A technicolor loony.

Quinn Cummings on the October issue of Vogue.

~~~

Can we please start a petition to change the spelling from October to Octover? I keep typing it that way and I like the way it looks.

Also, where are we on the "let's merge affect and effect" movement?

~~~

I've been watching Upstairs/Downstairs on Netflix. I've seen episodes here and there, but never the whole thing. It's lovely to sew to. And does such wonderful things for my diction. *grin*

~~~

Oh, I forgot yesterday. Happy Rocktober! :D

~~~

I did not wake with a headache. WOO!

~~~

Don't look down!.

~~~

This is adorable. I'm going to have to work "Shut all the way up" into my vocabulary, along with "One way monkey" and "The Sombrero was too cumbersome".

Yeah, I'm makin' my own language, but at least it's mostly in a language I speak...

~~~

Hey cool! New old music. But back in 1983, Queen guitarist Brian May teamed up with Eddie Van Halen and members of REO Speedwagon and Alice Cooper's and Rod Stewart's bands for The Star Fleet Project, an EP whose most famous track was a cover of the theme song from the Japanese-British TV show Star Fleet..

You can hear the entire ep on Youtube. I haven't yet, but I plan to.

~~~

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Foo Fighters are going on hiatus. Well, at least they're going out on a high note. Wasting Light is one of my favorite rock albums of all time.

~~~

Being able to hear music for the first time ever.

Classy as ever, Mike Love.

I don't think ol' dickbag Love should reinstate the members. He should just change the name. He can certainly draw huge crowds on his own name, can't he? (Ah sarcasm, how I love thee)

~~~

Now I see how we sped through September, 'cause this week took roughly thirty-six hours.

Today will be better. Because I say so. It's been better so far, but you know how quickly things can turn.

I have coffee and the new Green Day album, I'm nearly done with Sam's bag (bought more stuff for handles...I'll find the other roll sometime and it's not like it goes bad. It'll probably degrade over ten thousand years, but I think I can finish the bags in that time) and have the bottom pinned. I have also checked three times that it's on the *bottom* of the bag. I shall probably check at least once more before I start sewing.

Dear Newsletter Writer,

Can you really call it "Mac & Cheese grown up" if the recipe doesn't have macaroni in it?

Sincerely,

Me

~~~

My little geek ponies.

I've seen some of these, but not all of them. I want the first My Little Worf *so* much (yeah, they *say* Klingon, but it's a pretty obvious Worf). I may have to get into modding ponies...

~~~

As you know, Bob, I'm a third generation Redskins and football fan in general. But, I got out of the habit of watching games...till I finally figured out that I could dvr them.

I *LOVE* fast-forwarding through all the commericals and "let's see what's happening in other games" and such. It was one of those things I didn't know I wanted till I had it.

~~~

Injured Bald Eagle Gets New 3D Printed Beak.

Dude! Science is a never ending font of cool.

~~~

A visual history of Bilbo Baggins.

~~~

Autum is here by date and weather. Crisp and lovely. Even if it seems to be giving me headaches. But, my head is better than it was a couple days ago. There was a roaring thunderstorm around three am. Or maybe a very vivid dream, as I was the only one who seemed to have heard it. I went to check on the girls and it seemed that Charlie was gone. Turns out she was sleeping at the bottom of the bed, under the covers. I don't *even* know.

~~~

Been cooking up a storm lately. Did quiche, tomato soup from scratch and cinnamon bread last week...I know I've done more than just yesterday's dinner this week, but I can't for the life of me remember what. Last night was ham steaks, apples sauteed in a brown sugar/mustard sauce, mashed potatoes and corn muffins. When I was mashing the potatoes, I realized I should have a side veggie, but was kind of exhausted and figured, corn's a vegtable. *Grin*

I'm going to be focusing on bread in the coming weeks. I want to perfect a rustic loaf, the kind that's gorgeous and fragrant. Then I'll work on sandwich bread. I hope to foster a love of baking with the girls...dough is rather forgiving after all. :)

I feel like Mr. Banks (from Mary Poppins). "Weather, *now* it is autumn". :D

~~~

Ariadne and the Science, #2.

~~~

Yesterday, we took the girls to Alamo Drafthouse to see Finding Nemo in 3d. We got there just as the previews started, so had to sit in the front row. But it worked out, 'cause when Charlie had to go to the bathroom, she could walk under the tall table and just be out. Jeff had to go the usual way. *grin*

Both girls had a great time, and Charlie kept her glasses on for at least half the film. She wasn't as surprised by eating lunch in the theatre as I expected. But then, she's been going to drive-ins her entire life and having dinner while we watched stuff. She did eat 3/4 of her sandwich and a bunch of popcorn. I ate *all* my hot dog (had tomatoes on. I love tomatoes on a hot dog), most of my fries and a bunch of popcorn. *Grin*

Sam was complaining that we don't let her see horror films. Even I wasn't seeing horror films at her age. Or maybe that's when I started. Though, what I was watching at the time were badly made seventies horror films that were mostly spooky rather than *scary*. Either way, she's not seeing the current round of torture porn. Honestly, the kid likes spooky stuff, but she's not actually into horror...she really likes gothy images and seems to think that this translates to "loves horror".

So, I'm going to start her on violent sci-fi movies...all the ones I haven't been showing her 'cause she hides her face during most screen violence. And if she wants more, we'll go from there.

She's still truly freaked out by Doctor Who's weeping angels...I don't think she's ready for Freddy yet.

~~~

Went to bed fine. Woke with a headache. Went back to sleep, woke with a headache, etc. I think it's going to be with me for a while. *grumble*

~~~

Finished the butterfly on Sam's bag and cut out the pieces for the fish last night. Now to piece and bead it. I'm happy with the progress I'm making.

~~~
Grab the closest book, turn to page 52, post the 5th sentence on that page. Don't mention the book's title in your post, but please do include a copy of the meme's rules.



Well, the *closest* book is Jill Thompson's Little Endless Storybook, and while it doesn't have page numbers, what I think it page fifty-two is an ad for Delirium's Party.

I'm not making this up. The line from the next closest book is:

"It's..."

It isn't about Monty Python. *grin*

~~~
Oh yeah! There's a tree near the barn that we were confused about. Originally, I thought it might be an apple tree, 'cause the unripe fruit smelled quite appley. But the ripe fruit didn't get much bigger than the plum-sized unripe fruit and was soft in a non-rotten way. They smelled like peaches, but didn't *look* like peaches. I thought maybe apricots. We cut one open and it had four seeds, not a stone. Eventually, Jeff took some to the Farmer's Market and they were deemed persimmons. Lovely! They're supposed to be best after the first frost...I hope I remember to gather some. :)

"I wan' eeeeyephone"
"You're not getting an iPhone."
"But, how I gonna call evvyboddy?"
"If you need to call someone, you can use my phone."
"Okay. T'ank you."

~~~

Jon Stewart still rocks.

~~~

Dave & Liz & Chicago Save The World, a short story by John Scalzi

~~~

What is layout, anyway?

~~~

And now, coffee and more sewing. Rewatching Smoke...I'd nearly forgotten what a great movie it is.

Thinking Too Much About Chalk.

~~~

I don't need more luggage. But I *SO* want this R2D2 suitcase.

~~~

I finished Charlie's bag on Thursday night. Put the bottom in, and didn't put in backward as I usually do. No, I just put it on the *top* of the bag. *OY*.

I did a really good job on the bottom though, so I decided to clip off the emblems and resew them. A little fiddly, but I'm mostly through the bat emblem and the C is dead easy.

Yeah, I'm a bit nuts...but the bag's gonna look really good. *grin*

~~~

Train trip was marvelous. We're already planning to do the regular run again, and do the Santa train sometime in late Nov/early Dec.

Sam thought she'd be bored. Hah, I say.

The train is so massive. I mean, I've been on trains before, but a steam train is even bigger. And somewhat magical feeling.

We were in First Class (all the way, baby!) I'm thinking of going steerage Coach next time, so we have something to compare it to. From what I read, it's the same except that first class has assigned seats and food service. We'll see. :)

The leaves are just starting to turn, so every flash of red or gold in the forests was exciting. There was a wind farm on top of the mountain and so many truly cool houses. I was worried that Charlie would be upset by the tunnel, but she was perfectly fine.

When we got to Frostburg (which I found out was named after a family named Frost, not 'cause it gets really cold there), we watched them turn the engine on the turntable...that was really cool.. Then we wandered through the carriage museum, which was truly bloody interesting. And I found out that a dog cart is for the transport of dogs, not drawn by. Which makes *so* many scenes in various books make far more sense now. It was akin to my finding out that torch=flashlight. Though, that did make some books slightly less cool, tbh.

We went up about a thousand stairs and my knees were fine. I was happy and surprised. When we got to the top, there was a group coming down the hill and an older woman told us that if we could, take the trolly, 'cause there was a three block long hill once you got up the hill they were descending. She said she thought it would stop if we flagged it down. So, we did that, and they *did*. All glory to the older woman. My knees thank her. We also got it on the way back and thus I didn't have to go down a thousand stairs. I'm a bit scared of going down stairs, as falling that way is more ouchy.

We wandered around Frostburg...it's a really cool little town. Funky and fun. There's a lovely hotel smack in the middle of downtown with a glorious staircase and so much history on their walls.

We went into a pizza place to get something to drink, but it was *far* too warm, so Charlie and I kept wandering as Sam & Jeff got the drinks. We found a bench a few blocks down and I sat with Charlie leaning against me. She nearly fell asleep. If the sun hadn't been beaming right down on us, she probably would have, but it was pretty bright even with her sunglasses. I've finally figured out that if I only give them to her when we're out in the sun and put them away when we're not, I don't have to buy three or four pair a year.

When we got back to the station, the girls ran around and played on a big grassy expanse while we wait a few minutes for boarding. We switched seats on the train so Jeff and Sam could see all the stuff Charlie & I saw on the way down and vice versa. We also got dessert, which was nifty. Not a surprise, but lovely.

Charlie napped on the way back! We were at a table with four chairs, and she just curled up against me and fell asleep. I know she can sleep anywhere, but it still surprises me when she falls asleep anywhere. *Grin*

And I didn't turn around and tell the Neocons sitting behind me exactly what facts they'd gotten wrong in all the shit they were spewing (they were the "Abortion is worse than the Holocaust" and "Ryan & Romney have wives, thus there's no war on women" (that's nearly a direct quote) types. FUN!). I think I'll buy myself a cupcake or something as a reward. *Grin*

Afterward, we were going to do a bathroom break and then wander around the area near the station, but there was a big line and I couldn't wait. So we got the car and found a Sheetz. Then we headed back and wandered around beautiful downtown Cumberland.

And then we went home. :)

I have a zillion pictures. I'll put up a gallery sometime this week.

I think this may be our first anniversary trip. It was lovely and everything we'd hoped for.

~~~

Via browngirl, D.C.'s Transgender respect campaign. Dude! Amazing and very cool.

~~~

Wallace & K9?.

~~~

OMG. You've got to watch the new Ben Folds Five video. Stay till the end. No, no shawarma this time either.

~~~

Sketchnoting, not sketchnothing as I originally wrote.

~~~

David Byrne: My love affair with sound.

Apple season! I love apple season. Of course, it's ruined me for grocery store apples. But it's here now and I'm very happy. :)

~~~

Via tamnonlinear we have this video from the Doubleclicks. Hollywood Raptor.

~~~

Charlie couldn't find her sandals and posited that someone had stolen them.

Sam asked "Why would anyone want to wear your sandals?"
Charlie said "Because they like dem! Evvvyone like dem!"

She eventually found them. Apparently, the theives wore them, then put them back. So, they're not so much thieves as polite borrowers.

~~~

Making traditional Georgian bread. This is so nifty.

~~~

Ariadne and the Science.

~~~

Both emblems are done and I'm sewing the sides onto Charlie's bag now. I'm hoping to get it done tonight, so that I can start on Sam's, which is going to be a bit more complicated. Not that I'm running out of time. It just *feels* that way.

~~~

I love this post about sexual harrassment by Jim Hines.

Especially:
“Is flirting at cons now forbidden? When does flirting become harassment?”

Things people should have learned in kindergarten:
Respect.
Keep your hands to yourself.
No means no.
If you seriously can’t tell the difference between flirting and harassment, I strongly suggest you do neither until you’ve worked that out.

~~~

So, while I haven't seen his solo movie, Chris Evans Capt. America really annoyed me in the Avengers flick. But, I liked the other characters and I *wanted* to like him. Thought about it for a while and think the best plan is to see him as a human Sam the Eagle.

See?? Muppets make everything better. *Grin*

Watched Snatch on Friday. No idea why I haven't seen it before. *Damn* that was a good movie. I loved the visuals, the dialogue and shirtless Brad Pitt.

~~~

Livetweeting the 2nd World War, as it happens on this date & time in 1940, & for 5 years to come..

~~~

No, Nicki Minaj Did Not Endorse Mitt Romney.

There would also seem to be a general rule that applies to pop songs and other works of performance, under which artists are allowed to adopt fictional personae in the service of evoking an audience’s emotions. (To date, there is no evidence that Johnny Cash ever shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.)

~~~

I started the H'ween bags yesterday. Got the Bat emblem and the C cut for Charlie's bag and am appliqueing them now.

Sam thinks I can do pretty much anything (save knitting and crocheting) when it comes to being crafty. Which is sweet but leads to conversations like this:
"So, I'll put a fish or two on one side and a few butterflies on the other"
"Can they be rainbow butterflies and can there be a whole bunch of them and"
"There will be a few and I don't have rainbow felt, but I think you'll like them"
"Oh. Okay."

She wasn't bummed or anything. :)

We need to dye her hair to see what color we get (it says pink, but her natural color is a very dark brown, so who knows what it'll be when we bleach it out) and then she's going to decide if she wants to shave half or not. She probably won't, but we do have a trimmer if she decides to go for it. :D

Oh! And I got the stuff to make the sparkle pumpkins. I couldn't find purple leaves (or the feathers I wanted) but I found some nice black ones and will be sparkling them up. :)

~~~

We had a productive weekend. We went to a store that sells lots of local stuff (produce/jams/honey, that sort of thing), managed to get to a restaurant we've been wanting to try (it was really tasty), returned two pair of shoes and got Charlie a pair of high tops that she's calling her cowgirl boots and went to Michael's where I got the stuff for the aforementioned pumpkins and Sam helped pick out some pieces for her Delirium costume.

Yesterday, Jeff went to the Farmer's market and picked up our farm share (now I need to find a good recipie that incorporates beets) and later on we went to see Paranorman & The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Paranorman was *amazing*. Funny, interesting. not sappy or dumb. And the animation was remarkable. If you go to see it, there's a scene after the credits. Nobody's eating shawarma. *Grin*

The Odd Life of Timothy Green was boring. There *were* good parts, but it just wasn't a good movie. I could see what they were trying to do, but they hardly ever got there. Which is more disappointing than if it was "just" a bad movie, y'know? I think it would have been a marvelous short story.

Jeff and my anniversary is in a couple weeks. When I got my Bag of Holding, I also got the birthday shirt from ThinkGeek. Their slogan: 13 years of chaotic awesome.

And thus, we find we have a slogan for our anniversary and the coming year. Rock on. :)

I can say that I've been there, done that and have the t-shirt. *grin*

~~~

Sam has inherited my mother and my dislike of having "official" pictures taken. Just as Charlie's fine with it, Sam hates it. *SIGH* *Grin*

( But we got some really good shots )

They're all here. I can't recommend Picture People highly enough. The photographer was *so* good with the girls. I don't think I could sustain that level of chirpy, but I totally admire her for it. *And* they print the pictures then and there. So we got four sheets and the cd. Very, very pleased. It was a little more than K'mart and a little less than Target.

~~~

FINALLY, H'ween costumes are settled. Sam is going as Delirium from Sandman and Charlie is going to be Batgirl Bat Charlie. We need to get the clothes for Sam's and I need to make her some felt fishies. Charlie just needs a long sleeved yellow shirt and black leggings.

She was going to be hundreds of things, but it came down to DJ Lance (of Yo Gabba Gabba fame) or Bat Charlie. The bat won by a cape. :)

I'm also going to do the bags again this year...C's will be yellow (visibility for the win!) with a sparkly Bat log on on one side and a C on the other.

I'm going to let S pick out the felt for hers. I think it'll have a butterfly on one side and a fishie on the other.

~~~

Moore told Blomquist that managers "communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend."

Ah. I see *someone* doesn't know what the word mandatory means.

~~~

A meal fit for a doctor.

~~~

I feel like I've been saying stuff like this all year, but seriously, how is it already September? Damn.

~~~

The US arm of Twinings is giving away three free tea bags..

~~~

Steampunk Laptop.

~~~

Satellite Dish Art.

~~~

Whoa. Twleve Wonderful Water Castles.

~~~

The Accidental History of the @ symbol.

Sure, it isn't as cool as the ampersand, but it's still a pretty good symbol.

~~~

Neil Gaiman won a Hugo for The Doctor's Wife and seems to be writing a new episode.

Squee! The Doctor's Wife is in my top five all time favorite eps.

~~~

I could not tell you why I like this Avengers height chart so much. I like it enough to forgive the heals/heels error. But not enough to not mention it.

~~~

I should post this, now that the power's back, before it gets any longer.

"NO! I not Challie. I Batman!"
"Okay, Batman. But you still have to take the nap."

I'm sure Alfred enforces naptime too. Especially if Batman is stomping around and yelling at everyone. A Bat tantrum (a Batrum, if you will) is not pretty.

~~~

Butter.

This movie looks *so* good. And I'm not getting the feeling that they put all the good stuff in the trailer. Here's hoping.

~~~

Why are Dalmatians linked to firefighting?

~~~

Huh. I thought there was more. Apparently, I was mistaken.

Jeff is so sweet. We were watching something last night and I said "Oh great, now I want cinnamon buns". He went to the Farmer's market today and *got me a cinnamon bun*! I love that he remembers stuff like that.

And now, I really want to make cinnamon buns. Just as soon as I find my rolling mat.

~~~

Since 1995, Transparency International (TI) publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) annually ranking countries "by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuse of public power for private benefit."

Wow. I had no idea this was a thing.

~~~

Bummed today, but will get over it. Life goes on and all that.

I'm working on drawing. I want to make my own embroidery patterns one day. Not that I'll stop using patterns from Sublime Stitching and other places, but there's stuff in my head that wants to be embroidered. I found that I can get a big roll of t-shirt stabilizer, so I'm going to be experimenting with running that through the printer and seeing how it actually works when I'm using it. If the ink smears while I'm stitching, I'm sunk. But if this works, a whole universe of possibilities opens up.

Dear ghods but Company was *beyond* good. I forgot how well Stephen Colbert can sing. And Neil Patrick Harris is at the top of his game. It was well staged, well acted and well filmed. I'm looking forward to seeing it again when we get the dvd.

I'm very impressed with Alamo Drafthouse. The theaters are very well thought out, the food is really good and it's a great atmosphere. Well, okay, I can't say all the food is great, but the popcorn and the cheese fries are marvelous, and the unsweet tea was tasty. I'm looking forward to going again one day. Company was a one time thing, so I'll have to pick something else...*grin*

~~~

Ah. Firm release date on Company. November 13.

~~~

johnpalmer, the Bag of Holding is worth every cent. It's bigger than I expected, with so many pockets I couldn't even fill them all. The strap is wide and comfortable, so that even though I overfilled the bag (as is my wont), it wasn't uncomfortable hanging from my shoulder. I'm very pleased with it and can't think of a thing I'd change. :)

~~~

Another day of Baby Screamyface. Wheee?

Awww. Bye, Phillis Diller. You were *great*.

If you haven't seen Goodnight, We Love You, you really should. It's a marvelous documentary.

Papercraft McDonald's Bag. Gorgeous.

~~~

Ammo Box Speaker. The sound quality will blow you away.

Thank you, I'll be here all week. :D

~~~

"Whatever blows your skirt up" has made it's way back into my vocabulary. This doesn't trouble me.

~~~

"What happen your fingah?"
"I cut it, a few days ago, while making food. You were there."
"Oh yeah. You cut it wit' knife?"
"Yup."

And then she stood there, blinking at me. The story was over and I didn't have anything else to say. It was a weird moment.

Then she gave me a kiss and went into the living room.

~~~

WOO! I Am Big Bird was funded!

~~~

I'm totally making a couple black sparkle pumpkins for the porch.

We don't expect any trick-or-treaters, 'cause this is a long way to go for a bag of pretzels or a mini-snickers, but I'm still decorating the porch, 'cause I *can*. :D

Also buying a bag of treats, just in case. 'Cause if I don't, we'll have a thousand trick-or-treaters and I'll end up giving out cans of refried beans or something.

Currently, Sam wants to be Delirium from Sandman (so her *third* Gaiman inspired outfit. I'm so proud) and Charlie wants to be a dinosaur. I told them they have to have everything firm by the first week in September. We'll see how many changes there are between now and then.

Send Your Name to Mars

Oh yeah! I forgot about this. Now our names are actually *on* Mars. Very cool. :)

~~~

Dear Monster Energy drink,

Using the Beastie Boys' music without their consent is creepy. Using music from a tribute concert to MCA is just low class.

Very Sincerely,

Me

~~~

Neil Diamond seems *very* happy to get his star on the Walk of Fame.

~~~

Jeff and I have proven, once again, that we can do pretty much *anything* if we're together and put our minds to it.

The screen door in my office has a screen and a storm window. The window was on the bottom and I decided that I'd get better airflow if the screen was on the bottom, especially since I usually have a fan in the door and it doesn't reach high enough to direct air right *from* the outside.

So, Saturday afternoon, I took the screen, the bar in the middle and the window out. And had one hell of a time getting them back in, especially since the window is quite heavy. I asked Sam to help, but she was afraid she'd drop the window, so I asked Jeff, who was very clever and suggested I *open* the door and then he could hold it on both sides while I tried to figure out what needed to happen.

I don't know how old the screen door is...possibly older than I am. And the porch boards are spaced well enough that a screw could fall through easily (and would have yesterday if my door mat wasn't solid). Which is why there were six screws in the door of four different styles (two different flathead scews, two different phillips, just to add to the fun).

It took us an hour or two, but we finally got it all together, figured out all the weirdnesses (there are two more screen doors in the house...all three are different styles, so we couldn't use them as a guide) and got the damned thing back together just the way I wanted it. And honestly, we had a good time doing it. Mainly 'cause it was a mystery to be solved. We're good at those. :)

~~~

"Swipe Abnormal Kosher Bob" read the spam headline. I'm a little bummed it was spam...it seemed like a dead interesting story.

~~~

I have acquired the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I was going to do a beef bourguignon in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Julia Child's birth, but I don't cook with wine much and don't really know what to buy and really don't want to screw it up. So, I'm going to make a thing or two from the book each week instead. Eventually, I'll figure out wine.

~~~

Dear Bret Easton Ellis,

Go ahead. Keep digging that hole. Maybe you'll disappear *forever*.

Dipshit.

Sincerely,

Me

~~~

I love fresh flowers. I love them outside and I love having them inside in a vase. But, I'm truly terrible at remembering to throw them away when they're dead and I have no idea why. I keep seeing them and going "Right, have to toss those" then the idea just floats away.

~~~

Dear person on cragislist,

Why do I have to contact you for pictures? If you have pictures, why didn't you include them in the ad?

AUGH!

Sincerely,

Me

~~~

There is a very fluffy cardinal that usually eats at the birdfeeder outside Jeff's window. But we haven't refilled that one, so it's come to mine. But it doesn't seem to *like* the window feeder at all. So, it eats the seeds on the windowsill and the ones that fall on the ground. It's very interesting. And if it ever stays in one place long enough for me to take pictures, you'll even get to see it. :)

Oooh. In other bird news, there was a small blue and green bird that had some seed, perched on the stick I used to help stabilize my tomatoes and then left. I've never seen it before, but it was lovely.

~~~

Charlie just read me "A bunnee an' her mom" (and I always thought it was called "Guess How Much I Love you"), so it's time for me to read Llama Llama. And maybe something else for variety...but probably more Llama Llama if we're being realistic...*grin*

Dear Music,

Thank you for helping me keep my sanity while my three year old sits in a chair and screams about how much she hates me and how stupid I am. For the second time today.

Love you.

Me

Via filkertom, Smackerel: A Winnie the Pooh Short.

So much love for this. And it reminds me of how much I miss The Book of Pooh.

~~~

The Olympic Ticket Scalper, starring Patrick Stewart.

~~~

Time War.

Wish I'd done this. :)

~~~

Pointer pointer.

There's a possibility for NSFWishness. I haven't seen any, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

Awww. Marvin Hamlisch died.

I really liked his work and he seemed like a really nice and interesting person. I wish him well in whatever comes next.

Metal Bolt Earbuds.

~~~

If you're a Star Trek fan, if you're a John Scalzi fan, if you're a science fiction fan, if you're breathing, You should watch this.

~~~

Charlie said "I wanna play outside" and I said "Well, you need pants first. Here, go put these on" as I handed her pants and a shirt to replace the dirty one she was wearing. She ran through the house yelling "New clothes! New clothes for meee!". You'd think she only had one outfit or something.

I need to note that these were not new clothes. These were freshly *clean* clothes. Difference. :)

Soft tribble, warm tribble...

~~~

I'm really enjoying the videos on the PBS Idea Channel.

~~~

Do Spiders need all eight legs?

And the answer seems to be no, but they do need most of them.

~~~

My Mother's Day balloon is no more. It had some gas left, but was mostly flat, so I decommissioned it. It served well and will be happily remembered. :D

~~~

Spent most of the day in and out of the bathroom with a major stomach ache. Every time I'd think it was over, it would surprise me. Wheeeeeeeeee.

Doing a lot better now. Hungry, but for some reason I'm scared to eat.

Charlie is being *very* three lately. We're dealing, we're working on it, this too shall pass and so on.

But, in the meantime, I'm really tired.

~~~

Two more HIV patients now virus free.

Very interesting article.

~~~

Bohemian Rhapsody, vocals only version.

~~~

Incredible Jon Stewart piece ripping apart Fox News for their "you didn't build that" smear.

There's a transcript if you don't feel like watching the video.

~~~

The Goodwill in our town leaves a variety of things outside after closing. A couple of exercise machines, tables, that sort of thing.

I wonder if they just don't have the people to bring all the stuff in and then put it back out, or if they've had that stuff a *really* long time and kind of hope someone takes it.

Possibly a little of both.

~~~

Dear survey,

"Online or Facebook"?

*Really*?

Sincerely,

Me

~~~

Luxury Chicks.

~~~

White House Chef, Sam Kass, plays "Not My Job".

~~~

Annotated Fairy Tales: Two Cinderellas.

~~~

A little heartsick right now. Not sure why.

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Having fun watching the Olympics. Watching some stuff on nbc, but mostly downloading individual sports. Shh, don't tell.

Had a great time watching the women's clean & jerk with Sam. It's awe-inspiring (even with the vaugely dirty name *grin*). Especially the jerk, which apparently is the bit where she takes the weight from her collarbone to over her head. I held my breath every time.

I'm kind of rooting for everyone so far.

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Found an ipod app I'm totally in love with. It's called Groovy2 and it's a music app that analyzes your music and puts together playlists, suggests who should be played with whom and is just generally nifty.

I love making playlists, but I get a little too into it and spend *WAY* too much time choosing what should go where. So I tend not to make playlists. This does it for me and is pretty damned good at it.

Woo-HOO! My tomato plants have flowers! Three so far, hopefully with more to follow.

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There's small tree outside one of the windows in my studio. The birds often perch there to observe the feeder, to make sure it hasn't become dangerous in the five minutes since they were there.

It's apparently a good place for hummingbirds as well. Today I saw my second hummingbird just chilling on a branch for ten/fifteen seconds. Which is probably *hours* in hummingbird.

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Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Roman Catholic Church official in the United States to be convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision, was sentenced Tuesday to three to six years in prison.

Good. I only hope he's the first of many.

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I think I'll take the kids out and bask in the sun. If they get too annoying, I'll send them back in and bask by my *self*.