Friends

daedalus4096

02:15 pm - Quittin' Time

Today is my last day at work. Even though there's a whole lot that still needs to be done, I'm not doing any of it. Mainly, this is because I can't guarantee that I'll have it done by the time I walk out the door, which would be bad. But I've gotten things as bow-wrapped for them as I can. My coworkers understand and are okay with this.

Speaking of my coworkers, they gave me a very nice mug during the lunch they took me too today. It's from Despair.com, and it's called the Pessimist's Mug, which is awesome. It's like they've noticed what a bitter, cynical ray of sunshine that I am. ;) Also, my boss has promised to write me a nice recommendation to future employers. I don't have it yet, but there's still time and I'm confident that it will get done.

I still have a lot of paperwork that I need to deal with, some mandatory and some optional, but I'm getting through it. There isn't much mandatory stuff, but the optional stuff is important too. Stuff like my IRA rollover and health insurance continuation via COBRA. No, not the ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. Props where they're due: whatever else I've said about my company, they've always had a very generous benefits package during my time here. Paying for it out of my own pocket will be another incentive to find a new job quickly.

Overall, I have a few mixed feelings about leaving. There are people here that I've enjoyed working with and people that I haven't. Some of them I'll miss. But when I walk out that door for the last time, I'll still be smiling.

Current Mood: accomplished

yankeesfans

reflaxion

04:22 pm

Yankees @ Rays - May 15, 2008

vs. Kennedy (0-2, 8.37) Kazmir (1-1, 2.70) It was really hard finding the motivation to spruce up the GDP with a 5-0 deficit after 5 innings. But here it is. Enjoy the suckfest, people. TV: YES Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

herufeanor

12:54 pm - California Steps Into the 21st Century

I was a bit shocked, and saddened, when another state did this before California did. I always thought of us as one of the most progressive states in the Union. We're the home of San Francisco, probably the most famously gay city in the world! And yet, Massachusetts beat us to the punch, by legalizing same-sex marriage before we did. What the hell?

Well, today the California Supreme Court did their part to rectify this problem. They struck down the ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. This isn't quite the same thing as legalizing it, but it's a VERY LARGE step in the right direction. I'm hopeful that this will soon be followed by outright legalization, and that California and Massachusetts, both, can serve as an example to other progressive states that this is a reasonable and rational course of action.

I would still very much LIKE to see the day when marriage is not the domain of the government at all, but merely a religious ceremony. Marriage has always been a religious matter, and therefore, by separation of Church and State, the government never should have been involved to begin with. Sure, plenty of non-religious people choose to marry, but plenty of non-religious people also celebrate Christmas and Easter, while still using all the symbolism used by Christians. That doesn't mean that Christmas and Easter aren't Christian holidays.

So, Bravo, California!

punning_pundit

10:09 am - Tweets for Today

• 18:30 $760 electric bill?! What do you mean I haven't paid it in almost a year? #

theferrett

10:58 am - While We're On The Topic Of Monogamapolyamoritism And Relationships....

....The Joy Of Theoretical Non-Monogamy. A very fine article stolen from moominmuppet, who I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like.

theferrett

09:42 am - Strange Ramblings On Polyamory Vaguely Inspired By A Distant Post

“Polyamory doesn’t work,” said my friend. “I’ve just seen too many of those relationships crash and burn. You just can’t make it work.”

The problem with that is, of course, the goal of polyamory. What is it? It’s pretty clear for the other side, but poly’s a little more mutable.

See, as a non-poly guy in a monogamous relationship, I have the luck of not having every sexual interaction I have be the trial for my entire relationship style. When I had, oh, fifty failed relationships before I finally latched onto my lovely wife, I didn’t have to hear about how each of those fifty crash-and-burns were proof that monogamy’s innately substandard. (And thank God, because with fifty failed relationships, I evidently had enough problems floating around.)

Yet monogamy also has a culturally built-in end-goal. See, I got married. That’s what monogamous couples of all stripes are supposed to do – heck, there’s a war being waged so that gay couples can share in my monogamous uniting process. And marriage is designed to be forever, thanks to that whole “‘til death do us part” clause.

So if I make it to the end with Gini, and one of us dies before we get divorced, then I score a win for monogamy! I am now proof that monogamy works, because we clung to it all the way down. And that’s regardless of whether I actually signed on for that victory condition or not!

Isn’t that grand? Especially since we get to ignore the vast majority of people who don't get there, or the multiple failed relationships that generally precede a victorious marriage?

But poly has no clear end goal. I mean, is poly supposed to be eternal? I’ve seen any number of poly relationships end not with a bang, but with a whimper, as two people slowly lose interest in each other and move on without any hard feelings. It’s not a breakup, just two folks evolving in opposite directions.

Is that what poly’s supposed to do? Well, according to the monogamous goal of capital-F Forever, no. But should we judge polyamory by a one-relationship standard? I’d say not.

And more importantly, is every breakup bad? I’d say not. Certainly there are any number of marriages that fail not because the people involved are evil, but because two healthy people continually grow and change in the course of their lives. Sometimes, what you needed at age twenty is not what you need at age forty… And sometimes, two people diverge.

That doesn’t mean that your relationship failed. It means things changed. Ideally, your partner evolves along with you, but sometimes that’s not healthy. Sometimes, you can have a short relationship that doesn’t work out yet is entirely satisfying for what you needed then.

It’s not cool to say that your divorced ex-partner is still a good guy and you still love him – just not enough to stay. In a monogamous society, you’re supposed to find the blame and assign it straight away so you can figure out who broke the monogamy. Because it’s clearly a fault with you guys, not the system.

Which is not to say that poly doesn’t involve high drama from time to time. ‘Course it does! You’re juggling more people, and more people means more opportunities for things to go wrong. When poly relationships crumble, often they do so in an avalanche of hurt feelings as not just one, but several people are pulled into the maelstrom. Poly’s trickier to pull off in a stable way, and I don’t think anyone really debates that.

But I don’t think that every breakup is a sign of unhealthiness…. Just as I don’t think that every end-goal victory for monogamy is the sign of a strong relationship. Certainly we all know two desperate people who’ve latched onto each other and refuse to leave. There are a ton of radically unhealthy dynamics that can cause two people to unhappily superglue themselves at the hip through life, though one suspects they’ll be kicking their heels off in heaven once they’re finally released from that damned contract.

That’s not really a score for monogamy. If anything, it’s a checkmark against it, in my book.

The problem is that I’m loath to say that any relationship style flat-out doesn’t work. I’m not particularly comfortable with BDSM master/slave relationships in my own personal life, but I do know a few people that it seems to work for. And I’ve seen some long-term poly relationships that would terrify the shit out of neurotic, clingy ol’ me, but appear to be just fine for all involved.

People are individuals. I tend to think any blanket statement on any lifestyle statement is just a way of quietly asking others to tell you that what you want is not just okay, but actively good.

You know what doesn’t work? People. People are fucked beyond comprehension. And any time they manage to interact properly for any amount of time that makes them happy is something I have a hard time dismissing globally, y’know?

yankeesfans

reflaxion

07:00 pm

Yankees @ Rays - May 14, 2008

vs. Mussina (5-3, 4.36) Shields (4-2, 3.14) You know what? Most of you have been following this team all season, and you know what to expect from it. You know how the offense has been. So honestly, do yourselves a favor - WATCH SOMETHING ELSE. I'll still watch, because I'm an idiot. But at least I can spare some of you from having to see this crap again. TV: YES Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

daedalus4096

01:06 pm

Three days until I'm in my new place...

Current Mood: nervous

punning_pundit

10:11 am - Tweets for Today

• 15:58 Margee got her phone back! #
• 16:32 work Day is finally over. #
• 18:50 Bush said in an interview Tuesday that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of US soldiers killed in Iraq #
• 18:51 "Bush's last round of golf [...] dates back to October 13, 2003, according to meticulous records kept by CBS news." They keep records?!? #
• 19:07 Blizzard Digital Download: awesome! #
• 21:19 www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com/ #
• 07:44 Alan Greenspan demands warm milk and cookies during his speaking gigs. #

dragonluk

09:25 am

I was regretting a missed chance to teach one session of the life drawing class; due to too many variables, I wasn’t able to do it. Tonight, I’ll be giving a lecture to the Science Fiction and Fantasy English class about prose versus visual storytelling and how the graphic novel/comic book and animation are formats, not genres.

Current Mood: researching

theferrett

12:02 pm - Answering A Vital Question

"Why," you may ask, "Does the standard outfit for nerds include a goatee and glasses?"

Well, the glasses are because we can't see. But the goatee! Why does every nerd sport a lovely chin-bristler? Why not a full beard, or - gosh - go clean-shaven?

There are two answers, my friend.

The first is that the goatee gives men the illusion of a chin. If you're thin, it gives you a little pointy dangly thing to angle your face. If you're pudgy, the goatee hangs down to cover that unsightly second or third chin. Plus, because all the hot fantasy movie guys sport goatees, like Aragorn, we secretly believe that we are siphoning off some of that movie magic to become just a little more badass, even as we sit on the couch and stuff our face with Cheetos at the local Doctor Who marathon.

The second is that we're lazy. Shaving a full face takes time to go around those inconvenient edges of the lips and chin. Trimming a full beard is awkward and scratchy. But shaving a goatee face involves a couple of quick strokes down the clear slalom of your cheeks, and wham! Done in fifteen seconds. No risk of cutting, no time at all.

And voila! We are unique and beautiful snowflakes. Or not.

theferrett

11:32 am - Busy With Work And Random Panic Attacks

But I would like to say that based on yesterday's picture request?

You are a bunch of startlingly attractive people. Take a bow.

Actually, don't bow. I rather like looking at your faces!

evilben

09:57 pm - Political Cows

DEMOCRAT

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST

You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST

You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION

You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION

You have two cows.
They go into hiding.
They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION

You have two bulls.
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION

You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic.
Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION

You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION

You have millions of cows.
They make real California cheese.
Only five speak English.
Most are illegals.
Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

Current Mood: amused

yankeesfans

world

10:05 pm - Got 2 bleacher tickets for Sunday night's game...

My friend and I got tickets to Sunday's game, then realized it was much easier for us to attend Saturday's, so we got tickets to that, and are selling Sunday's.

He's the one who actually has them, but he's not on lj, so I'm posting-if anyone is interested, please email me (suehenken@hotmail.com), and I'll let you know how to get in touch with him. He lives in NJ, so if you're near him, you could pick them up in person (or meet us around Y.S. before or after Saturday's game), or just have him mail them if there's time.

It's Bleacher 39, Row DD, I believe he's selling them for what he bought them for (roughly $60 each)-he can give you the details.

Thanks...

lolhistory

celialove

03:13 pm

This week, it's John Tyler!

( I'm sure this goes through the minds of every vice president after the prez has been assassinated. )

yankeesfans

reflaxion

07:07 pm

Yankees @ Rays - May 13, 2008

vs. Wang (6-1, 3.12) Jackson (2-3, 4.04) I will not jinx the Yankees in the GDP. I will not jinx the Yankees in the GDP. I will not jinx the Yankees in the GDP... TV: YES Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

dandyloo

12:23 pm - Mother's Day Weekend

This was technically my first Mother's Day. It's fun to think that I'm someone's mother, even though I don't know this person growing inside me yet.

This weekend turned out to be very interesting and kind of scary because ( my dad had to go to the emergency room )My dad is a capable guy, but I think he doesn't ask for help when he needs it. I kept praying that he would ask for help. My mom said that he was not able to really tell her what was wrong with him, he was just being all dramatic about it. I can imagine that they yelled at each other as my mom tried to extract the information from him.

It is so very hard to hear that Dad is not doing well. I don't want to think of him in pain, although he has been in chronic pain for years now. I just hope he gets the help he needs and that he lets the doctors take care of him.

Current Mood: contemplative

theferrett

02:45 pm - I Am Curious, Weasel

So rather than thinking about the deadly neurotoxins flooding through my brain*, I'd like to make a strange request: I'd like to see what you all look like. But it's only fair that you should have to endure me, first. So here! Have a look at my ugly mug!

zarhooie

punning_pundit

10:07 am - Tweets for Today

• 11:58 Jack: surfing for porn at work is ill advised. #
• 16:17 www.slate.com/id/2191202/entry/0/ Fuckers #
• 17:51 Scott is going to learn Hebrew. Better than a PSP. #
• 17:52 Iron man again. #
• 17:53 Yes, Scott, I -am- twittering this. Why? #

08:30 am - arrogant

This is going to sound really stuck up but I don't really care:

I am not worried about the state of the Yankees. Last year the Yankees won 94 games with a team similar to this years. The state of the rotation was, essentially, exactly the same. The Yankees had Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina as the only concrete starters. Until Clemens got here it was a toss up. The Yanks will find someone, whether its internal or external, to fill the small void that Clemens let. When that magic month of June rolls around the Yankees will probably start mashing and we will all watch another good division race.

Its pointless getting riled up over the beginning of the season. The Yankees haven't had a good start in a long time. 2005 was bad, 2006 wasn't very good, and 2007 was down right awful. I can't believe I am the one saying this but:

Relax.

dragonluk

06:11 pm - Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware, Serial Boxes, April 30th

Chris Ware and Art Spiegelman were guest speakers at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on April 30th. Their conversation, as guided by Heidi Chute, was part of Serial Boxes – a series of lectures exploring the graphic novel.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: contemplative

yankeesfans

reflaxion

07:00 pm

Yankees @ Rays - May 12, 2008

vs. Pettitte (3-3, 3.77) Garza (1-1, 4.91) The Rays are at a franchise-best five games over .500 right now. That is not a typo - in the team's entire history, it has never won five more games than it has lost at any point during any season. I don't know whether to be amused or worried. TV: YES Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

grandmoffdavid

01:06 pm - Morning in Paradise

Got up at 6:30 this morning, ate breakfast on the patio, went running for a half hour on the road next to the beach, then went for a fifteen minute snorkel. (It would have been longer, but I didn't have any suntan lotion on yet.) This is fairly optimal as day starts go.

Current Mood: happy

ardemus

10:23 am - School's Out

Although I had to drop two classes, and I needed special dispensation to finish the two that remained, I managed to finish and pass this semester.  This is the first time that I've had significant issues and completed a semester successfully.  I am already starting my summer term, only two days later, but feeling good about it.

Onward.

Current Mood: accomplished

punning_pundit

10:06 am - Tweets for Today

• 10:32 I consider anything under 4 bucks to be cheap gas. What about you? #
• 14:37 Words cannot decribe how much I loath this new companion. #
• 15:08 tinyurl.com/6k7a9k #
• 18:38 28 weeks later: how perfectly depressing. #
• 19:41 "Truth is an absolute defense to defamation everywhere that the Stars and Stripes may fly." #
• 08:49 The Dugger family isn't real, are they? #
• 09:09 kottke.org/when-obama-wins/ #

theferrett

11:04 am - Mindfuck: When You See It, You'll Shit Bricks

There is a subset of Demotivational Posters called "Mindfuck," which present an innocuous-looking image with the promise "When you see it, you'll shit bricks." Some of the images have weird, creepy shit that only appear when you look closely. Others, on the other hand, are just normal images and the mindfuck is that you spend five minutes looking at the damn thing in a vain attempt to find something out of the ordinary.

So for the benefit of all, I've decided to collect the best of of these mindfuck posters in one place and tell you whether there's anything in them or not, and where to look if you want to. Some of them are kinda creepy. Some of them are lame. Some may have nothing at all.
( Mindfucks ahoy! Image-heavy content arriving! )

theferrett

02:50 pm - Yeah, You Knew It Was Coming

"Unca Ferrett?" said the little girl at one in the morning, hovering nervously by my couch. "I had a dream about a doggie and it was on fire and now I can't sleep."

I can't say I hadn't expected this. Four-year-old Carolyn was spending the night so her mommy and daddy could have an evening to themselves (and so we could be wrapped in Carolyn cuddles), and she usually didn't sleep well in strange places. She'd had a dream about a doggie the last time, too, and so I hugged her tight and told her that no doggies were on fire.

She looked at me now. "What do we do now? I'm not tired."

And she wasn't. I could see it in her eyes. The four hours of sleep she'd gotten apparently had been enough - though I might lull her into more of it. Knowing that I still had hours of work before me - it was a late night - I said, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Yuh," she said. We checked out our vast supply of DVDs, and found that Aladdin had "a big kitty that was too scary" and Finding Nemo had a scary shark and the Muppet Movie had "a car that gets bumped" that was apparently terrifying, and no movie we had wouldn't be fearful. And so twenty minutes passed as we checked out movies, but Carolyn was still awake.

"Why don't we play a game?" I said, and we did, throwing some dice around as we played a crude game of "war." Then we played a little pretend, and got some milk, and ran around for a bit. Then, still awake at two in the morning, she looked up at me and said, "What do we do now?"

And I didn't know. I had no clue. I have daughters, but I inherited them at the ancient age of six. By the time I got to them, all the hard work was done, and they were pretty much self-entertaining when they needed to be. I had a kid who clearly should be asleep and yet wasn't asleep and I had run out of ways to entertain her.

So I did the unthinkable: I woke up Gini, apologizing all the while. "What do I do?" I whispered.

Gini, half-slumbering, had more authority than I'd had fully awake. She looked at Carolyn and the way she was standing and said, "Do you need to poop?" Carolyn nodded and trotted off to the bathroom, and she snapped crisply at me: "Step one: Empty the child."

Then she looked at Carolyn and said, "Right. You. Off to bed." Carolyn protested. "But I'm not tired!" She cried, and came running to me, but I deferred to the true master, and Gini shuffled Carolyn off to the room. She laid Carolyn down, and read her a story, and talked with her about doggies as they hugged in the bed, and within half an hour they had fallen asleep - Gini much more fitfully, but she had quieted Carolyn and Knew What To Do.

That's the magic of mommyhood. When I'm clueless, the mommies know what to do. They know children so intimately they can decide, correctly, that a child is tired even though they say they aren't and swear they're not and act like they're not. It's amazing. They just know.

Look, I like kids. And as long as the kids have ideas, I'm golden. But there comes a point where the kids get bored or cranky, and then Gini does the heavy lifting. I've seen her occupy a bored three-year-old for half an hour with nothing more than a ketchup bottle and a container of sugar packets. She made up that dice game that I played earlier to entertain Carolyn. She knows how to turn shrieking sobs of frustration into more-acceptable sniffles and less hurt feelings.

That's the brilliance of it. Gini's good at mothering, but so are mothers. Being an only child, that's a mystery I've never fathomed. Kids are an alien mindset to me, so close to adulthood but sometimes so distant, and Gini knows how to talk to them in ways that don't confuse them or diminish them. She just does.

And that's amazing.

So congratulations, all you mothers. It's the grunt work you do that you're being celebrated for today - the thousand little ways you know your children, the invisible ways you monitor their moods and build their egos and push them, one faint step at a time, towards competence and adulthood. That's the most complicated job in the whole world, because you often get your best feedback a decade too late... And you manage.

Here's to you.

yankeesfans

reflaxion

12:50 pm

Game's postponed. Sorry folks, no baseball today.

Have a happy Mother's Day!

yankeesfans

heyitsrabbit

10:27 am - Boomer back in the Bronx?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05092008/sports/yankees/boomer_ang__110042.htm

I know this is all speculative and in all likelihood not a very big help for us, but even then SOMETHING has to be better than Igawa. Wells may have sucked last season with the Padres and Dodgers, but at least he got wins.

yankeesfans

reflaxion

03:32 pm

Yankees @ Tigers - May 10, 2008

vs. Rasner (1-0, 3.00) Bonderman (2-3, 4.17) After Igawa's outing yesterday, Rasner is going to need to be able to pitch deep into this one. Problem: he only threw 76 pitches in his last start, and jumping to 95 today is a huge difference. I hope he gets a lot of one-pitch outs... TV: FOX Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

theferrett

02:35 pm - Um... Can I Have A Glass Of Holy Fuck?

I've always admired Vincent Bugliosi as one of the greatest legal crime writers of all time. His book Helter Skelter was a masterful look at how you need to sum up the prosecution for what could have been a sketchy murder case. Outrage was a thorough indictment of why O.J. Simpson was guilty, guilty, guilty, and how the prosecution bungled what should have been an open-and-shut case.

I figured with the release of his lapbreaking tome The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (which, yes, convinced me it was just Lee Harvey Oswald), he would have set his sights on the biggest murder case of all time and be done. How can you top JFK, I thought? You can't do it. That's as big as there is, right?

But he's managed. Seriously. Trust me, just click on the link. And if he does this with his usual precision to detail, I'll be there reading it on Day One.

theferrett

09:55 am - Special Bonus Help Round!

If you were a fan of Home on the Strange, you'll be happy to know that yes, I'm starting up a new nerdcore webcomic. This is a much more stripped-down comic sans the big storylines, just allowing me to riff on nerd culture whenever I see fit. But I'm a little blocked here, and I need your help.

As anyone who knows me knows, I'm terrible with character names. (I joke that half the reason I wanted to team up with yuki_onna for My Name Is Might Have Been is because I knew I'd get great names like "Bombay Sapphire" and "Ignatius Slim.") And I have three characters that I can't think of a good name for.

The first is a blatant shill for me, a tall guy with a goatee and glasses. He's going to be my voice for speaking on various nerd issues. But I'm not calling him Ferrett.

The second is his wife, a slender Asian. She is the sarcastic straight man to his eternal snarking, and generally gets the better of him. (I am, as I did from HotS, cribbing quite a bit from my own personal life - though thanks to roniliquidity's co-writing, Tom and Karla evolved far beyond what Gini and me are.)

The third is not-Ferrett's buddy, who is the guy he goes shopping for DVDs with - basically, a third character to talk about his wife with.

This isn't the first time I've asked for name help - author Cherie Priest suggested the name "Andy Tanner," and shortly after she received a huge Tor book contract, clearly as a result of suggesting a name for a second-tier webcomic strip. This is the fame and fortune that awaits you should you choose a proper name.

Also, if you're an artist and this sounds like something you'd have fun with, let me know. Unlike HotS, I'm hoping to work with multiple artists on the new project. In fact, I've got a bit of a plan for that, but that's something for another time.

yankeesfans

boxcar45

01:31 am - Are you effing kidding me?

Kei Igawa made the following statement through a translator following the game tonight:

“I thought the changeup worked well. The slider, I missed a few pitches. But besides that, they were pretty good. The result was part of baseball. It can happen in any game. The thing I would like to work on is getting more strikeouts.”

Are you serious? Are you really, REALLY serious? Someone tell this delusional moron that his inability to get through more than 3 innings in a somewhat competent fashion lost us the game, and that getting pulled after three innings because you've given up ELEVEN HITS is not part of baseball. It is part of sucking at baseball. Teams get 11 hits in an entire game, not the first third of a game. Bottom line: He's not good, he will not ever BE good, and he is potentially the worst signing the Yankees have made in the last decade (and for those of you shouting "CARL PAVANO", I, personally, think Igawa is worse. Pavano was a joke because he was constantly injured, yes, but when he pitched, he wasn't AWFUL. Certainly wasn't worth what we paid him, but for the most part, he kept us in games more often than not. When he wasn't pitching solidly, he wasn't pitching, because he was injured, and I'll take not pitching in games over pitching like shit any day). We paid $26 million JUST to talk to this guy, and then signed him for $4 million a year. That is a MONUMENTAL waste of money, because the guy may be a star in Japan, but he's barely a Triple A pitcher here in the states. Time to cut bait, and be done with this clown.

evilben

05:03 pm - Oh goddamnit.

My CD burner blew up a CD, in the process taking itself out. You're wrong, Mythbusters!

yankeesfans

reflaxion

07:15 pm

Yankees @ Tigers - May 9, 2008

vs. Igawa (0-0, -.--) Rogers (2-3, 6.27) I was going to do an over/under on when Igawa started sucking, but I didn't get this GDP finished until the bottom of the first inning. Igawa didn't need any longer than that. TV: MY9 Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

dragonluk

02:27 pm

Here are a couple recent drawings for story ideas I'm developing.

Current Mood: contemplative

yankeesfans

heyitsrabbit

04:31 pm - Farnsworth's suspension reduced to 1 game

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3388378

While I have to say I disagree with the idea that he should have even got penalized in the first place, this is the next best thing that could have happened. At least MLB was quick to realize they were a little trigger happy on this one.

All signs point to him serving it during tonight's game @ Detroit.

dandyloo

01:04 pm - Four Weeks to Caravan 2008!

There are four more weeks until Caravan 2008. The show is on Saturday, June 7, at 7 pm. I would love to be able to sell you tickets, so if you're interested, please let me know. I believe they'll be $10 or so, but I'll let you know for reals when I find out.

I have to do these things before the show:
* Glue trim onto the tassels for the Sari costume.
* Make the necklace for the Sari costume.
* Redo the elastic on my zils.
* Tack the sleeves of my vest and add beads and sequins to the sleeves of my vest for the Sari costume.
* Buy the fabric for the edge of my veil for the Sari costume and attach it to the veil.
* Buy fabric to make a triangular hip scarf for the Black/Gold costume or find a hip scarf somewhere that is triangular.

I set up my sewing/crafting/scrapping area in the garage. I have to cover my cutting table and possibly raise it, but after that I will have an awesome area to work in and I won't have to clean up every time! I want to set up the TV in there to watch movies while working, 'cause that's fun. I need to find all the stuff in the garage that I'd have over in the craft area and bring my fabric in from the shed.

My cat, Schmooky, is seemingly stoked to have more company out there. I'm glad I'll be able to spend a little time with her while also getting sewing projects done. My dream of having a permanent sewing area is coming true! Woohoo!

This will also motivate me to finish the moving in process at our new place.

Since the weekends are all entirely full between now and Caravan, I will have to do all my work on the weeknights. That's cool, though, because there is no school for me right now!

So, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at least will have some work being done out there. It's more likely that it will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays, though, because I usually hang out with my housemates on Mondays.

I can't wait to have my completed sewing and crafting area! Yay!

Current Mood: excited

myshanter

10:51 am - Polyamory: not the easy way out

Polyamory is great for many reasons. You can be yourself, straight, gay or bi. You can be loved and love as many people as you can fit into your life. It can be very validating. It's hard to think "I'm not sexy" when you have multiple people telling you how hot you are and and how lovable you are.

But it's not for the weak or lazy either. Polyamory means juggling schedules, juggling feelings, juggling relationships, and hoping you don't drop a ball and make it all into a big mess. The hardest part of this is making sure that everyone gets what they need. One would assume (and many do) that this means if A is dating B and C, then A needs to give enough to both of them. While this is very true, problems arise when B and C are fine with what they get from A, but not with what they get from each other. You have B wanting to date C and C not interested, or even just wanting a closer friendship than C is capable of right then. This can drive A crazy, since all A wants to do is love B and C, not mediate or be a counselor. Add in long distances or other obstacles to resolving the conflict, and the whole alphabet goes off the deep end.

I had a friend who once posted that she didn't mind others seeking out her husband, just don't be her friend to get to him. The reverse is true as well. Someone seeking out your partner does not mean "Squee, I get a new friend". It means that your partner has someone, and both you and s/he need to be amicable and respectful. Any issues of friendship should develop at their own pace, without the involvement of A, who quite frankly needs to pack up and mail the damn house. (BTW, if all you are moving are books and DVDs, media mail is your friend, because the movers won't touch you if you have less than 1500 pounds, plus it's cheaper).

To those of you on my friends list who had no clue, I guess this means I am out. I'm polyamorous and a bisexual. ph33r me.

Current Mood: distressed

theferrett

02:06 pm - Because I Am Supremely Bored And Doped Out

I am having difficulty processing, thanks to my SAD and the new and delightful emergency medication I've been placed on. So if you have any secrets you want to share with me (or anything that would entertain), send 'em to theferrett@theferrett.com. I'm delightfully groggy!

Normally, I'd just do a "tell me a secret" post and screen the comments, but I have another vital question to ask:

Poll #1185288 Pixar
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

The Best Pixar Feature Film Is....

Who's better?

olliesmama

todays_thought

yankeesfans

i_am_an_angel

12:16 pm - Information Session

I got the email yesterday about the information session for the All-Star volunteer applicants. I'm so excited! But a little nervous. I'm coming from CT, and I'm going to be taking public transportation. What's making me nervous is the possibility of getting lost!

Who else is going? Anyone from CT going and want to use the "buddy system" so I don't get lost? lol

Also, any suggestions about clothing? (God, I sound so girly! Please forgive me!) I just don't know if I should wear Yankee clothes, or something more professional. I'm thinking of somewhat casual, but bringing my Yankee purse. lol

theferrett

09:43 am - EEEP EEEP EEEP EEEP EEEP

My wife smacks the snooze bar and staggers back to bed, tumbling sleepily into my arms. It's different every time.

She snuggles close. I feel the weight of her arm across my chest here, the feel of her bare thigh upon mine here. She melts into me, seeking me out for enough comfort that she can grab a few extra minutes of sleep before the alarm goes off again. The configurations are a thousand variances of joy; sometimes she attacks me from the side to nestle into the crook of my arm. Sometimes, she lies on her back and wants me to hug her tight.

It's a unique and beautiful moment, and it will only last nine minutes.

Sometimes, I fall asleep, too. But some mornings, I just lie there, listening to the ebb and flow of her breathing, feeling the slow tug of time passing. This moment is ephemeral. This moment is eternal. This love is colossal.

Nine minutes, and everything changes.

theferrett

02:23 pm - Thank You, rbradakis!

Who doesn't want a GlaDOS ringtone?

(Sorry, Eric. Yours is good, but not the coolest.)

yankeesfans

reflaxion

01:38 pm

Yankees vs. Indians - May 8, 2008

vs. Byrd (1-2, 3.74) Mussina (4-3, 4.23) Don't be fooled - among his last three starts, Mike Mussina wields a 2.50 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. New Moose pitches against Paul Byrd, who was never very good but who sports decent stats so far. Once again, the Yanks are trying to fend off a sweep... TV: YES Radio: WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Esp.) IRC chat: #yankeesfans (Rizon) Client Setup Web chat

dragonluk

09:41 am - Orphan Works Bill in 2008

As shared by others, please take a moment to fill this out:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

More information on what it is about:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11320236

A few key points:
The Orphan Works Act defines an "orphan work" as any copyrighted work whose author any infringer says he is unable to locate with what the infringer himself decides has been a "reasonably diligent search." In a radical departure from existing copyright law and business practice, the U.S. Copyright Office has proposed that Congress grant such infringers freedom to ignore the rights of the author and use the work for any purpose, including commercial usage. In the case of visual art, the word "author" means "artist."

It is a violation of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works for any country to impose registration on a rights holder as as a condition of protecting his copyright. See Article 5(2) "The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality (emphasis added)."

Publishers and other art licensees will be less likely to commission new work from artists if they can surf the net for free images that have become separated from identifying information. An artist's pre-existing paintings and drawings - orphaned through no fault of his own - would be competing against him for the new commissions he needs to make a living.

Current Mood: anxious

theferrett

11:52 am - A Thought On The Nature Of Friendship

Early in our courtship, Gini once said that "you give me wings." Which was her way of saying that I tried my best to lift her up, to encourage her to reach for things she didn't think she could get. I tried to be a net benefit in her life, on the whole.

And when she told me, two years later, "I feel like you've taken my wings away," that was a wake-up call for me. I realized that in the course of our relationship, I'd stopped thinking about her and started thinking too much about me. I'd started trying to subtract from Gini to make her fit in the space that made me comfortable, which was completely and utterly wrong. And I started to change that.

I think that, by and large, there are two types of close friends: Those who are committed to being a net bonus in your life, and those who want you to be where they're comfortable.

Being committed to being a net bonus in someone's life is scary sometimes, because you can help them evolve right out of your life. You can realize that where they want to be is another town, far away from you, or to take up a new hobby that's going to cause them to spend less time with you, or to find a new partner who's really good for them and is going to make you secondary in their life. But those friends want what's best for you.

Then there are those who want you where they feel happiest about having you. They will also help you to change, but often it's for the worse. If they determine that you should have a boyfriend now, they're going to hammer home on you until you damn well get one whether you want it or not. If you think about moving, they'll make you feel guilty. It's all about what they want - and frequently it will come in the guise of "What's best for you," but really it's not.

You can tell the bad friends because you never really feel like yourself around them. You know, on some level, they're damping you down, because you can't say what's really on your mind.

But the good friends? They're there because they like you, not some edited version of you that's more to their liking. They're there to help you be more of that you - occasionally calling you on your bullshit and reining in your excesses, but generally helping you to become a happier, healthier person.

Good friends? They give you wings to fly. And God bless them, we'll all reach the skies some day.

theferrett

11:03 am - Just A Quick Word

Dear People Who Think The President Will Make Gas Cheaper:

One hates to inform you, but the President does not have a magic wand that he can wave to neutralize the laws of supply and demand. Gas is going to continue to be expensive because a) you schmucks refuse to stop driving everywhere, b) China and other nations are on the rise and want more gas of their own, and c) there is a limited supply of oil.

The President can't fucking fix this. He can do stupid shit like give you a "gas tax holiday" so you can save $30 over the course of a summer, which will cause us to drive more (burning up more of this limited supply of gas) and take away the money used to fund the road repairs, but that's a temporary solution designed to sucker in stupid people. Which you are.

You'd think you would have learned the lesson from Iraq: The President is not a magic being. The reason we got into so much trouble in Iraq is not because Bush isn't sufficiently magical to zap away the terrorists, but because he had poor planning. And lo! As it turns out, the actions of people in other countries can affect America, just like every other fucking country. Gas will most likely never be $2 again. As such, things aren't going to get slightly better for you until you stop fucking driving your big gas-sucking cars, learn to take public transportation when you can, and stop treating the President as though he's the goddamned Wizard of Oz.

Sincerely,
T.F.

lolhistory

caudelac

03:15 am - Das Kainenchen lol's YOU.

( yhbt. )

x-posted to hitler_lolz.

Current Mood: accomplished

dragonluk

10:02 pm

I’m back from the Canson gig in Reno and my short stay in Las Vegas with Ragnarok, monkeysminion and mikesama's excellent company. Maybe I'll write some more about that and the comics lecture I attended last week a bit later.

I just realized that MoCCA is only a month away now. I’d better get to work!

Current Mood: tired

lolhistory

buboniclou

11:23 pm - Heheh

Not mine, but it showed up on ICHC just now:


more cat pictures