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July 10th, 2009
jake_richmond
 | 12:27 am - Ocean on Amazon.com
 Ocean is now available on Amazon.com. Add it to your wish list or buy it to pad out your order for super saver shipping!
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maxomai
 | 11:14 pm - IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!!!one
Another day, another dire prediction from UpstateDem. It's gotten to the point where the Kos kids don't want to deal with his crap anymore.
There's a grain of truth to what he's saying. Obama is down in the approval polls in every state, and I think I know why. That much ballyhooed Rasmussen result -- that Obama's strong positives are five points below his strong negatives -- tells us that the GOP faithful and the right hate Obama with much more intensity than the Democratic faithful and the left love Obama. (This is not a measure of approval; this is a measure of intensity of approval or disapproval.)
We don't have to wonder why the GOP faithful hate Obama; they have their reasons, and they range from legitimate (he's pro-choice, he's not really a free market type, they miss the old Cowboy foreign policies of Bush II) to batshit crazy (they think he's a Muslim, they think he wasn't born in America). Frankly, nothing Obama does is going to make this crowd happy.
We also don't have to wonder why the Democratic faithful are lukewarm on Obama. We still have troops in Iraq, the White House is making lame excuses on DADT and DOMA, the stimulus money isn't going out fast enough, the White House keeps floating trial balloons on weakening universal health care, and bankers are basically raping the treasury without giving us much in return. The difference here is that these are all things that the White House can fix. In particular, if we stick with the current plan to get our troops out of Iraq, repeal DADT and DOMA, and pass some form of actual no-kidding universal health care, that alone will bring Democrats back to the fold and make 2010 and 2012 much easier for Obama.
As for fixing the economy...well, his plan to do that was to get $800B in spending started, fast. So far, only about a tenth of that has been spent. The quick jolt to the economy has turned into a slow, gentle push, and while it's kept the wheels from falling off in a lot of places, it hasn't stopped the job losses from mounting up. If Bonddad is right, then things might turn around enough to help the Democrats 2010 chances. If he's wrong, then it's going to be an interesting fight as the two parties try to out-spin one another on this. Neither of them would have the high ground on this economy.
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kitten_goddess
 | 12:48 am - Need Your Resume Edited?
Hello everyone,
If you need a resume edited, I will be more than happy to do it for you. My rate is $15 per hour. I can edit a resume in an hour or less.
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kitten_goddess
| 12:47 am - Birthday Wishes
Happy birthday foxgrrl!
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innocent_man
 | 12:03 am - Edge of Midnight: End of Season Two
No point in pleasantries, not this late. I will say, though, that this session has some spoilers for Edge of Midnight in general. Be warned.
( Gunshots! )
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doctorslashjack
[setos_puppy]
 | 11:37 pm
Title: Comfort
Pairing: Jack/Doctor - kind of
Rating/Warning/Spoilers: SERIOUS SPOILERS FOR SEASON THREE EPISODE FOUR OF TORCHWOOD
Summary: The Doctor sees Jack after the events of Children of Earth
Author's Notes: None
Disclaimer: These characters to not belong to me, they are the creation of RTD and BBC
( Comfort )
Crossposted: my journal, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) doctorslashjack
Current Mood: artistic
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pyat
 | 11:20 pm - Burning the Midnight Oil, and not the good Australian band kind.
Another late work night, wrestling again with a nebulous, open-ended, indistinct cloud of a project. Sole bright spot was a short lunch with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) koresrabbit and her husband-to-be, Jon, who seem to be very cool folks, who I'm pleased to have met.
And naturally I took their photo.
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rm
 | 10:43 pm - tw
seen it. Taking a walk. Post soon.
from mobile.
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feedle
 | 07:20 pm
I... got.. a.. GOOGLE VOICE INVITE!
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greygirlbeast
 | 09:30 pm - The Red Tree, Live
This will likely be my last chance to make a blog entry before ReaderCon. I have a 4 p.m. panel, which means we need to leave the house around 1 p.m. I feel like I haven't stopped moving all day, and I think Spooky's done twice as much as me. Anyway...
Thanks in large part to scarletboi, the CRK website has been revamped for The Red Tree. Please do note that the video clip that's up now is not one of the two planned book trailers. Those will come later. Meanwhile, these short clips will be changing every few days.
Please, please feel free to post about the website redesign in your own LJs, Facebook accounts, Twitter, or wherever. Every little bit helps. Every single copy of the book that sells helps (and pre-orders are especially important). Spread the word. I will be very grateful.
There's actually a lot I wish I had time to blog about, such as the discovery of a wonderful new armored, terrestrial crocodylomorph that has been dubbed Armadillosuchus arrudai, from the Cretaceous of Brazil. Awesome beast. And lots of other stuff. But there's still packing to be done.
Hope to see you at ReaderCon, and please do have a look at the new website. Okay, I gotta go. The platypus is wailing, "No sleep 'til Burlington!" at the top of hisherits voice, and, soon, the neighbors will begin to complain.
Current Location: Echus Montes
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/aliens/working.gif) busy
Current Music: Moby, "Study War"
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beetiger
 | 09:18 pm - Logical extension (kidstuff/poly)
projectmothra asked a question in the car today.
"Is a king size bed the biggest bed?" We tell him it's the biggest common bed, that there's a less common one called a California King.
"But what if you want a bigger bed for more people?"
"I guess you have to push beds together or get a special bed made custom."
"What if six people want to be in the same bed?"
"Then I guess you could just push two beds together."
I look at him curiously, after he goes on about the six-person bed for a while. I can't help but ask. "Who are these six people who want to share a bed?"
"Well, what if there are two people --like a husband and wife -- and each of them has a friend, and each of their friends has a husband?"
I'm not sure exactly what this says about how we are raising him.
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satyrblade
 | 06:00 pm - DAMIANA'S BIRTHDAY GATHERING, Friday July 10
Hello, folks!
Tomorrow evening, we'll be celebrating damiana_swan 's birthday at the Elysian in Seattle's Capitol Hill.
Info is HERE.
Actually, her birthday is Saturday the 11th. However, because of the wedding we're both attending that day (congratulations, Nichole and Chris!), we'll be gathering tomorrow evening instead.
See you there, we hope!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/happy.gif) cheerful
Current Music: Judas Priest - "You've Got Another Thing Coming"
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scholargipsy
 | 08:30 pm - Hey, ophymirage!
Clicky-click here, and then watch from the four-minute mark on.
Good times, man.
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veleda
 | 05:10 pm - Castles in Mist..
I hit the bottom of the ocean...now I'm wandering around. My ass is sure sore from the landing.
On that note..visited a girl in an ivory castle surrounded by mist and water. Her home was bare, her eyes round and large.accussing me of the crime of entering her lair.. the wind cold and brisk sweeping through hallways past closed rooms containing mysteries.. I took her hand and led her to the center of the castle..and fashioned a fountain of spirit from my own hand... together we planted jasmine, iris,and purple dahlias around the fountain.. I said.."there is no life here', "if you want to live here fine but we're brightening this place up". She looked at me with wary eyes and walked away..carrying a sprig of jasmine in her hand...the fragrance filling the halls..
I had originally intended to work with 'the heart' but decided I wasn't sure i was ready for it yet..not without my foundation.. in thinking of Zarabold's comment about having a sanctuary in Yesod.. i realized i already had one...my old temple from when I was a child.. I went there and began the Work. I, the guide, for my child self. I, the foundation.
So Mote It Be.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/thoughtful.gif) contemplative
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satyrblade
| 04:29 pm - STEAMPUNK TALES Now in Other Formats
Hi, folks!
STEAMPUNK TALES - the new virtual magazine featuring Cat Valente, G D Falksen, my serial adventure "Stormada" and many other tales - is now available in eBook and PDF as well as iPhone apps.
Check it out - 10 original tales, only $1.99 ($3.99 for eBook)!
Join the revolution!
http://www.steampunktales.com/
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Judas Priest - "Running Wild"
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lanithro
 | 07:55 am - Sort of spoilers for this week's Haruhi.
I think Kyoto Animation hates its fans.
At the end of last night's Haruhi it was like they were jeering contemptuously, "How dare you like our brilliant product!"
And I did. Like it.
Despite myself.
Mikuru's hair! Her adorable moe hair when she was crying about the classified information. Oh god. I don't usually like moe girl characters, but Mikuru is my favourite even though it by all rights should be Yuki. Her bikini when they went to the pool! Aaargh! I even love it when she cowers!
Anyway, eventually I'm not onlu going to like the brilliant product, but I'll like the actual abuse from KyoAni underlying it too. Jeez. Way to make me an M, KyoAni.
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July 9th, 2009
cericonversion
 | 03:34 pm - Comics: Runaways: Pride & Joy and Runaways: Teenage Wasteland
 Runaways: Pride & Joy (volume 1, collecting issues #1-6 of the 2003 run)
Runaways: Teenage Wasteland (volume 2, collecting issues #7-12 of the 2003) run
Written by Brian K. Vaughan, pencilled by Adrian Alphona, inked by David Newbold and Craig Yeung, colored by Brian Reber
Published by Marvel, $7.99 US each volume
I've been reading praise for this series ever since it started, but since I've been in isolation almost all the time since then, I never got around to it until now. I am very glad I have.
The setup is gloriously simple: a group of teens with nothing much in common find out that their parents are actually supervillains, and that they themselves have powers and resources they never suspected. They go on the lam. Complications ensue. What makes it work is just how well executed it is.
As that cover image suggests, the art is beautiful in an ultra-clean line way. I'm fond of highly detailed rendering (like vintage John Byrne or Scott McCloud), but it's easy to badly (cf. most of the Image Comics founders). This style here is hard to do well, but when it succeeds, it makes the whole world it portrays vivid. The coloring helps a lot, adding beauty and clarity and nuance to the work - these volumes have some of the best-nuanced skin tones I can recall ever seeing in a superhero comic.
The writing is warm and friendly, and informed. I don't know how old Vaughan may be, but he clearly knows modern teens. They sound and act right. These are all bright kids raised with a lot of advantages to bring out their potential, and then they're thrown into something for which they're utterly unprepared, against adversaries who...it turns out, don't actually know them nearly as well as they think, either. Their parents underestimate them in just the kinds of ways parents do in these years when adulthood is coming in but childhood hasn't really gone out yet.
The writing is just plain funny, too. When two of the parents find their son gone with his bed stuffed with pillows and a mannequin head at the top, the mother bursts out, "What is our son doing with a male mannequin head in his room?" (The father says, "How the hell can you be concerned about that? Alex is out there somewhere out there, and he knows the truth about us!") And the police officer meeting Cloak and Dagger, lured in on false pretenses, says, "So wait. You're telling me that drugs turned you into super heroes? That can't make you popular with the parent groups." It's these flashes of reality amidst the weirdness that keep things rolling along so engagingly.
I understand that Vaughan and Alfona left after 24 issues, and that others handled it, and that they came back for a while later. I'll sort that out and see what additional volumes I want to check out. I loved these, and they lifted my spirits from a gloomy time.
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July 9th, 2026
lupabitch
 | 03:47 pm
Egyptian Revenge Spells by Claudia R. Dillaire - new book review up; as always, click the link for the full review!
( Few other things )
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