friends

Marfan Syndrome is one of several connective tissue conditions, including Ehlers-Danlos. It is most similar to EDS Type 4 (Vascular EDS) in that there is a greater risk of arterial rupture and heart problems. This blog discusses Michael Phelps decision to downplay his 'early symptoms" of Marfan Syndrome. I have not read the book in which he apparently discusses Marfan Syndrome. But more here

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[Aug. 19th, 2008|11:30 am]

blktauna

[

Tags

new tricks

]

Poor Poor Brian. He does so struggle with his OCD ness.

And I laugh at Gerry and Emily. They are the spit of one another, dimples, walk, lips, chin and nose. They move alike and talk alike. It is sort of funny that he's not her father when they so obviously are father and daughter.

I really enjoyed Jack and the shooting game. They are addictive.

Something about this episode was off though. It didn't seem finished enough, like it was rushed. It was over long before I was expecting. Strange.

I could still hurt Gerry on accident. Slaver. Especially when he's slouching around like George. In Blue... *fans*

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Meta: Vidding & Fair Use: Godzilla vs. Mothra

[Aug. 19th, 2008|08:07 am]

morgandawn

[

Tags

cons, copyright, vividcon

]

We touched on this topic during the Vidding & Visibility panel at Vividcon. Vidders share the same intellectual property issues and suffer under the same (mis)use of copyright legislation as consumer rights advocates and political protesters. We're the fleas hanging on for dear life while Godzilla battles Mothra over Fair Use. Intellectual property laws are being used to silence multiple voices across many spectra.

copying and pasting from Wendy's blog
"Students for a Free Tibet posted video of a Free Tibet protest to YouTube. YouTube pulled it, in response to a copyright complaint from the International Olympic Committee. From the copy posted to vimeo (and thence re-posted to YouTube, it appears), it’s hard to see a colorable copyright infringement claim. Sure, the image of the Olympics’ (trademarked) interlocking rings and (copyrightable) mascot showed up, but those uses would be fair and non-infringing."

full report with updates here

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Choosing which roller coasters to ride

[Aug. 19th, 2008|07:33 am]

elke_tanzer

[	Tags	\|	fandom - sg1	]
[	mood	\|	determined	]

I don't often ride roller coasters. I don't mean actual roller coasters, but I mean mental, emotional, fictional ones. I am careful about watching shows without closed canon, I am careful about reading WiPs, I am very careful with which cliffhangers I subject myself to.

I mainline entire seasons on DVD so that I don't have to subject myself to weeklong gaps between multiparters. I spoil myself just enough for my few currently-watching shows to know if their season-ender is a huge cliffhanger, and I won't watch that episode until I have the next one nearly-in-hand or already-in-hand so I can watch them as close to back-to-back as makes no nevermind.

(And I've been reading too many stories with the Mitchell clan in them lately; apparently I'm channeling their vocabulary occasionally. Makes no nevermind?)

I only drink Jack Daniels when I'm watching or reading Stargate.

But there are some roller coasters I intentionally put myself on, and I'm very cautious and intentional about which ones I choose. Roller coasters mess me up; I know this about myself. But I also know that sometimes, I need to be messed up, because it's a cathartic kind of messing, and sometimes a little (fictional, emotional) mess fixes a bigger (RL, emotional) mess.

It's rather like marking with a whiteboard marker as a solvent to erase an older whiteboard marks that won't erase any other way. I've kind of got some RL mess that I need messed before I understand it enough to try to fix it, and there's a difference between pampering with hearty comfort food and eating the spiciest thing you can stand to get the sinuses to clear, you know?

*points to icon* The Man Who Fell To Earth was like that for me... I knew watching the film would really mess with me, and I did it anyway, chose specifically to watch it in certain ways, at a certain time.

There have been other instances, too.

And this week?

I'm reading Synecdochic's SG-1 stories, specifically the series Broken Wings, and very specifically the new piece of that series which she's posting, six parts in six days: A Howling In The Factory Yard.

You know that dull (merciless, already strapped in, no where else to go, must've wanted this or wouldn't be here, ohgod) grinding clackety-clack of coaster cars being hauled upslope?

Yeah.

*shudders* I don't often do this, but count me in.

Synecdochic, as always, you build one hell of a ride.

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Vividcon!

[Aug. 19th, 2008|02:27 am]

astolat

http://astolat.livejournal.com/179315.html

I am not home yet (so no vid downloads until Wednesday, alas) but currently ensconced in a hotel in downtown Chicago, overlooking at the glowy hypnotic ferris wheel at Navy Pier and waiting for room service, after one of the most awesomest Vividcons ever. Life == \o/

I thought this was overall the strongest premieres vidshow since the second year of the con, and that continued into the challenge show. So so many good vids, omg.

BTW, a small pre-lj-cut PSA, if you are lucky enough never to have heard the song Handlebars and don't know the lyrics, do yourself a favor and wait to read vid reviews/listen to the song until you have watched </a></a>

flummery's Doctor Who vid to the song. Go, go.

As I haven't had a chance to rewatch vids, I am going to be talking totally haphazardly about random ones that have stuck with me enough I have something to say about them without that -- mentioned here under the cut are Climbing Up The Walls, the Doctor Who Handlebars, and Supersmart from Premieres; I Want You (She's So Heavy), How Much Is That Geisha In The Window, and White America from Challenge; and Rasputin from Club Vivid.

I really loved </a></a>

obsessive24's Climbing Up The Walls, the SPN/Firefly/Heroes incest vid, which parallels all three of these intense and claustrophobic sibling relationships, makes brilliant use of manips and stills and external source to believably construct them as incestuous, and then illustrates the consequences and degradation. Summary: incest is a DEAD END.

I also loved </a></a>

kiki_miserychic's challenge vid I Want You (She's So Heavy), the SPN incesty grindhouse mashup -- she mixed SPN with zombie movie footage and used some really cool distressed-footage effects to make SPN into the dark gay porn horror movie it wishes it was. Oh, or possibly that is me.

Those two hit in my personal sweet spot of "yay my show" and "yay my pairing" and "wow amazing" so I am ridiculously happy. (PS, any fluffy Sam/Dean fans, you seriously do want to watch these vids despite the darkness, but if you are all meep afterwards, I helpfully mention that you can watch Falling For The First Time, the happy fluffy Sam/Dean vid that </a></a>

sisabet made for me last year, and be happy again. :D)

On </a></a>

flummery's Handlebars, I am not a really big Who fan and haven't seen any Ten at all, but I had the benefit of seeing this vid at their place earlier this summer (without ever having heard the song before), and it blows me away. This is one of those songs that has and will undoubtedly be reused a lot, I think because it both has enough character and narrative to it to make it interesting and so that it can really support telling a character analysis story, but not so much or so specific that it makes it very hard to match to a particular character, but I have to say that I think it maps particularly brilliantly to Tennant's Doctor.

It's a story of childish male arrogance and the way that goes from innocently cute on the personal scale to terrifyingly destructive on a larger global one. And Doctor Who has all these vast extremes of scale to allow them to illustrate that story to great effect -- you have Ten being adorable and impish all the way to blowing up solar systems, all with the very best of intentions (saying this solely based on the vid and fannish osmosis, here). Scary and fabulous story, and also a completely clear vid -- Seah and Margie's vids for me often do this, have this extremely clean narrative line that looks so completely obvious when you watch the vid even for the first time, even without knowledge of the source, which seems deceptively simple until you realize how freaking hard it is to do in a music video.

I am biased about </a></a>

cesperanza's Supersmart because I betaed it, but I think it is awesome and also does a great job of taking a philosophical argument visual and illustrating it. I have to say that IMO the shot of the middle section is the one of Parrish, who is 95% fanon. Also, I want to draw giant sparkly hearts (well, MORE of them) around the end of the vid. <3

</a></a>

lierdumoa's vid How Much Is That Geisha In The Window was amazing and a powerfully scathing critique of Firefly's treatment of Asians (and of women, too, particularly women of color). The use of Civil War and Old West imagery and of Asian individuals from external footage overlaid on the show -- beautifully and seamlessly blended -- evoked the historical mistreatment and exploitation of Asian immigrants to expose the way Firefly exploits Asian cultural elements without actually giving Asians a voice or a face. The voiceover translation at the end was a great final thump. I think this is actually a kind of crossover vid that sits between the genres of political remix vids and traditional vids -- I've seen others like this, but this one was really effective.

It was much more successful for me than the anonymous White America. I thought this vid was most likely trying to say one of several things I find interesting and important, or possibly something I think is wrong, but it failed to actually say any one of them clearly enough. The only thing that I can say is that the vid was trying to stir up some controversy.

Club Vivid was awesome, and sparkly, and whoever did the ceiling lights got all fancy and patterny! Woo! It just makes me so damn happy to see this entire crowd of us all dressed to just as much of the nines as we want (for some of us this means getting into the elevens *g*), dancing and dancing, and watching vids, and talking, and confusing the various passers-by.

I was kind of dancing nonstop -- amazingly, working out regularly improves your stamina for dancing! -- and so didn't actually spend as much time vaguely bopping and watching the vids as I have in the past, but I was well placed at the edge of the dance floor and so had a good view during the SG-1 Daniel vid Rasputin ("Rah-Rah-Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen" *sings over and over until someone hits me*) which killed me dead. Afterwards I poked </a></a>

barkley, who was dancing next to me, and was all, "Was that you!" in accusing tones, and she informed me it was </a></a>

sherrold and </a></a>

wickedwords being inspired by her and </a></a>

destina's Copacabana. Awesome. ♥ Also, I cannot WAIT to be watching the Club Vivid disk from the con DVD set.

Aside from the awesomeness of the vids, I just had a really great time hanging out both with people I have known for ages and also with many I had either never met or never really gotten to chat more with, in groups large and small. It was not quite enough, because it never is, but it was lovely. ♥ And to put the, um, okay, I was going to go to a sundae place but that would possibly not work right in context here, so er, to crown the weekend, </a></a>

celli sent me her in-progress Cook/Archie story of awesome unlike the MEAN AND HEARTLESS </a></a>

greensilver, who will be getting sadfaces in email from me pretty much nonstop until I am appeased, because it is not fair to taunt. ;__; So I totally don't care how much the rest of my so-called friends mocked me and my David Cook t-shirt, ha. :p

And with that, I am going to have a cup of tea and write a little fanfic and maybe see about hooking up a laptop to the TV here and watching some more vids.

Yay Vividcon!

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[Aug. 18th, 2008|02:12 pm]

blktauna

Am I perhaps hallucinating or do other people remember times and fandoms where the object of writing fic was to have more episodes? I know it doesn't seem like that now but I remember in Trek and Dr. Who and Pern and Space 1999 etc where we wrote to continue the adventure...

Is that just a Media fan thing? I'm mystefied.

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One fan's thoughts on HP cons

[Aug. 17th, 2008|04:22 pm]

treewishes

I wasn't at Terminus, though I have been reading the posts with interest (and envy!) I did go to Portus (and Prophecy, and Lumos, and Witching Hour), and have some summary comments re these events.

The Bottom Line: I admire the people who work hard to put these things on. I do -- and I know how hard they work and just how much work it is. However, I think the way the organizations have gone about hosting these events has not served the community well. I'm sure I couldn't have done it better (even knowing what I know now), but I would love to see things change in the future.

The Philosophy: There is a tremendous history of fan conventions that can provide many lessons learned. HP is an interesting fandom -- it's not a traditional literary speculative fiction fandom (male dominated), and it's not a traditional media fandom (female-dominated). It's both, and many times bigger than both of these put together, and therein lies some of the problem. I think the organizers somehow pictured their base would be similar to ComiCon or WorldCon -- typically male-dominated events with attendance in the several thousands. But the kind of people who have chosen to attend their events have been women, the sort that go to media cons, like Media*West and slash cons like ZebraCon or Escapade. These have attendance in the low to mid hundreds.

The reasons that women-oriented cons have been small and male-oriented cons have been large can be debated on a number of levels. But the fact remains that the kind of con that has sustainably drawn female attendance has had a lower registration fee, a heightened sense of community, and is dominated by user-created content.

The upshot: I would love to see HPEF (and whomever else wants to jump into the pool) realize they're working on the wrong model. Several things they could do differently that I think would help tremendously are listed below. Stated simply, if you want to cater to your actual membership, quit acting like WorldCon. :)

**Everything should be user-generated content (i.e., Henry Jenkins is part of the community; Jim Dale is not). For example, while going to see HPB en masse is a good idea, there's no need to show the other films; instead, set up the projectors and let people sign up to show their own vids and movies. Solicit experienced moderators for large roundtable panels where people get to listen AND talk. At the dance, play "fan-favorite" music and flash up photos that people suggest/send in. Allow voting for panel topics, make DIY space available, and generally institute a lot less of "we talk, you listen" and a lot more of "we're all part of the process".

**Nobody should be attending for free or staying in a comped room (i.e., if someone on the concom really can't afford to pay, you can come up with barter items. But the HPEF board members? Have to pay. If you have a con chair who won't sign up unless she gets a free room, srsly, get a new con chair.) Comped rooms, catered concom meetings, paid speaker travel, etc, is the WorldCon model.

**Know your audience. This is a huge area for discussion, but I'll just pick a few items from Portus that indicated dismissal of fan interests. First, you have some people attending with dietary restrictions and preferences. Please don't schedule events at "dessert receptions" or reward people with ice cream or require people to buy lunch to hear a speaker or not label food on buffets as vegetarian or pork. Also, offering alternatives is also a great idea -- not everyone wants to go to the ball, not everyone wants to hear Jim Dale, not everyone wants to do *any* one thing.

**The program. Oh, this was cute. AND TOTALLY USELESS. I would rather have had some xeroxed pages stapled together that had a decent index. (Hey, why not *sell* a souvenier program and give everyone else something useful?) Think about your attendees: They've never been in the hotel before. Perhaps a map that shows where everything is with respect to the lobby and the elevators. Perhaps a list of restaurants in the hotel (and in the local area, but given there were NONE in Dallas, I can understand the oversight :). Most con-goers do not read the program front to back upon arrival. An index? And many people are first-timers. Perhaps explaining the jargon would also help. Heck, it took me a day to figure out what you meant by "meet and greet", and 30 minutes of wandering to figure out that the Cardinal room was on the 2nd floor. So much work went into this, and it was SO frustrating to use.

**And "Azkatraz" stickers on the "Level Two 2009" level-tape-measure-thingies? I have no words. (And the fact that Craig Howlett is listed as chairing Level Two 2009 in the program. Huh.)

**You can't change it for Azkatraz, but think about choosing your venue. Women don't go to these cons for fancy. The hotels have generally been too big, too luxe, and too expensive. It takes time to shop around, but there are a good number of mid-range hotels (like Radisson or Crowne Plaza) that have large ballrooms/meeting space, and have reasonably priced guest rooms and free internet access. I also highly suggest picking a lower cap (500 ppl?) and setting up a waiting list. It's a much better way to ensure you make your budget. Expand next year if things go really well.

**You might also think about reconfiguring your space. Something that worked very well for other cons is to put the Vendors Room around the edges of the Common Room. It keeps the dealers engaged in the rest of the event, and also keeps people coming back to shop. You had the space at Portus for this, I think. If you're worried about security, ask the dealers what they think of the idea. You can offer to put them in a separate room, but I bet they say no.

**If you want to help make up your catering bogey, offer a prepaid box lunch to everyone, for pickup in the Common Room with mark-off ticky box on their badge. Offer a wine-and-chocolate tasting *without* a speaker attached. Go for heavy snacks vs catered lunches, make it a welcome reception vs a welcome feast, etc.

**Extend the day and reduce the number of concurrent panels -- fewer rooms means less money and fewer conflicts for the attendees. Four LARGE panel rooms and a couple of small DIY rooms would be plenty, if you booked them solid from 10 am through 6 pm for 2.5 days.

**You might also offer con space for the fandom meetups - don't charge more than a local restaurant, however, or that's where they'll go. Other cons have a party suite that is bookable for 2- or 3-hour slots they entire day for different ships. The groups bring in all their own food/decor for that slot. The trick is to get a big enough space - the Snarry group had more than 100 people at Terminus.

-------

Finally.... in the end, you have to think about value for money. The most expensive women-run con costs $125 and provides significantly more value that I got at Portus. Most cost between $50 and $100 for a solid 3-day event. Attending all of the extras at Portus almost doubled the cost of attending to more than $350 - which only confirms to me that you are using a bad business model. At a minimum, you should be providing fun activities for 3 days, with alternatives at all times. And even though there is a lot of money in fandom, unless you assure people *through both your words and actions* that organizers and speakers aren't getting their rooms/travel comped, that my money isn't going for fancy signs, quidditch venues, exotic art, marble lobbies, and food I won't eat, etc etc, you will have people faking badges, resenting the organization, or simply not coming at all.

I want everyone to attend these cons; this is my community! But the way they are organized now, even many locals can't afford to attend and those that can afford it feel ripped off.

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Don't do it, Severus! Don't agree!

[Aug. 17th, 2008|04:39 pm]

bethbethbeth

(thanks to snapecast, from whom this photo was swiped)

( Welcome to Spinner's End - spoilers for HBP )

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on a related note: pervy holiday cards FTW

[Aug. 17th, 2008|09:33 am]

elke_tanzer

[	Tags	\|	connecting, holidays	]
[	Current Location	\|	home	]
[	mood	\|	amused	]

Oh my goodness you incredibly wonderful fannish pervs. I just found the mother lode of pervy holiday cards I've gotten over the years. *coughsputterGUFFAW* Now, there are a bunch of simply warm, wonderful Solstice / Yule / Christmas / winter greetings as well, and they're touching and heartwarming and I adore them very muchly, but these others... only my fan-friends, people. Only you would have sent some of these wonderful bits of shamelessly warming-other-things-than-hearts greetings:

Santa in his sleigh flying across the sky while wearing womens' lingerie, shirtless biker boys, elves that make giant dildoes and bumpy prophylactics, lovely twinks coated in gold glitter and stars, hot naked men wearing nothing but santa hats...

*laughterwheezemorelaughter*

My fan-friends are the best EVAR.

And I am so totally doing holiday cards again this year, because I want to be able to bring smiles to your faces like the one that's going to last throughout my morning now.

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a faery spell for eloquence

[Aug. 17th, 2008|08:22 am]

elke_tanzer

[	Tags	\|	faery, inspiration, poetry	]
[	Current Location	\|	home	]
[	mood	\|	calm	]

(In cleaning and decluttering and frantically looking for other things I've tucked into some "safe place where I won't lose it" in my apartment, which of course means that I'm having trouble finding what I'm looking for, I've found all manner of fabulous wonderful things given to me by fan-friends and RL-friends over the years. It's so touching, finding these little bits of connection and wonder, and I'm so thankful for all of you.)

(I think the little promotional postcard with this faery spell on it by Ari Berk came from a RL-friend who is now also a fan-friend, brought back from a trip to some Comic-con a couple years back. Reading it brightened my morning, so I'm sharing it here.)

(For more information about Ari Berk, see:
http://www.worldoffroud.com/
http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/English_Graduate/faculty/berk.htm
http://www.endicott-studio.com/ )

A Faery Spell for Eloquence:
found nailed to a tree with ash-wood pegs

Beneath your bower let me sleep
Bed of roots and loam my head to hold
My dreams
the dreams of Elm and Ash
of falling leaves and autumn stars
of forest stream
of branching heart
of gray stone-rows
and the green-grown, wood-wise
laughter of the one-eyed Wanderer.

- Ari Berk

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\o/

[Aug. 16th, 2008|11:18 pm]

astolat

http://astolat.livejournal.com/179085.html

Holy crap that was an awesome vidshow. \o/

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[Aug. 16th, 2008|10:51 pm]

blktauna

[

Tags

sweeney

]

May is up

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[Aug. 16th, 2008|06:06 pm]

blktauna

[

Tags

sweeney

]

Bad Apple is up

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The VGT's Omnivore Hundred

[Aug. 16th, 2008|01:05 pm]

treewishes

[

Tags

memememe

]

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at VeryGoodTaste linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes - just this morning!
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - yes, and OW. OW. OW.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - This was a signature dish in the little town where I grew up, every housewife had their own recipe. Of course, my mom's was the best.
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - I have some great recipes for these!
39. Gumbo - but I tend to pick out the okra.
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
~~42. Whole insects~~
~~43. Phaal~~ - considering I won't eat Vindaloo, this is likely a no.
44. Goat’s milk - my sister was allergic to cow's milk as a kid, so we all drank this.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - oh, yeah....
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I still remember having this when they opened the McD in the town up the road from ours, and saying it didn't taste much like a *real* hamburger.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - mmmm, Thomas Hardy ale...
59. Poutine - my favorite is from the chipper on the Island, just past the swing bridge...
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - at a mine in Georgia. I was shocked to realize people actually eat the stuff!
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe - in Britain, but not since it's been legal in the States. Must shop...
74. Gjetost, or brunost - I don't think so, but it sounds very good!
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu - and I still have most of the bottle I brought back from China, strangely enough...
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini - these were the specialty of the house at a restaurant that R. renovated several years ago. Yummalicious!
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky - first had these compliments of

fuschia, but now see they stock them at my corner store. Wacky!
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - best I've done is one star, which was unbelievable. Can't imagine how it could be 3 times as good!
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare - my sister and I made this for Easter dinner one year...
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - all the time when we were kids, and recently in Hawaii, chopped up with eggs for breakfast. (spam, spam, spam, spam.....)
~~92. Soft shell crab~~ - I've managed hardshell, but this is too close to bugs for me.
93. Rose harissa - Definitely harissa, but never with rose petals AFAIK.
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I am, as you can guess, not a picky eater, though I'm clearly low on innards and amphibians. The things left unbolded and unstruck on the list are things I'm not seeking out, but that I would eat at a business dinner or the right social situation. I pretty much draw the line at bugs, though!

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Home!

[Aug. 16th, 2008|09:57 am]

treewishes

SO glad to be back. Of course, I immediately need to start packing to leave again, which makes sleeping in my own bed all the more sweet.

Trip was good on many fronts, but after two weeks with my only food activities being (1) selecting something off of a sumptuous buffet or (2) picking a meal off a restaurant menu, cooking dinner last night was really taxing.

Finally -- on the fest front. After torturing myself to finish fics in the past, I've signed up for one (only one), that's hp_darkfest. Of course, will likely also do yuletide, but that's different :D

Shout out to all at VVC this year, hope it's fabulous!

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Things people my age tend to not know

[Aug. 15th, 2008|09:52 pm]

elke_tanzer

[	Tags	\|	inspiration	]
[	mood	\|	calm	]

Have you ever held a cylinder record in your hands?

What about a camera that required not only film but also actual flash bulbs?

Sometimes people I work with, whether they're younger or older than I am, are boggled that I know about these things, and are even more so that I've owned them. Apparently my being "young" means that people assume that my generation has little sense of history, or places little value in what came before. I don't think of myself as young... I've been coloring my hair to cover up stray grays for a couple years now.

But today at work I raised some eyebrows by knowing who Grace Hopper was, when people ten years my senior had never heard of her. If you've never heard of her, here's your interesting history lesson of the day:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Murray_Hopper
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper
http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/hopper-wit.html

This woman began her military service at thirty-seven years of age, and retired for the first time from Naval service when she was sixty. She returned to active duty, and retired again at sixty-five, and returned to active duty again a year later. She then retired again at age eighty, and continued working as "a senior consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation, a position she retained until her death in 1992, aged 85."

Some bits of wisdom from Amazing Grace:

"A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for."

"Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems."

"I believe in having an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."

Bless fiesty, geeky, passionate women like Rear Admiral Grace Hopper everywhere... bless us, every one.

(In related news, I kicked ass this week at work. I'm really tired, but really happy. Also, I had beer with dinner. Yay beer!)

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[Aug. 15th, 2008|10:12 pm]

blktauna

[

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sweeney

]

Taste of Fear is up

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Snapely Holidays Banner Waving

[Aug. 15th, 2008|02:15 pm]

bethbethbeth

Okay, so assignments have gone out for some fests already (I know!), and signups are currently open for such things as the Harry/Draco Exchange and the Snape/Lupin Exchange, with signups for Smutty Claus (the big HP het exchange, now back on LJ) starting soon.

However, as one of the Snape cheerleader squad, I'd like to make an extra nudge in the direction of Snapely Holidays over on IJ - and new this year for all your Snape-ficcing needs (slash, het, and gen). Don't know why Snape/Black isn't getting enough love these days? Think Snape/McGonagall is the kind of cross-gen that really makes sense? Meant to sign up for Snarry Holidays, but missed the deadline? Already signing up for the SS/HG Exchange or Snupin Santa, but can't get enough of your favorite pairing? Still waiting for that serious, plotty Snape/Flitwick story? (oh, wait...that's me *g*)

Signups for

snapelyholidays will be starting August 22. Join the community (here) to be a participant or a watcher. Snape needs you!

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