The Blood is The Life 20-05-2012

May. 20th, 2012 10:00 am
miss_s_b: Animated Viking shouts lots of words that originated in Viking language (Default)
[personal profile] miss_s_b

Eeeeeeeek!

May. 20th, 2012 08:00 am
[syndicated profile] writersblock_feed

Posted by lj_bot

What animal (or insect, etc) are you most afraid of? Was there a specific incident that led to your fear, or is it just a general thing?

First question listed was submitted by [info]earthlingmike. (Follow-up questions, if any, may have been added by LiveJournal.)

<input ... > View 2 Answers

tablesaw: Ration Hornblower, from the cast of Smile Time, peeks his horn nose out at you. (Ratio Hornblower)
[personal profile] tablesaw
So this week didn't work out so well.

After an initial flurry of activity filing for unemployment insurance and sending a few e-mails to staffing agencies, I fell into a funk of avoidance, leading to a mini freak out on Thursday. I talked with friends and family who reminded me that it's ok to be freaked out about being unemployed for the first time in over a decade, and that a few days of not doing anything productive is fine.

I'm going to try to set myself onto a daily working schedule come Monday. While it's nice to sleep in until 11 or noon, I'm not actually productive when I stay up late. Once it nears sunset, I start feeling like my work day is over, and I stop doing other things. I think that forcing myself to at least be awake by nine every morning will add a few hours to my "working" day, at the very least. More measures will probably be forthcoming.

I did manage to do a lot of nonproductive things, though. I entered a local crossword puzzle tournament and participated in a sudoku contest at Logic Masters India. boardgaming night (played Roll Through the Ages), role-playing-game night (beta-testing a game by Josh Robern), a party to read and mock Fifty Shades of Grey as a group, and an NPL party. And in addition to that, I saw a bunch of friends at different times. I joined the site Quora despite its "real names" policy, by hacking together a form of pseudonymity out of its nascent system. And I sauteed chicked without freaking out.

Starting Monday, I'm going to add DW to my list of daily things to do. For reals.

Teevee

May. 20th, 2012 12:47 am
kanata: anime-style me ver. 2.0 (Default)
[personal profile] kanata
I haven't been talking about what TVs I've been watching lately, but I seem to have been watching a lot.

I am actually really behind on Legend of Korra, because I keep feeling like I need to pay attention to it more and thus can't just have it on when I work or I'll miss what's going on. But then that means I don't watch it at all. >_< So I think, including today's episode, I have like four eps to watch. Maybe I will marathon them all on my next day off. I have been really enjoying what I've seen of it so far, though, and am pretty spoiled for the eps I haven't seen, because I don't like how Tumblr Savior works, so I don't even bother trying to avoid spoilers.

Of the shows I was following on a week-to-week basis, I think there was just Happy Endings, Community, and Parks and Rec. The season finale of Happy Endings finally aired somewhere and so it's now available to download, but I haven't watched it yet. I wasn't thrilled with the season finale of Parks & Rec, though. I'm really glad the campaign arc is over, because I was getting so tired of that. I really wish the Ann/Tom relationship would be over, but maybe next season will start off with them breaking up.

As for Community, I really enjoyed the three episodes we had this week. Who would have thought Jeff would look so good shirtless and with eyeliner? I don't usually find him attractive at all, but damn. Also I guess Leonard is gay? I feel like this is a "see, you can't criticise us for not having any queer characters because look, we had a blip and you miss it moment that made a very minor character gay!" kind of thing. Which I suppose is better than being all "oh yeah, so-and-so was totally gay but it was just never important to mention it in the show because we're so above sexuality being a thing". Bluh. Go, Leonard, with your hot young boyfriend, though. XD Anyway, I don't really have any thoughts about Dan Harmon leaving next season. I'm not the type to pay attention to who is behind the scenes on stuff, so as long as the episodes are funny, I don't care. Which means, we'll see!

Um, let's see. Oh, I was watching Scrubs for a while, but I think I watched about halfway through season one and then just got tired of it. I really like Turk and Carla (both individually and together), and I like JD okay, and Elliot grew on me. But the JD/Elliot relationship just ugh. I did not want to watch any more of them. -_-

So instead I've been trying other things! I decided to start watching season two of Psych, because I'd enjoyed season one okay, but found myself kind of burnt out by their antics by the end of the season, so never did watch any more, even though I had downloaded three or four seasons. I've watched about half of season two and am enjoying it quite a bit, so maybe this time I will go directly on to the next season! It's just the sort of mindless TV I need when I'm working. I would like to watch more serious shows and movies (I have a lot on my hard drive!), but it's like what I said about Korra, I need to be able to pay attention and if I'm working, I'll miss important stuff that's going on, and yet I don't like just sitting and watching something.

I saw some funny gifs of a cartoon on Tumblr, but it wasn't until the tenth time or so that one came across my dash that it was tagged with the title so I could look it up! It turned out to be Bob's Burgers, which is super awesome and my new favorite thing. It's about this guy and his wife who own a burger shop, but really the stars of the show are their three kids, Tina, Gene, and Louise. I love all of them, but I think Louise is my favorite. I have zoomed through season one and just watched the first episode of season two tonight.

Speaking of cartoons, I totally forgot about Adventure Time for a while, but have just downloaded a handful of new eps since the last time I remembered about it. (So much easier to watch shows when they're already over! This whole following week-to-week thing is tough, especially when there's no one on my flist talking about it to remind me to go download, which is the main way I remember my other shows.)

I also started watching a ridiculous anime called Shirokuma Cafe (Polar Bear Cafe), about a panda (named Panda), who hangs out a lot at a local cafe owned by a polar bear. But it's not just a world of talking animals. There are also humans, and no one remarks on the fact that animals can talk or own cafes or whatever. Panda gets a part-time job working at a zoo. As a panda. There's a fulltime panda, too, but Panda-kun just goes a few days a week. XD

Oh! And I watched the first episode of Suburgatory, which seems to be a show about Snowflake-chan/Othergirls-san. Not sure if I'm going to keep watching it or not, because I didn't really like the main character at all, but I might give it a few more episodes.

I also downloaded, but haven't watched yet, Party Down, because [personal profile] cesare and I were talking about Adam Scott (Ben on Parks & Rec) and she recommended it.

Any other ideas for stuff I should watch? Doesn't have to be new (in fact, I prefer shows that are finished and can just be downloaded in one chunk rather than watching as they air). I do have a preference right now for sitcoms and cartoons, due to the not being able to concentrate on more serious stuff, but I'll take suggestions for anything.

(no subject)

May. 20th, 2012 03:18 am
elliemurasaki: Supernatural 1x01 Jess: not just some boy's girlfriend (Supernatural 1x01 Jess not just some boy)
[personal profile] elliemurasaki
Over the past couple hours my [profile] het_bigbang went from 2000 words to 3500, after being effectively stalled for weeks. I may actually finish a writing challenge this year.

Smash vidlet!

May. 20th, 2012 07:10 pm
china_shop: text icon that says "age shall not weary her, nor custom stale her infinite squee" (age shall not weary her)
[personal profile] china_shop
Thanks to everyone who gave advice about MP4s and AVIs yesterday. ♥ Turns out I fail at conversion but I did manage to find AVI source, so here's a flashvidlet for the Self-Portrait challenge on [community profile] fan_flashworks:

Love Junkyard (Smash)
Ivy Lynn -- recreating herself in Marilyn's image.

Getting married

May. 20th, 2012 07:57 am
jack: (Default)
[personal profile] jack
All packed. Social media statuses updated. Getting dressed and leaving for wedding, marriage in two hours!
jumpuphigh: A black and white drawing of a maid cleaning dishes off of the table. (Dishes)
[personal profile] jumpuphigh in [community profile] bitesizedcleaning
It's a new week. Let's have a new weekly challenge. Does everyone else have that picture of "spring cleaning" with dusty drapes being taken down and everything being removed from drawers in order to clean the crumbs from the back corners? There is a better way! There is a bite-sized way.

This week, in whatever order works for you, spend five minutes a day doing the following tasks in the kitchen:

-Wipe down fronts of cabinets (This isn't complicated. A spray bottle of the cleaner of your choice and a rag. Spray and wipe. Spray and wipe. Spray and wipe.)
-Wipe down appliances (See cabinets. Ditto.)
-Clean the countertops, including under appliances, in sections (What I mean by doing it in sections is move stuff from a 3 foot wide section of the countertop, spray, wipe, replace items and move on to the next section to repeat. You may end up doing this two days in a row in order to get all your counters. That's ok. There is no rush.)
-Clean kitchen trash can (Depending on how long it has been since you last did this, it could be really gross. I usually just fill it in the tub with a bit of soap, swish, dump and turn upside-down to drip dry. This is one task that won't be done in 5 minutes due to drying time but taking the trash can back to the kitchen and putting in a bag usually just takes a minute or two.)
-Clean out fridge (Apply the same principle that you used with the countertops. Have your trash can handy. Move a small section of things to another area of the fridge or a counter, spray and wipe, replace. Toss things that need to be tossed. You probably will need to work on this for several days. That's ok. Bite-sized!)

Are the crumbs still in the back of your silverware drawer? Yep. Probably. But we aren't looking to make the kitchen magazine perfect, just a bit better than it is right now. Next time, you can tackle the crumbs. You build upon the success. You don't need to wipe down the fronts of cabinets all that often, unless you have small children, so it just becomes easier.

Quick Hit: Women Win Nebulas!

May. 20th, 2012 05:10 am
[syndicated profile] geekfeminism_feed

Posted by yatima

It is so splendid when excellent people are recognized for their excellence! It’s delightful that Octavia Butler won a posthumous Solstice Award and that Connie Willis was given the Damon Knight Grand Master Award. And! I am personally over the moon that Jo Walton’s Among Others won the 2011 Nebula.

I loved this book so very much and if I haven’t already forced it into your hands, you are to imagine me doing it now: this is a geek feminist coming-of-age novel, and it is full of wonders.

Book 3: Snuff by Terry Pratchett

May. 19th, 2012 11:26 pm
kanata: anime-style me ver. 2.0 (Default)
[personal profile] kanata in [community profile] a_reader_is_me
Title: Snuff
Author: Terry Pratchett
Number of Pages: 416 pages
Book Number/Goal: 3/10 for 2012
My Rating: 3/5

Summary: When Vimes takes a holiday to his wife's family manor in the country, he's expecting to be bored out of his skull, but when a goblin girl is killed, he finds himself with an investigation on his hands.

Review: This was enjoyable, but I just didn't love it. The theme of a species previously looked down upon and treated badly by humans and everyone else becoming more accepted has been used in many Discworld novels and it's really geting old. If the surrounding story is good enough, then I'm happy to go with it, but I just really found the story lacking in this. I kept putting it down and not reading for days or weeks because it just wasn't keeping me interested. I really like Vimes (I used to say he was my favorite character, but that's now Moist), but Vimes on his own is much less fun than Vimes with Vetinari and/or the rest of the Watch. I like Sybill all right, but I really dislike how anything with Vimes and Sybill together turns into all this stuff about gender stereotypes and "oh those women, how can we ever understand their ways!?" I guess that's part of Vimes' characterisation, since Pratchett doesn't do that with other female characters, but it's not something I enjoy and it makes me dislike any time Vimes is with Sybill (which was a lot of this novel). I do like Young Sam, but he wasn't in this very much. And I love Willikins. He was probably the best part.

Friday 18th & Saturday 19th May, 2012

May. 20th, 2012 06:24 am
[syndicated profile] trek_news_feed

Posted by lemonrocket

Book 3: Snuff by Terry Pratchett

May. 19th, 2012 11:08 pm
kanata: maru the cat sitting in a bucket (maru)
[personal profile] kanata
Title: Snuff
Author: Terry Pratchett
Number of Pages: 416 pages
Book Number/Goal: 3/10 for 2012
My Rating: 3/5

Summary: When Vimes takes a holiday to his wife's family manor in the country, he's expecting to be bored out of his skull, but when a goblin girl is killed, he finds himself with an investigation on his hands.

Review: This was enjoyable, but I just didn't love it. The theme of a species previously looked down upon and treated badly by humans and everyone else becoming more accepted has been used in many Discworld novels and it's really geting old. If the surrounding story is good enough, then I'm happy to go with it, but I just really found the story lacking in this. I kept putting it down and not reading for days or weeks because it just wasn't keeping me interested. I really like Vimes (I used to say he was my favorite character, but that's now Moist), but Vimes on his own is much less fun than Vimes with Vetinari and/or the rest of the Watch. I like Sybill all right, but I really dislike how anything with Vimes and Sybill together turns into all this stuff about gender stereotypes and "oh those women, how can we ever understand their ways!?" I guess that's part of Vimes' characterisation, since Pratchett doesn't do that with other female characters, but it's not something I enjoy and it makes me dislike any time Vimes is with Sybill (which was a lot of this novel). I do like Young Sam, but he wasn't in this very much. And I love Willikins. He was probably the best part.

Sidetracks - May 19, 2012

May. 19th, 2012 11:50 am
helloladies: Picture of T-Rex from Dinosaur Comics reading You'll thank me when you share my politics! (Default)
[personal profile] helloladies in [community profile] ladybusiness
Sidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag.


Read more... )

NAACP endorses gay marriage

May. 20th, 2012 12:09 am
rhi: a cobweb covered with dew and one drop up at the top (web)
[personal profile] rhi
This makes me very happy.  I wish Coretta Scott King had lived to see it.

"I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy." Coretta Scott King, cited in the Chicago Sun Times (1 April 1998).

April 2012

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