archive for March of 2007

media Friday

Posted March 31, 2007 • Comments Off on Friday

We went to the 9:30 club and saw Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers for what is, if my reckoning is correct, the seventh time. I would have guessed eight, but I can only think of seven. Anyway, not counting where they weren’t really the draw (like the Herndon Festival, or opening for EFO at Wolf Trap), it was the most heavily attended Sixers show we’ve been to. I was pretty surprised at how many people girls there were who knew all the words. The new songs we heard off the new CD sound really good. I’m looking forward to it. We got two encores, and the second one made him cry. Which was adorable.

I had several beers.

Then we went to 2 Amys for pizza, which was phenomenally good. In addition to the incredibly silky mozzarella on my pizza, I had anchovies. They were amazing. Huge, and covered in olive oil, and so, so wonderfully salty. Crusty bread, spot-on service, a full bar. Plus, big crusty pizza is exactly what you need when you’ve had, as I had had, several beers. I’ve got to go back.

I spent the night at David and Lisa’s (for the second night in a row; I had what I now suspect is food poisoning on Thursday and needed a little caretaking), then slept late and hung out with the girls for a bit today (including wrestling Josie first into her swimsuit then into her ballet outfit). Tonight is dinner at Cindy and Pat’s, which will be nice for a change. Then tomorrow I have to make all* new press PDFs for the WDI, because that is apparently what I do on Sundays now.

*except section 5, which inexplicably† had no changes

†it’s not that inexplicable; it’s a short section with no figures

shopping Levenger can read my thoughts, as always

Posted March 27, 2007 • Comments Off on Levenger can read my thoughts, as always

As if the Margin Pad, which looked like and seemed to be and in fact is precisely what I needed, wasn’t good enough, Levenger has apparently been reading my wists.com list, where at least a year ago I added a concept product called the Thumb Thing . . .

and have started selling the same thing, called the Digit Reader. The set of four is on its way to my house right now. I had to order them right away just in case the Thumb Thing people weren’t involved and see it and sue.

games The quest for games I like continues

Posted March 26, 2007 • Comments Off on The quest for games I like continues

I have a few games on my computer that I play all the time. That I really love. And I’m not talking about things like World of Warcraft, I mean things like Tumblebugs and Dangerous Mines and Super Collapse! 3 and Mystery Case Files (oo! oo! there’s a new version!) and Diner Dash (I like version 2 the best because the restaurants change).

I feel like such a dork typing that list, but I seriously play that stuff all the time.

So around Christmas I got a whole bunch of new stuff from MacZot, and one of the games was Virtual Villagers. This is a sim-type game where you have to train your little villagers to do jobs like building, healing, researching, foraging (and farming), and so on. It’s a persistent world, so apparently things go on while you aren’t playing.

Which I clearly did not realize, because when I started the game up now after leaving it alone for a scant twenty-four hours, I saw this.

general “Fun” online game

Posted March 24, 2007 • Comments Off on “Fun” online game

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/game/flag/
I found myself shockingly good at this game. Until I got to this one.

200703242315

Don’t you think that’s a little misleading?

Especially since it’s wrong. Midway doesn’t have its own flag, as far as I can tell, because I think no one lives there except birds, but you can go if you can get there, which is neat. Wake Island, however, does have its own flag. Also, it appears to be taken up mostly by an airstrip. Gotta love those strategic locations.

Anyway, I think this game has no end—you just play until you’re sick of it—so stop when it gets old.

But I love flags. And whenever I look at them a few wonderfully trivial things recur to me:

Only one country’s flag is a single solid color, and that color is green, and that country is Libya.
Many African nations have red, yellow, and/or green on their flags.
Many western-hemisphere flags have a layout similar to that of the flag of the United States, and many of those are even red, white, and blue.
Only two countries’ flags are non-rectangular, Cuba’s (a single banner) and Nepal’s (a double banner).
The Union Jack is in the upper-left of the flags of most British Commonwealth countries and former territories (Canada being a notable exception, of course).
All the Scandinavian countries have horizontal crosses on their flags.
A few countries (like Nicaragua) have their names written on their flags. Which is stupid.
Several middle-eastern and north African countries have Arabic writing on their flags, which I’ve always assumed was religious in nature. Which is less stupid, but I still hold that flags shouldn’t have writing on them.
A few flags can be identified by vocabulary, which is also wonderful; if you know what a Maltese cross is, you know the flag of Malta, for instance.

media Something random I don’t understand

Posted March 23, 2007 • Comments Off on Something random I don’t understand

Why does everyone say Silence of the Lambs was the third movie (after It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) to win the five “major” Oscars (actor, actress, director, picture, and screenplay), when Kramer vs. Kramer did it too, in 1980?

I’ve been reading about Kramer vs. Kramer just now, and I cannot find a single explanation for this. It won the same five awards, but it seems to be a secret. Or else both Wikipedia and IMDb are wrong in their records.

I hate it when things don’t line up.

web A little Flash game you might love

Posted March 21, 2007 • Comments Off on A little Flash game you might love

It doesn’t really have any replayability, but it’s so absolutely darling the first time through that I can’t resist sharing it.
It’s called Sprout.

media Television programs I no longer watch

Posted March 14, 2007 • Comments Off on Television programs I no longer watch

So Rob and Amber got eliminated. I now no longer watch the Race. At least not this season. There’s no one left to root for. And I seriously could not hate that fucking midget more. If that personality were on a tall, beautiful person, I’d hate it just as much. She’s just a whiny bitch. And that cousin of hers is no better. Their common grandparents must have been assholes.

Then, Mowgli Sanjaya beats out Brandon Rogers. I now no longer watch Idol. At least not this season. There’s no one left to root for except Melinda Doolittle, and I just don’t have faith. Last season when I wrote down all the names of the top 24 and put stars next to the people I really liked, who were really talented, three of those people (Chris, and Katharine, and Elliott) ended up in the top four. This year, there were only two stars on the list. Melinda and Brandon. Raw talent. Professional experience. Wonderful smiles. But no.

Thank goodness for the Discovery Channel, because as of now, Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters are the only reality shows that don’t make me throw things.

general An illiterate seems to be stalking me!

Posted March 13, 2007 • Comments Off on An illiterate seems to be stalking me!

Remember the letter about not rolling “threw” stop signs?

See it here:
http://slithytoves.sytes.net/~kostia/nucleus/index.php?itemid=518
The girl who wrote it doesn’t work at my apartment office anymore. I know this, and I know she wrote it, because this is an excerpt of the letter she wrote and posted on the apartment doors upon her departure:

I wanted to inform you all that January 14,2007 is my last day here at Regency Park. I will be transferred to the Townes of Herndon for the rest of the Month. I wanted to say that it has been a pleasure meeting and helping you all as much as I could. I wanted to say goodbye and I hope that we all keep in touch. Even though we have all been threw some very difficult times threw the past year, I hope that I have help you all as much as I could. I have learned a lot from each and every one of you all. I am attaching my card so we can keep in touch. But don’t call me if there is a problem with your apartment because I will not be able to help you! Keep in touch and I wish every one of you all the best!

This was a letter with a very clear message. You can tell because every sentence starts with “I wanted,” and the same few sentiments are repeated over and over. I wanted this to be the last I heard from her. Last I heard from her. From her. I wanted. Heard.

Her card was attached (“Heather’s Notary”). Her email was on it. Her email address consists of her first initial, her last name, the “word” “rulz,” and @yahoo.com. Real professional.

A few weeks ago I got a party invitation addressed to “Elaine Wilso.” The invitation just said “For Heather” and didn’t say what the nature of the event was or anything. Very odd. I assumed the sender had pulled my name from the phone book and had meant to send it to a different Elaine. Of course, I’m not in the phone book, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

In today’s mail was another small envelope from her, and I finally made the connection. Because today’s envelope contains three of her business cards. The notary one, a larger version of the notary one, and a new one with her Mary Kay sales information. So it must’ve been a Mary Kay party.

It seems so unethical for her to be using the list of residents from her former employer to advertise like this. If she sends me anything again, I’m going to flip. I am threw with this ridiculous woman.

general Meme from Arwen

Posted March 12, 2007 • Comments Off on Meme from Arwen

Search YouTube for the year of your birth, and post a video from that year.

I had some excellent options here. Just on the first page of results: Jesus Christ Superstar. Thelonius Monk. King Crimson. Devo, live at Kent State. The Eurovision contest, held in Luxembourg and won that year by Vicky Leandros.

I decided to go with this one.

And a certain subset of my friends will find this hilarious.

Too much for the man, he couldn’t take it
He said he’s going
Goin’ back to find
Leavin’
Leavin’ on the midnight train
Goin’ back to find
Whenever he takes that ride, guess who’s gonna be right by his side
I know you will
Leavin’ on the midnight train to Georgia
Woo woo
Live in his world
Her world is his
His and hers alone
Dreamin’
A superstar, but he didn’t get far
Dreams don’t always come true
Uh-uh, no, uh-uh
Oo, oo
Oo, oo, oo, oo
Leavin’
Leavin’ on the midnight train
Goin’ back to find
Whenever he takes that ride, guess who’s gonna be right by his side
I know you will
Goin’ back to find
Whenever he takes that ride, guess who’s gonna be right by his side
I know you will
Leavin’ on the midnight train to Georgia
Woo woo
Live in his world
Her world is his
His and hers alone
All aboard, all aboard
All aboard, all aboard

web Open letter to bloggers who use Blogspot and Typepad

Posted March 4, 2007 • Comments Off on Open letter to bloggers who use Blogspot and Typepad

Dear bloggers who use Blogspot and Typepad,

You have an option in your blog’s setup about whether to have a FULL-TEXT FEED or not. If you choose, for some reason, not to have a full-text feed, I am going to stop reading your blog, no matter how much I enjoyed it. I don’t care that you think readers who visit your site in a browser are more valuable than readers who visit your site in an RSS reader. I’ve got news for you: lots of readers who use RSS use Adblock too, and you aren’t making any money off us anyway. Just put the whole post in the feed already.

This is especially going out to those of you—yes, Fug Girls, this means you—who had full-text feeds for years and have suddenly stopped, and to those of you—hi, Malls of America—whose blog feeds inexplicably switch back and forth between full-text and non-.

I’m just over it. Give me RSS or give me nada.

Love,
Elaine