Shaenon K. Garrity's Friends
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| Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 |
unclebebby
|
7:38p |
Gnarles Barkley makes lovely music
they really do. |
cliff52
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8:36p |
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john_holton
|
8:12p |
Late Wednesday I was working until just a few minutes ago, when I started going cockeyed from looking at the data that won't load. Rrrrr.... Thanks to everyone who commented on my little rant from the other day. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that has gotten to the point that I did. I feel a thousand percent better just having said it. ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lisapt and treetown recommended a song, Lord of the Past by Bob Bennett; if there were a prayer I have needed, that's the one. Thanks. The other one I've been thinking about is Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying, dedicated to his father, Tug, who was a great relief pitcher and Class A Nut who died too young. I need to live like there's no tomorrow. Mary came home from the library yesterday and told me that they had a power outage. Remembering our feline-induced electrical problems, I asked her, "did a cat pee into an outlet?" She's still laughing about that one... Current Music: Braves 8, Phillies 0, bottom of the 5th. |
demetra_ai
|
8:12p |
meme (yoinked from empressmiaka). Current Mood:  cheerfulCurrent Music: none |
binky_betsy
[ dreadedcandiru2 ]
|
9:09p |
Thursday, 15 May 2008
It's Day Four of the Bowing-Out of Warren Blackwood and I'm eager to see how stupid it is now that Lynn's sputtering and lurching her way to the unsatisfactory conclusion to his storyline. It reminds me of the sequence from "Homicide: Life on the Streets" wherein a detective is compaining about what he called accordion traffic. Reading FOOB gives me the same sensation of moving a few inches only to stop again and feel as if I've been punched in the gut. |
redrose3125
|
7:56p |
Books I Have Read This Year
With the 8 hour train trip, and the code not working on the machine I had with me, I read quite a bit:
Little Brother - Cory Doctorow - (ebook) very, very good.
Mad Dog and Annie - Virginia Kantra - romance novel with an abused woman who leaves husband.
An Unladylike Offer - Christine Merrill - romance novel with an abused woman who escapes from her father's house. Regency.
The Hollow (Murder After Hours) - Agatha Christie - one of her better books.
A Criminal Comedy - Julian Symons - it passed the time. |
tricianna
|
8:10p |
[twitter] today's log Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter |
filmi_girl
|
7:03p |
Roti Kapada aur Makaan Well, I suppose it's official: I am a Manoj Kumar fan.  (I'm making this face right now.) While watching Roti Kapada aur Makaan, I had such sympathy for Manoj Kumar, beyond sympathy for his character, who was quite nice and broody. Seeing the effort and detail that goes into a Manoj Kumar production, I was overcome with a sense of outrage that Farah Khan would mock him so meanly in Om Shanti Om. That was when I knew I was an official Fan (tm). Where are the earnest young (handsome) men making films like this today? Politics, romance, melodrama, action, and some wonderful songs all wrapped into one package. Rang de Basanti comes close to a Manoj Kumar production. I need to rewatch that, I think. Roti Kapada aur Makaan is a wonderfully intricate story of a guy named Bharat (natch!) who can't get a job in 1974. The story spreads out to encompass Bharat's brothers and his sister and his lady friends, but leaving out the parents in a very modern way. ( Follow me for more Manoj Kumar plus The Shashinator in some excellent 70s suits. ) |
stoutfellow
|
6:48p |
Ramble, Part 49: Fighting for Fermat Another of the developments that led to increasingly abstract algebra stemmed from the struggle to prove Fermat's Last Theorem. Unsurprisingly, this story also begins with Gauss. ( Factoring Fermat )Ramble Contents Current Mood:  pedagogical |
zap199x
|
4:47p |
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dvandom
|
6:29p |
|
ailsaek
|
7:07p |
*thud* Meesa tired. Very very tired. Fall down go splat soon. But I did get some stuff done first. Hang out second load of laundry
Take David upstairs
Pick up toys in David's room - Didn't get all of them, but we did get quite a few
- Vacuum David's room
, including under bed
Reassemble and make bed
Clear dining room table and put fresh tablecloth
- Pick up stuff from around table with David's help
Boil water for pasta
Load & run dishwasher w/pareve dishes
Gather sticks in front of Adam as he tests out the new reel mower
Help David out of wet clothes and put him in bath
- Eat dinner
Moving beds, even without mattresses in them, is difficult. Moving mattresses is even more difficult. But it's in place now and ready to be made up, so I think I'll let Adam do that after dinner. I've put the sheets on the bed and i know where the blanket is. Adam is crabby, I am crabby, David is cheerful and having a lovely bath. Current Mood:  soreCurrent Music: David playing in the bath |
fengi
|
6:27p |
Train in Vain Here's an issue you'd think at least one candidate would embrace, as it addresses many current woes: public transit. Alas conservative / libertarian fucktards branded transit as socialism unless it could pay for itself. Even though the road system - the single largest transit expense for every level of government - wouldn't exist if it wasn't almost entirely taxpayer subsidized. It's not just that the car seemed good and boundless while bus and train involved sharing (eeewwwww!). People prefer panaceasand cars seemed flexible enough to meet all needs. The auto also meant less need for organized growth. Pave it, build it and let individual vehicle owners deal with the consequences. Only a few metro areas retained a multifaceted system - the most successful cites, but let's not rub it in. So America sprawled all over, ignoring arcane concepts such as centralized planning and travel distances as quality of life. Until recently: Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit
...Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots.
“In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association...But the biggest surges - of 10 to 15 percent or more over last year - are occurring in many metropolitan areas in the South and West where the driving culture is strongest and bus and rail lines are more limited." The manager of the MBTA spins this as economic health, "If we are in a recession or economic downturn, we should be seeing a stagnation or decrease in ridership, but we are not...Fuel prices are without question the single most important factor that is driving people to public transportation." I disagree, as previous drops in ridership indicated people could afford to drive instead. People riding trains because cars cost to much is a downturn. Which brings up another problem: But meeting the greater demand for mass transit is proving difficult. The cost of fuel and power for public transportation is about three times that of four years ago, and the slowing economy means local sales tax receipts are down, so there is less money available for transit services. Higher steel prices are making planned expansions more expensive. ( After basing a nation on the car, is it too late for mass transit to save it? Does anyone even dare ask? Could the auto be evidence of why free market evangalism is stupid? ) |
kajafoglio
|
1:27p |
Trilo pins, Friends, More Stuff from the Con The new trilobite pins are in, and I've listed them in the "Company Store" pages. They're a lovely brassy stamped metal, and I'm quite delighted with them. Of course, we've also got the squeezy wrench stress balls, and the new backpacks, and are very excited about making new stuff very soon. Making new stuff is fun! The stamped metal for the pins was an experiment, and we are very happy with the results. Next up, the Jäger insignia! My new plan for the backpacks, until I can afford to make them all at once, is to wait until we run out of the trilobites, then print up Jäger packs, then Wulfenbach, then back to the trilobite. Unless I come up with another design to add to the cycle...Hmm... Today I slept far longer than I should have, I suspect that all these nights with less than adequate sleep finally hit me. That, or I'm coming down with the same thing alicebentley has. I'm kind of sore and exhausted, for no reason. I'm drinking a lot of water, and I'll have a go on the treadmill, that sometimes helps, believe it or not! Especially since I'm currently watching The Great Race while I walk, and I'm almost to the awesome pie fight scene... This has been the month of cool people coming to Seattle, no question. Last night we met Bill Willingham for dinner. He moved away from Seattle about a thousand years ago, and we only get to see him if we're all at the same con, which hardly ever happens. We've been applauding his success from afar, but it's nice to get together and talk in person. (I've been saying that a lot lately. I guess we HAVE been lucky this month!) Anyway, he's been doing Fables, which is very good and extremely well-loved by a heck of a lot of comics readers indeed. Hooray for success! We've been invited to a Steampunk birthday party / picnic. It's the perfect excuse to dress the kids up. Heh heh heh. If I manage anything good, I'll post pictures. Also, Payne has built a Flea Circus. It's...amazing. It's full of all kinds of clever fiddly things that he's come up with, and little finds that he's altered to suit the piece. I believe the cannon started out as a book end. Now, it actually shoots streams of confetti. Here's a better close-up of the whole thing. Aaaand, other great stuff from the con: An autographed copy of Jennie Breeden's The Devil's Panties! The webcomic with the best name ever!Because Phil knows I can't resist a gorgeously designed book: Passport : Forgotten Kingdom of Imaginary Friends by Andrew Wilson. Also signed, with a little sketch. Eeeeee! The head of Cthulhu, stuffed and mounted. (The Kid bought this with his allowance.) Current Mood:  sleepy |
fantasylite
|
4:15p |
I don't know what to say about this...  |
twitch124
|
7:07p |
Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Dropkick Murphys shows!
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The Dropkick Murphys are playing 3 joint shows Thursday July 10-Saturday July 12 in Lowell, Portland, and Pawtucket.
Anyone want to go with me? Single-show tickets are on sale at 10 Saturday, 3 day passes are on sale now. |
glaucorocco
|
5:51p |
Terrorize Originally published at Anarquía Racional. You can comment here or there.
Pocas veces he sentido el terror de hoy. Pienso que quizás es comparable al terror de lanzarse en paracaidas la primera vez, tu cuerpo se niega pero la parte conciente dice que no hay rollo, que el paracaidas sirve, que no es muy alto, que has esperado toda tu vida por esto, patatin, patatan. Pero igual el terror subsiste y se apodera de todos tus sentidos.
Hoy lo retrasé un día más, pero no se hasta cuando pueda. Así que quizás mañana. O quizás pasado. Uno no sabe bien. O por lo menos yo no se bien. Pero ahí vamos, entre saltos y tumbos.
Si, extremadamente vago, pero aún la hora no es.
Por su puesto, continuara… |
1bruce1
[ tommckayisgay ]
|
3:31p |
SVH #93 - Stepsisters 
In my last recap (SVH #81 – Rosa’s Lie), I claimed that Rosa Jameson was not in any other SVH book because, you know, she’s a minority. Turns out, I was WRONG! SVH #93, Stepsisters, is not only fabulous enough to show another minority’s struggle to fit into the bleach-white world of Sweet Valley, but the girl in question actually takes advice from Rosa! Oh, Sweet Valley High and racial issues… once again, the topic is handled in a sensitive and non-offensive manner. Seeing how no one had recapped this book yet, I thought I’d recap another book that tackles the same issue (racism!) in almost an even worse manner. |
sora50
|
6:31p |
"Don't you ever give up?" Hilary Clinton= Seymour from Final Fantasy X. Discuss. Current Music: Seymour Battle-Final Fantasy X |
arkadynekozukii
|
5:23p |
HigaMyu (por fin!!) Siendo que mi Internet se ha puesto lentisimo justo el día en el que suben el HigaMyu (Ley de Murphy, supongo) me decidí a buscarlo en YouTube, encontrandome de momento solamente con " Viking Horn" y he de decir, que se ha ganado el premio a la coreaografía mas estúpida y sin sentido en todos los myu que he visto (y yo que creía que después el bailecito del FuuRinKazan no podían caer más bajo). Juro que no me imagine algo así nunca. Me han traumado O_o Igual espero que, minimo, sea la mas traumante del HigaMyu y no me encuentre con nada peor X_X |
whatwasthatbook
[ vanillamagic ]
|
11:12p |
Hey all :)
I'm looking for two books I adored when I was very little and would love to find again.
One was about two best friends who had an argument, and the book was basically all the things they said they were going to do to each other. One was a boy and one was a girl. One of them threatened to get their dad/uncle to come with a big yellow digger at some point and dig away whatever the other one was threatening. Another 'threat' was that the girl's sister would use one of her magic potions, and there was a big drawing on the page with a very pretty looking mist. Throughout the book there were birds hidden that you had to count. I also remember near-ish the end they were calling each other names like 'cheese head' and 'smelly sock head', and underneath each name was a picture of them with a cheese/sock instead of a head etc.
The second was about a boy who had left his teddy bear at home when he and his mum were going out, and he was very upset about it. His mum took him for a walk and they met lots of people who tried to cheer him up. I think someone gave him an apple at some point, but nothing would cheer him up. I *think* the bear's name was Edward, although that might've been the boy's name. They met his grandad at some stage, too.
Any help on either of these books would be really appreciated! Thank you in advance :) |
whatwasthatbook
[ evilweevil04 ]
|
3:05p |
Which witch?
I remember two books about witches that I absolutely loved when I was a child -- one of them I managed to find by myself (The Witch Who Saved Halloween, by Marian T. Place), but the other still eludes me. They're very connected in my memory, but probably just because of the subject material.
This book is about a young girl who is a witch and lives with an older, very mean witch. I think she wants to go to school, but the old witch won't let her, because only human children go. I believe there's something about either the young girl, her friend, or the older witch being turned into a teapot or a teacup. The title probably had "witch" in the title, but other than that, I've got nothing.
I know that's not much to go off of, but any help would be greatly appreciated! |
vintage_ads
[ sixdegrees44 ]
|
5:58p |
 Current Music: brighter |
whatwasthatbook
[ urbanspacegirl9 ]
|
11:40p |
I'm looking for a children's book that my Mum read to me when I was a kid. It wasn't a really young kid's book, it had text and pictures in it.
It was about a mouse who had really cold feet and, as far as I can remember, he asked a whole bunch of other animals to give him something to keep them warm, but none of them did. I think at the end some of the other mice organised a great big group hug so that he could get cosy that way.
His feet were so cold, they'd turned blue - I remember that much.
I think the front cover had a picture of him with his blue feet.
I remember it as being simply called 'The Little Mouse with Cold Feet', but that hasn't come up with anything yet. I think the mouse's name was Marvin, or something else beginning with an M.
Any help would be much appreciated. |
planetx
|
4:40p |
Is It Better To Be Feared Or Respected? Originally published at jaredaxelrod.com. You can comment here or there. 
Robert Downey Jr, as weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, poses that question in the visceral opening to IRON MAN. Stark goes on to say that you can have both, and indeed, that’s been the American Way since we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. This summer’s other cinematic offering from Marvel Comics, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, tackles the atom bomb through an angry, green metaphor, but IRON MAN goes at it direct.
It’s not an unusual premise to hoist a superhero movie on—it was one of the many themes playing out in the over-stuffed SPIDER-MAN 3, for example—but Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, the writing team that also gave us last year’s CHILDREN OF MEN, having something more bleak in mind. In trying to have both, Tony Stark ends up having neither. His weapons are used by the very people he made them to destroy, and his aura of invincibility is easily shattered when he is taken prisoner.
Whether we should be at war with Iraq or not—the point of motives is kind of moot, at this point—the fact remains that it’s our fault there’s a reason to be there at all. Forget the current administration and its culture of fear: the seeds of the Middle East anger were planted decades ago, back when we had to defeat the Communists at all costs. Which meant selling weapons to their enemies. And now, here we are, slowly being torn apart by war we’re responsible for, with an enemy who despises us for the culture excess that has become our trademark. Is it too much to ask for both? Some people who have neither option might say yes. And so it is with Tony Stark, kept alive by dirty, oily car battery and some wires sticking out of his chest, someone else pointing his own guns at his head.
Hulk may be the personification of the atom bomb, but Stark, the innovator who gets damaged by the very chaos he created and finds his life of excess no comfort, gets be America, broken heart and all.
So if IRON MAN, the film, fails in any way, it is that its resolution doesn’t follow through with the beautiful metaphor it creates in the first half. Stark response to his awakening is to take personal responsibility for his action, by defending those in a war zone his weapons created. There’s also an implication that the future of Stark Industries isn’t weaponry, but alternative energy sources. But neither of these are followed through within the timeline of the film. Iron Man saves one village in Afghanistan, but the violence rages on. “Arc Reactors,” the device that keeps the red and gold suit of armor in the air, may be the future, but apparently only Stark can build them. The options are there, but it’s hard to see them through when we’ve only got 2 hours and boss battle to contend with.
I will say, however, that the villain of this film is perfectly chosen, being a dark mirror of Stark himself, i.e. the America that doesn’t care about what happens to the rest of the world, as long as his oversized vehicle has plenty of fuel.
I’m not sure how a film could address these issues in a reasonable way by the end of the last reel. It’s a superhero story, and those stories work less as allegories for big ideas than about explorations of human failing made huge and brightly colored. Even Superman is just trying to live up to the expectations of his old man (either of ‘em). Thematically, it’s enough for Tony Stark to realize that his actions do have consequences, and to face them, he’s going to need some help.
It’s not much, but it’s nice to see the hero succeeding by accepting that he neither has be respected or feared. Just do the right thing.
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