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Oct. 29th, 2012 08:15 amGetting ready for hurricane Sandy here. We've already got wind and rain, but nothing too bad at the moment. But hey! Day off from work!
oh the beatles
Oct. 10th, 2012 07:03 pmHad a good weekend and Columbus day. The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour was remastered and re-released, and a theater nearby was doing a screening, so The Dude, The Dude's folks, and I went to witness the monstrosity in all its glory. It was better than I remember! Even entertaining!
other blabbles
Jun. 7th, 2012 08:51 amI really want to get back into writing. Since last years NaNo novel, I haven't done much of anything other than Dragon Age and SWTOR drabbles. I've been reading a lot more, and listening to writing and fantasy/scifi-themed podcasts, and I'm itching to get back into the habit.
It was a combination of Star Wars, terrible Star Wars novels, and damn fine fantasy novels. Star Wars inspires me, bad novels encourage me (I can totally do as well as these!), and good novels give me a goal to reach toward. And also the podcasts, too, since they make me want to be part of a community like that.
Need to: finish draft two of SQ, start draft one of T, fucking finially finish draft 12080234980 of P. Can it be done? Eh, no.
In preparation, I made another damn blog, this time over at wordpress. See, that is going to be my professional blog! Cuz I'm a Real Writer (tm) now or something! Sure! Let's go with that and not the real reason, which is I'm addicted to making blogs. I have this one, which was my main for a while; these posts get split and sent to LJ: stories go to one journal there and real life stuff to the other; my tumblr, where I've been spending basically all my time; and now this wordpress one. I've had so many others that died pathetically and alone.
It was a combination of Star Wars, terrible Star Wars novels, and damn fine fantasy novels. Star Wars inspires me, bad novels encourage me (I can totally do as well as these!), and good novels give me a goal to reach toward. And also the podcasts, too, since they make me want to be part of a community like that.
Need to: finish draft two of SQ, start draft one of T, fucking finially finish draft 12080234980 of P. Can it be done? Eh, no.
In preparation, I made another damn blog, this time over at wordpress. See, that is going to be my professional blog! Cuz I'm a Real Writer (tm) now or something! Sure! Let's go with that and not the real reason, which is I'm addicted to making blogs. I have this one, which was my main for a while; these posts get split and sent to LJ: stories go to one journal there and real life stuff to the other; my tumblr, where I've been spending basically all my time; and now this wordpress one. I've had so many others that died pathetically and alone.
still alive
Jun. 7th, 2012 08:44 amI've been so busy lately; haven't had any quality internet time at all. I found a job! Only temporarily: I'm doing contract work at the National Archives until the end of September. It's not perfect, but it's money coming in.
So my days are full now, and nights are busy with the gym and - starting tonight - drawing classes. I heard about a good deal for continuing ed courses and The Dude and I dediced that we needed to stop talking about doing it and finally get off our asses and broaded our horizons. Both of us were interested in art as kids and would love to pick it back up. Stoked about that. Hope it goes well.
Haven't had much time for SWTOR, but am super excited for the expansion/patch coming out. New planet holy shit. With two 50s and two 30s - and 4 level 10s - I'm awash in ready-and-willing characters. Woot.
Things I want to do: write reviews of the podcasts I've been listening to, write reviews of the Star Wars books with an emphasis on reading as a feminist, finish the Dragon Age alphabet challenge for Charade, ten thousand other things.
So my days are full now, and nights are busy with the gym and - starting tonight - drawing classes. I heard about a good deal for continuing ed courses and The Dude and I dediced that we needed to stop talking about doing it and finally get off our asses and broaded our horizons. Both of us were interested in art as kids and would love to pick it back up. Stoked about that. Hope it goes well.
Haven't had much time for SWTOR, but am super excited for the expansion/patch coming out. New planet holy shit. With two 50s and two 30s - and 4 level 10s - I'm awash in ready-and-willing characters. Woot.
Things I want to do: write reviews of the podcasts I've been listening to, write reviews of the Star Wars books with an emphasis on reading as a feminist, finish the Dragon Age alphabet challenge for Charade, ten thousand other things.
(no subject)
Oct. 3rd, 2011 05:49 pmFall at last. We broke out the down comforter last night and this morning squabbled over turning on the heat or not. I was for the latter, but The Boy wanted to avoid upsetting the neighbors, who apparently whined all spring that the building was too cold. We control the thermostat, for good or for ill. Being brought up a cheapskate with plenty of sweaters and sweatshirts, I prefer to keep it on the low side. I have been outvoted.
Cloudy today, but yesterday was gorgeous, short shower notwithstanding. We did some cleaning, bought thank-you cards but couldn't find the energy to start writing them, and then started watch Downton Abbey, which I've been trying to convince The Boy to try since I watched them earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, he loves it. Eagerly awaiting the new season.
Cloudy today, but yesterday was gorgeous, short shower notwithstanding. We did some cleaning, bought thank-you cards but couldn't find the energy to start writing them, and then started watch Downton Abbey, which I've been trying to convince The Boy to try since I watched them earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, he loves it. Eagerly awaiting the new season.
hurricane a'brewing
Aug. 27th, 2011 02:41 pmWe're prepared: stocked up, put away the lawn/porch furniture, charged the call phones and DSes. We still need to fill up pails of water, in case the power goes out. It's an interesting feeling, waiting for a disaster.
video games and the law
Jun. 28th, 2011 01:32 pmIn a surprising turn for the sensible, the Supreme Court ruled that video games are protected by free speech in the same way that literature is. Through the ESRB rating system, the video game industry has been policing itself and despite what some crazy parents think, I consider that effective.
I'm still on the fence if video games are art. But I certainly think that they can tell good stories, and by protecting the industry from censorship, they can continue to do so. There's certainly gratuitous violence and sex - god knows some games make me want to destroy the TV and crawl up in my bed and weep for humanity - but sometimes you need those things to craft the world and its tale.
Dragon Age. DA and all its parts have M ratings for blood and gore, sex, and language. They're games for adult players featuring adult characters. Though the arguments focused on violence, I think the inclusion of sex in M games, and in Bioware titles in particular, also plays a part. Fox News had a field day after Mass Effect was released... Something about graphic lesbianism or something, if I recall correctly. Taking out the sex from the romance does a disservice - I mean, damn, we're adults We have sex. Shocking! People who fall in love tend to search for ways to display that feeling physically. Relationships have passion, sometimes bad decisions, sometimes end well and sometimes don't. The culmination of a romance is satisfying because the characters and their relationships are so well developed. Excluding sex doesn't just make the relationship incomplete, it makes it unrealistic.
I'm still on the fence if video games are art. But I certainly think that they can tell good stories, and by protecting the industry from censorship, they can continue to do so. There's certainly gratuitous violence and sex - god knows some games make me want to destroy the TV and crawl up in my bed and weep for humanity - but sometimes you need those things to craft the world and its tale.
Dragon Age. DA and all its parts have M ratings for blood and gore, sex, and language. They're games for adult players featuring adult characters. Though the arguments focused on violence, I think the inclusion of sex in M games, and in Bioware titles in particular, also plays a part. Fox News had a field day after Mass Effect was released... Something about graphic lesbianism or something, if I recall correctly. Taking out the sex from the romance does a disservice - I mean, damn, we're adults We have sex. Shocking! People who fall in love tend to search for ways to display that feeling physically. Relationships have passion, sometimes bad decisions, sometimes end well and sometimes don't. The culmination of a romance is satisfying because the characters and their relationships are so well developed. Excluding sex doesn't just make the relationship incomplete, it makes it unrealistic.
Postcards!
Apr. 7th, 2011 08:20 amMailed them out last Friday and took a picture, but since then my memory-card reader has died and all attempts to resuscitate it over the past week have failed. Sorry, guys! Have ordered a new one, which will hopefully arrive soon.
ugh homework
Mar. 1st, 2011 06:52 pmMARC 21 is my nemesis.
Ok, so back in the days of yore, libraries used card catalogs. As computers took on more of the responsibility for creating these records, MARC language came into use. It was designed by a computer programmer - not a librarian - and even as records went digital, this outdated language was hauled along.
It's awful. Unlike some computer languages - like my buddy HTML and its offshoots - MARC gives no clues as to what the codes mean. It used arbitrary numbers, letters, and symbols with no pattern. So _ 1 in one field means something completely different than that same thing elsewhere. The rules are complex and convoluted and impossible to read, let alone memorize.
( Here's an example that I'm working on. )
It's like a foreign language. And I hate it.
Why can't the field tags give hints as to the content? Like [author]James C. Fernald[/author]. Or [pub_city]New York[/pub_city]. BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE.
Ok, so back in the days of yore, libraries used card catalogs. As computers took on more of the responsibility for creating these records, MARC language came into use. It was designed by a computer programmer - not a librarian - and even as records went digital, this outdated language was hauled along.
It's awful. Unlike some computer languages - like my buddy HTML and its offshoots - MARC gives no clues as to what the codes mean. It used arbitrary numbers, letters, and symbols with no pattern. So _ 1 in one field means something completely different than that same thing elsewhere. The rules are complex and convoluted and impossible to read, let alone memorize.
( Here's an example that I'm working on. )
It's like a foreign language. And I hate it.
Why can't the field tags give hints as to the content? Like [author]James C. Fernald[/author]. Or [pub_city]New York[/pub_city]. BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE.
Been busy busy busy. On Friday we had a school trip to the library in the Natural History Museum. We got a grand tour of the archives, the rare book collection, and all the cool gadgets they use in preservation.
That would be the perfect job. I love museums, and that one in particular, and being able to support the network of educators, scientists, and librarians would be such rewarding work. I'm going to see about volunteering there, maybe interning in the summer.
Random interesting things I learned:
- The rare book collection is protected by a key lock and then a device that requires the thumbprints of two different high-ranking members of the staff. They have a variety of unique texts, like a first edition of Darwin's Origin of Species. We also got to see a first edition of a 16th century science book and my favorite, a book of fish from the 1700s with color illustrations that look right out of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
- At the turn of the century, the museum used lantern slides to teach local teachers about new discoveries. They were originally lit with candles, then light bulbs, and were hand painted.
- The museum is an accredited school. It's very competitive, taking only 4 or 5 grad/doctoral students.
- The library was always intended to exist along with the museum. JP Morgan was one of the original founders, and he donated books that helped create the library.
Hung out with some other students for a while afterward, but the museum was packed and it was hard to see the exhibits. That night I met up with Pete and the gang from college to celebrate promotions, marriage announcements, and other fun things. We ate at 5 Napkins, a burger place on the west side. Food was ok, too expensive for my taste, but it was fun hanging out with everyone. It'd gotten cold that night, so we hurried into the first bar we found after dinner and goofed off there, despite the terrible atmosphere. Good times, good times.
That would be the perfect job. I love museums, and that one in particular, and being able to support the network of educators, scientists, and librarians would be such rewarding work. I'm going to see about volunteering there, maybe interning in the summer.
Random interesting things I learned:
- The rare book collection is protected by a key lock and then a device that requires the thumbprints of two different high-ranking members of the staff. They have a variety of unique texts, like a first edition of Darwin's Origin of Species. We also got to see a first edition of a 16th century science book and my favorite, a book of fish from the 1700s with color illustrations that look right out of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
- At the turn of the century, the museum used lantern slides to teach local teachers about new discoveries. They were originally lit with candles, then light bulbs, and were hand painted.
- The museum is an accredited school. It's very competitive, taking only 4 or 5 grad/doctoral students.
- The library was always intended to exist along with the museum. JP Morgan was one of the original founders, and he donated books that helped create the library.
Hung out with some other students for a while afterward, but the museum was packed and it was hard to see the exhibits. That night I met up with Pete and the gang from college to celebrate promotions, marriage announcements, and other fun things. We ate at 5 Napkins, a burger place on the west side. Food was ok, too expensive for my taste, but it was fun hanging out with everyone. It'd gotten cold that night, so we hurried into the first bar we found after dinner and goofed off there, despite the terrible atmosphere. Good times, good times.
Half way through with my term paper/projects. THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. I have one that's due sometime today and then the last one due on Monday. And then I'm going to kick back, relax, maybe do some Christmas shopping, and hopefully get some writing done. It's going to be hard to make myself buckle down and get these two done: tomorrow's my birthday! I want to party!
Re: delicious closing. I tweeted about this: it's interesting, in my paper that I was writing yesterday about Web 2.0 tools used in libraries,I added a paragraph cautioning libraries from adopting/adapting these tools without having a plan about how to deal if they go defunct. I had a sentence something along the line of "Even though many of them seem to big to fail, a library must have a plan. Yahoo is facing considerable financial difficulties, and many sites are still vulnerable to hackers." So LOL I guess!
Re: delicious closing. I tweeted about this: it's interesting, in my paper that I was writing yesterday about Web 2.0 tools used in libraries,I added a paragraph cautioning libraries from adopting/adapting these tools without having a plan about how to deal if they go defunct. I had a sentence something along the line of "Even though many of them seem to big to fail, a library must have a plan. Yahoo is facing considerable financial difficulties, and many sites are still vulnerable to hackers." So LOL I guess!
One of my classes was put online since my professor was out of town; right now I'm listening to a lecture on controlled vocabulary, specifically controlled vocab vs uncontrolled vocab. They both have considerable advantages and disadvantages and generally a system/index has to choose one or the other. With controlled vocab you get more organization, consistency, fewer repeats and junk terms, but they're hard to update and maintain and come at a high cost. Uncontrolled vocab is easier to update, is done in the language of the authors, and can cover a wider scope, but at the same time it can lead to too many terms that are inconsistency and unspecified.
There has to be a way for a system/index to use both methods of organization. I think AO3 has a good method: users input their own tags (which are uncontrolled vocabulary) which are then wrangled behind the scenes into a hierarchy (making them semi-controlled). However I help wrangle tags and I can see how this system is flawed - users don't input the terms in correctly, characters have multiple names/identities or the same name is used for multiple, unrelated characters...
What would be a better way to incorporate user tags with system standards?
Yay what I'm learning has real-world implications!
There has to be a way for a system/index to use both methods of organization. I think AO3 has a good method: users input their own tags (which are uncontrolled vocabulary) which are then wrangled behind the scenes into a hierarchy (making them semi-controlled). However I help wrangle tags and I can see how this system is flawed - users don't input the terms in correctly, characters have multiple names/identities or the same name is used for multiple, unrelated characters...
What would be a better way to incorporate user tags with system standards?
Yay what I'm learning has real-world implications!
how can i not have an autumn userpic
Sep. 26th, 2010 09:26 pmTo take a break from homework, I baked cookies. Quite possibily the best cookies ever. Certainly the best I've ever made... Which isn't saying much because I've only baked cookies about 3 times in my life. In any event:
FUCKING TASTY PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES ALSO WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
( the recipe )
I'm pleased! And my cooking skill has increased by 1!
FUCKING TASTY PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES ALSO WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
( the recipe )
I'm pleased! And my cooking skill has increased by 1!
Hey - Look at that
Apr. 15th, 2010 12:54 pmI've had this journal for a year! Happy birthday, journal!
John Lennon
Dec. 8th, 2009 03:41 pmTwenty-nine years ago, here in New York City, John Lennon was murdered.
Book review: Touched by Venom (Hey-oh!)
Sep. 1st, 2009 05:34 pmWhen I went to the library on Saturday, I had no idea what was ins tore for me. I picked up some mysteries, a couple of Discworld paperbacks, and then wandered into the sci fi/fantasy section to look for any new Patricia McKillip novels. Pickings were slim, so when I passed a series of book with Dragon in the titles, I decided to grab them. I love me some cheesy fantasy novels and covers with dragons on them are a sure buy (or sure borrow, in this case).
On Sunday morning, I woke up before The Boy and so decided to read a bit. I pulled Touched by Venom from my bag o' books and started to read.
OH MY GOD.
The first paragraph was terrible. Author Cross sprinkles Call a Rabbit a Smeerps like salt - there's enough in there to kill a colony of slugs. I flipped through the first few pages to see if it got better.
And that was then I discovered it. This was no ordinary crappy fantasy novel. Oh no. This was something much worse.
This was the VENOM COCK.
AHAHAHA I can't believe I picked up this book! What're the odds? I wonder if I subconciously remembered reading about it on Fandom Wank and that prompted me to borrow it. But my god is it terrible - Beyond terrible. Everything about it is brain-bleachingly bad. I need to exorcise my book bag. When Pete, who knows all about the history of revering the venom cock, woke up, I read him choice selections. We laughed, we cried, I threw it back into the depths of my bag.
On Sunday morning, I woke up before The Boy and so decided to read a bit. I pulled Touched by Venom from my bag o' books and started to read.
OH MY GOD.
The first paragraph was terrible. Author Cross sprinkles Call a Rabbit a Smeerps like salt - there's enough in there to kill a colony of slugs. I flipped through the first few pages to see if it got better.
And that was then I discovered it. This was no ordinary crappy fantasy novel. Oh no. This was something much worse.
This was the VENOM COCK.
AHAHAHA I can't believe I picked up this book! What're the odds? I wonder if I subconciously remembered reading about it on Fandom Wank and that prompted me to borrow it. But my god is it terrible - Beyond terrible. Everything about it is brain-bleachingly bad. I need to exorcise my book bag. When Pete, who knows all about the history of revering the venom cock, woke up, I read him choice selections. We laughed, we cried, I threw it back into the depths of my bag.
In book news, I finished Mesuline by Sarah Monette, A Companion to Wolves by Monette and Elizabeth Bear, and The Sorceress and the Cygnet and The Cygnet and the Firebird by Patricia McKillip. McKillip's amazing as per usual; I think I've just about read all of her books. Sometimes her prose gets confusing, too vague, but I just sit back and let her lyricism flow over me. These two weren't my favorites, but I still loved them both. The way she portrayed dragons in Firebird was particularly interesting: they were magical and mystical without resorting to typical fantasy cliches. Mesuline was good - Not great, but worth getting the rest of the series. And Wolves... Well, it was interesting, but I can't say I actually liked it.
In Wolves, boys bond to wolves and form posses to fight trolls. Because of the close bond they share with the wolves, the boys and men participate in the pack mentality: mainly fighting for dominance and going into heat. And since it's strictly no girls allowed, when a female wolf (which are called bitches - I know that's the correct term, but it was off-putting to see bitch bitch bitch bitch flung all over each page) goes into heat, her partner gets mounted by the partners of the wolves who mount her. And so that was weird. The main character goes through this a few times and every time, part of his recovery is announcing how totally not gay he is. At least there's no human/wolf sex.
So yeah.
Now I'm reading The Continental Op collection of short stories by Dashiell Hammett to get myself grounded after so much fantasy. I love Hammet - love his noir - though as far as private dicks go, I'm more of a Philip Marlowe fan. There's a scene in Farewell My Lovely where Marlowe is being questioned by the police. He barely pays attention during the interrogation; instead he watches a beetle wandering around the room. Then, with everyone waiting expectantly for him, Marlowe gently picks up the beetle and leaves to put it into a bush outside.
I really liked that scene. Marlowe's a weary cynic, but there's still a spark of empathy in him.
In Wolves, boys bond to wolves and form posses to fight trolls. Because of the close bond they share with the wolves, the boys and men participate in the pack mentality: mainly fighting for dominance and going into heat. And since it's strictly no girls allowed, when a female wolf (which are called bitches - I know that's the correct term, but it was off-putting to see bitch bitch bitch bitch flung all over each page) goes into heat, her partner gets mounted by the partners of the wolves who mount her. And so that was weird. The main character goes through this a few times and every time, part of his recovery is announcing how totally not gay he is. At least there's no human/wolf sex.
So yeah.
Now I'm reading The Continental Op collection of short stories by Dashiell Hammett to get myself grounded after so much fantasy. I love Hammet - love his noir - though as far as private dicks go, I'm more of a Philip Marlowe fan. There's a scene in Farewell My Lovely where Marlowe is being questioned by the police. He barely pays attention during the interrogation; instead he watches a beetle wandering around the room. Then, with everyone waiting expectantly for him, Marlowe gently picks up the beetle and leaves to put it into a bush outside.
I really liked that scene. Marlowe's a weary cynic, but there's still a spark of empathy in him.
