Ego! Ego! Ego!: Linkage Archives
October 30, 2009
Fat Links Post (heh)My recent entry on the BMI has resulted in some folks sending me links and me surfing around, so here's some of what I've been looking at recently!
Here is a fantastic blog entry about why harshing on your own body is a bad thing.
A video on the same subject (more on that at EndFatTalk.org, check it out!).
Health At Every Size sounds awesome, and I think my new personal trainer (my old one is relocating) is going to be hearing about it from me.
Illustrated BMI Categories (which will have you going "whaaaa?" at least once! I know I did.)
The FAQ at Shapely Prose -- packed with lots of good info, delivered with a snarky smile.
Fat vs. Fiction, an article about fat misconceptions.
September 24, 2008
MiscellanyA handful of things:
- the panel I mentioned got canceled due to lack of attendance. Sigh. My 15 minutes of fame, deleted! Woe is me.
- Mistress Matisse on words and the GOP campaign. Beautiful.
- If I see one more person equate dislike of Sarah Palin with sexism, I may punch somebody. If she were a man who held the same positions I'd hold him in just as much contempt, so it's not sexism that makes me dislike her. It's principle. I don't like people of any gender who tout the ideas she does. She loses extra points for her abuse of the English language (see Matisse's piece above) -- which also has nothing to do with her gender.
- I got the final dose of my rabies vaccine last week and will be handling bats this weekend for the first time! I'll also be getting the equipment and some basic training so I can be on call to pick up injured bats. WOO HOO!
August 11, 2008
The Dark Knight HilarityGNN Interviews The Joker. If you haven't seen it, go check it out. Hilarious comedy sketch video thing. I think my favorite part is Batman and Joker going back and forth, all, "You suck!" "No, you suck!" (Props to Dylan for the link, omg)
Also amusing: DrrrtyDJ69's Batman and Joker PSA vids. I've only watched a couple but they make my brain hurt. In a good way.
February 26, 2008
What teachers makeThis slam poem is a beautiful explanation of why teachers are so important and why how much they are paid is irrelevant to what they make. Talor Mali rules.
It's an inspiring vid. Kudos to my Dad for sending it to me.
February 05, 2008
WOO!Defeating Assholery, One Sexist Idiot At a Time. Freak Magnet lays the SMACK DOWN!
Stories like this make me happy. I hope I will have the courage to stand up to large drunken men if they ever behave like this to me or my friends.
January 30, 2008
Doing goodTwo opportunities to do good:
The Berkeley Humane Society's Emergency Medical Fund featured pet at the moment is a puppy named Uber. She was left in their drop box at 7 weeks old with a broken and infected jaw. They fixed that, but then discovered one of her legs is growing wrong and needs major surgery to fix. The surgery will cost $4000! So they're fundraising for that as well as trying to find her a home. If you can spare a couple dollars for her surgery it will make a big difference. And if you know anybody who'd be willing to take in a dog with some medical needs (her jaw and leg may need more medical attention as she ages), please put them in touch with the folks at Berkeley Humane Society.
My cousin is in training before being deployed to Afghanistan with his National Guard battalion and is doing a lot of reading in his downtime. Getting books through the base is not a terribly speedy process, so he's running low on reading material. If you've got any books you would like to donate to him and his fellow soldiers, you can give them to me and I'll send them along. I've already taken down the books I was listing through Frugal Reader and will be sending him a few at a time over the next several months.
January 10, 2008
What I've been reading latelyNew Yorker piece on Giulianni makes me loathe him even more than I did already. Ditto this An Oral History of Rudy Giuliani's Temper.
In a piece from Hilary Clinton's Senate bid a while back, Sars lays out why she hates Clinton. Sars says now that she hates Clinton less than she used to, but still doesn't like her. I also don't like Clinton, and I think the piece sums up well what those of us who want to like her but just don't are talking about.
...and Bring Back the Red-Blooded Bitch is a great article on bitches. Good stuff.
October 18, 2007
Animal hoardingWords fail me, so I direct you to Naamah's explanation. I donated. Wish I could donate more.
September 19, 2007
Avast, ye landlubbers!How to Talk Like A Pirate! Via Peter.
As usual, I failed to remember Talk Like A Pirate Day. Sigh.
July 27, 2007
Photos!I've posted a bunch of photos lately!
Photos from the 2007 All-Star Game in SF.
I also did a library tour, starting with the above photo.
There are new pix of the cats up, too.July 19, 2007
Brain Weasal Stomping DayThis is an awesome idea. Ganked from Graydancer. It has LJ-speak in it, but I think the basic message comes through: people are feeling down and bleah lately, so let's do something about it!
Wow - what is it in the air lately? Post after filtered post about how everyone is feeling alone, disconnected, unwanted. It's not like this is one or two people - it's like a rash all over my friends list the past few days. Male, female, betwixt, undecided, unconcerned...it seems to be an equal opportunity Brain Weasel.Clearly, something needs to be done. I think we need to have a Brain Weasel Stomping Day.
The problem, as I've noted before, is "it's easier to see the Weasels when they're eating someone else's brain." So this is my call to my friends list, and to your friends list, and beyond. This Friday, make an effort to squish someone's Brain Weasel.
Have a crush on someone? Post a flirty comment in their journal. Admire someone's skills? Post a comment about it. Just think a person is nifty? This Friday is the time to tell them. Doesn't matter if the post your commenting to doesn't have much to do with your comment. Just post those good thoughts. Trust me. People will appreciate it.
Do this for everyone - not just those you suspect are feeling down (After all, you might not be on their Brain Weasel filter). Take a few minutes and help launch people into the weekend with a smile. And...who knows? Maybe sharing how others make you happy will make you a bit more cheerful in return.
Yes yes yes! What is Snape?What Is Snape?, by Orson Scott Card, is a fantastic essay, and a must-read for anybody who can't understand why I love Snape and alternately despise and dislike James Potter. (In fact, it reminded me of perfectly good reasons to despise and dislike Sirius Black.)
I'm pretty sure he's wrong about LotR being written as a sequel to The Hobbit, though. I am under the impression that LotR was in the works long before the Hobbit was written, and although it seems like a sequel because of when it was published and some story elements, it wasn't originally planned as one. But I could be wrong. I'm no Tolkien scholar.
Anyway: good stuff. And I agree completely that if Rowling has a big reveal and shows Snape to have been a bad guy all along it will lack artistic integrity in the extreme (or, as I usually say it, show that she really is a shitty writer after all). Good stuff.
July 13, 2007
Various and SundryI'm too busy/tired/scattered for a good update, but I have several things in my browser I've been meaning to blog about, so here you go.
Meet the Joneses is an interactive comedy. Fans can work on scripts and stuff, apparently. Crazy.
Does Being a Feminist Mean Voting for Hillary? - Courtney Martin lays out her indecision regarding the woman who may well be the first viable female presidential candidate. Personally, I think being a feminist means judging Hillary on her merits, not her gender, so I will not be voting for her in the primaries. I can't stand the woman anymore.
Dreams - an XKCD strip about thinking twice before posting on the intarwebs because a future employer might read it. Made me say "RIGHT ON!"
Fireworks Above, Trouble Below - it never occurred to me that fireworks, which I love, might be a nasty environmental hazard. Man. Now I don't know what to do.
Online Journal or Blog? - Mortaine's post is spot-on about the difference.
Nerdcore News on YouTube! OMG!
Okay, I'm Finally Sold - Rick lays out the last straw for him and why he is finally ready to ITMFA
July 09, 2007
New reviews upRatatouille, which was wonderful, and This Film is not yet Rated, which filled me with righteous anger.
July 05, 2007
Very interestingThe Loudness War. Or, how CDs are being ruined by idiot music producers who think everything needs to be OMG LOUD!!!!! Short, to the point, and very well-done. (Requires sound)
June 26, 2007
Whoa. Fundamentalist Christian spanking porn?Check out the post Christian Spanking Porn on Blowfish (may be NSFW since it's got mentions of teh pr0n, omg. Links from that page may also be NSFW. Surf at your own discretion). Boggles the mind, it does.
My verdict: creepy as all get out. Sure, it's nice to think that even fundies are kinky. It's nice to see by-women-for-women porn. But yanno, that doesn't outweigh the whole "this is all consensual, wink wink" stuff, or the fact that they wanna force their kink (and religion) on everyone because it's "God's will."
Oh, Lord, protect me from your followers.
June 20, 2007
Library!I've been working on cataloging my library on here on LibraryThing. I'm almost halfway done - I've got 437 books in the database. Rawk. Considering that for some reason my barcode scanner can't read about half the barcodes properly, I think I'm making good progress.
I'll be putting up a proper lending library page at some point, but I figured I'd announce it now: if you see a book in my LibraryThing catalog that you want to borrow, let me know! I'm willing to ship my books to you, even (Media Mail, so it takes a while, but it's cheap), provided you'll ship 'em back when you're done. You just have to promise to take good care of the book while it's in your hands and to ship it safely back to me if you're a shipping borrower.
See, I feel kinda bad about having so many books (over 1100!), since I'm so anti-consumerism in other areas of my life. But at the same time, I love my books and can't imagine getting rid of them. So I figure loaning them out is a good compromise.
I'm adding new books periodically, and will post here when they're all in the database, but head over now if you like and see what all I've got! (note: books I own but have not yet read are not in the database because they're not up for loan. It'll be too complicated if I start loaning out the ones I haven't read yet!)
June 18, 2007
Another announcementI keep forgetting to say that I've updated the booklog with a ton of books, starting here. D'oh.
June 15, 2007
Censorship!My buddy Earthdog recently posted an interesting thing about the whole Flickr censorship fooforah.
His point, in short, is that folks bitching about Flickr "censoring" them should put their money where their mouth is and donate to organizations that fight REAL censorship (yanno, the kind where they throw you in jail or kill you for printing the wrong things). I think he has a great point and plan on donating my "one-off charity" budget for this month to one of the orgs he suggests. Mind you, that's not much (I only have a spare $5/mo for one-offs, and there's no rollover from past months at the moment, as it's a new budget). But still.
And I'm not even in the debate, which I think is kind of stupid!
So, if you're all upset about the whole situation, please go read Earthdog's post. I think he makes a good case for putting your money where your mouth is.
June 12, 2007
Washington’s Farewell Address Translated into Everyday SpeechGo read. Seriously. I tagged it in my del.icio.us, but it bears repeating. So. Go read it.
I think Washington was wrong when he said you can only trust someone's oath if they're religious (I know a number of atheists I trust a damn sight more than some religious folks I can think of), but everything else is spot on.
May 17, 2007
Head of nail, meet hammer.Graydancer hits the nail on the head by rephrasing a neat quote so it reads:
If you aren't satisfied with your life, change it. If you won't change it, put up with it. Whatever you do, if you're going to talk about it, at least do it in a way that will entertain us.Amen to that, say I.April 26, 2007
Holy scalable vectors, Batman!Antwon is the man.
Quoth I, I can't put proper highway shields on the map for the wedding because I need scalable vectors to do that and I am not willing to make them myself.
Quoth he, How about these? And these? And these? Will they work?
Quoth I, Holy shit, they will!
February 23, 2007
Argh!Noooo! another awesome webcomic has sucked me into its archives! Damn you, Questionable Content! *shakes fists*
Whoever turned me on to this comic should be glad my memory is shit. If I could remember who it was, I would shake my fists at them too.
Edit: I botched the link, sorry. Try it now!
February 22, 2007
Made of awesomeMovie Military Madness! A list of things movies get wrong, by Sargon the Terrible. Awesome stuff.
Warning: one of the icons in the comments is probably NSFW as it features boobies. You have been warned.
February 15, 2007
PIMP!Junglemonkee's post on Valentine's Day is fucking brilliant.
Seriously.
Go read.
GO!
I know, I usually just del.icio.us everything, but this deserves extra pimpage.
February 13, 2007
VanityRich always takes the best photos of me. Some are silly, some are flattering, but they're all awesome.
February 08, 2007
how much time do you spend on money?
February 01, 2007
SpiffyRamit Sethri at IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com has a nifty series of photo posts which I totally dig. Check 'em out!
January 29, 2007
LET MORTAL KOMBAT BEGIN!My aunt is possibly the coolest medieval dance teacher ever. Check out this vid clip from one of her recent classes.
January 25, 2007
Quick noteI am posting links of interest to my del.icio.us nearly every day. If you're wondering what I'm reading, that's the place to check it out. I've even sorted stuff by tags and whatnot. Yay.
January 06, 2007
I am not a financial advisor, but... Issue 1First, a disclaimer: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR. IF YOU ARE BROKE OR LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT ADVICE, SEEK ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO IS, ETC ETC ETC!
Anyway.
Man. Money is a bitch. Seriously. But there is a certain sort of pride one gets from being on top of things which can't really be gotten any other way.
As some of my readers may know, I have a lot of debt. When I graduated college, I owed $80k and change to various financial institutions for paying my way. Goddamn private schools.
Well, I have recently lined all my debts up (car loan, credit cards, remaining student debt) and I am now only $70k and change in the hole. Not bad, considering that I finished school only 6 years ago and for all but the last year or so was living paycheck to paycheck.
I attribute this to a number of strategies, largely developed through long discussions with Antwon (who has hella financial acumen. Seriously. He was making wise money decisions when he was like six or something).
File under: I am not a ____, but..., Linkage
Posted at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)December 19, 2006
Ze Frank, with Studying TipsThese are actually really good tips. Seriously. Check it out. Ze is awesome anyway and if you're not watching you should be.
December 13, 2006
CF woot-eryOff the Mommy Track - a great article by a childfree gal about her child-bearing friends. I have to say, I agree with what she's saying 110%.
I am deeply grateful that so far none of my friends have turned into scary Hyde-Mommy hybrids. Hell, only one of them has even started down the having-a-kid path (and she promises not to make me hold it or babysit it, so yay). But I often ponder what will happen when my best gal friends start breeding and it makes me fret a little. Heck, I'm a little nervous that when my favorite male cousin's baby arrives he will suddenly be unable to talk about anything but the kid. Yikes.
Anyway. This article rocks.
EDITED TO ADD: There's a very interesting discussion on this topic going on over here at Feministe. I'm actually one of the posters, which is fun, even though I disagree with the main point being made there at the moment, which is that "breeder" and "crotchdropping" and other similar CF vulgarities are by their nature misogynist. I'm finding it awesome having a discussion with people I disagree with that isn't getting nasty. It probably helps that the people arguing with me are folks I really respect and excellent writers.
I strongly suspect that neither I nor they will be persueded to alter our respective stances, but the discussion is really making me think, which I like.
Text pasted below for the linkphobic.
December 07, 2006
Kittahs!I love cats.
I love silly photos.
Thus, silly photos of cats are super awesome.
Silly photos of cats with captions: even better.
Thus, I present to you, a collection of links to silly photos of cats, with captions:
Awesome.
December 01, 2006
Links found courtesy of Mr. GaimanThese were all found in various entries on Neil Gaiman's Journal. If you don't read it, you are SO missing out!
- Jack Chick parody: Cthulhu
- Jack Chick Parody: Fantastic Four
- Awesome weird video - made in stop motion! yay!
OMFGAn alarm clock which wakes you with birdsong and gentle messages voiced by Stephen Fry. Now if only they would make one for women... (this one addresses you as "sir.")
November 17, 2006
HorrifyingThis video is awful UCLA security guys tasered a student a bunch of times while other students were yelling for them to stop and demanding their ID numbers. The student wasn't even fighting back (though he was mouthing off quite a bit). Someone recorded it with their cell phone's camera, which was smart. (Warning, the vid is pretty disturbing.)
There's an article about it here. The UCLA Chancellor has a statement about the incident which is pretty weak, imho. "Stand up or you'll get tased again" is pretty clearly excessive use of force. This guy was on the ground from the shock of being tased and either couldn't or wouldn't stand up, so they tased him repeatedly. There were half a dozen rentacops there, they could have carried him out, but they tased him over and over instead. In fact, one of the officers threatened to use the taser on a student who was demanding his badge number, saying they would "get tased too." Disgraceful.
UCLA's security and administration should be ashamed. Kudos to the students who protested and especially to the one who recorded it (though the camerawork is pretty bad the audio is clear and utterly frightening).
More articles:
NBC11
MSNBC
CBS
Another from CBS - apparently the tasered student is going to sue. Go for it, man!I'm glad to see major news networks picking this up.
November 01, 2006
Jonathan Coulton rules.Check out Jonathan Coulton's music, which is geekariffic and awesome. I've been listening for about an hour now (I downloaded all his free songs, and shelled out a buck for Re: Your Brains, which is amply worth it).
Faves so far:
Re: Your Brains
Flickr
First of MayOctober 27, 2006
PodcastsI was chatting with a pal about podcasts yesterday. I have the 'casts I listen to linked in my blogroll, but nowhere do I talk about what I like about each of 'em. I also appear not to ever have blogged about the podcatcher I use, Juice.
October 26, 2006
AWESOMEWatch the video Dove | Evolution. Has sound but doesn't require it.
It's a time lapse movie of a billboard being produced, from the model's makeup and hair to the photo retouching. It's seriously unnerving. Reminds me of The Art of Retouching.
October 23, 2006
BrilliantKnowledge vs. Belief: a brilliant piece of writing in one of the communities I read. I've copied it below for posterity, because I really don't want to lose it.
October 05, 2006
Link RoundupDamn. Once again, my "blog this" bookmark folder is freakin' huge. So, here we go!
NewsTools
- Good Maternal Behavior Is Linked to the Genes of a Father - experiments on mice show that a gene girl mice inherit from their fathers determines their ability to be good mothers. Interesting.
- Reuters U.S. homework outsourced as "e-tutoring" grows - interesting article for folks in education.
- Wired: Smart Girls Need Smart Porn - a great review of Violet Blue's book The Smart Girls' Guide to Porn
Misc. Coolness
- Tasting Notes Generator - at last, a quick and easy way to get a bunch of things to say when wine tasting. Memorize and bust out with something cool-sounding the next time you are offered a glass of wine.
- The Random Cocktail Generator - Just input a few characteristics (what kind of cocktail you have in mind, how complex you want it, etc) and it gives you a recipe! Awesome.
- Snapmania - an online photo editor/manager dingus. Pretty nifty, though I haven't looked into it much.
Articles/Essays/Anecdotes
- Bartleby.com explains the subjunctive - everything you need to know about the subjunctive! Rock!
- The Hasselhoffian Recursion! AUGH MY EYES! Not quite up to goatse levels of horror, but still scary.
- Blood, Blade, and Thruster - a mag for sci-fi/fantasy satire! Awesome!
- Relix.com - Guitar string bracelets! Awesome.
- Special Agent Joe - cutest bomb dog ever.
- Papercut - lovely paper cutting artwork!
- Diary of a Freak Magnet: Sweater Girl - AWESOME response to sexual harrassment.
- Why The Venture Brothers is so awesome (via Antwon)
- Hope is still at the bottom of a box - fascinating essay by Naamah about her relationship to boxes, and why she paints them.
- Tangled Web - a fascinating essay about lying.
- Stories from the Front Lines - an essay about what it was like for one woman in a conservative California town in the Central Valley to work as an escort at a health clinic which provided abortions. She quit when a "pro-lifer" picked her up off her feet and threw her into a brick wall -- while she was five months pregnant. Scary, sobering stuff.
- Mommy bloggers and the hating of them - great essay about... just what the title says. Good stuff.
Brilliance.From The Quotable Neil Gaiman:
“Maddy: Dad. I need to know the truth. Are you famous?
Me: No. Not really.
Maddy: But there are people who know who you are, aren't there?
Me: Well, yes.
Maddy: And they think you're famous?
Me: Some of them do, I suppose, yes. Why?
Maddy: Well, you see, I've been looking at people a lot recently. People in cars. And sometimes I think that maybe they're movie stars or people I've seen on the TV. And I thought to myself, "Don't be silly. People on the TV wouldn't just be driving about." But then I thought about you. I mean there are people who'd see you, and go "He wouldn't just be driving about" and you are. So I think probably they are movie stars after all.”
– Neil Gaiman [Quoting Maddy Gaiman] 09/20/02That's absolutely brilliant, and fits in with something Nick Lea said to me when I met him at an X-Files convention.
Nick: So, how are you?
Me: Um, honestly, a bit nervous.
Nick: Why? We're just people.Awesome. Famous people really are just people. I suppose some of them let the fame go to their head and become asshats, or get freaked out by the fame and hide, but the cool ones are just folks. Awesome.
October 02, 2006
White and NerdyWeird Al proves yet again that he is White and Nerdy - yay for a big artist shoutin' out the nerdcore love.
(via joiedelivre.)
Also, miniupdate: feeling much much much better, thanks for all the well wishes! I am about 95% back to "normal" (hee) now, so yay!
September 08, 2006
WhoaWhoa. Mystic Atheism.
My mind, she is blown.
MiscellaneaDamn you, Emusic! I was doing so well getting on with my music sorting project, but now I've gone and downloaded nearly a hundred more songs from you! ARGH!!!! *headdesk*
Albums downloaded today:
- PJ Harvy, Dry
- Burning Brides, Leave No Ashes
- Brain Donor, Brain Donor
- Clannad, Dulaman
- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Fetish
- John Lee Hooker, Boom Boom
- Mediaeval Baebes, The Rose
- The Coup, Party Music
So now I have more music, yay, but at the same time I am a lot further from finishing the damn sorting project - which I really want to have done asap so I can have all the newly sorted music on my Neuros when I fly out for Annie's wedding next week (NEXT WEEK OMGWTF HOW DID IT GET TO BE THAT SOON AUGH!).
*sigh*
Oh, well. If all else fails, I'll use some half-assed hack to finish. Like labelling all the ones I haven't sorted yet as "uncategorized" or something. Yeah.
File under: Geekiness, Linkage, Pure Ego!
Posted at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)September 06, 2006
Childfree awesomenessCheck out Mike Rowe's reply to a rather personal question. It's brilliant. He sums it all up with a great short answer:
Here’s my answer. My reasoning for not having kids is due to the fact that I’m selfish. And if I ever change my mind and decide to have a family, my reasoning will be the same.Perfect. He's honest without being a dick, and explains his reasoning without being condemning of parents. Good on him. I should start watching his show.
September 01, 2006
On a more cheerful noteThis music video is awesome. (requires sound, obviously) Who knew Badly Drawn Boy was so warm and fuzzy?
Family Guy: The Best of Stewie Griffin. I adore Stewie. He is so awesome.
Another awesome music video - vikings fighting each other with heavy metal guitar and a marching band! \m/ f'n metal.
Stop-motion videos of old games (I've probably blogged this before, but it is awesome)
One for the English Majors in my readership: Wasteland Limericks
A new take on Flashdance (graphic). Heee!
...and to cleanse your palate: The Hasselhoffian Recursion!!!!!!! (AUGH MY EYES!)
August 21, 2006
Legal excitementMy pal Conrad is an attorney in Las Vegas. Check out this interview about his latest case (click the link under "Build your own Newscast"). He is the guy with the shaved head who's Dean's attorney. This case is getting a lot of publicity, and I hope it'll be good for him!
August 17, 2006
HellfireYeowza. This sequence is why I love Frollo so much. Tony Jay, who voiced him, was amazing. Sadly, Jay has passed away. Blessings to him, wherever he is now. He was a talented man.
August 15, 2006
Awesome, fabulous womenI think I should start a fanclub for 50-something (or older!) female bloggers who kick ass. So far I have found two:
Marn, who gardens on a scale that involves backhoes and bulldozers and lifts weights like there's no tomorrow (she can do chin-ups! By herself! And only a few years ago she was all out of shape! Holy crap!)
Liz, who bodybuilds, loves Zydeco, is amazingly culturally aware, and is currently working to kick the ass of Brenda, a nasty tumor that is partially blocking the vein that lets blood down out of her head and neck.
I admire both these women immensely for a zillion reasons, chief amongst which is that they blog so honestly and articulately about their lives. They are living proof that being a woman over the age of 30 is not a sentence to futility and fainting spells. They are ass-kickers! And yet they are human. They cry. They have moments of doubt. They are afraid of things. And they share that too! Which is really powerful, because it helps me believe that in spite of my own moments when I cry or doubt myself or am afraid, maybe I can kick ass as much as they do.
Many profound thanks, Marn and Liz! You gals rule.
July 10, 2006
Dear Internet:You are entirely too full of awesomeness for me to blog properly. It's not fair. My "Stuff to blog" bookmarks folder is constantly overflowing, dammit.
Don't ever stop.
Poetry:
- This Limerick about Anne Coulter is pretty funny.
- The Norton Anthology of Weasels is utterly awesome, and I was even able to get some of them. :)
Stuff that made me go YAY!:
- This LJ entry has the best response to the nurse who asks "...and when was your last period?" at the doctor's office. Awesome.
- Women Wage war on Weenie Waggers. Title says it all, really. Awesome.
- Best comeback ever to being called "sweetheart" by a stranger.
- You can read full entry, but this is the pertinent part:
"You used to do that too y'know, when you were a small child." my mother told me as we walked back to her place. "Yeah," I replied "But you told me to knock it off, strangers didn't have to do it for you. That's the difference between a parent and a breeder. "Parent" is a verb."So true, so true. "Parent is a verb" is a slogan I'd love to see on bumperstickers everywhere.
Cuteness:
- The Daily Kitten No explanation needed here, I think.
- Kittenwar.com Or here. Yay kittens!
Cool Photos:
- Topographic Oddities is an awesome collection of aerial photographs.
- I've always been fascinated by hands, and this Flickr set has some wonderful shots.
General Hilarity:
- Knitting for Psychos - I want patterns for some of these!
- The MsScribe Story is a fascinating (in a trainwreck sort of way) writeup of a huge kerfluffle in the Harry Potter fandom some time ago. It's amazing the lengths to which people will go sometimes.
- Time Breakdown of Modern Web Design is brilliant.
- If you haven't read The Credit Card Prank, you should - it's not only funny, but will make you call your credit card companies the instant you so much as think your card might be lost.
- This song is funny: "Al Gore" by Monkeybowl
- William Shatner pays tribute to George Lucas - words fail me. It's hilarious.
- Bush Pilot is a video from a German comedy program that is just hilarious. It's like something off the Daily Show, but with subtitles.
- Where the Hell is Matt? is a crazy site about this guy who travelled the world and videotaped himself dancing everywhere, then spliced the vids together. It's pretty cool. Weird, but cool.
June 29, 2006
Wow.Holy cow. I just watched Jon Stewart's response to the 9/11 attacks on YouTube. It's here. Blows me away. I didn't get back into the Daily Show until after this aired, so I missed it. I'm glad we have YouTube so I could see it now.
June 28, 2006
Ogdred Weary font back online!The Ogdred Weary font, which I use extensively in my blog, is once again up and functional. So, those of you who are interested, go get it!
Take that, Cosmo.I looked through Glenn Feron's portfolio again today. Man, is it good for one's self-esteem. He lets you see glamor shots both before and after retouching. If you haven't seen it before, go look. And even if you have seen it before, it's worth another glance.
June 20, 2006
Link RoundupA link roundup for ya!
- One for the philosophers in my readership (or at least the tech-savvy ones): Descartes 2.0
- Proof that Merlin Mann is insane... and awesome. Insanely awesome?
- Best rejection letter response ever. I totally love YouTube for stuff like this.
- Like mashups (aka bootlegs; where you take two different songs and smash them together to make a new song)? Check out BootieSF
- A new law for online discourse: Tubman's Law. Brilliant.
- Reader's Prayer. I want to get this done in calligraphy to hang in my library.
- The late, great Cancer, Baby takes on Mood Ooglers, those horrible people who will tell you things like "smile, it can't be that bad!" even though they don't know you or know why you have your current expression on your face. Read the comments as well for more good stories of harshing on Mood Ooglers.
- For those who know both the theater scene and something about religious ritual, I present: The Theater Ritual. Brilliant stuff.
- Battlestar Galactisimpsons. Words fail me.
- Take "Super Mario Bros." and cross it with the Burly Brawl from "The Matrix Reloaded" and you get.... Super Mario Reloaded. My brain hurts. But in a good way.
- Gettin' political: Lt. Ehren Watada is refusing to deploy to Iraq, citing a soldier's duty to refuse to participate in a nillegal war of aggression. Rawk.
- A meditation on the purpose of Flickr. Good stuff, and some great pix.
- Apparently, flaming someone in an online chat room counts as libel! Trolls beware!
- Wonderful quote from Mark Twain about writing.
- 10 Things Teenage Writers Should Know About Writing by the awesome John Scalzi.
- A funny take on the common CF slur "crotchfruit". Heeee.
Concert!Hey, peeps!
Check it out: San Jose Metaphysical Bookshop is having a concert! It's a fundraiser to help them with the expenses of moving out of their current location and into a new one.
I am mightily peeved I can't go - one of the owners called me last night to tell me there will be a ton of vendors and performers there and it sounds like a blast.
The one thing that almost makes up for it is that if enough people who buy tickets mention my name, I will get a bigass gift certificate to the shop. Rawk! So! Go on my behalf! Have a great time! But be sure to mention me by name when you buy the tix, either over the phone or on the online form. I want that gift certificate, darnit! Plus, they're a fantastic shop and a great community resource and they need this fundraiser to go well.
June 08, 2006
Read thisThis entry over at OPL is really good. So good, in fact, that I have nothing to add except "Right on!" So thanks, Nate, for taking the words out of my mouth (off my keyboard?).
Although unlike Nate I don't have contest deadlines coming up because I am so friggin' busy I never write fiction anymore. I think about it constantly, of course - in fact, I had a recent epiphany about the novel I'm plotting which I think will make it both easier to write and more interesting. I love that. I should get my shit together and write more fiction, dammit.
June 07, 2006
InspirationThis post found through Carnival of Feminists gave me some food for thought. Her main point: "feminists should believe in female beauty." The tricky bit, of course, (which she leaves out) is that it should be our beauty, not what mainstream culture considers beautiful. I think we feminist women should all work on looking good to ourselves. Nevermind the rest of the world. As I have read on several feminist blogs lately, it's none of my business what other people think of me. But it is my business what I think of me. Imagine if we feminists went to the effort to make ourselves look beautiful to ourselves, so that when we caught a glimpse of ourselves in the mirrored surface of a window it made us stand up straighter? Imagine the aura we would project. That's power.
It's hard, of course, to separate society's beauty standards from our own - that takes some real work. But taking care of our bodies, keeping them in good health and avoiding fashion mags like the plague is a good start. I know some women who do this already, which is very cool. But some of us (like me, for example) need a little work.
Feminist men can do something about this too: believe in female beauty, real female beauty - not the stick-thin, plastic crap the media is selling. Appreciate the beauty inherent in all women if you don't already. (Most of the guys I know are better at this than most women would give them credit for. But then, the guys I know are by and large awesome.)
Sounds like a revolution to me.
May 25, 2006
Whoa.This clip makes me wonder if I should start watching Boston Legal. It's the closing arguments from a recent ep, with a fantastic, impassioned speech by James Spader. Huzzah.
Here's a transcript, in case you can't listen to it at work.
After the prosecution's arguments, Spader's character gets up and says:
May 22, 2006
Naamah wins at teh intarwebThis comment by Naamah is awesome. She's talking about depression, and how it's possible to claw your way out of the pit and turn your life around - if you work hard enough. My favorite bit:
It is possible to turn your life around, to have things come together, to have things work out for the better, or even the best. I won't lie. Some of it's luck, but most of it is fighting spirit. Luck means fuck all if you don't have the guts to kick life in the ass and spit in its eye, then choke it until it gives you what you want.Never. Quit.
That is the only, the best advice I could give anyone suffering from major depression.
This shit? It will be with you for life. Depression does not go away all the way. But really mean motherfuckers, true-hearted bitches, they can learn to fucking surf the lava flow. There is strength in it, more strength than those who never have to deal with the dark will ever, ever know. That's the plus you get. That's the upside. And it doesn't seem like much right now, but trust me. It is one hell of an upside. I would not trade it for anything.
Never quit. And someday you will own it, and it won't own you. No bullshit.
I don't think I can really add anything to that. As usual, she has summed it up beautifully.
May 16, 2006
Awesome linksDarnit, my "Stuff to Blog" bookmark folder is getting all big again. Here are some links I've been meaning to blog about:
- Blogging the Bible is one ordinary Jew's account of reading the book that forms the basis for major world religions. Pretty cool so far.
- These guys make hidden passageways in your house for you. I totally want a hidden passageway when I have my own home.
- Via Dead Jerusalem, Lesbians' Brains React Differently to male and female hormones than do the brains of heterosexual women. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, fundies!
- A detailed description (and methods for fighting) the Help Vampire.
- A Photocomic How-to on Flickr.
- An amazing photo from the riots in France.
- There's a new kind of poem now, The Fib. It's pretty awesome, really.
- Bald Eagle Web Cam
- Remember that famous painting of the two cherubs? Here are some icons that totally make it hilarious.
- I love this Count Your Sheep strip.
- aaaaaaaaaaaand let's wrap up with one for the childfree in the audience: the entry Crib Lizards at Dervala.net. (Warning: Contains derogatory references to children!)
April 25, 2006
GahWell, I survived being Maid of Honor at my oldest friend's wedding (by which I mean the wedding of the person who has been my friend longest of all my friends, not the oldest person who is my friend). Aggravatingly enough, I have managed to utterly exhaust myself in the process - I fell asleep waiting for the fiance to call last night and barely woke up when he did call, then had a heck of a time waking up this morning. I think I got about ten hours of sleep but it doesn't feel like it at all. Good grief.
In other news, my "Stuff to Blog" bookmarks folder is overflowing with an utterly random collection of stuff, so here are a few links:
- Tomatoes are Evil
- Flickr: Arborophilia - a beautiful set of tree photos on Flickr.
- Kitty and Rooster: Weird Friendship
- Flickr pool: Amusing Place Names
- Migaloo - a white humpback whale! So cool.
The rest of them are things I actually want to Write About(tm), so they'll have to wait until I feel ,more like a human and less like a zombie.
April 20, 2006
Girl! I wanna take you to a gay bar!In other news, Gay Bar is, like, the best song ever. It makes me want to rawk. And the Rathergood video has kittens AND puppies. So awesome.
Nerdcore!Rawk. MC Dope Dope now has a list of nerdcore artistes! Go MC Dope Dope! This is a totally useful list right here.
Of course, it doens't help me much with my attempts to identify a handful of nerdcore tracks I downloaded at some point without ID3 tags. Grrr. Goddammit, people, TAG YOUR FUCKING MP3s! IT ISN"T HARD! AUGH!
April 17, 2006
Linky-linkHoly cow, I'm building up a list of links to blog again. We can't have that or I'll wind up with another huge backlog. :D So! Links!
- This Campari ad is totally hot. Joi de Livre was right.
- I hella want to knit one of these nautilus dolls.
- This comic about movie reviewing is frickin' hilarious.
- I hella want a Feeping Creature. They're cute! And they look like they'd go "feep!" if they could talk. Awesome.
- This blog entry is a hilarious and awesome criticism of Kate Taylor's "raunch culture is awesome and totally feminist!" column. So cool.
- Oprah took on the whole culture of beauty in a recent episode. Good stuff for a pop culture icon.
In other news, no, we have not set a date yet. Let me get through my friend Sarah's wedding this weekend (I'm MoH, so I'm slightly freaking out right now) and then the
bffiance and I will get to work on it.April 07, 2006
The Foremen!Dood! The Foremen are coming out with a "best of" album! Yay! And Metaphor records contacted me about pimping it on my Foresite. Holy schlamoly. So I have some info up there about it, go check it out! I've also dusted off some of the other pages. Hooray!
There's more to come once they get back to me, so stay tuned.
March 30, 2006
Canrival of Feminists!Carnival of Feminists XI has been up for a while now, but I'm slow sometimes.I think my favorite links from this one are:
- Two takes on a new anti-rape campaign: one somewhat in favor and one pretty pissed off. I think that it's a good idea to target anti-rape campaigns at men because (gasp!) it's the men who are doing the raping most of the time, at least outside of prison. But at the same time, I can see the point made that this particular campaign is objectifying women while it says not to rape them.
- Letter to Alex and Chris, Twelve Years in the Future. - I've probably linked to this before, but it is really awesome and bears linking to again. It's a mom's letter to her two sons saying, basically, to harm those who cannot defend themselves or to stand by and allow them to come to harm means you are a failure as a human being, even if you won't get in trouble for it. To protect those who cannot defend themselves even when it means standing up to your friends and being in grave danger or losing the respect of people you like makes you a hero. I think boys everywhere should read this post.
- Has the Civil Rights Movement Made African-Americans Happier (And Other Stupid Questions is a great post about the stupidity of all those articles asking whether feminism makes women happier.
March 22, 2006
Bumper stickers for liberalsI like these.
Here. Favorite: "If you want your religion taken seriously, stop treating it like fandom."
and here. Favorite: "The next person to ask 'so when are you having kids?' gets strangled with a tampon"File under: Linkage, Political Schtuff
Posted at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)Spread the word!Native American tribal leader tells SD governor where to stick his forced-birth law
I am definitely making a donation toward this. Go Ms. Fire Thunder!!!
File under: Linkage, Political Schtuff
Posted at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)March 21, 2006
ReadingSome lunchtime reading...
The Real Bias in the Classroom
Bush Using Straw-Man Arguments in Speeches
A Top-Down Review for the PentagonVia Bitch, PhD.
March 20, 2006
Awww!Another link: Andy Runton draws incredibly cute comics using symbols and facial expressions to evoke communication instead of actual wordy dialog. Very cool. I suspect these comics would be really useful for teaching English - you could have the kids read the comics and then explain what's going on.
Goofy link of the weekCourtesy of my buddy Jibbs:
So surreal. Seriously. Truly the world is full of wonders.
Or crazy people.
Or both.
March 15, 2006
QuestionsSo, I was reading Molly Saves the Day and I got to her post Twenty Questions: Baby-killer edition in which she posts twenty questions aimed at the forced-birth contingent who've been posting "abortion is murder of little babies!" comments on her blog lately. I found the post very interesting, but thought some of the questions were a bit too... harsh? biased? I'm not sure what the right word is. Basically, some of them seemed like they were destined to put up the hackles of the forced-birth contingent readers.
I think for questions like these to work as discussion starters, they have to be genuine, honest, and not constructed to start an argument. I hereby offer my own twenty questions as an exercise in promoting discussion. The idea is to get people thinking about what extending human rights to the unborn could lead to.
The ones with *s are lifted from Molly's with some adjustments.
File under: Linkage, Political Schtuff
Posted at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)March 10, 2006
Cleaning out the musicThis is an awesome article about one guy clearing out his music collection. I'm sometimes tempted to do this myself - I have so much STUFF! But then I would feel kind of bad for hanging onto the MP3s I've ripped, so... yeah. Still, interesting article.
March 08, 2006
Wooo! Also, a general update.Now all my friends who are using LiveJournal can put my blogs in their friends list. See My LJ Profile for details. (Thanks, Jeff)
In other news, sorry I haven't been blogging much. Between Cinequest, work (which is awesome), and trying to take care of myself (*shakes fist at fibromyalgia*) I have very little free time. On the bright side, I am still feeling good in spite of how many movies I've seen in the last couple weeks.
It never ceases to amaze me how counterintuitive it is for me to take care of myself. Taking long, hot baths and getting plenty of sleep are really good for my fibro, but I always feel vaguely guilty shirking other things (like Cinequest coverage) in order to do them. I know that taking care of myself keeps me from having a major flare but even so... we are so conditioned by modern society (especially here in Silicon Valley) to take pride in not taking care of ourselves that it's very difficult for me not to feel like a slacker. I'm working on it, though.
February 24, 2006
Freedom of SmoochI think Freedom of Smooch is a great idea.
February 22, 2006
Pimping my friendsIf you're looking for hats and/or purses, check out Kayt's Stuff on eBay. Kayt and I know each other from Red Elvises fandom, and she helps me out with The Red Pages every month.
If you're looking for art, check out Melisander.org. Mei and I go way back - I met her when I was an exchange student at York. She was an exchange student too - from back here in the US! Crazy!
February 10, 2006
Wow.I really don't have anything to add. As someone who is young, unmarried, and who does not want children, her story really resonates with me. I remain optimistic that forced gestation/childbirth is not in California's future, but still ... I can see her point. And I will say this: married or unmarried, young or not: if abortion is outlawed, I am totally getting my tubes tied.
January 20, 2006
AwesomenessI checked out some of the projects of the various people I met last night whose work I wasn't familiar with, and I am really glad I did! Dig this stuff:
I looked at the company Wae Yip works for - Mindretrieve is a program you put on your computer which can then be used to search the web pages you have surfed. It doesn't refer to anything except files stored on your computer, so it's not a privacy issue. Spiffy, nu?
Tailrank, the brainchild of several guys including Scott Johnson, gathers articles and whatnot worth reading and ranks them. A quick gander intrigued me and I'll be checking it out in more detail shortly.
January 18, 2006
OK, last set of Flickr faves, I promise... for now ...
OK, I admit it, I may be getting slightly carried away here. But it's easy!
More Flickr faves!I am really getting into making these tables of favorites. :)
January 10, 2006
DiamondsTen reasons why you should never accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone, Under Any Circumstances, Even If They Really Want to Give You One is a great summary of why I won't be getting a diamond engagement ring if/when I get engaged. The short version is: the diamond engagement ring is a marketing fabrication, diamond mines are bad for the enviroment, DeBeers are price-fixing schmucks, diamond workers are exploited, and diamonds fund horrible wars.
I'm not a rabid anti-diamond person - I am aware that pretty much every corporation does bad things and where one draws the line is a personal matter. If you have a diamond ring, I'm not going to give you crap about it. In fact, I'll probably coo over it, because those little hunks of rock are pretty. But if/when I get engaged, my ring won't have diamonds, and I figured it was worth linking to an article explaining why. I'll probably wind up printing out a version of this and carrying copies around to hand to people who ask why I don't have a diamond ring.
January 03, 2006
Roundup of feminist readingStuff I've been reading lately that made my feminist heart go pit-a-pat. Many (OK, most) of these are via this post at Feministe.
NOTE: I like men. I have male friends. I have a boyfriend. My male friends and my boyfriend are good guys. They are not assholes. Anything I may say below or which may be said in the articles I linked should be taken as about SOME men not ALL men. Some feminists (myself included) are bad about including the modifiers when writing about societal trends.
Augh! The Cuteness! It burns!Ilona Rankovic's store is full of ZOMGCUTEAUGH art prints she has painted. They're really lovely. And cute.
The aptly named Cute overload is a blog of cuteness.
Ealasaid.com takes no responsibility for any injury, illness, or urge to acquire artwork, small animals, or children that may result from viewing these sites.
December 29, 2005
Linkety LinkSome schmuck tried to drown a cat but she was rescued, yay!
Gals who, like me, get irked by how tricky it can be to pee while out hiking/camping/rock climbing may be interested in The Whiz (no, I am not making that name up).
Need cool fonts on the cheap? Try DaFont, which has an awesome selection.
December 23, 2005
Hah!OK, I admit it. I freakin' hate the Girls Gone Wild videos. So the fact that the creator of them was robbed at gunpoint and forced to make a sexually demeaning videotape just seems awesome to me.
On a more cheery note, this timelapse pic of a snail is awesome.
Chinchillas!
Originally uploaded by Ealasaid.
Rock. Chinchillas are AWESOME. Dan invited Dylan and me up to his brother's house so we could meet all the chinchillas he has. SO CUTE AUGH! We took tons of photos.
December 19, 2005
Link round-up
- Interesting payment scheme for music. Basically, you pay as much as you want.
- Don't research a paper on Maoism or the Department of Homeland Security will show up, lecture you, and not let you read the book.
- Redneck Mother's wedding story is hilarious... and a cautionary tale!
- Just what the world needs: a biblica T&A calendar.
- Don't try to rape a woman in Thailand, she might bite off your tongue.
- Best description of my own take on the problem of when an embryo becomes human ever. Reprinted below in case something happens to it.
Edited to add: apparently the story about Homeland Security hassling the college student is a hoax. *sigh*
December 16, 2005
Grammar guide, courtesy of CraigslistI'm also cut-and-pasting it below in case something happens to CL, because it is a GREAT grammar guide.
Warning: Foul language ahoy!
December 14, 2005
F#@* ChristmasWarning: May offend conservative Christians, Pat Robertson or Bill O'Reilly followers, and people without a basic sense of perspective.
I'll go a step beyond just offering a link and say: Right on, man, right on. I am so sick of the "oh, poor me! We're so persecuted!" act so many wingnut "Christians" put on. (I put that in quotes because really, they're not Christians. Jesus said to turn the other cheek when you feel attacked, people, not bend the truth to suit your rantings and get lawsuit-happy.) The Christians who are actually being persecuted are the Christ-following, reasonable ones who are being made to look really bad by those nutjobs.
I am really glad I got to read a rant that awesome. Thanks for pointing it out to me, Twon! You rock.
December 13, 2005
I wish I had known earlierOn December 6, 1989, 14 women were killed for being female engineering students. Since then, female enrollment in engineering and science programs has dropped in that country (Canada). There was an international day of rememberence in Canada for the dead, and I think that's laudable.
Personally, I think it's appalling that I didn't know about that massacre, even though I am a woman who excelled in math and science and now works in a tech field. I hope I always remember the massacre. It's proof that women can be killed for breaking into men's professions, even here in the Western World.
If I seem cranky and angry lately, it's probably because my health hasn't been so great. Nothing like the constant irritation of poor health to make me peeved by things I could otherwise take in stride.
But then, is this stuff I should be able to take in stride?
December 09, 2005
The M-wordThis great post about married life and feminism is awesome. I found it via the Carnival of Feminists, which I am still working my way through (LOVE the Carnival! It rules!). There's an interesting followup to it over here at Pandagon.
The issue around which both pieces revolve is the division of labor in marriage. Because we still live in a patriarchy, the burden for worrying about this is carried almost entirely by women. Either we are the ones who do the housework or we are the ones who have to monitor the equal distribution of housework. Plus, if a couple's place looks like a mess, people will almost invariably blame the woman -- and even if they don't, the woman will probably feel that they do, which is just as bad. Damn that patriarchy!
I am not looking forward to having to deal with this when I get married, not one bit. It is going to be a total drag. At least I have blogs like the above to get me thinking about it now and to offer me food for thought.
December 08, 2005
Woo!I'll be doing a proper multi-link entry at some point soon (I have a bunch of links in my "blog this" list from the last couple days) but first things first:
The new Carnival of Feminists is up! Woooooooo!
November 21, 2005
Psssssst!Check it: my Mom is co-organizing her 40th High School Reunion: Covina High School Class of 1968 Reunion. Dad's helping with the website, and I'm running the email list (for now, anyway).
November 11, 2005
Sociopath? Me?So I read a series of articles about a boy who died of a mysterious blood disease and, in discussing it with my cousin, realized that his first reaction was "how sad" while mine was "wow, that is really interesting! Also, bummer for the kid and his family. But dood! Mysterious blood disease! Greatest pediatric clinic in the nation stumped! How awesome is that?"
Now I know why I love "House" so much - the main character is the same way.
November 04, 2005
Google-bombing for choiceAn interesting idea: Google-bombing for choice. They appear to have succeeded in altering the top result for Googling Roe vs. Wade, which is cool. I approve.
November 03, 2005
Yes, more links.
- Open Source Toolbox - Free equivalents to commercial software. AWESOME. (Thanks, Dad!)
- Right to Wife - Fantastic article about Judge Alito's ruling in Casey vs. Planned Parenthood (Alito being the guy appointed by Dubya to the Supreme Court, and Casey being the case where his dissenting opinion would have upheld a law requiring women to inform their husbands before getting an abortion).
- Carnival of Feminists 2 - Hooray!
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Linkety linkSeveral days' worth of links here:
- Belili - an interesting page about research into Goddess spirituality, with loads of references to books I have got to try and remember to get from the library.
- The City - What if San Francisco were made of Jello... and an earthquake hit? (Thanks, Dave!)
- The physics of bras - Interesting article in Discover about bras. (thanks, Ith!)
- Says God - An oldie but a goodie.
- Halloween Quiz - Dr. Joyce Brothers gives us a great Halloween facts/myths quiz.
- DAH1500i - Cutest. Tiny. MP3 Player. EVER. (Thanks Antwon!)
- Little, round, effective at destroying Western Civilization - Amanda of Pandagon rips Leon Kass a new one. Beautiful.
October 28, 2005
Today's links
- Keanu Reeves: Wooden wonder boy - Sars of TomatoNation.com and Tara take on Keanu in one of their hilarious MSNBC articles. This is awesome. Actually, check out all their articles - these gals are brilliant.
- Dover Stained Glass Coloring Books - I used to color in a couple of these a lot as a kid. They are amazing. I should totally get more and get back into that. There's something really soothing about coloring.
- Necronomicon as papercraft - AWESOME. Two Lovecrafty links for the price of one! Thanks, Boing Boing (and Dad, who sent me the link).
Also, as an FYI, my movie reviews and book log get updated regularly but I keep forgetting to post about that here.October 27, 2005
Today's MiscellanyAnd... here we begin another day's collection of links.
- Romance of the Jedi - recut trailer for Star Wars Episode III. Funny stuff. Part of a trailer remix competition.
- - Remixed trailer for The Shining. This will mess with your head if you've ever seen the actual film.
- West Side Story remixed trailer.
- Titanic remixed trailer.
- Psycho remixed trailer.
Edit: Forgot to change the posting status when I finished work for the day. My bad! Here they are now, though...
October 26, 2005
Miscellaneous linksThere's something handy about having an entry open all day where I can cut and paste awesome links that turn up. Keeps me from building them up in a "blog this!" folder, anyway.
Today's links:
- Buttprints in the sand - Cute parody of the "Footprints" poem.
- The LR Guide to Newswriting - What newscasters say vs. what they really mean. Hah.
- The Starbucks Challenge - DId you know that if you ask for a cup of fair trade coffee in Starbucks they are supposed to make one for you? Pretty cool.
- Lone Star Statements - Single-star reviews of books from Time's list of the 100 best novels of all time. These are a HOOT.
- Diesel Sweeties - 1337sp3@k vs. piratespeak.
- Fantasy Name generator - not sure what to name that town/elf/NPC? This neat generator comes up with a bunch of names at a go and you can set it for different cultures, too. Very handy.
- Quotes on Homosexuality - some real gems here. I think my favorite is "Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a faggot?"" ~John Stewart
- Elisabeth Eaves - an interview with the author of Bare, which is about stripping. Very interesting! I totally want to read the book now. :)
October 25, 2005
October 24, 2005
MiscellanySquirrels - pix of squirrels, some taken with a remote. There are some AWESOME photos here. (found via FlickrBlog
Behe's 15th-century science - intelligent design gets spanked. Very funny article. (found via... um. Someone on my blogroll. Crap. Don't remember whom.)October 14, 2005
Kittens make up for a lot.I am finding it tricky to do much of anything, due to niggling little health issues (very mild vertigo, which causes near-constant mild motion-sickness; a mild headache; mild grogginess). however, I have the cure for what ails you:
KITTEN! (.mpg, 23Mb) That would be Bug, the new family member of my friends Jen and Alex. OMG, teh cute! I may die.
Also, here is a random selection of links which I have viewed and consider interesting/amusing/whatever:
- The Oppossum Project - dead oppossum + bucket of water = bones, with pictures!
- Worst paper ever - this is what happens when a pot-addled college student decides he can afford one bad grade in a class.
- CameraToss - photos generated by setting a camera's shutter speed to be long, then throwing it up into the air.
- Birding With Neil - In which Neil Gaiman goes birding, sort of.
- Nice Hair - An awesome webcomic featuring (sort of) Neil Gaiman, Robert Smith, Tim Burton, and some other people.
- A history of the pledge of allegiance - Interesting article. Must-read if you're upset by the whole "The pledge is unconstitutional" debate.
- AveragePhallus - a scientific experiment to see if any of those "Add 3 inches NOW!" spams live up to their promises.
October 04, 2005
Dumbest. Undersecretary. Evar.Ricky says it better than I could. As usual. Go read.
September 30, 2005
Introverts...So, if introverts are people who find other people tiring while extroverts are people who find other people energizing, but I find MOST people tiring but some people energizing, what does that make me?
Partially introverted, I guess.
September 15, 2005
Wow.Naamah_Darling weighs in on abortion rights, and says it all with incredible eloquence. She is an amazing writer.
I have been listening to the confirmation hearings for John Roberts as I drive to and from work (or at least listening to stuff about them, if not the actual hearings) and Roberts is giving me the heebes. Seriously. The man will not answer a frickin' question directly. He won't take stands. He says he doesn't want to wind up bargaining for confirmation votes, but what he's doign instead is not giving the senators a real impression of his beliefs and opinions. Given that this man holds the future of so many women in his hands, that frightens me.
September 13, 2005
Colors!Wow. this is awesome. It's a visual map of the English language, made by averaging the colors found in image searches of words.
Take THAT!This dismemberment of Deepak Chopra's idiotic stance on evolution is a thing of beauty. I always knew I thought Chopra was kind of lame - now I know he is completely lame. What a moron.
September 06, 2005
NOLAOnce work settles down, I am going to catch up on interdictor's LJ. He's blogging from New Orleans. THe saga starts here. He sounds like an interesting guy from the handful of entries I've had time to read.
September 02, 2005
In other newsSweden lets you "borrow" people so you can learn about them. It's called a "living library." You can "borrow" an imam, a journalist, or a lesbian (among others). I think this is a fantastic idea.
September 01, 2005
10 thingsEverybody's doing it, so I will too. (Okay, maybe 2 people isn't quite everybody, but still.) It's good exercise, since work is making me so stressed that I barely have the words to express it (other things I lack words for: Hurricaine Katrina's devastation, gas prices, and our government).
Ten Things That Make Me Happy (in no particular order)
- Petting my cats.
- Snuggling.
- The darkness of a movie theater right before the movie starts.
- The bf (duh).
- Beating the computer at Scrabble.
- Watching The Daily Show (although it also often makes me angry at various people, I am happy to live in a country where the show can exist).
- Walking among redwood trees.
- Curling up with a good book for a couple of uninterrupted hours.
- Watching Mythbusters (though it also makes me envious. Coolest. Job. Ever.)
- Working in the garden.
August 28, 2005
Damn you, Burger King.Whoa.
The new Burger King ad campaign is actually pretty darn cool. They have mindless rock music, some cool music videos (which are basically ads for the new Chicken Fingers but are still groovie), and the band they've made up is a hoot. Check it out:
(found via Orange Penny Loafers)
August 23, 2005
A very, very messed-up shirt.The ultimate Harry Potter spoiler shirt. Do NOT VIEW if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and don't want to be spoiled.
I bought a different spoilery tshirt (spoiler warning applies to this too, though not quite so much) and am hoping that it comes out of backorder and arrifves soon.
A really big adAugust 19, 2005
Wow.How Not To Make Me Ex-Gay is a beautiful response to the horrible letters a gay blogger receives. Seriously. This guy is amazing. I don't know if I would have the serenity to frame that kind of eloquent response if someone attacked me like that.
Found via Pandagon.
July 20, 2005
D'oh!I somehow forgot to blog the fact that I got interviewed for an episode of Sattellite of Grace, my pal Lise's podcast.
SO COOL.
She did some great editing to make me sound a lot more fluid than I did at the time, and I actually come across as fairly intelligent. The topic of her podcast is religion - intelligent and thoughtful discussion of beliefs. I was one of several people she chatted with at a party a week and a half ago. Woot!
July 19, 2005
Warning!This game is highly addictive.
July 14, 2005
Link of the WEEK!OK, I don't actually do links of the anything anymore, but this link RULES.
Postcards I Have Made by Jon of DogBlog.
My favorites:
July 12, 2005
Eek!My pal Annie set up a cool new CafePress store. I shall therefore pimp the hell out of it:
Check out Do Not Touch This
It's great for those who aren't into the whole touchy-feely thing... like pregnant ladies who get felt by complete strangers all the time!
May 31, 2005
Woo!Unfortunately, as he points out, the world is coming to an end soon. That's kind of a bummer, but at least now we know about it.
May 26, 2005
More pix on FlickrPix from my trip back East last year.
WARNING: Includes rainbow-puke-inducing kitten photos!
(props to the Blogger Pets Group on Flickr for introducing me to that expression)
May 24, 2005
BaseballI almost forgot. I put up my photos from Sunday's game on Flickr. Some of them came out really well!
Sars on Revenge of the SithWow.
Sars just summed up almost perfectly why I loved Darth Vader so much as a kid:
This is why I loved Darth Vader as a kid: he is one hundred percent tragic-opera yippee-ky-ay-motherfucker stone-cold spaghetti-Western-black-hat who's-your-daddy this-is-how-we-do-it-on-the-Death-Star-bitch we-who-are-about-to-die-salute-you capital-B bad-ass. That dude is not trying to hear anything about Indian burns or the silent treatment, and the only thing he's long-dividing is your ass with his foot.I wasn't in the same situation she was as a kid, but I had issues of my own, and I think part of Vader's appeal is that he turns that rage we felt into power. He doesn't sit and try not to cry when people tease him. He doesn't worry about what he's going to get on the test. He is the man.She explains perfectly why one of Vader's post-op lines is so unbelievably retarded and disappointing, and she also summs up Lucas' problem as a moviemaker:
Lucas can really make a movie look like a million bucks. A big set piece, no problem. Huge battle sequences, shit-kicking Muppets, aging an evil chancellor three hundred years with static electricity, ain't no thing. Two people just talking to each other and he's at a complete loss.Unfortunately, I actually disagree with her a bit in the rest of the essay.
Additional spoilery notes below the cut.
April 28, 2005
Awesome!Deaf raves in the UK. Found via Faisal.
April 22, 2005
Cool stuffOK, lunch is almost over so I gotta post the stuff I have in open windows so I can close them and go to work.
April 18, 2005
I [heart] BottleOfBlogRick goes off on those anti-activist-judges Republicans
This guy is right up there with The Rude Pundit, man. To say he's a little sarcastic is like saying the Pacific is a bit damp. Hehehehehe. Awesome.
Excerpt:
OverheardI am SO a fan of Overheard in the Office and Overheard in New York.
This is one of my favorites. (copied below for posterity)
April 08, 2005
HehehehThere's a Petition to shut down PetitionOnline.com.
On a side note: Good grief. I really, really need to start posting more links. I have over 400 emails in my "links to blog" folder.
March 31, 2005
Finally.It's finally over for Terri Schiavo.
Dubya has a lot of nerve talking about a "culture of life" when he killed so many people as governor and even went so far as to mock the condemned. What a hypocrite. I hate politicians.
I gotta get my living will set up. If I'm ever in Terri Schiavo's condition, I don't want to consume valuable hospital resources for years. No hope of recovery = no feeding tube for me, man.
March 30, 2005
Booklog UpdatedYay me. I have updated my BookLog. Hooray for lunch break at work.
February 28, 2005
Yay!February 27, 2005
Exploding Dog RulesOdd drawings to make you smile: ExplodingDog.com
Fundraiser / cool sculpture stuffCheck it out: Lisa Snellings-Clark (she of the awesome Rat Author sculptures) writes about the sculpture she's working on for Neil Gaiman, Bill Hicks, and how she thinks everybody should donate to Hicks' memorial wildlife foundation. Check it out.
February 22, 2005
Cineblog is BackMy CineBlog is back for this year's Cinequest. Go check it out!
February 21, 2005
RIPI am bummed.
Another reason to love Sars.I totally love Tomato Nation. Sars, the proprietess, is just plain awesome. Dig this quote from a recent issue of The Vine, her online advice column. In response to a gal worried about never having another boyfriend now that she's been dumped, Sars says:
It didn't work out, and you'll learn from it, and you'll either find love with someone else who digs you for you or you'll become a Thai-fighting spinster who rides a motorcycle. Or both. Whatever you end up doing with your romantic life, it won't proceed from one guy's assessment of you, so don't try to be something you're not. If the boys dig it, great. If they don't, you're a Thai fighter, enough said.I bow down in awe. Sars si teh r0x0r!February 16, 2005
Squeek!Lisa Snelling has made a new rat in her authors-as-rats series. HP Lovecraft!
We wants it, preciousssssssssssssssss.
February 09, 2005
December 16, 2004
Link grab bagOK, I have WAY too many links in my "Blog LInks" folder. Some are over a year old. So here they are! Random links, for your clicking pleasure. :)
- aidroid_e - neat flash game where you're a robot.
- Christmas Consumerism - fitting for the holiday season, this is a game where you try to rescue people in a mall before they become consumer zombies.
- ObscureStore.com - a rather interesting collection of weirdness.
- Industrious Clock - must be seen to really be understood.
- Movie in a Minute - sometimes hilarious, sometimes all too true. Super short movie summaries.
- Make Tenure Fast: A Chain Letter for Academics - probably only funny to those familiar with professorial tenure quests.
- Snow Crystals - beautiful photos of snowflakes. GORGEOUS!
- Storing info in DNA - interesting article.
- Women's Weight Training - great site, formerly known as "Krista Smash!"
December 02, 2004
Art!My buddy Melissa has put a bunch of her amazing artwork up where y'all can see it. Go! Now!
December 01, 2004
NaNo rambleNovember 29, 2004
Kitties!Tabitha, my parents' cat, has a Catster page. She is a CRAZY cat, but cute as hell, in a pudgy way. :)
Oh, and if you need more kitty goodness, check out a ton of cute kitty pix.
Yay for kitties! :D
November 24, 2004
PlagiarismInteresting piece there. It asks some tricky questions, especially for writers. Go read it. I may post more about it when i'm done with my NaNoWriMo work.
November 18, 2004
Interesting.Interesting article on childfree living.
What with my age and all, I'm doing the whole "do I really want to have children someday?" mental routine fairly regularly. I mean, biological leanings and my family push me one way, my firm dislike of 90% of humanity and 99% of puberty-age children push me in another. If I could have a well-behaved seven year old who would spontaneously turn into a responsible adult, sure. I could do that. But infants, two-year-olds, and 12-16 year olds mostly suck pondwater. There are exceptions, but man. I'm not sure I want to risk it. AFter all, once you have the kid, yer stuck with 'em. Ick. At least if a cat or dog turns out to be psycho, you can give them away or have them put down.
At least I'm not married yet so I don't have to deal with NEARLY as much pressure as I will if I ever do tie the knot.
October 14, 2004
OFMG. This artist is a moron.She misspelled 10 names and one word in a mosaic outside a library. The spelling was fine in her sketches but she messed up while doing the piece itself. She noticed that she'd spelled "Einstein" wrong but just went forward with it.
"I just wasn't that concerned," she said. "None of us are particularly good spellers anymore because of computers. When you are in a studio full of clay, you don't give it much thought."When you look at Michelangelo's David, do you point out that one (testicle) is lower than the other?"
What a moron. Of course one of David's nuts is lower than the other. Has this woman never seen a man naked?
The library thought about making a game out of people finding the errors but she got all huffy about that too.
What a dumbass. She should be ashamed and offering to fix the errors at her own expense.
September 07, 2004
Sleep ProblemsAugust 26, 2004
Free comics!So those of you who were at the meetup know about this already, but Dave Sim made an unusual offer via Neil Gaiman's blog here.
Here it is cut-and-pasted in case you're too lazy to click the link...
Wear. Sunscreen.Marn's biopsy turned up positive for skin cancer. The mildest form, thank all that's bright and good.
I just found out today (damn me and my RSS-hobbled reading habits, and damn Diaryland for its lack of RSS feeds!), so I'm sending a ton of belated good vibes Marn's way. I hope y'all will too.
Marn kicks ass. Marn is my hero. I want to be Marn when I grow up, only closer to urban areas with movie theaters and Costcos.
So send her good thoughts and wear your damn sunscreen.
July 12, 2004
Dog toy or...I got 12 out of 14 right on the easy round and 13 out of 14 right on the difficult round.
I'm not sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, it shows I have skillz. On the other hand, these skillz probably imply that I spend too much time looking at sex toys. Or too much time looking at dog toys.
It's kind of disturbing, even though I'm fairly self-satisfied at having earned a high score. I usually suck at either-or quizzes.
May 14, 2004
Mark Morford is actually wise sometimes.This column by Mark Morford of the SFChronicle is actually really good. He often irritates me with his over-the-top, let's-piss-off-the-right attitude (which is, imho, counterproductive), but I usually agree with what he has to say under the bells and whistles.
This time he hits the nail right on the head. Go read it.
I get this a lot: Mark, how can you write about light fluffy inconsequential things like dogs or yoga or car design or sex or music when there's so many vile gut-wrenching soul-curdling life-threatening atrocities and gang rapes and beheadings and Rumsfelds happening in the world right now that deserve immediate attention?
How the hell can you possibly write a whole column extolling, say, the virtues of single-malt scotch or of having sex in the backseat of small luscious European cars, when BushCo is right this moment ravaging the planet and eviscerating the human spirit and the environment is teetering on the edge and women's rights are being gouged and McDonald's is poisoning our youth and Dick Cheney is still upright, barely?May 04, 2004
Heh.Stuff like this is why I like Rich.
April 20, 2004
VSD/VSJ updateWell, Bardvalhalla has apparently been asked to take the Very Secret Journals (her own continuations of the Very Secret Diaries) down, and has done so.
I hear a rumor that the LJ post where Cassie Claire announced she wouldn't be writing any more VSDs is now inaccessible... wonder if that means she's thinking about taking the torch up again? That would ROCK...
April 15, 2004
LinkoramaI'm too busy/tired to write much, so here's a collection of links to tide y'all over.
The [revised] Fellowship of the Ring - A cute LotR crossover. (thanks, Dad!)
Your Guide to High School Hate - Brilliant and all-too-accurate essay. (found via Antwon's old entries)
Christianburner.com - Neato site for those sick of being hassled by overzealous Christians.
Lingerie Barbie - Just what the world needs. Old article, but still interesting.
Get Creative - Neat info about the Creative Commons license
Step by Step: How to destroy your computer - Useful info here.
Pokethulhu - Hah!
cthulhu.org - More Cthulhu goodness.
Fool Me Twice: The press swallows a story - Nifty article here. (thanks to John Hedtke for the link!)
Patriotic Traitors - Nifty article on the whole Iraq mess. (thanks to Dad for the link!)
The Surrealist Compliment Generator - Your hair sends forth a sheen remniscent of a wounded man streaming bandage gauze from the highest church steeple.April 06, 2004
Wow. Cool cake.Dissected torso cake. Not for the faint of heart.
Found via Neil Gaiman's journal.
March 30, 2004
Yay!Antwon has a new post up. Grab a beverage of your choice, kick back, and enjoy another Twonnish piece of brilliance.
March 22, 2004
BooksThere's a great little article here about why indie bookstores are having such a rough time.
As a card-carrying Borders customer it's probably hypocritical of me to go "yeah! That's so true!" but hey, it is true. Little bookstores are having a hard time staying open and I feel kinda guilty right now for buying books at Borders.
Makes me wanna go find a good little indie bookstore and visit every week or something. Anybody know of any small bookstores around Milpitas/San Jose? Used or new.
March 01, 2004
Sorry...No grab bag today. Just one link for Buckaroo Banzai fans and Nigerian 419 scammer haters:
John Bigbootie vs. Father Edward Franck
Quick, go read it before it gets taken down.
Edit: I have received permission to post the whole thing here for posterity. Yay!
February 19, 2004
More reasons to love Bill Maher"Watching these TV executives testify, it reminded me of the tobacco executives testifying, except that Janet Jackson's breast doesn't cause cancer." (From this entry.)
"When it comes to the environment, Republicans aren't just in bed with industry; they're sweeping all the shit off the desk so they can do it right there in the Senate office. They're a whore on the floor of a taxi cab. And I get so riled up about this because the environment is just different: if your tax cuts are making things worse, you can re-write the tax law. You can re-write a spending bill. But with the environment, once you lose that open space, it's gone. Once you pave over that wetland, it's gone. Once that species is gone, only the magic of Steven Speilberg can bring it back." (from this entry)
February 10, 2004
Lemming stylieI know I have been a Bad Blogger (tm) by not posting about the Janet Jackson Halftime Scandal.
Here's my contribution:
Read this article by Marueen Turner over at Newsday.com. She hits the nail on the head, man.
This isn't to defend the Jackson/Timberlake performance; it was tacky, and it was out of place. But let's not kid ourselves by pretending that there was anything all that shocking about it. It was simply the next logical step in a culture that's made sexuality - specifically, women's sexuality - into an insanely profitable commodity. And it's only when the threat of public censure and government fines threaten that profitability that the perpetrators suddenly find their consciences.Thanks to Jen for passing it on to me. :)
February 05, 2004
Oh. My. God.The Real Price of a Big Mac (MSNBC)
Who knew that eating at the Golden Arches three times a day could not just make you sick but cause your body to start deteriorating? Morgan Spurlock ate at McD's three meals a day for a month and it could have killed him.
My body just basically falls apart over the course of this diet. I start to get tired; I start to get headaches; my liver basically starts to fill up with fat because theres so much fat and sugar in this food. My blood sugar skyrockets, my cholesterol goes up off the charts, my blood pressure becomes completely unmanageable. The doctors were like You have to stop.Good lord.
Go read this, it's a wake-up call.
And it makes me feel really, really smug that I don't eat the burgers or anything at McD's. I've been known to eat their breakfasts, but that's about it.
February 04, 2004
Ali Davis LIVES!I am too stoked for words.
I was killing time at work by reading True Porn Clerk Stories and on a whim, checked out Ali's profile.
She has a livejournal. TPCS may have shut down, but she's still writing!!! YAY! I am STOKED.
January 30, 2004
Networkin'Rich has some ineteresting things to say about networking sites, and points to some interesting things Jeremy has to say, too.
I can see how networking sites could prove to be less of a help than they could be. People like me who sign up but don't really use them certainly don't help.
January 28, 2004
Networkin'Okay, I just realized that I don't have a list anywhere of all the various networking sites I have profiles on. So, here we go! I only signed up on most of these because people invited me, and am not really all that active on them, although I probably should be. I really do need to network more.
Hm... I should redo my template so these are listed on there. But I'm at work. Drat. Will do it tonight, if I can...
January 23, 2004
w00t!Today is my Dad's birthday.
Happy Birthday, Dad!!!
You are the best Dad ever.He really is, you know. He's supported and encouraged and commiserated with me for 25 years, putting up with my adolescent inconsideration, childish temper, and now with me growing up and trying to stretch my wings. And he's done it with aplomb, too.
My Dad kicks ass.
January 21, 2004
Antibiotics will be the death of us all.I have students who live in thoroughly sanitized environments. They seem to be a little sick all the time.
The bf grew up in a house full of mildew and surrounded by friendly half-wild animals. He is never sick.
So reading this post by Lisa made me nod and go "damn straight! What is wrong with these people?!"
January 19, 2004
More evil from WalMartRachel posted these in a comment to a previous entry of mine. In case you missed 'em, here they are again. (I've turned her cut-and-pasted URLs into links for ease of reading)
Quoth Rachel:
Wal Mart is trying to kill Geoffrey the Giraffe!!
Read it!and Vlassic & Master Lock
Read it!and its own employees!
Read it!So... yeah. I know you can save money shopping there, but please, readers, don't. Don't give your hard-earned money to these amazingly evil corporate bastards. Give it to other, less evil corporate bastards.
January 16, 2004
"Gee, Ealasaid, why do you hate WalMart so much?"Here's one reason. And I don't believe that "Oh, the audit doesn't show how things really operate at our stores, honest!" BS the official was shelling out.
Violating child labor laws? They really are heinous corporate bastards.
January 08, 2004
Woo! Go Chris!Wow, I see in Elkit's blog that Chris Baty, of NaNoWriMo, has a book coming out! It's a how-to, personal trainer, pep thing for writing a novel in 30 days. Go Chris!
January 02, 2004
Oh My GodI got linked from PeterDavid.net. If you don't know who Peter David is, well, you should. So there.
He rules.
And his webmaster knows about my Very Secret Diaries archive. whoa.
December 22, 2003
Very Secret DiariesWell, apparently Cassie Claire will no longer be writing the Very Secret Diaries. However, a brave soul has stepped up to do an unofficial continuation, the Very Secret Journals. I've only had time to read a few, but they looked good! Check 'em out.
December 19, 2003
LinkageDood. I have WAY too many links built up in my BlogLinks email folder. So here we go! A semi-random sampling of old links I thought y'all should see!
More to come as time allows.
- How To Deconstruct Almost Anything: My Postmodern Adventure - hilarious essay on literary criticism. So, so true. A must-read for all English majors... and those who love them.
- 419 Scammers Scammed. On the same topic, check out the Lovecraftian reverse scam if you didn't see it when I posted it the first time about a year ago. It's hilarious.
- Ten Questions Not to Ask Jesus.
December 13, 2003
Margaret Cho RocksDood. Margaret Cho has been speaking out about gay marriage, and people have apparently been emailing her about what she's said. Read her replies in her blog:
Batch one
Batch two
Batch threeShe rocks.
But don't go over there and read unless you have a major sense of humor and aren't easily offended. :)
December 12, 2003
Ho ho hoAn interesting article here about all the conflict around Christmastime. Long and full of interesting facts. Worth reading.
October 21, 2003
October 19, 2003
MeatPeople do strange things with their food.
You can make many small animals or get a special dingus to make an OctoDog.
Stuff like this is why I subscribe to WebZen.
October 13, 2003
Hah! Latin silliness abounds.De clunibus magnis amandis oratio
A sample:
magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri.
(Large buttocks are pleasing to me, nor am I able to lie concerning this matter.)
quis enim, consortes mei, non fateatur,
(For who, colleagues, would not admit,)
cum puella incedit minore medio corpore
(Whenever a girl comes by with a rather small middle part of the body)
sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos
(Beneath which is an obvious spherical mass, that it inflames the spirits)September 30, 2003
Dang.And here I thought I had a terrible and inconsistent signature. Looks like the folks at Zug have proven I don't need to worry anymore.
Read all about it! (Thanks Antwon!)
September 25, 2003
Wooo!Guess who made it onto the best of Craigslist! Hee! Go read the post. If you're familiar with the writing style, you can prolly figure out who it is. :)
August 31, 2003
Aaah, youth.Neat article here about the youth of the 90s as compared to the youth of the 30s. I swear, I read somewhere that even back in the days of the Roman Empire, people complained about the "youth of today!" being dissolute and reprehensible.
Hah.
August 27, 2003
how sweetWhat a neat tradition - putting a lock on something as a sign of your love. Better than carving initials on trees, anyway.
August 14, 2003
Desperation is callingOh, good heavens.
See what John DeLancie and Lorenzo Lamas have been reduced to? For the low, low price of $19.95, they'll call a complete stranger and deliver a message composed by you.
I can't decide if this is a travesty or if I want to hint to people that having John DeLancie call me would make my day. (Well, make my day and simultaneously creep me the hell out.)
Probably both.
August 05, 2003
Aw!JMS, the creator of Babylon 5, saved a kitten. Go read about it here. This was no ordinary rescue mission - the kitten had fallen into a network of drainage pipes and was trapped underground. It took several attempts to get the little guy out. There are pix of the (now happy and healthy) critter, and boy is he a cutie. Go look!
July 15, 2003
Wooooo!July 02, 2003
Schweet.There are numerous benefits to trawling the archives of antwon.com; an increase in one's tendency to construct dense prose, added vocabulary, heightened sexual appeal to the appropriate gender, and genuine amusement are only a few.
The one that springs to mind in particular today, however, is that Twon sure links to some cool stuff. He doesn't link often, but when he does, it's always to something cool. Check out the following:
Warehouse 23 - the basement of a mythological building run by The Powers That Be. There are all kinds of random things down here, including The Red Book of Westmarch - which has a photo of Tolkien and someone who sounds suspiciously like Bilbo tucked into it. Definitely a good timewaster, especially if you're a scifi/fantasy geek.
June 23, 2003
I want this shirt.June 04, 2003
Ideal links.Antwon hits the nail on the head once again I love reading through Twon's archives because it lets me find stuff like this, which I probably would ever have noticed.
He can't act, but Keanu Reeves is one generous mofo. I wonder if I could get him to give me $1.75 million...?
June 02, 2003
Link time!Here are some links for your perusal and enjoyment.
First, in true self-centered bloggish spirit, here's my review of The Italian Job.
There's also a new issue of The Red Pages up, hurrah. Forgot to announce it yesterday. D'oh.
Now, the funny stuff!
The Matrix as support for insanity plea? Now this is fun. Almost as good as the 'twinkie' defense. Better, actually, since it's actually being used as part of an insanity plea in courts. Heh.
Cat Prin - tailoring for cats. This is fun, as much for the horribly translated English as for the photos. Check it out.
May 28, 2003
Felicitous pair of linksHah! You can use your electrified jacket (article: Shocking New Jacket Hits Streets) to fend off people who wield terrible pickup lines (list: Librarian Pickup Lines). Brilliant!
May 21, 2003
*yawn*What is it with me lately? I just can't seem to wake up in the morning.
Anyway. This made me chuckle, even in my half-asleep stupor: Origami Boulder. For just $10, you too can have an origami boulder. Free shipping for a limited time!
The hate mail page alone is worth the click.
A real-life 'Fawlty Towers' cafe is a big hit. You too can eat there and be harassed and abused, just like on tv!
Mexican Mennonite Punk Rocker - what will they think of next?
Check out World of Ends for a neat essay on the internet - what it is (stupid - but in a good way) and what it isn't (something governments can control).
And last but not least, I've been catching up on Sinfest and am reminded what a totally kick ass comic strip it is. Go read it.
May 20, 2003
Metallica as torture device?US Army uses heavy metal to psychologicall break Iraqi captives? Whacked. But prolly more humane than electric shocks or knives or what have you.
Prisoners are being subjected to 'Enter Sandman' from Metallica's self titled 1991 album, Drowning Pool's 'Bodies' from the film 'XXX,' and possibly the most fearsome of the lot - Barney The Dinosaur.May 14, 2003
Dood.I was going to post a bunch of cool links I stole from Elkit, but figured I'd just say, "go look at her blog!" instead.
My fave link: Killer Matrix Desktops!
I'm seeing the new Matrix in... what time is it... um, about five and a quarter hours. I can't wait. 100 Agent Smiths! AIEEE! My squeeometer is going to max out, I swear.
May 13, 2003
Link, link, baby.Firstly, The Lords of the Rhymes have a new rap out. These guys kick ass, assuming that you like both Tolkien and gangsta rap. They even have a music video!
This guy is suing Nabisco for marketing Oreos to kids. Apparently partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a tool of Satan or something.
There's a new 419 fraud scam kicking around. Most online folk have run across the Nigerian ones... this is a bit new. I can't wait for one to show up in my inbox! Not.
Apparently the pill can affect a gal's taste in men. Interesting stuff, but hardly surprising. I mean, everyone knows that hormones play a big part in being attracted to someone, and taking a pill that specifically affects the hormones related to reproduction could easily make a difference.
May 08, 2003
Liiiiiinks! Getcher links here!In my ongoing attempt to keep my "BlogLinks" email folder from exploding and showering my inbox with URL shrapnel, I hereby present you with some nifty links worthy of checking out.
The Antwon.com Guide To Taxes - another semi-obfuscated, hilarious tract from the offices of Antwon.com! This one's nice and early for next year's tax season.
There are pretty much two possibilities when it comes to your mathematical prowess: either you resolutely hate math, relegating the ability to manipulate numbers to the same level of difficulty as hunting unicorns, vacationing in Atlantis, and finding parking in downtown Rome... or you were sufficiently good at math that you got to the point where numbers took on names like "x", hung out with a variety of squiggly-looking Greek chaps, and went door-to-door wielding integral signs to beat the holy living hell out of other numbers for their lunch money while bantering about infinite numbers of four-dimensional slices of objects? in which case you have long since lost the ability to do something as droll as simple addition and multiplication. Either way, you're gonna need to get your hands on a calculator.Definitely worth checking out when you're sick of bloggish tripe and ready for some actual reading.Unused Audio Commentary for The Lord of the Rings - this is hilarious!
After Gandalf falls, you get another view of the so-called terrorist Orcs. You know, the regrettable side of the Orcs does occasionally come out. The violence. It doesn't help their cause when these distinct, individual Orcs take it upon themselves to lash out at the inequality of the system. But notice that even these violent Orcs don't seem happy. They're not pleased with themselves. It's a violence borne of necessity.*snicker*Bush may not make Alabama's ballot - unless he can pressure the state into changing its own rules about presidential elections. Heeeee!
Google for h4X0rs - R yuo ph33|1n6 |u(ky? (thanks, Dad!)
Web Archive - this is amazing. These guys have been archiving the web since 1996. You can search for a website by URL, and see what it used to look like. This once again proves my point that putting something up on the web is quite possibly one of the stupidist things you can do if you don't want it to be read - even taking down the site doesn't guarantee that the wrong people won't find it eventually.
Awww, you can make your cellphone purr like a kitty. Just what every gal on the go needs!
Want to translate preteen chat speak into real English? Now you can!
Linux switch ad. Very funny stuff here. (Thanks, Alex!)
From The Passionate Windows Administrator to his Love - very funny stuff!
Bay Area Math Test - Dad sent me this a while ago, and I didn't get around to linking it because I'm lame. If you live in the SF Bay Area, this may hit a bit close to home...
April 22, 2003
Linkorama!Dood, I have way too many new links I find that I want to share every day. Seriously. I have half a dozen windows open right now with sites I think y'all might like, and over 200 messages in my "Bloglinks" folder.
This cannot go on! ARGH!
*pant pant*
Here are today's links.
The guys at Mondo have a totally sick sense of humor, but are really cool. I love their seasonal stuff... at least, when I'm in a mood to watch cutsie animals die messily. :) Oh, and the God and Devil Show totally rules.
The Audi-Oh is a potentially revolutionary product. I mean, imagine if you took your iPod and hooked it up to a vibrator!
I'm tempted to get a Hello Jesus shirt or something. I really am.
This takes on two things that really piss me off: Iraq and Reality TV. I knew there was a reason I loved The Onion.
Great Tshirts here. Check 'em out. I like: Hellfire and Dalmations, Newton's First Law, Men make the strangest requests!, Sorry! I'm not Loser Friendly!, and Pre-Minstrel Syndrome.
next time someone demands to know how "The Two Towers" film is different from the book, I'll send 'em here.
I'm a stacker, not a slacker. Yay!
April 20, 2003
Links!Today's Headlines!
or
Stuff I found while surfing that I thought was nifty/weird/interesting
More tech support horror stories, because you can never get enough tales of other people's stupidity.
Artificial Sweeteners May Lower Sperm Count. Also, Aspartame may be bad for your brain. Like, really bad. Guess it's a good thing I'm trying to cut back on my Diet Coke consumption, eh?
The Power of Shift - silliness!
April 07, 2003
Huh!Male Sweat Brightens Women's Mood
Who knew?
March 28, 2003
Easy as fallin' off a log.Daaaaaaaaaang! My "bloglinks" folder is getting really overburdened. I gotta go back to posting links regularly. It's easier than real content, too, which is a bonus since I'm so busy. ;-)
Here we go!
Real-Threat.com - this is great. A site to remind us what we should really be scared of. (From Hedtke)
American Military Operation Name Generating Device - hilarious! I like "Operation Storming Gorgon" and "Operation Tempermental Djin". Also "Operation Nerve-Wracking Boyfriend." Hee. (from Dad)
The warmonger and the peacenik - very snarky "dialog" between two stereotypes. I found it hilarious. Not sure where I stumbled across it, but it's cool.
Thank you, President Bush - a thank you letter to the Shrub from Paul Coelho. SOOOOOOOOOOO sarcastic.
Singing horses - great toy. From Hedtke)
March 19, 2003
Links 'o the DayRemember that show "Freaks and Geeks"? My pal Jen is a huge fan of it. I saw just enough episodes to think I might like it... and it got cancelled. Bastards. And, to add insult to injury, it's not out on DVD so I can see every ep in its pristine glory! However, there is now a petition to get a DVD version. Go sign it, por favor. (Thanks, Jen!)
Silly interpretations of Emergency signs provided by our government. I think my favorite is "If you spot terrorism, blow your anti-terrorism whistle. If you are Vin Diesel, yell really loud." (Thanks, Kay!)
A Crispin Glover fansite that's almost as weird as he is.
Another reason Micro$oft is evil: they spy on your software.
I'm trying to decide if adding this feature to my page would get me branded a terrorist sympathizer by our government. (Thanks, Dad!)
Who knew Grover is so bitter? "A genius, a tyrant, a womanizer or just a washed-up drunk? It's time to expose Grover- the monster behind the myth." (Thanks again, Dad!)
And last but not least... are you a patriot? Register to find out! (an oldie from John Hedtke)
March 13, 2003
Morning Link Round-upSurvey for Bloggers - a Georgetown student is working on her thesis, so if you're a blogger, go take her short survey, mmm'kay?
No more 'French' Fries on the Hill... daaaaang, this reminds me of WWI and all that "Liberty Cabbage" nonsense we had going on then. Good grief.
Now you, too, can really take Underwater Basketweaving! Hurrah! At least, if you live in Arizona.
Dood, you really can get anything on Ebay! Check out the Imaginary Girlfriend Kit. The product description is really the best part, so go take a look. High bid is currently $16.57.
Terry Jones is losing patience with his neighbors. This is a great piece on American foreign policy. Jingoists and people who think "Freedom Fries" are patriotic should probably not read, as their blood pressure might be adversely affected.
Last but not least: Penny Dreadful Movie Database is pretty darn cool.
March 10, 2003
Linkety-Link!I've uploaded my reviews of Daredevil and Adaptation.
I am dying to see Willard, which opens on my birthday, how cool is that?
Some very strange people are forming a Lord of the Rings tribute band. I may have posted about that already, but it deserves a double post. Thanks to Twon for the heads-up on this one. Heh.
I'm considering putting a link to Hamster for President in my sidebar. That's a great campaign.
Secretary won't be available on DVD until April 1!!! It was supposed to be out already, I am crushed. [weeps in corner]
March 05, 2003
Good griefYeah, that's brilliant. Arrest a lawyer for wearing a peacenik shirt in public.
March 04, 2003
PEBKACI may never feel dumb around computers ever, ever again. Behold the horror that is Stupid Computer Tricks.
February 27, 2003
LinkageThe Ageless Project - yes, people of all ages really do use the web, not just youngsters like me.
Below the Beltway - harshest interview with an author ever: I tell Burrows that if he is willing to submit to an interview, I am willing to review his book at length in The Washington Post. The only catch, I said, is that I am going to say that it is, in my professional judgment, the worst novel ever published in the English language.
The Slumbering Lungfish Dybbuk Hostel and All-Night Boulangerie - dood, Lore of Brunching Shuttlecocks has a personal site! Very cool.
The Church of Ed Wood - be afraid. Be very afraid.
Mr. Rogers is Dead. I watched his show and Sesame Street religiously as a child. He will be missed.
Last, but most definitely not least: Caring for Your Introvert - an article that intrigued me both as a person with introvert tendencies and as the girlfriend of an introvert. Well worth reading. I do think that dividing the world into introverts and extroverts is a bit narrow-minded - there are people who fall somewhere between the two poles, after all. Even so, worth a read.
February 26, 2003
Another "Why I Loathe Micro$oft" tidbitMore about the infamous "Bork" edition of Opera, and some interesting stuff about why Micro$oft is evil.
February 22, 2003
Cool things and Grrr-inducing thingsFirst things first: this is horrible. Some poor kid being abused and tormented in the public school system for her religion - and not just by the students, either. Good grief. Here's hoping her parents win the court case against the school district.
In other news, I'm still having a great time playing tour guide and showing my visitor the native ways and quaint customs of California. He's learning to say "cool" and "dude" and generally having fun. We went wine tasting today with a couple of my friends - very cool. :)
Also - Antwon appears to have actually broken his writing streak as he resolved to do. So congrats to the Twon! Hurrah! *throws confetti*
January 30, 2003
*groan*Boy howdy, am I getting tired of this whole "working" thing. I'm still subbing full time, hence the sad lack of posts from yours truly.
Oh, well.
Anyway, My totally spiffy aunt sent me this Dave Barry column about Lord of the Rings a while ago. It is hilarious, particularly if you have seen "The Two Towers."
Oh, and in case any of my readers hadn't already heard, Dave Barry has a blog. Hee.
*yawn*
Time to get dressed for work... *sigh*
January 23, 2003
MmmmWow. Chocolate Shea Butter. I wouldn't know whether to eat it or rub it on the object of my affections.
The same people make perfume too! Man. If I had some money to burn... *sigh*
January 21, 2003
Oh, LordSo if Jesus faces a vampire, does the vampire cringe automatically? If Christ touches a vamp, would it burn? I have to see this film. Apparently it will be available on DVD soon. I wonder if Best Buy will have it? Hm....
January 19, 2003
Links!Well, hell. My "BlogLinks" email folder is up to 100 messages. This goes to show that I am (a) a very lazy person or (b) a very busy person. Maybe some of both. Either way, I feel bad, so here goes.
It is now legal for people who aren't married to have sex in Georgia. Hurrah. I can't imagine being the poor guy who challenged his conviction and got it overturned. I give him mad props for it, though. I can't believe there are laws like this still on the books - but there are! It's horrifying. We live in a nation that values free speech and privacy and the rest of it, but there are states where various sexual positions and partnerships are forbidden by law. Good grief. So yeah, kudos to that poor teenager, and here's hoping others will take up the cause. (link from Badsnake.)
And while we're on the subject of free speech and the rest, California's Senator Feinstein is working to prohibit 'desecrating' the flag. And how is she going to do this? By amending the Constitution to prohibit it. The scary thing is, with things the way they are at the moment, she just might succeed - the way the folks who got "In God We Trust" put on our currency and "under God" stuck into the pledge of allegiance during the McCarthy era did. Things like this make my blood boil.
On a more cheerful note, we Californians can vote on the State's quarter design. For a good breakdown of the different design and their comparitive merits, check out Antwon's California Quarter Face-off. Heh.
That's it for now, I'm off to bed.
January 05, 2003
BloggiesHey, nominating is open for this year's Bloggies. Go nominate!
January 03, 2003
Friday? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!Dammit! My vacation is nearing its close. *pout*
Anyway.
Is it a mark of my cynicism that I find this upsetting but not surprising? US soldiers comitting atrocities in Afghanistan? The US government trying to cover it up? Witnesses to said crimes meeting violent ends? Noooooo, it couldn't be! [/sarcasm]
Feh. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
On a cheerier note, it is now possible to surf the web while you exercise, thanks to NetPulse. Rah. That's exactly what I need, provided it came with a keyboard so I could update my blog too.
Aaaand, in the vein of yesterday's just wrong post, here's another. Yes, it's PokeTHULHU! AIEEEEEE!
January 02, 2003
PhewHad a very... productive day, I suppose. Did chores. Worked on web contracts. Hung out with a couple friends this evening when one went to pick up a couple others at the airport and took me along for the ride so she wouldn't get bored.
And yet I was feeling somehow ... unfulfilled.
Then I realized that I hadn't posted here yet! Dear God! No! I must post! I have a zillion links to share with y'all! Here are a few of them. Don't want to spend them all in one place, ya know.
Now, I've heard of a number of methods of meditating, but attending raves wasn't one of them. This is no longer the case. It's an interesting idea, really, and one I can get behind. I only ever dance at live concerts (preferably ones featuring The Red Elvises or the Phenomenauts or both) but that zen feeling of peace is certainly a feature of the experience.
This is just wrong. Wrong!
Aaaand, in the spirit of Keeping Christmas Year 'Round, I present Sober Santa, a flash game that must be seen to be believed.
December 31, 2002
Whew!This article by Ben Stein is wonderful. That man is spot-on, I am so serious. Admittedly I have less of a problem with having an intellectual elite than he does (since I'm part of that elusive top whatever percent) but I agree with him about pretty much everything else.
And now I must get to work. I have SO MANY things to do, starting with the new issue of The Red Pages.
December 30, 2002
FunnyHa! Apparently, some parents don't think human sacrifice belongs in a gradeschool dramatic production. What spoilsports.
Oh, well. This marvellous condensed script of The Two Towers is brilliant. Not from The Editing Room, but still very funny. Found that one through Cathryn's journal.
Aaaaaand... one for the people who either are totally brilliant and artistic or have waaaay too much time on their hands column: The Daily Photo Project. This guy has been taking a mug shot of himself every day since 1998.
Wacky.
GrrrStuff like this just enrages me. Airport security are so hyped up and power-drunk, it's outrageous.
Even if that story isn't true, the fact that it's at least partially believable shows how out-of-hand the situation has gotten. Grrrr.
On a cheerier note: Santa's Blog. This is frickin' hilarious, and I'm sorry I didn't post the link here sooner!
December 28, 2002
More links!One of the cool things about reading through Antwon's archives is that I occasionally stumble across some cool link that he found a couple years ago that's still around and active. This is schweet, as then I can share it with y'all, and while it's not new, it's old enough to be retro by Web standards (I'm still in his posts from 2000, so I'm finding sites that have been around for years! That's impressive, nu?).
In case you're wondering why I'm reading Twon's archives, the answer is simple. He said once that he had so much content he could rest assured that nobody would ever read it all. I am obsessive and a completist, and had already been cotemplating reading the archives, since I read his daily posts already, and that pushed me over the edge.
Anyway. I now present one of those old school links: a search-engine drinking game. Basically, the game consists of a bunch of people sitting around running searches on random phrases and seeing how many hits they get. Just think - a bunch of my online friends and I could sit in front of our computers, turn on our various IM programs, and play it! Ha!
Anybody interested? Probably not as much fun as a drinking game played in person (so to speak) but hey, the site says that nobody's played it as far as the writer knows, so....
holy carp!I just looked at the folder in my email inbox labeled "BlogLinks" and it's got 68 messages in it. Sixty-eight. Clearly I need to quit filing messages with interesting links and start posting the blasted things. And since I'm doing a lot of stuff on the computer this week (when I'm not running around being a total party animal and generally taking advantage of the fact that my parents are out of town and the house is mine all mine!), my handful of faithful readers may expect a slew of links in coming days.
Here's the first!
Some guy bought a town on eBay. Now, I'm as fond of eBay as the next person with weird interests and a bit of disposable cash, but wow. That's impressive. I guess it's true that everything really is on eBay at one point or another.
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