Silly Site o' the Day

Not quite up to doing a blogaround yet, still one category yet to peruse. But I'm getting there! This one's for Mom, via Lis: a fascinating site called And You Shall Know Us By The Trail Of Our Vinyl, all about "Jewish history as told by the records we have loved and lost" by Roger Bennett and Josh Kun. Pretty neat stuff!

It's Christmastime in the City

The tree at Rockefeller Center isn't even lit, and I think the holiday windows are probably being decorated this weekend, but there's still plenty of cool sparkly decorating going on in Manhattan, so my camera's been busy!



This is one of three similarly-decorated trees in my office building's lobby. As the entry doors are all glass, it really makes for a dazzling display.



Here's the matching wreath above the building's reception desk. Love the flowers, too.



Ah, this is one of the jewels of NYC at Christmastime, the giant snowflake-thingy suspended from the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. It's even more impressive at night, it has that sort of eerie bluish-white glow to it (like the xenon bulbs in some cars' headlights). Almost otherworldly.



All four stores at that intersection are really spiffed up for the holidays. This is a glimpse of what the Louis Vuitton store looks like. The Tiffany store across the street is even more impressive. But again, everything looks better at night, so it loses a lot in the cold light of day.



The "toy" train at the corner of 50th Street and 6th Avenue.



Lots of great "fairy lights" abound. I believe I this is somewhere on 55th Street, but I could be wrong. Can't wait to take more snaps!

Silly Site o' the Day

Getting ready to go out in a bit and brave the Christmas-season shopping crowds in an effort to secure a fancy-schmancy outfit for my office's holiday party (as I don't do "formal" well I'm pretty much just hoping to find a black floor-length skirt in my size), but first I wanted to get through a bit more comics-reading and blog-reading. Just got to io9 and saw this:



My, what Rowling hath wrought...

Friday Thank-kitty Blogging

Lots of photos to show you, but I'll wait on the NYC holiday snaps until tomorrow, with a couple exceptions. On Wednesday I took these two shots from the Broadway bus on my way to Midtown Comics:



I have no idea what this staircase was erected for (maybe some parade performers or media folks?)...



...nor who these fresh-faced, blue-jacketed kids are supposed to be (aside from probable parade performers), but I loved getting them in the same shot as this pretty white limo. The ride home on the express bus Wednesday was a 2-hour nightmare because they wouldn't let any traffic alongside Central Park West where the balloons were being blown up, so every single vehicle in NYC seemed to be on Broadway and Amsterdam -- plus, once we were free and clear at about the RFK Bridge, our driver decided he really didn't need to go anywhere near as fast as the 50 mph highway speed limit.

Fortunately, I'm just about over that. We ate Thanksgiving dinner late yesterday because Rob needed to finish a long day's work first, but I think it was the best one I've ever prepared. Maybe that was in part because I did little things throughout the day, including prepping two of the veggie dishes in the late morning and doing a round of washing-up hours before dinner. The less exhausted I am before we eat, the better the food seems to taste. The only real hitch was that the turkey breast (Butterball, highly recommended as it actually comes with instructions) was done a half hour before we thought it would be, so it rested whilst the veggies finished. Robin took shots of the final table, minus the soup and dessert:



Left to right in the background: cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges (in front of the egg nog, Rob's Thanksgiving drink of choice), store-bought sage stuffing (prepared by the fine folks at Stop & Shop, which is turning out to have quite the nice prepared-foods section), the aforementioned heart-shaped Butterball turkey breast, Bisto gravy, and apple cider (my Thanksgiving drink of choice). Left to right in the foreground, the three side dishes I made from recipes: wild rice dressing (on which I improvised to a large degree as I didn't like a couple of the suggested ingredients), Brussels sprouts with walnuts, and garlic baked squash.

Rob also got a good picture of my plate and accompanying bowl of pumpkin soup (also ready-made from the good folks at Stop & Shop):



The cats approved of the turkey; Datsa couldn't stop lurking around the trays:



Neither could Amy, but I wanted to post this little movie I got of her playing with her light source (in this case, the laptop lid) during the parade:



Yes, she does this sort of thing regularly. As I've said before, she can't not be cute...

Silly Site o' the Day

Leftover comics, leftover blog reading, leftover cleanup. Goodness only knows when I'll get to leftover blogging. Here's a leftover Silly Site that Robin found: wacky or cool takes on the Bible. I'm getting the Cockney one for his birthday. And I must say, the Brick Testament is pretty neat-looking.

Silly Site o' the Day

Given the Palin abattoire background, did anyone besides me find JibJab's Thanksgiving card just a little unintentionally creepy? And the annual showing of the Macy's parade is now over. It was chock-full of sweetened applause and teengirl singers of every color all sounding exactly the same. The only unexpected surprise was an appearance by the Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team; for a second there I thought I was watching the Doo-Dah Parade!

Buy-Nothing Blog

I've just cleaned out my email -- I can't get to either my Yahoo or Gmail accounts from work, and I don't have nor (at least at the moment) do I want a phone plan with email or text capabilities, so it now waits until I remember to do it at home, sometimes for a few days or longer -- and I found at least two genuine people wanting to advertise on or sponsor Pen-Elayne on the Web. I'm not sure how they found me, I don't know of any new places that are suddenly touting this blog (do any of you?), but I thought it a good idea, as we're coming up on Buy-Nothing Day again, to point all such would-be sugar mommies and daddies to the little sentence almost at the top of my sidebar, right there to the left, that says "Please read my policy on link exchanges before asking." 'Cause, you know, Pen-Elayne is a No-ads blog, and all that. Just thought I'd mention it. Now, if you feel like sponsoring me with no strings attached and no ads desired, just because you like my blog and have money to burn, well, there are plenty of actual charities that could use your kind-hearted generosity, and I invite readers to point to some of them in the comments section.

Happy Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving-themed YouTube address to the nation from our next President (and, not surprisingly, the only person currently acting as President of the United States):



I'm thankful that everyone in my immediate family is currently healthy, especially my brother Gene who's home with his beautiful new wife Bridgette as he recovers from a recent hospital stay.

I'm thankful that both Robin and I are currently employed, particularly in the current economy; that I enjoy not only my job and the way I've been able to help my bosses but the company for which I work, a company that's blessedly stable and really seems to value my contributions; and that Robin's current assignment is also a real "dream job" which has allowed him to use his pencilling, inking and colouring skills, all of which will stand him in good stead to create a terrific portfolio to line up work for 2009.

I'm thankful for having completed my first half-century of life (the 51st year starts next Tuesday), for Robin rounding out number 46 (he turns 47 years old on 6 December, a week from Saturday), and for us coming up on our 10th wedding anniversary a week from today.

I'm thankful that both our cats continue to be healthy in double-digits (Datsa just turned 16 and Amy's going to be 12 next April).

And I'm thankful for so many wonderful and caring relatives on both sides of the Atlantic and friends, acquaintances and blog readers from all over. I'll never be able to fully express my gratitude to all of you for being there for me.

I wish all my fellow Americans a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving. I'm off to start the cooking now. Photos to follow, no doubt...

Silly Site o' the Day

Way, way too tired to blog. Hope to catch up in the next four days! Meanwhile, just in time, via Eric at Laura's blog, have a Random Recipe Generator!

Silly Site o' the Day

When I was a kid, about 7 years old or so, just moved to a new state and a new school and a whole new set of circumstances, I discovered the music of Tom Paxton (through at least one teacher). To this day I sigh whenever I hear "The Marvelous Toy" and smile when I think of his song about the NY Mets ("they are hearty, they are hale, and their enemies turn pale...") written when the team had just started under the tutelage of the sometimes mealy-mouthed Casey Stengel ("and no one understands a goddamn thing..."). Paxton has always been one of my joys. What a treat to find, via Will Shetterly, that he's still as feisty as ever. Here he is singing "I'm Changing My Name to Fannie Mae"...



Seriously, if you've never had a bit of Tom Paxton in your life, you should really check out his work.

Silly Site o' the Day

Well, Wall Street seems as enamoured of Barack Obama as most of the country's voters, so that bodes well. Wonder if any of the fake New York Times of 7/4/09 linked to by Sheila Lennon will come true?

Ho'od Win?

Slinky Cat (via August):



or Roomba Driver Cat (via tons of folks)?



'Tis a conundrum...

Silly Site o' the Day

I'm pitiful when I have a cold. I wasn't able to get anything major done today. Not even through with my non-DC comics reading, and I don't even want to talk about the DC comp boxes (I think I have seven sitting unread at this point). But my body does tend to break down at times like this, so I'm glad I got some rest. I cleaned up the medicinal shelf in the linen closet so I could find stuff, and some of what I found seems to be helping me heal a bit. Still, perhaps I should try some Elayne Riggsagra, which is the drug I created using CEDRA (via Gerard). Love the sounds accompanying that silly site!

Silly Site o' the Day

I'm off to the city to take care of some work-related business while Robin's home working on his comic book to help pay the bills. Too bad he can't pay them with drawings. Well, he can but not in the way this fellow tried. Via Julian Lennon.

Our Macaca Moments

I see Clinton Derangement Syndrome has been rearing its ugly head again. While I admit I was disappointed in the ex-President's private-made-public behavior while in office, even as I acknowledged it was none of my business, I never got this weird utter hatred that many people on both sides of the aisle seemed to have for Bill and Hillary (and, for all I know, even Chelsea). Was it some sort of knee-jerk anti-hippie thing? I saw some of the same crap at work when Kerry was running for president. It was as if anyone who reminded certain people that the 1960s were full of good and positive things (peace, love, hope, expansion of our inner and outer worldviews) rather than the way they preferred to frame the era in their heads (losing a war [in which we should never have gotten involved, kinda like today], promiscuity and rebellion against authority, those uppity black people and their messy non-violent protests) needed to be demonized, in the same way they try to demonize "the '60s" themselves.

The thing is, it doesn't work any more. Enough footage exists of things that went on culturally and politically in that era that, coupled with the easier-than-ever access folks with computers have to audiovisual information nowadays, can put the lie to any nasty propaganda in short order. Citizens can find out things for themselves and make up their own minds about What Really Happened better than we ever could before. And the same goes for modern politics. As George "Macaca" Allen found out, politicians can no longer get away with much of the rhetoric and code they used to use in public. The public is onto them.

Likewise, great swaths of the public seem better able to prioritize what should be emphasized than the traditional media, even sections thereof which seem to lean liberal. Take the recent brouhaha, completely fabricated on the part of said media, over Clinton being named Obama's Secretary of State. It was as if nobody had ever discussed the very real possibility that the person who got the highest vote totals ever for a party primary also-ran. It was as if nobody remembered how fascinated (in a good way!) a huge section of the electorate was with her. No, all that was forcibly stuffed into a memory hole as new talking points came along. Her foreign policy opinions differ from his!, as though his won't overrule hers when he's President, or as if they can't learn from each other and each modify their positions, or as if their respective positions were pretty much a hair's breadth apart to begin with.

(Mark Evanier phrases it thusly: "Didn't some of us vote for Barack Obama in the primaries because we didn't want Hillary Clinton managing U.S. foreign affairs?" No, I honestly don't think so. For many of us it was a toss-up, an embarrassment of riches; we would have been happy with either candidate. But I truly don't believe specific foreign policy experience was the deciding factor here.)

And what about Bill! What is this, 1994? What about the ex-President, who's now raising money for the Clinton Foundation to fight AIDS and poverty? How the hell does this constitute any sort of conflict of interest?

Now, look, I love Rachel Maddow. But enough is enough; she returned from her short vacation to harp on this for two straight days, replaying Clinton's difference of foreign policy opinion with Obama over and over like some sort of mantra, as though by repeated intonation it would suddenly sound more sinister than a minor disagreement hyped up by a heated campaign where the media was rooting for blood. It's like they still are! Finally (and thank goodness), Maddow turned to Malcolm Gladwell, who had to explain to her like you would a child that This Is A Good Thing, that a man who has a world of wisdom but not a lot of foreign policy expertise is surrounding himself with experienced players who do have that expertise, in a cabinet designed to enrich us all. And thatthis is what constitutes the "change we can believe in," rather than how the media wants to interpret that phrase as "this means he must bring in all-new people who've never governed before!" As in Bush-style cronyism?

I think Hillary Clinton will make a fine Secretary of State. I think she would have made a fine VP, and a fine President. I think the media is really out of it on this one, trying to once again create drama where there is none. I think -- well, I think What Digby Said.

Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)

Kitties enjoyed themselves in the sunbeams yesterday, huddled together as the landlord hadn't quite adjusted the heat levels yet:



Very uncharacteristic of these two, being this close without fighting. The apartment heat has since gotten more livable.

Silly Site o' the Day

Hooray! Via Mark Evanier, the Monty Python alumni now have their own YouTube channel. This is their promotional video. As someone who's pretty much followed all the ex-Pythons' careers, I really got a kick out of seeing all five surviving members together in the same video:



Well-designed site as well. Although it's also the sort of thing to make me miss Graham Chapman more than ever.

Snowflake Duet

A couple of little vignettes I just posted on "teh Youtube." The Time_Warner Center at Columbus Circle has put up its holiday decorations, like most every other place around the city this year. Here's about a minute I shot from my seat on the homeward-bound express bus (you can see it better about halfway in).



The "soundtrack" is, I believe, Danish; I never did figure out the nationality of those fellow passengers. I wanted to contrast those snowflakes with the real thing, seen this morning whilst waiting for the bus:



Dang, it's way too cold for this time of year...

Silly Site o' the Day

Via Arthur, the Mighty God King does it again: truth in sf covers.

"The Up Escalator is Down"

That was an exact quote heard over the way-too-loudspeaker at this year's Big Apple National comic convention. By now, interested parties have probably read Evan Dorkin's scathing review of this show, which was pretty darn accurate from where we sat -- far away from our usual Artists Alley spot, but at least near the open windows which one of the idiots "helping out" the dealer a couple spaces away from us kept wanting to close despite the uncomfortable humidity and humanity. When we arrived and were ushered to our space by Ken Gale, who was helping out Allan Rosenberg, we discovered it was only half a table without any decent cloth covering it, and there was only one chair where 2-3 should clearly have been. Fortunately I was able to get a hold of Allan to remedy that situation, but... well, the whole day had the kind of vibe Evan describes. Robin got settled in okay, as you see:



But nobody came by with their copies of the just-out first issue of Sir Apropos of Nothing to get signed. It just wasn't that kind of crowd. The main reason we were there was to see Sir Apropos writer and creator Peter David, who didn't seem to have a table of his own, so I vacated my spot (I may have been a guest but, with the demise of the ComicMix columns, I had no real reason for sitting there other than to keep Robin company) and, like magic, the table started receiving visitors! As always, it was a lot of fun being with Peter, a true raconteur, and listening to his anecdotes of Kath and the kids, great concerts he's attended, a round of the Smothers Brothers' "Streets of Laredo" (I forget what a terrific singing voice he has), and just generally basking in his company. And good thing, too -- the show was 80% dregs, and 20% relatively nice folks asking Peter and/or Robin to sign stuff that wasn't Sir Apropos or friends/acquaintances of ours like Derek Tague, Dave Gallaher, Marion Vitus, Darren Hudek, and the fellow who keeps my folder at Midtown Comics whose name I can never remember.



Peter reviewed the pencils on issue #4, made a couple suggestions here and there, but generally seemed to find everything appropriately amusing. Hey, it's a comedy book, after all.



I wandered around a little, but it really wasn't the kind of show for taking photos or doing much of anything else. Still, I couldn't resist this shot of Val D'Orazio and Torsten Adair at the Friends of Lulu table:



Torsten returned the favor by snapping this one of me and Robin back at our table. I don't think I photograph very well, I definitely look out of proportion here.



It was great seeing Mark Evanier again so soon after the last time. He and Peter talked about, among other topics, one of the Quick Draw panels that Mark often moderates at San Diego. I can't remember who got the last word in, but it was a close contest.



Peter also spoke with Chris Claremont, who doesn't know us so I kept back and snapped this photo:



And that's it! As mentioned, we didn't bother returning for Sunday, it just wasn't worth it. Favorite quote, from Mark E: "I'm really good at stuff that pays no money." Biggest outside-of-show disappointments: I didn't get the chance to grab some clothing necessities at K-Mart, and the Chinese buffet I used to love when I worked in the area had nothing appetizing to speak of. Biggest inside-of-show disappointments: Too many to list. Peter invited us to hang with him at his table at next February's New York Con, where I'm sure the vibe will be very different indeed.

Silly Site o' the Day

My run of "nothing is going to plan" continues, so minimal blogging until things right themselves and the temperature rises enough for me to want to spend time blogging again. I didn't even tell y'all about the Make Your Own Jack-o-Lantern page (via Gerard), and heck, people have their Christmas decorations up already. Why yes, I am behind my time...

Silly Site o' the Day

Amanda passes along a bedtime story:



Fortunately, the country has now woken up.

Silly Site o' the Day

No time, no time... *sigh* I had Greek food tonight, so I'm going to pass along a Greek God generator (via Generatorland), and hope that maybe tomorrow I'll have the strength and leisure time to at least post some photos...

Silly Site o' the Day

Slept most of the day, did the washing up, caught up on some shows we DVR'ed, and made the big mistake of going to a just-reopened supermarket in the local shopping district, just like everyone else in Kingsbridge and Riverdale. No time for blogging, even though I've downloaded all my photos from yesterday. Maybe tomorrow. For now, well, I don't even have time to Twitter any more, so how about a Twitter status generator care of Generatorland?

Silly Site o' the Day

The convention was okay but, truth to tell, nothing all that special so we won't be returning tomorrow. Nonetheless I did get a few nice photos, which I hope to post sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, happy birthday wishes go out to Heidi, whom I didn't get to see tonight, and get-well-soon wishes to Kath David, who's a bit under the weather but was much on our minds today as we spent much of the afternoon with her husband. Kath, this one's for you:



Pulp Muppets via Hanan Levin.

Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)

The camera hasn't gotten much of a workout this week (and I know, I have yet to display the last of my foliage photos as well as the snaps from Gene's wedding), so I'm running another shot that I took last week:



I've just packed the aforementioned camera to take with us to this weekend's National comic convention; hope to see you there!

Silly Site o' the Day

When last we left Der Untergang, Hitler was complaining about the ending of Torchwood's second season. Today we find him in a Führer -- er, furor over his real estate investment:



Via real estate maven Hanan Levin.

Silly Site o' the Day

Bad day. Must sleep. Collage generator, via Gerard. Night.

Silly Site o' the Day

Well, today was pretty eventful! Icky medical procedure this morning involving a CAT scan and injected dye, a thankfully quiet day at the office, and then off to the comic shop to pick up Rob's first issue of Sir Apropos of Nothing, hope y'all were able to find it as well! On the way home, the express bus passed the Mormon church on 65th Street and Columbus Avenue, the epicenter of another massive gay rights protest. Once I told the elderly woman in the seat in front of me what was going on, she was surprisingly and very vocally supportive. And the heat is on rather full-blast at the moment, so we're nice and toasty and I hope my body stops aching soon. Meanwhile, via Dean Friedman's latest email, we present his daughter Hannah's performance of Neurosis in D:



I have yet to decide if she's ready to give Laurie Anderson a run for her money.

Today's the Day!

At last, the first issue of Robin's current project, Sir Apropos of Nothing, hits the shelves!




If you click on Rob's cover art above, the link takes you to IDW Publishing's order site. If you prefer to get your copy in a store, here's the Comic Shop Locator site. By the way, this issue, and all others in the series, will have variant covers by other artists on a 1-to-1 ratio, so now you know which one to look for if you want Rob's cover. Another reminder: both Robin and series creator/writer Peter David will be on hand this Saturday at the National to sign copies and show previews of the next couple issues.

Silly Site o' the Day

Thank goodness for space heaters and fleece; the radiators in our apartment haven't quite been up to snuff the last couple days. Should be much warmer at work, although I can't play online games there. Oh Augie, like I needed another addiction; I'm just going to pretend I never saw 99 Bricks...

Silly Site o' the Day

Lotsa LEGO album covers (via Hanan)...

Thanksgiving Comes Two Weeks Early Here

Chris Ryall reports on his blog that the first issue of Sir Apropos of Nothing will be in stores this coming Wednesday, November 12. Full art (pencils, inks and colours) by Robin. This means that folks can get it autographed by both the writer and artist at the upcoming National (i.e., Super Big Apple) convention on Saturday, the only day of the three when both Peter and Robin will be in attendance. Rob will also have (unlettered) colour previews of the second and third issues. See you next Saturday; cross all appropriate digits for good weather!

Silly Site o' the Day

Via Robin:



That one's for Avedon, Susie and all the other Beatles & Obama fans out there.

Silly Site o' the Day

Via Ampersand, a critique of Obama's election as if it were a work of fanfic (fan-created fiction). I believe "OMC" is "original male character," "OOC" is "out of character" and WIP is "work in progress" (can you tell I don't read fanfic?). "Sue" is short for "Mary Sue," a concept which would take way too long to describe...

Belated Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)

Catching up, still catching up, forever catching up. We hit the sack early yesterday as we needed the sleep, but Datsa and Amy obliged this Caturday morning by posing thusly:



Oh yes indeed, they know where their food's coming from this morning. Excuse me while I go pill the beast...

Update: Here's a video bonus I like to call "Datsa and the Camera String":



This tends to capture his personality a bit better than still photos do.

Silly Sites o' the Day

A new "literal video" from Dustin McLean!


A new Target: Women with Sarah Haskins!


A new president, as illustrated by Patrick Moberg (not on CurrentTV)!



A new workday; see you later!

Silly Site o' the Day

Blogging a bit late this evening, as we had to go food shopping after I got back from work. Say, now that Obama's transitioning to the Presidency there seems to be a lot less fear around. Still, I'm not sure how long I'd survive chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor. I'm glad someone's thinking of these things, and folks like Keith are spreading the word. It's just something that never would have occurred to me in a pre-President Obama world.

Why "What Now?"

I swear, if I hear or read one more pundit or blogger ask a variant of "what now?" regarding the new President-elect, I'm going to virtually hurl a virtually heavy object in their virtual direction. "What now" is work. You know, the non-sexy stuff that doesn't garner big ratings or lots of hits. The stuff most American citizens do day-in and day-out with no fanfare. We get to work, period. This is not a friggin' TV show, it's real life -- not constantly-televised "reality show" life but actual boring day-to-day. Sorry it can't be more visually exciting for you pundits out there (particularly those on TV), but many of us have understood for a long time that politics isn't really the game many of you like to think it is. I suggest you now seek your "zazz" elsewhere.

What the Fawkes?

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
With hope we've cast our lot
But I see no reason why Bush and his treason
Should ever be forgot.

The obligatory link from Lewes earlier today, this time courtesy of TIME.

Silly Site o' the Day

Ah, a new day in America, finally! I was beginning to think I'd never see another pleasant, smart, sensible centrist elected in my lifetime. We haven't had one of those since Carter (as much as I may admire Clinton I always considered his presidency somewhat right-leaning). And we haven't seen kids this young in the White House since I was a young kid. I like to imagine Malia and Sasha's first reaction to knowing their dad won might have been something like jumping up and down and sing-songing "We're going to the White House, we're going to the White House..." (and is it just me or has Malia grown at least 2 inches in the past few months?). Love the cute touch in Obama's speech about getting them a puppy. Anyway, glad that's all finally over and we can concentrate on more important things like which DVD you fell asleep watching last night (via David McCandless). My one definite (and minor) regret from last night is that I didn't get enough sleep...

Silly Site o' the Day

Tonight's news coverage should be chock-full of buzzwords, which is why I'm using the time productively, to catch up on blogs (after all, whatever happens, so much of what's been blogged the last few weeks, that I've yet to read, will be obsolete by tomorrow), rather than to watch tee-vee. Anyway, Eszter presents a Buzzword Bingo card generator, for those wonks out there who just can't resist.

Bronkers Voting Report

I voted at approximately 6:45 PM at my local place. No line at all, not even in front of me. Zero minutes wait. Actually a 10-minute wait but that was only because I had to deal with an unexpected call on my cell phone from the Workforce1 Career Center who apparently hadn't gotten the word from the NYS Department of Labor that I've been employed for four and a half months and needed all the relevant info before I could hang up. But it's all good. Oh, have to show you two photos (as usual, click to embiggen):



That's the price of gasoline at my local filling station around the corner from where we live. I wanted a visual record of it for future reference.



And that's a subway ad from Manhattan Mini Storage. Not shown is their other semi-amusing political ad, featuring a torso (the head and legs are out of the shot) carrying a television on which one sees the current White House resident with a caption something like "Have you 'misunderestimated' your closet space?"

Back later with a Silly Site and perhaps a photo montage from this morning's stroll in Central Park.

Silly Sites o' the Day

More photos coming; I just downloaded everything from my camera, uploaded the work-related ones to a thumb drive to take into the office, and I've yet to sort the ones from Gene's wedding but I'll post the best of the rest anon. Meanwhile, lots of political videos to get out of the way, including this very clever voter-video generator via Marv Wolfman; the somewhat frightening Palin as President site via Scout Prime at First Draft; the Palin interview generator via Gerard; and finally, via Will Shetterly, this Song for Sarah:



I have no idea why so many Silly Sites are Palin-oriented, other than that people of all political stripes seem to instinctively recognize how inherently silly (and sad) it is that she's on a Presidential ticket to begin with.

Silly Site o' the Day

I guess you need some sort of audio setup in order to participate in the "Create Your Own Attack Ad" generator (via Gerard), but that's a bit over my head technically, I'm afraid.

Central Park Foliage

Scroll down to my previous post to see the first round of this newest batch of photos. Here's a selection from the shots I took during my lunch hour in Central Park on Friday. I love the fairy-tale, dreamy nature of the first couple photos. The fourth one looks like leaves, but it's actually a blackbird, so you'll have to click to embiggen it and all that. (In fact, I would highly suggest clicking on all of them to get a better view.) Here you go!

























Okay, I kinda cheated on this last photo, but this restaurant at the corner of 7th Avenue and 56th Street was just too ornate and cool-looking to pass up. I plan on traversing the park at least a couple more times in the coming week to see what else I can snap. I work so close, it's a shame not to take advantage of one of Manhattan's most beautiful sights!

More Foliage Pictures

My camera has been getting so much of a workout lately that my battery actually died on me yesterday morning when I boarded the express bus into the city. The driver, who happens to be as much of a semi-pro photographic hobbyist as Robin (he picked the wrong half of the Riggs couple with whom to enthusiastically discuss camera particulars!), said I should have brought my charger with me and charged it on the bus. Say what?? So now I know that the express bus has electrical outlets, and where they are. I also know, a propos of nothing, how to change my windshield wipers (the auto shop guy showed me, plus I swiped the instructions and put them in my glove box). In addition, a propos of Sir Apropos of Nothing, Newsarama has now posted a preview of Robin's first issue. And speaking of pretty pictures, on with the photos! This is Round One; I still have some from Central Park and, of course, my brother's wedding that I want to share with you. Onward:



The view from my front window - more precisely, from street level as we live two floors up.



Amy came to the aforementioned front window to see me off. You'll have to click on the picture to see her more clearly; she's in the middle window.



I really like the backdrop of the puffy-cloudy sky against the foliage here. This is taken from the U-shaped driveway leading to the actual sidewalk.

We're lucky enough to have a beautifully landscaped college at the end of our street, which also serves as the terminus for various bus lines. I love walking alongside the college in the spring and autumn on my way to the express bus, and that's where I got these shots yesterday:







Even though my camera effectively died after this, I jiggled the battery a bit and managed to eke out one last shot taken at the Time Warner Center in the evening, on my way to the Columbus Circle subway station to take the "1" train home:



I love the little "fairy lights" juxtaposed with the yellow leaves. It's a very pretty effect when you see about a half-dozen in that semi-circle. Now that my battery's recharged, I hope to get more neighborhood photos later today and post them (and many of the others I mentioned above) sometime before the year is out...

Silly Site o' the Day

White Rabbits! Via Avedon, the National Democratic Jewish Council presents "A Yiddisha Take on 2008":



As someone who's heard Yiddish expressions issue forth from some very unlikely sources (like my sheygitz husband with the British accent), I was amused to no end by this.