![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28961
Celebrating Universal's 100th Anniversary, they are re-releasing many of their big titles.
I think it might be UK-only, not sure.
http://www.dailykitten.com/2012/05/shado
http://www.dailykitten.com/?p=8447
Location: Gobles, Michigan, USA
I had moved to my new location here in Michigan last October, and in moving, I had to find a good home for my cat, Muffiin. (She is very healthy and very happy in her new home). But as the months passed I found myself getting more and more depressed and lonely. So, today I am the proud mommy of Shadow, my new little 8 week old kitten given to me by a generous donor looking for a new home for her. The first thing she did was use the litter box. Then she ate a good breakfast of dry kitty food, played and played and played, and now she is zonked out in her new little bed (she slept on my chest for about an
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
I hope Simon's Cat qualifies as a cat pic? Normally, these make me laugh but this one just left me giggling and going "awww...!"
Just wanted to update all of you, and thank you so much for voting. Every vote helped.
This is Reeces, he was recently adopted, but he was being so cute with this stuffed kitty at the shelter on one of my shifts:
Thank again guys, you're awesome.
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28959
Tom Hiddleston talks about his take on Loki, working with Joss, previous projects and the upcoming THOR 2 movie. ETA: A clip of Tom on last night's Newsnight talking about Shakespeare can be found here (starts at around 20.40 and the panel is around 29.18 h/t to Night On My Side).
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28957
http://inourwordsblog.com/2012/05/25/a-q
Kevin Sparrow at In Our Words examines how "[Joss'] work addresses a particularly queer audience and our issues."
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28956
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/05/28/wh
IGN runs down 5 reasons why The Avengers is a piece of Whedon, through and through.
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28955
http://itssonotsexy.tumblr.com/post/2388
It involves being covered head to toe with hot, herb-infused oil. And it gets better.
cheerful
Poll #1843301
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 85
котобаллы:
Mean: 4.75 Median: 5 Std. Dev 0.78
| 1 |
   2 (2.4%) |
| 2 |
| 1 (1.2%) |
| 3 |
| 3 (3.5%) |
| 4 |
| 4 (4.7%) |
| 5 |
| 75 (88.2%) |
Just listed several new eBay auctions: the chapbooks Would You?, Used Stories, Stay Awake, Crown of Thorns, and The Feast of St. Rosalie (a hardcover); also a hardcover copy of Antediluvian Tales. My blank journals and other handmade objects are also still available until Wednesday evening.
Also, Grey has listed a one-of-a-kind photograph for sale, and a very beautiful one, too. Angel that he is, he has earmarked his profit from the sale of this piece as my testosterone fund.
- Mood:
hot
We left Charlottesville KOA on Friday morning. Here’s a fairly early morning shot I grabbed when I was walking the dogs:
Just a hint of fog.
We drove to Jim's mom's place in Williamston and got there about 3pm that afternoon.
We had a pig pickin' with mounds of family (they smoked a whole hog) on Saturday. Sunday we had dinner with Jim's sister and niece and her fiance and kiddos. Today, Sunday, we had burgers and hotdogs with a slew of family again.
Tomorrow, Jim's brother Sammy has a smoked pork shoulder cooked for us.
Here's Cody, chilling out on the bed in the RV. She's not happy I'm pointing a camera at her though: 
Here's mom's lilies that I thought were pretty: 
And from under an hour ago, a rainbow as a feeder band from Tropical Storm Beryl was heading toward us. Too bad I missed the massive lightning strike that happened only seconds after I got the shot. 
This entry was originally posted at http://majkia.dreamwidth.org/98362.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
- Mood:
awake - Music:Van Stephenson - "Modern Day Delilah"
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/28/re
http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18718
Today Redshirts gets a double dosage of geek parental attention at Wired.com: GeekDad runs an interview with me about the book, in which I talk about writing about red shirts and the role of humor in science fiction, while GeekMom notes Redshirts in an article about what the site’s contributors are reading. The takeaway from the brief review:
Laugh out loud funny, this book is a must read once it is released June 5, 2012, especially if you are a true fan of science fiction television.
Excellent.
Hope your Memorial Day is going well.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/28/pl
http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18715
The wife just came into the room and said: “I am doing things today. You are going to help me. There’s a lot of stuff. It will take up most of your day. Say goodbye to your Internet friends.”
So, uh, goodbye, Internet friends.
Whilst I am away, helping out the wife in the many tasks she has planned for me today, why not check out the latest installment in my conversations with Jonathan Coulton about his work? Today we are discussing his latest album Artificial Heart and his upcoming tour, which starts this next Friday. And if you’ve missed any of the interviews to date, here’s an index of every day so far.
Remember that the “Journey to Planet JoCo” feature concludes tomorrow, 9am with the debut of a brand-new song from Jonathan Coulton. I’ve heard it. I think it’s one of his best. You don’t want to miss it.
- Germany sets new solar power record, institute says | Reuters
Just in case you can't be arsed to click though: Germany met 50% of it's national energy needs with completely clean energy at peak sunshine hours on Friday and Saturday. This doesn't mean that we're quite ready to get rid of other power sources yet, but seriously, if this is possible now, perhaps it's time for us to spend a bit more cash (read: any) developing solar power systems? Who knows how fast we might get to the point where many nations could power themselves with solar energy? - Cinnamon And Nutmeg Iced Coffee, by Tom Francis
This does sound tasty.
Originally posted at Black Ink.
(Jesus, did I really just say that? Coffee, I think, is the answer.)
- Finish cleaning kids' rooms.
Do write-up from last night's Geist game, and if I get really ambitious, last week's curse the darkness game.Finish mowing the lawn.Work on Hunters Hunted 2 redlines.(Not done, but worked on 'em.)Shoot video for curse the darkness.- Assemble stuff for Origins' games.
Play some L.A. Noire.- Make a character.
Figure out stats/mechanics for mementos for Geist characters, which I forgot to do after the last game.- Watch Dead Man with Michelle.
That was yesterday. Didn't get to watch the movie because Cael wouldn't go to bed and Michelle had to read the system for today's chargen session (Game of Thrones), but that's fine, maybe we do it tomorrow. Today:
Make spiced peach jelly.- Finish handout for curse the darkness demos for Michelle & Sarah.
- Go over finances for Origins, crying optional.
- Go to grocery store.
- Work more on redlines (gotta be done by Wednesday, 'cause my deadline is Friday and I ain't working over Origins!).
- Assemble stuff for Origins.
- Finish video for curse the darkness.
So that's where we are.
Peach jelly: I bought a bunch of peaches at the market the other day, so they're nice and ripe now. I peeled 'em (god, that's a chore), pureed 'em, and boiled 'em with pectin, cinnamon, crystallized ginger and a spice bag with some mulling spices, and then added a shitload of sugar. The jelly is currently cooling; I'm excited to see how it tastes.
This entry was originally posted at http://innocent-man.dreamwidth.org/59159
http://www.dailykitten.com/2012/05/lunal
http://www.dailykitten.com/?p=8441
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Luna was found at a feral cat colony in downtown San Diego. My friend told me about her, and I picked her up the next day. She was blinded by conjunctivitus, and at eight weeks old she was completely emaciated, and would have certainly died. I took her in, and she started getting better. Being feral, she had no idea how to act in the house, and had many accidents before the large monster Oliver, who was on TDK previously, taught her the ways of the litterbox, and became her momma cat. She remains a very petite cat, and unfortunately may have development issues. She doesn’t understand cat body language or territory, and she has a breathing problem. But she is my special lover, and I enjoy having her follow me around the house, and looking up at me with her gorgeous eyes and chirping at me. Her meow is beautiful, when she can actually make a sound. I am going to find out what is wrong with her and make sure she lives a happy, long life.
Houston's Downtown Aquarium was a huge disappointment after the aquarium in Atlanta. The shark exhibit was the best thing about it, and you had to sit in the train and get moved along through it instead of just standing under the sharks. The creatures were impressive, though. The inside exhibits were meh, and the white tigers (which don't belong in an aquarium) were in a faux ruined maharajah's palace that left me icked on a cultural appropriation level. I can't recommend it and have hopes for the Dallas Aquarium, which doesn't appear to be run by Landry's.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science, by contrast, costs an arm and a leg as always, but they have some great exhibits this summer. We saw the Titanic artifact exhibit, which was very well done if somewhat creepy, the Chinese tomb artifact exhibit, which was smaller but also very informative, and the members preview of the Paleontology Hall, which was amazing. Once it's open, later this summer, we'll be heading down to simply spend a whole day wandering through it instead of breezing in and out the way we did today. There's also a small, and free with exhibit halls, exhibition of carved gemstones that's worth your time. I really do feel nickled and dimed when I go there, even with a membership (yesterday cost us $43 as members) but I felt like we got 4+ hours of entertainment easily.
Other things we did: attended a birthday party for one of the people I'm gaming with online, had lunch with Greg and Elizabeth, visited my favorite jewelry shop, and had the least competent waiter I think I've ever had. Overall, it was a great weekend. I'm glad we have another day off before returning to our regular schedule and getting back to school this weekend.
This entry was originally posted at http://immlass.dreamwidth.org/859920.ht
- Mood:
tired - Music:The Hot Club Of Cowtown: Heart Of Romain
Of Poo!, Nuts!, and Pandemic(s)
As with the Friday night group this week, we spent the afternoon playing some board games, and just relaxing a bit and chatting about various stuff as well.
After
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
spross and Tammy showed up, we sat around and chatted for a bit. Nothing intense, nothing heavy. Just idle chit chat. Then it was time to game. We started off with a couple of hands of Poo! The Card Game. Without the presence of my goddaughter to lend an atmosphere of shall we slight vulgarity and silliness, once the players got over the obvious side of things that go with the game, it went pretty smoothly. In the first game, spross got pooed to death twice, dying on Turn 6 and on Turn 9, but resurrected both times by the Golden Banana card. I pooed out on T15, and then Tammy beat spross on Turn 19 to win the game. In the second game, spross got pooed out on Turn 11 and Turn 18, but returned each time with the Golden Banana card, but Tammy also ended up out of the game on Turn 18 as well. In the final play, spross beat me and won the game on Turn 21.After a bit of a break, we switched games and decided to play some Nuts! The Card Game. Both players loved the crazy names that some of the cards had in this game, and the guffaws, laughs (to the point of crying at times), and chortles about the card names was prevalent throughout this game's play. In the first game, I managed to accumulate 23 Nuts at the end of Turn 13, and won that one. There was some really intense card play at times during that game. In the second game of Nuts! The Card Game, Tammy managed to make some interesting card draws as well as grabbing Nuts from the other two players, and got a win with 20 Nuts on Turn 6! Overall, a fun pair of games, and both
spross and Tammy agreed that Nuts! The Card Game is somewhat more enjoyable than Poo! The Card Game. After another quick break, the three of us set up for playing the Pandemic (here's the Wikipedia entry) board game, using the basic set. Pandemic is a cooperative board game designed by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games in 2008. Pandemic is based on the premise that four diseases have broken out in the world, each threatening to wipe out a region. The game accommodates 2 to 4 players (5 with the Expansion set), each playing one of five possible specialists (dispatcher, medic, scientist, researcher or operations expert). The game is unlike most board games as the gameplay is cooperative, rather than competitive. Through the combined effort of all the players, the goal is to discover all four cures before any of several game-losing conditions are reached. An expansion, Pandemic: On the Brink (co-designed by Matt Leacock and Tom Lehmann), adds several new roles and special events, and rules adjustments to allow a fifth player. In addition, several rules expansions are included, referred to as "challenge kits".
Once I explained the basic rules to
spross (who had already played the game with me a couple of times) and Tammy, we set up the game board and got ready to play. We managed to play two games of Pandemic, and had a pretty good game both times, though we lost the first one when we ran out of Player Cards for Tammy to draw from the pile. Here's a photo from that first game:
Tammy decided that she wanted to play a second game, as she was eager to actually win over the diseases, so we re-set the game board up and got down to it. This second game of Pandemic went much better, as we managed to win the game by curing the four diseases (and actually managing to eradicate one of them as well). Here's a photo from the second game:
In both games,
spross had the Operations Specialist, Tammy took the Medic, and I played the Researcher. The games went really well and were quite enjoyable, and Tammy even said that she liked this game a lot, and would play it again.Overall, a good afternoon of board gaming and card gaming and a nice, relaxing time. Next week, the Sunday group will return to roleplaying games, and I am quite looking forward to that.
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:Stevie Nicks - "Blue Lamp"
http://www.unshelved.com/2012-5-28
http://www.unshelved.com/2012-5-28/
link to this strip | tweet this | share on facebook | email us | signed print
Our Library Notebook is the perfect way to record those moments that drive you crazy, but will make a great story one day!
http://www.unshelved.com/2012-5-28/Oh%20
http://www.unshelved.com/2012-5-28/Oh%20
A reminder that, as a thank you to all the awesome Canadian librarians we met this Spring, shipping to Canada is free through the end of May (that's Thursday) when you buy any of our book bundles. You can add on a shirt or two, or one for each and every citizen of Canada, and we still won't charge anything for shipping.
Tell your friends, eh?
I want to wish all my friends a pleasant and safe Memorial Day.
'Nuff said.
- Mood: awake
- Music:Elton John - "Candle in the Wind"
Have not been able to get much sleep tonight, and the alarm for work should go off in about an hour or so. Just had a very sweaty night, and tossed and turns with a bad dream or two, and my left foot is hurting somewhat as I type this.
I'll probably spend part of the next hour writing by hand a scenario idea that I have for Desolation, and then get ready to go to work. This being the second week after CanGames, I'll be turning my attention back to rpgs. I always take the week after CanGames off from rpgs, and haven't looked at an rpg in a week, and it's been a sort of productive week in some ways, but... I have a few things to do before I run some rpg goodness on my Friday and Sunday groups.
Oh, and the weather forecast for today is extremely hot and muggy in the city. Just what I need, the way I've been feeling.
In the meantime ::yawn:: I want to do a bit of writing now, so will do that until it's time to get ready for work.
- Mood:
groggy - Music:Pat Benetar - "Love Is A Battlefield"
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/27/th
http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18712
Because, you know, high school. Done with. Somewhere in there is my niece. It was a good day for her and for the family.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/05/la
Over the last almost-a-month of the Kickstarter she's gathered a huge amount of support, set records for what crowdfunding can do, made the news internationally, and she is now planning a giant webcast block party in Brooklyn on Thursday night for the people who supported the project and to count down to 11:59 when the Kickstarter ends and she starts to play.
She's certainly got enough supporters, and she's already well exceeded her goal and is somewhere off into the land beyond her wildest dreams. (As I write this she's 900% funded, and looks on course to make this a million dollar Kickstarter.) But I still thought I'd stick something up here, in the last few days, because...
We put together the Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Kickstarter last year, to raise the money to professionally record the West Coast tour we did in November. We raised a lot more money from the Kickstarter than we had expected, so we made everything we could even better than anyone had expected. The double CD we had planned to do became a beautiful triple CD package, for example, and then we did a special super secret bonus CD with a banana on it to go along with that - as well as over two additional hours of extra material we released digitally for all the supporters. We worked very hard to make sure that everyone who supported us got something better than they had thought they were getting when they signed up.
And when the stuff started showing up in people's mailboxes and they started posting happy photographs of their stuff (like these...)
...then people here and on Twitter and on Tumblr started sending me sad messages, telling me they wished they had supported the Kickstarter, they'd missed it as they hadn't seen it, or had forgotten, or were broke at the time -- but was it too late to get the stuff? I wrote back a lot, and said yes, I was sorry but it was too late. We'd only made enough for the Kickstarter backers.
(We do plan to release An Evening With Neil and Amanda commercially, probably towards the end of the year. And it'll be a nice package, but it won't be what the Kickstarter folk got. That was special, and it was just for them.)
Amanda will be releasing a version of her new CD to the public in September. That's the one you'll be able to buy at your local store. But the two CD set inside a book (the blue thing on the right), or the quadruple vinyl in its box, or whatever else she decides to throw in to the other levels, the art-book she's making -- that stuff will only exist for Kickstarter. If you want it, or any of the other rewards (down to the $1 reward that gets you the whole album digitally when it comes out, which I promise will be significantly cheaper than it'll be on iTunes) then this is really just a reminder that you only have four days to click on the Kickstarter link and support it...
...
Amanda did a post the other day on her blog and for backers, explaining that, no, a million dollar Kickstarter wasn't actually going to make her rich. People are signing up for things, she'll make the things and provide them, but she doesn't get to put a million dollars into a swimming pool and then throw it into the air, like Uncle Scrooge. It's not tax-free donations, it's people signing up for services.
So, to clarify:
The Kickstarter exists to fund a CD release (to the public, not Kickstarter supporters) and a tour (ditto).
The Kickstarter money funds the studio and promotional costs (just as a record label might have done). The business model isn't, Make Money From 20,000 people. It's Use 20,000 people to crowdfund the costs of manufacturing and distributing and promoting a CD and a tour to the General Public. And then get rich from that.
You'd think a band who took their video and studio and promotional budget from a record label and used it as income instead of as an investment in their future were being pretty shortsighted. That's the Kickstarter money: it's a video and promotional and design and manufacturing and touring budget. That's what it's for.
...
There. That's the very last post about Amanda's Kickstarter, unless I start blogging from a rooftop in Brooklyn when it's all over, as the NYPD haul Amanda and the Grand Theft Orchestra away. She says they have all the permits in place for a midnight rooftop gig, and they've even hired the police to block off a road and so on. I just think of the Beatles on the roof of the Apple building, and the legion of uniformed cops who appeared to make them stop...
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28953
From L.A. Times Hero Complex (also run in print edition on May 25).
"And when Cobie pulled her gun and pointed it at Sam's chest, I went, 'Oh God, she's gonna shoot him!' Even though I had seen the same scene four times already, and had written it and directed it. She has enormous authority. She can hold her own against anybody."
Whedon recalls producer Kevin Feige running through his notes on the merits of each of the auditions.
"They were all wonderful," Whedon said. "And he's like, 'And the fifth girl is Maria Hill.'"
Actually, looking at the character sheets now, I don't actually have to do anything for the Mementos that folks have, so I'll just rejigger Sarah's power sheet and call it a day.
Oh, also cooked last night:
Beef brisket, artichokes, plums, pigeon peas, goat cheddar.
( What would you do? )
- Finish cleaning kids' rooms.
Do write-up from last night's Geist game, and if I get really ambitious, last week's curse the darkness game.Finish mowing the lawn.Work on Hunters Hunted 2 redlines.(Not done, but worked on 'em.)- Shoot video for curse the darkness.
- Assemble stuff for Origins' games.
- Play some L.A. Noire.
- Make a character.
Figure out stats/mechanics for mementos for Geist characters, which I forgot to do after the last game.- Watch Dead Man with Michelle.
This entry was originally posted at http://innocent-man.dreamwidth.org/59114
I am not making progress. Part of it is that I haven't been able to afford my full doses of testosterone -- the treatment runs a little over $300 a month, which I pay completely out of pocket -- and so I've been stretching it out to half-doses, figuring some T going into my system was better than none. (Medically speaking, this isn't wholly unsound, as many trans guys start off on low doses.)
Thanks to Grey, I had a wonderful birthday weekend anyway. When we're alone together, the rest of the world recedes to the point where even gender seems relatively unimportant. And he can always boost my confidence, and he's so romantic, and he even seems to think I'm interesting. I know, the man must be deranged, but I sure do love him.
Re: misgendering, there was a good moment of comic relief at the drag show we attended last night. Local drag diva Bootsy DeVille was talking to us at the bar at Michael's on the Park before her show, and she turned to me and said, "I have a question for you. Now it's hard for me to phrase this right ... " Grey and I were both bracing for The Question, which I wouldn't have really minded answering for Bootsy, but instead she said rather hesitantly, "Did you use to be the boyfriend of a famous writer? Because we were googling Billy Martin, and there seemed to be some connection ... "
After collapsing with laughter, we explained as best we could, and only later did I realize I should have said, "Why yes, I used to date Stephen King, but I dumped him for Grey!"
- Mood: recumbent
Wow.
- Location:home
---
I've had much worse birthdays than yesterday.
readingthedark came down in the late afternoon. We had dinner at Tortilla Flats. We played an absolutely abominable game of "World of Warcraft" Monopoly (and why the hell are the Draenei represented nowhere in the game?!), and, in theory, Geoffrey won. We had some frozen caramel and cashew ice-cream pie thing. I got stoned. We talked too much. I got to sleep just as the sun was rising.My thanks to all the "happy birthday" wishes yesterday. There were something like four hundred via Facebook, and, honestly, that just freaks me right the fuck out. Thank you for being there.
---
Spooky is still having a Caitlín Was (Most Years) Actually Born on the 27th of May Sale in her Dreaming Squid Dollworks and Sundries Etsy Shop. Cool and bow-tie stuff, with FREE SHIPPING, which will run through Monday. In order to take advantage of the sale, you need to use this code during checkout: CRKBIRTHDAY. Buy something bow tie, kittens!!! No, really!
---
Looking back from -08, here is what I will say: I want such very simple things. That's actually true. Instead, my life has presented me with a baffling array of complexities. I didn't say that quite right. "Baffling complexities" isn't actually what I mean. If the cosmos had some collective consciousness, if all our gods and goddesses and demons were anything more than fairy tales, they might understand what I meant to say. Those things I wish I had, though – those things I still hope for to the point I feel ashamed and ungrateful for not being gladder for what I have instead – they are so simple they might take your breath away.
Breathe In,
Aunt Beast
- Mood:
you think there's a word? - Music:The Civil Wars, "My Father's Father"
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/27/gr
http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18708
Away from the Internets for most of the day because my niece Cecilia is having her high school graduation ceremony. See you all tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s “The Paper Chase,” one of my favorite graduation-themed songs, from the (now defunct) The Academy Is… (the ellipsis is part of their name).
I wrote about Fast Times at Barrington High, the album this song is on, here.
Have a good Sunday.
http://www.dailykitten.com/2012/05/peppe
http://www.dailykitten.com/?p=8435
Location: Johnson City, New York, USA
This is Pepper. He is a playful little guy with a huge personality.
Seriously. I woke up at 7AM. I have no idea why. I didn't want to go back to sleep, so I went upstairs and moved my son's bed back into his room (he's been sleeping in Teagan's room while we painted in his, and then we got busy/lazy and hadn't moved his bed back). I came back downstairs, did dishes, cleaned the kitchen, cleared stuff off the table, fed the dogs, and then Michelle woke up and I made breakfast.
Other things I need to (or would like to) do today:
- Finish cleaning kids' rooms.
- Do write-up from last night's Geist game, and if I get really ambitious, last week's curse the darkness game.
- Finish mowing the lawn.
- Work on Hunters Hunted 2 redlines.
- Shoot video for curse the darkness.
- Assemble stuff for Origins' games.
- Play some L.A. Noire.
- Make a character.
- Figure out stats/mechanics for mementos for Geist characters, which I forgot to do after the last game.
- Watch Dead Man with Michelle.
Shit, that's a lot to do, yeah? Better get started!
Just so we're not totally devoid of content here, my puppy has a pet. There are little brown hop-toads living under my porch steps, and Si found one yesterday, sniffed it, and then bowed like he wanted to play. Now when he goes outside, he scampers over and sniffs where he last saw the toad.
This entry was originally posted at http://innocent-man.dreamwidth.org/59105
Poll #1842962
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 91
котобаллы:
Mean: 4.88 Median: 5 Std. Dev 0.57
| 1 |
| 1 (1.1%) |
| 2 |
| 1 (1.1%) |
| 3 |
| 1 (1.1%) |
| 4 |
| 2 (2.2%) |
| 5 |
| 86 (94.5%) |
