Diesel Sweeties sums up my feelings about MySpace...

Now that Austin has a new an amazing machine, my first urge is to encourage him to buy Half-Life 2. Because my obsession with Gordon Freeman must be appeased #grins#

I just noticed that Blogger has my birthdate down as 1756. Huh.

So Snooker seems a lot happier with the new rattie additions. They're still pretty small, and very soft since they haven't got their adult coats yet. I have named them Fry and Laurie, and they seem to be living up to their names nicely.

So I took "What Tarot Card Are You" quix off of Mr. Otter's blog, chose my own deck for the result (the Chinese Tarot) and I drew the Star. I'm not sure why I was as surprised as I was...

"Sometimes the hair color thing can even be educational. Like when John Byrne complained that Jessica Alba shouldn't play Sue Storm because Hispanic women with blonde hair look like whores to him, I now have a pretty good idea of how John Byrne spends his Friday nights."

Gods, I love the Stomptokyo boards...#grins#

Saw Casino Royale last night, and really, really liked it a lot. I'd like to send a big 'ol screw you to all the people who refuse to believe that Daniel Craig could pull off being James Bond, because he came through with flying colors. He's quick, he's tough, he's charming, and he kills in the competant and cold manner I remember from the books. So he's blond, so what? WTF would that make the least bit of difference to how he handles the part? Roger Moore had dark hair and I never was able to buy him as Bond; I mean, the guy obviously couldn't win a fight against a drunken, blindfolded Gary Coleman, much less all the supervillans' thugs that he came up against, and he was smarmy and condescending to boot. Craig is built well enough to be very believably athletic and you can easily buy that he could chase a target through a construction site or climb all over a speeding truck or beat a man to death in stairwell fight. He's as brutal under fire as the literary Bond, while able to clean himself up and look perfectly presentable in a tux when the situation demands. He's cocky, arrogant, and a little out of control at times, which befits the Bond of Casino Royale (who had only just gotten his double 0 rating and is less experienced than the Bond in later books) but still manages to switch between brutality and charm quite believably. He also has serious brass canastas- possibly literally #grins# I'm all for him doing the next few films; I found him completely believable in the part. And it's a good thing that he does the role so well, because the story is more driven by plots and character than it is by pretty locations or dooomsday devices or spiffy gadgets, so you get more of an emphasis on plot. All in all, I enjoyed it immensely.

Thanksgiving was awesome, by the way. I went with my kid brother and his girlfriend to his grandmother's place. The food was great (trad. turkey and fixings and about eight varieties of dessert) and the company (a houseload of cheerful relatives and a friendly dog) was excellent. After dinner we managed to gather up five other of his relatives and have an eight person game of Apples To Apples, which lasted about three hours and was a total riot.

Thanks, Kid!

Nah, not overly depressed, don't worry- this one always makes me feel better, for some reason...

****

Here I am again in this mean old town
And you're so far away from me
And where are you when the sun goes down
You're so far away from me
So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

I'm tired of being in love and being all alone
When you're so far away from me
I'm tired of making out on the telephone
And you're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

I get so tired when I have to explain
When you're so far away from me
See you been in the sun and I've been in the rain
And you're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

-Dire Straits, "So Far Away"

Politics in a nutshell

Thanks, Sinfest!

So yeah, it's great to have everything out in the open, we're all getting along just fine (and in some cases, better than in a long time...), the new living situation is comfy, and for the first time in a couple of years I've been able to take off the Backpack Of Guilt (tm) and hang it up. I feel oddly calm and quiet; I've been downright dozy all week, and I'm guessing it's just that now that there's so much less to stress about my body is taking a break from being a big knot of worry. It's pretty cool.

Damn straight.

Self-Reminder Post (please ignore :)

The next time I forget what pattern my silver is, at least I know I can search my blog for it. It's Wallace, called "Personality." There. No more going through reams upon reams of photos looking for the match...

If you can't tell your little brother to stfu, then who can you tell? #grins#

I seem to have gotten myself addicted to caffeine again. Since the weather's been getting colder I've been hitting the tea fairly hard, and I've been drinking more of the caffeinated than not. Which is fine, except that I woke up late this morning with a familiar thumping why-haven't-you-had-any-tea-yet headache. It's probably a good thing that I don't do hard drugs.

You know, apart from the smoking and drinking and appalling personal grooming, I pretty much am Bernard Black's clone or twin or something.

11/16/06 - Best. Email. EVAR.

...But I can't talk about it here, I can only mark down the date as one to remember. I really wish I could, though, because I damned near laughed half a cup of tea over my monitor. Those of us who were involved will laugh about it forever, though #grins#

Surprise, more links!

Wallyworld needs more stringent quality control...Bastards.

Early 80's Anti-Piracy Ads

Look, our old future!

That's some serious plumbing issues

Pain Don't Hurt

...But Roadhouse do. Not as much as Star Trek V- Shatner Nosedives An Already Ailing Franchise" does, though. That taxes even my well-developed Crap Tolerance System.

Scans from medieval arms manuals

This rocks.

Wow, actual thoughts

Telling the truth as I see it has gotten me into problems over the years. I suppose it couldn't help but do so. But I would rather burn for telling the truth than live with myself knowing that I lied about something that I felt was important. Some days, though, I need to work on *how* I tell it. For whatever reason, I seem to reserve tact for strangers, perhaps because I love and respect my packmates enough to tell them exactly what I think, because I feel that they would want to know. And I'm not going to take up lying now. But I guess I can try and take my own advice (like Alice, I give myself very good advice but I seldom ever follow it) for these sorts of situations and remember that one cannot tell one's friends certain things on certain subjects, bluntly or otherwise, without sounding as though you're being unsupportive. In actualy fact, you're trying to be the most supportive you've ever been in your life, because you're scared/worried/etc, but I suppose that it comes across as though you're being deliberately awkward/irritating/uncharitable. Annoying, because what you want to convey ends up being the opposite of what actually comes across, but a fact of life, I guess.

As Boxer says, "I will work harder." Yes, I know what happened to Boxer. Better that than being untrue to myself.

Woot! An interview with Mike Nelson! Sure, he sounds like a cyborg, but hey, it's Mike! Talking about bad movies! And through this I have learned of a movie that I must see, Attack of the Beast Creatures. * It involves wooden dolls native to an island that all the water on it is actually acid. This I must see.




*Although when I searched it up on Google, I mistyped and searched for "Attack of the Best Creatures, " which is apparently not the same thing at all #grins#

I wonder how that ninja my kid brother ordered is working out...

That is a big damn cat.

Yes, again.

Because I need it this time.

***

THEN a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter
rises was often times filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your
being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very
cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit,
the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart
and you shall find it is only that which has given
you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart,
and you shall see that in truth you are weeping

for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow,"
and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with
you at your board, remember that the other is
asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales
between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at
standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh
his gold and his silver, needs must your joy
or your sorrow rise or fall.

AND a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided
by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter
has moistened with His own sacred tears.

-from "The Prophet, " by Kalil Gibran

This is why I don't go to the South...Admittedly, it's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but from what you read some days I don't know by how much.

Best Stuff On My Cat of the day

Feet!

Yes, this is another cop-out. Oh well. I'm feeling fairly well numb today and staring at random amusing things on the 'net appears to be all I'm up to at the moment.

Skinny Panda Stick Figure Strips

Yes, it is cheating as far as posting goes, but they're really funny.

Shades of Space Madness

Technophilia

Big Hat

Life Coach

I have decided that They Might Be Giants' next album should be called There Might Be Crumbs. Also, I have named one of the hermit crabs Crabinado.

That is all.

Funniest. Engrish. Ever.

Hmmmm....Crab or facehugger?

Seriously, that thing is disturbing.

The monkey is currently driving a stolen Batmobile through Tennesee

The best bit about trying to write a grocery list at three in the morning is reading it the next day. It looks like I wrote "emo soda." What the hell is emo soda? Soda endorsed by Morrissey?

Yes, it's two thirty in the morning, but the movie is worth it as always. My kid brother was hugely amused, but what person of taste wouldn't be? There's glowing serum, angry undead cat attacks, a head on a spike, zombies, sarcasm, and tons of T&A and violence. We laughed our asses off.

And West is still teh hotness.

It's 12:45am and I'm going to introduce Re-Animator to my kid brother. I'm either nuts or the best big sister ever.

Having an interesting argument with my kid brother about the relative merits of various guys' sexy voices. While we both agree on Hugh Laurie, he won't agree on David Bowie. Which is okay, because I won't agree on the horn section of Chicago. No, I don't know why he thinks they count as voices either #grins#

Wow. Let's hope this isn't a trick. Combine it with this and maybe we'll get a little bit of sanity back. Although we probably shouldn't hold our collective breath.

How To Buy An Axolotl

Okay, for all those people who keep turning up in my stats looking for how or where to buy an axolotl, this is the best I could come up with:

FAQ 1

FAQ 2

Educators/Researchers

Caudata Forum (main page; search for postings for sale/trade)

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything that happens or does not happen to anyone or anything due to this posting.

Right, faceless Internet masses, don't say I never gave you anything.

[Edited 08/26/08 to add:] Now, with no comments! None! I feel that a year's worth of screwing around is more than enough. If you can't play nice, you don't get to play at all.

Wtf?

I was browsing a surplus site and clicked idly on an overstocked shirt, to find that it came in three colors- brown, green, and Stephanie. Stephanie??

Extended "Meme"

Sniped from J.R. the Otter.

1. Where were you when it turned 2006?
Presumably in the same basic area I'd been in just minutes before, when it was 2005. I seem to remember that I was playing Animal Crossing.

2. How did you get the idea for your blog name?
I've been using that for *ages*.

3. What song are you listening to right now?
Mono Puff - Unsupervised

4. Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry?
Yes, actually. I still miss Mr. Zevon terribly.

5. What color underwear are you wearing?
Stripy.

6. Do you own an iPod?
Nah.

7. What did you do this morning?
Ate a cinnamon roll, drank green tea, and went to the thrift store.

8. What does your dad do for a living?
Welder.

9. What will you do tonight?
Go out for food, providing there's something out there that isn't too crowded, come back, get back online, email Austin, drink tea, read one of the books I brought home from the used book store (probably Nero Wolfe; I'm alternating him and Phillip Marlowe)

10. What's your favorite memory from last weekend?
Target shooting.

11. What are the last two digits of your phone number?
Yeah, right, and then the next "meme" asks for the first few digits, and the next the middle, and so on...

12. What was the last thing you ate?
Some sort of excellent turkey and artichoke heart spread sandwich at Panera.

13. What was last thing you drank?
Half a glass of Wegmans' Blueberry and Lemon soda. Which is quite nice, by way.

14. What was the last movie you watched?
The last one without Rifftrax being involved? Six-String Samurai.

15. What do you dislike at the moment?
The same thing I loathe every day, Pinky. Blind hatred and willful ignorance.

16. What food do you crave right now?
A large quick-seared, salted, and still-bleeding steak. And some good butterbread to sop up the blood with.

17. Did you dream last night?
I usually do. This time it was some odd thing about being friends with David Bowie but always missing him whenever I went to visit.

18. What was the last TV show you watched?
Whose Line, most likely.

19. What is your favorite piece of jewelry?
The silver elephant hair bracelet Mom got me to replace the pot metal one I had that got broken.

23. Are you on any medication?
Usually over the counter allergy stuff.

24. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
At the moment, the middle of my mattress, and like a cat I can take over the whole thing quite easily.

25. What color shirt are you wearing?
A cream-colored shirt with the logo for Yorkshire Terrier bitter.

27. How many piercings do you have?
One in each ear.

28. What's your favorite store?
Does Amazon count?

29. Are you thirsty right now?
Nah, the soda's done its job.

30. Who's someone you haven't seen in a while and miss?
Heh. Like *that* takes a lot of cognition on the readers' part...

31. What did you do last night?
Sat up late chatting with one of my packsisters, which was awesome.

32. Do you care what people think about you?
General people? Nah. Haven't in ages.

33. Have you ever done something to instigate trouble?
Define trouble. I've never attempted a major felony or caused any climactic changes, but I have specifically brought up at my initial meeting of Austin's brother that Austin refers to him (in a sibling-ly rivalrous sort of way) as "short, fat, and stunted" just to see what would happen.

34. When was the last time you worked out?
Exercise is a side effect of doing something useful. I don't do it for its own sake.

35. What are your font colors on AIM?
People still use that?

36. Where do you live?
I suppose next it'll want my address...

37. Are you aggressive?
It depends on the situation, I suppose.

38. Mobile phone network?
Don't own one. Although I can see where they could be useful.

39. Do you like the person who posted this last?
I haven't met him personally, but he sounds like an awesome guy.

40. Do you know their birthday?
Haven't the faintest (sorry, dude #grins#)

41. What is the thing that you would most like to change about yourself?
I'm working on a lot of things, as always.

42. What size are your feet?
Nine and a half, or ten, depending on the shoe.

43. What do you smell like right now?
Flying Fox To which I am unashamedly addicted.

44. What is your favorite color?
My eventing colors are royal and black.

45. Do you like mustard?
I like mustard roast.

46. What do you tell yourself when times get hard?
I have it so much better than so many others, so I should be grateful for how relatively minor my troubles are.

47. Would you ever skydive?
It sounds interesting enough, but I already have one expensive sport (when I get back to it, that is...)

48. Do you sleep on your side, tummy or back?
All of the above. Not all at once, though.

49. Have you ever bid for something on eBay?
Now and again, when I can't get what I'm looking for any other way.

50. What do you think of Angelina Jolie being pregnant?
Give me one good reason why I should bother to spend time forming an opinion about the life of a celebrity.

51. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
Everyone should enjoy giving and receiving hugs! The world would be a much nicer place that way.

52. Would you consider yourself to be fashionable?
Ha ha no. I wear whatever the hell I want to wear.

53. Do you own a digital camera?
Yup, and I love it to pieces.

54. What celebrities have you been compared to?
Does that really happen so often to people that they feel the need to include a question for it?

55. Who is your favorite Star Wars character?
Boba Fett, in the (pre-prequel) bounty hunter novels.

56. Does it annoy you when someone says they'll call but don't?
Not really. Sometimes stuff comes up.

57. What are you allergic to?
Penicillin, actually.

58. Are you a jealous person?
I like to think that I'm not too bad, but I suppose everyone has to grapple with a certain amount of it.

59. Do you ever feel guilty after eating meat?
Good lord no. I'm buying myself that Archie McPhee bracelet that says "Carnivore" on it for Christmas.

60. If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name be?
Well, I'm actually named after my great uncle. So I don't know; maybe my name would be the same.

In trying to find an audio copy of the Swedish lullaby about trolls (where the mother trolls curls up her babies in her tail and sings to them) I ended up instead with some sort of melodramatic gothy thing. It was named "Troll's Lullaby, " so I assumed I was getting the genuine article, but instead it was about what you'd expect; endless repetitive echo-y rattles and hollow effects, dirgelike female vocals in monotone, etc. I can almost hear the band members chortling about how clever they are to call their song a lullaby and give it "scary" lyrics about having one's head eaten. Yippy skippy, I'm *so* impressed. The Pogues did that ages ago, with amusing lyrics and melody and a decided lack of a single-note percussion system. This was not interesting, clever, or amusing. Get back in your bus.

Meanwhile, I still haven't found the *actual* troll song #grumbles#

Take Note

Rifftrax is/are absolutely the best thing involving visual media ever. That is all.