Surreality

Because who knew that sheep were this awesome? (safe for work)

2009-10-30T22:09:01Z

Geeky fun with sheep , courtesy of charliezaunt

Cello love

2009-10-01T16:01:04Z

Courtesy of thewronghands, a truly sexy fusion of cello and programming that makes me thoroughly gleeful: http://www.zoekeating.com/projects.html. I know exactly what thewronghands means when she says it's the sort of music that makes her want to compose arias to sing atop it.

Because it is the good Story....

2009-06-23T23:50:53Z

...and I want to shamelessly promote it.

Follow September's adventures at:
Livejournal | Facebook
Updates every Monday!

For those of us...

2009-06-20T00:49:12Z

...who adore juvenile fiction and quirky, wonderland-esque worlds, there is much rejoicing - for there is now The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, courtesy of the exquisite word-wielding Catherynne Valente, with chapters to appear on a weekly basis.

Earth love meme

2009-04-25T00:18:40Z

...purloined from thewronghands: "If you'd like, [show] a picture of something you love that lives on this Earth. It can be a picture you took, or one you found online."

Emperor penguin couples are simply adorable.

Oh, it is so true...

2009-01-28T02:20:59Z

...or at least the breakdown of actual time vs. what departments want: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1060.

A thoroughly useful cartoon...

2009-01-24T22:08:36Z

...for those of us who are visualization-challenged when it comes to thinking about dimensions greater than four: Ten Dimensions, ho!

(Yoinked from bluedevi)

Courtesy of larksdream

2008-07-18T16:06:49Z

....what seems like a worthy and thoroughly entertainingly promoted cause.
XKCD-style - hee hee hee

Like larksdream, I tossed a few dollars his way for the huge grin it left on my face.

Courtesy of feonixrift

2008-07-16T18:07:40Z

Your result for Which Chess Piece are You Test?...

The Queen

Queen’s are the rarest of all types. They are quiet but hold the deepest of convictions regarding the matters of the world. They are frequently activists for their cause, they will do what’s right but not for glory, not for political power. It is why they are the Queen. They are the champions of the oppressed and the downtrodden. They are found in the wake of the aftermath rescuing those in acute distress. They may even fantasize revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. Think of ‘Poetic Justice’ and you’ll have appealed to the Queen.

You can’t lead the Queen if only because they are right in suspecting others motives. You cannot fool this individual even if they are sympathetic. The Queen selects a few for friendship – these are friends that transcend the very word. They promote harmony with their very presence and typically make their surroundings more beautiful by just being there to clean up the mess. Don’t mistake them for extroverts – they are special in their diplomacy. They are ‘doers’ and dreamers. They can only be intimate with a chosen few. They will withdraw suddenly if pressed and this is necessary for them.

The Queen excels with writing and communication. They are often the counselors of home, of public service and the good face of politics for the King. They look at the global perspective and are better at spotting patterns and relations. They think of the future and strive for meaning and purpose.

Take Which Chess Piece are You Test? at HelloQuizzy

Interests I apparently ought to have...

2008-07-01T23:03:56Z

1. iambic pentameter score: 4
2. panpipes score: 4
3. melancholy of suzumiya haruhi score: 3
4. wrought iron score: 3
5. instant gratification score: 3
6. dane score: 3
7. shane williams score: 3
8. reading aloud score: 3
9. james norrington score: 3
10. greg the bunny score: 3
11. probability score: 3
12. ergo proxy score: 3
13. lolcat score: 3
14. remembering things score: 3
15. forbidden love score: 3
16. lingering score: 3
17. stompy boots score: 3
18. number theory score: 3
19. hair extentions score: 2
20. dumb jokes score: 2

Alright, definitely some good anime recommendations in there, and two thumbs up for reading aloud, wrought iron, and stompy boots. And I'll certainly not deny the instant gratification (this is why I tend to make lists of things to do and gleefully check them off). But dumb jokes? Naaaaah....

changed by ouwiyaru based on code by ixwin
Find out more

Awesome word art thing

2008-06-19T19:15:38Z

....purloined from blogofstench: Wordle. It's way fun, I swear it.

Courtesy of neopanda

2008-04-19T19:36:58Z

...and completely making it all voluntary-like, as he did. Yay, meme-age.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then ~~tag 7 other people to see what they're listening~~ encourage others to engage at meme-age at their own discretion.

1."Day of the Dead" -- Voltaire (Ooky Spooky album - it is full of cheery bounciness and dead things)
2. "Cruel Summer (Blazin' Rhythm Remix)" -- Ace of Base (w00t, 80s)
3. "Whine Up" -- Kat DeLuna featuring Elephant Man (more mainstream, and full of excellent rhythm)
4. "Feel Alright (Bonus Track)" - Sean Paul (again with the mainstream, and again with the excellent rhythm)
5. "Zombie Prostitute" -- Voltaire (Ooky Spooky album - zooooooombies)
6. "Temple of Love" -- Sisters of Mercy (gotta love that lilting female vocal that picks up partway through, plus this one always makes me think of thewronghands, who first introduced me to Sisters of Mercy)
7. "Desert Rose" -- Sting (Haunting and gorgeous)

For all those who are fond of words and charity...

2008-01-04T04:20:53Z

...try this site. It purports to donate 20 grains of rice for every word you correctly define. (I'll bet it makes great SAT verbal practice, too.)

D&D Meme-age

2007-12-17T18:55:57Z

Because they're lovely fun.

I Am A: True Neutral Elf Sorcerer (3rd Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-12

Dexterity-11

Constitution-15

Intelligence-17

Wisdom-14

Charisma-16

Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Race:
Elves are known for their poetry, song, and magical arts, but when danger threatens they show great skill with weapons and strategy. Elves can live to be over 700 years old and, by human standards, are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. Elves are slim and stand 4.5 to 5.5 feet tall. They have no facial or body hair, prefer comfortable clothes, and possess unearthly grace. Many others races find them hauntingly beautiful.

Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus
(e-mail)

[giggle]

2007-12-12T21:13:49Z

w00t!

This pleases me greatly, for no good reason at all. Yay for the surging popularity of alphanumeric words!

Shakespearean Giggle + Meme

2007-11-13T18:27:09Z

There are more things in heaven and jalenstrix, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?

Away, you scullion! You rampallion! You fustilarian!
I'll tickle your jalenstrix!

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?

Courtesy of larksdream...

2007-10-05T19:32:35Z

...because it was obviously time to get those feathers moving.

Go, little birdy feet, go!

Career Meme-age

2007-09-15T23:35:58Z

....which is quite accurate. Or at least believes I'm doing the right thing with my life. Most of the results were quite good, actually.

1. Go to Career Cruising, www.careercruising.com
2. Put in Username: nycareers and Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top twenty results
5. Put the careers you have seriously considered in bold
6. Put the careers that make you think "WTF" in itallics

1. Professor

Woo hoo - I win!

2. Music Teacher / Instructor

Especially if it was singing.

3. Foreign Language Instructor

What I originally thought I was going to be before I went to college, just like my mother.

4. ESL Teacher

Similar to the previous one.

5. Computer Programmer

What I thought I was going to be my first two years in college, before I discovered research.

6. Technical Writer

7. Special Effects Technician

Uh...

8. Computer Trainer

9. Actor

Considered it briefly in high school, but thought the success rate was waaaay too low.

10. High School Teacher

11. Elementary School Teacher

Considered, but the age range of the children is too low for me.

12. Special Education Teacher

Sadly, I just don't have the patience.

13. Teacher Assistant

Was this in grad school.

14. Multimedia Developer

15. Anthropologist

Because other cultures are cool.

16. Set Designer

17. Early Childhood Educator

Similar vein as elementary school teacher.

18. Costume Designer

I've always been meaning to learn to sew.

19. Computer Engineer

I'd be surprised this was so low, except I know I'm not really an engineer at heart.

20. Business Systems Analyst

Whoa, no, definitely not.

Happiness...

2007-09-02T16:54:20Z

... is many things, among them

Actually making it to San Francisco, despite Traffic of Doooooom (TM)
Seeing a recently-moved-to-San-Francisco-from-NY friend I haven't seen in many, many moons (yay, modularformsboy!)
Dining at the lovely Stinking Rose, and still being surrounded by a cloud of garlic 12 hours later
By spur-of-the-moment consensus, attending a once-a-month dark wave 80s club night in San Francisco that turned out to be fabulous (yay, Siouxsie & the Banshees!), including lovely Czech Republic girls who will do silly impromptu pantomime with me to some of the gothier songs played
My lovely, lovely boy, who made sure I didn't pass out from sleep dep, did all the driving to and from the club and scored a rock-star quality parking spot right outside of it, organized the clubbing adventure in the first place, led the quest around parts of San Francisco despite being sleep-depped himself, danced the happy dancings with me for hours at the club, and who is the king of cuddlings and debating and adventures. I loves him, preeeeecious.

And so I do giggle...

2007-08-04T23:32:33Z

...for it is likely the California DMV has given me my best driver's license picture to date. Which isn't saying all that much, really, but still.

Demonic elf, check.

Yoinked from noblessa...

2007-08-01T18:47:56Z

...because it is Harry Potter memetastic.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Yay, the anti-hero personality. And the infinite planning!

The Fantastical Continental Adventures, Part the Fourth

2007-08-01T04:30:35Z

...which are posted considerably after said adventures have been completed, as I've been caught up with the whole, "Oooh, I'm here - quick, organize everything! Make those lists! Check things off them! Go, go, go!"

The Denver-ings continued for jalenstrix and thewronghands, with jalenstrix striking out on her own for wanderings while thewronghands and the Prince of Networks & Cats were sucked away into the temporary abyss of Work. Given very clear directions by the Prince, jalenstrix managed to wander towards the correct realm and acquire such treasures as pistachio gelato and blue lip gloss. Alas, for she also acquired the sunburn! Fie upon the altitude with its thinner atmosphere!

But then, jalenstrix returned and together, she and thewronghands made their way along the road to Albuquerque, bolstered by yet more Harry Potter 7. As a respite from their journey, they visited the truly lovely jonaskaite, possessor of the Quelling Look (TM), in desert-y fae lands. Recipients of her most kind hospitality in the form of dinner-ing and being shown fantastic works of art nestled in her hidden city, jalenstrix and thewronghands departed from the company of jonaskaite in high spirits.

Yet the road to Albuquerque was strangely long nonetheless - perhaps this was jalenstrix's and thewronghands's payment for having partaken of fairy food and drink. Still, 'twas worth it to our adventurers and eventually they did arrive in the fabled city of Albuquerque, wherein lived the Queen's Mother. The Queen's Mother did also show our protagonists most kind hospitality, plying them with food and good will and soft beds and a gorgeous castle of hand-crafted finery. While the abyss of Work Conference Calls stole thewronghands temporarily, jalenstrix wandered a nearby arroyo with the Queen's Mother, soaking in the magic of the desert-lands. She did see roadrunners and tombstones with the Queen's Mother, though sadly acquiring more sunburn at the time. But it was a small sacrifice, indeed. That evening, all feasted upon delicious salmon and greens. Then, everyone did journey via mechanical steed to the top of a nearby mountain, wandering through the thinnish air and surveying the majesty of the sunset. A race to the steed on the way down ensued, and jalenstrix did triumph, though only just.

The next morning, the Queen's Mother took jalenstrix and thewronghands to see the great and ancient petroglyphs of Albuquerque. thewronghands was delighted to find a black widow spider amongst the petroglyphs, while jalenstrix and the Queen's Mother were less so. Afterwards, jalenstrix and thewronghands journeyed to refreshment with ilcyclic and spsh, experimenting with different forms of edible vegetarian goo. Subsequent wanderings led to Old Town Albuquerque, with its Rattlesnake Museum and plethora of acquirable booty (to wit: postcards and notecards and dreamcatchers and chili snaps and wooden flutes and desert garb and blue-colored sweets). Feasting of the Mexican variety followed, in the witty company of ilcyclic, elegantelbows, and attutle. But alas, for all were wenched by the tricksy ilcyclic who paid the gold for the meal when all were distracted.

Then, jalenstrix and thewronghands journeyed by night to Sedona, with its desert climes (this time with significant humidity, because of an ensuing monsoon, and much to thewronghands's delight), more Potter chapters, and crackling thunderstorms. Arriving in Sedona after the beasts of Traffic were appeased, our protagonists flopped joyfully into the room, conquered internet tomfoolery with the help of the hotel's desk elf, and were granted the glorious Late Checkout that did allow for the sleeping in.

In Sedona-land, jalenstrix and jalenstrix did hunt the mighty and elusive pizza, subject to electrical outages caused by incipient thunderstorms. They did then hunt the mighty Floofy New Age Places, and received some words of wisdom from a Very Nice Wizard who insisted upon not taking their gold for said words of wisdom. Our protagonists were rather puzzled by this behavior, but eventually chalked it up to him being a Very Nice Wizard. In the same place as the Wizard, they did also acquire booty in the form of Goblin books and Harry Potter wands. Following this, they hiked an unexpected 8 miles along Bell Rock, searching for the fabled Vortexes of Sedona. Alas, for they did not find them, apparently being insufficiently enlightened. Nonetheless, they were decidedly enlightened about the hiking itself, despite jalenstrix being woefully ill-shod.

Then, it was time for the last leg of their journey, from Sedona to California. After complaining to the Universe that there were no interesting signposts for sustenance, jalenstrix and thewronghands were quite pleased to discover that the Universe responded by providing one. Thus did they dine at Storytellers, a restaurant inside a casino on an Apache reservation, replete with rock formations and deep colored lighting and lovely waiters with preternaturally long hair. Afterwards, they departed to CA, finishing Potter-dom just as they crossed the border. Weary from their drive, they did flop for a few hours at a rest stop a short crow's flight away from their final destination. When the sun rose, they rode their trusty steed into the new abode of jalenstrix and quelled the Godzillas Within with breakfast at Panera.

And thus are the fantastical continental adventures of jalenstrix and thewronghands. Long live adventuring!

The Fantastical Continental Adventures, Part the Third

2007-07-24T15:24:43Z

Following their refreshing rest at the abode of the Prince of Networks & Cats, jalenstrix and thewronghands sought the enclave of Chedd's, which was fabled to contain magical sustenance in the form of Make Your Own Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. With the Prince's directions, our two protagonists merrily made their was a short distance and feasted on ambrosial garlic & herb cheese and provolone, sun-dried tomato spreads and fresh spinach, and rosemary potato rolls. Blissfully fortified, they returned to the Prince's through the sunlight.

Not too long thereafter, thewronghands had her revenge upon the foul djinn of Work, for she was vindicated as being In The Right at last. Lo, did she do a merry dance around the abode of the Prince, much to the delight of jalenstrix and the Prince's cats!

After this, the Prince of Network & Cats and the Princess of Chinchillas joined jalenstrix and thewronghands for a lovely quest to the Great and Lovely City of Boulder, riding in the Prince's well-drawn chariot. Once there, all party members began to collect their own personal amalgam of Worthy Items. It soon became apparent that jalenstrix was on an unspoken quest to find Paper With Interersting Things Upon It, including dragonflies and poetic words of summoning. And it soon became apparent that thewronghands's unspoken quest was to delight jalenstrix by doing such glorious deeds as running through open fountains without the hindrance of electronics, procuring coffee ice cream, and bringing joy to a pirate.

And then, the Prince and Princess led jalenstrix and thewronghands to the Candy Elysian Fields that is Powell's Sweet Shoppe. Serenaded by the notes of the Oompah-Loompah song and surrounded by magical items such as gummy brains, Sexy ginger dark chocolate, and ginger drops, jalenstrix and thewronghands did indeed procure sugared fortification for the continuation of the main quest the next day. To celebrate, they danced gleefully, much to the gentle amusement of the Prince. (Though jalenstrix was a bit put out that thewronghands had used Quick Action & Reason to pay the shopkeeper for their sweets before she could stop her.)

Then, the party journeyed to the Dushanbe Teahouse, to dine with charming and boisterous company. They sampled concoctions of pineapple juice and hibiscus and panda tears, tasted fresh tuna and sprouts of unmitigated green, and were then all cleverly tricked by the Prince into letting him pay for dinner. (Wily is the prince, indeed!)

Then, the party journeyed back to Denver, seeing the Princess off safely to her abode to attend to her adorably furry subjects. The Prince then wandered with jalenstrix and thewronghands into the Indie Bookstore of Temptation. Though it was the Prince who had led them there, it was thewronghands who was channeling regyt's Voice of Temptation that caused jalenstrix to procure far too many Books of Wonder. To repay her for her tricksy ways, jalenstrix bombarded thewronghands with Reason & Sudden Force to procure thewronghands's books for her. And then jalenstrix did gleefully dance alongside the Prince at thewronghands's resigned, chagrined, and pleased state.

At last, the party journeyed back to the abode of the Prince, to the warm comfort of furry catling creatures and the connection to the Interwebs. And then, jalenstrix and thewronghands did sleep.

Booty

2007-07-24T05:01:56Z

...courtesy of Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Boulder, various stationery-carrying type places in Boulder, and Tattered Cover of Denver. Acquired both before & after a lovely dinner at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse and due in large part to thewronghands's & J's wenchly, temptatious influence:

Sweet things: salt water taffy (in such flavors as key lime pie, buttered popcorn, and root beer), cinnamon gummy bears, gummy penguins, gummy brains (mmm....braaaaaaaains...), gummy zerbas, old fashioned ginger drops, self-proclaimed Sexy dark chocolate with ginger, death mints (+2 goth points)
Paper things: Glittery dragonfly card, owl postcard, two cards with lovely quotes on them
Book things: Places to Be, People to Kill, anthology by Greenberg & Kohen; The Summer King, by O.R. Melling; Someplace to be Flying, by Charles de Lint; a bilingual Beowulf, compiled by Seamus Heaney; bilingual Essential Neruda, compiled by Mark Eisner

And just, ah....the magic of it. Of wandering through Willy Wonka-esque candy stores and dancing in delight, of happening upon books of foreign words with their own rhythm and rhyme. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

The Fantastical Continental Adventures, Part the Second

2007-07-23T16:06:40Z

And so, after recovering in the abode of the Lizard King and Queen, jalenstrix and thewronghands ventured forth to the neighboring land of Evanston to quest with tezliana and docstrange for A Good Cup of Tea and Asian Cuisine. Though thwarted by the first likely spot due to Excessive Wait Times, our fair travelers eventually converged on another Perfectly Lovely Place in Evanston containing both sought-after items. Much delightful conversation later (as well as snow pear oolong tea), jalenstrix and thewronghands took a side quest to find the Great and Powerful Book 7 of Harry Potter. Fortunately, tezliana and docstrange displayed great geographical might and led them to the Local Barnes & Noble. Tome procured (though after jalenstrix summoned her credit card fraud folks to assure them that in fact it was really she doing all these purchases in unusual parts of the country), the party broke for the evening and our protagonists returned to the Lizard King and Queen.

The next morning, refreshed by sleep, jalenstrix and thewronghands set off on the Epic Drive to Denver. The Tome of Harry Potter proved to be a powerful talisman, as jalenstrix and thewronghands switched off intoning its words. Said words wove a spell that combatted the hideous demon of Boredom for many, many, many miles. So powerful was it that only half was required to complete the thousand mile journey. (Alas, for they could not combat the Bog of Eternal Stench that was most of the midwestern route - but some protection is better than none!)

Finally, finally, they broke through the boundary between Nebraska and Colorado, and were welcomed by Much Better Scenery. The journey to Denver proper was a quiet thing, during which jalenstrix passed out briefly while thewronghands valiantly drove the chariot.

At last, they were in Denver and hunting the mighty Parking Lot near the realm of the Prince of Networks and Cats. Shown extraordinary hospitality in the form of tea, furry creatures to pet, and a soft bed, jalenstrix and thewronghands gratefully collapsed for the night.

[Note: For a more clear-headed recounting of the adventures described previously and herein, see thewronghands's Entry of the First Day and Entry of the Second Day.]