Ramblings of a Perverted Moth
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Below are the 50 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Badnoodles" journal:[<< Previous 50 entries]
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11:12 am
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/85298524/404944) [Link] | Since I did recently graduate, a number of family and friends gave me gifts. They didn't need to, at all, and I'm actually kind of embarassed at what they did.
If I do say so myself, I'm very good at sending thank you notes for monetary gifts, thanks to a little trick I picked up from an etiquette-conscious aunt:
I won't deposit the check or put the gift card in my wallet until I have written a thank-you note to the giver. It's a solid reminder, especially for cash.
Now, thank you notes for *things* often get forgotten. I'm really bad at that. I don't mean to be, and I feel bad about it. But sometimes you get to the point where it's been so long that the act of sending a note seems like it would only draw more attention to your atrocious lack of courtesy, and that the gift in question is likely forgotten. I can only hope that family is understanding about that.
(No, this is not a passive-agressive post directed at someone else. I'm just working through the piles of stuff on my desk, which includes a number of gift cards)
Current Music: Static-X - Love Dump
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09:37 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/97067533/404944) [Link] | Today was a very productive day!
I took my car into the shop, got my state inspection, and had the brake pads replaced. Well, I say replaced. There wasn't actually any pad left in the front left wheel, which accounted for the horrible grinding noise. And the rear brakes had "some kind of sticky red gunk" on them. But now all four wheels are clean and safe. Good news for me, not so much for my Amex.
I had an impromptu phone interview with the lab monkey supervisor at Bryan PD! He was impressed with my credentials, but he wanted to be sure that I would stick around for a few years, and not just get the citizens of Bryan to underwrite my training and then skip off. I did my best, telling him that I've lived in this town off and on since 1993, that I own my house, and I'm unlikely to go anywhere. That seemed to assuage him. He also asked me a question that I have yet to see in any of the many, many interview tip articles I've read: "What is a work situation that causes you stress?"
Now, the actual answer is "working for and with idiots", but I didn't say that. Instead, I went with "It stresses me when people's mess spills into my work area", which 1.) made me sound like the organized, neat scientist I actually am and 2.) not like a whiner who can't deal with multitasking, weird odors, and gossipy coworkers. I was pretty proud of coming up with that, as I had no idea that I was going to be interviewed.
I look at it that there are some pros and there are some cons. On the plus side, I would not have to move. I have family and many friends in Texas. Since it's a small department, they'll train me in a wide variety of techniques. I'll be on a day shift, with weekends off. On the down side, the pay is only $16/hr. I'd be the most junior person in the department, which means I'd draw all the shit jobs. And I'd be on-call pretty much 24-7/365. And since it's a small department, there won't be too much that happens that's interesting.
I booked tickets for Canada to interview for that post-doc. Flying out of BCS was a ridiculous amount of money, so I'm going to drive down to Houston and fly from there. Much, much cheaper.
I also submitted my application packet to take the board certification forensic entomology exam in July. In going through my case history, I discovered two cases that I'd worked that weren't in my CV, and one case on the CV that I didn't actually work, but only read the report. So it's a good thing I went through with a fine-tooth comb before I turned the thing in.
As I said - a productive day.
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11:11 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/46527206/404944) [Link] | Interesting news on the job hunt. I was offered a post-doc in Canada, so if all else fails, I've got a fall-back job that I can take. It seems like a goo dposition on the surface, but I'm more than a little leery that the PI took 3 months to get back to me. It's a one year position, with the option to renew for another year.
At any rate, I'm flying up there at the end of the month for a visit and to work out details. I want to be damned sure I know what I'm getting into before I formally agree to anything. I also need to pray that I hear back from Platteville or Purdue before I have to sign a contract.
And it looks like I'm cleared to graduate, and there really will be a diploma in the tube tomorrow morning. It's kind of surreal - I've been a student of some kind since I was 3 years old. Now, I'm finally not. I won't know hat to do with myself.
(Also, I have to use the icon that ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) mothoc made for me many moons ago.)
Tags: job, omg whee
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07:25 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/74738349/404944) [Link] |
Bigger fiber projects, and foreign language instructions
Lizzie Kate's 2009 Boo Club banner.
I wish I'd included something for perspective - this came out about 2.5" long.
I had this kitted up in my stash box for quite a long time before I finally got around to starting it. It went together pretty quickly, and then it stalled for months while my LNS dicked around getting me a spool of Kreinik. (Never do mail-order through Ginger's Needlearts of Austin!). I made two fairly significant alterations to the pattern. For one, I swapped out the bland yellow used in the stars for each panel with glow-in-the-dark Kreinik. I tried a couple of different glow in the dark flosses before settling on the kreinik. DMC glow floss is bone white, which I didn't like, and didn't glow enough if I blended it with a yellow floss. I had some unnamed floss left over from a stitch kit, but it was an abhorrent lime green. So I went to my nemesis, Kreinik.
The other thing I did was add candy to the top of the border as well as the bottom. The original pattern just had the checkerboard, but as the pattern is an odd number of stitches wide, there was a weird compensation right in the top right corner. Plus, who doesn't like more candy. But looking at it now, I wish I'd left a little more space between the candy and the words.
Silver Dragonfly
Designed by Nora Corbett for Wichelt.
When he visited at my birthday in November, ebony14 picked this for me to do as my next largish piece I almost feel like this was an example of bait & switch on the designer's part. The picture on the chart shows a very muted, sophisticated, and silver winged dragonfly, and that's what I was expecting to stitch. Instead, the colors are much more in the pastel family, and the blue and pink floss stand out strongly against the metallic Kreinik. I did make a couple of changes: I swapped out the fuzzy Wisper for a black perle cotton for the legs and antennae, and I stitched the antennae to be nominally anatomically accurate. I'm an entomologist, and I know my odonates - they are not fuzzy, and they have short, almost spiky antennae. I hate it when designers do grossly inaccurate insects.
Violets
I picked up this little kit when I was in Japan back in July. It's more traditional embroidery than my usual style, but I liked it, and I had seen lots of violets. And though it is small, it was a fairly ambitious project for me because all the instructions were in Japanese. Fortunately, they were quite well illustrated, so I had a fighting chance of turning out something decent.
I'm not sure what the actual name of the design is, but I believe the designer is Kazuko Aoki. It's a beginner difficulty thing, and nothing special. But I'm proud of myself for making it come out half-way decent.
I don't think that the floss was regular cotton DMC - it felt far too silky, and was very pleasant to work with.
Princess Roll (Or as I call it, the Kawaii Cake!)
This was another of my Japan purchases. I saw (and ate!) green tea flavored pastries several times. And it doesn't hurt that I thought it fell into the realm of so-cute-I-had-to-buy-it.
I was even more nervous about this one because it isn't embroidery, but more 3-d construction. But like the piece above, the instructions were very well illustrated, and the felt happened to be pre-cut. So I was able to put this entire thing together over the course of a 3 part miniseries about Martin Luther. The only thing I didn't get quite right was the whipped cream puff. The picture shows something that's pointed at the top, while mine is pressed inward. But there were a whole bunch of arrows and instructions on that bit that I couldn't follow. But I did eventually manage to shape it into something that looks like a squirt of whipped cream to my fairly experienced eye.
(cross-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1) cross_stitch)
Current Music: Rush - Subdivisions
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06:35 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/97067518/404944) [Link] |
Punched paper projects and a couple of slightly twee hearts
I stitch all the time. But I'm really bad about documenting what I've done and putting it on the internet. so it tends to come out in rather giant blorts, rather than a sprinkling from time to time.
Also, I am terribly sorry that I'm such a bad photogrpaher. I can get stuff in focus, but I suck so hard at lighting, it's not even funy
     
This series of 6 tassels (Orchid, Plum, Rainbow Teal, Sapphire, Willow, and Wisteria) was from Mill Hill in 2001. They look fantastic under indirect lighting - very sparkly. But they were a pain in the butt to assemble. They didn't want to fold evenly because two sides were one square wider than the other two. And since they aren't perfectly square, the tassel part doesn't always want to hang straight. But overall, I'm happy with how they turned out. I wouldn't put them on an Xmas tree, though - they need light from all sides to really stand out.
Here is Melchior, from the 2011 "Magi Trilogy" series. The Magi have always been my favorite part of the nativity sotry, so I was very excited to see a series of these guys. I will have to say that it took me forever to do all that beading - the small preview image just doesn't do justice to how many beads there and how rich they make him look.
 
Bluebird Santa and Cardinal Santa, 2003 "Alpine Santas" series. Stitched as charted, backed with black felt.
These are the first two of this series. Compared with the later Santas, they aren't nearly as detailed or distinct. But I'm at heart a completionist: some months ago, I gave into my baser impulses and bought all of the punched paper santas that I didn't already own. And then I picked up 2011's series when it came out, so I'm now several series behind. But nwo that I'm done with my dissertation, I'll knock them out quickly, I think.
 
"Ireland" and "Japan" from Victoria Sampler's "International Hearts" Series.
I have a bunch of these hearts - countries that I've visited, and countries where my family has come from. Alas, they haven't released any of the more obscure countries in a while, so I may never get to make one for Malaysia or Czecholsovakia. Anyway, this kit came with an odd burgundy floss to use for the flag and to fill the specialty stitch. I say odd, because the Irish flag is green, white, and *orange*. So I pulled an appropriate shade from my stash and subbed it. I also gave the leprechaun eyes and gold buttons, because I felt like he deserved a little more personality.
Unlike Ireland, Japan is stitched pretty much as charted, though I do think that geisha is a little garish.
(cross-posted to cross_stitch)
Current Music: Rush - New World Man
Tags: needlework
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05:49 am
[Link] | my liver has a sad from drinking 4 16oz red bulls and a coke over the course of about five hours.
But i've written 23 pages of dissertation in that same time period, so maye it was worth it.
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01:16 am
[Link] | Three big chapters down. Two short ones to go.
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01:12 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/97067513/404944) [Link] | I went and saw Three Musketeers last night with Sancho, Michelle, & Tasker. We actually caught the 2D version, which was something of a mistake - only nominally "in focus" at all. I'm not sure if this is just due to the fact that the studio doesn't care about the 2D audience or because our theater is cheap and presents the "2D" showing by just popping the polarizer off the projector.
It was a terrible film. Just really terrible. But I enjoyed the hell out of it. I admit that at least a third of that enjoyment came from sitting next to Sancho, who was nursing a hip flask and making desparing comments with me.
telophase found Orlando Bloom to be a scene chewer, but I must respectfully disagree. I didn't find him to be feasting on the sets, mostly because any lines he had were completely overshadowed by the fact that his attitude and body language seemed to be channeling some sort of high camp drag queen. It was amazing, and I could not help but giggle *every* time he showed up on screen. And I think he *knew* that he was playing a greasy cut-rate Casanova in pumps and was loving every minute of it.
It's a really contrast to Porthos, who is also vain as hell and more than a bit of a dandy. But Ray Stevenson was able to pull him off as not one whit effeminate, and I loved him for it. Although honestly, he was playing Titus Pullo again, just in a beard and doublet instead of a tunic. It worked, though. Athos and Aramis were woefully under-characterized, particularly Aramis. He's such a devious, calculating bastard, and the extent of his developent was "Religious, but occasionally pretends to be Batman". Instead there was a lot of D'Artagnan being a youthful jackass. Which is pretty accurate to the original book, but not so interesting on the screen.
Part of the lack of characterization was that there were maybe only 30 pages of dialogue for the whole film. the vast majority was swordfighitng, explosions, and gratuitious 3D elements. Come to think of it, any of the scenes where people were actually talking reminded me of the cut scenes of a video game. then there'd be a map element to telll you where the next level was, and then there would be loud noises and grunting.
It was such a weird hodge-podge of a movie. It was like they put up movie posters of The Princess Bride, Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Zorro, and John Hughes-esque Teen Rom Com #32 on the wall, and when they couldn't think of dialog or plot point, they just threw darts at the wall and cribbed from whichever one they hit.
And they really blew their wad on the over-the-top cheese factor in the first five minutes or so. There is precisely one other scene with that level of insanity, coindidentally involving Milla Jovovich in her contractually-agreed underwear.
It's not a film to see alone. My enjoyment came largely from the lulz we were able to mine from its ridiculousity, not because the film itself is either funny or interesting. But if you've got a designated driver, it'd be worth taking a bottle of something interesting and finding a theater with a high tolerance for heckling.
Tags: magic glowing entertainment box, of course i'm not procrastinating
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04:19 pm
[Link] | And here are all my small finishes. I only let myself work on two projects at a time, so I tend to rack up the little ones while chugging away at the big ones.
( Ten! Ten finishes, ah! ah! ah! )
Tags: needlework, of course i'm not procrastinating
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03:43 pm
[Link] | I think it has been ONE MILLION YEARS since I posted any finished needlework. But I have been stitching up a storm - it's a decompression thing.
Here is the big stuff. I've got a bunch of little things in a second post.
Halloween Sprouts by Hinzeit
2x2 on 28ct Jobelan. I don't know if anyone else has done this piece, but the chart and finishing directions are really terrible. There are symbols on the graph not on the key, there are symmetry errors, and things on the directions that aren't anywhere in the graph or the photo. In the end, I just ended up doing a crap ton of backstitching around all the elements, as it really does make them stand out from the background.
Frank N Boo by Bent Creek
2x2 on unknown fabric. Stitched with suggested DMC rather than variegated threads.
I worked on this on my trip to Asia this summer, but I didn't get around to actually finishing it until much later. The instructions claim that it fits into any 5x7 frame, but I found that it's exactly 7" tall - the rabbet on most frames overlaps it. /However/, I had a frame intended for one of those old APS panoramic photos, and it fit perfectly, though I may put a mat on it at some point.
Pole Star by Laura J. Perrin
Rainbow Gallery metallics, perle cotton, Caron Watercolours and Waterlillies, and glass beads on 18 mesh mono canvas. The acrylic "jewels" provided were replaced with Swarovski crystals.
Even more than counted cross stitch, I love counted needlepoint. or canvaswork. I really think that it works with the geometric nature of the fabric. Anyway, this is a companion piece to Independence Day, which I completed last year. I think of it more as comet than as Polaris, but I love the mixture of symmetry and asymmetry in this piece.
Winter Wonderland by Mill Hill
DMC, glass beads, and crystal snowflakes on punched paper.
This was quite the bear to stitch - with the exception of the dark blue, all of the color values are really close together. It came with a ceramic bunny button, but I didn't like the folksy look on the monochrome sophistication of the trees. So I picked out a couple of glass snowflakes instead.
Tags: needlework
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03:17 pm
[Link] | I've set my defense date. December 14th.
And now, we run for the roses.
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03:59 pm
[Link] | A couple of days ago, I dropped my droid, fracturing the front glass. A quick look at the internet told me that any completely new phone would rung me $250+, which I didn't like. But for $30, I could order a replacement digitzer. The only trick was that I'd have to install it. So I ordered the part and looked up disassembly videos on youtube.
Honestly, it was like performing surgery - tiny little ribbon cables and junctions that had to be carefully disassembled, easily stripped miniature screws, fragile glass and plastic. Aside from the crippling feeling of "Oh god, oh god, what if I fuck this up?", it was rather a lot of fun.
The important thing, to me, was that I could do it. I could open up a device that I own, take it apart, swap out a part, and put it back together. And I did so with the help of people on the internet. It almost felt transgressive, because it's generally frowned upon for an end user to tinker with electronic devices. Modding one's playstation or rooting a phone or really any kind fiddling with a device you own is naughty. Even if it's only to replace a broken part without the authorization of the company that made it. Ending is better than mending.
So here's to nominally user-serviceable parts. open source software, standardized hardware, an a willingness to at least give it a try.
Tags: droid, ms fix-it
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01:41 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/58228857/404944) [Link] | #62: Kushiel's Avatar (Kushiel's Legacy) by Jacqueline Carey
So much better than the second one, which was mostly political intrigue and not a whole heck of a lot of character impact. This one was much better, but it struggled with making Phedre a little to much of a Sue. Of course, part of the point is htat she is explicitly makred as the chosen of a god, so I guess that taste goes down a little better. But I'm glad that Phedre will not be the oritagonist for any more books set in this continuity.
#63: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
This is one of the Disc books that I'm in two minds about . The story fo Death as Bill Door is some of the most touching stuff that Pterry ever wrote. But the business with Windle Poons and the mall was just...ugh. Still, it's got one of my favorite lines in it: "Lord, what can the harvest hope for if not for the care of the reaper man".
#64: Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
Yet another of the books where the wizards kind of got shoehorned in. The stuff with Ridcully was important, yes, but what was the point of having Stibbons and the Librarian along? Still, it had more of Casanunder, and I love that character.
#65:Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
A reallly, really excellent young YA. It's got an active, pragmatic female protagonist (Creel), dragons with distinct personalities (One is a neurotic with a collection of dogs), and just enough medieval fantasy to keep it fun. It did not hurt in the least that Creel liked to embroider - it's fairly unusual to see that hobby portrayed in a positive light. Usually, it just indicates characters are kind of boring.
There's also some surprising romance. Not only is it surprising for who it involves, but that they are all plot significant characters first, and romantic interests second. And nobody plays the damsel-in-distress, which I quite relished.
I liked this one so much that I want other people to read it - I'll happily loan my kindle copy to anyone who likes it. Otherwise, go download the teaser chapter. If that doesn't sell you on it, nothing will.
#66: Fascinated by Various Authors
A series of short shories/novelettes. More erotica, frankly, than trashy romance novel, with the D/s elements, the role-playing, and -yes- female on male butt play. That last is really the most surprising, because the author managed to work some prostate tickling into the story in a way that was sweet rather than vaguely icky. That same story featured older protagonists outside of the usual "white, wealthy, aristocratic" mold of historical romance.
#67:Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
One part Chuck Palanhuik, one part Quentin Tarantino, one part Amy Tan. The "Hello Kitty". I loved the black humor, the snarkiness, the bile, as expressed in my earlier post about the baby-shaped punching bag. It really balanced out the self-important navel gazing and name dropping that characterized much of the rest of the plot.
My main problems with the book were that the authorial voice largely overtook the character's voice at times, and that the ending was pretty much lifted verbatim from Heathers. Though really, given the setup, there were only two ways for the book to end, and only the Heather's ending woudl fit with the pscyho chic tone fo the rest of the novel.
This is another one I'd highly recommend and loan out in kindle format.
#69: In the Garden of Temptation by Cynthia Wicklund.
In a word: bad. In a few more words: It was free, and I got what I paid for.
#70: Pompeii: City on Fire by T.L. Higley
This two-viewpoint historical novel started out with an interesting premis: an upper-class Roman coming to Pompeii to lick his wounds after an embarassing political defeat; and an escaped Jewish slave who disguises herself as a man to become a gladiator.
And for awhile, it continued well: Cato cannot avoid getting involved in politics, and Ariella struggles with keepign her gender a secret and relative poor performance in gladiator school. But then, they both get involved with the seccrect sect of Christians living in Pompeii, and the novel's focus changes to a conversion story. If it were just a plot element, I could have swallowed it, but it very much becomes the focus of the last 25-30% of the book.
It is well-written and as far as I can tell, historically accurate. But I really hate bait and switch religious fiction.
#71: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Don't judge me. Please. (but I secretly liked it a lot).
#72: The Tick: The Complete Edlund by Ben Edlund
SPOOOOOOOON!
#73: You CAN Train Your Cat by Gregory Popovich
Yes, this is the book by the guy who runs the cat circus. I'm not sure any of it is terribly useful unless you don't own a cat, or have never been around them. And it's a bit anthropomorphic. But the sotries of hwo he started preforming with animals and how he picks them and trains them makes it interesting more as a memoir than a manual.
I can however attest that I have used his training tips to successfully teach Ziggy to lie around all day like a bum.
Tags: book list 2011
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03:43 am
[Link] | I'm so tired I can't half see straight.
But it's the last experiment. I can do this.
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05:08 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/62508837/404944) [Link] | Things my students have misspelled so far:
- Brown: Bronw
- Cargo: Cago
- Haired, Collared, Buttoned: Haird, collard, buttond, bottant
- Beret: Buree, bare, berrat, burret, baree, barret, barat, bernie, "that french hat I can't spell"
- Wig: Whig (x3)
- Suede: swayde, suade,
- Corduroy: corderio
- Jeans: genes
- Collared: collard
...and several variations on "khaki", but I'll give them a pass on that one, as I can't always spell it correctly myself.
Tags: ta-tastic
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12:30 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/98403855/404944) [Link] | I went to Las Vegas this past weekend to visit my family - I haven't been out there since Xmas.
I had a wonderful visit, wherein I did Five Awesome things.
#1: I went to Stitcher's Paradise and bought ALL THE THINGS. And by all the things, I mean twenty new projects, most of which are quite small. More of my crazy punched paper Santas and other little things that can be completed in a day. Not that I can start anything new until I've finished the 3 projects currently in progress. Two of them have been stalled for months waiting on a shipment from Ginger's in Austin. I will never, ever, order anything from Ginger's again. They are just fucking incompetent.
#2: The least awesome of the five, we went to see Crazy Awesome Warren's new jewelry store so I could get a ring repaired. He does such nice work - had a 155 carat topaz pendant/brooch "fruit" with tiny gemstone blossoms. The stone was the size of a bantam chicken egg. Absolutely gorgeous. But well out of my price range, alas.
#3: My mother had wanted to go to dim sum in Chinatown for some time, but was hesitant to go with just my stepdad and brother. But now that they understand that really it's just "point at what looks tasty", I think they'll go more often. My brother made an absolute pig of himself with the shrimp har gow - I think he ate 3 orders by himself. I was just glad to get hold of some nice fresh bolo bao, which I haven't had since California.
#4: And as if that wasn't enough, on Sunday we went to Sushi-mon. Now, I'll grant you that any place that serves all-you-can-eat sushi is not going to have the absolute apex of quality sushi. And I'll admit that their nigiri was not a patch on Sushi Dai at Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo. However, they make DELICIOUS American-style rolls. Instead of conveyor belt or buffet style, you order in rounds and the chef makes it right in front of you. I think between the four of us, we ate fifteen or sixteen rolls. Total debauchery.
#5: The last time I was out in Vegas, the local news channel did a little segment on a Russian guy that has a show on the Strip featuring trained animals from the animal shelter. And--well, let Youtube show it better than I can tell it. This is essentially one of the segments of the show:
It was basically an hour and a half of animal tricks with dogs, cats, rats, doves, a parrot, and geese doing the chicken dance. And Popovich himself does some really impressive juggling feats, including juggling while balanced on a 9' freestanding ladder. It's the rare kind of show that's "family friendly" without being "totally lame".
Tags: i couldn't make this shit up, kittyspam, oink oink oink, omg whee
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03:27 pm
[Link] | This is a series of paragraphs from Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
But not the black and white photos of defecating zoo animals in glass box frames. Those said Sean. His statement on wall art.
And the large punching bag shaped like a giant baby hanging from the ceiling and anchored to the floor with a metal chain. I punched its swollen belly and it wailed like a cholericly newborn, sound more and more like a stuck pig. [...]
Sean picked up a baseball bat that was leaning against the wall corner. He sung at the bawling baby. Hard. Harder. Until the noise stopped.
"My new toy. It's very therapeutic. Helps me deal with any aggression I have. You have to hit it until it stops screaming. Like it?"
Now, I haven't finished the book, so I'm withholding final judgment. But I knew I had purchased an express ticket to hell when my first three responses were.
1.) Uncontrollable giggles.
2.) Dude, where can I get one?
3.) I HAVE TO SHARE THIS WITH THE INTERNET OR MY HEAD WILL EXPLODE.
Tags: i couldn't make this shit up, i'm a little not right, oh the horror
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04:39 pm
[Link] | I realized that I have not updated my reading list since April.
This is just what I can remember reading, or what I read in e-book form. I know there are a couple more that I read in dead tree form, but I can't remember the title off the top of my head. For some reason, I have been reading VORACIOUSLY the past few months. And I just bought a whole sackful of stuff when I went to the Plano Half-Price Books.
Discworld:
Before I left for Japan, I loaded my phone up with .yar format discworld books. (That I don't feel bad about at all, because they caused me to buy them in paper form). I was working on re-reading the early part of the series.
#20: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
#21: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
#23: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
#24: Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
#25: Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
#26: Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
#27: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
#28: Eric by Terry Pratchett
#29: Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett
#30: Mort by Terry Pratchett
#31: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
#32: Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
Occasionally Terrible, Occasionally Awesome, Usually Trashy Romance Novels
Also prior to going on vacation, I bought a bunch of Free-$2.00 romances. I'm going to stop apologizing for my embarrassing love of trashy historical romance novels. They are like crack for my brain.
#33: A Proper Companion by Candice Hern
#34: A Change of Heart by Candice Hern
#35: Miss Lacey's Last Fling by Candice Hern
#36: An Affair of Honor by Candice Hern
#37: The Best Intentions by Candice Hern
#38: A Garden Folly by Candice Hern
"A Proper Companion" was a Kindle freebie some time ago, and I picked it up. Although the plot on that one was pretty obvious from the outset, I was taken in by Hern's wonderful authorial voice and heroines that aren't complete friggin' idiot Barbie clones. It's kind of weird, because I usually prefer fairly explicit/kinky/PwP stuff, but the smuttiest Hern gets is passionate tonsil hockey. I'd highly recommend Garden Folly or Best Intentions to any regency fan.
#39: Unlocked by Courtney Milan
#40: Adora by Bertrice Small (OH JOHN RINGO NO. Multiple scenes with gratuitous child molestation, and a whole lot of rape.)
#41: Arabian Pearl by Emma Wildes (The pearl in question? Spooge. Plus the bizarre plot construction of "I can't rescue you from sexual slavery if I don't rape you a little first")
#42: A Fool Again by Eloisa James
#43: The Mudlark by D. Jacobs
#44: Secrets of Midnight by Miriam Minger
Fiction:
#45:Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
#46:A Regimental Murder by Ashley Gardner
#47: Feed by Mira Grant <---AWESOME SAUCE. AWEEEEEEEEEESOME SAUCE.
#48: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen <- Late to the party, but also excellent, if somewhat schmoopy.
#49: Viking Warrior by Judson Roberts
#50: Silken Thread Patricia Ryan <- A medieval retelling of Rear Window
YA
#51: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
#52: Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
#53: Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
#54: Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
#55: The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer <- The one with the gender-switch lesbian retelling of Hades and Persephone.
Nonfiction:
#56: See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Roxanna Elden
#57: Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling <- Interesting, straddling the line between pop psychology and peer-reviewed science.
#58: Malaysia - Culture Smart! by Victor King
#59: Lonely Planet Guides: Japan- Kansai by Chris Rowthorn <- Very useful for Kyoto/Osaka
#60: Lonely Planet Tokyo by Andrew Bender and Timothy N. Hornyak <- Super useful for Tokyo.
#61: DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan by John Benson
Tags: book list 2011
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12:23 am
[Link] | Scrapbooking is an amazingly messy activity.
And I'm not tlking about the fancy scrapbooks twith the electronic shape cutters, or the boxes of brads & ribbon & stickers and shit. I'm talking about the basic act of using some double stick tabe to adhere pictures, ticket stubs, and other bits of paper-ish ephemera to some cardstock, and sticking it in a plastic album sleeve.
Even so, there it has made one hell of a mess in my office. There are stacks of things intended to go together. Thejre are stacks of blank things wiaing to have shit glued to them. There are little bits of paper that have been cropped off *everywhere*, and more than a couple that are just stuck to me.
And that's not even counting the paper cutter, scissors, pens, pencils, and markers involved.
Still, it's fun to actually make something out of the piles of mess. And it's funny to see how well I photographed easch things. Tokyo? Almos no pictures. The Osaka Aquarium? Pages worth.
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11:40 am
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/49130255/404944) [Link] | There I was, making ballistic gel in my kitchen.
Pantless.
Listening to Skynyrd.
With guns and ammo on the kitchen counter.
I was one Rebel flag an a regrettable tattoo away from a truly unfortunate ethnic stereotype.
(In my defense, the guns were in a bag emblazoned with "GLBT Pride")
Current Mood: they're takin' our jerrrbs!
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11:41 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/48928144/404944) [Link] | I celebrated the solstice by going and getting a pedicure. The fancy kind, with some kind of mud and hot rocks.
I shouldn't have wasted the time, maybe - my list of stuff that has to get done in the next 18 hours is really mind-blowing. But happy feet (and they are happy) make for a happy Noodle. And honestly, it felt like the start of a vacation, getting pampered a bit.
In other news: there is not a SINGLE PAIR of khaki, grey, or black pants in my size in the entirety of College Station. There are oceans of shorts, capris, ankle pants, jeggings, leggings, and skirts, but actual trousers are not to be found for love nor money. And I tried both methods.
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06:50 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/85365442/404944) [Link] | This time next week, I will be across the Pacific. I am so very excited I find it hard to render in words more complex than sound effects.
I have quite a bit to see and do planned. The ramen and gyoza museums are on the list, as is the Internal Parasite Museum. I'm going to Tsukiji Fish market to se the tuna auctions (thought hey will make me sad), and hitting the otaku holy land of Akihibara.
I'm goign to look for the Mysterious Fox Shrine in Kyoto and feed the deer in Nara. I'm going to visit the World's Largest Spatula and World Heritage site on Miyajima island. I'm going to embrace the Osakan motto of "eat until you drop."
Half the fun of this trip, I think, has been the tactical planning. I've got a little binder full of maps, printouts, reservations, more maps, lists and other bits, all highlighted, annotated, and organized by expected use date.
Seriously, my gizzard is pulsating with joy at the mere thought of the food. So many fish things. FISH THINGS.
I just hope that amazon gets my new SD card to me before I leave. :)
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11:34 pm
[Link] | If you're singing along to the middle bit of Under Pressure, you must do or do not. There is no try.
Well, actually, there is, but it causes the neighborhood dogs to howl.
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06:38 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/37952795/404944) [Link] | There has been a video going around the past couple of days of someone bitching after being kicked out of the Alamo Drafthouse for texting during a film. I am amazed it got to that point, because while talking/texting/etc is a near-universal irritant, I am patently incapable of being quiet about it.
I find that I frequently am ghosting across the theater to "Keep it down!" or "Put that thing away!" I call people out who have more than 10 items in the grocery store line or who demand popsicles during dinner. I chastise ill-behaved children, line-cutters, and other people who blithely stroll through life with the attitude that their expression, comfort, and convenience are more important than that of the group. Let me cite the incident of the Chinese restaurant:
I had gotten my plate of chicken, and was sitting down to eat, when nearby free range child wandered around the restaurant. He ventured near me, and stuck his grubby little mitts into my food. I told him to get his damn hands off my plate and sit the hell down. His bovine parent came rushing over, berating me for using profanity in front of her child. I replied that if she didn't want me to use FUCKING profanity in front of her FUCKING child, she should keep him from sticking his FUCKING hands in other people's FUCKING food. I think I used up at least five years worth of put-down in that one moment, but it was worth it for the look on her face.
Admittedly, when I'm calling some idjit on their behavior, I'm not thinking of the good of the group so much as myself - who are YOU to inconvenience ME? It was just as well that I grew up sheltered and privileged, because I suspect that otherwise my big mouth would have gotten my ass kicked on any number of occasions. I cannot stand the sort of casual miscreantism of littering and rudeness and just not following the rules.
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03:05 pm
[Link] | A series of thoughts:
1.) My DVR failed to record Who on Saturday. This means I must find it in .yarr format somewhere because all the recasts will be cut to hell and back.
2.) Oh my god, Nicholas Hoult is so. very. pretty. Apparently, I got the mutant gene that makes me find guys in horn rims and lab coats just paralyzingly hot. (See also: Arthur Darvill in "Day of the Moon".) I guess it's a similar function to the way leather pants signify a man's badassery, with nerd plumage indicating a potential mate that has very strong opinions about charm and strange. I like men with large...craniums.
3.) My knives are very sharp. I spent three episodes of White Collar this morning honing them before coming to lab for a liver cutting party. I think we have hats this time. I couldn't find my mineral oil, so I would up using the end of a stick of lard that's been hanging out in my fringe for ages. Seemed to work okay, but it made me desperately hungry for pork chops for lunch.
4.) I found a dead lizard in the car and I think it was what was causing the mysterious stink.
Tags: more information than you require
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02:09 pm
[Link] | For the past couple of weeks, I've been valiantly trying to listen to some audio books. But I think I'm just going to give up, because I find them very frustrating, for a couple of reasons.
1.) They are just too darn slow. At the linguistic level of most fiction, I can read at 60-70 pages an hour, if not more. That's vastly faster than the average narration speed. I've tried several narrators, and they all suffered the same problem. Too slow. I think that if I didn't know I could assimilate the information faster by reading it, this wouldn't be such an irritation, but it is.
2.) I cannot pay attention to them. I have always had a hard time assimilating information auditorily. I have been a church-wriggler, a window-starer, a lecture-doodler, and an illicit reader for as long as I can remember. The words just slide off my brain. So it's completely unsurprising that I find myself rewinding the same 90 seconds of book repeatedly because I got distracted halfway through. This never happens with a book. Or an ebook. Between the visual processing and the fact that my hands are busy, I don't get distracted, and the information sticks.
Not that audio books are particularly necessary for me - I read enough from real actual books to more than satisfy that need.
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05:21 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/54637913/404944) [Link] | Flipside is fun, but the effort:cost:fun units is rather skewed in the wrong direction. Overall, I think I get as much happiness out of a very lazy weekend in the comfort of my own home. I mean, I enjoy seeing my friends, and doing fun things with them. But I certainly don't get any deep spirituality of the thing. Even if I had stayed to see the burn, I don't think it would have meant much to me beyond "fire is pretty". (I didn't have off on Monday, so I couldn't stay much beyond 10pm out there)
Being with friends is what makes it all worthwhile, and having wonderful campmates like longshot14, Messiah, Julie, Kevin, Lisa, and of course Meine Squishy made an objectively unpleasant experience (hot, humid, loud, full of poison ivy) actually fun and enjoyable. And though I know people found it odd, having my own separate tent to do with as I pleased was a godsend, especially with that little electric fan. As long as I have a comfortable, organized retreat, I can deal with being confronted with chaos. The part I liked the best was actually just dicking around in the river. It was cool and comfortable, shady and interesting. It reminds me that I really need to go down to the Guadalupe one of these summer days and go tubing.
Honestly, I think introversion and pragmatism are two traits that don't mesh well with the whole Flipside ethos.
Tags: flipside
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07:27 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/85365352/404944) [Link] | We're now on day 3 of my latent print processing class. Thus far we've practiced quite a few techniques for getting fingerprints off various surfaces.
( There's nothing disturbing, but it's a lot of pictures. )
Tags: for science!, infotainment, nerd alert
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10:47 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/39988524/404944) [Link] | AN IMPORTANT SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT
Day five of typhoid fever vaccine, week old mushroom pizza, and a couple glasses of merlot is a really, really wretched combination.
***DO NOT ATTEMPT *** STUNT INTESTINES ONLY*** DO NOT ATTEMPT***
Tags: oh the horror
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09:10 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/54637093/404944) [Link] | I'm already enjoying the latent prints class more than the csi intro course. One of the very first things we did was cyanoacrylate fuming - heating superglue in a glass tank to deposit the vapors on the prints. For all that this technique is integral to the high tech dye and stain techniques, it's surprisingly low-tech. All it takes is an old fish tank, a coffee warmer, a small rack, and couple drops of super glue on a piece of aluminum foil. Less than 10 minutes later, you've got visible prints on your zippie bag.
This afternoon, we practiced photographing prints. We did a little bit of forensic photography in the CSI course, but because we didn't really practice the techniques, the relationship of aperture, exposure, and ISO didn't really sink in. But as part of this course, we all got identical SLRs, and part of the exercise was picking the right exposure for an f stop range of F6-F12, using automatic exposure bracketing, and then our own opinion of the best shutter speed. It was a great thing to do, and I think the concepts finally managed to stick in my addled grey goo.
Tomorrow, we get to play with fluorescent dyes and possibly fire.
Tags: nerd alert
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04:47 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/37192997/404944) [Link] | There is currently a lot of debate/discussion/controversy going on with regard to the Texas legislature adding a rider to the current budget stating that all publicly-funded universities that had a GLBT(further acronym soup) student center would have to spend the same amount of money on a "Traditional Family Values" center.
A lot of the disturbingly intolerant folks around here have really latched on to this idea. The undergraduate student senate passed it's own measure supporting the TFV Center, the president vetoed it, and then they overruled him when it came back to a vote. The Texas Aggie Conservatives have released at least one youtube video of footage they secretly shot at a safe sex seminar meeting. There have been several op-ed columns in the student newspaper in favor of this.
But that's not what I want to talk about.
I want to talk about how the trackable use of full names has a freezing effect on my participation in debate and discussion on Facebook.
Everyone shortly to enter the job market knows that for most jobs outside the service & retail industry, you're going to be googled and your social network profile examined. So you're told not to post pictures of yourself doing stupid and/or illegal shit, and you have to hope that none of your friends post about you doing stupid shit. Plus, there's the routine privacy leaks, exploitable settings, and cruft that means that whatever you say, your full name will be linked to it. On the flip side, if you have a more liberal attitude about privacy than your friends, you can let information spill that they'd just as soon keep secret.
I don't necessarily want to make it clear to a potential employer* that I'm pro-choice; involved in queer issues; abhor religious dogmatism; don't like the current administration OR the tea partiers; and support polyamory, the ACLU, and the EFF. Those opinions don't have any impact on my ability to do a job, but they are damn sure likely to color the opinions of someone in a position to hire me. I'm not ashamed of who I am, but I like to break the unusual a little bit at a time.
So I don't post about issues that matter to me. I don't comment on others' thoughts. I don't join groups or repost or anything. There's a real truth to the fact that nothing on the internet ever really goes away. At least on LJ or most sorts of internet forums, there's the pseudo-anonymity of the screen name, plus the fact that what you say isn't automatically served out to the friends of your friends.
Maybe I'm just paranoid and fearful, but that's why I don't have anything to say on anything more than an utterly banal level on facebook.
*Particularly since I want to work for a government or military entity, who tend to find bucking the status quo an undesirable trait.
Tags: horrible horrible hippos, lone star madness, promoting the buttsex agenda
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08:48 pm
[Link] | This trip to Japan is becoming more and more real. (Not to mention expensive, but I knew that going in.)
I've got a list of stuff to do in each place. I've noticed that there is a lot of emphasis in the guidebooks on castles, temples, and shrines. While that's all well and good, I'm the kind of person vastly more interested in a stuff like the Pokemon Center, the Instant Ramen Museum, or the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. Sure, I want to see the big sights, but if I could put together a tour of nothing but quirky stops and street food.
I'm spending three nights in Tokyo, two in Kyoto, and two in Osaka, then an additional night (my layover is about 18 hours) in Tokyo. I've already planned for the last day in Tokyo to be a mammoth shopping trip, so that I only have to haul souvenirs one day, and don't risk breakage on three four international flight legs.
I'm getitng really super excited, which means that my relative level of excitement for Flipside is lower - my excitement glands can only handle so much output before they go into acute excitement fialure, and I decide to lay on a futon in Osaka for six days eating take out takoyaki and watching incomprehensible Japanses television.
Tags: i'm a little not right
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09:40 pm
[Link] | I am drunk and I want my Squishy.
Also I am petulant because I cannot have the aforementioned.
I MUST GNAW HIS VULNERABLE FLESH.
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12:10 am
[Link] | Thoughts on Day of the Moon:
( Hell Yeah Spoilers )
Tags: who?
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09:39 pm
[Link] | Oh man.
Steven Moffat, you play me like a goddamn VIOLIN.
Tags: who?
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11:34 am
[Link] | #16: Radium Halos by Shelley Stout
At once two stories of the dark side of America - the Radium Girls, who contracted horrible cancers after being exposed to deadly amounts of radium as unskilled workers, and the care of the mentally ill during the deinstitutionalization movement.
It was hard to relaly like the narrator of the story, because so many of her problems were of her own doing. Yes, she's in a home, but the psychological trauma that put her there was her own fault. And while the story of the Radium Girls is tragic by itself, the meshing with 1960's culture just didn't work for me. I simply didn't care what happened to any of the characters during the present-day setting.
#17: The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner
Not, as you might reasonably expect, given my known literary predilictions, a trashy regency romance novel. This is, rather a regency murder mystery.
Actually, it's a gritty noir murder mystery, complete with a melancholic detective with a temper and a gimp leg, who shares a dilapidated home with a candle-stealing courtesan. He's got some friends and some frenemies in high places, but he doesn't actually have much to do until the crime of an abducted girl falls into his lap. The tale wends through some subsequent grisly murders, a human sex slavery ring, and fending off aggressive Covent Garden prostitutes.
I really liked it. Not that the protagonist was all that sympatheric, but it was fun to see the noir tropes used in a different setting, and one that didn't involve the supernatural in any way.
#18: Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw
An interesting retelling of the story of Gwalchmai, better known to me as Gawain. (Though I didn't pay too much attention to the cover blurb, and thought that it was a re-envisioning of Merlin, based on the "hawk" imagery. Also, I am not as up on Arthurian legend as many - I did read Sir Gawain and the Green knight in high school, but other than that, all I've got is the Disney version of Sword in the Stone and Monty Python to fall back on.
The main challenge for me readoing this book was the name spelling - lots of use of w as a possible vowel. It took me forever to figure out how to pronounce Bedwyr. Other than that, I quite liked the book. It straddles an odd place, though. On one hand, the story is strongly affixed to the real world - Arthur is a Romanized Briton, and the social structrues and warfare techiques are realistic, rather than idealized. On the other hand, the real presence of magical elements such as sorcerous incantations, demons, bardic power, and prophecy are present throughout the tale. This is a hard balance to strike, because if magical powers can be used effectively, there's not much point of the guys with swords. Bradshaw gets around this limitation fairly well by having Gwalchmai unable to manifest any magicalness intentionally. He has visited the Isle of the Blessed, he's got a magic sword and a magic horse (I kept calling him Shadowfax, and not his proper name), but hhe can only do great deeds while in either a berserker or ecstatic state.
At it's heart, it's a fun adventure story, though it feels like Part 1 of a trilogy or epic saga. (A whit of further research tells me it is, in fact, the first of a trilogy). Part of the fun was trying to match the names as given with the characters from other Arthurian sources.
#19: His Majesty, the Prince of Toads by Delle Jacobs
Don't make me review this. Suffice it to say that sometimes, .99 gets you exactly what you paid for. :(
Tags: book list 2011
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10:22 am
[Link] | #14: A Bed of Spices by Barbara Samuel
I thought this was historical fiction about the the interaction between the European Jews and the Christians during the Black Death.
Instead, it was a historical romance novel with the heroine, Rica, as the daughter of a white Xtian nobleman, and the hero Solomon as the educated, egalitarian Jew. At first, I was very much into this set up. Unlike a lot of romances, you have a major hurdle to overcome that is not the fault of the characters being fucktards. They bond over a shared love of herbal medicine and a boundless curiosity about the world, and work - if not actually together - at least not against their eventual happily every after.
The problem was that samuel also introduced a major plot thread of the heroines identical twin sister, and the brutal man (one of her father's vassals, and suitor to Rica). In non-romantic fiction, dealing with this conflict would be given equal treatment as the romance, and for awhile, it is. But once Twin's machinations to steal the vassal from Rica come to pass, that hole storyline gets weirdly dropped. It's set up in such as away as to seem like a major part of resolving the tangle, but it just..never goes anywhere.
So let us say that the first half is awesome, and then when it gets more trashy and less plotty, it kind of goes off the rails into not so good.
But! It does have several instances of BODICE RIPPING! It's been so long, and Ive missed that trope.
#15: Lucien's Fall by Barbara Samuel
ON the back of the previous one, I picked up this one, which was explicitly a trashy regency romance. And much like the former, it was about half awesome and half blech. Lucien is a musical savant and unabashed man-whore, Madeline likes gardens. They come together along with a very odd set of attendees at a house party intended to get Madeline married, except that only one of the male guests is a potential suitor - the rest are dudes that Madeline's not-actually-step mother wants to bone.
What really stood out abou t this book is that Samuel did break a lot of romance tropes. The love triangles and squares* are way more complex than most, to a degree usually seen in soap operas and tragic novels. The other problem was that I never liked the hero. He was too overtly predatory and fundamentally broken for me to want him to win. I was rooting for the Ducky, the not-so-hip but deeply caring guy Madeline is supposed to marry. He's awesome, kind and forthright, just not PASSION and ANGST and OH GOD THE KISSES of Lucien. Usually, when a romance heroine has to choose between two suitors, the choice is obvious (one is a rich puppy kicker, the other a bedroom Adonis with a tragic past). At least in this case, it wasnt' quite so cut and dried.
Much like Bed of Spices, the first half is pretty good, setting up the various characters and their interactions . Then, after one dark and stormy night, the drama dial gets turned up to eleven. There's breast-baring and library boinking, and very-nearly-almost rape, abduction, the overnight composition of an entire symphony, and very symbolic red roses. And then there the disinheriting, the revelation that stepmom is actually mom, and someone dying dramatically of consumption. It's the narrative crazy train.
In both cases, it was almost as if the author would have been more successful from a literary point of view if she'd been writing straight historical fiction rather than genre romance. The characters all have clear motivations, and consistent strengths and weaknesses. They function. But once you're commited to the formula of getting man and woman together for the squelchy, those characters lose all their agency.
No bodice ripping in this one, though the hero has a penchant for licking the heroine's palm, which seems more than a little bizarre.
*A loves/is fucking B, B is C's best friend, C used to fuck D, but now A is trying to fuck C, causing B to fuck D (also A's best friend) because B wants to marry A and A won't say yes. Only C, the "hero", is part of the main relationship. This is very odd.
Tags: book list 2011
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10:05 am
[Link] | Some thoughts about Doctor Who:
( Cut for extreme spoilerism. )
Tags: magic glowing entertainment box, sweet sweet crack
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09:54 pm
[Link] | I feel like such a complete idiot.
I was boogieing up 2818 on my way home when the Volvo in front of me decided at the last minute that they needed to turn right into one of those giant apartment communes over there. I braked hard to keep from plastering myself across the rear window, enough that the rear wheel decided that it was going to go squirrelly on me. I almost managed to keep it together. But I prematurely put my foot down when I was still slightly leaned over, nad more importantly, still moving. My ankle turned under, pulling me out of ballance, and toppling the whole shebang.
It's one of the things they teach you not to do in the MSF course. Actually, there were several things that they teach you not to do, including not turning during hard braking, looking past the hazard, and leaving a generous following distance. And as far as motorcycle accidents go, the effects were totally minor - I mildly sprained my ankle, either from the roll or from when the bike landed on me, I tore my jeans, and I scraped up the tank bag. Heck, I was able to pick it up and ride on home.
Still, I figured it was a sign from above that I shouldn't go anywhere else in a motor vehicle tongiht.
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02:26 pm
[Link] | I am so very bad.
Ginger's is having a 20% sale for anything on the Wichelt website. This is bad news for someone like me who is addicted to their punched paper kits. I just love them. They aren't high art, or even examples of fine stitching. But I love them, because they stitch up quickly and they're easy to finish so they don't languish in the sack o' completed needlework.
I think I wound up getting 18 kits, 13 spools of Kreinik, and the materials to finish six more projects.
This is definitely going to kill all the progress I had made on emptying out my craft box. :( But on the upside, MORE STITCHY GOODNESS.
Of course, buying more cross stitch kits means that the 3-D needlepoint TARDIS is now on the back burner.
Tags: needlework, sweet sweet crack
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10:29 am
[Link] | Oh internets, I have been gone. I have not been posting. But this is because I have been undertaking a massive outdoor renovation project.
prepare for WALL OF TEXT
Weekend before last, my dear Squishy was here in town, and he helped me immensely by working with me and the new garden cultivator to clear out the side of the front yard that was all dead and nearly totally lacking in grass or other living plant material. BWE also worked in the vegetable garden bed to pull out all the old dead stuff from last year, like the giant Thai basil plants that had all but taken over that bed. While we were at it, we went ahead and used some landscaper's glue to anchor down a couple of the limestone chunks that kept wanting to come loose and topple over whenever I was fiddling around out there. Oh! And we got the cannas planted that I'd been hanging on to for the better part of two months, but had never bothered to put in the ground. And while that was a fair amount of work, it was nothing compared to what I'd do by myself.
The major objective of all this work was to get a yard that would be nice to look at, and would constantly spawn nutsedge and bahia grass into the garden and flower beds. It's more than likely that I will want to sell this house come the next winter or next spring, and so investments I make now in the curb appeal and landscape quality will hopefully pay off then. But for something like installing sod, I only have a limited window when the sod is available and when it's still cool enough that the grass can root and get established before it literally bakes in place come summer. Some would say that installing sod in the middle of extraordinary drought conditions is the height of hubris/selfishness/ idiocy. But I did.
Anyway, to prep the ground for sod, I had to till then entire back yard with a garden cultivator (about 10" wide). And because I needed to remove all the old dead grass and thatch buildup (you can't install fresh grass over anything but mostly dirt.). I had to make each pass at least two or three times. And may I add that the cultivator is about four inches shorter than is really appropriate, so my back was killing me by the time I was done. I also incorporated about 1200 lbs of compost and humus into the yard, to help make up for the fact that the soil that was there was compacted hard as a rock, and absolutely dry and dead as any dirt I have ever seen. It's just terrible soil.
Based on my measurements, I ordered three pallets of sod. This was much more than I needed to cover the areas I had already broken, but I couldn't get a partial pallet delivered. The pallets came on Tuesday night about 6:30. I don't know if you have ever installed sod, but you have about 48-72 hours after it is cut at the turf farm before it starts to die. That window is shortened by heat and lack of moisture. Well, I knew that I couldn't take off on /Wednesday, so I got to work on the back yard by the light of the back porch light. Each piece, I carried from the driveway and laid into place. It took me until 1am, but I got all the whole pieces of sod put into place - I needed the light of day to trim and install the little bits. I didn't have the proper tool for that, so I used the floor scraper I used last year to remove the linoleum tile from the bathrooms. (Thus improving my cost-per-use of that tool, yet). I also discovered that I had enough left over sod pieces to just about cover the rest of the front yard, so out came the tiller again, and I went to busting the front yard. This went a little easier, as it was under a bit more shade and wasn’t' as rock hard and compacted as other parts of the yard. Still, it was tough.
Thursday, I hauled all the extra pieces of sod from around the back of the house to the front, and popped all those pieces into place. I was about 40 strips short, but two trips out of the sod place got everything filled in. Thursday was also the day that I discovered that the fucking foster dog had chewed up all my plastic sprinkler heads in the back yard. I have never come closer to just beating the shit out of an animal over that. So I had to replace all the sprinklers. Thursday was also the wine & games at Squirrel's house, which was a nice counterpoint to three days of filthy hard labor.
Friday I didn't do anything with the yard.
Saturday, I repaired all the drip irrigation and planted my vegetable garden: onions, bell peppers, watermelon, cucumbers, and bush beans. I put the basil in pots this year, so I don't have the herbs of doom again. I also bagged up all the bits of grass and thatch that had been racked off the lawn - 20 yard bags worth of plant material to go for municipal composting.
Sunday was a day of hard, hard labor. One of the things that was preventing the old lawn from really flourishing was that the tress in the front yard were providing too much shade, plus some of the branches of the big Arizona ash were hitting the roof, which is a big no-no down here in termite country. So tree trimming was on the menu for Sunday. I had my bypass loppers, my 14' limb saw, and my nice reciprocating saw.
I went by the rule that if I routinely smacked my head on the limb, if it was touching the house, or if it was dead, it had to go. (Arizona ash produce a lot of dead inner branches, which makes them susceptible to bark beetles and borers). I also dealt with my neighbor's quite reasonable request that I trim the branches that hang over the street so that they don't whack their Giant Pickup Trucks every time they turn into the driveway. Using only those criteria, I cut off a pile of limbs and branches taller than my own head for the city to take for mulching/compost. These included everything from the little volunteer sprouts of the crepe myrtle to 6" limbs off the ash tree. I have to say that the front yard looks a lot better, what with being able to actually see the house and all. And clearing out all the deadwood makes the tree look a lot healthier, too.
Monday, I cleaned out the gutters and installed guards so that they don’t' clog with leaves all the time. I* put in the ones rated highest by consumer reports, but I'm still somewhat skeptical as to their actual level of performance. We'll see.
Current Music: Reverend Horton Heat - Baby I'm Drunk
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11:56 am
[Link] | #8: The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross
Once I got over the Surprise Boners I mentioned in a post a while back, I did really enjoy it. It had the techno-mancy, the sly geek references and best of all, the Lovecraft. Shadow Over Innsmouth is my very favorite Lovecraft story, and I like a writer who will play with the Deep Ones. It did lead to me singing the soundtrack to A Shoggoth on the Roof for a couple of days.
If there is one weakness ot Stross, it's that he sets up these wonderfully detailed, nuanceds situations, but the seems to rush the denoument. He did better with Jennifer Morgue than with Atrocity Archives, but it still seemed like he just wanted the book to be over. Still, I would highly recommend the Laundry files. The best comparison I can make is if Neil Stephenson and Terry Pratchett were merged in a transporter accident, and the resulting Prattenson spent all his life on the internet.
#9: Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
A re-read. I picked up the seque, but I couldn't remember everything - or in fact, anything - about what happened in this one. It held up well to re-reading. Even when you already know how things are going to turn out, it still managed to be suspenseful. And a whol lot less explicit than I seemed to recall.
#10: Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos
Kindle Freebie. An irreverent take on finding the "real" Jesus in your heart instead of the imaginary constructs you make of him so that he works with your perception of what you were going to do anyway. I found this particularly interesting in light of the research that came out last year showingthat people believe Jesus would do/believe whatever it is that they believe/do, regardless of the teachings of the Bible or their church.
By keeping the tone absolutely silly for 95% of the book, Mikalatos manages to explore the topic of a fuller relationship with his invisible sky daddy in a way that isn't preachy or didactic. And while the focus is on spirituality, it's the kind of book that a non-believer might enjoy too. I particularly liked the bit about the Atheist's Bible Study, which featured a club of atheists reading the gospels in a very deep way - comparing translations, looking at cultural context, comparing similar stories from other religious traditions, and so on. That's the kind of Bible study I'd attend, rather than one that requires reading a couple of chapters and talking about how Jesus wants us to pay our taxes.
#11: The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham
Kindle freebie. A very long story of a historical footnote of a woman living during the reign of Edward II and III. Eleanor le Despenser was married to Hugh le Despenser, the advisor and probable lover of Edward II. Hugh overstepped his bounds with a rapacious lust for lands and gold, and was executed as part of Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer's coup.
Eleanor, on the other hand, was irritatingly naive and often blindly stupid. I kept reading ony because I was really, really bored at the tire dealership and it was the only unfinished book I had on hand. This may have partially been the fault of the author. While the research is impeccable, and she managed to keep straight at *least* six different Eleanors and about as many Isabellas. The historical research was excellent. With her authorial decision to make Eleanor an innocent victim, the only way to reconcile with the historical record was to also make her something of a moron.
#12: A Rake's Guide to Seduction by Caroline Linden
I think the value of the book is illustrated by the fact that although I read it within the past two weeks, I can't remember a single detail other than that the rake in question sent the heroine a lot of love letters.
#13: The Last Colony by John Scalzi
If Old Man's War reminded me of Heinlein, and Ghost Brigades reminded me of Philip K. Dick, Last Colony reminds me of Asimov. Instead of righteous ass-kicking, the focus is on intrigue, subterfuge, and politics. I really like these elements, and I'm willing to accept that in order to tell a good story you have to make something of a Mary Sue out of your protagonist. Otherwise, they would not have the necessary agency to bend the fate of nations colonies.
So with a political manipualtion plot,nad Scalzie wonderful authorial voice, I zipped through The Last Colony in three lunches, and I loved it. I was kept in suspense all the way through, and the solutions that John Perry comes up with for hsi apparently insurmountable problems don't really feel like deus ex machinas (though one almost literally is).
Current Music: A Shoggoth on the Roof - If I Were a Deep One
Tags: book list 2011
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03:04 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/52782204/404944) [Link] | I always feel really good about myself when I use words like "prolix" or "lachrymose" in an ordinary conversation.
And then, fart jokes.
Tags: i'm a, i'm a little not right
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11:24 am
[Link] | I'm kind of in a quandary about the trip to Asia this summer, and I really, really need to make a decision soon.
Specifically, I need to come to a decision about whether or not to go to Japan. I have long wanted to visit, but it seems like three months on the heels of a world-class disaster is maybe not such a good idea, especially if there are ongoing radiation concerns in places like Tokyo.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine that I will have the conjunction of time, ability, and money anytime in the forseeable future. Plus, I can't imagine that there will be nearly as many swarming tourists this year.
What I'm looking at in the moment is catching a round trip into Tokyo from 6/23-7/11, and a round trip from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur from 6/30-7/10, which runs ~$1900. Or alternatively, there's a three leg trip, world-circling trip from Houston to Japan to Kuala Lumpur and back to Houston that runs about $2050 (albeit connecting through Bahrain). (By comparison, round trip strictly to/from Malaysia is $1700)
Any thoughts?
Current Music: The Wallflowers - One Headlight
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08:15 pm
[Link] | I just used a pair of 12" vice grips to open a bottle of pink nail polish.
I could have gone bigger, but that seemed a little ridiculous.
Tags: streak of butch, streak of femme
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11:13 pm
[Link] | I have finally finished (this evening), my long suffering WIP/ BAP, Daikoku that I posted the other day. And thanks to some very fortuitous internet searching, I have also been able to find the designer and proper name of the canvas! It's "Going in Style" by Terry Enfield.
A little bit about Daikoku, as paraphrased from Wikipedia & Mark Schumacher:
Daikoku is one of the Seven Lucky Gods/Seven Immortals of Japanese mythology. He widely known in Japan as the happy-looking god of wealth, farmers, food, and good fortune. His customary treasure sack is said to contain wealth, wisdom, and patience. The magic mallet in his right hand can miraculously produce anything desired when struck. Daikoku's mallet or belt is often decorated with the sacred cintamani, or wish-granting jewel. He is often associated with rats & mice, as the presence of rodents indicates plenty of food. They were also considered the servants/messengers of the god.
Even though I am far from Japanese, in executing this canvas, I did my best to make sure that I did right by the traditional associations. (Cultural appropriation bad, and all that.) I did some recharting of the right hand and mallet, but did not otherwise change the design. I am extremely happy with how it turned out - and glad tht it's no longer staring at me accusingly in an incomplete state.
I'll also add that this is possibly the most expensive piece of needlework I have ever done. I used $60 in Impressions /alone/ - and each card of specialty fiber ran $5-$7. Even though the canvas itself was a secondhand freebie, I dropped a lot of change on threads, accessories, stretcher bars, and the good gold-plated needles. It probably didn't help that I've bought stuff from five different needle shops in three states working on this piece.
It's as bad as any serious artist, really. (Though I am not an artist. I am a crafter.) If I were to guess, I would estimate that I put somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 hours of work into this piece. I am of the opinion that it is some of my best work, though.
( He looks so freakin' spiffy now )
15x13.5" on 18ct canvas.
Threads and stitches chosen by me, with some color assistance from Teh Internet, my mother, and the kind ladies at Chapparal.
Fiber and Stitch List:
(RG= Rainbow Gallery)
White Background: RG Impressions, pavilion stitch
Red frame: RG Impressions, in slanted gobelin, tent, and padded satin stitch.
Gold in frame: RG Panache, in continental stitch
Blue in frame: Unknown 100% silk, smyrna cross.
Rat: DMC Medici wool in basketweave.
Rat Eye: RG Splendor (white), tent stitch, RG Splendor (black) modified Rhodes
Whiskers: RG Splendor
Claws: DMC #8 perle cotton
Reins & Cinch: RG Petit Very Velvet, braided & plain straight stitch.
Magic Rice Mallet: DMC #8 perle Cotton, Kreinik #12 Braid cross stitch and tassel, w/ #6 glass bead for strap
Skin: RG Splendor, basketweave
Eyes & eyebrows: Unknown 100% silk, continental & satin stitch
Hat: RG Rainbow Linen, interlocking gobelin
Headband: RG Neon Rays, modified stem stich. Cintamani is a represented by a blue polygon Swarovski crystal.
Robe: RG Neon Rays, Serendipity and compensating tent stitch
Treasure Sack: RG Rainbow Linen, Woven stitch, DMC #8 perle cotton tent stitches & tassel, and Traditions brass coin charms.
Boot: RG Rainbow Linen, Woven stitch
Boot Sole: RG Rainbow Linen, Tramméed Gobelin
( And some close-ups )
Tags: art, needlework, omg whee
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03:37 pm
[Link] | I want to know what odd fluke of chance governs this:
I normally wear fairly plain buttoned or knit shirts and jeans. The kind of clothes that are appropriate for most of the normal distribution of daily life.
But inevitably, whenver I go to a store where I'm going to spend $100+ on specialty supplies, I'm wearing a geek t-shirt and stains.
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03:42 pm
[Link] |
You got porn in my peanut butter
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm tired of sex in my sci-fi.
I'll be the first to admit that I've got more than a passing fondness for written erotica, from the rippiest of bodices to flat out porn. Reading about people doing the naked slappy, even the kinky possibly nonconsentual naked slappy doesn't bother me.
What I don't like, though, is porn - or at least, highly explicit sex scenes - that comes out of left field. In a novel like "Kushiel's Dart", I was totally expecting sex. It's a novel about a sexual masochist! I wasn't shocked by the sex scene at the end of "Cryptonomicon", hilariously bad as it was, because the Waterhouse penchant for sex and genius had been linked throughout the book.
I was not expecting explicit sex scenes in "American Gods" or "The Jennifer Morgue", the last two "serious" sci-fi novels that I've read. I was going along, reading about Egyptian gods living in Missouri, or Unix admins battling Deep Ones and then BAM. Boners in my face.
It's not that these are particularly bad, or even purple sex scenes. They do break the tone somewhat, but it's not the end of the world. I'm not sure why it feels so out of place in a straight-forward sci-fi novel as opposed to more literary fiction. I guess because in many cases, an explicit scene does no more to further plot or character development than a non-explicit version. As an example, the bits about fucking like bunnies in "Old Man's War" - it doesn't need to be explicit to make the point. Also, much like pooping or popping zits, reading an explicit scene is almost uncomfortably voyeuristic. It falls into that area of "things we know happen, but don't really want shoved in our face".
But for me, the worst thing about the left-field sex scene is that it makes it much harder to recommend an otherwise excellent book. I mean, I know a number of people in the 8-15 range who would love "Stardust". But because of that one scene early in the book, I'm more than a little leery of reccing it. The same thing goes for "Snow Crash", with the Raven/Y.T. thing. Or my current book, "The Jennifer Morgue". I was really, really enjoying it. I would have recommended it without reservation to many of my friends. But now I really can't, and I cannot entirely articulate why. I know that my friends are adults, fully aware of the basic mechanics of recreational human sexuality. And I don't like content warnings. Nevertheless, I feel like I have to slap a NSFW label on it.
So please, sci-fi authors. Unless it really, truly makes sense in the context of the book - don't tell me about a character's ejaculate.
Tags: penis ahoy, smut?
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02:34 pm
[Link] | Artistic-type people, I need the assistance of your eyes. I'm really close to finishing the needlework piece I've been laboring on for a good three years. Just about all that's left is a little bit of border and some 3-D elements like tassels and reins for the rat.
One other thing is the little medallions in the red border. I've finished most of them, but I'm tryign to decide about what to do with the little 2x2 squares in the corners of each motif.I was going to use the same red that I used for the rest of the border and the crosses, but I'm down to about 18" of fiber - not enough for 56 smyrna crosses. (Plus, I will never be able to find the same dyelot). So I'm thinking that a contrasting color might be a better choice. I'm terrible at picking colors, though, so I laid out an array of the threads I could use, and 'chopped in an example of what the medallions might look like with each potential fiber:
( It's a 1000 px image - wide enough to screw up many LJ layouts. )
The ones marked with a star have already been used in the pattern, and anything with an X will be challenging to use. #7 is actually pure black, #9 is a very dark chocolate brown. 8 and 9 are also a rough wool, while the rest of the border is done in cashmere/silk or rayon.
1, 4, 7, and 9 are my favorites in life. What do you think? I
I've also got some quickie finishes - I can't take Daikoku in the car on the stretcher frame, so I grabged a couple Victoria Sampler kits for my trip to Amarillo.
( England and Scotland )
Current Music: Love Among Freaks - Clerks
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02:23 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/39987977/404944) [Link] | The past few days, I have been in Amarillo, TX at the Southwestern branch meeting of the Entomological Society of America.
I really went there for one reason: to play Bug Bowl. But in order for our department to give us any monetary support, we had to be giving either a poster or an oral presentation about our research. We didn't get this message until the last day to submit papers, so my abstract was a hastily-written mess with the uninspired title of "Temporal and Physiological Differences in Time of Arrival for Forensically Significant Blow Fly Species in Texas". I got it in about half an hour before the cut-off.
I also put off working on it until two days before the meeting. I half-assed my practice run. But the Sunday before we left, it hit me that I was going to be standing up in front of my professional peers and make a complete ass of myself if I didn't get my shit together. So I watched four hours of Doctor Who and edited until I was happy with it.
On Tuesday, I got up, I gave my mostly-extemporized speech showing how we could use adult blowflies to be up to 95% certain of the age of a cadaver in days. I say mostly-extemporized because I tend to use a bare minimum of words on the slide itself, and I only ever really memorize the jokes and transitions ahead of time. I'm such a ham, too. Give me a microphone, and I will bogart it all day. There are a lot of people who are exactly the opposite, though. The mere thought of giving a speech before people terrifies them to their core. They get stage fright, and panic attacks, and all kinds of unpleasant physical reactions to being in the spotlight. Even with people who really know their stuff, it can make them seem like idiots because they mumble and stutter and hem and haw instead of their usual ability to cogently explain what they do and why it is important.
So even though I had less than incredible science, because I present my crap results well, I won. First place in the PhD category. Am I proud? Hell yes. This is the first award at anything I've won since I was an undergrad. And with good reason, because while I am a good bullshit artist, I am not a particularly good research scientist. So while I'm happy to finally have something to hang on my office wall besides xkcd printouts, it really ought to have gone to someone other than me.
Also, I led my team to 2nd place in Bug Bowl, which means WE GET TO GO TO NATIONALS, woo!
Tags: entomology
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