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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.

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    Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
    lilithilien
         		11:01a
    My 15 minutes starts now
    OMG you guys!!! I'm in the spoiler pics for AWZ's new year's episode!!!!!



    Oh, also, this clip showed up on RTL today, one of the most gorgeous skating scenes AWZ's ever filmed. Biased, yeah, shup. But seriously, guys, I'm just blown away. Especially since this was the actors themselves, not skating doubles! I can't believe how good these two have gotten, especially DG -- he may hate skating, but of late he's shown a comfort on the ice that just leaves me gobsmacked. Go, look at the pretty!!

    Current Mood: giddy
    Current Music: Muse - Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2
    telesilla
         		2:36a
    I don't know...
    I'm just not in the mood for much of anything. I'm having my period and I think I'm coming down with a cold and I'm all with the grumpy.

    I might be scarce for a day or two.
    icarusancalion
         		2:58a
    500,000 animals being slaughtered right now.
    My mom has been talking about this for weeks:

    500,000 animals to be ritually slaughtered?

    On Tuesday, November 24th the Gadimai animal sacrifice festival will take place in southern Nepal. It is said that 500,000 animals including buffaloes, chickens, goats, pigs, rats, and birds will be tortured and slaughtered during this Hindu festival.


    Write to the Nepalese Embassy: info@nepalembassyusa.org

    In India, the ritual slaughter of animals in such rites as the Agnicayana has long been replaced with effigies. There is no religious reason for this throwback. Despite the detailed instructions in Leviticus, Judaism no longer sacrifices the fatted calf. Like that.

    Current Mood: blah
    icarusancalion
         		12:42a
    What no one will tell you about college.
    I'm tutoring high school students, prepping them for the SAT.

    I think what they need as much as good SAT scores are some good college strategies. Share yours here.

    So here it is:

    What no one will tell you about college (until you get there).

    1 - Want to increase your scores 5% without doing anything?

    ( Sit in the same seat every day )

    2 - Talk to your professor outside of class.

    ( Disagree with your prof? Good! Take it to her/him at the end of class. )

    3 - Bored? Ask a question.

    ( Every time I found myself zoning out during a class I would raise my hand )

    4 - Avoid clock-watching.

    ( Avoid the clock-watching tick by sitting where you can't see the clock. )

    5 - High school is for taking the classes you hate. College is for taking the classes you love.

    ( Don't be a masochist -- if you can avoid that hated math class by taking a much more interesting astronomy class, do it.  )

    6 - Know thyself. Work with your habits rather than against them.

    ( If you suck at mornings, don't take that 8:30am Japanese class. )

    7 - Avoid schizophrenia and be efficient: Take related classes at the same time.

    ( You can use your readings from Indian history as sources for your Indian lit class and vice versa. )

    8 - If the class you want is booked, show up anyway, books in hand, and participate vigorously.

    ( The professor would rather have you as an extra student than the disinterested slackers in the back. )

    9 - Give yourself flexibility: Plan, plan, plan.

    ( When you're not sure of your major, take classes that apply to all three of your most likely majors first. )

    10 - The one I learned too late: Build a relationship with professors who are top in their field by taking more than one class with them.

    ( If they're a bit of a name, their opinion carries weight. )

    Current Mood: happy
    Current Music: Skid Row
    icarusancalion
         		12:17a
    Reason number 211 why I love these high school students.
    Reason number 211 why I love my high school tutoring students:

    A student wrote his SAT essay. He detailed how, scientifically speaking, the planet doesn't need humans.

    <3
    Monday, November 23rd, 2009
    lilithilien
         		7:36p
    omgyay!!!!
    GERMAN HACKER KIDS RULE!!!!!!



    That is all.

    Current Mood: grateful
    Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
    darkrose
         		11:02p
    TWoP Update
    I did hear back from the mods, which I didn't expect. Basically, the problem was my tone. Oh, and the mod who actually suspended me and deleted my posts didn't read far enough back--or ahead--to notice that the thread had been and continued to be way off-topic.

    I honestly didn't realize that TWoP had a long history of being faily. It's a shame, because I really liked the SGU snark, as well as the recaps of Flash Forward. Oh, well.
    slashfairy
         		10:05p
    sorry
    for being so absent over weekend.
    it takes about 6 weeks to flip one's schedule from nights to days- couple that with these days i need to stay up until noon or get up at 2pm for appointments, and 'm not there yet. i keep thinking i'm just going to get it all organized, but ... not yet.

    arm is better. sore as hell after work, but with rest it gets better. growing muscles, which is both happy-making and embarrassing- when did i lose them in the first place?

    infected 'spider-bite' (which was probably not spider bite after all, no idea what started it) better also. have never had anything take this long to heal before.

    paychecks are really nice things. of course i'd rather be independently comfortable, but since i'm not, it's a good feeling to earn my way.

    *waves to everyone* hope you're more or less ok. or if not, that you have the support you need. blessings on your heads.
    darkrose
         		7:20p
    Podfic progress
    I had to start again, because the stand mike wasn't working. It'd be fine if I had a desk, but with it on my lap in the back bedroom, I get echoes, and it picks up the ambient noise every time I shift position.

    So I started...and realized quickly that the mike that connects to the jack on my laptop apparently picks up the broadcasts from the Catholic radio station whose tower is about a block away. While there's a certain irony in having the Catholic station ruining my attempt to record the NC-17 slash, I'm getting down to the wire here, and this is not helping.

    Fortunately, I don't pick the station up after sundown, which still gives me a fair chunk of recording time. I've also ordered a USB headset mike that should get here on Wednesday. I kind of wish there were an adapter so I could use the jack mike at work, because my headset is crap.
    icarusancalion
         		8:22p
    Women ninjas.
    The music awards:

    Shakira has women ninjas!
    icarusancalion
         		4:47p
    Quantifying a life.
    Good news on the work front: My tutoring job is going to give me 16 hours a week as of Dec. 1, which is great. It's an improvement.

    The pay rate is good, and it gives me the required experience I need for teaching. (90 hours is the magic number. I'll have it by the end of December. Then I need a year of school for the teaching certificate.)

    Unfortunately, it's not quite enough to live off of.

    I don't have a car in car-dependent Maryland, so I'm having to ask "mommy" for rides to work, to interviews. I have all the time in the world to write -- yet can't find the space because I have to write around other people's schedules.

    It's been four months and I'm getting the feeling she's burned out. As am I.

    I want my life back.



    Quantifying a life.

    ( When I drove across country to Seattle in 1996, I had a car. )

    Aside from the degrees, how did I end up with less than when I started?
    icarusancalion
         		3:35p
    Mousie report.
    Mousie report.

    Some of you may recall this post wherein a family of mouse babies took up residence in one of my fleece jackets (in a box that happens to be outdoors). I discovered this when I pulled my jacket out of the box, scattering mouse infants everywhere. I removed my other jackets, packed the box with newspaper, and used newsprint to scoop the littles back in the box.

    A week later I discovered I'd missed four mouse babies, who'd fallen into a box I took inside. Noooo....

    Then the temperature dropped and I thought the outdoor mousies were history.

    Three weeks later ...

    I'm happy to report that the mouse babies survived, and have moved on. But the nest is clearly there, and there are no apparent corpses.

    Proof of life: the fleece jacket was not so lucky, sacrificed to the cause. The Mousies chewed a few holes.

    Unless Rainy Pass can fix it.
    icarusancalion
         		3:11p
    Buddhism questions: passing the buck.
    People always ask me about Buddhism ... and I'm caught flat-footed. You should ask a good Buddhist!

    Well we're in luck. And online, too.

    Tulku Orgyen has offered to help anyone with any questions about Buddhism: http://twitter.com/TulkuOgyen

    Retweet, tweeters.

    And thank you, Tulku Orgyen, for letting me pass the buck.

    Current Mood: amused
    icarusancalion
         		3:02p
    The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!
    The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!

    If you're like me (in years past) you probably tune in to these winter sports, oh, once every four years. You get a general sense of who the favorites are from the announcers and interviews, roll your eyes at the inspirational life story clips, and root for the home team.

    Now you don't have to be in the dark. You can be knowledgeable long before the Olympics hit.

    At least about figure skating. (Everyone, feel free to correct me. I'm not an expert, I've just been following skating to the best of my ability for a couple years.)

    Right now the horse race is on. It's the Grand Prix. As we speak, world class skaters are competing in a series of competitions Russia, France, Canada, the U.S., Japan, and er, I think elsewhere. Right now they're trying to earn points to get to the Grand Prix final -- and prove themselves worthy of the Olympic teams.

    You see, last March at the World Championships each country won the number of slots they'd have at the Olympics based on how their skaters did. (The max is three.) China was very disappointed to not win any for men's figure skating. In a real shocker, the U.S. women's figure skating only scored two slots as our current National champ fell apart.

    But our men are doing fab. Evan Lysacek won the gold at Worlds and we have a "deep field," namely, many guys running neck and neck for the same titles.

    Let's have a look at our boys.

    The Americans.


    The ever-hot gentleman, Evan Lysacek. (The belt buckle is Batman, with cable and bat-grappling hook.)

    ( Evan has the quad. He has the fire. He's a skater who starts pouring it out in the last 30 seconds of his performance.... )

    Finally, there's Mabanoozerabadahblbrghf. Graceful, fluid, fun to watch. I don't know if he'll keep moving up, he's still inconsistent. But he has a musical sense that makes him figure skating eye candy.



    Only three will make it to the Olympics.

    Which three? We'll know at Nationals in Spokane, January 2010.


    Tomorrow: those other guys, yeah, them foreigners.

    Current Mood: bleary
    lilithilien
         		9:19a
    Happy Birthday To Us!!!!!
    I think you might have noticed my passing fondness (which, yes, was rapidly fanned into a full-blown obsession) for a certain German soap opera. Today is our birthday! Eskimo Kiss Project is one year old today!

    I was going to gush about what an incredible, intense experience this has been (and I still might after I have my coffee), but right now I want to share my squeee! We're getting so much love there, including THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER EVER EVER!!!



    Wish you all could see me beaming right now!!! (Or maybe not, it's probably kinda scary...)

    Current Mood: bouncy
    Current Music: Madsen - Wilkommen im Chaos
    Saturday, November 21st, 2009
    the_reverand
         		4:48p
    Modern Adventures
    ( Adventures in Eyecare )

    In adventures of the shoewear variety, I found new running shoes! Not perfect but at this point I'll take what I can get. I haven't been running in a month because of it. I hope I continue to like them. Nope!

    Other than that, I found a nifty patterned shirt, mostly grey and yellow, to add to my collection of awesome clothes which could also be upholstery. Also, pants.

    Oh, and the newest Kasabian and a not-so-new Death Cab for Cutie.
    Friday, November 20th, 2009
    darkrose
         		6:49p
    Television Without Pity--But Racism is Dandy!
    Okay, I should have known better. But I was enjoying the SGU thread on TWoP, with all of the lovely snark. And I appreciated the fact that most of the posters seemed to get why having sex in someone else's body was skeevy, and why it's problematic that the black guy in SGU is yet another Angry Black Man.

    ( Seriously--I should have known better. )

    Current Mood: irritated
    lilithilien
         		5:34p
    Oh you cheesy wonderful show


    Current Mood: amused
    lilithilien
         		1:46p
    Why do we do it?
    Interesting article on AfterElton: Why are Women Interested in Gay Men? It's Not Because They Want to Sleep With Them!* Fortunately it dispels the myth that gay men/slash just appeals to straight women -- 38% of these polled identified as lesbian/bi/other -- and the explanations offered are a little more sophisticated than the usual "it's just like men liking lesbians." I'm less happy that the wording on some of the questions assumed heterosexuality (bad, AE, bad!) and were painfully American-centric, but some of the comments quoted manage to go beyond these limitations. All in all, pretty interesting read.


    * Thanks to [info]gealach_ros for the link!

    Current Mood: chipper
    Current Music: Forro in the Dark - Perro Loco
    the_reverand
         		12:38p
    T-Rex is right.
    We need a duress phrase! For times when perhaps I am being made to post to my journal under threat to my person! Something ridiculous and unlikely.

    Perhaps!:

    "Could someone record American Idol for me?"

    "I really hope Brittney's new album is a chart-topping success!"

    "I'm really sick of Viggo, he's so unattractive and uninteresting."

    "Congratulate me! I'm getting married!"

    "And in conclusion, spandex."

    Others?

    That last one was going to be about being with-child but after I typed the p-word I felt a little sick. The absolute in not-funny phrases!

    Don't forget to make your own and let your flist know!

    The Captain and I need one, too. Trouble is, we will be tempted to use it under times of non-duress because it will be funny!, completely stripping it of its unique purpose. So we will need a duress phrase as well as a "no, really, I'm actually under duress this time" phrase, for those frequent occasions when thugs with guns force us to make phonecalls demanding that the other pick up milk on their way home when, in fact, WE DON'T NEED MILK.

    Times like those.
    icarusancalion
         		12:03p
    About SPN....
    ( SPN: About last night.... (of course there're spoilers) )

    The real "oh no"? SPN's not coming back until the end of January?

    Oh no!

    Wait, wait. Don't panic. There's still Merlin.

    Current Mood: entertained
    the_reverand
         		9:47a
    Things I'd Like
    I watched The Brothers Bloom the other night and I'd quite like to cuddle Adrien Brody until the end of time. This is really not a new thing, though.

    I'd like to read a Boosh!fic in which( ... Egypt! )

    I'd like for my Future Sailors and Darkplace dvds to arrive tonight! (By Royal Mail! To be delivered by gents in armour with crests riding white horses with plumes on their heads.)

    I'd like tea.

    I'd like to host a big music sharing post but I fear it would just be me uploading a bunch of albums no one wants to hear!

    I'd like for Lenscrafters to have my lenses when I go for an exam tomorrow(they never do!)!

    I'd like to take Access classes so that I can be a better d-base programmer and use my skills for freelance monies of awesome!

    That's enough for now. Except that I wouldn't mind seeing other "things I'd like" posts on my flist!

    Funny how it started so simple and fannish and ended up on monies and real life.
    Thursday, November 19th, 2009
    slashfairy
         		7:42p
    the few things i know for sure right now
    I'm really not ready to be back at work.

    I miss a lot of people right now, very very much.

    This is partly why people like Phillip K. Dick were life-savers for me when I was a kid- they were working out these huge questions in a place I could get to without having to be a grown-up first. Tolkien too, and the fairy tales... i will be forever ever grateful for them.

    Music is a life-saver.

    so is the internet.

    Life is precious, living is a gift.

    tonight i'm awfully thin-skinned, full-hearted, and more than a bit sentimental.

    I am so very fortunate in my friends. Thank you, everyone, so very very much.
    icarusancalion
         		3:52p
    SGA Santa
    Dragging this SGA Santa story out of me, one sentence at a time.

    I whimper at every NaNo post I stumble across. I stalled out early. Too much going on in RL, from temple, to work, to the job search, to WG not sending me my things, to the difficulty in finding time to write, to being several months out of the writing vein from having my life turned completely turned upside down.

    This doesn't stop me from hoping that I can write something on this story once I get my mental pen to work.

    Working tonight (yay!). I've also received my first paycheck.

    Current Mood: frustrated
    lilithilien
         		2:08a
    Shopping Spree
    Ottawa is nice. Stable. Practical.

    Montréal is not.

    Montréal has shopping!

    Mad crazy shopping that just sweeps you up and hijacks your credit card and you don't even care. Even department stores that you'd expect to be the same everywhere are sparklier in that city. Like the Bay. Even the boring old Bay, when it's plopped down in the middle of Ste-Catherine's, is suddenly magically filled with irresistible baubles and fashions that make me look fashionable.



    Current Mood: accomplished
    Current Music: Ariane Moffatt - Fracture du Crane
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