advantage of empty practice rooms and no teaching responsibilities, and they make plans to see some shows together. Patrick is WAY more approachable now. So by the time Spencer's back from Vegas, Brendon's got plans for every evening before classes start up again. It'll keep him busy, so he's not thinking about how pretty Spencer looks with the pink cheeks he got from skiing while visiting his extended family in Colorado. Or staring at the edge of the lovebit that is fading under his collar, presumably from the last time he & Haley were together.

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

The entire thing is pining! Brendon starts pining for Spencer early, and proceeds to pine all freshman year, whether he thinks Spencer is unattainable because he's straight, bro, or because he's off with Ryan all the time. And by the time Spencer realizes his flexible view of "straight" seems to include "I have a thing for my dorky roommate" said dorky roommate is spending all his time with this weird music TA who wears hats.

I think in my original plan Brendon went off over spring break to build houses for Habitat for Humanity and while he was gone Spencer realized how much he liked him, and when Brendon got back he was all tan, and this girl he'd met on the trip was hanging on him, and Spencer got insanely grumpy and Ryan laughed at him a lot.

[earlofcardigans.livejournal.com]

Is he using his beer pitcher?

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

He's got big glass carboys out and the monstrous stainless-steel boiler thing that was on that wire rack cooking out on the propane tank in the back yard, so there's a lot of running back and forth. After making breakfast this morning, I poured myself more coffee and moved my laptop out of the way. I think he's almost done now.

Icons, or no?

[earlofcardigans.livejournal.com]

That seems like a lot of work. I hope it's worth it.

And icons if you want.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

[katieupsidedown.livejournal.com]

DO ME DO ME

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

(mostly b/c I want you to hear more about the pillowfight and remind myself why I'm taking time off for SXSW this year)

[a-carnal-mink.livejournal.com]

Mmmm...beermakingggg...

Oh yeah - icons! :D

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

I didn't even ask what he was making. We've got an imperial stout and something that tastes like dry cherry-flavored cider on tap (I have no idea what he was aiming for with the latter, maybe a cherry-wheat that got side-tracked without enough sugar?). But I'm sure I'll enjoy it when it's done. :D

Hm, well then:

[junebug-waltz.livejournal.com]

i had some homemade beer once in my life. it was, like, hibiscus-themed? flavoured? idk. i think it was a lot stronger than normal beer, because i had 1.5 and was like HUH SO I AM KINDA TIPSY?? D:

also, i love hearing stories behind icons. *chinhands* except how you ruined all my dreams about how science really operates. :(


pick some of mine? :D? :D :D?

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

I think the stuff we have on tap right now is ~10% alcohol? IDK, I get way drunk off far less than normal beer. But I'm not really involved in the making, other than getting the hell out of the way. Just the drinking. :D

I'm very sorry to have killed your science fantasies. :(