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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 |
cynthia1960
|
1:34p |
Shapely Prose takes on Mamma Mia! Kate Harding continues to rock my world with her musings about the movie Mamma Mia!.Here's her closing summary: "So, to sum up… It’s nowhere near as electrifying as the stage production, which I highly recommend. But considering a ticket to the movie is a hundred-odd bucks cheaper, I can’t complain too much about that — and the movie has tons of other things to recommend it, including some fucking awesome images of fiftysomething women inhabiting and enjoying their bodies instead of hiding and apologizing for them. I might go see it again just to boggle at that rarity once more." And of course, there are Messrs. Firth, Brosnan, and Skarsgård to ogle. "Dancing Queen" is still a functional earworm five days after I saw the movie. |
athenais
|
8:43a |
I never hope to see one  I visit Second Life for the first time
Originally uploaded by lucy huntzingerSelf, I said last night, now that you have this fast new computer it must be time to visit Second Life!
I'd been there once, quite briefly, and it was impossible to do anything but establish a body before the computer rebooted itself in agony over the graphic input. Apparently, I chose a demented yoga instructor fond of a cheesy gold necklace with giant Afro puff hair. Why must my avatars always have bad hair? Am I wearing a top made of astroturf? The red lipstick is nice, but maaaaan.
So I spent half an hour pottering around trying not to fall into the volcano, practicing flying, attempting to alter my hair, and learning to walk. It's a lot of effort merely to chat with people, and you know that's the only reason I go online. What I need is a SL coach who can sit with me for a session. Since I know no one who'd want to do that, I think I give up on SL for now.
If you get to this castle in the learning areas, you can sit on the throne, ho ho, and have a snapshot taken of you, which you can email. I mailed it to myself so I could add it here. Behold: Silja Laryukov, my alter ego. |
cynthia1960
|
8:35a |
The goats are leaving...
My little goat buddies were being herded into their trailer this morning, may they have a safe trip to their next grazing opportunity. |
richardthe23rd
|
8:15a |
Pizza Night Another first place win at This Is It last night (much to the disgust of second place; pocket threes, indeed). My neck and shoulder feeling somewhat better as well, and without the benefit of Tramadol. Current Mood:  complacentCurrent Music: Seu Jorge, "Rebel Rebel" |
| Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 |
athenais
|
9:31a |
New leaf
Yesterday was crap from the time I woke up until I went to bed early. I don't know why. I wanted to jump out of my skin from all the annoyances. It started with a heartbreaking dream about losing first one camera, then its replacement, and all the photos I took with both. It felt like a big old metaphor, but I didn't have time to think about it, because I was late to work so I had to slam out of the house and drive like a fool to catch my train.
I was in line to buy a coffee at the new Peet's (they are selling coffee inside the BART stations downtown now! It's so civilized!) when a woman cut in front of me to buy a muffin. I said, trying to keep my voice even, "Excuse me, you are cutting in front of me." She replied, "I'm busier than you are." I was so astonished I couldn't think of a comeback. I still can't!
By the time I got home I was in such a foul mood from weirdness and boredom that I could barely stand myself. I watched a little tv with John, played with the Sims a bit, amused the cats with the new feather toy, and did a bunch of navel-gazing. Early to bed, or early for me, to try to sleep off the bad mood.
Like magic, I have woken up in a good mood, breathing easier, less troubled by ephemera. Somewhere something opened up. I can feel it. |
richardthe23rd
|
8:10a |
Man About Town As I was walking to Tony's, I saw this sign near some construction: PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYWho else would it be for? Anyway, slid into third place at Tony's, so I'll be eating free for at least one more Monday. Since one of the top two was a dealer who doesn't need his points, I'll actually get second-place points for my effort, which is handy since I heard my nearest competitor took a second place earlier in the day. Current Mood: complacentCurrent Music: Seu Jorge, "Starman" |
jaredg
|
12:33a |
More Web 2.0 ESP I occasionally visit one of those social "people put up random questions, you answer the ones you know about" sites. They have a cute UI it puts a little quip in the greeting. This was today's:  Ain't that the truth.  My desk, July 2008
Originally uploaded by Jared G |
| Monday, July 21st, 2008 |
vgqn
|
10:43p |
Aftermath
We're nearly recovered from the party. Washing the kitchen, dining room, and back room floors today was my big achievement. I took a bunch of the leftover soft drinks down to a homeless shelter. We had a 36-can carton of Pepsi leftover from Artcon last fall. They were out at Artcon, they were out at our New Year's Eve party, they were out for Saturday's party, and there were still 33 cans left! I know there are people who *love* Pepsi, but all I can say is, they must not be coming to our parties. The 36-can carton of 7-Up wasn't quite as dire, but nearly, only 8 or so gone. So both of those went to the shelter, along with all the diet sodas because they don't keep (or so we've been told). We don't drink most of this stuff ourselves, so it just sits around for the next party. The Coke I'm willing to keep since a goodly portion of that always gets drunk. Mostly people drank fizzy water, juice water, plain water, wine, Coke, and little bit of diet Coke. Boring but true. (But if you're reading this and there's something you wish we stocked but didn't, let me know.)
What I always find perplexing is the 2-liter bottles of soda that some folks bring but then don't drink. I would think they're bringing something that they like although maybe it's just to satisfy the need to contribute something. Possibly the problem is that the individual-serving soda cans are on the back porch in buckets of ice, whereas the big bottles usually end up in the refrigerator near to where the glasses are (surrounded by wine bottles, of course, but a few non-alcoholic items do appear as well). Maybe I should try putting them in the ice buckets too, even if people have to go back inside to get glasses? Will ponder for next year.
Not much food left over, which was nice. But three containers were left, one of them Tupperware even. What are the odds of anyone reclaiming them? In the past I've tried to keep them somewhere and remember to put them out at the next party in hopes someone will recognize and claim them, but mostly to little effect. I'm very tempted to just donate them to Goodwill if I don't hear from anyone in the next, oh, week or so. What would you do? |
athenais
|
11:52a |
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cynthia1960
|
9:58a |
Another meme... gacked from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) conirayaIf there are one or more people on your friends list who make your world a better place just because they exist, and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the Internet, then post this same sentence in your journal. [waves hello and thank you!] |
cynthia1960
|
9:52a |
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richardthe23rd
|
9:21a |
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richardthe23rd
|
8:25a |
Room at the Top With every update of my poker league's standings I have advanced my lead. I played three games Saturday and finished fifth, second and third, thus staving off the advances of a colleague who took first, fourth and fifth in the same matchups. Nothing as illustrious on Sunday but it was an almost entirely pain-free day, so it's all good. Current Mood: complacentCurrent Music: B.W. Stevenson, "My Maria" |
| Saturday, July 19th, 2008 |
athenais
|
11:19p |
The Life Cycle of Computers
We're running a secure erase on our old computer. Should take about, oh, sixteen hours. Goodbye, little Io! You were a fine G4. You always performed well, but you're too old for our crazy modern needs. I have no idea what we're going to do with it once it's clean again. Give it away if we can, I guess.
We're recycling a bunch of old software CDs and floppy disks while we're at it. Applications I never learned to use, apps that are no longer supported, apps that have been absorbed into iLife, and a huge collection of fonts back from the days when I was font-crazy. Man, that was a fun hobby. Just looking at Pumpkinseed makes me nostalgic.
The new iMac is a thing of splendour, I must say. My photos look fantastic on it. I should take more photos. Maybe tomorrow. I didn't even bring my camera with me today to my Old Norse lesson. I didn't get to sleep until 2:30am and I figured I'd conjugate a few verbs, wow Evan with my mad declension skills, and then waft home for a nap. But Peet's wireless was on the blink and there was a huge arts and crafts fair on, so we opted to walk around and see art.
I had such a good time! There were some really nice booths of art and photography. We talked to several of the artists, and Evan got some advice that made me laugh: he asked one of the painters what he should do to get started as a painter, and the guy told him to get a camera. Take lots of photos, he said, and teach yourself composition. Best thing you can do for yourself as an artist. Right on, painter guy!
This evening John and I went to a barbecue in San Jose and I got to see lots of South Bay friends I haven't seen in months, plus Peter Larsen who was visiting from Rhode Island ("The state everyone uses as a yardstick for how big something is.") We told him about discovering Rhode Island sauce, the mystery condiment in Sweden. He was impressed. Or possibly appalled, the facial expression is similar.
Home again to deauthorize and decommission, and somehow it's after one even though I haven't had enough sleep all week. If I just turn off the computer and step away I might actually get a full eight hours. |
alces2
|
7:58p |
Ovation TV - Blue Note: A History of Modern Jazz Ovation TV has some interesting shows. (Late at night they have some horrible paid programming but I suppose they have to pay the bills somehow). Currently I'm going through some jazz programs including Blue Note: A History of Modern Jazz. I already watched one show on Charlie Parker and still have a number of additional jazz documentaries to watch. While checking their station out I also saw a show called The Lowdown on Lowbrow which looks interesting. I decided I'd have to record that to watch later. Admittedly this recording thing can be a problem since I'm still watching TCM shows from their Asian week. |
cynthia1960
|
1:44p |
Mamma Mia! squee Went to see it last night with whumpdotcom and my best friend Bob WINOLJ; I got my fangrrl's daily allowance of arm candy and cheesy fun. Meryl Streep really can sing; however the still droolworthy Pierce Brosnan unfortunately falls short when it comes to tunefulness. Happily, The Divine Mister Firth also can sing and provides a required dose of Dripping Wet Colin Hotness. I never really heard of the Swedish actor who played Bill, but he was also easy on the eyes. There was also large quantities of very cute twenty-somethings and lovely scenery in the Greek Isles. We had a chorus of Abba fen behind us singing, but they didn't jump up and dance at the end like I remember the audience doing when I saw it on the stage. |
k6rfm
|
12:52a |
Watchmen If I'm going to mention "Watchmen", I suppose I should quote this from today's Wall Street Journal:
The biggest hybrid release this year will be "Watchmen," based on the 1980s comic and graphic novel drawn by Dave Gibbons, who is a consultant on the Warner Premiere project. "Watchmen," set in an era resembling the 1980s, tells the story of the murder of a costumed adventurer called "The Comedian."
That's like describing The Lord of the Rings as "four friends take a hike." |
k6rfm
|
12:46a |
Watchmen trailer
OK. I admit I'm out of it. But please tell me who's the soundtrack on the Watchmen trailer? |
| Friday, July 18th, 2008 |
athenais
|
9:36a |
Not the Friday I had in mind
I have been working on a short story which is dripping with potential--potential does drip, right? Sadly, I cannot figure out what I'm doing with it. I've tried everything: write the ending, write character sketches, write the outline, write the world-building stuff. Nada. Zip. That story will not gel. So I give up on it for now. I guess I don't have anything to say yet, just some cool ideas. I'm going back to the story that amuses me the most, the Wodehousean-Georgian murder mystery currently titled "Moongarden." As it happens, the moon garden doesn't come into the murder mystery part, it's just a nice atmospheric place for a ghost to meet with his human agents. Eventually it will have to have a proper title, but I'm not bothered. The happy thing is the first draft is quite good, and I am having fun working on the second draft.
San Francisco has been 65F and foggy with a side of overcast and wind all week. No photography has taken place, but I am no longer unhappy about the camera I'm not getting because the new computer is fulfilling my new tech needs (and fueling my new tech "where the hell are my shortcuts?" frustrations). I'm still jealous of anyone with a new iPhone or camera, though, so my chill is kind of superficial.
Still, it's Friday and I always like Fridays. Tomorrow is another Old Norse lesson and Sunday is my writing group, so there will be no sleeping in either day, but there will be naps. Naps and software installation. |
cynthia1960
|
9:25a |
Birthday wishes head across a continent and the pond for frostfox! |
athenais
|
8:43a |
Got it
The poll about The Sims is closed. Only those who want to read about it, or don't mind at any rate, will be seeing entries about the game. The rest of you may set the sporks down. |
| Thursday, July 17th, 2008 |
vgqn
|
11:08p |
More 21st century stuff
So we stood in line Wednesday morning and are now proud possessors of iPhones!
So what have I been doing, now that I have this nifty new toy? Um, updating my address book and learning to use the calendar program. On my computer, that is.
But really, it makes sense. The iPhone will sync with my address book and calendar, which is wonderful (no tedious typing of phone numbers into the phone, ever again!). Except, of course, I only used my computer address book for e-mail addresses. So I had to go through and add phone numbers to the ones I might reasonably want to call, plus add a few cards for people I might call who weren't in the address book because they don't do e-mail (grandmothers, for instance).
Similarly with iCal, I had scant incentive to use it just on my computer, but with the ability to sync to my iPhone, it becomes much more useful. So I've just spent a while putting all sorts of stuff into iCal, realizing that I could color code by creating multiple calendars (that can all be displayed, or not), and being terribly pleased that iCal lets me drag items from one calendar to another, so I didn't have to re-enter all the birthdays, for instance.
Another person stumbles into the 21st century!
P.S. What cool stuff can I do with the iPhone that you think I may not have figured out yet? (You would undoubtedly be right, since I've barely started.) Any nifty hints on using it? |
| Friday, July 18th, 2008 |
richardthe23rd
|
8:24a |
My Latest Win I finally won a monthly contest from Alabama Wildlife, as I learned when their large coffee-table book on Managing Wildlife showed up in my mailbox. The cover photo is of a deer staring at the camera against a wooded backdrop. She looks rather like the deer that stared into my headlights from the field next to the Mill Hill Saloon when I fired up my car the other night. Current Mood: complacentCurrent Music: George Harrison, "Beware of the Darkness" |
| Thursday, July 17th, 2008 |
athenais
|
9:21a |
How to be an Athenais online
1. Announce every couple of weeks that you have had a major epiphany about a) your needs, b) how people behave, c) what you want to do with your life, and/or d) your creative projects.
2. Never address anything actually happening in the world, such as politics, laws or economics, except as how it affects your job as a travel agent. Otherwise, stick with what you know: you.
3. Rave enthusiastically about something. Alternately, rant bitterly about something. For bonus points, do both about the same thing. But don't do it too often. Your dork quotient is high enough already.
4. Write a vague book review, failing to discuss anything critically. Try to stick to how you felt about it without thinking very hard. Bonus point: inadvertently annoy the author in doing so.
5. Post a lot of photo links from your Flickr account. Everyone likes photos, especially if they're not too big and don't take much time to download. Use a poetic title for those entries.
6. Occasionally run a poll or modify all back entries en masse. Someone bought you a permanent account out of the goodness of their heart, so you might as well rock it.
7. Do lists every once in awhile to remind people that the original name of this journal was Les Listes d'Athenais and you did entries in nine lines, never more, never less.
8. Write travel reports as you go while on vacation. Lots of photo links here as well. Discuss food, the weather, the excellence of naps and how happy you are to be traveling again.
9. Reminisce about the days of yore and see who else remembers the same stuff. Try not to wince as people half your age think you're talking about the current revival of same. |
richardthe23rd
|
9:05a |
A Pain Finally went to see the doctor about the pain in my shoulder, and he tells me it's actually coming from my neck. The good news is with my insurance, painkillers and muscle relaxants are really cheap! Current Mood: complacent |
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