Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!  I've got to get bi-focals!!!!!!  And, just yesterday, Grahams and I went shopping and they gave us a SENIOR DISCOUNT!  We're only 40 and 43!  I feel so.....old.  Not that I've got old, but that I'm being made to BE old before my time!  I think I need a lie-down.

Please, any secularists and right-thinking Christians, have a look at PZ Myers' latest blog, and send a message of support as asked:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/fight_back_against_bill_donohu.php

All this stems from PZ's post about a bloke who didn't eat a communion wafer, but popped it into his pocket and walked out with it instead.  He's gotten death threats, has been accused of a hate crime (so, it's acceptable to eat, and later poo out the Eucharist, just don't walk out of church with it?), and as PZ says, 'it's a frackin' cracker'.  I don't know why the bloke didn't consume it - maybe he's on a diet or something, but the church's over-reaction is astounding.  And now, because PZ's pointed out how idiotic that over-reaction is, he is being subject to death threats, and a campaign to have him fired from his post at the University of Minnesota.  The original post can be found here:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/its_a_goddamned_cracker.php

Date:	08-07-2008 09:03
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake

Wow. I feel super productive today!   Got up a bit earlier than usual (I am SO not a morning person), and had coffee with my sweetie on the patio before he set off for work.   It's just gone 9am and I've already done a load of washing and put it out to dry and have a second load started.  I've 'wound me legs' (did a session on the recumbent bike), and am having my breaky of a chocolatey protein shake.

It's all because of my cpap machine.  I have, like most users I'll wager, a love-hate relationship with that thing.  Now that I'm starting to get used to it, I'm sleeping better at night and feeling more rested, but it plays war with my sinuses, and the pressure's high enough that, even though I used to NEVER breathe through my mouth (unless I have a head cold), I find it forces my mouth open sometimes and I wake up with a completely dry mouth.  You know how, when you go to the dentist, and have your mouth open for a long time and it gets really dry - it's like that but more....not fun.  Anyway, it's taken me weeks to get used to it (I have mild sleep apnea, but enough to warrant treatment) - I started out not being able to sleep with it at all, and someone who's had one for a while suggested taking it off if it woke me once I got to sleep and leaving it off for the rest of the night, and do that every night and eventually it stays on longer and longer.  It totally works to do it that way - the best thing is that the frustration of trying to get used to it is almost eliminated because you don't have that dread of having to force yourself to use it all night and eventually you relax into using it.  So, now that I'm used to it, it stays on all night and Grahams finds that it's keeping him awake now!  So, he was up early and I just got up early too, since I'd had such a good night's sleep!  :P

In Second Life news, LeeLu and I have purchased a 'void' island and have set up shops and homes there.  Leelu's side is absolutely gorgeous - it's called 'Stone Rose' and she has furnishings, an art gallery, houses, and garden/landscaping items available.  She made these lovely rosebud streetlamps and I liked them so much, I wanted to place them on my side to give a bit of continuity, but instead, she made me some lovely crescent moon lamps to go with the theme of my side of the island, which I've called 'Blue Moon Grove' - they're similar enough to give a sense of continuity, but lend a bit of uniqueness to my side of the isle.  I have set up a jewellery shop and an art gallery, and have begun making some other home decor items - I've done some floor and table lamps, and will start on some other things soon.  I also began a project before we moved based on one of my favourite places in the world: Biltmore Estate.  Here's the first 'in-progress' shot I made:



I finally finished it (mostly - there's still some fiddly design bits I'll do) and placed it on the island (you can see LeeLu's Blue Moon Lamps in this shot, too):



I'm quite pleased with it!  It's not an exact replica of Biltmore, but heavily inspired by it, and I wanted it to have an art nouveau flavour to it as well.  I've decided to call it 'Blue Moon Grove Nouveau Chateau'.  We'll have a big party there soon, as part of grand opening of the isle festivities.  It would be great for SL weddings and events!

There - how's that for a big update?! :)

As if we artists and authors needed another networking opportunity*:   http://wonderlands.ning.com/profile/MaryLayton

* Yes, of course we do - we need all the exposure we can get! :P

Date:	29-06-2008 16:47
Subject:	Grumble*mumble*snarl
Security:	Public
Mood:	aggravated

Dear Second Life,

Happy #%&^ing birthday - now get yer %#!& together!!

Date:	25-06-2008 11:12
Subject:	Good Reads
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper
Music:	'Trespass' - Genesis

Anyone else on Good Reads? Friend me, please! :D

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1249433

Date:	06-06-2008 18:08
Subject:	Thea!!
Security:	Public
Mood:	geeky

No longer shall I suffer through the mocking of Neil Gaiman's Last.fm playlist - that torturous 'looky what I'm listening to' when he plays tunes from 'Liejacker', the latest CD from Thea Gilmore. That's right - I can now use my own Last.fm page to send back a (friendly, of course) 'neener-neener' because I went to Amazon.co.uk and bought the damn thing. Not content to await the eventual US release, me - no, I went international for my Thea fix!

Those of you in the UK - if you don't have this yet - what the hell is wrong with you?! Get thee hence to your nearest music shop and buy it, already! Those of you in the States - set aside some funds, because you'll want it. Here's something to be getting on with until you've got 'Liejacker' in your own hot little hands!

Date:	03-06-2008 12:31
Subject:	Sigh......
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed

I still haven't received my Spring Issue of Faery Magazine. If any of you have a copy handy, please could you check to see if my ad made it in? I should be on the 'Artists Corner' page and should have a pinkish background this time around. Thanks, in advance!

ETA: My FM issue arrived yesterday! All's right with the world again!

Date:	25-03-2008 13:08
Subject:	Sims 2 vs Vista - Vista's winning.
Security:	Public
Mood:	annoyed

So, I installed Sims 2 on my new laptop, which runs Windows Vista. I installed the update patch. Moved my old family files over from my old computer so I wouldn't have to start from scratch. Ran Sims 2. It loaded! Yay! Clicked the neighbourhood. It loaded! Yay! Clicked the house I'd created previously (It was there! Yay!) It brought up all the information about the family I'd created previously (They were there! Yay!). So, I select 'enter house' ....loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ... CRASH. So I try again...all goes as before ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ... CRASH. Not 'yay'. Not 'yay' at all.

Date:	08-03-2008 20:52
Subject:	I'm famous! Well, no...not really.....
Security:	Public
Mood:	fangrrly
Music:	lots of Thea Gilmore, Goldfrapp, and Beirut

For anyone keeping up with the Neil Gaiman blog feed on LJ - officialgaiman, the 'Mary' who's question is answered in the recent post titled "I am sick of winter and would like some sunshine now please" is, indeed, me. I wasn't new to Neil Gaiman when I got a copy of The Absolute Sandman Vol. 1, but I had not previously read any of the Sandman comics. So, I'm still a bit new as to what I need to purchase separately and had the two volumes mentioned in my question in my Amazon wish-list, but hadn't purchased them yet because I didn't know what, if any, of the auxiliary bits would be part of the Absolute series.

I'm in a showing off mood! I've been learning to build things in Second Life, and my most ambitious project to date is a tiara. It's based on the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' tiara owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II, and in honour of Brigid and Renee especially, and all of us artsy chicks who are a part of Brythony, I'm calling it the 'Girls of Brythony and Caer Llyr Tiara':


(That's my Second Life self modelling it)

I know most all of you love animals, and there are some of us who are especially partial to wee birdies (and some of the big buggers as well). There is a couple who live about an hour and a half from us who have a tropical bird refuge. They are a nonprofit (501 (c) 3) organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and, in some cases, adoption of exotic birds (parrots of all species). They take in abandoned, injured, and otherwise 'damaged' birds when the owners grow tired of or can no longer care for them. It's just the wife and her husband, and various folks who volunteer time to help clean and care for the birds (Graham and I have been a few times).

They do valuable work towards caring for these creatures and educating people about them, and about the illegal pet trade, as well as unscrupulous breeders. Currently, they are in some financial straits, due to the fact that donations have flat-lined as of this month, and both have been ill (the husband hospitalized with a life-threatening illness) and had to curtail their usual fund-raising activities.

Please, if you can and are so inclined, visit their website and donate a few bucks. There aren't a lot of places like this for these birds, and as long as they're still being stolen from the wild and sold as pets we need folks like the Bradfords.

www.tropics.parrotrefuge.com

Date:	04-03-2008 16:18
Subject:	Finished!
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished
Music:	Beirut - After The Curtain

Click for larger version:
Queen of Hearts

Date:	29-02-2008 20:44
Subject:	OMG! GOLDFRAPP!!!!!11111oneoneonebbq!
Security:	Public
Mood:	grooving

This song is just GORGEOUS, and the video's neat, too. It's a bit melancholy lyric-wise, but I can't get enough of it!!!

Date:	26-02-2008 17:40
Subject:	Whoa.
Security:	Public
Mood:	gobsmacked
Music:	Last.fm

How surreal. I'd have never thought, back in '97 when I was reading 'Neverwhere', that one day 11 years later I'd be congratulating Neil Gaiman on winning a Henson Honor via his Last.fm profile page. o.O

More progress on the late Valentine's Day themed piece. I've started working on the fabric folds (gaaahhhh - what a challenge - thank goodness for good references!), and have finally decided what to do with the heart behind her. Pardon the smudges around the border - I'll clean it up once I've finished!

Right, I'm in!

Movie Meme
1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

( MemetyMeme )

Date:	18-02-2008 16:52
Subject:	Can't it still be Valentine's Day?
Security:	Public
Mood:	artistic
Music:	Last.fm....still!

I'm still working on my Valentine's Day themed piece. OK, so it'll be late, but I'll get it finished eventually! So far, I've done a background wash in watercolour, and have started laying in skin tones in coloured pencil. It's still very rough at this stage, but milady is starting to take shape and come to life:

Date:	15-02-2008 20:38
Subject:	Quickie! (oo-er!)
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper
Music:	Last.fm

Just a quick fly-by posting on my way to Brythony (Second Life, you know)!

I've followed Brigid (brigidashwood) over to Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rhiamon

Last.fm is the coolest thing - I signed up sometime last year, but forgot about it until Neil Gaiman posted about it the other day - now I can't stop listening!

Last night's Lost: Holy Smeg!!! OMFG!!!111111OneOneOneEleventyAnalProbe!!!!

Date:	14-02-2008 11:46
Subject:	Oh, yeah....
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy
Music:	Last.fm

I nearly forgot the day! Happy Valentine's day, everyone! Here's one from last year:



Did I finish the one I posted as a sketch the other day? Did I bollocks. :P

Date:	11-02-2008 09:40
Subject:	Writer's Block: Repeat After Me...
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake
Music:	Neil Gaiman's Last.fm radio station