If you're like me and you can't get enough of literal videos, Mike at Left is Right found a whole YouTube playlist of 'em.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Argh, too much death in the news. I need something to make me smile.
Thanks, Jim at Skippy's place, that'll do nicely.
Thanks, Jim at Skippy's place, that'll do nicely.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Lazy day, in which my primary interaction with anyone other than Robin and the cats will be by electronic means. Hope the Pride Parade will be televised! And speaking of TV, it's great to see CurrentTV's Sarah Haskins on the Huffington Post! Here's her latest:
Hmm, maybe I'll be going back to bed now...
Hmm, maybe I'll be going back to bed now...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
No bricks on our roof, just slate (although I wish it were terra cotta the way so many roofs in the UK are), but Nathan Sawaya does very cool things indeed using bricks (via LEGO™ Linky Laura).
Prisoner of Enthusiasm
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The good news is, I'm "on call" today to do office work from my home computer, which connection Robin set up yesterday just for this occasion and which means I can now do all sorts of things that I wasn't able to do previously (like take care of emails my boss flagged for me which involve looking at websites my company blocks). The bad news is, I can't go anywhere for the six hours I'm on call, and there are roofers all over, um, our roof.
My fault, really. On Monday we had a bit of a leak in the living room, so I dutifully alerted the landlord, who sent the guys 'round later in the week when they'd finished their previous assignment, and they've been here on and off the past few days, working between rainstorms. Our landlord logically wants to retain his property value by making sure no leaks recur, and apparently the repairs to be done there are more extensive than previously assumed. Today is supposed to be fairly sunny, with only a 30% possibility of one of those southeast USA-type downpours this afternoon, so I expect the charming South Asian (Indian) gents will be at it until their 4 PM quitting time. I'll probably be wearing earplugs throughout my on-call time, or cranking the iTunes, and perhaps a blogaround will take my mind off something guaranteed to make me cringe (from years of living in noisy apartments), the feeling of having someone walking above me.
My fault, really. On Monday we had a bit of a leak in the living room, so I dutifully alerted the landlord, who sent the guys 'round later in the week when they'd finished their previous assignment, and they've been here on and off the past few days, working between rainstorms. Our landlord logically wants to retain his property value by making sure no leaks recur, and apparently the repairs to be done there are more extensive than previously assumed. Today is supposed to be fairly sunny, with only a 30% possibility of one of those southeast USA-type downpours this afternoon, so I expect the charming South Asian (Indian) gents will be at it until their 4 PM quitting time. I'll probably be wearing earplugs throughout my on-call time, or cranking the iTunes, and perhaps a blogaround will take my mind off something guaranteed to make me cringe (from years of living in noisy apartments), the feeling of having someone walking above me.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
Well, there was a bit of excitement yesterday morning, as some sort of avian seemed to land on the outside portion of our computer room air conditioner...
Of course, they both got bored...
Not easy keeping a kitty's attention! Unless there's food to hand, of course.
Of course, they both got bored...
Not easy keeping a kitty's attention! Unless there's food to hand, of course.
Silly Site o' the Day
One of the little extravagances I'm considering buying when Robin is working again is a Roomba-type vacuum to shuttle around the house so Robin doesn't have to (but operate whilst he's home to keep an eye on it). Maybe he can set up his camera on long exposure to create cool time-lapse Roomba art (via Charlie Jane at io9)...
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Schadenfreude aside, the whole Governor Sanford saga is compelling to me. Obviously the guy was caught up in feelings much bigger than himself, and as Melissa points out he didn't really have a solid basis of faith in himself regarding how to deal with his own behavior because he trusted in a sky fairy's edicts to judge him, and thus to allow him to pass judgment on others. The real tragedy here isn't his humanity (and betrayal of private trust) but his hypocrisy (and betrayal of public trust). Which brings us to Headzup's latest video, care of the Huffington Post:
As usual, these things don't quite scan correctly, but I can appreciate the effort it took to get this out in a timely manner. Erm, that's what she said?
As usual, these things don't quite scan correctly, but I can appreciate the effort it took to get this out in a timely manner. Erm, that's what she said?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Today was my one-year anniversary at my job. Our intranet listed me on its homepage, I got a card with some cool coupons, and it was just really cool to be remembered! Nothing like that ever happened in my old job. Sometimes it still feels like I've only been at my current position for a few months. I'm still having a ball there! But possibly not as much as the game developer who decided to leave his job by creating a game (via BoingBoing)...
Apropos of Something
To celebrate the in-store date of the SIR APROPOS OF NOTHING hardcover graphic novel, written by Peter David with art (pencils, inks and colours) by Robin (and with a gorgeous Mike Kaluta cover), Robin has decided he will now be accepting commissions, so email him for details!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Best make this quick, it's been a long day and I need sleep. How about some froggy goodness? Needless to say I can't figure this game out. Via Sheila Lennon.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Hey, it's summer! And what better summer vacation spot for the hoi polloi than Switzerland, particularly since they've cleaned the mountains?:
Via Eric at Laura's blog.
Via Eric at Laura's blog.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Rob and I just caught up on some of our DVR'ed shows, including our favorite guilty pleasure, Talk Soup. We don't watch any of the shows Joel McHale & co. rag on, but somehow that makes McHale's sarkiness even better. Yesterday my brother Jay told me about a related program called Web Soup, which is about strange stuff on the internet and which I thought was, naturally, online, but apparently it's also on the television channel G4. Time to reset the DVR!
Back from Mom's
Not too many photos, but might as well post the ones I have.
Yum, tasty mushrooms! Something tells me I shouldn't eat these toadstools alongside Mom's driveway.
Anybody know what kind of flowers these are? Mom forgot the name, nobody else seemed to know, and I couldn't identify them via Google Image.
Speaking of Googling, the main reason we were there was todo our laundry set up Mom's new computer, get it working with her printer, load all her stuff onto it, etc. Robin took care of most of the hard stuff, but I got all her PopCap games uploaded, including Bookworm as you can see. The hardest bit was AOL, we didn't have the right disk for Vista, so that took a bit of time for Robin. Here we see Mom admiring her low-tech pencil boxes as she gives the computer second thoughts.
My brother Jay and sister-in-law Kara came over too, to barbecue delicious chicken and to discuss the fine art of coupon clipping.
In contrast to yesterday's sometimes torrential rain, the light sprinkles this morning were a pleasure. Idiotically, even with a GPS, I made a wrong exit off the Turnpike and wound up taking the Holland Tunnel and skirting Manhattan via the West Side highway to get home, rather than the GW Bridge route that I usually take, but the vista was really lovely from Jersey City so no complaints. Naturally I've slept most of the afternoon away...
Yum, tasty mushrooms! Something tells me I shouldn't eat these toadstools alongside Mom's driveway.
Anybody know what kind of flowers these are? Mom forgot the name, nobody else seemed to know, and I couldn't identify them via Google Image.
Speaking of Googling, the main reason we were there was to
My brother Jay and sister-in-law Kara came over too, to barbecue delicious chicken and to discuss the fine art of coupon clipping.
In contrast to yesterday's sometimes torrential rain, the light sprinkles this morning were a pleasure. Idiotically, even with a GPS, I made a wrong exit off the Turnpike and wound up taking the Holland Tunnel and skirting Manhattan via the West Side highway to get home, rather than the GW Bridge route that I usually take, but the vista was really lovely from Jersey City so no complaints. Naturally I've slept most of the afternoon away...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Belated Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
Have I mentioned I'm also taking my camera down to Mom's, as my brother and sis-in-law will be stopping by as well? I was going into the living room to pack it and the thumb drive in my hip pack when I saw Datsa reminding us it's time to take the recyclable paper down to the outside bins:
If we can get the bags out from under him, that is.
If we can get the bags out from under him, that is.
Silly Site o' the Day
Off to Mom's for the weekend, where Robin will be assembling her new computer and monitor. The plugging in is the easy part; as Rob said, it'll be interesting to see how Vista interfaces with dial-up. Yes, we're bringing our laptop and a thumb drive too. After all, I need to go wifi in order to watch cool videos like the latest Auto-Tune the News:
Via Rachel Maddow, of course. I thought it appropriate, as Mom likes The Rachel too.
Via Rachel Maddow, of course. I thought it appropriate, as Mom likes The Rachel too.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Long, wet week, from which I'm getting a bit of a respite today, as it'll be cloudy but not saturated (although there's still too much moisture about to be able to inhale properly) and I'm getting out at 3 PM as we do every Friday in the summer months. Of course it's right back to the major dampness tomorrow, just in time to drive to and from Mom's again. Wish I had one of these nuanced/ambivalent bumper stickers to put on my car (via Laura).
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
In honor of Paul McCartney's birthday today (not yesterday, as I'd said in my blogaround because somewhere in there I lost a day and kept thinking yesterday was the 18th), we ask the musical question, "What If the Beatles Were Irish?"
It's also Alan Davis' birthday (and Alan's wedding anniversary) and Pat Prentice's birthday and probably the birthday of a few others on whom I'm temporarily blanking. Happy birthday, all!
It's also Alan Davis' birthday (and Alan's wedding anniversary) and Pat Prentice's birthday and probably the birthday of a few others on whom I'm temporarily blanking. Happy birthday, all!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Silly Sites o' the Day
Don't know which of these to do, so I'll do both. Of course you've heard that Spinal Tap have a new album, but did you know they also have their own YouTube channel? Guest, McKean and Shearer are in top form as usual; highly recommended. And speaking of spot-on parody artists, here's the latest from "Weird" Al Yankovic, channeling his inner Lizard King:
Tap stuff from Matt at the Comedy Central blog; Al Does Doors via BoingBoing.
Tap stuff from Matt at the Comedy Central blog; Al Does Doors via BoingBoing.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Bloomsday Blogaround
Because sometimes you just have to go all stream-of-consciousness in order to get rid of open bookmarks:
• Via Mark Evanier, the story behind the very fun Tony finale song.
• Heidi MacDonald has a nice pictorial review of MoCCA.
• Kath David has a lovely remembrance of Candy, a woman who worked at her local bowling alley; and Archcrone eulogizes her friend, musician Huey Long.
• Mark Waid does what he does best, this time dissecting the perfect comic book cover. The process-wonk-Waidgirl in me lives for this stuff.
• Vinnie Bartilucci explains the Streisand Effect, where "people attempting to get people to 'stop looking at that thing over there' only serves to make people's head swivel and say 'what thing?' Or as The Kid likes to quote from The Simpsons Movie, 'Don't look where I'm pointing!'"
• Ed Levine and friends debunk the idea that male and female chefs cook differently.
• In honor of Paul McCartney's birthday tomorrow, here's a Hullabaloo tribute to Rubber Soul (via BoingBoing). And Crooks & Liars' MaxMarginal reports on a possible collaboration between Macca and Bob Dylan, who of course is no stranger to performing songs with an ex-Beatle.
• Forgot to mention in my last blogaround that Stuart Acuff posted about the Stella D'Oro strike situation that's been going on in my neck of the woods for a long time, and which really shed light on things for me. Also at HuffPo, Nia Vardalos has it up to here with Hollywood execs who still don't think women go to the movies.
• I agree with Gategrrl at the Hathor Legacy, it's a shame that girls and women can't share in the fun of UP except second-hand. I suspect we'll get some lead female characters in future Pixar movies once Pixar starts hiring lead female animators. (Robin and I just saw WALL-E, and I quite liked the female-voice-assigned secondary lead EVE.) I'm also floored that some aspects of the San Diego con, as reported by Charlie Jane Anders on io9, are still sexist; there's yet another answer to anyone who still wonders if Friends of Lulu is needed or relevant.
• Frontiers of science time: Daniel at Cosmic Variance muses about time and timepieces; Grame McMillan at io9 relates that there's a contest to name a new element on the periodic table; and, also at io9, Megan discusses an interesting evolutionary trait of a species of water strider.
• Liza Sabater reports that Jay-Z is taking a stand against auto-tune. Hey, if it's not auto-tuning the news, I don't want to hear it either.
• Food for thought: Athenae on the randomness of tragedy; Avedon Carol notes that we're already paying a high price for inadequate health care, so we may as well get real health care; What Digby Said about the Palin-Letterman kerfuffle (and What Melissa Wonders after Letterman's most recent apology); and Amanda talks about the weird idea of marriage as hard work here and here. My marriage to Robin has rarely been hard work, it's just pure fun improv just about every day.
• For anyone with a short memory, or the younger set out there, Digby reminds us of the kind of nastiness that led to the late Dr. Tiller being put in more harm's way at least a dozen years ago.
• You know, the Republicans don't seem to have any sense of propriety about undermining the President's efforts to do some good in the world, whether by his measured responses to the situation in Iran or when it has to do with China, as Steve Benen notes. More and more, they don't appear to be a party with any agenda other than "try to destroy what people we don't like are attempting to build."
• Books of Wonder is one of the best children's bookstores around. Won't you please add your vote? Via Eric Gjovaag, who explains further.
• Lastly, Melissa McEwan took a bit of a breather recently, supported by all her co-bloggers, then returned with not only a great post about safe spaces but one of the most beautiful essays I've ever read on her and Iain's anniversary, one with which Robin and I very much identify even though we're going on Year 11 and we're ever so much older than those two crazy kids. Welcome back, Liss!
That's about it for this time. Now go check out Bloomsday on Twitter, why don'tcha?
• Via Mark Evanier, the story behind the very fun Tony finale song.
• Heidi MacDonald has a nice pictorial review of MoCCA.
• Kath David has a lovely remembrance of Candy, a woman who worked at her local bowling alley; and Archcrone eulogizes her friend, musician Huey Long.
• Mark Waid does what he does best, this time dissecting the perfect comic book cover. The process-wonk-Waidgirl in me lives for this stuff.
• Vinnie Bartilucci explains the Streisand Effect, where "people attempting to get people to 'stop looking at that thing over there' only serves to make people's head swivel and say 'what thing?' Or as The Kid likes to quote from The Simpsons Movie, 'Don't look where I'm pointing!'"
• Ed Levine and friends debunk the idea that male and female chefs cook differently.
• In honor of Paul McCartney's birthday tomorrow, here's a Hullabaloo tribute to Rubber Soul (via BoingBoing). And Crooks & Liars' MaxMarginal reports on a possible collaboration between Macca and Bob Dylan, who of course is no stranger to performing songs with an ex-Beatle.
• Forgot to mention in my last blogaround that Stuart Acuff posted about the Stella D'Oro strike situation that's been going on in my neck of the woods for a long time, and which really shed light on things for me. Also at HuffPo, Nia Vardalos has it up to here with Hollywood execs who still don't think women go to the movies.
• I agree with Gategrrl at the Hathor Legacy, it's a shame that girls and women can't share in the fun of UP except second-hand. I suspect we'll get some lead female characters in future Pixar movies once Pixar starts hiring lead female animators. (Robin and I just saw WALL-E, and I quite liked the female-voice-assigned secondary lead EVE.) I'm also floored that some aspects of the San Diego con, as reported by Charlie Jane Anders on io9, are still sexist; there's yet another answer to anyone who still wonders if Friends of Lulu is needed or relevant.
• Frontiers of science time: Daniel at Cosmic Variance muses about time and timepieces; Grame McMillan at io9 relates that there's a contest to name a new element on the periodic table; and, also at io9, Megan discusses an interesting evolutionary trait of a species of water strider.
• Liza Sabater reports that Jay-Z is taking a stand against auto-tune. Hey, if it's not auto-tuning the news, I don't want to hear it either.
• Food for thought: Athenae on the randomness of tragedy; Avedon Carol notes that we're already paying a high price for inadequate health care, so we may as well get real health care; What Digby Said about the Palin-Letterman kerfuffle (and What Melissa Wonders after Letterman's most recent apology); and Amanda talks about the weird idea of marriage as hard work here and here. My marriage to Robin has rarely been hard work, it's just pure fun improv just about every day.
• For anyone with a short memory, or the younger set out there, Digby reminds us of the kind of nastiness that led to the late Dr. Tiller being put in more harm's way at least a dozen years ago.
• You know, the Republicans don't seem to have any sense of propriety about undermining the President's efforts to do some good in the world, whether by his measured responses to the situation in Iran or when it has to do with China, as Steve Benen notes. More and more, they don't appear to be a party with any agenda other than "try to destroy what people we don't like are attempting to build."
• Books of Wonder is one of the best children's bookstores around. Won't you please add your vote? Via Eric Gjovaag, who explains further.
• Lastly, Melissa McEwan took a bit of a breather recently, supported by all her co-bloggers, then returned with not only a great post about safe spaces but one of the most beautiful essays I've ever read on her and Iain's anniversary, one with which Robin and I very much identify even though we're going on Year 11 and we're ever so much older than those two crazy kids. Welcome back, Liss!
That's about it for this time. Now go check out Bloomsday on Twitter, why don'tcha?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Via Seeing the Forest, a very pointed video from Consumer Watchdog:
And here's the website of the Austin Lounge Lizards. Lord knows we can always use more satirical folk music.
And here's the website of the Austin Lounge Lizards. Lord knows we can always use more satirical folk music.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
After today's scientific discovery re my sneakers (see below), it's time to take a look at some skewed views of science:
Via Bora.
Via Bora.
Stinky Footwear, or You Should See Polyurethane Pam
Well, this is disturbing. I just found out why my fairly expensive New Balance sneakers, which I've had for almost a year and which I adore, have picked up an unbelievably foul and pervasive odor in the past few days -- and why I haven't been able to get rid of this smell. I knew it wasn't me, I didn't think it was anything I'd stepped in... now Robin's found a thread that explains it.
Seems that lots of sneaker manufacturers use polyurethane in their midsoles to increase stability. As one commenter notes, "It works very well for the purpose it is intended, however the downfall is that if these shoes become repeatedly saturated with water, it will begin to affect the polyurethane, causing it to have what most people describe as a 'cat pee' smell." And sure enough, the last couple weeks have seen some very wet weather here in NYC. Obviously, machine-washing the footwear only hastens the polyurethane decomposition.
Here's the problem, though -- I've never bought any sneakers that feel as good as the New Balance ones. They support my feet and back and knees beautifully. Most stores don't cater to wide widths; NB does so enthusiastically. And NB isn't the only brand to use the polyurethane, so it's not like shopping elsewhere will prevent this from happening again. Nothing to do but trudge into my local NB store tomorrow and buy a new pair (this time I'll be asking for less expensive "walking" or "outdoor" sneakers that I'm hoping are either semi-waterproof or don't use polyurethane in the midsoles; they do seem to have a number of those) and try not to wear them too much in wet weather. What I'll probably also do is buy a moderately-supportive cheap pair at Payless like I used to do and wear those in the rain instead.
Don't you love how modern chemical technology has made our lives better?
Seems that lots of sneaker manufacturers use polyurethane in their midsoles to increase stability. As one commenter notes, "It works very well for the purpose it is intended, however the downfall is that if these shoes become repeatedly saturated with water, it will begin to affect the polyurethane, causing it to have what most people describe as a 'cat pee' smell." And sure enough, the last couple weeks have seen some very wet weather here in NYC. Obviously, machine-washing the footwear only hastens the polyurethane decomposition.
Here's the problem, though -- I've never bought any sneakers that feel as good as the New Balance ones. They support my feet and back and knees beautifully. Most stores don't cater to wide widths; NB does so enthusiastically. And NB isn't the only brand to use the polyurethane, so it's not like shopping elsewhere will prevent this from happening again. Nothing to do but trudge into my local NB store tomorrow and buy a new pair (this time I'll be asking for less expensive "walking" or "outdoor" sneakers that I'm hoping are either semi-waterproof or don't use polyurethane in the midsoles; they do seem to have a number of those) and try not to wear them too much in wet weather. What I'll probably also do is buy a moderately-supportive cheap pair at Payless like I used to do and wear those in the rain instead.
Don't you love how modern chemical technology has made our lives better?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Yay, I get to link to io9! Stephen Goldmeier takes a look at the Star Wars alphabet. Adorable! I am starting to worry, though, that I'm linking to an awful lot of Flickr photostreams lately...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
The prescription catfood (the only dry catfood Datsa can eat) has arrived, and Datsa appreciates the conveyance:
Fire in the hole! Kitty in the box!
Fire in the hole! Kitty in the box!
Your Country or Your Life
Remember all the times Cheney and Rove and all the other Bush-era sleazoids claimed and still claim that they "kept America safe" during the last eight years? Well, I do not think that word means what they think it means.
In fact, I'm thinking maybe they weren't really talking at all about little trifles like Katrina and 9/11 and two invasions and economic collapse and whatnot after all - stuff that most normal people would cite when discussing national security. Maybe they meant "safe from attacks by our kind of people as long as we're in power." You know, Goodfellas-type "safe."
What got me thinking this was Paul Krugman's column today wherein he makes the following connection: "Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment." And I thought, if we had this with the centrist Clinton and now the centrist Obama but not with the extremist right-winger Bush in between, this must be what the extremist right-wing means by "safe." Safe from them, as long as they're the ones in charge.
It just seems like the creepiest form of blackmail, doesn't it? "Nice country you have here, more or less. Wouldn't want something should happen to its citizens. Now, hand me the country and I'll make sure my boys keep their guns closer to their vests." What a barrel they have us over - your country or your life! Yet another damned-if-we-do and damned-if-we-don't situation, only they're playing it on a grand scale now.
As long time extremist-watcher Sara Robinson notes, in her open letter to conservatives, "The assassins themselves are ratting you out. They're telling us, straight up, that they were inspired to act by the hate radio talkers that you empowered." (If you need a further scare, see Sara's 2009 timeline of right-wing extremist-perpetuated hate crimes.)
These people celebrate warped thinking. They seem to constantly need a straw-enemy to scapegoat, no matter how absurd their claims about their so-called opponents are (especially in the age of Google where interested citizens can be more in touch with the "Other" than ever before). Hilzoy notes, citing a C.S. Lewis quote, "If you give in to 'the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible,' it's easy to see how you could end up thinking things about them that it is implausible to think about any group of human being." There just doesn't seem to be any logical thought at work here any more, it's all lizard-brain visceral nastiness and bullying. I really miss the days when I could have substantive debates with my conservative friends. Heck, I really miss having conservative friends! (I think that's a big difference between these rabid extremists and most people I know; we covet and yearn for friendship, for more people to love, and they just want more people to hate.)
The last straw of this straw-enemy thinking is how the frequency of words suddenly meaning their opposite has increased. Time was we all knew what fascism meant. It didn't need explaining. Same with socialism, liberalism, and tons of other words and phrases that used to be descriptive rather than pejorative. The majority of these language-bending slurs and invective are flung like so much monkey-poo by pre-judgmental extremist loonies who occasionally get hoist on their own petard, as in Digby's example, but far too often get rewarded with big ratings. Heck, even otherwise sensible media people obsess over these folks. "Does Rush Limbaugh Have Too Much Say?" ask folks like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Well sure, as long as you keep obsessing over his every bouncy-bouncy word!
I'm not saying we should be ignoring these people. Certainly not now that their words have encouraged their followers to more and more heinous actions. But I'm suggesting that we stop accepting them, and stop giving in to their blackmail. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing their twisted rhetoric repeated and "analyzed" ad nauseum from your mouths or on your blogs. All sensible people can agree that what they say is horrible and dangerous. Let's try to do something constructive against these words, rather than becoming party to spreading them.
My country or my life? It should never be a choice. Both, please.
In fact, I'm thinking maybe they weren't really talking at all about little trifles like Katrina and 9/11 and two invasions and economic collapse and whatnot after all - stuff that most normal people would cite when discussing national security. Maybe they meant "safe from attacks by our kind of people as long as we're in power." You know, Goodfellas-type "safe."
What got me thinking this was Paul Krugman's column today wherein he makes the following connection: "Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment." And I thought, if we had this with the centrist Clinton and now the centrist Obama but not with the extremist right-winger Bush in between, this must be what the extremist right-wing means by "safe." Safe from them, as long as they're the ones in charge.
It just seems like the creepiest form of blackmail, doesn't it? "Nice country you have here, more or less. Wouldn't want something should happen to its citizens. Now, hand me the country and I'll make sure my boys keep their guns closer to their vests." What a barrel they have us over - your country or your life! Yet another damned-if-we-do and damned-if-we-don't situation, only they're playing it on a grand scale now.
As long time extremist-watcher Sara Robinson notes, in her open letter to conservatives, "The assassins themselves are ratting you out. They're telling us, straight up, that they were inspired to act by the hate radio talkers that you empowered." (If you need a further scare, see Sara's 2009 timeline of right-wing extremist-perpetuated hate crimes.)
These people celebrate warped thinking. They seem to constantly need a straw-enemy to scapegoat, no matter how absurd their claims about their so-called opponents are (especially in the age of Google where interested citizens can be more in touch with the "Other" than ever before). Hilzoy notes, citing a C.S. Lewis quote, "If you give in to 'the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible,' it's easy to see how you could end up thinking things about them that it is implausible to think about any group of human being." There just doesn't seem to be any logical thought at work here any more, it's all lizard-brain visceral nastiness and bullying. I really miss the days when I could have substantive debates with my conservative friends. Heck, I really miss having conservative friends! (I think that's a big difference between these rabid extremists and most people I know; we covet and yearn for friendship, for more people to love, and they just want more people to hate.)
The last straw of this straw-enemy thinking is how the frequency of words suddenly meaning their opposite has increased. Time was we all knew what fascism meant. It didn't need explaining. Same with socialism, liberalism, and tons of other words and phrases that used to be descriptive rather than pejorative. The majority of these language-bending slurs and invective are flung like so much monkey-poo by pre-judgmental extremist loonies who occasionally get hoist on their own petard, as in Digby's example, but far too often get rewarded with big ratings. Heck, even otherwise sensible media people obsess over these folks. "Does Rush Limbaugh Have Too Much Say?" ask folks like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Well sure, as long as you keep obsessing over his every bouncy-bouncy word!
I'm not saying we should be ignoring these people. Certainly not now that their words have encouraged their followers to more and more heinous actions. But I'm suggesting that we stop accepting them, and stop giving in to their blackmail. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing their twisted rhetoric repeated and "analyzed" ad nauseum from your mouths or on your blogs. All sensible people can agree that what they say is horrible and dangerous. Let's try to do something constructive against these words, rather than becoming party to spreading them.
My country or my life? It should never be a choice. Both, please.
Silly Site o' the Day
One of the neat things about the weekly Firesign chat, besides my way cool friends whom I've known for umpteen years, is the eagerness of some participants to recommend silly sites to me. Merlyn likes Looking Into the Past, and so do I; it's like a combination of Sleeveface (or Souvenirs) and a stock photo library. Really clever stuff!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
I can't believe it, Amy just tore apart one of our little burlap catnip bags! Not for nothing do I recommend Meowcenaries (via August)...
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
You're in the Armory Now - MoCCA 2009 Pictorial
It hasn't been an easy year for us comics-wise. I absolutely love my day job, but it takes up so much of my time and energy that I continue to fall behind both in reading and in summoning up my writing creativity (as evidenced by how much my blog activity has fallen in the past year). Robin hasn't had a steady gig since he pencilled AND inked AND coloured the five-issue Sir Apropos of Nothing series for IDW, the last issue of which was finished in December. That's far too many months for someone of his talent level to go "between assignments," particularly in this economy. Neither has the weather treated us kindly in 2009; we went right from icy-driveway season into allergy season, which is still going at extra-strength for us both.
Still, things could be far worse, and we couldn't have asked for a better day yesterday to ride the express bus into Manhattan for the annual Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art's festival. The thing I've always liked about this show, besides the chance it gives us to renew our social life, is that it features as many women as men, all showing off their creativity and enthusiasm. It's hard not to get caught up in it all! So here's what we did and whom we saw:
A great shot of a typical Manhattan Saturday in the summer. Because there were so many street fairs going on elsewhere in the city, the express bus took us down Second Avenue instead of its usual route. This was at the corner of Second and 95th Street. We also got to see the ongoing construction of the Second Avenue subway, so there you go.
It was a lovely walk from where the bus let us off at Second and 34th down to Lexington and 26th. On the way we bumped into Val D'Orazio, which was great as we wound up not seeing her at all during the show itself. I also got a kick out of the above display in a bakery window. "The claw is our master, the claw decides who will stay and who will go..."
Wow, look at the queue stretching around the corner at the 69th Regiment Armory! And this was at 1:30 in the afternoon!
The queue continued right up the stairwell.
What a treat that the first person we saw when we walked in was Joan Hilty at the Vertigo table! Joan's probably my closest friend at DC Comics at present, and her wife Nancy is a well-known political blogger who's been published in Huffington Post and Salon (note: she's not the same Nancy Goldstein who's written the Jackie Ormes book) and has been a loyal Pen-Elayne reader for years. Joan's also one of my favorite "ladies who lunch" friends.
Jim Ottaviani was there with all his science-themed offerings. Well, almost all. He hadn't gotten any copies of his latest, T-Minus, from the publisher. Score one for self-publishing over corporate bureaucracy, I guess...
C. Spike Trotman had the third volume of Templar, Arizona out (one of two must-buys for the day), which is a good thing too -- even though you can read the strip online for free, I never seem to have the time, and it's so much easier to have it in front of me in paper form.
While Spike was drawing me a way cool squid on on the book's inside title page (just to make PZ jealous) I took the opportunity to get a better shot of the TA poster behind her. I love her art, it's so clean and whimsical and expressive!
This here's Marguerite Dabaie, whom I met for the first time. Her series Hookah Girl looked pretty neat, so I bought the first two volumes sight unseen; this was my impulse buy of the day. Given that we're currently a one-income family, I decided to slow down my purchases, but as it turns out I only bought one more thing after this. I was too busy greeting folks.
Say hi to Randi Mason and John DiBello and Bully! Randi and I go way back via our Lulu days. I'm such a Bully fan, and you should be too. John gave us a couple Bully pins, and Rob and I got to pose with the little stuffed bull, just like Jane Wiedlin! Randi had a fellow Lulu member and, I believe, self-publisher with her, but for the life of me I cannot remember the woman's name, so please kill me now amidst all due apologies.
At the other end of the table was our buddy Rodney Ramos, a cohort of Robin's from their Marvel UK days. If I were a Big Two publisher looking for an artist with the initials "RR" to give a pencilling or inking assignment to, I might think twice about hiring this guy, he looks like the violent type. Might I offer an alternate suggestion? Rod always brightens any convention, I can't help smiling whenever I see him.
Yay, we ran into Heidi MacDonald! Ace caught us up on all things Ben etc., and I got to thank her for her neighborhood eatery suggestions. It's weird to no longer be in mock-competition with my friend of so many years now that my ComicMix gig is gone, but I can still say to her in all sincerity, please link to this pictorial, Heidi, please please please!? :)
I hope you've treated yourself to at least one of Abby Denson's "Spider-Ma'am" stories (with Colleen Coover on art) in Spider-Man Family, they're a real treat! She and Matt Taub had just gotten back from the UK, so we swapped Merrie Olde stories. And Matt's Salt Water Taffy series just happened to be my other must-buy of the afternoon.
I'd have bought more Patty Cake stuff from Scott Roberts, but I already have it all. Plus, I follow most of his comics online, so this stop was mostly a catch-up as he graciously let me sit at his table for a bit. It had been less than two hours and I was already exhausted. Not only was the place non-air-conditioned (which really wasn't that bad until the collective body heat started raising indoor temps) but there were no chairs or benches for anyone who wasn't working the show. If you wanted to sit anywhere it had to involve steps, either downstairs to the ladies' room lounge or outside to the front of Baruch College. So it was we decided to call it a day inside the Armory.
But not before saying hello to Alex Simmons, possibly the most connected comics person this side of Heidi. During our brief conversation he must have introduced us to at least a half dozen people we hadn't previously met. A real treat, and come hell or high water, barring any family bar-mitzvahs and whatnot, we really want to try and make the Kids' Comic Con next year.
Besides Val, we also ran into Mike Carbonaro, Dean Haspiel, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Glenn Haumann, Avram Gruner and I'm sure I've forgotten a few names, so my apologies. But it was time to get some air and await the other reason for being in the city today:
Team Bartilucci! I've known Vinnie and Dorian for, my gosh, around about 30 years now, and daughter Shugie pretty much her whole life. We headed to Pinkberry to celebrate Dorian's birthday (which is officially on Monday) and just to hang out away from the noise and crowds. By the way, if you haven't yet checked out Vinnie's International Norbert Conspiracy (he's almost through his fourth sketchbook!) and Build-A-Hero projects, please do so!
This was a neat place to chill out whilst waiting for Vin & Dorian & Shugs, right in front of Baruch College. Very pretty!
On the way back to the bus, I realized another great feature of that part of Manhattan -- you can see both the Empire State Building...
...and the Chrysler Building, from pretty much the same spot.
A short bus ride later we were back home in the land of rose trellises...
...and birdsong, which echoes brilliantly through our quiet neighborhood. Unless of course the windows are closed because the ACs are on, like today. I don't envy the folks making the trek into the Armory, with the temps climbing up higher today than yesterday...
Still, things could be far worse, and we couldn't have asked for a better day yesterday to ride the express bus into Manhattan for the annual Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art's festival. The thing I've always liked about this show, besides the chance it gives us to renew our social life, is that it features as many women as men, all showing off their creativity and enthusiasm. It's hard not to get caught up in it all! So here's what we did and whom we saw:
A great shot of a typical Manhattan Saturday in the summer. Because there were so many street fairs going on elsewhere in the city, the express bus took us down Second Avenue instead of its usual route. This was at the corner of Second and 95th Street. We also got to see the ongoing construction of the Second Avenue subway, so there you go.
It was a lovely walk from where the bus let us off at Second and 34th down to Lexington and 26th. On the way we bumped into Val D'Orazio, which was great as we wound up not seeing her at all during the show itself. I also got a kick out of the above display in a bakery window. "The claw is our master, the claw decides who will stay and who will go..."
Wow, look at the queue stretching around the corner at the 69th Regiment Armory! And this was at 1:30 in the afternoon!
The queue continued right up the stairwell.
What a treat that the first person we saw when we walked in was Joan Hilty at the Vertigo table! Joan's probably my closest friend at DC Comics at present, and her wife Nancy is a well-known political blogger who's been published in Huffington Post and Salon (note: she's not the same Nancy Goldstein who's written the Jackie Ormes book) and has been a loyal Pen-Elayne reader for years. Joan's also one of my favorite "ladies who lunch" friends.
Jim Ottaviani was there with all his science-themed offerings. Well, almost all. He hadn't gotten any copies of his latest, T-Minus, from the publisher. Score one for self-publishing over corporate bureaucracy, I guess...
C. Spike Trotman had the third volume of Templar, Arizona out (one of two must-buys for the day), which is a good thing too -- even though you can read the strip online for free, I never seem to have the time, and it's so much easier to have it in front of me in paper form.
While Spike was drawing me a way cool squid on on the book's inside title page (just to make PZ jealous) I took the opportunity to get a better shot of the TA poster behind her. I love her art, it's so clean and whimsical and expressive!
This here's Marguerite Dabaie, whom I met for the first time. Her series Hookah Girl looked pretty neat, so I bought the first two volumes sight unseen; this was my impulse buy of the day. Given that we're currently a one-income family, I decided to slow down my purchases, but as it turns out I only bought one more thing after this. I was too busy greeting folks.
Say hi to Randi Mason and John DiBello and Bully! Randi and I go way back via our Lulu days. I'm such a Bully fan, and you should be too. John gave us a couple Bully pins, and Rob and I got to pose with the little stuffed bull, just like Jane Wiedlin! Randi had a fellow Lulu member and, I believe, self-publisher with her, but for the life of me I cannot remember the woman's name, so please kill me now amidst all due apologies.
At the other end of the table was our buddy Rodney Ramos, a cohort of Robin's from their Marvel UK days. If I were a Big Two publisher looking for an artist with the initials "RR" to give a pencilling or inking assignment to, I might think twice about hiring this guy, he looks like the violent type. Might I offer an alternate suggestion? Rod always brightens any convention, I can't help smiling whenever I see him.
Yay, we ran into Heidi MacDonald! Ace caught us up on all things Ben etc., and I got to thank her for her neighborhood eatery suggestions. It's weird to no longer be in mock-competition with my friend of so many years now that my ComicMix gig is gone, but I can still say to her in all sincerity, please link to this pictorial, Heidi, please please please!? :)
I hope you've treated yourself to at least one of Abby Denson's "Spider-Ma'am" stories (with Colleen Coover on art) in Spider-Man Family, they're a real treat! She and Matt Taub had just gotten back from the UK, so we swapped Merrie Olde stories. And Matt's Salt Water Taffy series just happened to be my other must-buy of the afternoon.
I'd have bought more Patty Cake stuff from Scott Roberts, but I already have it all. Plus, I follow most of his comics online, so this stop was mostly a catch-up as he graciously let me sit at his table for a bit. It had been less than two hours and I was already exhausted. Not only was the place non-air-conditioned (which really wasn't that bad until the collective body heat started raising indoor temps) but there were no chairs or benches for anyone who wasn't working the show. If you wanted to sit anywhere it had to involve steps, either downstairs to the ladies' room lounge or outside to the front of Baruch College. So it was we decided to call it a day inside the Armory.
But not before saying hello to Alex Simmons, possibly the most connected comics person this side of Heidi. During our brief conversation he must have introduced us to at least a half dozen people we hadn't previously met. A real treat, and come hell or high water, barring any family bar-mitzvahs and whatnot, we really want to try and make the Kids' Comic Con next year.
Besides Val, we also ran into Mike Carbonaro, Dean Haspiel, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Glenn Haumann, Avram Gruner and I'm sure I've forgotten a few names, so my apologies. But it was time to get some air and await the other reason for being in the city today:
Team Bartilucci! I've known Vinnie and Dorian for, my gosh, around about 30 years now, and daughter Shugie pretty much her whole life. We headed to Pinkberry to celebrate Dorian's birthday (which is officially on Monday) and just to hang out away from the noise and crowds. By the way, if you haven't yet checked out Vinnie's International Norbert Conspiracy (he's almost through his fourth sketchbook!) and Build-A-Hero projects, please do so!
This was a neat place to chill out whilst waiting for Vin & Dorian & Shugs, right in front of Baruch College. Very pretty!
On the way back to the bus, I realized another great feature of that part of Manhattan -- you can see both the Empire State Building...
...and the Chrysler Building, from pretty much the same spot.
A short bus ride later we were back home in the land of rose trellises...
...and birdsong, which echoes brilliantly through our quiet neighborhood. Unless of course the windows are closed because the ACs are on, like today. I don't envy the folks making the trek into the Armory, with the temps climbing up higher today than yesterday...
Silly Site o' the Day
In keeping with my belated cat blogging below, via Xeni at BoingBoing it's Cat Workout! If Datsa doesn't stop meowing I may just have to use him to exercise with...
Belated Friday Cat Blogging (™ Kevin Drum)
It's sad, really, how Datsa keeps looking for a handout whenever I get myself something to eat. Since I've switched to 5-6 small daily snack-meals and am charting my food intake it's gotten that much harder for him.
"No, it's lettuce, kitties don't like lettuce!" "No, I realize you like this but it's my only intake until elevensies!" I'm glad I do most of my weekly eating away from home. Meanwhile, Amy's nonchalant as usual...
...but still leaving us too many "presents" where "presents" shouldn't be...
"No, it's lettuce, kitties don't like lettuce!" "No, I realize you like this but it's my only intake until elevensies!" I'm glad I do most of my weekly eating away from home. Meanwhile, Amy's nonchalant as usual...
...but still leaving us too many "presents" where "presents" shouldn't be...
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Tetris Blogaround
I love the Google image today celebrating 25 years of time-wasting with this wonderful game:
Let's see how many links I can discuss before we have to leave:
• A nice trio of snarky feminist cultural posts from Heidi MacDonald about moving the bar, Melissa Silverstein directing us to an amusing Katie Couric speech at Princeton about being the first woman speaker at their Class Day, and Val D'Orazio parodying parity in book cover art. (The sad thing is, most of the women on those covers are also depicted as fairly objectified and in various stages of undress or being acted upon sexually.) Also, What Digby Said about bias: "Never once is it questioned whether it might be a problem that so many male judges might rule differently than a woman -- the assumption is that the male point of view is the impartial view, while the female view is biased. Why should it not be equally true that the female point of view is impartial while the male point of view is biased?" Lastly, Courtney at Feministing links to an open letter to Pixar requesting that they "remember the ladies" and consider casting female leads in their wonderful animations. That may only happen when there are more female lead animators employed at Pixar.
• Julian Lennon links to the White Feather exhibition honoring his father.
• Lots of bloggers coming out to play again who haven't been around for awhile. For instance, Fafnir assures us he's still kicking. Also, I'm still quite impressed by President Obama's recent speech in Cairo, which I think hit all the right notes, and Al-Muhajabah returns with a guide to some of the Islamic references therein.
• My current TV-news-show habit is to DVR or try to watch Rachel Maddow daily, and catch Olbermann when I feel like it, which isn't that often. One of the reasons each can grate on me is their use of the MSNBC traveling troupe. I like some of the players, like Jonathan Turley, and I've finally stopped referring to the ex-Wonkette as "Anal Marie Cox" - but Rachel still has Mrs. Alan Greenspan subbing for her and allowed to talk about politics with no disclaimers when her husband's policies are partly to blame for our current economic mess, and Keith has sycophants like Richard Wolff, who was on the other night when they were discussing Obama and the Middle East and the Secretary of State. And foolish me, I thought the subject matter might be something of substance and interest like how the past few female Secretaries of State navigate their way through traditionally sexist societies, but instead it wound up being a glorified plug for Wolff's book. Susie captures beautifully the way I felt.
• See, here's the thing. I like the President, he's eloquent and smart and easy on the eyes (yeah, I peruse the White House Flickr photo stream way too often), but it was fairly clear from the start for those of us who went into this with open eyes that he was and is a centrist. Sometimes he leans right, sometimes he leans left. That's why I have little patience for lefty bloggers who are suddenly shocked that Obama's not stringently hewing to their (our) agenda. But Athenae says it better than I could.
• I liked this important post from Mary at Pacific Views linking to articles talking about interrogations that work (when torture obviously doesn't). This would seem self-evident if we weren't living in a topsy-turvy world.
• If you ever wonder whether FOX does certain visuals deliberately, I think this post from John Amato at Crooks & Liars says it all. Absolutely disgusting and horrific.
• On more or less the same subject, oddly, this is the most arresting and affecting essay I've ever read from Michael Davis. I'm still in shock over it. Michael is known for his clowning, but like many "always on" people he has hidden depths.
• The Rude Pundit presents compelling conjecture that Dr. Tiller's killer didn't act alone. And Roy Edroso responds brilliantly to a skewed analysis of the tragedy.
• Michael Bérubé has a wonderful essay about how every political argument that's So Last Century is new again, or at least recycled. I give it Five Appendectomy Scars!
Let's see how many links I can discuss before we have to leave:
• A nice trio of snarky feminist cultural posts from Heidi MacDonald about moving the bar, Melissa Silverstein directing us to an amusing Katie Couric speech at Princeton about being the first woman speaker at their Class Day, and Val D'Orazio parodying parity in book cover art. (The sad thing is, most of the women on those covers are also depicted as fairly objectified and in various stages of undress or being acted upon sexually.) Also, What Digby Said about bias: "Never once is it questioned whether it might be a problem that so many male judges might rule differently than a woman -- the assumption is that the male point of view is the impartial view, while the female view is biased. Why should it not be equally true that the female point of view is impartial while the male point of view is biased?" Lastly, Courtney at Feministing links to an open letter to Pixar requesting that they "remember the ladies" and consider casting female leads in their wonderful animations. That may only happen when there are more female lead animators employed at Pixar.
• Julian Lennon links to the White Feather exhibition honoring his father.
• Lots of bloggers coming out to play again who haven't been around for awhile. For instance, Fafnir assures us he's still kicking. Also, I'm still quite impressed by President Obama's recent speech in Cairo, which I think hit all the right notes, and Al-Muhajabah returns with a guide to some of the Islamic references therein.
• My current TV-news-show habit is to DVR or try to watch Rachel Maddow daily, and catch Olbermann when I feel like it, which isn't that often. One of the reasons each can grate on me is their use of the MSNBC traveling troupe. I like some of the players, like Jonathan Turley, and I've finally stopped referring to the ex-Wonkette as "Anal Marie Cox" - but Rachel still has Mrs. Alan Greenspan subbing for her and allowed to talk about politics with no disclaimers when her husband's policies are partly to blame for our current economic mess, and Keith has sycophants like Richard Wolff, who was on the other night when they were discussing Obama and the Middle East and the Secretary of State. And foolish me, I thought the subject matter might be something of substance and interest like how the past few female Secretaries of State navigate their way through traditionally sexist societies, but instead it wound up being a glorified plug for Wolff's book. Susie captures beautifully the way I felt.
• See, here's the thing. I like the President, he's eloquent and smart and easy on the eyes (yeah, I peruse the White House Flickr photo stream way too often), but it was fairly clear from the start for those of us who went into this with open eyes that he was and is a centrist. Sometimes he leans right, sometimes he leans left. That's why I have little patience for lefty bloggers who are suddenly shocked that Obama's not stringently hewing to their (our) agenda. But Athenae says it better than I could.
• I liked this important post from Mary at Pacific Views linking to articles talking about interrogations that work (when torture obviously doesn't). This would seem self-evident if we weren't living in a topsy-turvy world.
• If you ever wonder whether FOX does certain visuals deliberately, I think this post from John Amato at Crooks & Liars says it all. Absolutely disgusting and horrific.
• On more or less the same subject, oddly, this is the most arresting and affecting essay I've ever read from Michael Davis. I'm still in shock over it. Michael is known for his clowning, but like many "always on" people he has hidden depths.
• The Rude Pundit presents compelling conjecture that Dr. Tiller's killer didn't act alone. And Roy Edroso responds brilliantly to a skewed analysis of the tragedy.
• Michael Bérubé has a wonderful essay about how every political argument that's So Last Century is new again, or at least recycled. I give it Five Appendectomy Scars!
• I was very moved by Stephen Herron's personal post concerning universal health care and some stark differences between the US and Canada.
• Eric Boehlert wants to find just one news source that actually provides the context for a quote that is reported time and again as being taken out of said context. Unreal. Also from Eric, apparently it's okay if you're a Republican. Eric's very quickly becoming my favorite media columnist, even if I'm nowhere near high enough on the radar to have made it into his book about bloggers.
• Terrific bit on "children's literature" from Lance Mannion. To answer his question, I tend to reread the Oz books over and over.
• Lastly, these gave me a giggle, particularly the second one:
I'm very psyched to see David Malki again today. Off to catch the bus into Manhattan!
• Eric Boehlert wants to find just one news source that actually provides the context for a quote that is reported time and again as being taken out of said context. Unreal. Also from Eric, apparently it's okay if you're a Republican. Eric's very quickly becoming my favorite media columnist, even if I'm nowhere near high enough on the radar to have made it into his book about bloggers.
• Terrific bit on "children's literature" from Lance Mannion. To answer his question, I tend to reread the Oz books over and over.
• Lastly, these gave me a giggle, particularly the second one:
I'm very psyched to see David Malki again today. Off to catch the bus into Manhattan!
Silly Site o' the Day
Ah, sunshine at last! Off to the MoCCA Art Fest in a bit (look for us in the early afternoon), so let's celebrate by doing something artistic. How about generating your own image mosaic (via Gerard)?
Friday, June 05, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Need some Facebook parodies? How about Statebook, originating from the UK (via Cory at BoingBoing)? Or a pretend Obama Facebook account (via Dennis at the Comedy Central blog)? I just wish I could access more social networks from the office; the only one I can see from there is LinkedIn...
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Was hoping for a blogaround, but just not in the mood tonight. Say, whose kid is this anyway?
Robin did this up years ago - it's a composite of him as a kid and me as an adult, posed in pretty much the exact same way - but Gerard found a site called Make Me Babies that'll do it for you.
Robin did this up years ago - it's a composite of him as a kid and me as an adult, posed in pretty much the exact same way - but Gerard found a site called Make Me Babies that'll do it for you.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Well, Bloglines is buggy again, but at least we can all enjoy a scene from Grease as performed by Legos:
First seen, at lest by me, on Susie's blog.
First seen, at lest by me, on Susie's blog.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
Am I the only 51½-year-old who still marks half-birthdays? Anyway, today's mine, and to celebrate I started a food-mod program ("mod" standing for both "modification" and "moderation") to try and get a better grip on my health, diabetes situation, etc. Yeah, I saw my doctor yesterday. Anyway, I'm trying to break things into 5-6 smaller meals and seemed to be doing pretty well until dinner, mostly because there was a 5-hour gap between that and the previous snack. Robin's helping a lot, talking of elevensies and teatime, and at this point it's a matter of figuring out what I can buy (or bring) on my way into work to eat at 11 then 1 then 4... I was hoping for a food-related Silly Site today, but instead I'll present Apocryphacts (via Jeff at Alas), which is chock full of truthiness.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Silly Site o' the Day
White rabbits, and welcome to June! Let's ring in the month with some "silent" Hallelujah Chorus, shall we?
Via Ampersand.
Via Ampersand.
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