Silly Site o' the Day

I have fond memories of watching many performers on TV with my parents. Stiller & Meara are two of those performers. Most people younger than me know them, if at all, as "Ben Stiller's parents." But oh, I found them delightful and funny in their heyday, and I still smiled at these:

Episode 1: "First Time On Internet"

Episode 2: "The Jersey Shore"

Via the Comedy Central blog.

Silly Site o' the Day

Spent the evening filing the rest of the comics in long boxes for Robin to take into the library. After Cat's visit we'll probably go over them again and throw out a good many, particularly from the Wildstorm end of the comp boxes which we rarely read. But for now, it's one more thing straightened out. I'm celebrating by passing along the funny comic strip Where's The 'Any' Key? by Microsoft UK, which wrapped up competition earlier this month. Via Terry.

Silly Site o' the Day

Too late, can't blog. Try your hand at Moxie 2, via Sheila Lennon.

Silly Site o' the Day

Dang, it's humid. Made for slow going as I start to file away all the DC comics from the past couple of years (currently laid out in the living room) from the small comp boxes currently holding them into the larger long boxes to put back in the "library," as we have company coming this weekend. I'm about a third of the way in, not bad for a still-bruised body. I haven't been this black-and-blue in a long time. The cats surprisingly stayed out of the way while I filed, so for them, this making-of Ikea ad from England:



Via Sheila Lennon.

Silly Site o' the Day

Either it's starting to get humid or I'm not getting better as quickly as I'd hoped... no, just took my temp, I'm fine. It's getting humid. Welcome to autumn! My favorite season, by the way, although I won't be sad to see the end of September, the Month of Kidney Madness here at the Riggs Residence. Not quite ready for a blogaround, but I wanted to applaud Susie Madrak, and if you don't know why you should just Google her name as she's still the talk of the blogosphere. To her I dedicate today's Silly Site, all about Dot:



See, 'cause Susie has blonde hair too, and her knitting needles are Speaking Truth to Power, and... oh, never mind. Via Bora.

Silly Site o' the Day

Thanks to Robin for keeping up my daily new content here, although to be frank it seems a Facebook posting seems to be worth at least five blog updates on the current market. I've been fever-free since yesterday afternoon but haven't yet reached that magical 24-hour mark, so Rob and I are still at the hospital awaiting my release. With any luck this will be my last hospitalization for a long while. Oh yeah, I got the hospital blues! Unfortunately not one of the choices for the Blues Maker (care of the Generator Blog). Thanks to everyone, both here and at Facebook, for their lovely wishes.

A fill-in post

Hi it's Robin borrowing the keys to the blog for this evening. Elayne has been unexpectedly kept in the hospital overnight for observation. Her operation went well with both kidney stones zapped to smithereens with a laser. In the recovery room afterward she was about 5 minutes from being sent home when she started shivering uncontrollably. The shivers lasted for a couple of hours or more before developing into a fever. Apparently kidney stones can release some nasty bacteria when zapped. Once the fever arrived Elayne actually felt a lot better than with the shivers and was resting comfortably when I left her. She's now settled in to a room for the night while they run some tests and hopefully she'll be back home tomorrow with more sites of sillyness and stuff.

Silly Site o' the Day

Ugh, I need to be at the hospital at 6:30 AM tomorrow, so this'll be short. How long would you last after being bitten by a zombie? Via Mike Norton.

Silly Site o' the Day

Speaking of cool music videos, OK-Go has another fabulous one out, which literally goes to the dogs:



Via Cute Overload.

Silly Site o' the Day

My new favorite catchy song:



I'm curious enough to find out if everything by Spray is this peppy. Via Keith DeCandido.

Silly Site o' the Day

A bit better every day, although I'm back-sliding on my left side, specifically my wrist and ankle. I have no idea how the stent might tie into this. I have no idea what to do for a Silly Site, so here's an ad for Plunder Funnel:



Sounds a bit like Amway. Via Xeni at BoingBoing.

Silly Site o' the Day

Arrgh, so many Talk Like A Pirate Day news stories, so little inclination to link. How about What's Your Pirate Name? (Of course, at the Riggs Residence we call today Talk Like A West Country Person Day, so there you are.)

Silly Site o' the Day

On Yom Kippur, it is perhaps fitting to take a look at this alley of absolution at The Awl.

Silly Site o' the Day

I guess it's time to conditionally celebrate:



Via Feministing.

Silly Site o' the Day

So this time it was Brooklyn's turn to experience a tornado:



(Can someone do a mash-up of this and the Double Rainbow video?) Weird how it's hitting relatively affluent neighborhoods in the boros (Riverdale, Park Slope).

I think we all need a little nice calming Turtles Eating Things therapy, folks. (Via Xeni at BoingBoing.) And to thank the powers that be that we're okay.

Silly Site o' the Day

My primary care doctor gave me a clean bill of health today, but I'm feeling really run-down. I can't seem to stay awake in the evenings. Need rest. Maybe I should ask the Cleverbot what to do (does it remind you a little of ELIZA?). Via Peter at BlondeSense.

Silly Site o' the Day

Wow, work took more out of me than I thought, I practically slept all evening. Waking up now so I can take one of the last of the antibiotics, and of course blog about evil fortune cookies (via BoingBoing).

Silly Site o' the Day

Back to work, and all caught up on NetNewsWire blog reading, so that'll have to take me through to when I return this evening. Trying to avoid the subway today, but that means I probably won't see anything like this:



Via Jill Friedman.

Silly Site o' the Day

Tummy a bit delicate, but otherwise recovering nicely. Definitely ready for work tomorrow. Until then, WTF should I make for dinner? (Via BoingBoing. I love that it links to recipes too.)

Silly Site o' the Day

Celebrating the return of my appetite with some food-related Silly Sites, the first of which concerns a food I can no longer eat anyway:



Via Robyn at Serious Eats.

Bye-Bye Bloglines Blogaround

Getting rid of old bookmarked posts from Bloglines before I blow that bookmark away forever, adding in a few new saved clippings from the current app I'm using to read my RSS subs (NetNewsWire, which syncs with Google Reader and actually updates all my friends' LiveJournals so I can finally keep up with those as well), and generally seeing how much better I feel if I can get this done:

• You think I had problems? Pfeh. A kidney stent inserted to help get rid of a nasty infection (to be followed by zapping of a couple stones) is nothing compared to what PZ Myers has been through. First came the warning signs, in plenty of time to get things on the right track. Then he got some stents of his own. Now he reflects on lessons learned because he listened to his logical side instead of his emotional one.

• Of course I need to pass along few choice posts from Jill, such as a nice take-down of Robert Gibbs, a scrumptious Northern travelogue, and the danger that lurks for local NJ activists. I find most everything Jill writes to be brilliant (and not just at breakfast), but then I have for 30+ years.

• Paul Krugman also has a few choice words for Mr. Gibbs. And here's Keith Olbermann's response via Crooks & Liars:



• Ted Rall, currently risking his life in Afghanistan for the cause of independent graphic journalism (along with Matt Bors and Stephen Cloud), also has a couple of no-punches pulled essays about how the social safety net may be the only thing standing between our current status quo and revolution, and the scam behind Chase's affordable homes program.

• Remember about a half dozen mock outrages ago, the Michelle Obama how-dare-she-take-an-entourage-to-Spain thing? Taylor Marsh tells us how wrong the media got it; surprise!

• Susie Madrak found an interesting piece by Abigail Disney about the estate tax. (Hey "Al," any thoughts?)

• Roger Ebert examines Chris Hitchens' journey to the undiscovered country he himself had briefly glimpsed. And Ted Koppel examines the misbegotten journey in which our country is still involved as we do everything to ensure the terrorists keep winning.

• I could hear Heidi MacDonald audibly sigh through my computer as she reported on the New York Times story concerning Comic-Con marketing to those of the XX chromosome persuasion. Seriously, it's like living in perpetual high school, where someone suddenly discovers girls exist every few months. Probably because so many people haven't yet discovered that, like (for Jill Friedman) the Scott Pilgrim movie folks.

• I laughed out loud when I saw Bully's contribution to Totally Looks Like.

• When you have to explain a joke it almost always gets lost in translation, doubly so when it's as inside-y as Paul Sabourin's Kanye West Twitter/New Yorker cartoon mash-up. The Awl reports how Sabourin tried to break it down for New Yorker cartoonist Robert Mankoff.

• Val D'Orazio's Comics Revolution project seems to be off to a great start, and she has a terrific essay about the inequities of freelancing which of course hits pretty close to home for us.

• Natalie Davis' blog has morphed into Summit Peace, which is cool 'cause my brother lives near Summit and I'm definitely into peace, and Natalie's writing. And congratulations to Zuzu, who's secured what sounds like a lovely job out west. If you have a moment, you could do worse than reading Zuzu's What's It To You? post about fat and health.

• Did someone say fat and health? Must be time for more kick-ass Melissa McEwan posts, like this one (humans aren't Bunsen burners? fancy that) and this one (I'm by nature a very happy person; what saddens me is not being fat, but people directing venom at me because I'm fat). Also from Melissa: the poor victimized Christian majority!

• Oh, and one final fat-related link. I'd been reluctant to tune into ABC Family's series Huge, set at a fat camp for teenagers, due to the usual fears of mainstream TV not being very kind to anyone over a size 6. But largely on the basis of Fatshionista's episode reviews, I've started watching the show on Hulu, and it's completely blown me away. Not only could I totally identify as a former fat kid-now- fat adult, but I found the dialogue for both the teens and adults so spot-on, the plotting progressing so believably, and the performances so top-notch that I'm sorry I didn't watch it earlier. Now Fatshionista is publicizing a petition to get this very worthy program a second season. Do consider signing it, won't you? And seriously, if you have a few hours to spare and a decent media setup to watch Hulu, you won't be sorry.

• Barry Deutsch reports on an experiment to replace traffic signals with modified roundabouts. Having done both, in my opinion roundabouts are so much safer and better for traffic flow!

• Speaking of Barrys, Barry Crimmons' series on the Catholic Church is highly recommended. Since he doesn't have a central link to all essays so far, here you go:

Part One - Cath 22
Part Two: Manic Compression
Part Three -- The Legion of Indecency
Part 4: Good News for Postmodern Man!

• Kevin Drum examines why we're so much quicker in this country with lawsuit threats than they are in more sensible nations.

• Lance Mannion remembers Patricia Neal, and muses on the dangers of turning ourselves into living fossils as we get older.

• I can't believe the Oenophile’s Quandary isn't real. Neither can a lot of others, and David Malki (who created it) follows up here and here.

Lastly, anyone who knows anything about porn movie tropes probably laughed at this xkcd:



...aaand that's it! Bloglines gone from this computer! Long live NetNewsWire, which is already in progress and to which I am now returning to continue my blog reading...

Remembrance Day 2010

Those of us who live and work in New York will certainly never forget...



And on a personal note, I also remember Leah Adezio today, on what would have been her birthday.

Friday Cat Blogging*

I guess the cats were glad enough to have me home again...



...but you can never tell with them, it could just be another warm body in bed as the evenings get cooler.

*(Friday Cat Blogging is ™ Kevin Drum)

An Era Passes

Well, I just heard the announcement that my RSS aggregator of choice, Bloglines, is shutting down for good on October 1. I can't say I haven't had problems with it, it hasn't aggregated LiveJournal feeds properly since it was outsourced to China a few years ago, but it's the only reader that works on my office's servers. This means, essentially, no more blog reading at work (since I can't go to blogs directly, those are all blocked). Which means I'm liable to fall more and more behind on things like doing blogarounds, but hey, it can't be helped.

I've imported all my feeds to Google Reader (which doesn't work right at the office, it loads but it doesn't show me any content), offloaded saved Silly Sites and will try to do a blogaround before the weekend is out. If I can't, then all my saved bookmarks are going bye-byes. If anyone out there can recommend a nice, basic online-based RSS aggregator, I'm all ears.

Silly Site o' the Day

Not out of the woods yet by any means, but the low-grade temperature is holding steady and my taste buds seem to be undergoing brutal renovation on their way back to normal (wonder if that's the anesthesia hangover, the infection or the antibiotics?), so things could be a lot worse. Pretty soon I hope I'll be ready to party with the pandas (via BoingBoing).

Silly Site o' the Day

If my appetitite wakes up a little bit, this is my dinner tonight:



Via Erin at Serious Eats.

The Road to Recovery

It's a long journey, but at least it's home-based now. Still hoping I can return to work on Monday. First I'd like to get through a whole day without any sort of fever; I'm getting closer on that count. And a return of my appetite would be nice as well, but I'm not as worried there. Blogging remains minimal while the antibiotics continue to do their job fighting this nasty devil.

Jiggety-Jig

I swear, it took almost as long for the hospital to release me as it had for them to admit me. But I'm home, showered, eaten a couple very small meals (of all the things I've lost, I think I miss my appetite the most) and seen to my own hygiene for the first time in days. And now to sleep. Oh, and L'Shana Tova, everyone; let's hope 5771 starts out better for my family than 5770 was.

Stentorian

It's amazing how much better I can type when my brain is clearer. The operation was successful, I have a temporary stent clearing out the bad stuff and feel 100% better than I did this morning. The stent comes out in a couple weeks after the same doctor zaps my kidney stones into nothingness, for which I'm eternally grateful as I've heard horror stories that passing those things is worse than childbirth and I'd like to live my life without either experience. Bedrest and (finally!) fluids tonight, taking things day by day. It's good to be alive.

Happy Blogiversary to Me

When I started Pen-Elayne on the Web on September 7, 2002 (Rosh Hashanah 5763) I never dreamed I'd be celebrating this blog's eighth blogiversary by getting a stent in my kidney. At this point they're estimating I'll be home by Rosh Hashanah 5771 (Thursday) if the infection clears as it's supposed to. My fever's gone from high-grade to low-grade so that's something, but I can't drink anything until after the procedure so I feel totally parched. And nauseated. And frustrated. But it's a lovely day outside, it could be a lot worse, and I'm grateful to even be around lo these eight years, both online and in real life.

Contact Isolation

I'm in solitary, man! Well, not yet, I'm still in ER, having been through all the tests, awaiting my hoo-hah private room where people have to don gowns and gloves to see me. Hope I can use this laptop in the room, there are routers all over the place here so it doesn't appear to be a problem at least in ER. Now it's just a waiting game...

Back to ER

Not sure when they'll let me out this time. Will probably miss my blogiversary. Carry on, folks!

Still Bad

Not a kidney stone but plumbing-related. My doctor wanted me to stay overnight, and he was probably right. I may be going back to check into the hospital tomorrow. Some run-up to my 8th blogiversary.

No Stone Unturned

Fever still raging. Given all my symptoms I'm wondering if I'm not trying to pass a kidney stone. Heading out to the local emergency room now. Hell of a "holiday" weekend.

Another Sick Day

No Silly Site nor anything else today. Temperature back up, worse than it was a few days ago. Nasty, nasty bug. Back to bed.

Silly Site o' the Day

Val D'Orazio had the same favorite alternate universe poster of this bunch as I did. I want to see that Creed film!

Friday Cat Blogging*

Okay, I'm a stoop. Maybe the illness (which now looks to be behind me, even though the lingering dizziness forced me to take a second day off work) has slowed up my brain a bit, but I never noticed there was a limit on how many photos I could upload to Blogger. If I'd realized that earlier I would've shrunk 'em all to web size. Ah well, no harm done. Since I was in bed much of the day with The Vapours, Amy kept me company and had muchness of cutitude. Oh, and I got a few of Datsa as well when he deigned to come within camera range. So I've decided to upload them to my Flickr account, which I don't use so, hey, why not?

Here's Amy's set.

Here's Datsa's set.

Guess I'll be experimenting with Flickr more now. As soon as I finish consolidating all of our iPhotos (mine are done, I just need to weave Robin's in).

*(Friday Cat Blogging is ™ Kevin Drum)

Silly Site o' the Day

There's nothing better to lift my spirits during times of sickness (other than Robin waiting on me hand and foot as best he can) than the sound of children's squeals of jubilation, particularly when they're not taking place in the basement apartment of our house.



The intro is almost as good as the thing itself. Don't know if this informal "Rube Goldberg summer camp" actually exists, my brief Google search came out inconclusive, but if it's not a Real Thing in the World it should be. Via BoingBoing. Oh, and happy birthday to Robin's Dad!.

Silly Site o' the Day

White Rabbits, and welcome to my favorite time of the year, as well as the countdown to Pen-Elayne's eighth blogiversary next Tuesday! The day hasn't gone as well for me as I'd hoped, however, and I'm currently typing this with a 100.1° fever (it had been 101.3° earlier this evening), so I won't be hanging out at the computer very long. Just long enough to pass along BoingBoing's problem solving flow chart. Alas, I haven't found anyone else to blame yet for this low-grade fever, so I must be, as the chart indicates, a Poor Bastard.