lynnmonster

i have a place to live! \o/

Fantastic speech, Senator Clinton. Fantastic speech.

I'm supporting Obama/Biden, of course, but if you were to ask me who my heart and head really, really support, the answer is this man here:



God I love Dennis Kucinich.

(Direct link here in case you can't view embedded vids)

If you read synecdochic's Broken Wings series, you might be interested in the icons I've put up for adoption in clanmitchell today (here, here, here). Words, phrases and ideas from the whole series except for Dial Tones and A Howling in the Factory Yard, which I am still rereading. And yes, these are behind cuts but are graphics-heavy posts. Comments welcome.

Why, LJ? Why won't you load?

(Seriously, am I the only person who's been having trouble with LJ for the past half day?)

LJ will not load, so you get an IJ only post.

*waves*

I've been working 10 hour days ever since vividcon but tomorrow I finally have the day off. Unless they call me in -- that would make eight days in a row.

I actually have more than one day off !!! I hope to catch up on some panel notes and things. Of course Mely has beaten me to the punch for some, so I'm not sure if it is even worth typing up those panels, and my notes were much less extensive for other panels. *ponders*

I still haven't seen a bunch of vids. I should watch the dance vids, they always make me happy.

Money is tight now; you know that, right? You see it every day in the bills. And so do the companies who aren't getting enough income right now to make their payments, and who then have to declare bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy act. Some of the recent bankrupt companies: Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Hines Horticulture, Inc. (Irvine, CA), Trinity Hospital (Erin, TN, first hospital built by HCA Corporation, which owns and operates 179 hospitals and 104 surgery centers in 21 states, England and Switzerland), Stamford Center for the Arts (Stamford, CT), Linens 'n Things, Mervyns (jewelers specializing in diamonds), Boscov's (northeast regional retailer), and Finnegan's Wake Irish Pub & Eatery (Pensacola, FL.) And these links are just what's on page one of the news.google.com search for Chapter 11.

Something I have not seen in all the talk about conserving fuel and rising gas prices and rising other costs is this: any discussion about changing the way in which architects and contractors design and build suburbs. I am seeing more 'town centers', aka apartments or condos located walking-distance from subways and amenities, but I'm seeing no fewer monster houses being built as well on half-acre lots (where the house is 3/8 of an acre itself, three storey, for two people). Where's the discussion? Where's the consideration of philosophies? Or are they just thinking the rich will still live in monsters and the rest of us will cluster in gerbil condos?

And the Sacramento Bee appears to be imploding.

Glaciers are disappearing in the Alps. Signs of the way people lived thousands of years back are appearing.

In Rome, a battle of the bells.

Arundhati Roy on the political situation in Kashmir. Another view from Tehelka.

---

Reiki for veterans. I'm glad to see it's being used in more official locations as well as small wellness clinics.

In more medical news:
Pro-life misconceptions about contraception. And education is needed to decrease teens' ignorance about contraception as well.

The Progressive calls the Bush proposal to yank funding from hospitals and centers that perform abortions "a ridiculous infringement of a woman's right to choose and it's ridiculous meddling into the practice of medicine. How are you supposed to run a hospital when any employee can refuse to participate in medical procedures?"

One person may be opposed to tubal ligations, another to vasectomies, a third to circumcisions, and yet another to infant inoculations.

What are you to do? Have two sets of employees—one team that’ll do everything and another that picks and chooses?

How ’bout something simpler?

Like the idea that if you’re in the health care business, your job is to give the patient get the best and safest treatment possible, as defined by prevailing medical standards.

Not as you, or George Bush, define it.

This points right at another side effect of Bush's push to give priority to health care workers who refuse to participate in health care: it's not just about abortion. It's about homophobes who don't want to treat AIDS patients. It's about people in pain and need having the door shut in their faces and being told they won't be helped. It's lies and damned lies instead of medicine.

Huffington Post has more on the Department of Health and Hallowed Services. ( ignorance reigns here )
You do know we are still in the 30-day comment period on these rule changes, right? Have you contacted any of the people at that last link, or your congressperson or senator about them yet?

This link has a map that shows what each state requires of pharmacists concerning prescriptions for birth control.

Roger Ebert reviews IOUSA.

And this may be a comfy couch, but I still don't want it in my living room.

Fish farming started (in the US, at least) in the early 19th Century, when hunter and wild-game specialist Seth Green realized that the area where he lived was running out of wild food, including fish in the local streams. He started the first fish hatchery in Caledonia, NY, to restock the fish, and his idea caught on. And now Treehugger features Snowcamp Aquaponics: do-it-yourself fish farming with zero experience.

Okay, so if I said the words Harry/Draco, penis enlargement and beautifully hysterical porn in the same sentence would you be interested? Because you should be.

florahart's written a fantastic fic for pornish_pixies that includes all three and OH. MY. GOD. I howled my way through it. So much love. Seriously.

Boundaries, Harry/Draco, NC-17

Read. Now.

Excuse me while I go fangirl Flora madly.

I really need a H/D icon...

So tired. I have now packed up nearly my entire life into seventeen boxes and three suitcases which somehow seems oddly humbling, and I'm waiting for my last load of laundry to finish so I can tape up the last box and be done. The movers will be coming tomorrow at one for phase one of the moving process--long story short, since Sept 1 is the THE moving day in Boston courtesy of the rather large student population, as of tomorrow night I'm living out of a carryon and sans furniture for a week. \0/ It'll be like camping in my living room....which is about the only way you'd get me to go camping, come to think of it.

Dungeons last night was brilliant fun. We had a gamewide year-long plot arc that ended in a flurry of activity, which meant hardcore RPing from 8:30 at night to 3:45 in the morning, OMG. It was, as those of us still stumbling about punchily around 2 a.m determined, epic--one of those moments that reminds me how much I love RPing with this fantastic group of writers. \0/

Speaking of writing (go with it, really, I'm too damn tired to think of a better segue), I sat down and figured out my writing schedule for the rest of the year because I'm going to have to be very organized when it comes to my writing this fest season. So far I have plots for all but the two exchanges that I haven't gotten my assignments for yet. I just have to beat the plots into outlines now, which I think I'll do next week. It's going to be a very Snarry and H/D heavy season for me. :)

( How Femme Will Be Spending Her Fall, Age 36 )

Call me masochistic, but I'm all flaily about being able to write so much fic, and about the plots I have. I feel like I haven't written anything really plotty in months. Which I guess I haven't....huh. My past two fics have been a lot shorter than my usual.

I'm considering making the box of brownies that's been sitting on my counter for the past three days. Hm. Or I could just sprawl exhausted on the couch and stare blankly at whatever crap's on TV tonight....chocolate....tv.....chocolate....tv....

Really, really sick of the rain. Over it! Please stop now. Fay sux.

( Starting college deets )

So, how about that episode last night, eh? Pretty slashy.

I, of course, am referring to ... Psych. *psych*! ;) ( No, seriously, it was heavy on the innuendo, even more so than usual. *grin* )

( Last week's EUREKA was a little slashy too - and a little sad. *sniffle* )

A couple weeks ago I read the first novel in the Southern Vampire series (by Charlaine Harris), prepping myself to check out HBO's True Blood series in September. The Girl Child has most of the series in the house and I always meant to read them before this. However, I gotta admit that I found the book kinda boring. None of the characters captivated me and the whole premise seemed a little tired. The preview for the HBO series shows the first episode, or first few episodes, following the premiere book pretty closely. But what I've seen so far looks a little more enticing than the book was. I know ezust has seen the pre-retooled Pilot and wasn't impressed, but I'll still check it out the first week, at least. If it doesn't grab me more than the book did, though, I won't keep up with it.

Speaking of books and ezust, I must apologize to her because I did something really stupid. She gave me three of the Elvis Cole novels by Robert Crais for my last birthday. So, my mind being the sieve that it is, and my thought processes being scattered more often than not, I placed the books on a shelf where I have other paperbacks, thinking that was the most logical place to store them until I was ready to start reading them. Unfortunately, the paperback bookshelf is not in the most obvious place in the house and, well, out of sight out of mind.

So last weekend when we were bunking with my pal in Gainesville, she pulled out one of the same books to recommend, and a bell went off. D'UH!!!!!!!! As soon as we got home I began scouring the house for those books, and it took me forever to recall where I had put them. Idiot! Now I have them sitting at my bedside, and as soon as I'm finished reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics (which is good, but long), I'm going to break open that first novel. ;)

Just didn't want you to think I didn't appreciate them, ezust!

Finally, on a rare political note, I have to say that I think Obama made a good choice in Joe Biden for VP. I thought he had more than one decent (rumored) candidate on the short list, but Biden probably fills more of the ticket's (and hopefully eventual Administration's) needs than some of the others.

There's a poll over in my LJ about fest decisions and fic/art decisions..

It's over here!

The Department of Health and Human Services (and what a deceptive euphemism that title is becoming) wants to funnel funding to anti-choice "crisis pregnancy centers" and make it optional for federally funded health care centers to provide contraception at all. This is a revised proposal; here's the AP report, here's the press release, and this link takes you to a pdf of the entire revised proposal, thanks to feministblogproject. There is a 30-day comment period, starting now. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS.

You do realize, I hope, that John McCain is entirely in favor of this change in health policy, right? He is on the record as being entirely against abortion, including in cases of rape, incest and severe health problems for women. And, just in case you male readers still feel all warm and cuddly about the guy, you need to know that he wants to reinstitute the draft to supply an unending line of soldiers for that hundred-years war he wants. More on that here. It's likely that he's also thinking along the neoCon line that involves removing 'hostile regimes' in the Middle East and elsewhere.

By the way, those aren't Cindy McCain's recipes -- she "borrowed" them from tv shows.

And who sponsors your news?

Slate considers why mothers don't give their daughters the HPV vaccine.

I am surprised that 78% of Bush's signing statements have raised constitutional or legal objections. Only 78%?

We need to rebuild the US infrastructure -- before it all comes down.

How many homes does John McCain own? Well, to be precise, none. His wife and her companies own this many.

Oh, by the way, don't mention China's carcinogenic water. If it's mentioned, the person who says it might end up breaking bricks and hauling rocks as 're-education' for a few years. That's regardless of age or health.

In Yemen, child brides may be married off at 9 or 10.

How do you spot a lie? It's blinking obvious.

Universities want the drinking age to go back to 18.

(*heh. Anybody who believes that "one last time" thing doesn't know me very well)

Attention all of you who like Snape slash, Snape het, and Snape gen: hie thee over to Snapely Holidays (on IJ) because sign-ups for this new Snape-centric fic/art exchange are now open!

Not that I have any vested interest in encouraging more Snape-centric fic and art to come into the world, of course. :)

***

In less happy news...I've only ever been a peripheral SGA fan, but I have a huge amount of sympathy for the Atlantis fans on my f'list who've just heard that they're losing their show at the end of this season. For those of you who've been wondering if there's anything you can do about it, there's a community called Fight for SGA (on LJ) where you can share ideas. And if it turns out that all decisions are really final, cesperanza linked to this post by fiercelydreamed which...might help you feel better. {{hugs you all}}

it's a damn good thing that i had such a wall-to-wall fantastic time at vividcon, because i've been slammed with work since i walked back in the door on tuesday. ow.

Well, this is interesting. I finally get a chance to catch up with online life - mostly due to the tropical storm from HELL that won't fucking leave - and the first thing I find when I log in this morning at O'darkthirty is the news that SGA has been canceled. After checking in at Gateworld and reading through some of the convo about the cancellation at that site, it appears that it's actually MGM canceling SGA, not Sci Fi (was it MGM who canceled production on SG-1 too?). That actually makes more sense. While SGA is not its highest-rated series - those honors go to Ghosthunters and Eureka - it was still its highest rated show on Friday nights, and is still pulling in respectable numbers for them on that night.

But MGM wants to pull funding from SGA for yet another (lame) spin-off, I guess (bored now). And SGA fans will get one straight-to-dvd flick to wrap up the season five finale cliffhanger. Anything more than that, I'd be surprised, despite the current by-the-numbers fan-placating claims. And at this point, we don't even know if all the actors will commit to the one wrap-up movie. It's too early to hammer down the deets.

So now that the facts are straight, I have to admit I'm conflicted. The disappointment I feel WRT this news is likely not on par with the rest of fandom. Overall, I'm not devastated or anything. There are other things I watch that I like a lot better that will really kill me if (and probably when) they (it) get canceled - like The Middleman, which should never have aired on ABCFam in the first place. Ironically, that show would have been an awesome fit for Sci Fi, and probably would have done better and lasted longer. I'm totally hooked, and totally dreading the ax falling on Dubby and the Middleman (and Lacey and Noser too!).

( One reason I'm disappointed that may refer to very mild spoilers - so mild, they're not really spoilers, but just in case. )

My primary reason for being disappointed, of course, is because we Shep fans will never know anything more than we do now (i.e., almost nothing) about the guy who is supposed to be the lead character on this series. This 'Gate series will go by the wayside with a main character having been so criminally and utterly ignored by the moronic producers that after five years he's still a virtual unknown commodity. For me, that's the part that really sucks.

On the upside, I guess Joe Flanigan won't have to continue battering his pretty head against a wall trying to get 30-seconds of actual story line for his character every season anymore. So, you know, less headaches for him, less money spent on aspirin.

RIP John (the criminally underwritten) and Ronon and Teyla. Though, in my mind and in my heart, I know the Warrior OT3 will either go out together or go on together.

How is it that the Department of Homeland Security now feels it can track law-abiding American citizens when they are in other sovereign countries? Doesn't that count as some form of espionage? The Post's version here.

There's hot bidding out there for offshore oil leases, from 47 countries who want 319 sites. But these are for ten-year leases, not something immediate. Since the shallow waters around the coasts are where many fish go to breed, we are also facing the possibility of a Dead Zone Diet if these waters are killed off. Your doctor wants you to eat more fish? Where's it going to come from? I have a narrow, sharp bone to pick with some medical advice that advocates taking smaller fish -- where do they think the big fish come from if the younger ones are eaten before they have time to reproduce?

Chycho.com has been writing about oil, war and the Internet, and how they're all related. Confused? Don't be. This link considers what might happen if the current conflicts expand into World War III. This one relates that to government control of the net by eliminating net neutrality and choking free speech online. There are more links, and more conclusions.

The defunding of the peace movement, and why Obama's campaign may be the only voice left.

Even the court kangaroos were offended by the presence of US Brigadeer General Thomas Hartmann; he was banned from the Guantanamo court.

Student loans these days? No more 6% interest. It's more like 23%. Did someone put Shylock in charge when we weren't looking?

In South Dakota, either doctors lie to their patients or they break the law. That's right, the law mandates them telling lies to suit political ideology. How are things where you are?

Are you a human scanner? You might be surprised.

I used to think CNN was competent at newsgathering and discussion; not brilliant, but at least competent. No more -- not since they actually asked if Obama were the Antichrist.

Selling the schmaltz and -- by the way -- selling China as well.

Fox doesn't want the Watchmen on theatre screens. It's battling Warner Brothers for the rights.

The final issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts. A sample: On British forests, myth and now.

Communal songwriting -- an experiment with Guitar Situations.

Go to my userpics and choose:-

1. Your favorite.
2. Your least favorite.
3. One that makes you automatically think of me.
4. One that you think I should TOTALLY use more often.
5. One that you don't get/needs more explanation/you have no idea why the hell I have it.

Post the results in a comment :D

List 5 things which are basic common knowledge in your culture, which people outside are unfamiliar with. This is not about obscurity, but something everyday to you, that others go "bzuh?" at. ( you might (or might not) be surprised )

Your personal information, your life, will become even less private if the Justice Department has its way. ( more details )

The real McCain position on abortion: not allowed, ever.

The oil reserve fallacy. And microhypermiling.

Psychologists on the Dark Side -- involved in Guantanamo.

Freedom of religion? Not in the military according to Gen. Petraeus.

*Brilliant* graphs and charts that make sense and give far more information than expected.

The homophobic McCain accepted a donation from a gay sex mogol, refused to give it back for days, and tried to parlay it for Log Cabin Republican votes. Hmm. Are there still any Log Cabin Repubs, or did they tire of the twofacedness of it all? More on McCain's party of hate. And remember Jack Abramoff, who was indicted for illegal influence peddling? McCain invited Abramoff's not-so-shiny-white business partner Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition, to be part of his team, while knowing of Reed's involvement in the Abramoff scandal.

Why not haul George Bush into a court of law?

In the Middle East, the peacemaking initiative still stands.

Nepal seeks a new child goddess.

Geopolitical chess in the Caucasus.

Are the British complicit in the CIA's secret prison on Diego Garcia island?

The RIAA has to pay $107,951 in court costs against a disabled mother it accued of illegal downloads; And she's suing them for actual damages also.

Harry Taylor of Charlotte, NC, told Bush to his face that he was ashamed of the leadership in DC, including the presidency. More here. Obviously a man with guts. Since then, Taylor has declared his candidacy for Congress. More here.

Abstinence-only driver's ed.

Magic Kingdom? When Disney employees protest their employment conditions, even Mickey Mouse gets arrested.

Steampunk wallpaper.

Urban chickens in Brooklyn.

Has anyone been to this cafe?

Photos of an Afghanistan that most of us will never see.

(thanks to snapecast, from whom this photo was swiped)

( Welcome to Spinner's End - spoilers for HBP )