I'm online to figure out my bus for tomorrow... 8:30 AM blood-drawing appointment. Disgusting. But I'm feeling kind of sleepy so I'm going to attempt the rarely attempted Midnight Bedtime.
gasp!!
[crowd buzzes with excitement and worry]
Let me add that my new Kobo eReader won't be out until the end of this week, so I won't have it for my appointment. Pooey! I want something that's easy to hold when laying prostrate, having the lifeblood sucked from my unresponsive vein. Me-nowz.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Universal in for youtube?
Hey--another record company must have come to terms with youtube. I'm pretty sure this video I posted was banned very soon after I posted it, and now it's back up. (Only noticed because someone commented on it.) I'm not gonna listen to it though... it's soooo depressing.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Scenes from a marriage - In the Nabe
Scene: Husband walking Mabel to where she'll take a bus connection to catsit her friend Swissgirl's cats.
Fernando - In future when you catsit, you should only work day shifts.
Mabel [a night owl] - No. ...No, that's not going to happen.
Fernando - This is a dangerous neighborhood.
Mabel - It's a busy street, look how many cars there are.
Fernando - Driven by Poor & Violent people.
Mabel - Swissgirl and her boyfriend are poor and violent?
Fernando - Well. Well, um, they're--
Mabel - The aristocratic minority and the first to go when the revolution happens?
Fernando - Get that cross-stitching woman! She's a witch!
Mabel - Swissgirl will have to take up a less expensive hobby. ...As a front.
Fernando - In future when you catsit, you should only work day shifts.
Mabel [a night owl] - No. ...No, that's not going to happen.
Fernando - This is a dangerous neighborhood.
Mabel - It's a busy street, look how many cars there are.
Fernando - Driven by Poor & Violent people.
Mabel - Swissgirl and her boyfriend are poor and violent?
Fernando - Well. Well, um, they're--
Mabel - The aristocratic minority and the first to go when the revolution happens?
Fernando - Get that cross-stitching woman! She's a witch!
Mabel - Swissgirl will have to take up a less expensive hobby. ...As a front.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
sighness
Food Inc was on PBS tonight, it's the first time I've seen it. Like Pollan's books, this stuff makes me so mad. As Nombly would have said: Meh meh meh! I'm not out for genetically modified foods in and of themselves, but it's the patenting, and bullying of those who don't have to use it, and the monoculture that results, etc etc that makes me mad mad mad.
Now they're showing a short piece about a dairy farmer who lets his cows just eat grass, they keep their calves, and they're only milked in season (cows aren't meant to produce milk in the winter--which of course is very logical when you think about it. They have babies in the spring!) Seeing these cows wandering around green grass, hangin' out, just being cows... it's so beautiful.
As I've said before, I don't think consuming dairy or meat is inherently wrong either, it can be an interdependent relationship--after all, you're taking care of these animals, feeding them, allowing them to breed, and ensuring the survival of their genes. It can be a durned good deal for animals to interact with humans. But treat them like animals, and not like frikkin' ... chairs.
Anyway, I'm glad I watched it. These things help to keep me on the straightish and narrowish.
Now they're showing a short piece about a dairy farmer who lets his cows just eat grass, they keep their calves, and they're only milked in season (cows aren't meant to produce milk in the winter--which of course is very logical when you think about it. They have babies in the spring!) Seeing these cows wandering around green grass, hangin' out, just being cows... it's so beautiful.
As I've said before, I don't think consuming dairy or meat is inherently wrong either, it can be an interdependent relationship--after all, you're taking care of these animals, feeding them, allowing them to breed, and ensuring the survival of their genes. It can be a durned good deal for animals to interact with humans. But treat them like animals, and not like frikkin' ... chairs.
Anyway, I'm glad I watched it. These things help to keep me on the straightish and narrowish.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The quest is not yet dead (I do have my obsessive side)
Have you ever thought about what you've lost because of the internet?
In the Aulden Dayes, when I got into PG Wodehouse and Georgette Heyer, tracking down their books second-hand was A Great Quest. They were usually available new, but it was cheaper this way (I wasn't at my present addiction-enabling job). I usually waited until I was on vacation in Vancouver--I had a map of all the second hand bookstores, and I would set out for the day hunting down my books. Once I came to work for a bookstore, I found the last few by special order/full price.
But I have fond memories of those super trips. I wouldn't trade the internet for them, but there's something to say for non-instant-gratification. (Saves money for one thing.)
With the dollar on par, I decided to finally order the Jane Langton mystery novels I don't have yet. Yes, even though I own more books than I can read this decade and the next.
But I still had to quest for them, so the experience wasn't completely lost. There are several second-hand book outlets online, and I searched and searched for the best deal. And the deals are only to be found in the shipping expenses, because (and here's the secret to online ordering) most commonly available old books are sold for under $2 (and if it's a really crappy book no one wants except me, like the biography of Conrad Hilton, it's one penny.) Langton's are all available for $1.
* Indigo and Amazon sellers often have a lower selling price, but will charge you the full shipping price ($6-7) for each book, even if they're from the same seller. (At least, last time I made the experiment.)
* I found that alibris does the same for Canadians, and their minimum prices were over $1. Betterworldbooks supports a cause, which is nice, but that means the books are at least $3. Look, I'll send my charity to Canadian charities where I get a tax discount; and buy my books where it's cheapest. Sorry.
* Abebooks is the best site, because not all sellers use the same shipping--there are .50 to $1 differences. (You'd think the Canadian sellers would be cheaper, but they were, interestingly, more expensive.) They also let you sort the books by total price, meaning shipping included. And finally, as they stockpile stuff in your basket, they group it by seller. So you can choose a bunch of books, and then see if any of the sellers offer a cheaper price for the added books--Eg. $6 for the first book, $3 for each thereafter. And then choose the best deal, and delete the rest.
It was all Very Exciting. I ordered from 4 different sellers, to get the absolute best price for each book. Meh heh heh. So I'm happy. I feel like I spent a couple hours in a dusty book shop, searching for Langton's books. Meh heh hehhhh.
* And you have now been informed of the best place to shop for second-hand online books. ;-) Though alibris does have some very nice deals right now for 99 cents. And Americans can get better shipping deals from same-sellers.
In the Aulden Dayes, when I got into PG Wodehouse and Georgette Heyer, tracking down their books second-hand was A Great Quest. They were usually available new, but it was cheaper this way (I wasn't at my present addiction-enabling job). I usually waited until I was on vacation in Vancouver--I had a map of all the second hand bookstores, and I would set out for the day hunting down my books. Once I came to work for a bookstore, I found the last few by special order/full price.
But I have fond memories of those super trips. I wouldn't trade the internet for them, but there's something to say for non-instant-gratification. (Saves money for one thing.)
With the dollar on par, I decided to finally order the Jane Langton mystery novels I don't have yet. Yes, even though I own more books than I can read this decade and the next.
But I still had to quest for them, so the experience wasn't completely lost. There are several second-hand book outlets online, and I searched and searched for the best deal. And the deals are only to be found in the shipping expenses, because (and here's the secret to online ordering) most commonly available old books are sold for under $2 (and if it's a really crappy book no one wants except me, like the biography of Conrad Hilton, it's one penny.) Langton's are all available for $1.
* Indigo and Amazon sellers often have a lower selling price, but will charge you the full shipping price ($6-7) for each book, even if they're from the same seller. (At least, last time I made the experiment.)
* I found that alibris does the same for Canadians, and their minimum prices were over $1. Betterworldbooks supports a cause, which is nice, but that means the books are at least $3. Look, I'll send my charity to Canadian charities where I get a tax discount; and buy my books where it's cheapest. Sorry.
* Abebooks is the best site, because not all sellers use the same shipping--there are .50 to $1 differences. (You'd think the Canadian sellers would be cheaper, but they were, interestingly, more expensive.) They also let you sort the books by total price, meaning shipping included. And finally, as they stockpile stuff in your basket, they group it by seller. So you can choose a bunch of books, and then see if any of the sellers offer a cheaper price for the added books--Eg. $6 for the first book, $3 for each thereafter. And then choose the best deal, and delete the rest.
It was all Very Exciting. I ordered from 4 different sellers, to get the absolute best price for each book. Meh heh heh. So I'm happy. I feel like I spent a couple hours in a dusty book shop, searching for Langton's books. Meh heh hehhhh.
* And you have now been informed of the best place to shop for second-hand online books. ;-) Though alibris does have some very nice deals right now for 99 cents. And Americans can get better shipping deals from same-sellers.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
the boys in the band
Rewatching Baz's Romeo and Juliet. As cute as Leo and Claire were in the meeting scene (and I still love Des'ree's "Kissing You") my real enjoyment of this film, when it came out in 1996, was all the shirtless co-stars.
Benvolio!
TYBALT!
MERCUUUUTIOOOO!!!
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