Okay, so my friend seegrim is going to go see Paolo Nutini, with persephone33 in tow for companionship and also in case medical attention/bail money is needed. This is very exciting stuff, as you can imagine. :D

Now, she has tickets, but if she gets the most RSVPs on this Facebook event thingie, she wins VIP tickets, thus increasing the chances that she actually gets to meet Paolo. Since this would bring a great deal of joy to the life of a deserving soul, I figured I'd see if any of you lovely, lovely people were willing to help a sister out.

So, if you have a facebook account, or were thinking of getting one, please go HERE and click "attending" or "maybe attending," as you deem appropriate. It'll make me smile and think warm fuzzy thoughts about you.

So, my first assignment for the second summer class is to pick an up-and-coming rising star in science and so I'll spend the rest of the classtime imagining I'm their reference bitch. I have no idea how to tell if someone is a rising star in science, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd totally welcome them. My first thought was Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

So, Sarah Palin resigned from office today, and I'm disappointed about that. It's weird, because the person I thought about talking to about it is a person I'm no longer friends with, and so it made me miss my friend. Or maybe who I thought my friend was, or the person she was at the time. I don't know.

It made me sad, and it made me reflective, because there's another friendship that's kind of on the rocks right now and so I have to think, I'm the common denominator. Why is it that I can't maintain a friendship? What's wrong with me?

And, the thing is, I know the answers. I know that a large part of it is that when I invest myself emotionally in someone, I expect some degree of reciprocation. When I feel like I don't matter, then I detach and move on. Having someone continually tearing me down because another friend is a higher priority is a pretty big indication to me that I might be acting as this person's friend, but they do not feel friendship towards me; if they did, then I would matter. If I am always the last person whose thoughts and feelings are taken into account - if I'm treated as if I don't have feelings that can be hurt, if I'm treated as if I can never be the victim because I am by definition the victimizer, these are pretty clear indications that, protestations of friendship aside, this person does not like me. At that point, I'm done.

Part of it, though, is just straight up my fault, in that I have a hard time seeking people out. If I approach you just to say hi, without something specific that needs to be communicated, that's a sign that either I'm comfortable or I'm specifically trying to initiate contact because I feel like you're pulling away and I've talked myself into trying to see if there's something to salvage. Most of the time, I just assume that if anyone is interested in talking to me, they will; if they don't, then I shouldn't bother them. I shouldn't be this way, but I am, and it's a factor contributing to some relationships just drifting off into nothing.

And then there's that people grow and change and sometimes they grow closer and sometimes they grow distant. Sometimes a fundamental difference in looking at the world can't be overcome. Sometimes the balance of feelings is unequal, and where one side feels more strongly than the other, respect and friendship is impossible. Shit just happens, what the hell.

So, I don't know. I'm tired and getting towards the week of the month when I always feel like everybody hates me. I don't know how I feel. Except that even though I know that it was the right thing to do to make it clear that I wasn't interested in a friendship where I ran a distant second and my feelings were meaningless in the face of someone else's preferences, I miss my friend.

Hat tip to Nico Pitney, who said: 10:33 AM ET -- "They'll kick you and they'll beat you and they'll tell you it's fair." An Iranian on Twitter posts this video with the note, "BEAT IT U FANATICS."

It's kind of weird to be spending any time of the Huffington Post, which I normally consider kind of a cesspool of bigotry, but he's got the best coverage I've found anywhere.

Jonah Goldberg, in the LA Times, wrote exactly how I'm feeling toward our president's response to the crisis in Iran. The full article is here.

Do it, President Obama, please. Take the side of democracy.

Declare yourself and your nation on the side of hope and change where it is more than a slogan and better than a rationalization for ever-bigger government. Stop measuring the success of your diplomacy with Iran by the degree to which the grinning, hate-filled stooge of a clerical junta will "temper" his rhetoric about the pressing need to destroy Israel and slow his ineluctable pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Instead, choose a higher standard. Look to history. Look to the aspirations of the students risking their lives and livelihoods to protest a sham election. Stop fawning over the mythological Muslim street only when it hates America, and look to the real Iranian street at the moment of its greatest need, when its heart may be open to loving America.

You often invoke President Kennedy's pledge to put a man on the moon to justify your domestic agenda. You and your supporters invite comparisons to Camelot. Well, what of John F. Kennedy's most solemn vow? "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

No, we should not bomb Iran, or invade it. Those prices are too steep; those burdens are too heavy. But maybe you could lift a finger for democracy? [...]

During the Bush years, what was best about liberalism had bled away. One of the worst things about the Republican Party has always been its Kissingerian realpolitik, the "it's just business" approach to world affairs that amounted to a willful blindness to our ideals beyond our own borders. The Democratic Party may not have always gotten the policies right, but it had a firm grasp of the principle.

In the 1990s, liberals championed "nation building," and conservatives chuckled at the naivete of it. Then came Iraq, and Republicans out of necessity embraced what liberals once believed out of conviction. The result? Liberals ran from their principles, found their inner Kissingers and embraced a cold realism whose chill emanated from the corpse of their ideals.

So, the phone rings and caller ID says private number. Since it used to show that when my sister called from Germany, I'm habituated to pick up those calls.

Female voice with noisy background: You're a lying whore ass bitch.

Me: (nonplussed) Excuse me?

FV: (emphatically) You're a lying whore ass bitch.

Me: (confused and somewhat amused) Do you know who you're talking to?

FV: (belligerently) Yeah, the one with the stinky cunt.

Me: (using best perky customer service voice) Well, thanks for informing me. Bye!


And somewhere in the world, a lying whore ass bitch suffers for a lack of april freshness without having been informed by the heroic efforts of a drunk dialing woman. Alas.

Any of you lefties out there care to plug me in to something on your side reporting about Iran in a way that's not all "This is all Bush's fault!" or "No difference between the mullahs and the Republicans!"? I'd like to get a balanced picture of the issue - maybe someone can mention something positive about Obama's response, since on the right there's a fair amount of "WTF going for ice cream is the top White House story??? While people are dying, and our official position comes down to basically 'no comment'???"

God knows I'm not a fan of Obama, but I'd really like to believe that he's aware, that he's going to do something, that he's a grownup and he's in charge. That he's doing something other than offering tepid good wishes and entertaining Tony Hawk.

So, yes. Hotair.com is a relatively calm blog reporting from the right. Can anyone recommend a site on the left that takes the fact that people are dying in the streets for democracy and freedom at least as seriously?

ETA: I found this. I haven't read it all yet and no amount of money could tempt me to risk my blood pressure by reading the comments, but it seems like a good start. Any other suggestions?

Hey, Brits on ye old f-list. I was curious about two things, so maybe you can help?

1. Grapes in the hospital. Why? And do they just get presented in the supermarket bag, or is there some kind of gift basket involved?

2.
What do you call this? I saw one referred to as a lorry the other day, and it made me all head-tilty. I thought lorries were more the big 10-18 wheel thingies.

Ta!

Sharing is caring, right?

Dancing with the Star Wars Stars!


and

A literal interpretation of Meat Loaf's "I Would Do Anything for Love"



The ones for Total Eclipse of the Heart and Take on Me are also standouts, and I have some affection for the Radiohead one. :)

Oh, I know! Not falling asleep until sometime after four from being upset enough to bring on an I'm-not-crying headache of blinding pain! And having set the phone alarm to go off at 7:30, leading Milo to wake up and put the shrill ringing right next to my ear! *facepalm*

Blergh. I still have to get crap done today, but I feel like the walking dead. And I still haven't heard back from the school system, but today is not the day for marching into the school board offices. I think the most thought-involving process I'm going to attempt today is resetting a character's birthday, since I'd forgotten when it was and that turns out to be tomorrow.

Dear AP:

The term is "nuyorican," or possibly "newyorican." The K is dropped entirely.

Twitchingly,
Grammar Nerd

Progress is progressing, yay! I got the clothes rack and a bunch of clothes moved over, Mom and leaper182 finished the painting and the tub surround, my main furniture is in place for my bedroom, and the sink is half done. I got through most of Milo's room yesterday - everything that wasn't contained is either in a bin or thrown away - I got his toys down to a single bin! And not a big one, either! I'm still somewhat panicked about how I'll have everything done before Friday, but I'll manage somehow.

And the awesome Jandy made me a banner! Check it out!



Is it not nifty? I ♥ it. Enough to put in on my userinfo, where I don't think I've ever had any banners ever. :D

Still internet-less at home, and essentially phone-less, since the Cullen-friendly cloud cover makes the phone get a signal for only seconds at a stretch. On the up side? I'm going to sleep at a decent hour, woo.

So, today marks one year since a group of us started an RP, because we wanted to write together and things hadn't worked out to do that elsewhere - we joked about being a band of outcasts, since fully half of our initial crew had been kicked out of a game. seegrim, persephone33, airmidm, jandjsalmon, nbaeker, and me got together, discussed plot in a series of multi-colored google docs (I was an eye-burning pink). We ended up going with the theme of a backlash, sort of like the post-WWI/Treaty of Versailles kind of setup, with grievances festering and punishment being a higher priority than peace to the "good" guys. What can I say, we've got a higher than average concentration of history geeks, and moral ambiguity makes for meaty character development.

There've been some moments that sucked, although it's been getting fun again, and I'm really enjoying the characters. I think we're striking a good balance between what normal people do in their twenties - fall in love, settle down, establish careers, etc. - and illustrating a world with chaos and bad feelings simmering below the surface. I like what we've done, what we're doing, and where we're going. And I like that I've gotten to know and really like my co-conspirators, where we weren't really all that close before the game started. Yeah, we have our personal ups and downs too, but all five women are people I would trust to watch my kid, so I think that says a lot.

Happy birthday to si_muove_rpg. Here's to another awesome year.

So, I have no internet at home until after my move is complete. I'll be able to check on email and LJ when I'm over at mom's house, but since most of my time at mom's house is spent preparing my in-law suite for the move, I'll still not be around much. Between that and my phone signal being somewhat sporadic, I'm feeling very adrift in the world, but hopefully it'll help me focus on actually getting ready for the move, since I won't have the internet to distract me.

I'll let you know if I actually get the shakes.

So, I noticed on one of the D/G comms that someone put up the following announcement:

Hi Draco/Ginny fans!

sortinghatdrabs is a drabble contest community that features a new pairing each week. And this week's pairing is

Draco & Ginny

We are very excited to feature this pairing! Fire and Ice! If you would like to write a drabble please comment on THIS POST.

I thought it looked like a fun prompt and y'all know I'm always ready to fly the D/G flag, so I went ahead and signed up, and figured I'd share. Signups close tomorrow, and then the drabbles are due Monday. Anyone else up for the challenge?

VoicePost 114K 0:35

“Ok. So send me a regular accurate balance and I will care but I have to give you especially ___. So I'm alone in the back ground and the balance. Ok. I am done with finally, with finally. I am done with finally, with finally. Goodbye.” Auto-Transcribed Voice Post

Yes, indeed, I'm done with my semester. No more classes until June, which conveniently gives me a month in which to move. :D The color of my new bathroom? Embellished blue. I was amused.

And, since I know I didn't mention it: I'm moving into my mom's house, and she and leaper182 and I will be working our little tails off to convert the master bath and another bedroom into an in-law suite so I have my own space. And I currently live in a trailer park, so moving in with mom? Kind of a lateral move in terms of grounds for mockery.