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Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
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9:17 pm - Open announcement to a (semi)-lost contact
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Twisted Sister mine:
I have been unable to get an e-mail to you since the time you sent me "the whole story" of your current situation. Everything I have sent has bounced.
I'm so sorry, particularly after your revelations. Please know this: I am still your friend, and support your decisions in the matters you've explained.
I'm fearsomely busy at the moment with classes, but hope to get a snail-mail off to you at the most recent address I have for you. Here's hoping that reaches you.
Alternatively: if you're reading this now, I've screened comments, and can pick up messages from you that way... particularly if you have a phone number to add to my contact info for you!
Very sorry for the drop-out, and here's hoping I can make it better with a really long snail-mail letter.
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| Saturday, June 3rd, 2006
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10:22 pm - Stepping apart from Six Apart on 06/06/06
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I won't be deleting my account. (Long tedious list of personal reasons.) Changed my mind. I'll take the chance Six Apart does something funny, but will delete the account for the duration of the strike. I'll reinstate it, but...
But I won't be using it, either, starting at least from 1300 on 05 June 2006. The earliest I will be back, if I'm back, will be after 1300 07 June 2006.
The attitudes of The Power That Be here at Live Journal have encouraged some pretty wretched posting and commenting - I see one of yonmei's posts on the Default icon breastfeeding controversy has attracted some pretty manky attention. (It was really pretty awful - I don't recommend you go looking.)
Not that it's fair to judge Live Journal by the behavior displayed there in the comments. But their attitude, I believe, provides encouragement to such poisonous people.
I resent having my body, by extension with that of a nursing mother, being plastered with the label "inappropriate". They can say all the pretty things they like about being considerate of woman, or supporting breastfeeding and recognizing how good a beginning it gives a child, but actions speak louder than words: in this instance, the action of banning imagery of breastfeeding women for default icons simply flags the more essential attitude of "eeeuw! icky!!" (the "qualifier" of it being okay without aerola or nipple? puh-leaze!)
I've read pages of commentary and argument, by now, and only once have I come across the rather simple and elegant idea: if there's a problem with default images because of their use in other ways than strictly inside a journal or accompanying someone's comment, like appearing during searches (for instance) in front of a child or at a restrictive work environment, then stop using those images in that extraneous way. There's just no need for it.
At the end of the day, Live Journal and Six Apart are caving in to the hobgoblins of their own fears, about what offense someone might take. A good friend pointed out to me that this action was aimed at the wrong target; however, while this might be a symptom of the Culture Wars, I still think that I could have hoped for better from Six Apart than for them to cave as they have.
Maybe they might find some backbone.
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| Friday, June 2nd, 2006
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4:39 pm - AKICILJ - iMac, animated LJ icon production
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I'm currently working on two 100x100 pixel images.
I don't know how to smash them together into a single animated icon.
I'm either looking for a quick pointer to something I might have already on my iMac (but haven't yet discovered), or for some kind soul to be available for when I'm finished producing the images, to put them together into an icon that shows first the one, then the other. Nothing fancy, just "Image one (two beats), Image two (two beats), da capo", that's all.
Thanks in advance,...
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, June 1st, 2006
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8:00 am - Lost Day
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| Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
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10:08 pm - Goodbyes and Aikido...
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... but not having much to do with one another, just being neighbors in my schedule.
Jake has returned to Dublin. We really enjoyed his company here, and his sense of discovering our new home town.
I made a guilty plea to not go with to the airport to see him off; I wanted to go to aikido, a doubly good thing after all the fancy eating we've been doing these last few days. ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dear_hubby went with him, and all was good.
Aikido was good but in a sort of challenging, "Frack! I thought I knew this! But I don't!!! *whaaa!*" sort of way. And I think I'm going to take a 4th kyu exam in June? Ri-i-i-i-i-ight. *sigh*
And it was pouring cats and dogs while I biked to and from the training. At least, when dear_hubby got the bike, we also sprung for a most excellent set of rain-clothing - a jacket with hood, trousers and two "boots". Except for a few splatters on my regular trousers, I'm a dry little crazysoph, yay.
The only other thing to report was some idiot on a scooter while I was arriving home: he tail gated me along the "home stretch" and then yelled something at me (which, neener! neener! I can't hear because of your stupidly loud engine...) as he passed/cut me off (almost). Of course, he's riding without any kind of license plate - if he'd had one, the first thing I'd have done on arriving home would be to phone the police. (I'd have memorized a license plate. No. Problem.)
Instead, I get to practice letting-go - of the evening's aikido frustrations, the stupid scooter-driver, the bad weather, and return to normal stuff - getting my gi and other bits into the washer, putting away some bits, hanging out the rain gear to dry...
Thanks for stoppin'.
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7:39 am - Mini-road trip
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Yesterday we took advantage of Jake's fondness for driving, and went out of Our New Hometown in a car. Well, we took a little while to get going - a long sit that was effectively breakfast at our local, first, so we were really underway by lunch. dear_hubby then made a quick trip into the local tourist office, emerging with a map of the local region that had marked out a nice little auto route, the thin pamphlet clutched awkwardly between index and middle fingers - he's still not able to make a pincer move with his thumb, not at least without a lot of pain.
But first, liberating the car from the parking garage. Which didn't take the credit card Jake could offer. And we'd spent all our small change on the breakfast (and tipping our very helpful and hospitable waiter, who's seen a lot of us lately, thanks to dear_hubby continuing-but-at-least-mending handicap). I had my local-cash-debit card, which the machine did take, so then Jake was promising to pay it back as soon as possible, while being simultaneously pleased at the relative good-deal the amount represented. (I caution him, he's not really comparing Ireland/Belgium, but rather, or maybe "also" he's comparing Big City vs more moderately sized town...)
We stopped first at the local DIY - it started with Jake admiring the night-light I had set up in his room, and it went on from there... oh boy. As in "boys, toys" in the hardware store. To be fair, dear_hubby also managed to find Mackintosh-themed stencils, for use "sometime", and I made a point of buying three meters of clear tubing with an 8mm bore - the better to siphon the next batch of proto-wine with! *g* And, some ready-made glass shelves turned out to be pretty much what we needed, and hey! here's a car we can put the stuff in the back of. *blush* Jake's shopping took advantage of small items that he's not been able to find for love nor money in Dublin - wall racks for holding brooms and mops (which he'll adapt for holding his sword collection), patterned plastic foil for application to his windows (when I'd done something similar back in Dublin, I'd bought a shower curtain and cut that up to use...)
( We finally did get on the road, honest! )
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| Monday, May 29th, 2006
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8:44 am - Kameron Hurley Finds the BEST Quotes!
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8:00 am - More in the life of me...
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...and my companions, dear_hubby and our visitor from Dublin.
After the suppressed litany of disasters that was our Friday afternoon, we settled to a local restaurant and had a wonderful meal, very restorative, very compensatory (for some values of compensation...) Jake ordered a local dish, containing little blood-sausages of slightly different sizes (proof of being hand-made, those variances in the process), a slice of apple covered with a red currant sauce. The first taste of the sausage transported him back 40 years, and he reminisced with great heart about how his family would make a similar sausage at home, when his dad still had a farm.
dear_hubby's hands weren't quite up to the job of handling cutlery for anything except getting small pieces of food to his mouth, so he chose a carpaccio of tuna served with salad and couscous, and declared himself satisfied with the taste. He drafted me to cut into bite-sized pieces his apple pie, nearly a struedel in its richness. I "broke down" and had a crown of lamb (what is it about depression and red meat? the sensation of eating it then slots in so much like a key in a lock, I have to wonder if there's a brain chemistry thing involved... now, now girlie, no rationalizing, eh?), which was simply gorgeous, tender, tasty, cooked to perfection, served with baked asperagus (slightly cheesed for a nice crust) and mustard potatoes. A seemingly grown-up dish for the inner child.
( And on Saturday and Sunday )
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, May 28th, 2006
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5:46 pm - Found some blogged kitchen delights
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| Saturday, May 27th, 2006
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10:40 pm - A thought on Dr Who
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5:55 pm - One of Us, One of Us, One of Us!!!
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| Friday, May 26th, 2006
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8:08 am - More on hands
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dear_hubby's pain level has not improved, ack! Well, only a little, he says, but he's still effectively handicapped, without the use of the hands. Except, at least, for sipping coffee and... as he so proudly put it, wiping his own backside. (sound FX: deep sigh of relief from me)
I'm very glad I'd taken him to the emergency room yesterday - I'm hanging on to the reassurances given us by the doctor who examined him. Especially after an attempt at 3 a.m. this morning, to put some of that analgesic cream on the hands - I got them coated with the prescribed dose, but even the very lightest pressure got dear_hubby writhing with pain. I don't know how many times I said "I'm sorry" after, but it was all I could say, for inflicting that pain.
Jake is still asleep, which is nice because of the time to myself I get now. Without a whole dear_hubby, all of the minor household jobs generated by making sure Jake is well supplied with cups of milk-and-honeyed tea will devolve onto yours truely. I could try and do them when he goes for a walk, but dammit, I was looking forward to walking with him.
One thing at a time, and I'll try to remember to take my own advice, to breathe...
Thanks for stopping.
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| Thursday, May 25th, 2006
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11:52 pm - A Day In The Life
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11:08 am - Fond thoughts of future milestones...
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This is, well, girl-stuff. Getting older girl-stuff. You are hence warned, especially if you're a tender petal of a boy (make that "bo-o-o-o-o-oy") who's default attitude is that we have grossness for bodies.( Read more... )
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
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10:43 pm - Playlist silliness
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9:14 am
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| Monday, May 22nd, 2006
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11:28 pm - The Day After The Night Before
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Well, the day wasn't very energetic, after last night's debacle. But at least it didn't contain further traumas. Forgot to clean the cats' boxes, now that I'm thinking about it, urk! Oh well, tomorrow.
At least I got one letter written to Our Mutual Mary, and a quickie postcard to anysia (to whom I'd promised one, oh, at least 2 weeks ago, when visiting, oh, was it Leuven, not Brussels? Argh, tapioca brain here...) and, later on, a quick note to my lift to Dojo Heart, explaining that I'd not need the lift this week, as we're getting a houseguest that evening - looking forward to the visit from Jake, yay! I spent some time playing with gel-pens, with drawing out a chart of techniques/attacks and stances for the 4th kyu exam (for me) and the 3rd (for my study-buddy, though knowing it certainly doesn't hurt, either, for future guidence). I'd treated myself to the gel-pens after deciding that the felt tips were just getting to be more trouble than they were worth, with the sudden drying while coloring in an area. I know gel-pens don't avoid drying out, but I like the line they write, it's smooth, and given the point, I don't do as much large-area coloring in. Maybe as I play more with them, I'll start working on gel-pen playing techniques. All the while, of course, staying focussed on the content of those techniques, the names of which I'm scribbling out in tree-form. *wry grin*
I also wrote a longish letter, that split into two emails, of which neither got sent tonight. Best to sleep on them, in case I let slip something silly. The sad thing about writing someone I know is busy, I start to second guess myself, about whether something is worth the bother of writing or not. Or rather, of giving to the other party to read. DAMMIT, stop that, girlie! Just let it be...
And we even got in two episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("Hells Bells", what a heartbreaker! It was hard to watch on repeat, knowing as much as I did of how it would end.) And, if I do say so myself, a yummy dinner, of some monk fish dear_hubby had found on special, and froze, then thawed just for us tonight, along with brown rice and steamed green beans. I also made a lavender sauce - a very small amount, for two people, would be 2 tablespoons of both brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, and one tablespoon of dried lavender blossoms. (It's just easier, okay?) Gently simmer the sugar and vinegar together for 5 minutes, take off the heat, add the lavender, stir to coat, let steep for 5-15 minutes, strain. It perked up what would have otherwise been a pretty plain meal, even if monkfish is pretty yummy pan fried.
Ack, must water the plants in the window boxes, too!
Thanks for stoppin'.
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7:50 am - Ai, what a night
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| Sunday, May 21st, 2006
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11:51 am - I'm a little weblog, whraugh!
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Some idle collecting of links:
Sultana's Dream. Teasing quote:I became very curious to know where the men were. I met more than a hundred women while walking there, but not a single man.
"Where are the men?" I asked her.
"In their proper places, where they ought to be."
found via this post, with some extra food for thought.
I'll see what else I get up to here today.
Thanks for stoppin'.
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9:43 am - Real Lemon Cake (with a side serving personal history, long)
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