Shadows' Reach

Red herrings at election time

2008-09-13T10:23:00.003-05:00

Wow, Governor Palin makes one heck of a red herring. Check out this link.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1840274,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-nation

Dragon*Con Monday

2008-09-01T18:20:00.002-05:00

I'm home now and already wishing I was back there. Grandma pretty much told me to go away immediately.

Anyway, here's what happened this morning. We got to the con in time for Kim to do her panel and me to get to the Dragon*Con store for a few things. I also managed to get Susan Kearney's autograph before catching the train to the airport.

When I got to the airport there was a problem. The kiosk kept telling me I had no reservation. So, I got in line and warned Kim to meet me when she got there. She did, literally just as I was talking to the counter agent. Apparently, when the trip was changed about it negated my ability to use the kiosks. I do not recall Expedia warning me of this in their emails to me. Also, the flight WAS the later one. We did get through and everything was fine. The flight was just great. I dozed a little and stitched and read some. I finished Susan Kearney's book I'd won.

Now I just have to finish cleaning my room and tomorrow the Dish Network will be installed.

I talked to Mom about me going next year and she's not quite enthusiastic, to say the least. I think I can convince her, but it'll take a little while, I think. Yes, I realize how pathetic it sounds for a 32 year old woman to need her mother's permission to take a trip like this, but I need to consider Grandma's needs above all. I'll be getting two weeks vacation next year, so I can spend one with her and the kids and one there.

I really need to do this, I think. For my own sanity. I was surrounded by people who made me feel normal, not like a freak.

Dragon*Con Sunday

2008-09-01T18:11:00.002-05:00

Today I woke up on time and woke Kim. The guy woke up, thanked us and left. I dressed and took off, getting to the convention in plenty of time to eat a nice breakfast at the diner in the Peachtree Center. Metro Cafe or something to that effect. It has really good omelets.

Then I went to my first panel, Other Worlds, Other Times. It was basically about world-building in SF/F Romance. Before it started I talked to Susan Sizemore about some books we had in common (tastewise). I also let her know when John Scalzi's reading was going to be, so she could go. She had been squeeing over him on Saturday. When we were talking about some of the earlier SF/F Romance writers I mentioned Anne Avery and Sandra Hill told us why she doesn't write anymore. Apparently, when the previous paranormal bubble burst, noone would buy her books. That's a pity since I really liked hers. Anyway, she and CL Wilson signed Creature, both seeming quite delighted. Oh, and I won a Susan Kearney book I don't have yet!

Second panel, Let's Hear It For the Boys. I walked over to the Marriott for another YA panel with Tammy. She's going to think I was stalking her, when I swear I wasn't. I could have gone to EVERY panel and session she had but I didn't. I just went to the interesting ones. This one was, obviously, about boy lit. Boy lit being, in my opinion, anything that will make a boy read. The panel each had slightly differing views of boy lit. We ended up in a discussion about covers and their effect on whether or not a boy wil pick up a book or even be scared away from the YA section thanks to the current overdose of Barbie pink covers. Also, the point was brought up that clerks, not necessarily librarians are conditioned to bring boys to the SF/F section of the store and girls to the YA section. I countered with the fact that I went straight from Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys to SF/F and found my way BACK to YA basically as an adult. I left with an offer by one of the panelists to put my mystery plot on her stumpers board to try to figure it out for me.

Third panel, Dark Secrets, Shadowed Hearts. This time we were putting alpha males on the chopping block. The consensus of the panle was that an alpha male, broody dark hero and an insufferable jerk are different in that there's good reason for what an alpha does. Personally, I disagree with them to a point. Rape is rape no matter what. Abuse is still abuse even if Joe Hero has a tortured past that gives his behavior an explanation. Hence the reason I don't read Christine Feehan's Carpathians anymore. She crossed the line and her so-called heroes are in the insufferable jerk side of the equation now.

Fourth panel, rather than dodging people and standing in line to get to the Don S. Davis tribute, I decided to stay in the room I was in and listen to the Love Bites, Love Bleeds panel about vamps and weres and such in paranormal romance. I now have new authors to try and Lori Handeland is coming out with an urban fantasy that sounds intriguing. I also got her autograph on Creature. Amusement and the idea that it's a good idea seems to be the overwhelming reaction to seeing my poster. I love it.

I hit the Dealer's room and got those poetry books. I bought all six of them since I couldn't decide. Oh, and I found a sterling claddagh to replace my other. I also got a card of someone who might have Greg Pak's 1602.

Fifth panel, A Bloody, Burning Painful Death Is Coming For You! Just what it says. This one was Dr. Cmar talking about things like Dengue Hemhorragic Fever and the plague. He actually managed to find pictures of people with them and I was just fine except for a few pictures. Most of those were of kids dying of them (none survived) and the other was an eye that had literally deflated. Apparently the docs were able to re-inflate it and the patient kept much of his vision. Cool, huh? I asked him my two questions about the 1918 epidemic and our preparedness level and the plant he was talking about in the first lecture. I didn't sound stupid! He seemed pleased by the questions. Yay me!

Sixth panel, Messengers From the Gods. This one was about comets and their historical effect on humans! How cool is that? I've actually been looking for data on comet sightings and their cultural effect and here's a panel on it. I even was able to supply an answer whent he lecturer forgot the name of the Bayeux Tapestry. Of course, I stupidly raised my hand when he asked if anyone had seen a meteorite, but I still felt good about the fact that now I have a lead to do research for my NaNoWriMo.

I ate something after that and checked on the flights, then went back to the hotel. I don't think I can squeeze in any time at the con tomorrow (technically today since it's 1am). I'm all packed but for my sleep clothes, the computer, iPod and a notebook. The computer will be going away as soon as I shut it down, as will the notebook. The iPod and clothes, well, I kind of need them until tomorrow morning. I might get off at Peachtree and wander briefly over the to the Dragon*Con store. I'd kind of like to get that book Jean Marie Ward's been plugging. I'm just as happy getting it online, though, so maybe just to the airport while Kim does her last panel. I'll see. Right now I must go to bed. My eyes are closing on me. It's a good thing I'm going to run a spell-check on this before I actually post it. I'm cringing at the thought of the mistakes I missed while typing.

I really want to keep going to Dragon*Con. I wonder if there's a way I can swing it each year, even if I go alone.

Dragon*Con Saturday

2008-09-01T18:05:00.002-05:00

I woke up late Saturday and still had to walk up to Wal*Mart to get a few essentials. I woke Kim up and told her about the late-bus thing then I walked up to Wal*Mart and got a bunch of fruit to eat during the day as well as a calling card to top up my phone. I caught the bus and we sort of went right by Kim standing at the other stop for the other bus. Oops.

So, I got to the con just in time to catch the tail end of the parade. I saw the pirate ship, the Klingon Biker Chicks, the Star Trek people, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Dark-Hunters and the Star Wars people. So, of course, riding high on the euphoria of seeing Sherri and Ash as well as cardboard box Star Wars characters, I realized I'd lost my badge. I hurriedly pushed my way through the crowd, retracing my steps to where I'd had it last. It was gone. Completely gone, as in $90 right down the proverbial drain. Rather than panic, I made my way to the info booth in the Hyatt. The gentleman there was sympathetic when he told me I'd have to buy another one. My heart thudded right around my feet at that point. He then told me to try security first to see if anyone had turned it in.

I held on to some hope, as everyone at the con had so far been extremely nice and it seemed like a decent crowd of people. However, the silly thing was a four-day pass. Anyone on the street could save themselves $90 just by keeping it. So, I got to security and much to my delight, I had lost it about fifteen minutes before and someone had JUST turned it in. The lady said this was the fastest one had been picked up that she could recall and gave me some duct tape to secure it to the clip better. I did so immediately, thinking, please let me get to Robert Englund in time!

So, first panel, Robert Englund. Is it only nice guys that can play horror roles? Oh, by the way, Kenneth Johnson just sent him something about V: The Next Generation. Yay!!!!! And I have to pick up his Phantom. It sounds bone-chillingly awesome.

Second panel, Susan Sizemore. Snarky, funny and smart. I like this woman. She mentioned that at some point she might out the Primes and this could be lots of fun. Who knows? She signed Creature and was totally impressed with James Hong's signature on it.

Third panel, Tammy. It was an hour with Tammy and since Sherri was in the room next I figured I could just sit comfy through two of my favorite authors. Tammy talked about some of her characters and herself. She was asked who her favorite character was and she had to pick two: Kel and Tris! Yes, my favorites. Oh, and she talked about the fact that Kel's squire is going to be one of the girls from the book Squire who asked her about being a knight. Of course, this will be a few years off since she has other books she has to write first. I can be patient, especially since I really like Beka Cooper. A few of the people got up and told her how much her books had supported them through really bad school experiences and it choked her up. She said something to the effect that it was the highest praise anyone could give her and she always appreciated hearing it.

Fourth panel, Sherri. Oh, wait, not Sherri because they kicked us out of the damned room and would have made us go to the end of the line even though we had technnically been there at least an hour longer than anyone in line. So, I went to the Magic and Religion in SF/Fantasy panel instead. It was interesting. Nothing spectacular, but not boring either. I did get really hungry in it and started eating my plums, carefully and as quietly as I could.

After I ate, I went to the fifth panel, Gay Themes in the Dr. Whoniverse. Given that I can't really remember the original series very much, I was lost until they talked about Dr. Who and Sarah Jane. Torchwood I'll be getting as soon as we get Dish, but I still have to catch up on the past seasons. Just from his appearances on Dr. Who, I know Jack will do just about anything that is even remotely alive. The panelists and audience seemed to agree that in the past nothing was overtly gay and on rare occasions a tad homophobic, but that the new seasons are much better. I have to admit, I never really latched onto any gay themes in the shows although the one panelist swears Maria is a "budding lesbian" and Sarah Jane is her first girl-crush. Okay.

Sixth panel, Eureka! A panel about the show and unfortunately, Kevin Grazier has worked in the government sector too long and is REALLY good at keeping secrets. He gave NO spoilers, the rat, but he did sign Creature for me. He seemed to get a kick out of it.

Seventh panel, Alternative Sexuality in YA Literature. I hit a lot more book panels than I thought I would. I figured I'd be going Star Trek mad and I never got to one of them. Anyway, the theme is clear from the title and we spent most of the time swapping names of books and authors we thought had decent parts or treatment of GLBTs. I plugged Misty and Tammy. One woman really disagreed about Misty and I can see her point. She points Van through hell. He even gets raped in one of the books. Not that that had anything to do with his sexuality, he was simply convenient to a bunch of raiders at the time. If it had been a female Herald, she'd have been raped too, but she does use the "he's gay, so his father treats him like crap" plot device. Other gays she gets to treat better, but maybe that's because none of them are the ultimate hero and heroine. Firesong is a snippy little bastard in the beginning, but that's because of his inherent magical abilites. He grows up. Anyway, one lady was actually able to remember the name of one of the books I remember the plot of but nothing else! Choosing Time, possibly by Octavia Butler. I'll be checking it out as soon as I get home and finish cleaning my room for the dish installation.

I went back to the hotel after that and fell asleep after listing the panels I wanted to see Sunday and Monday (about 1am!). Kim got there about 3:30 with a friend who needed to crash for the night since he'd had a wee too much to drink to make it as far as he lives. We have a couch in the room. And I've already forgotten his name. Nice guy.

Oh, and just for the fun of it, the entire weekend I was surrounded by seas of orange from the Clemson fans. Apparently, they were losing, badly, on the way back to the hotel.

Dragon*Con Friday

2008-09-01T17:56:00.003-05:00

Friday Kim and I left Scranton very early in the morning. Basically, I left the house just ten or fifteen minutes after I would have for work. Ugh! The first day of my vacation and I still had to get up at three in the damned morning. Oh, well. After all my lists and redoing the lists, I forgot something. Thankfully, we'd only gotten a few blocks and were able to turn around easily enough. I really did need the credit cards I'd tucked away so I couldn't touch them until Dragon*Con, though. I guess I did too good a job of dismissing them from temptation.

The flights were easy enough, no drama: Avoca to Cinncinnatti and Cinncinnatti to Atlanta. Since we carried all our bags on, we had no luggage to check and retrieve. No muss, no fuss. Same with getting the train to the convention. We paid for our Breeze 4-day pass and got on the northbound train. Did you know that there's an escalator in the Peachtree Center that is just plain huge? I asked one of the Marta workers and he thinks it's about 120 feet long. I have a picture of it from both ends. Wow! Anyway, we got our badges after getting turned around a bit, and then I went to check us in at the hotel.

Okay, Kim must have packed anvils, because her suitcase weighed a friggin' ton even after she took things out she thought she'd need. So, I went back down the escalator and was told by a Marta gentleman to get off at the Civic Center exit on the Northbound train. Um, no. Not quite. I got off there and realized the bus I needed was not there. So, I asked another gentleman and he said I was actually needing the Midtown station, one back along the rail. Alright. This time I was at the right place. A lovely young woman saw me looking at the map trying to confirm my spot and volunteered the information I needed. We ended up on the same bus and she and I had a conversation the whole way. She told me exactly where to get off and how to walk to get to the Days' Inn.

Checked in and of course, we have a problem. First, the door was being painted so I thought it was a utility room and walked around the building, up a funky flight of stairs to a grassy area and thought I was going completely nuts because I couldn't find the damned room! Went back around and asked the maintenance guy about it and realized it was my room. He was done, so he left and I settled in a bit. The wireless doesn't work. However, according to the clerk I can use the lobby's wireless. Wa-hoo! "Yeah, Kim'll love this", I thought.

So, back to the con. I found Kim's booth and there was a brief panic when I thought I'd have to give up my panels to attend it. I really didn't want to give them up. I guess everything worked out, because I was safe from Girl-Wonder duty all weekend, although I did hype it to some people so I wouldn't feel bad. Well, actually I didn't really feel bad anyway, because I wasn't here to hawk a podcast, I was here to attend panels and stalk people for autographs.

So, first panel, Brad Dourif. For all the creepy, fucked-up characters he plays, he is a genuinely NICE guy. I may not like the Chucky movies but he has a true affection for them. It was interesting to to hear some of the stories he had. He really loved the work he did on LOTR. Too bad I never watched them closely enough to notice him. Of course, his work on X-Files really left him with good memories, too.

I intended to go to the Stargate panel next but quailed when I saw the line looping and wrapping back in on itself, so I ate, then hit the Dealer's Room and Walk of Fame instead. At the Dealer's room I found I poet of really awesome dark and twisted poetry. I promised to go back when I decided which book I wanted. More on that later. I did, however, buy a new signature poster. I found a Creature From the Black Lagoon reproduced movie poster, not just a reproduced lobby card! It's 11x17 and I tagged their business card so I can see if they carry Abbott & Costello, The Giant Gila Monster and Court Jester. I also got a little baseball card-sized cartoon of the Creature. It's really cool.

At the Walk of Fame I got (paid for) autographs by Mickey Dolenz, David Prowse, Robert Englund, Brad Dourif, Matthew Lewis and James Hong. I wanted Adam West, but $50 an autograph was a tad more than even I could justify. Peter Mayhew was very tempting but I wanted the others first. Let me list my impressions of the guys.
Mickey Dolenz: a tad spaced out, but nice.
David Prowse: more bemused by the whole thing, especially when I placed a Creature poster in front of him. He reminded me he had nothing to do with it. I told him I knew that, but I liked having all my signatures on one thing rather than millions of photos to keep track of. He did sign it with "David Prowse, Darth Vader".
Robert Englund: another total sweetie. I had to bring up the fact that I loved him as Willie. When I showed him the poster he reacted great. Apparently, he's always liked it and he even acted with Julia Adams in a movie and the actor who played the scientist was his teacher! What an amazing coincidence. It was just awesome.
Brad Dourif: again, really nice. When I showed him the poster he agreed that it was an awesome movie.
Matthew Lewis: I told him I couldn't wait till the the last movies so Neville could kick ass and he totally agreed with me, of course. His reaction to Creature was that he'd never seen it before. I, of course, told him he absolutely had to and he said he'd look for it. I hope he does. He was neat, even when being embarrassed by another one of his fans who was there.
James Hong: LOL. He played along that he had been in Creature in the make-up. It was cool.

Second panel, Emerging Infectious Horrors! Alright, with a title like that, I had to go to it. The panelist, Dr. Cmar, works at Johns Hopkins with, you guessed it, infectious diseases. He talked about diseases that the medical world considers current major threats, like the flu and measles. It was interesting, although I chickened out on asking a question because all the others were bringing up medical terms I could JUST decipher. I felt like an absolute stooge in there a few times. His panel on Sunday is A Bloody, Burning Painful Death Is Coming For You! Yes, I will be attending that one.

Third panel, She-Roes. Tammy and strong female characters in books, need I say more? Actually, it was a well-rounded panel with lots of opinions from them and from us. Kim and I both went to this one. The only one we attended together, actually. After that, I went back to the hotel. Had a bit of an adventure when I realized the two buses I KNEW I could take stopped at 10 and 10:30 and it was past 11. Thankfully the bus driver asked me what I was waiting for, else I would have had another hour to wait. I got back to the hotel along with another convention guest who knew just the way to go and crashed.

Women don't actually need any rights, right?

2008-08-25T18:45:00.004-05:00

Well, the Shrub's done it again. This time his assault on womens' reproductive rights is a White House Rule through the Health and Human Services department that is meant to "protect the moral and religious objections" of medical workers who object to abortions or sterilization. The major problem is that the wording is so vague it could end up being applied to simple birth control - among other things. Of course, my feeling is that if a doc or even the person sterilizing the instruments (protected under this proposed rule) has such a strong objection to what they're expected to do in their daily jobs, they should be looking for another one, not expecting me to curtail my rights to please theirs to be an ass.

Here's a link to an Adobe Acrobat pdf of the whole rule: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/08/20080821reg.pdf

Read it and see if you have a problem with it. If so, contact the White House before September 25, which is the deadline for public commentary. If you want to leave a comment at the main site, use this link: http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp. Of course, I just tried finding the proposed rule using all the search criteria I could think of and didn't, so good luck that way.

There are plenty of online groups that are already circualting petitions like the NARAL, NOW, Planned Parenthood and MoveOn.org. However, a personal letter with specific insights from the proposed rule itself might be more effective.

Now, to read it more thoroughly and figure out what I'll be using for my letters, one to the editors of the Times and one to the Health and Human Services Department.

Ugh! Shall we all be barefoot and pregnant, ladies?

2008-08-25T14:19:00.002-05:00

Mom just had to spoon-feed Grandma because she was refusing to eat. I don't know how much of this I can take. I asked Mom if it really was time to look at a nursing home and she said they'd not feed her, just insert a feeding tube, which Grandma has refused to have before. I think I'm reaching the end of my rope. I know she'd never let me spoon-feed her if I have to. She doesn't even speak to me if she can at all avoid it, but for the insults she hurls at my head.

Head hurts...

2008-08-20T14:35:00.006-05:00

I really hate my head. I've been alternating between shooting pains behind my left eye to dizziness to just a plain headache all day. I took four pills to get through the workday and somehow managed to stay nice to everyone.

Migraines suck. And I've put up with the computer screen long enough to burn the discs I promised for a friend and I'm getting off. Need to do one more load of laundry then I'm going down for the count.

Wish grandma good luck at her doctor's appointment, everyone. She's going to need it with her health and behavior the last few days on top of this thyroid mass.

Stitching Olympics

2008-08-17T15:56:00.005-05:00

I've been trying to keep my stitching and my real life separate, even by having a different blog for stitching, but lately they've entwined so much I can't.

I posted that Grandma hurt herself. She's not doing too hot. Wandering from room to room because she can't get comfortable and refusing to give any position a chance to relax. Well, she turns out to have degenerative disc disease (or some name like that) as well as a mass in her thyroid. They did an ultrasound Friday and she has an appointment with her doctor Wednesday to discuss the results. The Vicodin isn't doing much except make her loopy and crueler than usual. At times she's convinced she's really in the hospital and people are walking through the room. Mom's going to talk to her doc about a low-dose morphine patch.

Anyway, the stitching comes in because it is such a relief for me. Mom and others tell me I should make and sell my jewelry, but the stitching is so much more my art, you know? I'm going to show off what I've been doing lately.

This is a chameleon I'm making for my nephew. It's being stitched on Silkweaver's Jungle Fever, 32 count, with DMC threads. I've made slightly more progress on it since I took this picture on August 7th. If I finish page two of the pattern, I'll get the Silver medal and if I finish the whole thing before the Olympics are over, I'll get the Gold medal.

This is a mystery freebie from Papillon Creations, parts 1 through 8. I finished Part 8 around 1 this morning, hence getting my Bronze medal in my LJ community's Stitching Olympics.

And the bug is for myself. It's from The World of Cross-Stitching, a British magazine. It was supposed to have been done in shades of orange and red, but I like green bugs better, so I converted the colors and added beads and the peace sign to hang from the mirror. After I get back from Dragon*Con, I'll make it into a stretched canvas frame to hang in my room.

Shoot me now, please.

2008-08-13T18:58:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'm ready to scream. About a week ago Grandma fell and hurt her back. This was right before my aunt's wedding. She's in pain, a lot of it. So, of course, she deals with this by walking from her bedroom to the living room to the bathroom to the living room to the bed again. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! She won't believe us that she'll recover better by staying still!

If I end up in jail tonight charged with murder, leave me there. I need the vacation.

Oh, and my aunt (not TAFH) has arranged with her best friend, Grandma's only reliable caregiver, to watch her new granddaughter instead of Grandma. Selfish fucking bitch. So, now we get to try Telespond and their idiotic boss and unrelaible caregivers again.

The wedding was really nice, though.

What a waste of great DNA

2008-08-02T18:05:00.003-05:00

Be proud of me. I managed not to hit someone today. On the bus ride home, I ended up talking to two of the more obnoxious of my fellow bus riders today plus an absolutely gorgeous male specimen whom I had briefly spoken to on the ride up to the mall. Well, when my little conversation with the three men was done I went back to perusing my new stitching magazine. Mr. Gorgeous turns to me and my heart went a little pit-a-pat. Then he opened his mouth and uttered these words: "I think Women's Lib has killed the American family."

Let me back this up and tell you how this started. I got on and was reading my magazine. I suddenly realized all three men were staring at me. I asked what was wrong. Obnoxious Rider #1, responded that they had been talking about sewing. I was reading a sewing magazine (sort of). So, I commented that he knew very well that if I'm not stitching on the bus, I'm reading about it. This is mostly accurate. Mr. Gorgeous then turned to me and said, "I'll bet Rumpelstiltskin was your favorite fairy tale." I scoffed at this and said I preferred stories where the princess ended up saving the prince, totally disregarding the fact that Rumpelstiltskin wasn't exactly about sewing, even if spinning is pretty much the most vital step of getting decent thread to use. There was a little more about women in sports and athletes of all genders and types doping, with a little segueway into David Beckham, but the conversation pretty much died a natural death.

I went back to my magazine. That's when Mr. Gorgeous proved that great genes do not necessarily make a great person. I kept my cool through the whole conversation, even when he brought in the Bible and God making women inferior, yadda yadda. I brought up some polyandrous and matriarchal societies in history that did well. He tried the religion card again and I told him I didn't believe in his and to drop any point he wanted to make that hinged on the religious. He then brought up divorce rates in America and I told him that divorces weren't necessarily bad, see the example of abused women getting out of bad relationships. Here's where the restraint came in, people.

Mr. Gorgeous says that women are abused because they mentally and emotionally abuse their men first and that when said "man" strikes back, he's accused of being in the wrong. Women want to be equal to men, but when they are abused they cry foul. So, basically, it's that old argument that women just ask to be abused.

I did agree with him that there are unhealthy relationships out there, but I did not agree with him that anyone deserves to be hit. In fact, I'm even the one that brought up the fact that there are abusive women out there. I brought up my uncle's relationship with his wife. He's completely whipped. They have scream fights, yes, and she's really in control of the relationship, to his detriment, in my opinion, but he does not strike her. He doesn't, as Mr. Gorgeous contends, get back at her for "abusing him first".

Then Mr. Gorgeous brought up "the mother of his child". Apparently, she talks trash about his deceased mother, who was a drug user. He says he's pushed her, but not hit her. She is apparently a nasty piece of work, so in his mind, she deserves this. My comment to that was that I'd just stay away from her as much as possible, interacting only in regards to the child. Personally, it sounds like he shouldn't be throwing any stones. Too much glass around.

Pity, he really is a gorgeous man: high cheekbones; shaved head; yummy, runner-fit body; creamy, cafe-au-lait skin. What a waste of great DNA.

BBC Squee!

2008-07-26T12:08:00.004-05:00

Okay, I am officially as happy as a clam. I just figured out (idiot) that I can download the first three Doctor Who seasons, Torchwood and Robin Hood on iTunes. Let's see, $26 as opposed to the dvd price of $80? Yes! I can finally watch Torchwood.

Down, girl, remember Dragon*Con. So, now I get to choose between the three. I can let myself have one of the seasons. I have a feeling it'll be Torchwood.

After that I'll download Dr. Horrible.

I love iTunes.

Colorado "Personhood" Amendment

2008-07-14T14:27:00.004-05:00

As much as I would love to be back in Colorado right now, getting my degree, something is happening there that makes me just want to pull a "Hulk Smash!" I wonder how much of this Tancredo pushed for?

In November, Coloradans will vote on an amendment to the state constitution granting "personhood" to "any human being from the moment of fertilization." The ultimate goal being to stop any and all abortions and overturn Roe v. Wade.

Some of my problems with this proposal:
1. A zygote or embryo cannot live outside the womb. Until the third trimester a fetus cannot live outside the womb. Yes, there have been very rare cases of a twenty-week fetus surviving but as I said, they are very rare and most doctors and medical professionals consider the third trimester to be the viable stage. Even early third trimester, premature births need a lot of TLC to make it with reasonable health. My personal opinion is that until viability is reached, said fetus is not a person. Sorry to sound harsh.
2. If a miscarriage (medical term: spontaneous abortion) happens and some yahoo says the pregnant woman did something to cause it like drink or smoke, this could open her up for criminal negligence charges. Please, if she intended to keep the baby and deliver it, she'll already be torn up by the loss. Charging her afterward is like twisting the knife and pouring salt in the wound at the same time. Women are already being charged under child abuse laws if they drink alcohol or do drugs while pregnant, even if nothing bad happens to the child.
3. If there is a medically necessary procedure that will harm the fetus to save the mother, whose rights are paramount?
4. The old stand-by of rape and incest. What do you do? Using the much-to-often-repeated standard "It's not the child's fault" doesn't negate the irreparable harm a pregnancy carried to term could do to the real victim of such crimes, the woman. Again, until viability, not a child. Would this give the rapist a chance to say he demanded the "child" be born, thus compounding and extending his rape for at least nine months. What a power trip. This amendment would hand him the perfect weapon over his victim - one he could wield continuously for at least nine months. Maybe more. As if having to face him in trial isn't bad enough.
5. Who the hell gave some state or government the right to tell me what to do with my own body? Not me. My body, my choice. Stay the hell out of my uterus.
6. I also object to it because it can ultimately be used to halt vital stem cell research into diseases like Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries (to name the most famous). Now, I do think that if using adult stem cells could yield positive results, we should study that, as well. Whatever works the best.
7. What would happen in the case of in vitro fertilized eggs that haven't been implanted and are slated to be destroyed? Do they automatically have to be implanted and given a chance to develop into infants? Who has to carry or pay for them? Honestly, frozen eggs are enough of a pitfall, shall we add more to an already dodgy subject?
8. Do we really want to return (as if we've really left) to the back-alley, coat hanger abortion days? This would simply serve to drive women with no other option to it. Septicemia, bleeding out, permanent injury? Yeah, we really look forward to this type of thing again.

Dianne N. Irving says some interesting things about the proposed amendment, actually. Worth a read.
Also, read this .pdf by JAMA bout fetal pain.

*sigh* There is so much more that's wrong with this asinine attempt to control women's bodies and minds.

Fume

2008-07-09T20:09:00.004-05:00

A few days ago I posted the link to the Live Long and Marry auction site. I had been trying to figure out if I had time or money to do something for it and had pretty much decided "No". Well, yesterday I was mentioning it to Mom and she had a very annoying reaction to it. I had been thinking of making a GF care basket. Her comment was not to do one for that but for a "good cause" like for children. Well, this got my back up, so I've decided I will MAKE the time somehow to do it. Hey, I'll have my normal bus rides, the plane to and from Atlanta...

I'm going to be offering a set of stitched cards. Here's the link: 8 Cross-stitched cards

Luna Lovegood!

2008-07-06T10:41:00.003-05:00

Okay, I just have to pass on this picture of Luna Lovegood from Half-BloodPrince. I found it on The Leaky Cauldron site. I want those specs!

There are a lot of other pictures from the new movie. Check them out.

Not a Grandma day...

2008-07-05T17:22:00.002-05:00

Grandma's sugar will not remain stable today. It's bottomed out at least twice. She's currently eating a tomato sandwich that she argued about with Mom. She says the tomatoes are choking her. She argued with Mom about drinking some juice and actually fought with her about the sandwich, saying it was poison.

Today is not a good day for her.

Lincoln ran away!

2008-07-05T06:52:00.004-05:00

Well, Scranton has made the news again, this time with a mystery. AOL and other news services are passing on the story of our missing Lincoln monument. It was dedicated with much fanfare in 1909, was still present for part of the 20's and then just disappears. The current theory is that when Lake Lincoln was expanded, it was removed and the bust was either sold or put in storage somewhere.

Maybe with the increased coverage we'll find out what happened to it.

Live Long and Marry

2008-07-02T18:58:00.005-05:00

Here's a link to a livejournal community that one of my favorite authors, Tamora Pierce, is offering some goodies for auction in. It's called Live Long and Marry. The community/fundraiser is for groups fighting the marriage amendment in California. Here is info from the site:

"What is this? Live Long And Marry is a fandom auction to benefit marriage equality. Bidding begins on July 1, 12:01 AM one minute after midnight Pacific Time, 2008, and closes on July 15, 12:01 AM one minute after midnight Pacific Time, 2008. Please do not bid until bidding opens.

What's the cause? The auction will raise money for the fight against the California initiative which will legally destroy existing same-sex marriages and ban any further ones. If the initiative passes, it will write discrimination into the state constitution, annull existing marriages, and make Mr. Sulu cry.

How can I help? You can bid on fanfic, original fic, vids, cookies, memorabilia, critique/betas, and much more! Or you can offer your skills and services as a writer, vidder, baker, knitter, or whatever else you'd like."

Obviously, the originator of the community is a Star Trek fan. As most Trekkies know, George Takei, our beloved Sulu, has finally been given the chance to marry the love of his life, Brad Altman. It constantly amazes me that people see no problem in denying other human beings basic rights. Let's fight this amendment in whatever state tries it but first, in California.

Right now I'm trying to figure out what I can stitch to offer for an auction.

R.I.P. Don S. Davis

2008-07-01T16:33:00.004-05:00

About six or seven years ago, I finally got into Stargate. One of my favorite characters is always going to be General Hammond. He was just stern enough to call SG1 (usually O'Neill) on the carpet and just mischievous enough to let SG1 get away with what they did.

I'm going to miss Don S. Davis. He died on June 29th of a massive heart attack. He will be missed.

2008-06-26T05:52:00.004-05:00

Grandma is going down to TAFH's today. Thank the gods. She's been okay lately, but the idiot aunt of mine made sure she told Grandma before she left two weeks ago that she was coming down. So, Grandma's been asking every day, multiple times when we were leaving. ARGHH!! We had all agreed that Grandma wouldn't be told if she was going down, that it would be a surprise. So, of course my aunt the PhD can't remember this. *sigh*

I was going to go down with them, but when I got to work today and tried to clock in I realized I was four hours early. I'm going to get home after Mom and Grandma leave. Yeah, Mom's thrilled. I just hope it stops raining before I have to leave, because I'm going to be walking home.

I'm off tomorrow and closing Saturday. So, I'll be able to enjoy some of the block party and do mondo research at the library.

Now, if the caregiver could just get here, I may not be late after being four hours early. She's already half an hour late and was woken up by Mom's call fifteen minutes ago. She was supposed to be here at 6:30. I just hope she doesn't do the whole shower and major grooming thing. Just throw some clothes on and get here. I only have 25 minutes to catch the bus.

Highs!

2008-06-02T20:16:00.005-05:00

Okay, these have been a good couple of days. Granted, Grandma is a bit pissy that she had to leave TAFH, but it's dealable. Of course, there is also the annoying fact that my oldest brother saw me both Saturday and Sunday and still didn't wish me Happy Birthday. *sigh* I guess I really didn't expect more.

The reasons these have been a good couple of days are:
1. Went out on Thursday night and saw Indiana Jones (loved it) then stayed out really late. We went to Poor Richards for karaoke night. I did not sing, having no desire to witness anyone's ears start bleeding.
2. Went out Saturday and watched Iron man for the third time. We saw the shield and analyzed possibilities for the next Marvel movies. I also managed to mail dad's father's Day card before I got my birthday card! Oh, and I bought Kingdom Come at Comics on the Green.
3. Today I got a birthday card from my little brother! I also got one from my dad, but to be honest I'm totally psyched about the card from L'il Bro.
4. Also, Grandma's starting to become a little more human. One day. This is a record. I just wish she'd stop closing the darned doors. We need the breeze in here.

2008-05-31T11:13:00.003-05:00

I'm watching TLC for some reason. The show I'm watching just featured my company. Thank the Gods, the aisles were neat.

Robins Away!

2008-05-31T10:37:00.003-05:00

The robins are all gone. The last one flew away two days ago. It took her a bit to get started and she sort of flapped around the porch floor for a bit with Mama watching her. However, she finally flew from the edge of the porch to the hedge across the street. Mom and Grandma want to block off the ledges so birds can't nest there again. I figure we should let them nest. We can repaint the porch, after all. I'm outnumbered, though, so I imagine we'll be blocking it off soon. :(

Coffee Crazy!

2008-05-31T09:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, let me get this straight. Dunkin' Donuts has pulled a Rachel Ray ad because Michelle Malkin and her crowd decided that the paisley scarf she was wearing for the shoot was really a keffiyeh and, as such, is wrong to put on television post 9-11. Give me a break. I would say that, for this sheer stupidity, Dunkin' Donuts has lost my custom, but I never went there anyway. Yeesh!

Birds Away!

2008-05-25T17:45:00.003-05:00

I took some pictures of the robin chicks on my porch and boy, was Mama pissed! She even tried dive bombing me to get me to go away. Here they are, Mama and chicks (Isn't the speckling incredible?!):