Confessions of a Rabid Ioanite

So in one of my Titanic posts, I mentioned that there was a photo floating around of Ioan and Kate Winslet posing together at an Oscar Party. I decided to see if I could find it for proof. Unfortunately, despite extensive googling, I couldn't find the picture I was looking for, and the one picture I did find, I'm not allowed to get a copy of. That said, if you happen to have a Rex Features account, click the picture and check it out; http://www.rexfeatures.com/search/?kw=ioan+gruffudd+kate+winslet&search_newest.x=0&search_newest.y=0&iso=GBR&viah=Y&lkw=&stk=N&sft=&search_oldest.x=-1. For those like me, at least you can get a glimpse of what I was talking about.

But here's the rub; I could swear there was a photo of Ioan and Kate Winslet solo. Can anyone with better googling skills find it? For context, it was sometime during the 2007 Oscars/Oscar parties.

However, I'm not one to leave you empty handed. Check out these photos...

( Context, I want it. )

So if anyone knows how to find the photo in question, I'd be much obliged.

Out of a sense of morbid curiosity, I typed Titanic into two websites, Amazon.com and Etsy, to see what came up. I had a feeling that people out there would be trying to profit from the 100th anniversary, and some of those people's "tributes" would be...not quite right, to put it delicately.

And man, did I find a treasure trove of bizarreness. There are a lot of links and pictures here, so be warned.


( WARNING: Some of the following is in very bad taste. )

I've read and watched a lot about the Titanic over the years, and there are things I wonder about, things that it's a lot harder to know the answer to.


( Read on... )

If I'm reading the time-zones right, Titanic went down 100 years ago.

Nothing to add here. Just a moment to remember, please.

I've been a fan of the Titanic since I was a kid. When the movie came out in 1997, I went to see it multiple times in theaters, not for the love story, but to watch the ship sink (Yes, I had a streak of the morbid in me). And now, it's the 100th anniversary of the sinking, today and tomorrow. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I feel like it should be acknowledged in some way. So for the next two days, this journal shall be devoted to


There will be some serious posts musing on the history, some slightly-silly posts regarding Titanic memorabilia, and the like. But, considering who I am, it was inevitable that I would have to make a post on one particular topic.


( Under the cut... )

For the past year, I've been working on a story called "Windfalls" over on following_sea. In my own words when I started the project, it is "a crack pairing written totally straight". More specifically, it pairs Horatio with Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet, aka this glorious gal:



I loved writing the story, and I'll probably do more with it later on. For now, though, in accordance with the rules on despatches, I'm posting a masterlist of all the chapters of the story. If/when I write more, the stories will be linked to here as well.

( The list )

I do not have a Tumblr (primarily because a. Livejournal is enough for me, flaws and all, and b. All I would do is reblog random crap without contributing any actual content) but I like to poke around in it. The best thing to do, I've found, is google, say, "Ioan Gruffudd Tumblr", and you'll be directed to some sort of Tumblr search page which contains any reference to Ioan.

Thus it was that I found this picture. I don't know who the original source is, but the blog I got it from is outforawalk-bitch:



Now, if I'm reading the various comments and tags right, the woman in the picture is the one who plays Ioan/Andrew's daughter in Ringer. I didn't know that immediately, though, and had a bizarre moment that went something like this:

( Welcome to nonsensical fangirl theater, everyone )

So yeah, I really only did this just to post the picture. It really is a nice photo, although I'm not sure why she felt the need to stick her tongue out like that.

People on following_sea know that I've been hanging around LJ all throughout 2012, but I was refraining from posting here in the hopes that my next post would include a response to my letter. At this point, though, I decided it's best to just continue with business as usual, and talk about the letter when the time comes.

There's not much to say about my personal life. I had a good Christmas and New Year's. New Year's, actually, was notable for me because I got my first real exposure to the absolute crack that is the Adam West 60's Batman Show. It was magnificent. Why don't we have TV shows like that nowadays?

No, I still haven't gotten around to watching Ringer, although I read recaps of it so I can keep myself informed if it reaches a point where I do want to watch it. I know I should be all over it, but for some reason the material is giving me pause. Also, Ioan's track record with TV is kinda terrible, so maybe I'm waiting to see if it gets picked up for a second season.

I've been writing a lot recently. "Windfalls" over on following_sea, several prompts for fic memes, some stuff for me, and I'm still trying to finish my "novel" for this year (I have until June, but I don't want a repeat of last year, where I sent in for my proof copy the day of the deadline). Having so many projects keeps the Writer's Block at bay, so I've been enjoying it.

And finally, in an attempt to return to my normal programming, have a new Ioan article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2118798/Ioan-Gruffudd-wifes-success-IVF-latest-role-opposite-sexy-twin-sisters.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; WHY IS THIS MAN SO ADORABLE????

So the last two days have been both good and bad.

The good: I finally sent that letter to Ioan. I'm proud of myself for not chickening out on this. Even if nothing comes of the "Save Hornblower" aspect, at least I wrote to him. I'm just hoping I don't get a form letter in response...

The Bad: The adventure I had to get those letters sent flat out exhausted me. Let's just say it involved an early morning wake-up call, a broken train, and a scene straight out of a comedy.

The good: I'm nearly at 40,000 words for National Novel Writing Month. I should finish it well before Thanksgiving.

( Cut for "The Bad" rant )

So first and foremost, Happy Birthday to Ioan! Hope you have a great day!

While not a direct celebration, I'll be spending October in a Hornblower state of mind. On following_sea, I've taken over rec duties for the month, and I've got about five planned (one to hopefully come up today).

At the same time, I've got a much bigger project in mind...

( You know you're curious... )