guiltyred

Found this via the Wannasmile site and had to share. For me, this was a massive clue-by-four.

Once again I've fallen so far behind in my replies to comments (and posts, and prompts, and...) that I feel the need to warn folks that you may be getting replies to VERY VERY OLD (bordering on ancient) comments (or posts, or prompts, or...) - and I am very very sorry for this. The Year of the Ox (which isn't quite over yet, but I'm hoping he leaves quietly) has been extremely harsh on my family, and I'm just getting over a two-year-long (or longer, I'm really not sure when it started) depressive episode that stole my creativity along with any sense of time. I want to clean up my mailbox before 2010, or at least before the Year of the Tiger; if I start *now*, maybe I'll make it, right? So, old replies, with my apologies in advance for taking so damn long.

Also, I'll be going back to my old post about who-posts-where, and adjusting my LJ flist, IJ flist, and DWircle accordingly. If you find yourself booted in error please let me know!

And now the awkward part - there are some people I've been following with whom I really have nothing in common besides a journaling service. Those few will be de-added, along with any journals that haven't been updated in a year. (This does NOT apply to my IJ and DW fic journals! The LJ fic journal...may be decommissioned, or may just not be updated; I don't want to provide content for LJ, what with all the stunts they've pulled.) Again, if you find yourself booted and think you should have stayed, let me know: I can't guarantee that I won't make any mistakes; this past year has reminded me in no uncertain terms that I'm only human.

Peace to all, and to all a good night.

From wannasmile.org, I bring you Kitteh News Anchors!

K-chan, thank you. The butterfly is stunning, and I'm happy that it lived out its life naturally. The stone is a very good fit to the hand - quite an interesting sense to it, too.

The Death Note...caused some consternation among The Boys, with Ormondy declaring "Give it here!" and Laen pointing out that he didn't have any presents. So...Laen has it for the time being, but I half expect there to be a fight later.  ~_^

I just finished reading "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld. It's an AU retelling of the beginning of World War One through a steampunk twist.

It. Was. Awesome. :3

And...the sequel won't be out until October 2010. :O

But I'll be waiting for it, dammit! For me, this promises to be a happier wait than the last couple of Harry Potter books. The author has established a believable reworking of history along with sympathetic and interesting characters, and the plot is tight. It's a young-adult novel, but I kind of skipped that phase in reading when I was legitimately that age, so I figure I may as well enjoy it now.

The author has a website with lots of goodies - Scott Westerfeld Blog - Leviathan - including trailers, sample chapters, and wallpapers. Go and look! Get hooked! And join me in waiting for book two - "Behemoth" - due out for my next birthday! :3

Apparently people are starting to report reinfection with H1N1.

From the article: John Law, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Resources, said the information his agency has is that the likelihood of getting the virus twice is "very, very, very rare."

"Once you have had it, you have a natural immunity to it. It's like the mumps or the chicken pox," Law said.

Problem with this? Chicken pox can recur spontaneously via the virus taking up residence in the body and never leaving. So...I'm not really comforted by his statement. We still know far too little about the behavior and life cycles of viruses to be making such bland announcements.

The reason for this post? Romy's sickly again and we're not sure what's going on there. We'll be keeping a close eye on this.

One door must close before another can open. With the passing of this night I am looking ahead to a less sad and less fearful future. I wish to honor life and its mysteries without compromise.

The future begins now.

I caught a show on the History Channel - The Haunted History of Halloween - and something about the narrator seemed familiar.

Then it came to me: he sounds like Lazard as performed by the cast of Crisis Perverted.

If you've never heard these guys, check 'em out! The satire level and sheer hilarity - not to mention some dead-on voice acting and some utterly bizarre subject matter - make these unforgettable. ("Drunken Dial" is one of my favorites.)

We heard what sounded like a hawk right outside our window. It was so clear and distinct, it could only have been a hawk in the cedar tree - but no! It was a big sassy bluejay, strutting his stuff and imitating a much larger bird. I'd heard they could do this, but I'd never actually experienced it before.

It sounded just like the hawk that kept turning up when we were at the mom's swimming pool this summer. Hm, maybe that's the whole point, eh?

On a whim I looked up the symptoms of H1N1 in adults.

I...think I have a mild case of it. Except for the cough/sore throat, and not-quite-barfing, I scored the whole damn checklist.

I'm actually hoping that's what it is. This would mean I don't have to spring for a shot. And it's mild enough to just be miserable without being dangerous. And I think I'm on the upswing. I think.

So...yeah.

Woke up this morning to extreme cuteness.

I was lying on my side, and Wylie-kitty was stretched out against my back, under the covers with his head on my pillow.

Of course, as soon as I said "get the camera" he moved. :3

Nor my titanic tears the seas be dried
Nor fear the mockery of thy yellow flowers?

(yes, they are both for *ahem* male enhancement products)

I've been absent from online these past couple of days because, on top of everything going on, I've been hit in the gut by some kind of virus. It's miserable timing all around but it's on the upswing today.

I'll try to get back to commenting tomorrow.

The Mocker has left us as abruptly as he had arrived. He barged in on our household the weekend after September 11, 2001, and this afternoon his heart gave out with no warning. He went on his own time, as I kind of expected him to do - just not this soon.

There is a picture of him here. I...can't really talk now.

And it's awesome! :D

I've gotten rather sound-sensitive at night, to the point that a neighbor's air conditioner or a loud transformer (heh!) can keep me awake - it's that low-frequency thrumming sound, it gets into my head.

So...sweetie got me a Marpac Sound Screen white noise machine. We'd been using an electric fan to cover the noise, but with winter coming it'd be too cold. This thing sounds like our fan, but gives off no cool air - it's just sound, and it covers not only that low-frequency electronic noise but the other night, when we had 50 mph wind gusts and rain, it made the whole storm sound like rolling ocean waves! I don't think I've had better sleep! :D

If anyone has trouble sleeping through random irritating noises, I wholly recommend this gadget. It's adjustable in several ways (hole covers rotate in two areas, and there's a two-speed switch), it's small, and it WORKS!

I subscribe to a number of "help you find a job"-type newsletters, and this one just...no.



For folks who don't belong in the strict gender binary, this is more than a few steps backward.

I hope this is all voluntary, or they add an "other" option. Not holding my breath, tho.

ladyofshadow asked me to do a post for her now that she's had her wisdom teeth extracted. She's sore but okay, and is stocked up on jello and other soft foods.

Here's wishing her a speedy recovery and suggesting that she probably looks a lot like the hamster in my icon right about now, sans karot!

Still don't know if it's a cold, allergies, or weather-related sinus, but my sweetie's still sickly, and now I'm miserable too. It's a very low-grade sinus pain, sniffles, and headache, combined with that all-over achy, wish-I-was-still-in-bed feeling.

We're trying to find something brainless and pleasant to occupy our evening. When I was a kid, if I was sick on the weekend, they were always showing old (black-and-white old) sci-fi and monster movies on tv, and I have memories of being soothed in my misery by such heroes as Rodan and Creature from the Black Lagoon (what can I say? I cheer for the monsters).

And now I'm curious: anyone on my flist treat their colds with old movies? If so, what's your favorite to sit and watch from the underside of a pile of blankets?