http://xkcd.com/678/

Hooloovoo? - 38 shades of blue

Where has the Year Gone?
Li's Compilation of Favourite Songs from 2009

Image from collapsingnight
Tracklistings and details here @ forsaken_muse

Hooloovoo?

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/12/nakedly-commercial-post-sweetened-by.html

Hooloovoo? - 6 shades of blue

So I just saw Planet of the Cat People (P.S. They're Blue) in 3-D, and then Brett the Vet and I went out for Moe's. (They have a whole salsa bar!) Short version: A large portion of my readership is going to kick my ass.

Long version: ( MASSIVE SPOILERS )


ETA: What the HELL? Hospital: Actress Brittany Murphy dies at age 32.

Hooloovoo? - 281 shades of blue

I'm baaaack in Singapore for about 3 weeks. It started snowing in Manchester literally after the last person had boarded the plane and sat down - the stewards had even shut the overhead compartments. It lasted about 30 minutes, after which we were informed that the airport was closed for another 30 minutes (to clean up the snow, I guess). And then we were told it would be closed for another 1.5hours (!) - so everybody was sat on the plane thinking wtf. In my personal experience of these past 4 years, it's never snowed this close to Christmas, and the snow has not been so frequent or long-lasting. I will be slightly annoyed if I end up missing a white X'mas in the UK. ;)

Anyway, the plane ended up boarding one hour short of the time frame given us. I had to catch a connection in Paris Charles de Gaulle, and I had no idea if the connection would be delayed, but so many people on my flight were going to Singapore as well, and it's a long-haul as well... I had to run, catch a little tube thing, run somemore, go through yet another security check, run a bit more (encoutering an airport staff person who yelled at me, "The gate's closed!" I turned to look, and then they just said, "Singapore flight's that way!" So don't know what that was about).

But I got on the plane a-ok, and had to go through First Class and Business Class. Bloody hell! Those guys were lounging in luxurious seats with so much space, possibly giving me dirty looks. Going into Economy class was even more of a shock - and I swear, it was a lot more cramped than my short-haul Manchester-Paris flight. You'd think the long-haul planes would be set up more comfortably...

I watched Julie & Julia, The Boat that Rocked and 500 Days of Summer. I enjoyed them all, but possibly in an average sort of way... I'd rank the second film as my favourite of the lot, just because I found it quite funny and a nice look at pop culture in the 60s.

Now I'm home and the massive TV (and DVD player) that used to be here has been sent off to our old flat that's being rented out. Gutted! I was looking forward to having some background noise going while study. But I had some dosai with my mother's chicken curry for dinner, which was awesome.

Hooloovoo? - 1 shade of blue

• 12:44 Hahaha, totally missed the "I'm a vampire" discussion yesterday. @Vinnchan and @aerognome, you guys crack me up. #

Hooloovoo?

Oh my sweet God have mercy. ( I decided that I would rather not go to prison )

By the way, remember this story?

Meanwhile, on the way home from our last excursion of the day, we dropped by my grandmother's to bring her some more ornaments. On the way out, I stopped to play with a--I don't know, I guess you'd call it a banner? It kind of looks like a long flat bell pull? I don't know. She has it hanging on her front door, and it's this tan-colored strip of fabric with little decorated felt Christmas trees, edged with shiny gold rickrack. "I loved this when I was a kid," I told her, shaking it a little so the bells would jingle. "Ruth made that," my grandmother said warmly. "She really liked arts and crafts. She made all of this herself, every bit of it. Even the tassels. She sewed everything on it there--the sequins, the little ornaments, she even put the pearls on the trees. She's dead now."

I managed not to crack up until I got to the car. My mother couldn't understand why I was doubled up in the passenger seat crying with laughter. I'm not sure I understand it myself.

 

Hooloovoo? - 78 shades of blue

• 10:53 Amazing skiing weather for once in Ithaca and I miss out for multiple reasons. /sigh #
• 12:14 @Vinnchan Pssh, I have not one but TWO purple ski coats. #
• 12:50 @Vinnchan THE DAY STAR BURNS #
• 13:25 @Vinnchan Always. "I have a problem." "Yes, I think that's true." #

Hooloovoo?

So. Tired in a very lazy, self-indulgent way. I don't know if it's the holidays or the birthdays or what, but I've got to get over this dragginess--however pleasant it might be at the moment--at some point. I am, however, going to see Avatar on Sunday, and am working on some kind of zen meditation to rope off my EXTREME WEARINESS of the hype I've been hearing for an actual, literal year about how this will CHANGE THE WAY MOVIES ARE MADE. I don't know which way they mean, but if involves 3-D becoming the standard movie format I'm going to be pissed off, because it gives me headaches like whoa, and keep in mind that I have to balance those damn glasses on top of my real ones. I'm afraid to ask what other ways they might mean, because so far, "Huge effects spectacle with an overly familiar story and clichéd dialogue," "The nation divided into warring tribes of Fanboys and Haters," and "Would you like fries with your topless Neytiri figure?" kind of seem like business as usual.

@cleolinda: RT @flickchart: Director Michael Mann said of AVATAR: "There's before this movie, and after this movie."

@cleolinda: RT @flickchart: Spielberg quoted on AVATAR: "The last time I came out of a movie feeling that way was the first time I saw Star Wars."

@cleolinda: People, you realize now that I'm not going to be impressed unless Avatar delivers orgasms AND hot fudge sundaes. Knock it off.

@cleolinda: @jamevph The only thing more obnoxious than the hype would be if the movie actually turned out to be that good.

@cleolinda: @gorgeousnerd Oh, I mean, I'm going on Sunday, and I'm going to try to be zen about it and set all of that aside.

@cleolinda: Although I do wonder--"Doomed romance on the Titanic" is an easy sell. "Giant blue cat people do... something," I don't know.

@cleolinda: It could be the Second Coming, but I don't know how well it might actually do. Interesting to see how it shakes out.

@lilithsaintcrow: @cleolinda "Giant blue cat-love on the doomed Titanic! It's a sure thing!"

@cleolinda: @lilithsaintcrow Aw, man, giant blue cat-love screeching in the back of a Model T, do not want.

gfrancie

Hooloovoo? - 145 shades of blue

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/12/xmas-roundup-with-some-good-links-and.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/neil-gaiman-hanukkah-with-bells-on-1203307.html

I wanted to tell you that you can still get the signed prints of "Before You Read This" I did with Todd Klein -- it's a poem I wrote that Todd lettered -- at Todd's website (along with Todd's other unique signed prints -- collaborations with Alex Ross, Alan Moore and J.H. Williams). http://kleinletters.com/Blog/?p=6525. (If you're hesitating, order: they're really cheap, and the second printing will be gone soon.)

Also, for signed things and rare stuff, you can Do Good while last minute shopping by heading over to the CBLDF shop website. Here's the page with stuff related to me on it.)

I just got my author's copies of "A Hundred Words To Talk of Death", the poem I wrote that Jim Lee illustrated and Todd Klein lettered. (Someone wrote to me on Twitter pointing out that it is two syllables short, and unable to figure out why. I will leave that as a problem for you to solve.) It's beautiful -- the same size and quality as the print of "The Day The Saucers Came". It's glorious. (Thinks: I can take a photo to show people.)

I didn't used to think of Jim Lee as a glorious and subtle pencil artist, but he really is, and this is wonderful. (You can order them from here, and read about Kitty's adventures in shipping them out over at http://kittysneverwear.blogspot.com/, with bonus pictures right now of my Very Late Guy Fawkes Part of last month.)

Here is a photo of an author who needs a shave holding a print of "One Hundred Words" poem.

Kitty herself is heading off on tour with Lady Gaga early next year, and Maddy is going to see them in Chicago (where, about eight years ago, I first met Kitty, on the road with Tori) (Who will be interviewed tonight on ABC -- Tori that is, not Kitty or Maddy).

Amanda and I have been having something that isn't quite an argument about Lady Gaga for a few weeks. We have really rubbish arguments, because they normally resolve into the discovery that we weren't arguing at all, just saying the same thing from two different points of view. Amanda posted a ukulele video-song-blog she'd written late last night from her Boston flat when she was probably meant to be practising her New Year's Eve Tchaikovsky, and I discovered that our latest argument wasn't an argument and we were talking about the same things again. It's art. You make it.

I don't think I will ever write songs and post them on YouTube instead of blogging. I'm in awe of someone who can. It's a good song, too, not just a funny and wise end-of-an-argument, even if she has to stop and scroll down at the last verse.




Also, she said "aluminium".

And finally, in keeping with the not-exactly-Christmassy-but-sort-of theme of this blog...

Hooloovoo? - 31 shades of blue

http://xkcd.com/677/

Hooloovoo? - 203 shades of blue

• 10:12 Oooh, just realized that I can get Jamba Juice in Texas. Hooray!! #
• 12:05 @aerognome Shiny. Oh, and if it's okay with you, I'd like to just plan for Sunday. Sound good? #
• 14:34 Ok, fish, you have a fresh filter, fresh water and an extra air stone. In return, you all survive while we're gone. Deal? #

Hooloovoo? - 3 shades of blue

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/12/late-night-mystery-post.html

Hooloovoo? - 19 shades of blue

My internet at home is still on the fritz so I'm updating from uni. I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to stagger in for this lecture because I'm staggeringly, epically hung-over. The gargantuan bottle of water beside me isn't really helping much.

I think it all went wrong when we went to Drummonds for "a pint." We realised it would be open mic night before we got there but the agreement was that the boy would not put his name down because if he did that we knew we'd be there all night. However, after a succession of drunk people trying to sing a capella versions of various pop standards, the entourage were begging him to play something, for the good of humanity.

And now, I'm dying. Egads.

Hooloovoo? - 1 shade of blue

• 09:24 @jaboo We have one of those. But replace "arguments" with "screaming 'ungrateful bitch' at 1am." -_- #
• 09:24 @Vinnchan Post 'em. #
• 10:19 @aerognome Oh, congrats! I'm at 48/50, but the Christmas travel will put me over easily I think. #
• 10:44 @aerognome Saturday if I'm not too wiped out by the plane (get in late Friday). Sunday if so. Have you a preference? #
• 10:50 @aerognome Am I still breathing? (Answer: YES!) #
• 11:42 19 Weeks today - halfway to full term! :D #
• 12:29 @Vinnchan Next week - 20 weeks is halfway to my due date! :D #
• 17:53 Go older generation! Grandparents are 4/4 on Christmas cards this year - before we got ones from any other family. :) #
• 22:13 Screw you, Hulu. #

Hooloovoo?

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Happy holiday promotion!

Tweaks and Enhancements

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You can view more awesome user content after the jump!

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Until next time, stay snug!

Hooloovoo? - 588 shades of blue

First of all: my mother and I are trying to decide on an e-book reader to get for my stepfather. His main problem is visibility--we hit on this as an alternative to large-print books, in that any book can become "large print" if you can adjust the font size. Portability is less of a factor, therefore--if one reader is larger than the other, that might actually be a bonus for us. I hear the Nook is sold out and kind of got crappy reviews along the lines of "Wait for the 2.0 version," but Mom thinks she might be able to get one anyway (she has Ways). On the other hand, the Kindle has a lot of advantages that I am vaguely aware of, but it's also got screwy DRM issues where it won't let you do things with, you know, the files you bought and paid for. So she says it would be nice to be able to have the e-books on the reader and the computer, DRM issues would be really frustrating, etc. So 1) ease of use and visibility for someone who is not a tech-head and 2) minimal DRM foolery, those are our main criteria. I know nothing about e-readers, except that I have the Stanza app on the iBella and don't ever use it. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Second: padawansguide needs a new host for her site, the movie-focused The Costumer's Guide (where I had tons of fun a couple of years ago trying to help identify all 60+ Marie Antoinette costumes. Good times); in particular, she says, "I would like at least 5-10 GB of disk space and at least 150 or more GB of bandwidth a month. With no weird [usage] caps they don't tell you about!" We discuss a couple of options at that first link, if you have any ideas.

Third, and not a question: New trailer for Iron Man 2.


(Zomg e-book! The Annotated Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Wizards!)

Hooloovoo? - 91 shades of blue

Statistics are here!

You can now see the number of people who have visited your journal, your individual entries, a chart of comments, readers of the RSS feed of your journal, and the last 100 logged-in users who have visited your journal directly (if you've enabled My Guests).

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( Page-by-page walkthrough )

Hooloovoo? - 150 shades of blue

If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can now send 10 of your non-Paid friends a $10 coupon. Your friend will be able to purchase a Paid Account for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25).

• All Paid and Permanent accounts can send out the coupons by clicking here (it's also under Friends -> Holiday promotion in the site header)
• You can also send to people not on your Friends list by manually entering the username in the field provided
• If your friend declines the invitation, it will be returned to your available invitation pool and you'll be able to send to someone else
• You can send the invitations until January 15th

Hooloovoo? - 432 shades of blue

A Non-fictional Book

Hooloovoo?

A Fictional Book

Eric and I are currently reading The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - he finally got me to start the series....I've only been resisting for, oh, eight years. We're almost done with it. My progress has slowed significantly since Saturday morning, when I was super grumpy because I barely managed any sleep, and he decided to read aloud to me when I told him I couldn't focus on the pages with my headache. Then he remembered how much we liked reading to each other and we've been doing the rest of the book like that. It's been fun, but the book itself isn't terrific, and to keep entertained sometimes I go off on tangents, especially shipping the characters. Which became a discussion on who would go gay for Lan (answer: Rand, obs). Which became a discussion on how little gay there is in the fantasy we've read. The only one I could think of off the top of my head was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and that's only the barest hint and the character is Fae anyway. I believe the conversation went something like this:

Me: Well, Bast is a little gay for Kvothe.
Eric: Hell, I'm a little gay for Kvothe.
Me: Who isn't?

Indeed. I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series (should be out next year). I even can't wait to reread the first one in anticipation. Especially compared to mucking through Jordan right now, reading Rothfuss is like eating smooth, rich chocolate.

30 Day Meme

Hooloovoo? - 2 shades of blue

http://xkcd.com/676/

Hooloovoo? - 74 shades of blue

( That New Years Meme )

Hooloovoo? - 2 shades of blue

Bear with me as I lead into this, because I have some philosophical ramblings about beauty products that guys (i.e., people who do not wear makeup and may not understand the appeal of cosmetics) may find interesting.

So. I have gift cards to Sephora, and also a promotional code from their newsletter that expires today, and then three free mini lip glosses as a birthday promotion, therefore: it's economy-boosting time. My on-and-off obsession with makeup, as previously documented here, is somewhat peculiar, given that I wear very little of it. I mean, number one: I don't leave the house much. I have sensitive problem skin, so there doesn't seem to be any point in irritating it with the constant application and removal of makeup that no one's going to see, you know? What I really love is trying out different colors, because if I wear anything, it tends to be eyeshadow and lip gloss--I really need to wear foundation and concealer, but honestly, when I do, all I look like is someone very obviously wearing foundation and concealer, so I figure the flawed natural look is preferable at that point, and I'll just have fun with my favorite eyeshadow palettes (Hard Candy's Suede and Star). Hence the recent fixation on Aromaleigh, because the samples are so cheap that I can play all I want, and I'm hearing from other patrons that their face powders do a really good job of blending and disappearing, so I'm going to get samples of those and see if I can finally achieve the no-makeup makeup look ("Like you, only better!").

As for why girls--some girls--get so obsessed with makeup, even someone like me who rarely wears it, I can tell you very simply: ( Yes, but it's a badass lavender )


(Zomg e-book! The Annotated Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Wizards!)

Hooloovoo? - 228 shades of blue

Hey guys! I'm selling a near complete Douglas Adams book lot on ebay. It includes the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion, The Salmon of Doubt, Starship Titanic, and the two Dirk Gently books. Here's a link to the auction. It ends in two days.

Thank you for your time!

Hooloovoo?