Something Sketchy This Way Comes

Can I just say it is a damned peculiar feeling to take a facebook quiz and come up with a result that is illustrated by a picture that you, yourself did and had no idea was being used for said quiz?  o_____O

Here's the picture in question: http://zenzzen.deviantart.com/art/Granny-Weatherwax-72754197

I'm not mad - a bit flattered, really, but it's a bit like turning a corner, tripping and faceplanting into the laundry you thought you'd left at home.

Ok, so Rich Morris may have finally wrapped up his "Ten Doctors" comic, but he's started a brand new comic crossover featuring...

...wait for it...

The Doctor and the pre-USA cast of Forever Knight!!!!!  Go Nick!!  Go Schanke!! Go Jeanette!!  Go check out "Forever Janette" at  comics.shipsinker.com/2009/06/03/forever-janette-1/ !  I can't wait to see which Doctor he's chosen to feature in this story.

Neil Gaiman has a worrysome post in his blog about current activities regarding the NIH and the new guideline proposals for stem cell research. Apparantly the new, looser-but-still-conservative guidelines that have been proposed after President Obama's lifting of the bans on stem cell research, are currently up for public review and comment.

The new guidelines can be found here: stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009draft.htm

The problem is that

"Not only are the guidelines far more conservative than we had hoped, but
opponents of the research are systematically flooding the comment process.

Conservative religious bodies, have launched a national campaign to attack early stem cell research by mass emails to the NIH.

 *"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a new
"Oppose Destructive Stem Cell Research" campaign today, equipping citizens
to contact Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to oppose
embryonic stem cell research ."  -- WASHINGTON, May 6
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ www.usccb.org/stemcellcampaign

Is their anti-research campaign having an effect?

Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University , ". of the 6000 plus comments that NIH
has received concerning the draft guidelines, 99% were from people who
opposed embryonic stem cell research."-Carecure Forum
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showpost.php?p=1039001&postcount=12

Imagine what the enemies of research will do with a statistic like that!
Think of the State Senators and Representatives who have to fight for stem
cell funding-they will be hammered-no politician ever wants to stand alone.

Supporters of stem cell research must be heard."

Now, you don't have to believe the way I do, but personally I think that matters this important shouldn't be dictated by a small group of people who happen to be able to organize themselves well. So if you, like me, think that stem cell research holds some value for the future then please visit nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm and post a comment! You have until May 26 to make your voice heard.

A link to the full article I clipped a section from is here:  docs.google.com/Doc

Today I found a five-leaf clover next to my garden patch. Teh Internets cannot agree as to whether this is meant to be super-lucky, or super-unlucky. I guess I'll leave it where it is and see what happens - which, I suppose, means that the plant itself is fairly lucky in that I'm planning to let it live, regardless of whatever else does or does not happen.

Also...why the heck is it that I can hear the strange booming noises in our neighborhood that shake our house occasionally, as though someone a few streets away was using construction equipment to slam something heavy into the ground, or like a semi truck is hitting a pothole or something, but other people cannot perceive this? They can't even feel the house vibrate. o___O You'd think they'd at least notice that...

A lot of people over the years have watched "Star Trek" and said to themselves, "That ought to be true." Then they went forth to Make It So.

Now, it seems, certain people have said much the same thing to themselves about the Harry Potter universe, to wit: the Weasley Clock:

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/5/9/weasley-clock-ticks-closer-to-becoming-reality

Personally I'm waiting for someone to perfect the flying broomstick so we can start having proper games of Quiddich.

DUDE.

HOLY.

FRINAZZLE!

http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/updates.htm

I will be eagerly awaiting the release of this. This was put together by the same dude who did the fan trailor for "Grayson", which I'd totally go to see in the theatres if it was a real movie. Somebody for $deity's sake hire this guy and give him money to make feature length movies!!!!!!!!!

scifiwire.com/2009/04/terry-pratchetts-discworl.php

I'd like to live on Treacle Mine Road.

So yesterday Russ goes up into the attic to do some work towards getting the proper amount of insulation up there, and accidentally puts his foot through the ceiling in my art studio. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, and afterwards he put lots of duct tape on the ceiling to keep insulation from falling down through the hole.  And I thought, no big deal, he's ok and so what if there's a temporary hole, it doesn' t keep me from working.

Except...

Now, every so often out of the corner of my eye I catch sight of the dark mass of duct tape on the white ceiling, and my brain screams an alert at me... CEILING NINJA!!!!! >___<

I am glad the contractor is coming soon to fix this.

Clipped from an article on CNN.com:  www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/02/g20/index.html

"I think a new world order is emerging and with it the foundations of a new and progressive era of international cooperation."
FNORD baby, FNORD.  XD

Actually, I hope he's right. This is precisely the sort of thing (and the only sort of thing) that could, in time, lead to a planetary society capable of creating a real version of Star Fleet. Despite its foibles, I have high hopes for the human race.

Also, I just found this wonderful gem at tor.com: www.tor.com/index.php
"Doctor Whodism: How the Doctor Influenced the Dharma"

Best. Depiction. of Kurt. EVER.

*fangasm*

Did anybody notice that when he was kicking ass all over that ship, the music sounded kindof 'Pirates of the Carribbean'-ish?

Of course, last week's episode with Gambit - also pretty darn shiny. Phil Lamarr is the best voice for Gambit I've ever heard, bar none.

So far I'm extremely pleased with this show.

Next week: The Incredible Hulk.

...
...
...Kurt better come back as a regular on the show. He just better.

How did I not know this existed until now???  This is so full of Win you could hook up a hose and siphon Win off to fuel other projects!

http://comics.shipsinker.com/2007/03/10/a-doctor-who-comic-the-10-doctors/


Also, ganked from a link from Peter David's website, something awesome for the chemistry geeks:

http://www.emsb.qc.ca/laurenhill/science/elephant2.jpg

YES WE DID!!!

Ok...now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. One man can't fix this country by himself.

One thing that strikes me as rather interesting is that all the reporters have been asking the obvious question of the obvious people - did any African-American think they'd live to see the day a black man would be elected president? And this is right and proper.  Thing is, I haven't seen anyone asking this of the white folks too, even though to my mind it's actually just about as important, seeing as white folks have been half of this struggle. I guess it's just not as dramatic and doesn't make for nearly as good press as the 'underdog finally wins' angle. So on behalf of this white person, I'd just like to say that I personally find this event something of a relief. I thought I'd probably see it eventually, though not this soon...but I'm glad to see it.

How to put this? For some of us, at least, and perhaps especially in the south,  there is pressure from the past to think of black folks in an inferior light - however much we may consciously know and choose to believe otherwise. It is shameful. I remember once having a conversation with my grandmother in which she earnestly tried to convince me that black people are genetically inferior to whites. I was having none of it, of course, but family pressure is a terrible thing to try to resist. There is some pressure of a somewhat different sort from my parents as well. Both of them deny being racist, and I believe them in the 'I don't want to burn crosses on people's yards and lynch them' sort of way. But I can't help but think that on some very deep level they are terrified of blacks. They both grew up in the fifties, when segregation was in full swing, and they both saw all of the bad things being done and must have known it wasn't right. And now, based on various comments I've heard them make ever since I've known them, I think subconsciously they are terrified that if blacks come into power they will demand vengeance and retribution. And it's a sad fact that fears and neurosis are two of the things that tend to be transmitted through families from generation to generation unless some deliberate choices are made.

I've had the good fortune to have had a good education, and to have been taught to think for myself, and to have had the wherewithal to make those deliberate choices.  And now, I'd like to think that the upcoming generations of people will be more focused on putting the whole stupid thing behind us and focus instead on working together to forge a future that is beneficial to everyone - Black, White, Latino, Asian, Native American, whoever. I know that modern generations are used to communicating through the internet, where you just don't know what colour someone's skin is unless they tell you or post a picture, and that in that context people therefore are judged more by the content of what they write and post. They are learning in a very natural way to judge others by the content of their character instead of by the colour of their skin. I think Reverend King would have liked it.

I don't think Obama's election will allay my parents' fears, at least not anytime soon. But somehow, on some subtle but important psychological level, I personally find that the mandate of an entire living nation somehow outweighs the pressure from my ancestors. And this is a good thing. It's a relief.

Oh, and just for the record - I voted for Obama not because of the colour of his skin, but because he has his eyes on the 21st century rather than the 20th. Damn it, I wanna have Star Fleet someday.

All right, that's it, Self. I'm putting my foot down. After running out of bookmarks today and realizing I'm currently in the middle of reading seven different books, it's time to stop starting new books and finish the ones I'm reading. Focus, Self, focus.

But...durn it...I sort of wanted to at least start "The Audacity of Hope" before Inauguration Day. I think I need a TARDIS.   o___O

Grumblegrumble

Looks like it's about time for the annual 'reformat-and-reinstall-everything-on-my-computer' event. -_____-   >:(  .  I think I've figured out something, at least... apparantly I know enough about protecting my computer that I don't get hit by all the stupid little viruses that stuff like AVG, Adaware, Malwarebytes, etc. is actually programmed to handle. No, somehow or other every year I get hit with something incredibly nasty programmed by someone who really knows what they're doing,  that no scanner will catch, and which denies my option to do a system restore or even take a useful netstat reading.  At this point about the only thing I can figure is that maybe I'm catching this (these?) stupid malware infections through javascript ads on a webpage somewhere, or possibly through sneaky emails designed to look like the official newsletters of legitimate sites like Design Toscano or Better Homes and Gardens.

If anybody knows of any more thorough ways of checking a computer for and removing malware other than simply using a bunch of different programs and telling them all to do a complete system scan, I'd sure like some advice. Otherwise...I guess I'll just have to wipe and redo everything from scratch. Yet again. -_____-

You know...somehow, I just never truly appreciated what a master Jack Kirby really was until I had to try and draw like him. It's amazing the things you learn.

The only problem with beginning to amass an herb & spices collection is that then you have to find a place to keep it and a way to keep the sesame seeds from constantly disappearing behind the fennel seeds when you need them, and both of them from ganging up on the cayenne pepper and kicking it off the shelf just because.

In other news, anybody seen the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer? This movie looks like it might easily be as shiny as Iron Man was. I've got just one other thing to say about it, really...even though the movie is obviously about Wolverine, and I have absolutely no problems with that...please let Gambit have more than five minutes of screen time! :9    <_<     >_>    <_<

So, Russ brings home two rental movies night before last. We watch the first one, Hancock. Eh. It was ok, but  I understand why the critics were less than completely pleased.

Tonight we watched Speed Racer. And all through the movie I was asking myself 
OMG,  WHY  DIDN'T  WE  GO  SEE  THIS  IN  THE  THEATERS??!!!?!?! o_______O

Speed Racer was BRILLIANT!!  I am not a racing fan, and while I vaguely enjoyed the Speed Racer anime I wasn't an especial fan of it either...but this movie was BRILLIANT!  O______O  Four thumbs up!!  (You know...the usual two, plus two more from the requisite chimpanzee which wasn't nearly as cheesy as I was afraid it would be.)

Yes, that blue moon has come again and I've uploaded some new pictures to www.eversummereve.com! There are three new pictures in the Illustrations category, and one new card in the Otaku Tarot (Justice).

Well, I say these are new. Actually a couple of them are some months old now, and have been residing merrily on my DeviantArt page ( zenzzen.deviantart.com ). But they were restless and Justice wanted to join its brethren, and so they needed a home on eversummereve.com too. ^^

(And can I just say again how much I loves me the Adobe GoLive? GoLive beats the pants off of hand-coding a huge site in HTML and trying to  keep track of which files you've uploaded with an FTP program, and that's a fact.)

...is me. The new Wacom pen arrived today, and so far despite problems other people have posted about on the internet, I haven't encountered any. Or, as per my first reaction when I unboxed it and tried it out: "ITWORKSITWORKSITWORKSITWORKS!!!11!!!OMG!!o_______o "

Question! Like the original pen that came with the tablet, this one came with three little stickers in the form of three  long, narrow arcs of colour - one red, one blue, one yellow. There is no reference to these in the 'instructions' that came with the pen, nor does it show them on the packaging. Anybody have a clue what these are for? o_O

Of course, when I went downstairs to tell my boyfriend I promptly got sucked into the brand-new episodes of "Ninja Warrior" which featured the American challengers, so I haven't played with the new pen that much yet. Our guys did surprisingly well, and I really think that stuntwoman should enter the Kunoichi version of Ninja Warrior. I bet she'd own that course.

Those of you out there who use Wacom tablets...don't make the mistake I have just made. When your pen nibs start looking a mite worn down, go ahead and change them. Otherwise it may become impossible to change them later. >____<

The only thing I have to say in self defense is that during one of my more recent moves, my extra pen nibs disappeared and I was waiting for them to turn up again. After several months and they still hadn't turned up, I figured I'd better just order more. Unfortunately by this time my old pen nib was too worn down to be properly grasped with tweezers, so I wrote to Wacom's technical support to see if they had any suggestions. A very nice man wrote back to suggest super-gluing a paper clip to the pen nib and using that to slide it out. This, however, did not work. (I suspect there is something on the inside sheath of my pen which is slightly off - the nib kept catching and snapping back into place when I tried to use tweezers, and the paperclip couldn't overcome whatever the nib was catching on.) So then I tried a piece of jute, reasoning that spreading out the force over a wider area might help. It didn't. And now the pen is barely usable at all. This is pretty serious considering that all of my work is digital these days. So I've laid out $52.00 for a new pen which will theoretically arrive tomorrow or the day after. Hopefully it will work; I've been reading forums online about similar problems, and at least one person who ordered a new pen found it only worked half the time. So...wish me luck!  o_o;;;;;;;;;;;;;;