Scott's wanderings

It's a bright and frosty morning



and the thinnest, finest, newest ice has been born on the low-lying puddles



the sun is already high--what adventures await you today?

3 moods I was in today: manic, happy, aggravated

3 feelings I experienced today: bloating, amusement, affection

3 things I'm looking forward to this weekend: sleeping in, seeing Katrina, bookstore visit

3 things I need to accomplish this weekend: laundry, shopping for Father's Day, finishing the bookgroup book

3 things I keep wasting time on: Sword of Fargoal, Facebook, reading blogs

3 things that have made me happy lately: county-wide recycling pick-up program, a minus on the scale, that my friend's husband may get to go home from the hospital this weekend for a few hours

3 people I'm thinking of: Bryce, Melanie, my dad

3 places I wish I were: my mom's house in Michigan, Soliden, somewhere sunny

3 work-related tasks I did a lot of this week: presentation reviews, case study layouts, advertisement layouts & admin

3 people I wish had blogs: my mom, my brother, Becky

3 LJ'ers I'd like to meet in real life that I haven't yet:* heartsong, jackiejj, kimbis

3 shamefully neglected projects: my family website, my collage book, my letter-writing

3 things I miss: vacation, that early-relationship glow, the eyesight I took for granted in my younger days

3 fruits I never get tired of: golden kiwis, clementines, red seedless grapes

3 things I'm glad don't actually exist in real life: dimension spiders, orcs, sparkly vampires

3 things I wish there would be an end to: health scares among my loved ones, the crappy weather, this list

3 ways to end this list: stop at 2, go to bed, triple-dog-dare YOU to your own list of triplets

*They're not the only ones, though.

I really enjoyed Rachel Swirsky's retelling of the Iphigenia story, "A Memory of Wind," up at Tor.com. Iphigenia loses pieces of herself--memories of the color of new leaves and the feel of wool--from the moment her father promises to sacrifice her to obtain a wind for Troy. The story unfolds her past and develops her character and those of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Helen, giving you increasing insight into all of them as Iphigenia's own insight increases. I especially appreciated that the morals and judgments and attitudes displayed seemed believable for the society of ancient Mycenae (insofar as I can judge, which isn't very far, I'll confess, but I do know some things).

The sharp-thorned rosa multiflora strings itself with raindrops each time it rains. So pretty, but don't get tangled up in there; you'll end up bleeding. I stole one drop and didn't get caught, this time.




Elsewhere, the bone of a long-dead tree nudged my ankle. I picked it up--it's forest driftwood, not a scrap of flesh left on it anymore, more like stone than wood now. I'm keeping it. We'll see if the ghost of the tree has tales to tell.

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

For earlier installments, click here

Dear K--

You really must have worked some magic for us, because Dad stopped by here in the afternoon yesterday, while Aunt Christie was at work, and he hugged me in his right arm and Tammy in his left and lifted us both off the ground and told us that we were going to be able to rebuild our homes after all, right on the mudflats where they’ve always been.

Was that you? Did you make the government change its mind? How did you do it? ( Read more... )

Love, M--

What if we had never met? What would your life be like? Some of you might argue that, in fact, we never HAVE met, and some of you have only met me once or twice in person, but maybe the meeting of the minds that passes for frequent contact here is enough. Maybe it counts! For all the friends I've never met, and the ones I've only met a couple of times and all the ones that used to live nearby and whom I never now see, it must count for something, right?

What if you'd never come to that meeting? What if you'd never followed that link? What if you'd chosen to go to a different school or take a different class or move to another neighborhood? What if you hadn't gotten that job at the place where I worked? What if you had, but had decided, upon a few moment's first impression, that I wasn't someone you wanted to get to know? Our past is full of such moments, missed connections, near collisions, glancing blows to our experience.

If what we are is the sum of our experiences, and all the things that have happened to us, then that includes all the people that we have met, that we have interacted with, and most especially it must include those that are kin, whether by relation or likemindedness. How much poorer my life would be without the people who happened upon it, who added to its breadth and depth and who enrich it daily.

The family that let me grow and experiment, the teachers that let me stretch my mind and creativity, the friends that let me dare and dream and do. If we had never met, my life would have been so different. I would never have learned HTML if I'd never met YOU. I would never have learned how unconventional I was at heart if I'd never met YOU. If YOU and I had never met, I wouldn't have learned how to take words and twist them in my grasp until they formed a shape that reflected my heart. Every one of you has given me something, added something to me, showed me something I didn't know, answered a need I had.

If I hadn't trusted a friend, I would never have met Anders. If I hadn't met Anders I would never have moved back to Europe, learned a new language, conceived and carried Martin and Karin. Imagine! I might have fallen in love with someone else and had some other life. Or I might never have met anyone whose heart matched my own and my life would have been infinitesimally less blessed.

What if YOU and I had never met? It's unthinkable.

Big Bouquets of Belated Birthday Wishes to vember!

One misty moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather,
There I met an old man
All clothed in leather,

All clothed in leather,
With a cap under his chin, singing.
"How do you do?
And how do you do
And how do you do again?"

This rustic was a treasure, as on his way he hi'ed
And with a leather bottle
fast buckled by his side

He wore no shirt upon his back
with wool unto his skin, singing:
"How do you do?
And how do you do
And how do you do again?"



...but no, his bottle wasn't leather but glass, which he dropped in his haste to follow after the ones that scattered gold as they passed by...

In the "We Are All Connected" video, Feynman, speaking about light waves, exclaims, "And it's all really there!"

But sometimes we see things, and then--they aren't really there. lizziebelle wrote about seeing a blue-and-red clad spirit who disappeared when a tree came between them (here), and peppergrass wrote about seeing mice that turned out to be leaves (here).

I often think I see figures standing silently by the side of the road, only to have them turn out to be mailboxes or road signs. At twilight, it's hard to say how much is a trick of the eye and how much is glamour.

There's a guardrail at the edge of the road near where I live, to protect cars from falling into the marsh, or maybe to protect the marsh from careless cars. It's a new guardrail, put in after the town repaved the road, and it's got reflectors on it.

Coming upon it in a car in the late evening, I startled and nearly swerved, seeing a man crouched on the guardrail, prepared--crazy!--to jump into the road. Then I looked again, and it was all trees and branches and the empty guardrail, its reflectors winking wickedly. Mysterious strange.

What's really there, really there, is a delight to behold, but so is that which, perhaps, is not really there.

all that is seen and unseen, and half seen...

There's my motivation! I found it! It was lurking...in my brain. Always the last place you look, eh?

Things I did at work today:
Watered the plants, confimed procedures with a colleague on the phone, reviewed a flash card, ate breakfast, laid out 5 case studies, uploaded an updated datasheet and sent out a call for translation for localized versions, reviewed 5 presentations, made a new ad look better, sent out 4 ads to publications, ate a super salad for lunch, found a logo for someone, had a discussion about how best to do the next cheat sheet poster, farted around for 20 minutes while our awesome IT guy fixed my computer (2 new memory boards, 1 new graphics card with an extra fan), answered several questions, thanked someone for a job well done, finalized 9 enewsletters, fixed a typo on 31 enewsletters, updated the enews archive page, cancelled a dinner date, read and answered over 100 emails, finalized another ad and sent it for review...among other things. Productive!

We were supposed to go to the wallpaper/paint store after work but Anders got stuck helping someone and we wouldn't have made it before they closed, so we'll go on Wednesday instead. Martin's room renovation is in full swing. Instead I unloaded the dishwasher, made dinner, read 2 chapters, power-walked on the treadmill for 35 minutes and made a couple of phone calls. I have some other projects percolating in my brain right now...we'll see if they get started tonight or not.

Both kids had their H1N1 flu vaccine shots today and are walking around wincing any time they have to lift their arms. Karin has the most awesome sad "feel sorry for me" face ever. Is it wrong that I can't help laughing every time she tries it out on me?

Even though the weather was for shite today, it always seems like a good day when I have motivation, a good mood and a positive attitude. I get knocked down, but I get up again.

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

wendylady2
Designed to rescue fashion victims everywhere, this Brit-based community reads like a rag-ezine. Published once or twice weekly, you'll view bizarre highlights of the global fashion scene through captivating photos and delightfully snarky editorial. Sit tight for a virtual fashion tour from the runways of New York to Milan to Paris and back home again to London in homage to the adage: you can't buy good taste.

soldiers_heart
A passionate community for veterans of all ages (mostly American), plus families, friends, and supporters. View poignant snapshots detailing life in combat and back on civilian soil in the form of original artwork, personal narratives, poetry, and photos. Be forewarned that members don't shy away from describing their disappointments, disabilities, and struggles.

Symphony of Science--"We Are All Connected"

We are a way for the cosmos to know itself

Check out "Paranormal Activity," now showing a local theaters, for an innovative and creative horror movie. It was made for $11,000 but has generated about $68 million in only one month, plus my $5.50 contribution, in a limited number of theaters.

The more I think about the film, the more I like how it was done. It is a truly scary film, but a viewer won't see any monsters or men in rubber suits. I won't reveal any "spoilers" here.  The film was shot entirely in the director's two-floor condo in San Diego. It features primarily two actors, each paid $500 for their efforts, as a young couple "engaged to be engaged." She is an English major studying to be a teacher; he is a day trader.

The film was shot entirely with a handheld camera, primarily by the male actor, who is using it to document the unusual occurrences happening to his girlfriend. The camera, particularly when mounted on a stand to record the couple sleeping during the wee hours, really tells a scary story. Watch the numerical time signature at the bottom right of the camera's screen for a look at how the recorded passage of time can add to the terror.

The movie's ending has evolved a bit from the time it was first shown at a horror film fest about three years ago, I believe. The film attracted director Steven Spielberg, who persuaded the director to shoot a different ending, one which he suggested. At the end of the showing I saw, one young viewer, apparently expecting some explosions --- or that man dressed in a monster suit -- exclaimed "That's it?!"

Yes, that was it. But that was enough.

This was a very thought-provoking that might stay with you.

Karl

If I went back and read through entries from former years written about this same time, I suspect that a theme of split restlessness and lethargy would be revealed. It's hard to understand how I can feel both so itchy to do something that I can't identify and sluggish and slow at the very same time. The weather is reflected my mood today: grim and gray and cantankerous, blowing this way and that.

The AWC Halloween party was a smash success, a record-busting bash. There were 213 people attending, the most we've ever had at any AWC event in our almost 12 year history. I think the most we've had before this was 180 and that was probably a Halloween Party, too. It was almost half and half adults to children ratio, and since we held it at a great playplace in Malmö, it was 3 hours of happy hyperness. Everything went smoothly and my costume was a success, though both Karin and Martin tossed their defining costume accessories off as soon as we got in the door and took off running. We saw them when it was time for dinner and when it was time for trick-or-treating, but otherwise they were just red-cheeked sweaty blurs in the distance.

I found a sun mask at the costume party place in town and wore a bright green shirt, to which I clipped big flowers in pink and white. I was a Sunny Day in the Garden, of course :) Martin borrowed my authentic French beret and wore a striped turtleneck and mustache. Karin wore a silver face mask and that was enough for her. Anders wasn't motivated enough to dress up this year.

And now it's into November and December and the holiday season has officially begun.

Hopefully the restlessness and hunger for whatever it is my brain is craving will be figured out soon and I can get on with the getting on.

For other installments, click here


“Separatist leader urges a conciliatory approach, expresses concern for minority cultures worldwide”

September 17 (Reuters) – One of the instigators of the most recent flare-up of minority separatist agitation in the island nation of W-- issued a plea for restraint from her unusual temple prison on a platform suspended above “the ruby lake,” a lava lake in the crater of A--, a volcano in the country’s mountainous central region.

( Read more... )

“What do you need to say that you haven't said?”

This question is from an article by Bernie Siegel. Most of the article was just a rehash of the old idea that we co-create our lives. If we do so from a loving point of view, we create a better life than if we come from hate. Yes, but that's hardly original. Siegel admits this, saying “My writing and today's books have nothing new to say. We may have new stories but they are only repeating ancient wisdom.”

But the article provided some questions to provoke thought and enlightenment, one of which I've quoted above. This question got me thinking.

Most of the time, we feel compelled to say the same old things we've been saying all along: favorite complaints, wishes, stock emotions, or whatever. (When we've known someone a long time, we can often anticipate their next statement, and, to be honest, they can probably guess ours too.) But we still feel the need to say these things. They make us comfortable. They sound right to us. Perhaps we think if we say them long enough, the world will change. That's not likely, of course, because all we're doing is reinforcing our existing beliefs and thereby reinforcing the world we've already created.

But what about things that we need to say but haven't said? The hidden things. The things that are too emotional, too scary, too shameful, too “out there,” too unspeakable to admit to others – or even to ourselves. We've never said them. Why not?

Some thoughts may be new, but I think a lot will be extensions to the same old stories we've been telling. They are “alternative endings” – something that might force us to take a new look at our core beliefs – the ultimate in scary.

Just one personal example. I frequently think to myself: “I must do something significant with my life. A mundane life is a wasted life. I must work harder to become significant.” But the alternative ending that I never say is: “Probably I will never do anything significant. I haven't yet and the years are marching on. Unless something changes, I am and will be a complete failure.”

Well, there it is. “Unless something changes.” I've been trying my whole life to do significant things, but haven't achieved any. Simply trying harder is not a change. The change, if I care to make it, needs to be in my core beliefs: “A mundane life is not a failure. There are other ways to define success in life than being notable for some achievement. Think about that.”

Now, I haven't actually changed my beliefs at this point. Not only do I still see myself as a failure, but I see most other people as one too. But making myself come face to face with this belief at least makes me begin to question it. And maybe change it. And if I do so, perhaps co-create a different life.

Topic For The Week: What do you need to say that you haven't said?
Ponder this for a while. What do you avoid telling yourself? What might happen if you spoke it aloud?

bittersweet is orange




the jack-o'-lantern is orange




What was not orange was the sky--it was all shades of gray (and grey), swiftly moving, and the wind was very high, and it was pulling oak leaves off the trees and whirling them in the air, a dance high over the heads of the trick-or-treaters, and down below, too, there were whirlwinds of oak leaves here and there.

One thing I like about this is what a great French accent this kid has. Wanna brush up on your vocabulary? I think I even heard a passe simple verb tense go by. Play it phrase by phrase, and when you've got it down, you'll be ready for the Big Trip!

While we're in French, karlkunkel wanted me to comment on the fact...not confirmed by me, by the way, that Micky D is going to open up a shop in the Louvre. MacDonald is an American icon...it stands for everything the French think of us, including the fact that we eat badly. Including, but not limited to, mind you. JF loves to say that the French LOVE to eat at MacDonald's just to come away talking about how badly they've just eaten. It's a sort of reverse snobbism. In the Louvre, they'll have even more opportunity to cluck and do their Gallic shrugs. And can you imagine the numbers of American tourists who will flock there? It's a marriage made in heaven.