February 28, 2002
I'm Number One! Aw yeah!I'm Number One!
Aw yeah!
Odd Brits! Beware! This onlyOdd Brits!
Beware! This only works in IE at the moment. We are hassling the maker of the quiz to make it work in Netscape, though. (Yes, I have IE on my computer. Don't shoot me, A.M., it's only so I can check cross-platform compatability. And take personality tests.)
Yes, I'm going to bed. In a minute. I swear.
February 27, 2002
Silly Kitty So I'm upstairsSilly Kitty
So I'm upstairs working on the new issue of The Red Pages, the Tomb Raider soundtrack blasting, and I hear, dimly, mom calling me.
"What?" I holler back.
"We need you, a cat got outside."
Now, back in the day, this would've been no problem; all our cats were indoor/outdoor kitties. But no longer. Zephyr and Mauser are too young (I got fed up with chasing wandering male kittens across town with "Lost Cat" fliers a long time ago), and Sunny is too frickin' ancient.
So I swear, pull on my shoes, swear some more, and go downstairs. Zephyr was out back, hiding in Mom's tubs.
And what was this silly kitten doing?
Crying. "Mom, mom, I'm scared!"
But when I call him and try to pick him up, what does he do?
Try to get away.
Silly cat. When Dad and I finally trapped him and got him inside, he was completely spazzed out. Sheesh.
Between him and Shane, who's having some kind of allergic reaction and has scraped off all the hair and most of the skin under his chin and is running a fever from the resulting infection, I sometimes wonder why I have animals in my life.
(For photos of the critters mentioned above, go here.)
Wheee Great game last night.Wheee
Great game last night. I didn't win, but had fun anyway. :-)
New soundfile up. Not much else to mention.
Hey, is anybody having problems with the soundfiles? Please leave a comment and describe the problem, if you are. Thanks!
February 25, 2002
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh... Long day today. GotWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh...
Long day today.
Got woken up by a call to sub (thankfully, it was at 8am instead of the usual 6am. Don't all you wage slaves hate me for sleeping in?). Then had to drive to the MUSD office, talk to folks there, go to SLC and teach for 3hrs, THEN rush home and to the Post Office (in case my LotR cards came... which they didn't), the to Borders for my weekly LotR game...
...which ended up getting cancelled. Ron was running so late we decided to bail on it and I'm going up to the Union City meet tomorrow instead.
Funny, I'm still exhausted.So.
That's why there wasn't a new LotR sound until this evening. And I'm subbing again tomorrow, so the next one will be up ... probably not at all tomorrow, as I'll be in Union City after work. I'll try to get two up Wednesday to make up for it.
February 23, 2002
Oh, and one more thing...Oh, and one more thing...
I can't decide if this series is too saccharine for words or absolutely wonderful. Those of you who (a) like reading fanfic and (b) know who Merry and Pippin are, read and let me know, eh?
Cakes and Cobwebs
(the rest of the series is here, but may not be suitable for all readers.)Also, I'm instituting a new feature! Look to the left, and you will find the LotR Soundclip of the Day!
10 Signs you've blogged too10 Signs you've blogged too much
Brought to me by Dad. Originally from here.
- You insert links into an interoffice memo.
- The symbols on your angle bracket keys are worn out.
- You're banned from Google for wasting bandwidth searching for yourself.
- A mention of your blog by Glenn Reynolds causes you to call your family to brag, to which they respond "What's a blog?"
- You require anti-depressant therapy when Blogger is down.
- You quit your job because one person leaves money in your tip jar.(That's it! I'm a professional now!)
- You blog a critique of your child's first play. In realtime. On a laptop you brought to the performance.
- You want to name your next child Infapundit.(C'mon, honey. It's perfect!)
- Your future ex-wife forces you to choose between her and the blog. (god, I'm going to miss her!)
- You write humorous lists in a blatant attempt to draw more traffic to your site. (Err...um.....)
Another Personality Test! I tookAnother Personality Test!
I took the What Mythological Creature Are you? test by peacefulchaos!I love gryphons. They've long been my favorite mythological creature (sometimes, though, it's been a tie with the dragon, but not for years). They're just so cool!
Not much to report PickedNot much to report
Picked up a copy of The Letters of JRR Tolkien last night, yay! Can't wait to read that. My vacation is almost over; I have to go back to work on Monday. Bleah.
On the upside, my MUSD work is nearly completed. Well, the first round. I will soon be able to say to people, "go look at the site - all the main stuff is my work!" instead of "go look at the Departments area, all of THAT is my work, but the rest isn't."
My new cards aren't here yet. I am sad.
But I got to see Quills again last night on DVD, so that's good. LOOOOOVE that movie. Geoffrey Rush rules.
February 22, 2002
Go Print! Check out thisGo Print!
Check out this cool article, courtesy of my dad:here. It's nice to see an online article about the viability of print media (ok, an online article about a talk about the viability of print media). Good stuff.
Also check out this article about separation of church and state, a subject near and dear to my heart.
OK, back to work for me.
February 21, 2002
Oh, dear There are t-shirtsOh, dear
There are t-shirts now.
My budget did NOT need this.
Oh, wait! My birthday is coming up! :-D I want the GAP of Rohan and World Tour ones. I just can't quite justify buying 'em for myself. :-D
February 20, 2002
Whoo-hoo! *"Elevation" by U2 playsWhoo-hoo!
*"Elevation" by U2 plays in the background of this entry*
Aw, yeah.
I am so stoked. I just placed an order with The Card Vault for a bunch of cards. Got about a dozen for the price of a trip to the bookstore. Not bad at all! Go me!
Now I gotta update my cardlist...
Oooh, aaaah. Go look. LetOooh, aaaah.
Go look. Let me know what you think of the new formatting.
Whaaaaa.... I'm a little outWhaaaaa....
I'm a little out of it this morning... spent a couple hours recording sounds from Jen's Monty Python's Flying Circus DVDs. Well, one of them.
Damn, that's a good show.
Now I have to actually get some work done. *sigh*
Link of the Entry: Battlefield God and other philosophy games. Very cool.
Also check out: Terry Jones on the "Axis of Evil". Conservatives may not like it, but I did. :-)
February 19, 2002
Aw yeah! First: kudos to
Aw yeah!
First: kudos to Jen, who sent me this site with PipPix!
Great LotR TCG game last night. Very intense. Lots of damage being dealt out and so on. My deck did a great job, I'm really pleased, even though I didn't win.
I traded with Ron for a couple of cards, including The Witch King of Angmar! YES!!!
I now have all nine wraiths in my shadow deck.
Watch out, folks. I am gonna be kicking butt. And tonight I get to try him out at the Union City league meeting! Whoo-hooo! I can't wait.
In other news... Um...
I gave in last night and bought the paperback Atlas of Middle-Earth. It RULES. I have GOT to find the time to curl up and just read it, with The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings at my elbow for reference. Very cool.
It's amazing to think that Tolkien put enough detail in his books that you can not only figure out the elevations and distances with enough precision to make an atlas, but that you can actually map out everyone's journeys day-by-day with pretty decent accuracy! WOW.
Okay, back to work for me.
February 18, 2002
I love Holidays Well! II love Holidays
Well! I have now see Lord of the Rings EIGHT times! WHOOOO! Go me!
In other news... my Freelance Writing Site is going up - should be up by the time y'all read this. Let me know what you think!
And, it's all Nin's fault. I'm buried in the archives of College Roomies from Hell.
February 17, 2002
"Hi, my name is Ealasaid,"Hi, my name is Ealasaid, and I'm a Tolkienaholic."
I'm going to see It again today.
A bunch of friends are going. How could I say "no" when they invited me?
February 16, 2002
*happydance* I got a new*happydance*
I got a new phone!
See... the cool cell Jen gave me needed a new battery. Really, really needed one. But it's so old, they don't sell batteries for it.
So I got a new one. They had a special deal going, so I got a nifty Samsung for about a third of the usual price. Go me! it's very cool.
I feel so trendy.
O, Tom Lehrer...Spring is here,O, Tom Lehrer...
Spring is here, spring is here
Life is skittles and life is beer
I think the lovliest time of the year is the Spring
I do. Don't you? 'Course you do.Well, maybe I didn't manage to get my lazy behind out of bed until about 10:30am, but I made up for it, baby, yeah! I have cleaned my room. I wish I had a digital camera so I could show y'all before and after shots of this amazing feat. I can now get at my bookshelves AND the huge stacks of books I've bought but not yet read next to my desk (just counted 'em out of curiosity, and there are 108 books there).
I can get at my collection of Vampire books, and I've reorganized my Edward Gorey collection (such as it is).
I have FLOOR SPACE AGAIN! WHOO HOOO!!!
I hope I can maintain the momentum through next week, when I'll tackle the infinitely more unpleasant job of cleaning my den.
Oh, and I'm in the process of using Ebay and other websites to complete my LotR TCG collection. I know I said I wouldn't, but a quick look at the probability of finding cards I need in boosters and a look at prices convinced me. It's cheaper in the long run to buy individual cards. *sigh*
February 15, 2002
Boy oh boy... This isBoy oh boy...
This is sad.
I went over to TradingCardOutlet.com and when I saw that most of the cards I want are between $1.50 and $7.00 I seriously thought about just ordering 'em all.
I'm not going to, though. Not until I've exhausted my trading options (what few there are, at least).
Speaking of which:
I've updated my Card List
So please check it out if you're a fellow LotRTCG'er.
February 14, 2002
Eek! Hurrah! FINALLY, a Pippin
Eek!
Hurrah! FINALLY, a Pippin .wav file is on my hard drive. Major kudos and kowtowing to Jen, who lobbed this my way. Scroll allll the way down to hear one of my favorite Pip speeches. *happysigh*
I'm startled to find that I don't seem to have a photo from this scene - if you've got one, please feel free to lob it my way.OK, time for a healthful lunch of chicken soup. I'm not as under the weather as I expected, but I've been sleeping a LOT and drinking Orange juice and tea by the gallon, which probably helps.
February 13, 2002
*groan* Aaah, the joys of*groan*
Aaah, the joys of being sick. Spent most of the morning curled up in the armchair snoozing. Am now trying to get some work done. wheee.
Last night's Smallville was fun - Clark without his powers, Lex backing off the whole car incident, AND Lex getting all bitchy at Victoria (whom I was never all that fond of anyway). Tee hee.
February 12, 2002
Hack, cough *sniffle* Gawd, I
Hack, cough
*sniffle*
Gawd, I hate being sick. And I've got a whopper of a cold settling in if my symptoms are anything to go by. I won't bore you with a list, but suffice to say that I am REALLY looking forward to Friday when I will be done teaching until FEBRUARY 25TH! YAY! I can REALLY use the time to recuperate.
Had a great time last night at the LotRTCG league meeting. I was going to go to the one up in Union City tonight but got called in to sub today so I got to spend my evening working on stuff for the School District instead. Drat.
Got some new cards last night, though. Damn, I gotta update my card list. (if you haven't gone over and looked at the list of cards I have for trade and cards I want, it's here. Go! GO NOW! Trade cards with me, please *whine*).
That's it for now. "Smallville"'s on soon.
February 10, 2002
Help? All right, this isHelp?
All right, this is a call to all my fellow Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game folks.
I have put up a lists of Cards I Have For Trade and Cards I Want. Please, please, PLEASE go take a look and let me know if you'd be interested in trading. I just can't afford to keep buying boosters until I have all the cards, and I'm at risk of getting stuck with a ton of extra cards. So! Let's trade, folks!
Rollerball *sigh* Well, that wasRollerball
*sigh*
Well, that was an hour and a half of my life I won't be getting back any time soon.
The first half of the film rocked - loud music, thrilling rides/chases/fights/stuff, cartooney violence that makes you go YEAH!
Then something happened and the violence turned really nasty and notfun.
Keep in mind, this is coming from a gal who exhibits some of the classic symptoms of Long-Term Media Violence Exposure and finds A Clockwork Orange neither overly violent nor particularly disturbing.
Hell, I find major portions of A Clockwork Orange to be laugh-out-loud funny.
Rollerball had the potential to be really great - Jean Reno certainly gives his all and is a BLAST to watch. But the whole last game is just... not fun. Pity.
February 09, 2002
I am such a geekI am such a geek
Saw LotR again tonight, this time with the roomie of a friend of mine. Managed not to make Very Secret Diary jokes the whole time, but just barely, and only because she's only read one of them. ONE! Slacker.
Anyway.
No time to do a long update now, must go see Rollerball to review it. Dad is not coming, so I am on my own. Can't understand why he doesn't want to stay up past midnight watching people smash into each other. Must have something to do with meeting Mom's plane at some ungodly hour of the morning.
February 08, 2002
Gah Well, the good doctorGah
Well, the good doctor sez I don't have enough damage to go for surgery, so I'm on antiinflammatories and vitamin B-12 or some such.
Or rather, I will be, once COBRA stops dicking me around. This is the second time my insurance has been "cancelled" when my doctor looks at it but a-ok when I call my rep and bitch. Stupid thing.
Anyway.
The doc says I should ideally stop writing/typing/anything with my hands for at least a week.
I laughed.
She told me to at least cut back and take breaks more often. *sigh* So. Looks like fewer updates, less email, etc. ARGH.
So, check out these links!
- The Filthy Critic and Jimmy review LotR (not for the faint of heart but spot-on if you know Vampire LARP'ers and sci-fi con geeks)
- Alternative Lord of the Rings (What if Hemmingway wrote it? Or Wodehouse? Or...)
- Lord of the Rings Comic (Spray warning! put your drinks DOWN!)
February 07, 2002
*sigh* Stupid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome*sigh*
Stupid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome acting up today, so am spending as little time on keyboard as possible. Sorry no proper update today; am seeing doc tomorrow, maybe proper update after that.
February 06, 2002
Phew... Got the background working.Phew...
Got the background working. Go me!
A stray bit of code in my Style Sheet had mucked it up.
And in other news... My Hugo Weaving gallery is still getting the most hits per week, with the Very Secret Diaries and this blog almost tied for second place. Weird, eh? It's nice to see, though, that my main page is also getting quite a bit of traffic.
I gotta get one of those tracking services that tells you what kinds of search engine strings people are using to get to your page. I'm curious.
And now, off to my other job now... 6 hours of tutoring tonight, wheee...
Five Things I LoveFive Things I Love About Working From Home
5. Instant access to food/drink
4. The commute
3. Got my own office!
2. I can put up as many pix/posters as I want
1. The dress code (pjs and bathrobe/jeans and tshirt)
Grrr... Quickie request: would myGrrr...
Quickie request: would my readers pleeeease do me a favor and reply via the comments to two questions:
- What browser (and version) are you using? (i.e., Netscape 6.2)
- Can you see the background image on this page? you SHOULD see a grey speckled background with a braided band down the left edge of the screen.
Thanks!!
February 05, 2002
Who Wants Some? I got
Who Wants Some?
I got me the Balrog tonight. Whoo-hoo!
I've also added a new banner into the rotation. For those who aren't lucky enough to get it right away, it looks like this:
Tee hee!
[PS: Sorry the Balrog wasn't up earlier, my @#&% connection wasn't working properly and I couldn't upload the nifty image until this morning. Grr!]
Share the Pain Some Tolkien-themed
Share the Pain
Some Tolkien-themed humor for y'all.
- Green Eggs and Lembas (for the uninitiated, Lembas is Elven food for travelling, kind of like crackers but way better).
- The Hobbit meets Star Wars
- The Abridged Script of The Fellowship of the Ring
- Elvis at Helm's Deep (ow, ow, ow!)
Dang... Well! that wasn't theDang...
Well! that wasn't the most coherent entry in the world last night. Blame the thumping I got at the game.
I'm rather pleased with the graphic, though.
This morning, I'm swearing at the @#(* mouse (which I'm using with my left hand as part of my campaign against blinding wrist pain) and working on the MUSD website.
February 04, 2002
Who's da Nazgul? I love
Who's da Nazgul?
I love the LotR TCG. It just rules.
Truly brutal game tonight over at Borders. After our host and his wife got slammed out of the running, Jen smacked my Fellowship (well, she smacked Frodo, as Boromir, Pip, and Merry had already been smacked into the Dead pile) and won.
Much fun. I got tto deal out some serious damage myself. I love having a bunch of Ringwraiths and several Sauron cards that let me shuffle my Wraiths back into my draw deck.I have GOT to get my hands on more Nazgul cards. Whoo-hoo!
Whooo-hoo Back from Dland. HadWhooo-hoo
Back from Dland. Had fun. Was craziest member of the group. Go me!
Got bunch of new skulls for collection - bank, candleholder, pretty crystal sculpture one. V. happy. Also, posters and LotR cards ordered via the web arrived while was gone! Must now re-do LotR playing deck.
Off to bed before lose ability to write coherent sentences entirely.
February 01, 2002
We're Going to Disneyland! I'mWe're Going to Disneyland!
I'm outta here for the weekend, kids, so behave yourselves. I'll be back Sunday night.
Text by Ealasaid
Graphics from works 
Should look fine on almost any browser, but looks best
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