Notes, Notings, and Common Refrains

Not "Friday Five," but "Saturday Some"

2020-02-22T14:45:25Z

1) I've been thinking a lot, lately, about where I fit, psychologically, within "the Generations" in America, today. Here are a couple of Tumblr posts I've written about that:

2) Along with becoming ever more convinced that Ophelia (from Hamlet was outright murdered (and that Shakespeare wanted us to draw that conclusion -- or at least, have that suspicion), I've also concluded that the play should be performed for comedy at every opportunity -- all the better for leaving the audience in stunned silence at the final, tragic, scene, with the bodies on the stage.

3) Still getting SpongeBob-related recommendations in my YouTube feed. That's how I got to hear this original song written and performed by Ethan Slater, post-Broadway debut:

Closed-captioned. Lyrics contain brief swear-words, so if at work, maybe listen with headphones.

But yeah. I think this is a young talent I will keep my ear out for.

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Not Friday Five, but Thursday Four:

2019-10-31T20:25:35Z

1) I acknowledge that I've neglected this space for my Tumblr (aegipan-omnicorn); I'm sorry.

2) Tomorrow is the start of NaNoWriMo -- I still have not settled on what to write, yet.

3) I accidentally ran into the door of our fridge, this week, and broke the bottom hinge. So we have a new refrigerator (delivered yesterday), but it's like 1/8th of an inch (or less) too wide for the space it was meant to go into. I was going to spend yesterday thinking about what to write for NaNoWriMo, but instead, I spent all my energy trying to find someone who can come out and trim down that much from one end of our kitchen countertop. (most places will only do it if you go for a whole kitchen remodeling job. Ended up calling a general handyman, and have an appointment for a week from Yesterday.

4) Yesterday, while scrolling through the comments of a video, I accidentally clicked on the name of a commentator, and discovered someone who's just started their YouTube Channel this week. Their first proper video (not their channel trailer) is full-documentary length. And is excellent: Stolen Anarchy: Playing Indian & The Roots of Collectivism: All about how Marx, and Engels, and Mary Wollstoncraft, et al. appropriated their political philosophies from the Haudonoshone Confederacy and the Lenni-Lenape. Highly recommended.

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A "Sunday Seven" post

2019-01-27T16:30:01Z

One: My "Birthday Resolution" to write a drabble a day is continuing apace. Today is day 14, and so far, I've already had one day where I failed to write anything, and two days where I failed to finish a drabble before bed (because I rely on my aide to get me into and out of bed, I don't have the option of staying up a little bit later to finish things). But, so far, I've been able to write extra on following days, so I'm still on track to write 365 drabbles in a year.

Reminder: I'm posting the drabbles here, on my journal, under a custom filter. If you want in, just let me know.

2: Sometimes, I need to listen to Rhiannon Giddens singing to cheer me up:

C: Speaking of music, yesterday I watched the documentary "Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World," yesterday (streamed on my online PBS station, but also available for streaming on YouTube and other places, probably). Absolutely fascinating -- and infuriating (how cultural history is erased).

IV:(X-Posted from Tumblr) ( Proposed Valentine's Day Alternative (for aces and aros) )

five: Speaking of which:

[Image description: Word-and-Graphics art on a pale violet field. Five Valentine's hearts, with drop shadows, in a gentle arc, ranging from pale pink on the outside to bright red in the center. The text below, in black, sans serif font reads: "I hate the marketing and social pressure of Valentine's Day. But I love the Aesthetics." The words 'hate' and 'love' are underlined in white. Description ends]

6: Here's another documentary I watched, recently, via my PBS:

g: Question: of all the mystical creatures that populate fantasy, why do you think dragons are the ones that became ubiquitous, over all the others?

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Not 5 Things, Not Friday:

2015-10-28T16:34:37Z

1) From Dave Hingsburger's blog, "Rolling around in my head," dated 28-10-2015, regarding a participants in his workshop on bullying:

Quote:

[S]ociety has lied to them about who they were. They had intellectual disabilities, true, but that didn't mean what they'd been told - that they couldn't learn, they couldn't grow, they couldn't figure things out.

Unquote.

...Just as having a mobility disability doesn't mean you're stuck in one place. You just need the right tools. Realizing that analogy helped me put a few cracks in the meme that there's any real disability hierarchy.

Full blog entry is here: http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-answer.html

2-a) Praising what I enjoyed before criticizing what I didn't about the Doctor Who episode "The Woman Who Lived":

i) The setting
ii) The Doctor as sidekick
iii) Capaldi's grin when "Me" realized she cared about people, after all.
iv) The "Me" gag.*

2-b) Criticizing what I didn't:

i) The loss of Ashildr, the storyteller -- especially since it was without explanation, or mention.
ii) That it was the second story in the season (after the Fisher King) in which the Big Bad was out to kill humans for no apparent reason. That's just not what Doctor Who is about. At least the Mire were harvesting humans for consumption.
iii) That they'd created Leandro (really?) and didn't play on the Beauty and the Beast angle.

*3) I used that gag once, when I was about ten (maybe eight?). We were about to get on an airplane for a family trip, and one of the stewardesses crouched down to my eye level, and said, in a tone usually reserved for puppies who aren't yet weaned:

"And what's your name?
(With my best growl voice): "I'm Me!"
"'Mi' -- what a pretty name!"

... At which point my mother coughed, and said we really needed to hurry and board, before I said something rude about the woman's intelligence. ...And that was the first lesson I had on how some people are immune to sarcasm.

4) The most recent "Robot Hugs" Strip: http://www.robot-hugs.com/bridal-party/

Considering how close we are to Halloween, I was kind of expecting the central character to be in costume, in the final panel.

5) Putting this behind a cut, because I'm mostly Not!Evil... Posting it at all because I'm a Bit!Evil:

( Lyrics for an earworm -- click at your own risk )

6) An update on adding split pea protein powder to my diet (On healthcare-provider's recommendation): It's still totally grabbing on to the acidic flavor compounds in whatever beverage I blend it into. This makes coffee taste tasteless, but it makes strong, acidic, juices (such as unsweetened pomegranate juice) less puckery without sugar. But, for me, it turns out most palatable with pureed veggies as a thickener for soups and sauces.

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Tuesday Twofer

2015-10-06T15:51:48Z

'Cause I can't guarantee I'll remember Five Things on Friday:

1) The "Robot Hugs" strip, dated 2015-10-06 gave me a chuckle: http://www.robot-hugs.com/decor/

Artistically speaking, I love the way they render the softness of their cats' fur -- especially the fur just at the inside of the ears (For those who don't follow this strip, the grey cat is named "Hippo" and the orange cat is named "Oskar"). Here's an announcement on their site which features the felines photographically: http://www.robot-hugs.com/merch/

2) There is a fair amount of chatter in Doctor Who fandom -- some playful and some combative (as is typical) -- about the Doctor's age. Does he lie about it? Has he forgotten? Has he ever known it, in the first place?

( Cut for length and (minor?) spoilers for *Day of the Doctor* and *Listen* )

So -- how would you answer that question, if you were in the Doctor's shoes?

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Sundry Stuff for Saturday...

2015-07-25T20:24:10Z

The other day, prompted by ysabetwordsmith, I opened TV Tropes, and clicked on Applied Phlebotinum; upon reading the article therein, two thoughts sprang to mind:
1. "Phlebo & Tinum" sounds like the title of a silly webcomic! and
2. "'Phlebo' sounds familiar... as if it actually means something."
So I looked it up, and indeed, it's a prefix from the Greek for "vein" (a Phlebotomist is a physician that practices bloodletting as a treatment). Since the word got its origins in the writers' room for a vampire show, I don't think it's as much a "nonsense" word as TV Tropes makes it out to be...

But I'd still expect a webcomic titled "Phlebo & Tinum" to be quite nonsensical.
From the files of Folktale Hacking:

The other day, I picked up a collection of folktales I had that I'd nearly forgotten about. And the very first story featured a disabled protagonist, Ivan (hunchback, with crooked legs). Although he was both ugly and poor, he was smart (at foraging for food when there was none at home), talented (at drawing pictures of things), and happy. ...Until he falls in love with the blue-eyed, golden-haired daughter of the richest man in the village and she laughs at him (Well, thought I, that's a Truth -- about 97% of our suffering comes from the disdain we're burdened with by the Privileged). So, then, of course, the rest of the story is about Ivan's adventures in search of Beauty and Wealth, so the girl of his crush will marry him. Which he gets (to his credit, by means of his own talent and smarts). And so, handsome and wealthier than her dad, he marries her, and lives happily ever after -- hooray!

("Oh, Ivan!" I thought, "You're too good for the likes of her.")

I want to hack that story where he finds someone who loves him as he is, and they have an awesome adventure together...

And I was reminded afresh about why I lost heart doing my disability in folklore blog: because it just keeps being more of the same old bigotry, and eventually, there's nothing new to say about it.
In honor of NASA's announcement of Kepler-452b, these videos are my favorites about the Fermi Paradox (Especially part two): The Fermi Paradox: Where are all the aliens?
- Part One
- Part Two
And here's a video that tickled my inner geek. It's a brief introduction to a family interactive science museum, where all the exhibits include native sign language interpretation:
Awti in Paris: Science + Signs = Power!. My favorite part is where the museum guide describes how complex scientific concepts are translated into natural French Sign Language.
A couple of lines from a poem I'm working on:

But Pity is only Hatred
When it's wearing Mercy's skin

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Saturday Six -- challenge: can I write just one line for each thought? ;-)

2015-07-18T19:02:33Z

1. Why we live in 4-D: If something has length, width, and depth, but no duration, it can't exist.

2. Happy Birthday to all people in my circles celebrating a natal anniversary this week!

3. My cat Trixie is showing her age. This makes me sad. As best as I figure, she's 18 years old.

4. So far, I think this is one of my favorite Pluto macros; what's seen cannot be unseen!

5. I'm chugging away at the last poem I need for my Monsters' Legacy; I still need to work on the prose part.

6. I've played a couple "Hidden object" games at MindJolt.com; I expected them to take advantage of their medium, and be randomized. They don't.

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Four Things on the Fourth Day of the Fourth Month make a post:

2015-04-04T15:32:33Z

1) A modern wondertale by E. Nesbit that I heard told on the radio, this morning, illustrating why she is one of my favorite writers: Melisande, or: Long and Short Division (1901)

2) The other day, I swore I heard a man whistling right outside my house, out in my yard, just the other side of my office wall. And at first, it creeped me out. It took a few more repetitions for me to realize it was a bird, but only because it was just a three note phrase of descending pitch, rather than anything that sounded like a fragment of popular song. Also, it kept coming from the same spot, as if a bird had picked a perch and was declaring his territory. If it were a human -- even a human creep who was deliberately lurking, I'd expect him him to move around at least a little bit. And besides, given the time of year, and the time of day (the height of afternoon), "Bird" is just more likely. But even after all that reasoning, it still sounded So Human -- the timbre, pitch range, interval, phrasing -- everything about it sounded like an adult male human's whistle.

Now I'm wondering if it were a mockingbird. And if it were a mockingbird who was imitating a human "voice", without actually imitating a human song, note-for-note, do mockingbirds do the same with other birdsong they "imitate," and include in their mating calls? Are mockingbirds doing with sound what bower birds do with bits of collected "Stuff," and demonstrating individual creativity?

Has anyone done studies for Mockingbird intelligence, as have been done for corvids?

3) We'll be getting up-close pictures of Ceres, Soon! *Squee!*

4) Watch this space for progress on my Camp NaNoWriMo project.

I should get back to that now. ...

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Things which are not strictly "Random," in the mathematical sense...

2015-03-20T13:41:19Z

(But I really like this icon).

1) The dream I had this morning / through the night (it was one of the ones where I'm not sure whether each cycle through REM sleep were separate dreams, or just continuing "chapters" in one long dream) included (In order of descending complexity, incomplete):

( Cut for those who don't care about dream rambles. )

My favorite part of the dream was that it had this musical number (yes, even dream riffs on the choreograhy) as a background theme throughout the whole thing (or nearly) which is now an earworm in my head (not that I mind):

2) Last night, I watched this video, which was posted back in January to mark the tenth anniversary of the probe Huygens landing on Saturn's moon Titan. I don't have any working earphones/speakers at the moment, so if the narration and/or background music is cringe-worthy, I apologize. But I was captivated without any sound at all; you can always mute. My favorite part is at the very beginning, where you see the Earth and Moon from Huygens' p.o.v., showing just how small the Earth is, how small the moon is, and how far away the moon really is. That's what it looks like "to scale;" good to remember:

3) Last evening, while I was having dinner, I watched a grey squirrel outside my kitchen window dig up (what I think was) an acorn and eat it -- hooray for springtime cliches (and dining companions)! BTW, squirrels don't bury their acorns because they're afraid of thieves. It's just that (contrary to Beatrix Potter illustrations) they do not have tiny kitchens with tiny stoves and tiny pots. Acorns fresh off the tree have too much tannin to be edible, but autumn rains, winter snows and spring thaws all work to leach the tannin out. This is how humans do it. The squirrel way takes longer, but seems so much much easier, I'd try that method, first, frankly.

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5 suggestions for the Makers-of-Things:

2013-09-21T00:21:30Z

1) My guilty pleasure snack is munching on Ramen noodles in their crunchy state. But I can't stand the flavor packet powders most come with -- way too salty, and I can never manage to mix them evenly when I do occasionally soak them in boiling water.

So: please sell ramen noodles singly -- as something snackable. Maybe in bite sizes, even.

2) Most of my evening meals are the frozen entree variety, because Reasons. So I notice that several frozen dinner options still include a dessert -- mostly fruit of some sort in a sugar syrup. While a nice idea in theory, this is always a disaster in reality. I like cinnamon apples, but not spattered as an accidental sauce on my broccoli.

So: please put a frozen dessert with your meals. Make the little plastic cup it's in detachable from the main tray, so it can be set aside to soften while the main course is duly zapped. That way, I could have a little lemon sorbet (or whatever) after my lasagna (or whatever). And if I don't feel like having dessert today, I could put the cup of it back in the freezer to save up for another time.

3) Speaking of freezers: as a wheelchair user, I need a side-by-side fridge-freezer unit (can't reach a freezer either Up Above or Down Below). Also, being in a wheelchair, I have to pull up alongside the freezer, and lean sideways over my armrest to get anything (if I pulled up facing the freezer, my knees and feet would get in the way, preventing me from getting close enough). Side freezers are deep and narrow. And things that slide all the way back to the shelves are nearly impossible to reach.

So: please make a side by side freezer with pull-out drawers, like you have on the fridge side. That way I could get to things in the back without risking knocking all the things in front onto the floor... I imagine ambulatory folks would also find this convenient.

Leaving the kitchen:

4) Windows 8 has a pack of X-Box versions of their Solitaire card games, complete with Achievements to be unlocked. But one achievement that would make me really proud is one they don't even recognize.

So: please make a "Won a game without using the Undo Button" medal...

5) There are two ways, in the Windows Paint app, to come up with colors that are outside the predetermined ones in the Windows pallette. The first is through "edit colors," which pulls up a dialog box that lets you determine the color you want in 3 ways: 1) a pair of click and drag sliders to adjust the hue, saturation, and luminosity, 2) an option to type number values (from 0 to 240) for Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity, or 3) an option to adjust the balance of Red, Green, and Blue (by typing numbers from 0 to 255). The second way to get "custom" colors is to use the eye-dropper tool, which lets you pick any color in any picture (even a photo) by clicking on it.

I like the first option because when I play around and a color I really like, I can note its numerical values so I can recreate it later. I like the second option because I can get truly naturalistic colors by picking them from a photo of the real thing.

But: I can't then edit a color I grab with the eye-dropper (for example: if I'd like to see what that autumn tree red looks like if it were just a bit more muted)

So: please make a Paint Eye-dropper tool that can tell me at least one numerical set for the color I want to grab (either Hue, Saturation, Luminosity, or Red/Green/Blue balance). These numbers could appear in the bottom info line, beside the cursor location, whenever the eye dropper is hovering over a color).

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5 things make a post

2013-06-21T06:02:28Z

1) A wonderful piece of writing on sexual objectification, from kestrel: For Sale: The Joy of being sexually objectified (content warning: sexual microagressions treated in a satirical manner)

2) Any time I buy raisins, the package always specifies that they are "Seedless"... I know seedless grapes are a (relatively) new thing, in the history of agriculture... But is it even possible to buy raisins with the seeds in, anymore?

3) Songs originally written for the Hearing, and translated into Sign for the Deaf often make me go "hrm," because a) it often comes from the assumption that the Deaf are "deprived" of music (music, like language, resides in the human mind, and Deaf have their own forms of [visual] music, thank-you-very-much), and b) the qualities of a song that make it musical to the ear are usually lost when translating the lyrics into Sign. But this video gives me all the feels. For one thing, the signers are, themselves, Deaf, and each of the performers has translated the meaning of the English lyrics in their own way -- showing the flexibility and nuance that's possible in Sign. And also, the message of the song itself:

(BTW, at the very last line, the final two performers are signing "We support you.")

4) Oh! The most recent "Inspector Lewis" episode on Masterpiece: Mystery! passed my Disability Test... The young brother-in-law of the murder victim was paraplegic, and a wheelchair user, and he wanted: to get free of his overbearing mother! \o/

5) Another bit of writing that's not from me, but I wanted to share... This time, from Dave Hingsburger: Red and white

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Let's see if this works:

2013-03-29T19:08:56Z

Okay, the other day I gave in and bought Dragon quote NaturallySpeaking, since it was 40% off for one day. After it arrived in the mail I tried to run the speech recognition, only to discover that the microphone was not properly plugged in to my computer. So I had to wait for Audrey to come by today to plug-in the new microphone headset which came with the program I've now spent about an hour fiddling with the tutorial and I am now using the program to write this entry.

We are still learning each other; one trick we are having to learn is distinguishing between directions and what I actually want to say. And of course, On my end actually knowing what I want to say. So far so good however.

Dragon dictate does not recognize DreamWidth's entry window directly, but openness and dictation box from which I can transfer the text. Which I will try to do now…

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Has it really been a week since I last posted?!

2013-02-15T19:58:32Z

First. Cute overload of the day, or week, or month, or until the next time I squeal out loud at an image on my screen: Linked Tails (photo of three harvest mice siblings perched on a branch, holding tails the way humans hold hands)

Second. Re: Feeling ... not so much left out as pushed out of Valentine's Day (it's the only holiday I can think of that puts people in a second class based on relationship status, and for those of us who have been historically and culturally discouraged from thinking about having relationships, well... yeah. And being the sort who doesn't like feeling left out and bitter, I spent yesterday trying to think of a positive alternative way to frame it -- or a new one (my old fall back of it bringing a shot of bright color into the grey depths of winter doesn't work as well in Virginia as it did in New York).

This is what I came up with: For the Romans, it was a fertility fest celebrating the founding of Rome, and the suckling of Romulus and Remus by the she-wolf... According to the Christian story (aiui) Saint Valentine became associated with lovers because at one point, married men were exempt from the army, so the Saint would perform marriages as an act of civil disobedience. So I propose that we singletons of that bent use the day to celebrate conscientious objection and other "loving" acts of social change... (hey, "pinko" is already a color associated with it!)

Third. Working on a YouTube video of my "harvest" poem... which is why I haven't been talking here much (which is why I was researching mice to draw).

Fourth. Still need to schedule an inspection of my central heating/AC

Fifth. Need to schedule repairs to the van (may be the transmission). :-/

Sixth. After 30 or so years, This Old House is finally doing a series on wheelchair-accessible design. My feelings, they are mixed. On the one hand: yay! On the other hand, it's still being framed as "Something we should do for our elderly family members." (And again, disability = elderly, rather than disability = everybody). Also, it's a two-storey house and the downstairs is being converted into a self-contained, one-storey, living space with the upstairs being renovated for future live-in help if needed... And once again, I'm thinking that that would probably have been the better option for me to adapt my New York home instead of moving down here...

Seventh: OMG! Asteroids! Meteorite! Eek!

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Idea for a Halloween costume that didn't come to me until after Nov. 1 # .. aw, Hell -- lost count.

2012-11-06T00:22:52Z

A costume for a trio of friends:

"Hey Diddle Diddle" from Mother Goose -- Human version:

Hep Cat on the fiddle: dressed as a beatnik musician (helps if person really is a violinist, but a mock violin would work too)

"L'il Dawg": dressed as a Rapper, with fake gold letters on a chain spelling out the name (craft stores sell cardboard die cut letters for scrap-bookers, which can be painted)

The Dish: dressed as a glamorous woman from the 1940s (with a bandit's mask, and carrying a large spoon or ladle)

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5 things

2012-08-05T02:25:13Z

One: Thought which came to me, this evening --

What it means to be Human: to Ascribe Meaning to Everything Else (whether we get it right or not is immaterial).

Two: The English noun, "Sweet," has meant both 'an edible high in sugar' and 'a beloved person' for about an equal amount of time (since circa 1300, C.E.)... I think that's rather ... sweet.

Three: Dragon.

Four: Caught a YouTube video the other night, where some professor dude was explaining about dyscalculia by comparing it to dyslexia... And he said that dyslexia really had nothing to with how the eye scans across the page, but its just that children with it have trouble understanding the proper connection between sounds and letters.

I'm sorry, but (no, correction - not sorry) -- I make a very strong Vexation Face at anyone who discounts and/or tries to explain away reports of people's own experiences in their own words.

My philosophy teacher in college had dyslexia, and so, when we handed in a typed paper for grading, it had to be in a font with serifs. The way she explained it to us (paraphrased, if I recall correctly) was that the arrangement of serifs in relation to each other in a word gave her eyes something to focus on, so she could scan a line of text without the letters going in and out of focus.

That doesn't sound anything like an incomprehension of phonics to me -- especially since she could read handwriting just fine (or with much less trouble).

So naturally, I have my doubts about how he tells us to cure dyscalculia, too...

Five: And the opposite of vexation comes in the form of this post, from last month -- it makes me very, very happy: Choosing lessons.

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Let's see if I can come up with 5 things, shall we?

2012-06-14T04:54:41Z

1: ( My reaction to 'Hellboy: the Fury' (Motion Comics YouTube version -- no doubt abridged) )

2: The other day, while playing around with NoteWorthy Composer (a point and click music score/midi processor, for making up tunes), I held my headphones up to Trixie's ear, to see if she showed any interest at all in this thing I call "music." Absolutely zero reaction. I switched to the "bird tweet" instrument sound, and her ears perked up at that, a little bit (but she looked out toward my Great Room, 'cause she knew the bird couldn't really be inside that plastic thing). But it didn't take long for her to twig that it was fake.

And she gave me a Look that said: "Really. I have higher expectations of you, besides such foolishness."

And, with that, she turned and walked over to her napping spot, and went to sleep.

I admit: I laughed.

3: I've heard, a few times (the latest today, on a radio show about "Summer Reading") about a debut novel called Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Every review I've heard or read has been a rave. My interest is piqued. It's a middle-grade chapter book about a boy with severe facial deformities, and how he learns to live with other people's reactions to him. What interests me most is that the protagonist doesn't describe what he looks like, only how other people react, which is an interesting way to handle and introduce, perhaps, the issue of ableism. And it's the age-group book I've also been most interested in writing.

However, I have misgivings as well. First, all the reviews I've seen call it "Heartwarming" and "Inspiring," and mention that all the teasing the protagonist endures is from his fellow classmates, but that all the adults in his life are supportive.

And second? my hope for being satisfied with this book is diminished because the Author's webpage about the book is inaccessible to screen readers (I checked).

Bah -- Humbug!

(But I might check to see if my local library has a copy).

4. Today, I learned that there is no vinegar in sauerkraut; it gets its sourness from the same bacteria in yogurt, and (in small portions) it's healthy for your gut in the same way as yogurt. Cool (Imnsho).

and (\o/):

5. Does anyone (besides me) find these two lines an example of chuckle-worthy wit:

When my love swears that she is made of truth
I do believe her, though I know she lies.

?

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The problem with...

2012-05-24T02:43:07Z

Writing in iambic pentameter is that it's been used so often before.

There's always a risk that whatever turn of phrase you're puzzling through will wake a slumbering ear worm (And here, I'm using "worm" in the medieval sense, to mean "Dragon")

Just this evening, while trying to compose a line about generations of medical doctors, my brain dug up this gem:

"We are sober men and true" (link to a YouTube video)

( Lyrics by William S. Gilbert, behind here )

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This post is not at all random: All these things were in my head today :P

2012-05-10T05:05:38Z

So, thanks to the Geek and Sundry channel on YouTube, I've discovered this show called "The Guild." I like it. It passes the Betchdel Test. But it's still bothersome in its ableism. Being a fan of problematic things is tricky enough when you're viewing from the comfortable distance provided by privilege, but it's squirm-inducing when you're a fan that's targeted in the jokes, and you find yourself still laughing... even if it's not at those particular jokes.
- How sad is it that I identify most with Zaboo, arguably the most socially inappropriate of the bunch (he seems to have improved over the seasons, though)?
I seem to be going ahead with Camp NaNoWriMo Here's what I've got up, so far, as a novel synopsis (Definitely subject to change). Yesterday (I think, might have been the day before) I decided:
1. That it should be a book of Shakespeare's sonnets, and
2. When it forms the silhouette form of itself to explore the world, it will shape itself into a little mini-Shakespeare-shadow, based on an illustration in the book, about three inches tall. Cute, right?
- Monday, I learned the technical term for the size of book I'm thinking of: If it was born in Britain, it will be a "Medium Sixteenmo" (for serious!); if it was born in America, it will be a sextodecimo (seriously! Ain't language silly?)
- Still not sure what will happen in the story, but I suspect the phrase "They Fight Crime!" will fit into the synopsis sooner rather than later...
Dragons!
Ice Cream!
Some things, you never outgrow:

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A recent thought which amuses me:

2012-02-19T04:57:31Z

As I was snacking on an apple, the other day (Yesterday? The day before?), I realized that the tiny, dried, green leaves at the apple's blossom end were the dried remains of the calyx, which, when the apple was still a flower, had hugged and protected the ovules.

So: does that mean we could say that the apple's blossom end is its belly button?

Why yes, I am easily amused. Why are you looking at me funny?

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Long sigh

2011-12-13T20:50:59Z

So, yesterday, I went to Walmart to buy stuff. One of the stuffs I bought was a webcam.

I just assumed that the cheapest camera there would be compatible with my old Windows XP machine; it said Windows XP on the package.

It wasn't until I was halfway through trying to rip the package open that I noticed the "System Requirements" that said it needed an Intel Pentium 4 processor with 2.4 GHz (or AMD Athlon equivalent), and thought to double check -- it looked familiar, but ....

I have a 2.21 GHz processor... and about a third of RAM I need.... I also noticed the date on my machine: 2002. Nine. Years. Old.

Damn.

And because I've already torn into the packaging, I won't be able to return it (but not torn into it enough to actually get the camera out of its blister pack)...

That'll learn me to double check these things before heading out the door...

Other things I bought:

A yard of burgundy poly fleece for my monster teddy, a new pair of scissors, so I can cut the fleece, and a packet of needles with a needle threader, so I can sew the fleece (threading the needles when I get to the end of the thread is what takes the most time and energy for me, in hand sewing).

A headset microphone/speaker combo thing (So at least I can record my voice, now... maybe my YouTube videos will be limited to storytelling with drawn & scanned illustrations).

And a wreath for my door, as a sign to the neighbors that I do, indeed, notice the passage of the year and the Holiday Season) -- it's a wreath of pine cones entwined with fake holly berries and leaves -- red and brown with highlights of green.

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Brain-dump: Things that are not my novel, to clear my head:

2011-11-12T19:45:35Z

Season Final of Chuck (So far): Three down, ten to go.

I'm really liking this. ( Spoilers for seasons 1-4, strictly speaking, but only in the very broadest of strokes )

Ye Muses and Storytellers! There needs to be more of this! Please!

Another snippet from Rolling around in my head:

(quote) ( Read more... ) "If our most important invention was the wheel," he said, "why did we follow up with the stair?" (unquote)

Thoughts that come to mind from wanting to talk back to Brian Greene in his new "Fabric of the Cosmos" series:

I am really sick of the Theory of Entropy being treated like it's a hot, new, exciting idea. ( Read more... )

And, thanks to Life, a chaotic and falling-apart Universe is a lot more fun and interesting that the super-ordered moment at the very start of the Big Bang. I'll take it. Thanks.

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Random thought-snippets:

2011-10-16T22:27:50Z

Thought that has been gradually coalescing toward articulation and thesis: 20th and 21st century attitudes toward Disability parallel 18th and 19th century attitudes toward Womanhood.

Notion that proves I think too much: You know those M&M candy commercials, where each color is given its own personality, and neuroses? You're led to believe that these "people" get eaten shortly after the spot is over. And yet, they keep returning in new spots. Does this mean that the spirit of each color is immortal, and continually moves on to new bodies as the old body is eaten? Um... Yeah. Like I said.. I think too much.

Another think-too-much thought: in both series of the NCIS television franchise, the visual hook coming back from, and going into commercial break, is a freeze of the action in the form of a black and white photograph; in the original series, you even get the photographer's sight-cross-hairs, and hear the camera shutter clicking. Who the heck is taking the picture -- and why? Will this person ever be revealed?

The Art Garden's next theme is "Charms..." As usual, I am thoroughly stumped as to what to write for it. An idea came to me that maybe I could write about using individual words as charms (in the sense of amulets), in that understanding their key idea can be held in the mind as a protection from verbal / emotional onslaught. But that may be too far afield. I queried the organizer about it earlier this week. I have yet to hear back. The deadline is November 12.

When it gets near Christmastime, I'm going to have to write about Tiny Tim for my blog, aren't I (From Dickens' A Christmas Carol, just in case you forgot)?

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Random thought-snippets:-- the multimedia edition (Short stack)

2011-09-04T17:26:24Z

I recently read, on lizbee's journal, there's a meme going around Tumblr that the last music you listened to will be played at your funeral. It probably only counts if it's the last music you listened to before learning that trick, 'cause otherwise, it would be too easy to be artificially dignified. But if anyone is taking notes, and my demise comes unexpectedly, I think this would be pleasingly confounding for the surviving cousins:

( lyrics (With chords): )

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Early this morning (in the official, awake-too-long, wee hours) YouTube recommended a video clip from Primeval -- the one with the tiny pterosaurs that killed people. I knew that probably was all wrong, so I went hunting around online for slightly more accurate information. And I found out that Mark Witton has a pterosaur book coming out this fall. :::Squee!::: I first found Mark Witton's Flick'r gallery several years ago, back when he was still working on his doctorate. He's the main reason I resent the PBS kids' show dinosaur train, because the Pteranodon Family at the center of it is all wrong, according to current theories (like 40 years out of date, or so).*

--

However, I do enjoy most PBS kids' shows, so I've been checking out their online site to learn more about the programs, and I found one site that's web only, dedicated to teaching 6-9 year olds basic music theory and how to write in five popular genres. I have been thinking it's a while since I tried writing a song, so I might hang out there for a bit: Chuck Vanderchuck's *something something* Explosion. *grin*
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*The show's gender-roles ideas are more like 60 years out of date. And that's a whole 'nother gripe. But, in a kids' show about dinosaurs and pterosaurs, where the creatures themselves are wrong and bland? Utterly unforgivable. Especially from the Jim Henson workshops.

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Random thought-snippets:

2011-09-02T04:22:29Z

1) How is it that I can enjoy a television show like Bones even when I'm cringing about five times per episode due to ableist dialog, and really stupid stereotypes about politics and nationality? After each hour, I find myself wanting to apologize to... me

J) There's this Lipton Ice Tea commercial that's been airing, lately, with a woman singer-voice-over singing a mock "Inspirational Ballad Hook" (It's just one line, and except for the final spoken tag line, it's the only language in the whole spot, which makes me think it was written just for this ad, and not a borrowed line from an actual complete song). The line is: "I ... Belong ... to all ... That I've... Been Through!"

And it wouldn't bother me so much if the music and singing and visuals that go with it weren't written well. But they were well-written.

So that line gets stuck in my head for the whole day. And it drives me up the proverbial wall, because it's backwards. That's the opposite of inspirational. That means that we are owned and controlled by our past, that we have no power to redefine who we are.

But the individual words in that line probably got pinged by some focus group as "feel good words," and so they were written into the lyric, regardless of what the whole sentence means. This is what gives the Advertising Industry its creepy reputation, boys and girls.

7) Speaking of industry, every time I hear on the news, that the "new home construction" statistics for each month indicates the current health of our economy, I can't help but think we need to find a new foundation for our economy. That can't be sustainable, can it? Every new home built needs to have more land cleared to build on, so that our suburbs keep sprawling, and more highways get built, and more cars get driven, and more petroleum-based fuel gets depended on... and... Really?! That system is the best indicator of a healthy economy in this day and age?

I mean, I understand that when America was starting out, and the various governmental systems were working out the kinks on the way to our current Constitution, having political power meant owning your own land and the home you built on it. So the idea that the more citizens owned their own homes (rather than renting or squatting) the greater personal stake they'd have in making sure the government kept going, and they'd be less likely to start their own revolutions. ...At least, that was the theory (and that's why home mortgage payments are tax-deductible). But isn't it time we moved on to some other measure?

I mean, I'm no economist, Jim. I'm just a former English major. I'm just saying.

b) Speaking of "Bones" (Hey, I warned you this would be random!), I'm wondering if "procedurals" (whether police or medical-based) are especially prone to ableist nonsense in their scripts and long story arcs, because the sellers-of-advertising in these shows depend on promising a loyal audience who's hooked quickly and consistently, even when they've missed the first four episodes of the season, and the first twenty minutes of this particular episode. And What's the cheapest way to do that (in terms of cognitive capital and time, at least)? Pit the Normals as the good guys against the Abnormals as the bad guys. 'Cause that way, you don't have to waste any time explaining or exploring an unfamiliar idea...

You know what genre of TV I miss most? Variety comedy shows, like "Laugh-in" and "The Carol Burnett Show" and the Flip Wilson show (IIRC, it was just called "Flip").

~) Part of me wants to adapt Kant's "Second formulation" of the Categorical Imperative into a tee-shirt. But I'm not sure it's possible to convert formal 17th C., translated-from-German, philosophical language into a pithy, snarky, tee-shirt saying. That second formulation goes like this:

(Quote) "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end." (unquote)

I like it because it does acknowledge that we are "means" to each other (and ourselves) -- that human do rely on the help of others to accomplish what we cannot do alone. But it says we must Also accept that simply being the best human we can be is a worthy goal in its own right -- and it makes the point that you are not being a good or moral person if you lie down and play doormat.

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5 good ... or, um, actually, "it's a mixed bag, honestly" things:

2011-08-31T02:37:06Z

1) Woo! Now, when you cite an LJ Community, using DW's tags, you get the community icon, instead of the "single user" icon. I was wondering when that code would catch up.

2) OK-Go: I like their YouTube videos, but a couple of weeks ago, I guess it was, I caught them as the "musical guest" at the end of "The Late Show with David Letterman." And from seeing them just standing on the stage, I realized I don't like their music very much. It might be good, but I can't tell, because the sound balance is off between voice and instruments, and it just strikes my ear as a loud, jaunty, muddle. Also, I suspect they are covering their vocal weaknesses with AutoTune.

3) Speaking of "striking the ear," Vihart (of "doodling in math class" videos) has recently put up a longer work, that's a mix of live action, stop action animation, and montage, that wonderfully explains the biology, physics, and mathematics of sound, here: What's up with Noises? (The Science and Mathematics of Sound, Frequency, and Pitch). On the one hand, it's a wonderfully poetic explanation that validates all my love for music. On the other, it also validates the feeling I often have of being overwhelmed by hearing All The Sounds, All The Time.

4) I'm trying to figure out how to write about the Grimms' tale Hans-my-Hedgehog; usual (i.e. Jungian) interpretation generally frames his half a life as Hedgehog-boy as being metaphorical, and his shedding of the hedgehog skin (and emerging with milk-white complexion and blue eyes) as being the "reality." And I want to turn that on it's head. But I'm not sure how to frame that.

5) Still thinking of writing up a Similes Meme. But 30 is a lot. So it will probably end up being Seven Days of Similes, instead.

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Notes, Notings, and Common Refrains

Not "Friday Five," but "Saturday Some"

Not Friday Five, but Thursday Four:

A "Sunday Seven" post

Not 5 Things, Not Friday:

Tuesday Twofer

Sundry Stuff for Saturday...

Saturday Six -- challenge: can I write just one line for each thought? ;-)

Four Things on the Fourth Day of the Fourth Month make a post:

Things which are not strictly "Random," in the mathematical sense...

5 suggestions for the Makers-of-Things:

5 things make a post

Let's see if this works:

Has it really been a week since I last posted?!

Idea for a Halloween costume that didn't come to me until after Nov. 1 # .. aw, Hell -- lost count.

5 things

Let's see if I can come up with 5 things, shall we?

The problem with...

This post is not at all random: All these things were in my head today :P

A recent thought which amuses me:

*Long sigh*

Brain-dump: Things that are not my novel, to clear my head:

Random thought-snippets:

Random thought-snippets:-- the multimedia edition (Short stack)

Random thought-snippets:

5 good ... or, um, actually, "it's a mixed bag, honestly" things:

Long sigh