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| Thursday, May 15th, 2008 |
calimac
|
11:46p |
comment: to a woman contemplating shaving her legs
By my own personal tastes, unshaven legs on a woman only look gross if she's wearing sheer stockings over them. Otherwise, I'm of the generation that rather prefers the so-called natural look.
My general opinion on the subject is reflected by the fact that I grew a beard so as not to be afflicted with the bother of shaving.
I think that shaved legs on women came in later still, but I have read that the shaving of women's underarms was invented in the 1910s by safety razor companies. Having finally persuaded almost all men to shave their faces, they were looking for new sales fields to conquer. |
| Friday, May 16th, 2008 |
intelligentrix
|
12:03a |
Book Log
53: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
I'd never read this, though I roughly knew the story. I enjoyed it, although the religious writing at the end made me gag. The copy I have was published in 1944 and has wonderful woodcuts and unusual two-column typography. And now I can read Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. Yay! |
| Thursday, May 15th, 2008 |
roadnotes
|
9:16p |
it wouldn't be a retreat
...without some sort of kerfuffle/clusterfuck, now would it?
And that, gentle readers, is why I am leaving the office now, with an abundance of tiny paper cuts, copier toner fumes causing my head to spin, and a great desire to put two coworkers' heads on pikes, since they obviously have not been storing brains in them. One in particular, who evidently did not read his email SINCE LAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON, needs to be reminded of just how the universe works.
That said, I believe there is a song or two in my immediate future. I shall go find them.
Current Mood: yeah, definitely in one |
| Friday, May 16th, 2008 |
smofbabe
|
10:44a |
Drive-by Cannes Red Carpet Small collection of photos here - click the thumbnails for slightly larger photos. More bad than good in these few gowns: whoever dressed Julianna Moore should be shot, another designer managed to make Bar Raphaeli look chunky, Natalie Portman is in a short poofy purple disaster, and I think Juliette Lewis forgot to put her dress on over her underwear. OTOH, Cate Blanchette looks fabulous (only a month after giving birth, too - let's all hate her), Eva Longoria is wearing the bright colors that suit her, Devon Aoki looks slinky and stylish, and I really, really, really want to own Mischa Barton's gown, although perhaps with the waist nipped in just a tiny bit more. (Here's another view) |
bugshaw
|
1:07a |
Dept of Mixed Cryptography
Nyvpr and Obo exchange messages. Rir is listening in. |
| Thursday, May 15th, 2008 |
davidlevine
|
4:15p |
5/15/08: Another sale! Last night's reading at Powell's went very well: just about every
chair was filled, with people from all my various communities
(fandom, writing, work, square dancing, Clarion, neighbors, and
even a few people I don't know). I read my story "Nucleon," an old
favorite I haven't read in a while, and signed bunches of books.
The 36 attendees bought 27 copies of Space Magic, out of 32
in stock, plus 4-5 other books of mine (um, by which I mean anthologies
containing one story of mine each). Peter from the bookstore says
that's some kind of record for proportion of attendees buying the
book. I'll post some pictures when I get them.
And then today I got an email indicating that Esther Friesner is
buying my story "Midnight at the Center Court" for her anthology
Witch Way to the Mall. Two sales and a book launch in one
week, not too shabby.
Other things are happening, though, some good, some not so good
(maybe very not-so-good). More news as the information becomes
available. |
vgqn
|
4:03p |
99/100
Intellicast says 99 degrees F, my thermometer says 100. Close enough, it's hot out there.
I think (hope) I got everything critical watered well. |
redbird
|
6:52p |
gall bladder recovery Today was better than yesterday, despite the bits where the incision in my navel hurt; some of that seemed to be the result of getting up and walking around at lunchtime, but that was also long enough after I took the morning's painkillers that they'd probably worn off. This morning my boss said she didn't really expect me to work a full day until next week, and indeed, I left the office around 4:15. The difference is that yesterday, I left at 4:00 because I was in significant pain. Today, I left at 4:15 because I was feeling warm and vaguely out of focus, which isn't nearly as bad from the inside (though both states are detrimental to working accurately and carefully). ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) julian_tiger just spent about 15 minutes sitting on my lap. He hadn't done that since before the surgery: the day after I came home from the hospital, he tried to get on my lap, stepped on my then-very-tender belly in the course of trying to get settled, and I had to push him gently off. He hadn't tried since, until today. I suspect that one reason today went better is that instead of pants, I wore a dress with only a vaguely defined waist, so no constriction anywhere on the abdomen, and all the weight supported from the shoulders. It's also a very bright, colorful garment, and got quite a few compliments. (If I wear a dress tomorrow, I doubt it will be as praised; I think the next option is a sort of cream-colored thing. I don't own a lot of dresses, because most of the time I much prefer pants. This is not much of the time.) |
cherylmmorgan
|
3:21p |
|
redbird
|
6:07p |
Yay California! The California Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the state constitution. 4-3, but that's good enough (one of the dissenters basically said she's in favor of marriage equality but doesn't think the state constitution guarantees it). Also points to the BBC, for the headline "California lifts gay marriage ban," with the pleasant suggestion that allowing same-sex marriage is not only the right thing to do, but the normal thing, with the rule against it having been the anomaly. (The UK offers same-sex civil partnerships, not called marriage, but I'm not sure precisely what the differences are.) My mixed-sex marriage is in no danger from this ruling, of course: my beloved cattitude and I are staying together because we want to, not in order to distinguish our heterosexual relationship from homosexual ones. [That makes two US states that will perform same-sex marriages, I think three that have "civil unions," and at least one (New York) that does not perform same-sex marriages but recognizes such marriages legally entered into elsewhere, including outside the U.S.] Current Mood:  pleased |
debgeisler
|
5:58p |
One more down... ...and forty-eight to go. CNN reported today,(CNN) -- The California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday, saying sexual orientation, like race or gender, "does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights." I heard this on the television at the diner where I had lunch...here in Massachusetts. An older heterosexual couple (in their 70s or so) sitting near me was equally pleased. The woman said, "Good. Maybe they're listening to Massachusetts." |
debgeisler
|
5:48p |
MySpace hoax mother indicted A woman who enlisted several young assistance in a campaign to harrass and torment a 13-year-old "ex-friend" of her daughter now faces a federal grand jury indictment, according to CNN.LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A federal grand jury indicted a Missouri woman Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.
Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis is said to have helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her. The sort of sheer meanness in this whole situation makes me want to weep for the young girl, and for humankind in general. |
johnnyeponymous
|
2:30p |
The Republican Celebrates!
While I very seldom refer to myself as a Republican, I am, in fact, registered as such and many of my fiscal attitudes are very much in-line with the traditional Republican way of thiking. And, in theory, this ruling is very much in line with the traditional thinking of the Republican party as it existed in the 1800s and early 20th Century. Sadly, things have changed.
And I'm so freakin' happy that the CA Supreme Court ruled today the right way.
There are folks who believe that Government shouldn't be in the Marriage business at all, and they have good points, but there is a tradition of Marriage as a Civil Activity as well and if that is to continue, then it is best that we make it equal to all people.
Of course, the US Supreme Court could, in theory, strike down the CA Court's ruling, but that's not likely considering they have not done so for Massachussetts. The Christian Right's campaign foa a constitutional amendment is a far bigger danger, but the requirements for it to pass are pretty stiff and I'm betting it'll miss. Maybe barely, but I don't think it will pass.
And then there's the problem of those married between now and the passage of any Constitutional Amendment. This is new territory. If a couple are married and then the law changes, are those marriages invalidated or are they recognised until their dissolution (either through divorce or death)? There's a lot of precident on these matters in business, but not personal matters such as these.
But still, the whole thing is one of those few political issues taht actually gets to me. I've even supported groups that have worked for it for years, and this is the biggest win yet.
And, of course, in another of my Life Immitating Art moments, I'm going to start performing weddings for anyone who wants one ala Homer Simpson when Springfield allowed Same Sex Marriage! I'm going to put more green in the blue, the blue being my pants!
Chris |
cherylmmorgan
|
1:58p |
A Charge Falls Short Originally published at Cheryl's Mewsings. Please leave any comments there. Today’s IPL game between Delhi and Hyderabad was much more interesting than I expected. The Daredevils batted first and while Sehwag made another duck, Gambhir and Dhawan more than made up for it. 194 always looked like a difficult target. But the Chargers made a valiant attempt at chasing it down. Afridi, Sharma and Venugopal Rao all played good innings. Gibbs was a little slow, but he did hit Glenn McGrath for 2 sixes in an over. They always looked like they might just pull off a miracle, if only Sehwag didn’t have one final McGrath over up his sleeve. As it was Pidge did the business, dismissing Venugopal Rao with the first ball of his final over and exposing the Chargers’ tail. He left finishing the job to Amit Mishra, who picked up a hat trick in the final over to end with 5-17.
As I expected, much nonsense was talked on Test Match Special about the IPL. It was pretty clear the the whingeing was being done by people who haven’t actually been following the games. For example, it isn’t true that bowlers are irrelevant in Twenty20. Try telling that to Shoaib Akhtar. Or indeed Pollock, McGrath, Warne, Sreesanth, Mishra, etc. Nor is it true that so many balls are hit out of the park that batsmen will lose the skill of running between the wickets and fielding will become irrelevant. (Nor, indeed, are either of those things true in baseball, which the BBC pundits have clearly never watched.) In the “you just don’t get it” category was a complaint that it was a good thing that players should earn more money, but why did it have to be for playing Twenty20? And finally there was the inevitable demand that if there was going to be a Twenty20 Premier League then it ought to be in England. Sigh.
I should note, however, that Aggers wasn’t responsible for any of this. CMJ got to chair the IPL-bashing session. Aggers, on the other hand, it happily making an idiot of himself over the new England kit. So it is different? I don’t care. Why is it that some people would rather have test cricket die than have it played in any way differently to the way it was played when they were young? |
intelligentrix
|
3:57p |
|
denvention3
[ petrea_mitchell ]
|
12:26p |
Sales tax
What is the total sales tax that one will have to pay in the dealers' room? I can only find piecemeal information about city tax and special tax districts that the convention center may or may not be in. |
|
tomsdisch
|
2:47p |
Be Advised
{Note: this is only a poem by the mortal poet Tom Disch, not by God.]
Whether or not you leave your name
they'll know who called. They'll know
whether you're sloshed or stone-cold sober.
There's a meter at their headquarters
that registers that information
with 86% accuracy. There is nothing
you have bought with a credit card
they are not aware of. And so
you must lick their asses, every one,
and hope your tongue can pleasure them. |
maiac
|
2:27p |
California Supreme Court Rules that Gays Are Human Specifically, the Court ruled that it's unconstitutional to make a distinction between opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples such that only opposite-sex couples are permitted the full recognition of their committed relationship that the term marriage bestows. ( Read an excerpt from the ruling ) Current Mood: overjoyed |
supergee
|
2:32p |
|
cherylmmorgan
|
11:19a |
CA Judges Show Sense Originally published at Cheryl's Mewsings. Please leave any comments there. Looks like there is some good news from California on the subject of same-sex marriages. Jed has more details, but this is the important bit:
we determine that the language of section 300 limiting the designation of marriage to a union “between a man and a woman” is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
I think “Woo Hoo!” is an appropriate reaction.  |
papersky
|
2:06p |
Thud: ILE Words: 1542 Total words: 66479 Files: 3 Tea: Pacific Sun Music: Bach's Orchestral Suites 2 & 1 RSI: Do exercises! Reason for stopping: people stop? Does anyone know the year of the British paperback of The Sign of the Unicorn. (I can see it now. It was yellow. Have you got it carandol? I have a set of Ace ones.) It doesn't matter because it can be the Ace one, but if anyone knows it would be nice. Also, stupid question. If 1979 had the same calendar as 2007, then 1980 must have the same as this year, right? Because all the days happened in the same order? That's all I care about at the moment. Oh, was it a leap year? As for the title, OK, point taken, thank you everybody. The problem with calling it the Industrial Ruins of Elfland, or the Industrial Landscape of Elfland or whatever is that for one thing in pulls in a kind of Iron Dragon's Daughter direction, and in the other it pulls in a kind of Elfland direction, as if there is an elfland in the story. ( What it's actually like ) |
fla_sunshine
|
2:02p |
|
shsilver
|
12:54p |
Hypothetical Marriage Question
Let's say I was not married and my female partner and I wanted to have a domestic partnership instead of a marriage. Is there anything that says we can (or can't) enter into one with all the rights (or lack thereof) afforded to homosexual couples in a domestic partnership? |
fringefaan
|
10:18a |
Another green world
Green grow the lilacs, and so does the rue.
We seem to have achieved maximum greenery lately. All the plants around here are looking healthy, wealthy, and spry. When I walk out into our yard, I can practically feel the wave of growth that has hit the garden. Even the potted banana is unfurling its first new leaf of the year. Life is bursting at the seams -- boundless, blind, baroque. It's green to go out there.
So I gotta go! |
papersky
|
12:48p |
Boreal pictures. Here and in the picture set it's part of, are Kathryn Cramer's pictures of Boreal. This particular one is my favourite. You can see the back of my head, as I sit in the corridor talking to Karl Schroeder, Alain Ducharme and grimmwire, continuing a panel discussion. Karl is clearly saying something riveting, we're all listening with intense interest, and you can see that more through posture than anything. Karl was actually talking about his random research and how it had led him to a consideration of those times of peace and prosperity where you don't tend to have stories happening. |
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