Quotes meme and some additional thoughts.

Gakked from the_con_cept:Go here and look through random quotes until you find 5 that you think reflect who you are or what you believe. Repost in your journal and tag 5 friends. (I'm not tagging -- if you like the meme, pick it up and post your quotes in your LJ.)Our lives teach us who we are. -- Salman Rushdie It's just human. We all have the jungle inside of us. We all have wants and needs and desires, strange as they may seem. If you stop to think about it, we're all pretty creative, cooking up all these fantasies, it's like a kind of poetry. -- Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Mr. Sandman, 1994 I am who I choose to be. I always have been what I chose ... though not always what I pleased. -- Louis McMaster Bujold, "Memory", 1996 Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only for wallowing. -- Katherine Mansfield They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -- Andy Warhol

So very spammy. Eh heh.

Because characterization is often (and almost always) what will make or break a fic for me, I really enjoyed this essay:'Spoiled' potential by lordsmerfAnd extra points because he discusses the Batgirl comic and I wholehearedly agree that Cassandra Cain's character is a rich treasure trove for character development. Though from his post, it seems that DC has failed to reap this potential. But why should I be surprised when they almost killed Nightwing? Bastards.Thoughts, anyone? On character potential, not the almost-death of Nightwing.

Shortest rant ...

this week.Fuck, it's hot.
/end rant

Want some eye candy?

I know you do.
I'm too exhausted to do a proper report or proper squeeage or proper narratives to the photos above, so I shall let them speak for themselves.For now. :D More to follow ...

Friday's Puzzle Post

Yep, I decided Friday would be a good day for puzzles. (I'm going to do my best to post every Friday, but if I don't, forgive me for the lack of effort.) Same caveats as previously-- fastest puzzle solver wins!















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Two second rant. Or five.

I prefer snarkiness over fake or forced politeness. I know, I'm echoing myself from past posts.I suppose I trust that more than later realizing that someone was dishonest to me in somethingshe did or said directly or just in who or howshe presentedherself to be. It's also a personal pet peeve of mine when people twist others' words either because they didn't listen to or read what that person stated carefully or else to simply serve their biased perspectives. But, see, I'm fine with a biased perspective. It's called an opinion and we're all entitled to ours. I admire people with more grace than myself who are able to be lyricallyfrank, yet they sacrifice none of the truth that's apparent even with the use of beautiful words. And then those who are just honest (and usually funny) I admire equally. Because they have the guts to be disliked for their views, which is never comfortable no matter how fearless a person is or may seem.Put your effin' money where your mouth is./end

HA!

Snarkiness is a universe-bestowed talent that ought to be encouraged and nurtured to perfection.*toddles off to practice*

Regarding unsolicited opinions.

In the context of a post or, perhaps, an ongoing dialogue or discourse you're having with someone, it's expected that opinions will be freely offered and exchanged.However.There are instances that simply puzzle me when people offer unsolicited opinions to tell you that they don't like something you like or hate something you love clearly out of context -- eg. when there's absolutely no discussion over it. Quite frankly, I may not care for someone's favorite ship or fandom or music or movie or book, and I may tell you that -- in the context of a post or dialogue or discourse because the post or dialogue or discourse opens up receptiveness for such opinion without causing offense. And if not offense, at least without inspiring annoyance. Clearly, as I'm multi-fandom and multi-ship and multi-interest oriented (as many of you are),very few people will agree with me across the board on my likes and dislikes. Personally, I appreciate the consideration and respect that almost all of you employ by refraining from assaulting me with unexpected and unsolicited opinions regarding my preferences or else negating them.And sometimes, with the very few, it's just time to part ways and move on. Ces't la vie. Not all rivers are meant to run parallel to the ends of the earth./end horrible attempt at poeticsAlso: be conscious of the inbox.

Scared of doing things by your lonesome?

Living in New York will cure such ills. As I posted yesterday, I went to the Siren Festival, held at the famous Coney Island. I went with friends, who decided to jump ship around 3:30 pm. I decided to stay and handle the rest of the festival a la solo, which left me feeling rather empowered, if not a bit tired from standing most of the day.The bands I saw:Deadboy and the Elephant MenThe Rogers SistersCelebrationSerena ManeeshDirty on PurposeThe CribsArt BrutScissor Sisters
Performances from Dirty on Purpose to the Scissor Sisters (in order as listed) were most enjoyable. I would buy their albums (heads up, folks -- emusic. com has albums by Dirty on Purpose and Art Brut, subscribe for a trial period and download them for free) and give these bands a second viewing, or more. Art Brut and Scissor Sisters were the personal highlights of my day. The frontman for Art Brut provided excellent entertainment with his sarcastic commentary. Other performances ranged from okay ... but now I'm bored to horrid, that's horrid, turn it off! *coughs*Celebration*coughs* The latter experience, at its worst, was like attending a bad jam session in someone's garage.To say the least, it was hipster heaven. I was surrounded by young 'uns (and some not so young) who have perfected the art of carelessly messy hair, mismatched clothing, and the pretense of having rolled out of bed just minutes before hopping on the subway to get to the festival. I was overstimulated (*loved it*) and likewise exhausted by all the lack of effort. Riiiiiiiight. Also, people have some really ugly tattoos. And I can say this because I have a really ugly tattoo on my back which I once was so very proud of.In sum: it was fun, lonnnng, and ironically relaxing given that I was enmeshed in a crowd (which I normally hate.) My friend got to ride the cyclone and later drag her boyfriend to the freak show. I chomped on some middle eastern food while watching Deadboy, etc. and was awed by the man who wound his way through a jam packed crowd carrying a huge boa constrictor. He was followed by another guy pulling a carry-on suitcase -- the look, of course, was completed by two very colorful parrots. Friends of the boa's, I presumed.New York....Newyorknewyorknewyork.

More juice for the brain!

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SUDOKU for YOU!Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box contains every digit, 1-9(My apologies -- I couldn't bold the 3-bv-3 boxes.)For a better idea of what the table ought to look like: sudoku.comAnswers will be posted Monday -- when the next edition of AM New York is distributed.I don't think you can post your answers to a comment here, so if you're playing along -- post it in your LJ. If you don't want to annoy the rest of your flist withthis random table, you can filter your post to me -- but say so inthe heading or somethingso that I don't just scroll past it. (You can cut and paste the table and fill in your answers when you do an "update" post.)Also -- how long did it take you to finish the puzzle?? Fastest puzzle solver gets to name their prize ... Enjoy and Happy Friday!! :D

Wake up your brains!!

FACTS: 1. There are 5 houses in 5 different colours. 2. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. 3. These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigarette and keep a certain pet. 4. No owners have the same pet, brand of cigarette, or drink. CLUES: 1. The Brit lives in a red house 2. The Swede keeps a dog 3. The Dane drinks tea 4. The green house is on the left of the white house. 5. The green house owner drinks coffee. 6. The person who smokes Pall Mall keeps birds. 7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill. 8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk 9. The Norwegian lives in the first house. 10. The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats 11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill 12. The owner who smokes Camel drinks beer 13. The German smokes Marlboro. 14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house 15. The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water. The question is, who keeps the mothereffin' fish?ETA: Correct answers get ... um ... a drabble? What else can I offer you, really.A drabble, 100-150 words. Or perhaps a beta job? Free babysitting? If you want somethingother than a drabble,you'll have to specify. I'll post the answer tomorrow, late evening likely.

Project R...

Project Runway Season 3 premiers tonight on Bravo, 10 pm. *blissful sigh*
ETA: So, I liked the shower curtain dress that got kicked off the show. And is it just me, or does Keith remind you of Jude Law? Or Harry Potter without glasses, on the fem side?

NY State Court of Appeals Rules on Gay Marriages

In sum, the Court has declared that the NY State Constitution does not compel same-sex marriages. This is what I've gathered sofar -- the legislature hasrational reasons for not extending the right to marry to same-sex couples. The Court reasons as such: 1) marriage encourages straight couples to commit to long-term relationships where children are involved and, therefore, promotes a more stable environment for children; and 2) although it was asserted that childrenare not necessarilyadvantagedin being raised by an opposite-sex union as opposed to a same-sex union, the legislature has reason not to be entirely convinced of this.And further, although it wasargued to the Courtthatprejudice against same-sex marriages is motivated by the sameprejudice thatencouraged prohibition ofinterracial marriages in the past, the Court distinguished prejudice in the form of racism as, in essence, being more valid due to its long provenhistory. And I quote:Plaintiffs have not persuaded us that this long-accepted restriction is a wholly irrational one, based solely on ignorance and prejudice against homosexuals... If we were convinced that the restriction plaintiffs attacked were founded on nothing but prejudice ... we would hold it invalid, no matter how long its history...Racism has been recognized for centuries -- at first by a few people, and later by many more -- as a revolting moral evil. This country fought a civil war to eliminate racism's worst manifestation ...It is true that there has been serious injustice in the treatment of homosexuals also, a wrong that has been widely recognized only in the relatively recent past [emphasis added]... But the traditional definition ofmarriage is not merely a by-product of historical injustice. Its history is of a different kind.The idea that same-sex marriage is even possible is a relatively new one. Until a few decades ago, it was an accepted truth for almost everyone who lived, in any society in which marriage existed, that there could be marriages only between participants of different sex. A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted. We do not so conclude. [Emphasis added]...Well. I don't know about you, but I'm convinced. [Insert heavy sarcasm.]ETA: Just to be clear here. Unfortunately, idealistic as I endeavor to be at times, I am quite grounded in reality. And cynicism. I was NOT surprised at this outcome. Disappointed? Yes. Deeply. However, what I found most appaling was the way in which the majority of the Courtarrivedat this conclusion, which was archaic reasoning and simply abominable. Quoting Justice Kaye's dissenting opinion:"For most of us, leading a full life includes establishing a family. Indeed, most New Yorkers can look back on, or forward to, their wedding as among the most significant events of their lives. They, like plaintiffs, grew up hoping to find that one person with whom they would share their future, eager to express their mutual lifetime pledge through civil marriage. Solely because of their sexual orientation, however -- that is, because of who they love -- plaintiffs are denied the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage. This state has a proud tradition of affording equal rights to all New Yorkers.Sadly, the court today retreats from that tradition."In addition, if you wish to offer comments here, do me a favor and don't pretend or act like you know more than I do. Because even ifyou do, I won't appreciate the condescending tone. It's called human nature.Take this as a warning: delete button the first time, expect snarkiness the next.

AWESOME!!

There's a rainbow right outside my window!!!!♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

*beep-beep-beep*

Come toot your horn if you're passing through and drop a few words for the sake of PRIDE.*winks*Enjoy your day, everyone!!♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Spam is good for you. No, rilly, it is.

Oh nothing.I'm hungry. Kinda bored. Restless.Wondering why we don't all have de facto personal chefs? I mean, is that really too much to ask for in life?

A little more somber, but a lot inspiring.

"Equality is not a concept.It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity.Equality is like gravity, we need it to stand on this earth as men and women.And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition.It is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who’s confronted with it."Josh Whedon's Equality Now SpeechAmen, brother.

A public service announcement.

*** not work safe *** not work safe *** not work safe ***FYI:Goodies from Amazon.comWhat can't you buy there?