Below are the most recent 6 friends' journal entries.

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
zombienought	11:52a	Negatory Nugat Public Enemies was an awful movie. It was worse than other awful movies I've seen lately, like the G. I. Joe movie and the Ang Lee Hulk movie. Public Enemies subjects the viewer to: terrible camerawork, awful sound editing, a fictional and chrono- logically incorrect plot, a forced and flaccid love story, and non-existent character development. I learned nothing from the movie, I cared nothing for the characters, and I hated the video and audio work. The only good things about the movie were the costumes and cars. I received an email from a guy who was in the dorms with me, whom I have not seen or spoken in *at least* four years, possibly more. Even then, I'd never say we were more than dinner table acquaintainces, and said hi at parties a few times over the next decades. He sent what I assume was a widespread email, announcing his spawning, with two huge pictures attached. WTF? Why email me this? Isn't that what Facebook is for? I thought backseam tattoos were ridiculous before, but now I'm sure they're ridiculous when the girl is actually wearing stockings (nsfw): http://mrcarnelius.tumblr.com/post/276151910/via-stockingsandmasks US Cities with the Best Water - Austin is #7, Houston is #95 of 100 How a web design goes straight to hell A Starbucks barista in downtown Austin was reprimanded after she helped catch a thief who stole money from the tip jar Senator Franken: Is this the country we want to live in? - vid Aetna health insurance giant planning to raise premiums cut 600,000 members - because they didn't make enough of a profit last year Current Mood: awake Current Music: Acylum - Your Pain (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
stinabat	10:30a	In case you haven’t heard about it, Canadian Sci-fi writer Peter Watts was beaten and arrested at a US/Canada border crossing while leaving the US for the simple act of asking why his car was being searched on the way out of the country: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canad.html I can’t begin to tell you how angry this makes me. The whole reason I wrote OB&H was because of the similarities between the Bush Administration and '70s-early '80s Great Britain. It was a relief when Obama was elected because it represented a big step away from all that. It's apparent we aren't anywhere near finished rooting out the problem, though. Absolute power currupts absolutely. (Comment on this)
Friday, December 11th, 2009
stinabat	8:01p	Romance, Feminism and Mary Sue My sister always liked romance novels. So did all our friends. I knew it for crap and stuck with my beloved JRR Tolkien and Stephen King. However, I always felt I was a failure because I didn't understand what every other female seemed to. I once asked my sister why she liked reading romance novels. She smiled a Yoda smile and gave me a copy of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. Good stuff, that. But when I tried to find more I was met with a wall of... well... crap. Oh, sure, the sex was good fun, but I also wanted characters and plot and good -- or at least inoffensive -- prose. And so, it feels like I've stayed outside the circle of the feminine literary experience ever since.1 ( Then I started writing. ) --------------- 1 I must say Twilight hasn't helped me much. I keep wondering what the hell is wrong with me that I'm so revolted? (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
stinabat	9:46p	The Pony-less Life It all began with an image my husband emailed to me some time ago. Ever since, there's been a battle over equine ownership -- specifically, mine. I've not actually thought about ponies since I was eleven (I think) and my Aunt's Shetland pony threw me off a hill and into some brambles. (This, after several attempts at biting.) If you got the impression that ponies aren't the friendliest creatures you'd be dead right. Shetlands are downright nasty -- at least all the ones I've ever met. Therefore, I don't even like ponies. This makes no difference. My husband has officially denied me one. Naturally, this won't do. Me (intending to push past the traditional silly answers): "Yule is only two weeks away, and I still don't know what you want. By the way, I've officially declared a moratorium on pork products, including Spam. Also, you can't have your two front teeth. You already have -- what did you say?" Dane: "I want a pony. For you." Me: "Awwww. That's nice. He'll have to be small. Like, one of those really tiny ones as big as a dog." Dane: "I take it back. No pony." Me: "But he'll be like a dog." Dane: "He'll be a pony-shaped dog, and that, I cannot abide. By definition it'll have cloven hooves and not be house-trained." I'm so thinking of something really clever to hide in his Xmas stocking this year. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
stinabat	6:07p	The Bird is Here! My copy of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's "Last Drink Bird Head" came in the mail today. Shiny! If you look in the bottom right of the page where the page numbers usually are and flip through the pages quickly, you'll see a flip animation of the Last Drink Bird Head moving his/her head up and down sans the glass of water. (I used to make those as a kid -- animated flip books.) It makes me grin to see that image/animation there on my very first for real hard bound and printed anthology. Something about that is is just so... appropriate. I'd add photos but you all have already seen the cover twice. I called my mother, naturally, and we squeed over our copies together. That was fun. Yay! Now I've something cool to stand up next to my folded name card at cons next year. ;) Confused my husband just now. Was running about the house, sticking it on various bookshelves to see what it looked like with other books. Left it next to Stephen King, Aldus Huxley and Truman Capote in the hopes that some of that shit might rub off. (I'm totally silly that way.) (Oh and yes, I know the book is $35. But it's for a good cause.) (Comment on this)
Friday, December 4th, 2009
corwinok	11:46p	A Perfect Recovery Originally published at The Last Exit to Babylon. Please leave any comments there. Tonight, the local Girl Scouts service unit held their annual Daddy-Daughter Dance.  I was supposed to take her, but for a variety of reasons beyond my control, we couldn't go.  So I was left scrambling to find a way to make it up to her. I figured we'd start with a nice dinner out, someplace we ordinarily wouldn't be able to go.  I was already in my suit, since I didn't find out for sure we couldn't go to the dance until mid-afternoon, so I told her to go ahead and put on the dress she was going to wear tonight and be ready.  After some consultation with my friends, I decided to take her up to Shiki.  Of all the suggestions I offered her, a Japanese steakhouse with hibachi tables appealed to her most, and I'd been meaning to try this one for a while. We had an absolute blast at dinner.  Our chef was a good one, energetic and entertaining, and chose Brianna as the one to trick with offering a bowl of fried rice on the end of his spatula, then flipping it back over his head to his other hand.  She was delighted, and we both ate ourselves almost into a stupor.  She had the shrimp, while I went for steak and calamari, and we even splurged on dessert: green tea ice cream for her, and tempura cheesecake for me.  One more bite and she would have had to roll me out to the car.  I couldn't even eat the wafer-thin mint she offered me. Next we swung by the house to take pictures.  I was trying to include as much as I could from our original plans, and if we were both dressed up, we needed to document the occasion.  Unfortunately, I couldn't lay my hands on my tripod, so I had to make due with setting the camera on a table and taking a seated shot of us.  She loved it, though, and that's all that mattered. After that, we went walkabout (drive-about, technically, since it's way too cold for someone with my thin Southern blood to walk outdoors right now) to check out some Christmas lights.  We drove around the rich neighborhood of Nichols Hills and enjoyed the light shows the residents had paid people to put up for them.  As impressive as some of those were, they paled in comparison before the grandeur of the lights Chesapeake Oil put on all the trees around their offices between Western and Classen south of 63rd.  They were bright enough I probably didn't need my headlights, much less any of the street lights.  As we drove away from them, Brianna announced from the back seat: "I just can't stop smiling.  I don't remember the last time this happened." Clearly, I had done well beyond my wildest dreams.  I had hoped to try and come close to making it up to her for not taking her to the dance, and here she was in such a state of joy over our evening together.  It doesn't get better than that. After totally knocking one out of the park with the lights, I took her on back to her mother's house, and drove up to Sean's for a nightcap.  This turned out to be a perfect way to end the evening, spending some time chatting with the staff while enjoying their hospitality.  I even got to take some time to discuss their need for a Facebook page with one of waitresses, and will be going back next week to see what I can do to help out with that.  Networking at its finest, and a way to help my favorite restaurant and pub get even more exposure. All in all, a more perfect night than I could have hoped for.