Henhouse happenings

Sorry about the ping.fm spam. I have edited by settings slightly and there will not be a repeat of this travesty in the future.

is trying to be crafty with the IMing to avoid managerial draconian measures

Finally I can post discreetly to Livejournal, Facebook, and Plurk, all from my tiny little Adium/iChat window. Discreetly! At work! Comment if you want the beta code.

Trailer Graveyards Haunt FEMA, Neighbors -- post Katrina formaldehyde nightmare.

Can someone explain to me how the formaldehyde got there in the first place? Is it a side effect of the trailer manufacturing process?

Truck rams Concorde, knocks off its nose in NYC.

This is just weird -- how do you leave an enormous plane somewhere in the open where it can get rammed?

Today in Target we saw a dress that reminded my wife of this Buffy quote:

WILLOW: (horrified) Buffy, it's hideous. Oh my god, Buffy. Look at its arms!

Then while we were at the movies watching Hancock (which is definitely worth seeing, for Jason Bateman alone, even though overall it is a bit flawed compared to Iron Man), there's a scene that completely reminded me of the hilarity when the vampires were making fun of Buffy for smelling like the Doublemeat Palace.

( more dialog... )

Also, there's a scene later in the jail where Jason Bateman is visiting, and I swear someone was about to yell "no touching!" (just kidding) There are sadly no "Wee Britain" jokes I can make in reference to Charlize Theron.

Ohio station advertises gas for $9.09 a gallon.

Imagine how much it would cost to drive a damn Hummer at that price. Bwahahaha.

Happy birthday to my dear wife, bunnyohare.

HOP!

Holy cow, amazon is down.

Update: It's back up now. Down for about two hours though, including S3.

Does anyone want a Plurk invitation?

Scott McClellan is Not My Hero. But. -- Canadian screenwriter Denis McGrath's latest blog has some very interesting points, particularly,

And what really has me fascinated, watching this story play out, is the denial and the somersaults you see media types going through to try and douse McClellan's most explosive point -- that the media haven't done their jobs. Not after 9/11, not in the leadup to the Iraq war, and not now.

I find that interesting because a few years ago I had to make a choice. I was supremely uncomfortable working in "journalism" or "factual", because everywhere I looked, I saw people clearly writing with bias and then denying that's what they were doing...I saw self-censorship because nobody wanted to be accused of being "typical left wing media," so the most ridiculous nosestretchers from the other side got free passes.

Seriously, that episode was majorly scary. I'm sure felisblanco's husband is hiding behind the couch right about now.

In other news, we recently upgraded to a Sonicare toothbrush, and now every time I used it I think of Doctor Who.

N.Y. Gov. Says Married Gay Couples Deserve Rights.

All that blue on the interactive map really freaks me out, though. There's still a lot of hate out there.

S.E. Johnson, "a little greener"
BP, "Beyond Petroleum"

Being the cynic I am, of course I'm chalking this up to 'marketing hogwash'.

Thoughts?

Movie tally so far this summer:

Teeth -- a must see. If you are a straight woman and think your boyfriend/husband needs to be scared a bit, you must make him watch this. BWAHAHA. Also, the film does some unconventional genre things, and the director may or may not be gay. Also, I really liked the lead actress, Jess Weixler.

Iron Man -- also a must see. In general I'm still not a fan of Jon Favreau, but this helps to ameliorate that. Pretty much agreeing with this excellent review by a certain person on my f-list.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall -- a bit more 'meh' about this one, but I'll see Kristen Bell in almost anything (except maybe movies about cell phones killing people, hahaha). Also, Russell Brand can really only play one character -- himself -- but that's expected.

There were two or three others I expected to have seen by now, but illness has abated those plans. *cough, cough*

Gay wedding for Star Trek's Takei and a nice picture of the two of them on Takei's own site.

For some reason, the idea that the two of them have been together for 21 years and that Takei is now 71 just makes me unbelievably happy. Some people kind of give up on meeting that 'right' someone somewhere in their mid-30's or 40's, but really it's never too late.

I saw this on zandra_x's LJ and wanted to re-post right away.

As you presumably know, California's recent court decision regarding same-sex marriage was a huge deal. It was historic, long overdue, and took a hell of a lot of fighting.

Unfortunately (and not surprisingly) Governor Schwarzenegger is receiving tons of phone calls from the supporters of 'Limits on Marriage' (the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California) about his comment to a group of Log Cabin Republicans that he wouldn't support a constitutional amendment which discriminates against gays by defining marriage as only being between a man and woman.

We don't want him to go back on his word. So he needs to hear from us, too.

Calling to voice your support for California's gay marriage ruling means calling an automated system; you won't have to talk to anyone. And you can call even if you're not from California. So please, the more the better.

The number is 1-916-445-2841; press 1, 5, 1 to get to the particular issue, then press 1 if you want to support upholding the court decision and are against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

This is a very interesting article addressing some of the interesting implications of the ruling. It's always been obvious to everyone that (as the article says) what happens in California does not stay in California. It's population, size, and economy make its influence on the rest of the nation and the world as a whole quite compelling. That's why I'm hoping that the ruling will stick, and this will start a domino effect across the nation.

This part of the article made me cry (but I'm generally a crier anyway):

It is helpful for the California opinion that it closely resembles a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has stood the test of time: Loving v. Virginia. In that 1967 ruling, the court struck down all remaining state bans on interracial marriage under the federal constitution ... On the 40th anniversary of her victory, African-American plaintiff Mildred Loving last year issued a statement urging that gays be allowed to marry.

I always think about the fact that I might not be here on this planet if it weren't for Loving v. Virginia and similar rulings, since my parents were an interracial couple. This makes me cry, too. Yes, I cry a lot.

If the Florida November ballot item attempting to ban gay marriage passes, I feel very strongly that I would not want to live here anymore. I don't want to live where I'm not welcome, where we as human beings and as a married couple are made to feel that what we have done and are doing is illegal, that we are somehow sub-human.

The fourth anniversary of our marriage back in Massachusetts is in a little over a month. I cannot imagine our fifth anniversary rolling around without some major life change(s) accompanying it.

Gay marriage!!!!!!!

It's so much warmer there than in Massachusetts. *ponders*

Just imagine getting our marriage back, legally (of course we never lost it personally, AHEM!)...

Avocados RULE.

That is all.

While I was away in Colorado helping to move my father into an assisted living facility, I didn't log in much. Thus I missed you all very much, and am at skip=???.

I am very depressed about my father's inevitable mortality, but I keep telling myself that an assisted living facility is much better than a nursing home. He likes it there and seems to be improving under their care.

As for me, I am exhausted and now remember why Florida weather is so nice. Colorado is cold, dry, nosebleeds every day, chapped face and hands, generally horrible and miserable. Florida is nice and warm and the perfect level of humidity. Don't let me ever, ever complain about the weather here.

GRRRRRRR. ARGH.

That is all.

Our special order of D.L. Jardines Peach Salsa finally arrived today. Yum, yum. Had to order it online because all the local stores have stopped carrying it. If you haven't tried it, trust me, this is GREAT salsa.

Also, Doctor Who? ( Loved it. )

Yes, flowers ARE edible...

Denis McGrath's essay on things to avoid when trying to save your favorite TV show is very interesting. The "Don't Send Crap" rule is especially interesting. I do wonder why the "send pencils" thing was nevertheless one of the main tactics fans used to support the WGA -- even the writers supported this idea, and if it were a bad idea as Denis says it is, you'd think the WGA would know this as well.

He's definitely right about the need not to send hate mail. Saying "we hate your network" will not help in any way. Saying "we like the show because of X, Y and Z rational reasons that make sense to network executives" works much better.

I hardly ever do any posts at all these days, let alone random rambling disjointed ones, but this is one of those.

1. Cat food! The last three times I've gone to buy kibble, Pearl's favorite brand in the small bag size was consistently out of code, so I had to buy the bigger bags. I like the smaller bags better because although they are not as much value monetarily for how much you get, they stay fresh longer. These bags had a 2009 date on them, woo hoo! Also she actually enjoyed the catnip toy I got her -- she's really picky about toys.

2. Gas -- how much are you all paying for your nefarious gasoline/petrol substance for your motorized vehicles, if any?

I was shocked to pay $40.09 to fill up my tank. This is more than I have ever paid. That's $3.20/gallon to fill up a 12-14 gallon tank in a mid-sized sedan.

I hate to bring up "I remember when"s, but seriously, it was as low as 99 cents/gallon during the Clinton administration. Inflation cannot account for this discrepancy. *eyes oilmen in the White House with great suspicion*

( More rambling aka 'All about canvas shopping bags' )

There's this person "Wendy" who had my cell phone number before I had it. Clearly she got rid of it in order to run from creditors, because her creditors call my number EVERY day.

I have tried talking to the supervisors of the callers, I have tried putting the calling numbers on my Do Not Call list, I have tried asking my cellphone company (Sprint) to block the numbers (which they refuse to do).

I have already changed my number once before (the previous cell phone number had different, equally annoying problems involving the person who had the number before I did).

As a last resort I will change my number again.

However, if anyone can think of any other tactics I might try, please -- advice is welcome.

If I receive one more call at 8:00 AM from a freaking credit card company, I might go insane.

I'm looking for a list of Jack O'Neill's funny quotes, specifically a list that includes his linguistic boo-boos. I call these the "Khaki Trousers" errors (after Buffy's famous Kakistos/Khaki Trousers/Taquitos utterances).

Does anyone know where I could find such a list?

Both episodes seem to be based on two of the three Torchwood spin-off novels from last year, Border Princes in the case ot 2.05 "Adam" and Slow Decay in the case of 2.06 "Reset".

IMO "Adam" fails rather miserably at paying tribute to "Border Princes". This is a great pity as I thought that was the best of the three novels.

On the other hand, "Reset" is a much more enjoyable episode, and better-written than "Slow Decay". I admit I feel this way not just based on the writing but also on the presence of two very AWESOME guest stars. I won't say anymore here, but don't blame me if someone spoils you in the comments. :-)

Has anyone else read the spin-off novels? If so, discuss. If not -- discuss! (Perhaps I could be convinced that Adam is an interesting character in his own right, but it's hard for me to imagine this, with all the stuff from the novel stuck in my mind.)

... when I wear it, I feel cute.

So, when I was Googling these lyrics (from the Kimya Dawson song, which I heard on the Juno soundtrack), I came across this unrelated photo.

Whoa!

I love the way Google will always lead me astray, and soon, I will forget what I was originally seeking.

But, P.S., here is a picture of me in a more traditional bunny suit.

If you missed the LOLCat Bible Translation Project and enjoy that sort of thing, do take a look. It's pretty hysterical. Of course, Leviticus 18 is my personal favorite, snork, but you just can't beat the picture here in Genesis 3.

Mind you, if I had actually been forced to swallow all this Bible stuff when I was a child, I'd probably find it even funnier.

People seem to be claiming this has already been all over the internet, but somehow I missed it.

There are a lot of jesus nuts around here. It does not endear me to this city, let me tell you.

First there's some guy in a neighboring suite who parks in the lot at our office, whose truck has a Jesus is the Answer! license plate. (Vomit)

Then there's the church down the street which has funky sayings on its outside marquee that say things like "Stop, Drop, & Pray!". Keep in mind, this in not hicksville rural Florida, this is Winter Park, one of the most liberal, hippy, vegetarian, college town suburban environments of Orlando. So of course this is especially surprising.

To cap it all off, on the way to the Mall, you have to drive past The Holy Land Experience because the back of their buildings are right up near the exit ramp to the mall (hmmmmm). Normally this isn't a problem because those are just blank backs of buildings.

However, at this time of year, they put up a huge, HUGE neon sign reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!". Once again, gack.

Fortunately, all the people at work are the opposite of this -- they are all Buddhists, atheists, or non-practicing whatevers.

I turned off the silly "adult concepts" filtering thing because it didn't work the way I thought it would. It annoyingly turned every single cut tag into a darn over-14 warning. Ludicrous.

If anyone wants a holiday card and has not already filled out my wife's entry, please leave a (screened) comment.

If you want a religion-specific or extra-special theme, let me know, otherwise I'll play it safe and go with "happy holidays". :-)

Stupid automotive monikers:

the Nissan "Armada"
the Buick "Enclave"

If auto makers are going to go to such ridiculous naming extremes, pretty soon they will come out with something like the Lexus "Panic Room".

As Gob would say, oh COME ON.

The "Armada" was my favorite mockable one for a long time, because it's plural. Your stupid gas-wasting SUV is so effing big that it's the size of an entire FLEET of ships?

Then yesterday we spied the "Enclave" for the first time. Holy cow, that's just ludicrous. The worst part is that the auto makers pay marketing people actual money to come up with these insane names. Some of these names are very silly. Most of the people in vehicles called "Mountaineers" have never been and and never will be anywhere near the mountains. At least the "Suburban" is an honest name.

Don't even get me started on the Hummer.

I apologize to anyone on my f-list who drives an SUV, but I just don't understand them. To me they are a symbol of ridiculous American wastefulness. They are unsafe and they are a menace to normal-sized cars. And sometimes, people buy them to compensate for certain things.

My wife suddenly realized today that Dr. Rodney McKay is Data.

Think about it -- both very smart and geeky, both into blond warrior women (not that Tasha and Sam are THAT similar, but still), both have cats.

Hmmm!

So we went to Einstein Bagels for lunch. Not the first time. Usually it is pretty nice, the food is fresh and good.

However, this time they were playing some kind of horrible Christian Rock over the PA system. Not just horrible, but propagandistic.

Lyrics like "God is real, creation is the truth". Three songs in a row.

I was extremely surprised because it seems like a pretty hip company, and I have never heard music like this in there before, either at this location or any other.

I wrote an angry letter to them, asking whether this was a corporate policy of religious indoctrination, or a franchise-specific aberration of self-appointed managerial propaganda.

I stated I would never again eat at any Einstein if it was a corporate policy, and never again eat at this particular location if it was specific to this location.

I was very surprised, because this particular location is in the heart of the most liberal, crunchy-granola suburb of Orlando. This isn't the town you think of when you think "Bible Belt". This is freaking Winter Park here. It's about the least likely place in Florida for such an occurrence.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing at Einstein Brothers Bagels?

Not unlike this squirrel.

( QI 5.2 )

( QI 5.1 )

As a chicken, I sometimes get chicken-related phrases stuck in my head. Phrases like, oh, I don't know, "CHICKEN BUTT".

Hahahaha. Yes, I am five years old.

I decided to Google "poultry posterior" and only got 4 hits.

Just not enough! Hmmmph. And it had alliteration and everything.

So today I saw a Hummer parked in one of those spots marked "Compacts Only".

HAHAHAHA.

Let me just say that (unlike slightly smaller monster cars of the same type) it was not just ON the white line. It was WAY over into the next spot.

What the HECK.

The sense of entitlement boggles my mind.

(Oh, and it wasn't one of those "small" Hummers. It was the big granddaddy-one, the "hi, I am insecure and have a Napoloean complex and small equipment" vehicle.

Pumpkin kitty!

Also, here's a picture of someone else's cat in the same costume. Uncanny.

Slight spoilers for the Sarah Jane Adventures, which are upcoming in a few weeks ("at the end of September 2007").

I really enjoyed the Christmas special and am very much looking forward to this. It will help tide me over until Torchwood and Doctor Who start again, for one thing, not to mention Elisabeth Sladen is quite good on her own anyway. The child actors are also very good, and if the guest stars in the Christmas special are any indication, there will probably be some quality in the adult area as well (love that cute guy from "Hex" who guested in the Xmas special).

This was described as a costume for dogs for Halloween, but it fit the cat (much to her chagrin).

So I thought of another typical word my mother loved to use a lot -- skedaddle. I now realize that not everyone has heard this word, and some people laugh at me when I say it.

The other thing I like about it is that it goes nicely with that word made so famous by Oz in BtVS, namely, "mosey". (For a fascinating article about the contradictory meanings of this, see the "Slow down faster" section of this article.)

Mosey! Skedaddle!

I just love words.

So do other people use "skedaddle"?

And what about vamoose? That was another of her favorites.

I'm surprised not to have seen this on my f-list yet, it seems like huge news!

http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?date=2007/08/30/3&navpath=/news/

http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2007/08/31/4

It isn't totally legal yet because it's being appealed to the state
supreme court, but there's a good chance it will stand.

California, Maryland, and Connecticut are considering related cases.

On this first day of September, three days before the first anniversary of my mother's death, I find this news very uplifting. She was a native Iowan, and as a champion of gay rights (thanks to having me as her gay gay daughter, and having several gay friends), I think she would have been very happy about this.

The wild pen-prey has been taken down by the mighty predator.

The other day at work, I referred to some programming practice as being "old hat" and my co-worker didn't know what this meant.

I have frequently been caught using old-fashioned phrases that make me sound like someone's grandma. This is because my parents were born during/before the Depression, and had me when they were in their late 30's/early 40's. So they use(d) phrases and vocabulary that were popular during the Depression and during WWII (and well before, because they speak they way THEIR parents spoke, turn of the century).

However, I just don't feel that "old hat" is really so "old"-fashioned. It seems very ordinary to me. However, I have no frame of reference, because I grew up hearing things that sound normal to me, and weird to other people my age.

Do other people have a familiarity with this phrase?

Is it truly old-fashioned?

First, thank you.

I want to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about Jasmine. I just don't have the emotional energy to respond to everyone in person, but I read and took to heart all of your kind responses.

My darling rabbit is feeling even more raw and sad than I am, and has not felt up to posting, but has also read your responses and is very grateful for your kind words about the loss of our sweet Jasmine.

Second, a complaint. Not about you, about some other people!

I unsubscribed from a mailing list for people with terminally ill kidneyCats, because you know what? I don't want to read about other people's sick cats anymore! Too depressing. Let me tell you the funny part though -- and I want to find out if other people find this equally hilarious, because to me, it's like "the stork brings babies", I mean COME ON -- anyway, the funny part to me is that a ton of people on that list would use a euphemism for death that I had never seen before.

They would all write that their cats had "gone over the rainbow bridge". I thought this was the funniest euphemism ever. At first. Now, I just find it annoying and childish. At the end, it just pissed me the hell off. Can't they just say, "my cat has died"? ARGH!!!

Is it wrong that I find this so darn annoying? Please tell me someone else finds this equally silly.

On a lighter topic, I highly recommend the film "Stardust". It is a very pleasant surprise, and is actually one of the few "adaption based on a novel" movies that is actually better than the original novel. I do love Neil Gaiman's writing and especially love the "Sandman" graphic novels and "Good Omens", but didn't like Stardust as much. So this film was extremely and surprisingly good. The casting is just amazing, the pacing is good (unlike in the book), and the balance of comedy, fantasy, and romance is just right.

Go see it! And curses to the lame, non-existent marketing behind this film. If it does poorly at the box office it will not be because of any lack of quality in the film itself, only in the bad job the studio has done in promoting it.

That is all.

Yesterday was our sweet Jasmine's last day on earth.

She finally reached the dreaded stage of hiding under things, vomiting a lot, having trouble walking and refusing to eat.

The vet examined her and agreed she probably wouldn't make it more than another few days at most, no matter what we did, so that was that. There was lots of crying. We loved her very much and miss her more than seems possible.

She was a wonderful, spirited kitty like no other I've ever known.

Today on one of our innumerable trips to the vet, we saw a squirrel -- yes, a SQUIRREL -- in a cage. The owner said that her cat is more frightened of the squirrel than the other way around. Apparently this squirrel will not become a "snack".

I did not know that people had squirrels as domesticated pets. Wow.