Well, even though the Times Square madness screwed with my homeward-bound bus route, I managed to get back up to Columbus Circle with champagne in my tote back, found a seat on the subway, and returned to much less snow on the ground than I'd dreaded. So even with the chill in the air the driveway should be navigable, certainly by the weekend. Meantime, it's farewell and good riddance to 2008, the best of times and the worst of times. New Year's Day blogaround tomorrow, I promise! Let's hope for many more days of awesoments; here's the Periodic Table thereof (via BoingBoing and lots of other places).
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Busy day at work, and now Blackadder: Back & Forth is on TV (which we hadn't realized; what a wonderful surprise!), so what better site to link to than the Insults Generator (via Gerard)?
Monday, December 29, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Now this is way cool. Via Mike, it's Animator v. Animation:
It took Alan Becker three months to complete, and I think it shows.
It took Alan Becker three months to complete, and I think it shows.
Today's Reading
A quiet day at work allows me not only to catch up on filing but on a bit of actual news reading (as opposed to getting it second-hand from blogs). Two recommended articles are this fascinating NY Times overview of Bernie Madoff's global reach, and (via an email to my boss) the latest about a Russian ex-KGB professor predicting the US will split up in 2010 into at least 4-6 different parts.
Coincidence v Causality
In the elevator this morning (which carries the Captivate network) I noticed a headline about how oil has risen above $40 a barrel again as the situation intensifies in Gaza. A more skeptical person would, naturally, question whether the violence is escalating in a deliberate manner to bring about just such an increase, or whether profiteers are merely taking advantage of volatility to scare potential buyers.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
The stuffiness is all but gone; only a bit of a cough remains. Glad I stayed in most of the weekend. Say, did you know (via Samhita at Feministing) that racism is over? Just ask Peter Yarrow...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
You may think he's out of focus...
...but Datsa is concentrating mightily on grabbing my hand so he can bite it. Yes, even as it feeds him. He's like that; he thinks it's "playing."
...but Datsa is concentrating mightily on grabbing my hand so he can bite it. Yes, even as it feeds him. He's like that; he thinks it's "playing."
Silly Site o' the Day
Off to work on this Boxing Day. I still can't breathe very well, but Llencelyn at Shakesville told us the folks behind "Kenya" (aka Weebl) have just made a video about Somalia...
...and I just had to pass it along...
...and I just had to pass it along...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
It just wouldn't be a holy day without a little blaspheming, and to tell you the truth it's really no skin off my Jewish nose. Via atheist cephalopod-lover PZ Myers:
Considering most of the stuff advertised on infomercials turns out to be about as ineffective as prayer, I thought this was a pretty good marriage of the two concepts.
Considering most of the stuff advertised on infomercials turns out to be about as ineffective as prayer, I thought this was a pretty good marriage of the two concepts.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My Annual Wholly Trinity
Here they are, once again, for your reading edification:
You Shall Be Upheld in More Than ThisFor those who wish to track Santa this evening using 21st century technology, this article pretty much has all the ways you can do so this year. My favorite is the Twitter site run by Norad's "Bitz the Twittering Elf."
(my tribute to different versions of A Christmas Carol; here's a
reminder of where to find the original should you want to read
it yourself)
"So That's Where He Got the Crown of Thorns!"
(my love-hate relationship with Rankin/Bass cartoons)
I Hear People Singing, It Must Be Christmastime
(my obligatory Christmas music post)
Silly Site o' the Day
Bleagh. On the one hand, the ice in the driveway is finally melting, which means I can get out later to do much-needed food shopping, and by Boxing Day I shouldn't need to put spiky treads on the bottom of my sneakers just to walk out to the sidewalk and street. On the other hand, I'm feeling like crap, which is why I'm home from work in the first place and why I don't exactly look forward to shopping (but we have no choice at this point). It's kinda like this video where microwaves play Jingle Bells (via Maru); you have high hopes that it will be bright and sparkly and yet you wind up feeling kind of empty.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
As we've been iced-in, we haven't been around to see a lot of decorations, but I think they work better online anyway. Case in point, via Bryan: the Holdman family. Here's this year's choreographed light show. Totally worth viewing, even better when you turn the sound down.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Brr! It's one of the handful of days that I dread living where we live, as the U-shaped driveway between our little row of houses and the actual street/sidewalk is completely iced over, and will probably stay that way for the next couple of days. After layering this morning, I put the spiky rubber things on the soles of my boots, and Robin walked me out through the ice and into the gradual incline of the road, which was also icy. The sidewalk in front of Mount St. Vincent (or as some now refer to it "that place where they filmed Doubt") leading to the express bus wasn't too bad, but gosh, it's bitterly cold out there. By the time the bus got into midtown Manhattan the streets were pretty much ice- and snow-free, not even much slush. The snow removal folks in that borough should really be proud of themselves. Anyway, it's Chanukah now, and I'm at work with all the site-blockage that entails, so I can't see whether the Hanukkah House game works. Could you try it for me and see? Happy Solstice, and happy Chanukah!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Via Bryan, all hail the Gävle Goat, the biggest Christmas goat in the world! Now with two webcams!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Holiday Blogaround
I honestly thought I was going to get this done by (and in honor of) Steve's birthday, but that and so much else has gone by the wayside, so let's just get into our catch-up, shall we? Oh, but before we start, I'd like to pass along this joke my mom forwarded via email. Forgive the ethnic stereotypes, but I like the punchline.
• Winter is rough on people. A lot of folks have shuffled off their mortal coil these last few weeks. I was struck by the relative press they got. Even women went on and on about the life of the now-departed '50s pinup gal Bettie Page, about whom I honestly couldn't get worked up one way or another, but that's kind of been balanced out by the lovely remembrances of Majel Barrett Roddenberry, one of my favorite celebs for a number of years now. But in among all this were the lesser known ladies who should have been better known, so I'm grateful to Sheila Lennon for talking about her friend Liz Donovan, to Susie for remembering Robin Toner, and to Heidi for the sad news of the death of Maddie Blaustein, with whom I lunched and corresponded back when she was still Addie (I was introduced to her via Christopher Priest-the-comics-writer-not-the-sf-writer whom I called "Jim" anyway, back in my Usenet days). On the famous-gentlemen-now-passed side, I shall miss Paul Benedict and Van Johnson, for very different reasons.
• The other big December death that still looms over our society is, of course, the assassination of John Lennon (which, together with Reagan having just been elected, signalled to me the beginning of the end of a progressive direction for this country, which I'm fairly certain Saint Obama won't reverse, given that he's always been a centrist politician and all). Over at HuffPo, Mike Ragogna takes another listen to Double Fantasy; Adam Koford gives us a nice Laugh Out Loud Cats tribute; and while Julian Lennon appreciates the condolences, it was 29 years ago after all, and "I don't Live & Breathe this date the same way many of you do," so we must each get on with the business of living.
• Back in my aforementioned Usenet days I was sometimes known as "Waid Girl" because I made no secret of my admiration for Mark Waid's writing. The man, quite simply, knows his craft, and even the 20% or so of the time when his work didn't grab me viscerally it was still well done. I'm delighted to find that Mark -- long known for his impatience with online fandom, message boards and the like -- is now blogging weekly over at John Rogers' Kung Fu Monkey. Here are the first two installments of what I hope are many Waid Wednesdays. See, people won't miss my Wednesday ComicMix columns at all now!
• Speaking of which, I may not be doing a weekly column at the moment (it's all I can do to update my blog daily!) but other ex-ComicMix columnists (Mike Gold and Martha Thomases, as well as Martha's son Arthur Tebbel) have now joined Michael Davis at his place, and a few new-to-me folks (Tatiana, Tony Price and Q. Reyes) have joined them. Great stuff, well worth reading!
• Meanwhile, other comic book buddies Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs are serializing a new story in blog form, called My Pal Splendid Man. Thanks for Facebooking me (or whatever the proper verb form is) about this, Gerry!
• Looks like the SAG strike is unlikely; the letter Wil Wheaton reproed on his blog explains a lot of good reasons why. I'm hopeful Robin can get another good assignment on the heels of his current one, in this economy it helps to stick with whatever you can get, particularly if you're a freelancer.
• Speaking of the economy, among my favorite current-events posts are Evan Robinson's big-picture wrap-up; eriposte's review of early Madoff warning signs that everyone chose to ignore (now that I'm employed in a company which has relationships with a number of Madoff clients, I've been reading up a lot, and was particularly enthralled by that old Barron's article -- "proprietary strategy" indeed!); Michael Moore on how to really save the Big 3 auto companies (it reads much better than it sounds when he goes on a cable chat show); two real good ones from News Writer, one about lame duckitude (oh yeah, Adam had something to say about that too) and about how we're all the victims of one big Ponzi scheme now (honestly, who couldn't see this coming considering everything else this administration has screwed up?); Paul Krugman agreeing that we've all gone quite Madoff; Frank Rich trying to see the silver lining of humor in the good ol' fashioned Blogojevich corruption; and Val's advice to the comics industry in this new not-so-great depression.
• I am aware of all internet traditions (oh, okay)! Such as LOL-everything and flowcharts about flowcharts about flowcharts...
• What's with the hair? Lance wonders about Blagojevich, and davenoon wants to bring back Presidential facial hair. I mean, look how long it's been since we've had a President with a hairy face...
(By the way... Ravel's Bolero? Really?)
• Good lord, again with Oprah lamenting another weight gain? Thank goodness this latest "tragedy" inspired some good blog posts, like this one from TWoP Fan at Shakesville and this from Lesley at Fatshionista. Along the same lines, Ampersand debunks the "fat people eat more at buffets" so-called study, and Melissa McEwen is as disgusted as me that the proposed NY tax on sodas with high-fructose corn syrup (because, face it, only the kosher-for-Passover ones still use sugar, and we'd be much healthier if the others went back to that and away from HFCS) is horribly mis-nicknamed an "obesity tax." But of course, this unhealthy obsession goes way deeper than fat-hatred -- or should I say, shallower? Willow lets loose with a marvelous essay on (un)reality-creation.
• Okay, some people can't deal with "reality" even when it obviously isn't real. For instance, I liked the latest adorably manipulative Top Chef episode where "just this once, everybody lives," but Mark Blankenship at HuffPo gets all pouty about it. It's like he just found out that these shows are ginned-up, it'd be cute if it weren't so, I dunno, pitiful. Also, Melissa gives props to my secret fave Top Chef contestant this season, Carla, who hasn't a hope in heck of winning but is just too much flaky fun.
• Val's kind of been waging a one-woman rhetorical battle regarding the lines drawn between the right to publish sexist stuff and trademark-violating simulated child porn. I tend to lean more towards Neil's side of the fence in this, but I can certainly understand Val's general disgust at the leeway given to stuff we'd rather not see shoved in our faces. Problem is, much of the stuff we do and believe might be considered by others to be shoved in their faces, so if I want the right to my beliefs I need to cede others the right to theirs (as long as nobody is harmed) even if it makes me queasy to think about it. I don't ever want folks telling me I can't read terrific posts like Heidi's about the still-dismal state women comics creators, or Cheryl Lynn's about same (thanks for looking into the industry again, CL, I know you've kind of given up on comics but I'm very glad when your writing returns to it, however briefly). And I never want to be told I can't do something because, for instance, some people believe I'm too old; Melissa Silverstein gives us a nice list of over-45 female rockers. In another life, with another talent, I might have been one of them.
• Randall Monroe, thank you for this:
• Lastly, I so totally agree with Augie about that stupid spider. I mean, really.
Not nearly done with blog-reading, but at least the checked-bookmarks are now dealt with. Now to get into a warmer room!
The Italian says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine.'And with that rimshot fading in the distance, on with the blogaround!
The Frenchwoman says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have cognac.'
The Russian says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have vodka.'
The German says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have beer.'
The Mexican says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have tequila.'
The Jew says, 'I'm tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes.'
• Winter is rough on people. A lot of folks have shuffled off their mortal coil these last few weeks. I was struck by the relative press they got. Even women went on and on about the life of the now-departed '50s pinup gal Bettie Page, about whom I honestly couldn't get worked up one way or another, but that's kind of been balanced out by the lovely remembrances of Majel Barrett Roddenberry, one of my favorite celebs for a number of years now. But in among all this were the lesser known ladies who should have been better known, so I'm grateful to Sheila Lennon for talking about her friend Liz Donovan, to Susie for remembering Robin Toner, and to Heidi for the sad news of the death of Maddie Blaustein, with whom I lunched and corresponded back when she was still Addie (I was introduced to her via Christopher Priest-the-comics-writer-not-the-sf-writer whom I called "Jim" anyway, back in my Usenet days). On the famous-gentlemen-now-passed side, I shall miss Paul Benedict and Van Johnson, for very different reasons.
• The other big December death that still looms over our society is, of course, the assassination of John Lennon (which, together with Reagan having just been elected, signalled to me the beginning of the end of a progressive direction for this country, which I'm fairly certain Saint Obama won't reverse, given that he's always been a centrist politician and all). Over at HuffPo, Mike Ragogna takes another listen to Double Fantasy; Adam Koford gives us a nice Laugh Out Loud Cats tribute; and while Julian Lennon appreciates the condolences, it was 29 years ago after all, and "I don't Live & Breathe this date the same way many of you do," so we must each get on with the business of living.
• Back in my aforementioned Usenet days I was sometimes known as "Waid Girl" because I made no secret of my admiration for Mark Waid's writing. The man, quite simply, knows his craft, and even the 20% or so of the time when his work didn't grab me viscerally it was still well done. I'm delighted to find that Mark -- long known for his impatience with online fandom, message boards and the like -- is now blogging weekly over at John Rogers' Kung Fu Monkey. Here are the first two installments of what I hope are many Waid Wednesdays. See, people won't miss my Wednesday ComicMix columns at all now!
• Speaking of which, I may not be doing a weekly column at the moment (it's all I can do to update my blog daily!) but other ex-ComicMix columnists (Mike Gold and Martha Thomases, as well as Martha's son Arthur Tebbel) have now joined Michael Davis at his place, and a few new-to-me folks (Tatiana, Tony Price and Q. Reyes) have joined them. Great stuff, well worth reading!
• Meanwhile, other comic book buddies Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs are serializing a new story in blog form, called My Pal Splendid Man. Thanks for Facebooking me (or whatever the proper verb form is) about this, Gerry!
• Looks like the SAG strike is unlikely; the letter Wil Wheaton reproed on his blog explains a lot of good reasons why. I'm hopeful Robin can get another good assignment on the heels of his current one, in this economy it helps to stick with whatever you can get, particularly if you're a freelancer.
• Speaking of the economy, among my favorite current-events posts are Evan Robinson's big-picture wrap-up; eriposte's review of early Madoff warning signs that everyone chose to ignore (now that I'm employed in a company which has relationships with a number of Madoff clients, I've been reading up a lot, and was particularly enthralled by that old Barron's article -- "proprietary strategy" indeed!); Michael Moore on how to really save the Big 3 auto companies (it reads much better than it sounds when he goes on a cable chat show); two real good ones from News Writer, one about lame duckitude (oh yeah, Adam had something to say about that too) and about how we're all the victims of one big Ponzi scheme now (honestly, who couldn't see this coming considering everything else this administration has screwed up?); Paul Krugman agreeing that we've all gone quite Madoff; Frank Rich trying to see the silver lining of humor in the good ol' fashioned Blogojevich corruption; and Val's advice to the comics industry in this new not-so-great depression.
• I am aware of all internet traditions (oh, okay)! Such as LOL-everything and flowcharts about flowcharts about flowcharts...
• What's with the hair? Lance wonders about Blagojevich, and davenoon wants to bring back Presidential facial hair. I mean, look how long it's been since we've had a President with a hairy face...
(By the way... Ravel's Bolero? Really?)
• Good lord, again with Oprah lamenting another weight gain? Thank goodness this latest "tragedy" inspired some good blog posts, like this one from TWoP Fan at Shakesville and this from Lesley at Fatshionista. Along the same lines, Ampersand debunks the "fat people eat more at buffets" so-called study, and Melissa McEwen is as disgusted as me that the proposed NY tax on sodas with high-fructose corn syrup (because, face it, only the kosher-for-Passover ones still use sugar, and we'd be much healthier if the others went back to that and away from HFCS) is horribly mis-nicknamed an "obesity tax." But of course, this unhealthy obsession goes way deeper than fat-hatred -- or should I say, shallower? Willow lets loose with a marvelous essay on (un)reality-creation.
• Okay, some people can't deal with "reality" even when it obviously isn't real. For instance, I liked the latest adorably manipulative Top Chef episode where "just this once, everybody lives," but Mark Blankenship at HuffPo gets all pouty about it. It's like he just found out that these shows are ginned-up, it'd be cute if it weren't so, I dunno, pitiful. Also, Melissa gives props to my secret fave Top Chef contestant this season, Carla, who hasn't a hope in heck of winning but is just too much flaky fun.
• Val's kind of been waging a one-woman rhetorical battle regarding the lines drawn between the right to publish sexist stuff and trademark-violating simulated child porn. I tend to lean more towards Neil's side of the fence in this, but I can certainly understand Val's general disgust at the leeway given to stuff we'd rather not see shoved in our faces. Problem is, much of the stuff we do and believe might be considered by others to be shoved in their faces, so if I want the right to my beliefs I need to cede others the right to theirs (as long as nobody is harmed) even if it makes me queasy to think about it. I don't ever want folks telling me I can't read terrific posts like Heidi's about the still-dismal state women comics creators, or Cheryl Lynn's about same (thanks for looking into the industry again, CL, I know you've kind of given up on comics but I'm very glad when your writing returns to it, however briefly). And I never want to be told I can't do something because, for instance, some people believe I'm too old; Melissa Silverstein gives us a nice list of over-45 female rockers. In another life, with another talent, I might have been one of them.
• Randall Monroe, thank you for this:
• Lastly, I so totally agree with Augie about that stupid spider. I mean, really.
Not nearly done with blog-reading, but at least the checked-bookmarks are now dealt with. Now to get into a warmer room!
Silly Site o' the Day
Via Robyn at Serious Eats, we present the Carol of the Christmas Pickle:
Kinda gets you right here, doesn't it?
Kinda gets you right here, doesn't it?
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
Don't mess with my cat toys, man, or...
I cut you with my laser eyes! I cut you, man!
I cut you with my laser eyes! I cut you, man!
Silly Site o' the Day
Excellent, another game in which I'm sucky - Super Obama World (via Jim McDonald)!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Okay, this one amused me easily as much as it amused Mark at American Street, who blogged about as well: The Brian Williams Tie Report Archives. Because, to quote Rachel Maddow (who uses the phrase about something else entirely), somebody's got to do it.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Ironing took precedence over blogging this evening, so y'all get the most obvious site as a result. Have fun playing Sock and Awe!.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
It's been one of those days. Just now getting around to my daily entry, and ready for a monster crash. Not this one (via Lambert at Corrente)...
...but the kind that means I go to sleep as soon as my showered hair's a little dryer. Night all.
...but the kind that means I go to sleep as soon as my showered hair's a little dryer. Night all.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Wow, what a great holiday party! Definitely the best company party I've ever been to. I really felt, for the first time, like I belonged somewhere. I haven't experienced anything remotely like that since the old New York Book Show award days when I worked at Lehigh. I'd utterly forgotten how terrific it was. Before the party we swung by the Parkchester section (about a 5-minute drive from the apartment building where I lived when I was a little girl) to pick up a coworker before heading into lower Manhattan, and thanks to our GPS everything was super-easy. Turns out the Deegan goes right into the Bruckner; who knew? Certainly not me, I didn't have a car when I was 5 years old!
So today the dishes are done, the incoming holiday cards put up on wreath holder hung in the hallway (photo to come when the holder gets more filled out), the outgoing cards ready to assemble with our yearly Riggs Residence Roundup, my Glyph Awards stuff in a neat little pile, my bills ready to pay...
˙˙˙ʇı ǝsɹǝʌǝɹ `ʇɐɥʇ ǝʞıɹʇs `ou ˙˙˙op oʇ ǝlʇʇıl os `ǝɯıʇ ɥɔnɯ os
Yes, I feel just about that discombobulated sometimes. Upside-down writing site via Gerard.
So today the dishes are done, the incoming holiday cards put up on wreath holder hung in the hallway (photo to come when the holder gets more filled out), the outgoing cards ready to assemble with our yearly Riggs Residence Roundup, my Glyph Awards stuff in a neat little pile, my bills ready to pay...
˙˙˙ʇı ǝsɹǝʌǝɹ `ʇɐɥʇ ǝʞıɹʇs `ou ˙˙˙op oʇ ǝlʇʇıl os `ǝɯıʇ ɥɔnɯ os
Yes, I feel just about that discombobulated sometimes. Upside-down writing site via Gerard.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Well, I've certainly felt better. I thought I was over this lurgy, but it lingered just enough to keep me in the bathroom for much of the morning. At least I got all the holiday card stuff ready to assemble tomorrow, and I'm showered and ready to dress for the big night out with my coworkers. Driving into lower Manhattan for like the first time ever; yikes! Meanwhile, I know you too have been wondering, what if the US had a Facebook page during the Civil War? I wonder why it's not laid out as Facebook is, with the most recent events on the top, but it's still pretty funny, in a "too soon?" kinda way. Via Bora again.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Belated Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
It's late, have some leftovers:
And since I'm the last blogger to run the video of a kitty eating broccoli...
...yes, it's a kitty eating broccoli. You're welcome. By the way, if you go on YouTube and search for "cat eats broccoli" you'll find at least a dozen more cats nom-nom'ing on the stuff. One of these days I'll have to see if Datsa likes it, he seems to get into veggies...
And since I'm the last blogger to run the video of a kitty eating broccoli...
...yes, it's a kitty eating broccoli. You're welcome. By the way, if you go on YouTube and search for "cat eats broccoli" you'll find at least a dozen more cats nom-nom'ing on the stuff. One of these days I'll have to see if Datsa likes it, he seems to get into veggies...
Silly Site o' the Day
Now that the Dreaded Lurgy, or whatever minor version of it Robin and I had contracted, seems to finally be exiting, I'm more awake and alert and gaining back my appetite -- just in time for my office's holiday party tomorrow. I gotta say, it wasn't easy setting up the eats for a seminar this morning and not taking any myself! It also didn't help that Bora passed along a very yummy website, the Jewish Zodiac, whose motto is "Remember the Sunday brunch and keep it holy"! Check out their placemats:
If you click on that you can see a larger version. I was born in the Year of the Chopped Liver; Robin was born in the Year of the Pickle, which doesn't surprise me at all. Great mats; such a bargain!
If you click on that you can see a larger version. I was born in the Year of the Chopped Liver; Robin was born in the Year of the Pickle, which doesn't surprise me at all. Great mats; such a bargain!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
The following has been making the rounds - I saw it via Maggie at the Group News Blog - but I think it's originally from MyBarackObama.com:
Dear World:It made me smile on a dreadfully dreary day...
The United States of America, your quality supplier of ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for its 2001-2008 service outage.
The technical fault that led to this eight-year service interruption has been located, and the parts responsible for it were replaced Tuesday night, November 4. Early tests of the newly-installed equipment indicate that it is functioning correctly, and we expect it to be fully operational by mid-January.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage, and we look forward to resuming full service --- and hopefully even to improving it in years to come.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
The USA
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Haven't been able to properly wake up all day. Perhaps the President-elect can fix that? (Via vastleft, the textbook Obama skeptic.)
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Another bizarre app, via Robyn at Serious Eats: the iBreath alcohol breathalyzer. I don't believe it comes in Nano-size...
Monday, December 08, 2008
Auto Collusion Insurance
I haven't seen any liberal bloggers question the extremely suspicious timing of all Big Three American auto makers going bust at the same time. Looking at all three rich white male CEOs humbling themselves before Congress, my first thought was, aren't these guys supposed to be competitors? I'm just saying.
Silly Site o' the Day
Can I just say "brr" and have done with it? It's beginning to feel a lot like winter solstice, everywhere I go... Say, did you know that Santa has a blog? Cookie Jill at Skippy's place passed on that lovely bit of info. I'm willing to bet there's more than one Santa blog out there.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Spent much of the day resting from our successful Robin-shopping yesterday, as well as fininishing the closet cleaning-out I'd started some weeks ago; now all my old ill-fitting dresses, sweaters and sweatshirts are ready to be donated. Also loaded up my newest pressie, my shocking-pink 16-gig iPod, so I was well in the mood to smile at the website Hanan found of Sgt Pepper album cover parodies. So happy I can now take (as Susie calls them) the Boys' entire catalog with me wherever I go!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Belated Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
They're craving warmth again, usually in Robin's lap. But not usually at the same time:
They stayed there long enough for me to get a number of photos, of which this turned out the best:
Oh, and it's not cats, but I took a photo of the roses Robin had delivered to my office for our 10th anniversary:
Have I mentioned yet how much I love my husband? After all, he's the heat source of kitties' choice!
They stayed there long enough for me to get a number of photos, of which this turned out the best:
Oh, and it's not cats, but I took a photo of the roses Robin had delivered to my office for our 10th anniversary:
Have I mentioned yet how much I love my husband? After all, he's the heat source of kitties' choice!
Silly Site o' the Day
A killer app for the birthday boy. Via Sheila Lennon, GMail has come up with Mail Goggles, to prevent users from sending unwise email whilst in an altered state.
Day of the Robin
Today is Robin's birthday! (It's also the birthday of David Ossman, Leonard Kirk, Paul Jenkins and probably a bunch of other folks I'm forgetting.) We'll be celebrating at the Palisades Center, where my gift to Robin (since most of the mail-order stuff I bought for him online hasn't arrived yet) will be a shopping spree using my credit card. Of course, he's hardly likely to go nuts given his eminently practical wife. But this is a strange time for us; we're both currently employed, I have more job security than I've ever had in my life in a world which is very job-insecure, we find ourselves in a holiday season with stores full of bargains and gas around $2 a gallon, and we may never have this confluence again. A little self-indulgence is understandable in those circumstances, I think. I can beat myself up with liberal guilt after the conveyor-belt sushi which will climax this trip. I can hardly wait for my birthday boy to wake up. :)
Today is Robin's birthday! (It's also the birthday of David Ossman, Leonard Kirk, Paul Jenkins and probably a bunch of other folks I'm forgetting.) We'll be celebrating at the Palisades Center, where my gift to Robin (since most of the mail-order stuff I bought for him online hasn't arrived yet) will be a shopping spree using my credit card. Of course, he's hardly likely to go nuts given his eminently practical wife. But this is a strange time for us; we're both currently employed, I have more job security than I've ever had in my life in a world which is very job-insecure, we find ourselves in a holiday season with stores full of bargains and gas around $2 a gallon, and we may never have this confluence again. A little self-indulgence is understandable in those circumstances, I think. I can beat myself up with liberal guilt after the conveyor-belt sushi which will climax this trip. I can hardly wait for my birthday boy to wake up. :)Friday, December 05, 2008
Silly Sites o' the Day
I haven't been following the political shenanigans up north the way perhaps I should have, but I enjoyed the website that asks and answers the question Is Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada?, as well as the Boing Boing-linked "The Harper Dictator":
Ah, the Untergang remix treatment, it never gets old...
Ah, the Untergang remix treatment, it never gets old...
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Busy day ahead, so I don't think I'll be able to blog too much. Therefore: Happy anniversary, Robin! Yes, 10 years ago today we had our brief ceremony in City Hall to make it official. Please help us celebrate today by picking up a copy of Sir Apropos of Nothing #2, on sale at fine comic book stores everywhere. And a propos of nothing, please read this fine blog post by Roger Ebert about the "documentary" Expelled which made me chuckle a lot.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
As seen on Keith Olbermann's show yesterday, but which I got via PZ Myers, this year's crop of alternative holiday greeting cards.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
Via Ampersand, The Machine Is Using Us:
More cool than silly, but I love how fast and concise it all is.
More cool than silly, but I love how fast and concise it all is.
Birthday Blogaround
I've finally caught up on blog-reading yesterday! And today I got to work, opened my office's homepage and was treated to a cute birthday tune greeting; it's so cool being in a company that actually values its employees enough to do something like that! Even my supervisor got me a cool gift:
It's over there on the left, it's this really cool stationery set, complete with writing pad, note cards/envelopes, regular size letterhead/envelopes, even a half-dozen file folders all in the same fancy decor! Way neat. And at our regular admin staff lunch she'd gotten a little cake and cookies for me, the latter of which I took back to my desk for folks to share:
Now, let's see if I can finally get rid of some of these saved bookmarks:
• Stuff I've missed talking about more, not being able to blog at any great length these last couple of months: Iain's birthday. The debut of the Chromium Switch blog, which now has an online archive of every single issue of Four-Alarm FIRESIGNal, the Firesign newsletter I published in the '80s and '90s. The release of Royal Mail stamps honoring six women pioneers (via Melissa Silverstein and Thomas Dolby, the latter of whom is related to two of the women). The election (I loved Tom Tomorrow's reaction and the News Writer's fairy tale). Paul Krugman winning the Nobel Prize in economics, and the ensuing conservative meltdown. The revelation that the news item about Sarah Palin not knowing about Africa being a content was a hoax, and even the McCain Viet Cong torture meme might not be real. The debut of Change.gov. The sad passage of Prop 8; Jeff Fecke's musings about it are well worth reading, as is Leigh's pre-vote cartoon. Dori and Tom's 9th blogiversary. Patrick's Armistice Day tribute to Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving veteran of American forces in WWI. Raina's good news about SMILE, and Dave's good news about Agnes Quill. Via Sheila Lennon, the Providence Journal layoffs and the plucky Brits creating a paper from scratch. A right-winger being hired for the Wall Street Journal's news section, after all the lies from Murdoch promising how that sort of thing wouldn't happen. The current economic collapse (see Theresa's compliance job post for more), the truth behind the great 401K swindle and how debt fuels the American Dream, and the religious wackos praying to Wall Street's golden calf. An attempted hoaxing of Chris Weston, who's more than onto them. Jill passing the NYS Bar Exam; congrats! And Kevin and Carla's triumph; congrats as well!
• An Inconvenient Blog has to be Fake Al Gore, right? I mean, he says right there on the front page that he invented the internet and global warming. This totally can't be the real thing.
• Everybody sing: "The first LOLcat, the bloggers did say, was a cute captioned postcard up Seattle-way..." Wow, over 100 years old. That's really something. And I really have no idea what's up with Spaghetti Cat, even though Serious Eats explains it, but I love the song:
• Speaking of food, Serious Eats also brings news of a new sustainable sushi guide. And Karin reminds us how to show sushi proper respect when you don't order in like we usually do. Tonight we went out for sushi at a local place; we go out again Thursday for our anniversary, this time in Manhattan, and probably hit the conveyor belt place at Palisades Center in West Nyack (yeah, the place Augie talks about here) on Saturday for Robin's birthday. Yeah, it's all part of Celebration Month (or, as Bryan notes, NODWISH™ Season) at the Riggs Residence!
• Kerry at Serious Eats has a great observation about how the English eat, which clears up much about what confused me whilst observing my husband. And Heidi MacDonald has a great essay about English food and comics.
• Which segues nicely into Val D'Orazio's wonderful review of Robin's work on Sir Apropos of Nothing. Issue #2 will be in comic stores this coming Thursday, yet another reason we'll be having a happy 10th anniversary!
• A propos of comics, I'm on the 2009 Glyph Awards committee (along with Val, Ed Mathews, and two folks I don't think I know) and looking way forward to reading all the entries!
• Thanks to Ann at Feministing, I now have a new band to follow; their song "Pinocchio" is currently the only thing on my MySpace playlist. And I must check out the new MTV online video archive. Although feh, no Beatles (group or solo) stuff; YouTube still seems to be the best place for that. LindaBeth at the Reaction gives a big thumbs-down to the double standard in the new Guitar Hero ad series. And Graeme gives a good overview of the once-promising, now dead-in-the-water Batman musical from Jim Steinman. Fool us once, shame on him...
• Jessica Valenti celebrates the current crop of feminist comedians, Kathy Flake notes how Obama's election has affected British comedy. and Dennis Perrin pays tribute to the Smothers Brothers.
• SNL, a conflict of interest show? Say it ain't so, Jonathan Schwarz! (Why aren't more people saying so? A little Tina Fey does not a free pass give.)
• Amanda reports on someone who got his panties a little too bunched up over Stephen Colbert's hilarious Christmas special. Meanwhile, over at the Colbert Nation you can have your very own Yule Log this season! Note the title of the book that's been thrown in the fire...
• Leigh suggests a smarter alternative for Twilight fans, and passes on a textbook example of warped fan-privilege mentality.
• Buck up, Melissa S, you may be disappointed at Blog World Expo (and after all, where are all the women bloggers?), but you can always go to the Girl Geek Dinner this Friday. Wonder if they'd let in someone who's clearly not a girl any more?
• Hey, io9 dudes! Pass me some of that oldest pot stash in existence in those newfangled doobiebots!
• When exactly did progressive bloggers suddenly wake up and realize President-elect Obama's a centrist and has been one all along? Glenn Greenwald, you are not alone in your frustration at some people's blinders. Although Michael Stickings does have an interesting take on this.
• Wow, this is important: Conservatives don't want single-payer healthcare because they know it'll work and that'll make the Democrats look good. Talk about putting partisan politics ahead of the good of the country! And I agree with Bruce Dixon (via Lambert), if the government handled healthcare instead of for-profit corporations the US auto industry would probably not be in the dire straits in which it currently finds itself. (Don't miss Susie's simple explanation of why we need to bail out the auto industry despite the failure of those at the top.)
• Bits and bobs: Mark Morford sings the praises of renters; Robert Ellsberg remembers Studs Terkel over at HuffPo; Mama Shakes reminds us we're never too old to learn; Chris Bertram talks about a very interesting documentary about Liverpool, and Will Shetterly reports on lost film footage of Edwardian London; Amanda illustrates once again how sexism and sexual harassment hurt men too; Kevin Moore is as disgusted as the rest of us should be at fatphobic editorial cartoons; and Michael Bérubé, who is extremely clean, brings the snark about Democratic concern trolls;
• Lest I forget: What Digby Said, this time about "torture zombies" and the myth that America's a center-right nation.
Lastly, thanks to Budgie for the wonderful and unexpected birthday greeting on the phone! I wish we'd been home to get it. And that's it, all my bookmarks are used up, and I can begin anew in the 51st year of my life!
It's over there on the left, it's this really cool stationery set, complete with writing pad, note cards/envelopes, regular size letterhead/envelopes, even a half-dozen file folders all in the same fancy decor! Way neat. And at our regular admin staff lunch she'd gotten a little cake and cookies for me, the latter of which I took back to my desk for folks to share:
Now, let's see if I can finally get rid of some of these saved bookmarks:
• Stuff I've missed talking about more, not being able to blog at any great length these last couple of months: Iain's birthday. The debut of the Chromium Switch blog, which now has an online archive of every single issue of Four-Alarm FIRESIGNal, the Firesign newsletter I published in the '80s and '90s. The release of Royal Mail stamps honoring six women pioneers (via Melissa Silverstein and Thomas Dolby, the latter of whom is related to two of the women). The election (I loved Tom Tomorrow's reaction and the News Writer's fairy tale). Paul Krugman winning the Nobel Prize in economics, and the ensuing conservative meltdown. The revelation that the news item about Sarah Palin not knowing about Africa being a content was a hoax, and even the McCain Viet Cong torture meme might not be real. The debut of Change.gov. The sad passage of Prop 8; Jeff Fecke's musings about it are well worth reading, as is Leigh's pre-vote cartoon. Dori and Tom's 9th blogiversary. Patrick's Armistice Day tribute to Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving veteran of American forces in WWI. Raina's good news about SMILE, and Dave's good news about Agnes Quill. Via Sheila Lennon, the Providence Journal layoffs and the plucky Brits creating a paper from scratch. A right-winger being hired for the Wall Street Journal's news section, after all the lies from Murdoch promising how that sort of thing wouldn't happen. The current economic collapse (see Theresa's compliance job post for more), the truth behind the great 401K swindle and how debt fuels the American Dream, and the religious wackos praying to Wall Street's golden calf. An attempted hoaxing of Chris Weston, who's more than onto them. Jill passing the NYS Bar Exam; congrats! And Kevin and Carla's triumph; congrats as well!
• An Inconvenient Blog has to be Fake Al Gore, right? I mean, he says right there on the front page that he invented the internet and global warming. This totally can't be the real thing.
• Everybody sing: "The first LOLcat, the bloggers did say, was a cute captioned postcard up Seattle-way..." Wow, over 100 years old. That's really something. And I really have no idea what's up with Spaghetti Cat, even though Serious Eats explains it, but I love the song:
• Speaking of food, Serious Eats also brings news of a new sustainable sushi guide. And Karin reminds us how to show sushi proper respect when you don't order in like we usually do. Tonight we went out for sushi at a local place; we go out again Thursday for our anniversary, this time in Manhattan, and probably hit the conveyor belt place at Palisades Center in West Nyack (yeah, the place Augie talks about here) on Saturday for Robin's birthday. Yeah, it's all part of Celebration Month (or, as Bryan notes, NODWISH™ Season) at the Riggs Residence!
• Kerry at Serious Eats has a great observation about how the English eat, which clears up much about what confused me whilst observing my husband. And Heidi MacDonald has a great essay about English food and comics.
• Which segues nicely into Val D'Orazio's wonderful review of Robin's work on Sir Apropos of Nothing. Issue #2 will be in comic stores this coming Thursday, yet another reason we'll be having a happy 10th anniversary!
• A propos of comics, I'm on the 2009 Glyph Awards committee (along with Val, Ed Mathews, and two folks I don't think I know) and looking way forward to reading all the entries!
• Thanks to Ann at Feministing, I now have a new band to follow; their song "Pinocchio" is currently the only thing on my MySpace playlist. And I must check out the new MTV online video archive. Although feh, no Beatles (group or solo) stuff; YouTube still seems to be the best place for that. LindaBeth at the Reaction gives a big thumbs-down to the double standard in the new Guitar Hero ad series. And Graeme gives a good overview of the once-promising, now dead-in-the-water Batman musical from Jim Steinman. Fool us once, shame on him...
• Jessica Valenti celebrates the current crop of feminist comedians, Kathy Flake notes how Obama's election has affected British comedy. and Dennis Perrin pays tribute to the Smothers Brothers.
• SNL, a conflict of interest show? Say it ain't so, Jonathan Schwarz! (Why aren't more people saying so? A little Tina Fey does not a free pass give.)
• Amanda reports on someone who got his panties a little too bunched up over Stephen Colbert's hilarious Christmas special. Meanwhile, over at the Colbert Nation you can have your very own Yule Log this season! Note the title of the book that's been thrown in the fire...
• Leigh suggests a smarter alternative for Twilight fans, and passes on a textbook example of warped fan-privilege mentality.
• Buck up, Melissa S, you may be disappointed at Blog World Expo (and after all, where are all the women bloggers?), but you can always go to the Girl Geek Dinner this Friday. Wonder if they'd let in someone who's clearly not a girl any more?
• Hey, io9 dudes! Pass me some of that oldest pot stash in existence in those newfangled doobiebots!
• When exactly did progressive bloggers suddenly wake up and realize President-elect Obama's a centrist and has been one all along? Glenn Greenwald, you are not alone in your frustration at some people's blinders. Although Michael Stickings does have an interesting take on this.
• Wow, this is important: Conservatives don't want single-payer healthcare because they know it'll work and that'll make the Democrats look good. Talk about putting partisan politics ahead of the good of the country! And I agree with Bruce Dixon (via Lambert), if the government handled healthcare instead of for-profit corporations the US auto industry would probably not be in the dire straits in which it currently finds itself. (Don't miss Susie's simple explanation of why we need to bail out the auto industry despite the failure of those at the top.)
• Bits and bobs: Mark Morford sings the praises of renters; Robert Ellsberg remembers Studs Terkel over at HuffPo; Mama Shakes reminds us we're never too old to learn; Chris Bertram talks about a very interesting documentary about Liverpool, and Will Shetterly reports on lost film footage of Edwardian London; Amanda illustrates once again how sexism and sexual harassment hurt men too; Kevin Moore is as disgusted as the rest of us should be at fatphobic editorial cartoons; and Michael Bérubé, who is extremely clean, brings the snark about Democratic concern trolls;
• Lest I forget: What Digby Said, this time about "torture zombies" and the myth that America's a center-right nation.
Lastly, thanks to Budgie for the wonderful and unexpected birthday greeting on the phone! I wish we'd been home to get it. And that's it, all my bookmarks are used up, and I can begin anew in the 51st year of my life!
Birfday!
Happy birthing day to my Mom, who had me 51 years ago today. As Rob and I both have December birthdays, and our anniversary (deliberately) falls right between them, we like to combine birthday-slash-anniversary-slash-Christmas-slash-Chanukah gifts, but these are the ones he gave me this morning:
Left to right, that's the Beatles Monopoly, portable speakers for an iPod I don't have yet (I'm told the aluminum casing of the Nanos qualifies that as a 10th anniversary gift), and some keen old Dr. Who DVDs. It's going to be a fun holiday season!
Left to right, that's the Beatles Monopoly, portable speakers for an iPod I don't have yet (I'm told the aluminum casing of the Nanos qualifies that as a 10th anniversary gift), and some keen old Dr. Who DVDs. It's going to be a fun holiday season!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Silly Site o' the Day
White Rabbits! I know Thanksgiving's over, but this was too cute to resist:
Via Erin at Serious Eats.
Via Erin at Serious Eats.
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