Okee dokeee…..The Library set up her blogring thing so that when you hit next, it just refreshes. Thanks for stopping the ring dead in its tracks, Melissa.
Addendum: No no no. That’s not what she did. She set it up so that you can go forward, but you keep her damn frame with you. Shall I say again how much I hate frames?
I’m scanning through blogs in the ring….it’s really interesting to see how people set their blogs up. I’ve seen a couple of the new blogger templates up already. I think I’d like to take this time to point out that I really dislike frames.
We’ve also just decided that everything on xbeam at Achieve is fair game for blogs. Come visit us and talk to us at achieve.
Intergalactic Hussy – v5, Digital Goth Girl. My commentary:
[+][beam] Hildegarde [to jason]: oh, check this out: http://www.intergalactic.nu/
[+][beam] Hildegarde [to salmon]: that might be your computer, I’m not sure
[+][beam] Hildegarde says, “that link”
[+][beam] salmon asks, “hrm?”
[+][beam] salmon [to Hildegarde]: what what?
[+][beam] Hildegarde says, “http://www.intergalactic.nu/”
[+][beam] Hildegarde says, “they snagged pic, but mention winamp in a post.”
[+][beam] Hildegarde says, “apple imagery stealer.”
[+][beam] salmon fall apart laughing, gasping and pointing at Hildegarde.
Cowgirl gave us a snippet from Skinny Legs and All. My question: what the heck is with Tom Robbins? I read Even cowgirls get the blues because someone I don’t like gave it to me for my birthday at camp when she found out that I’m a lesbian (nothing like making friends just because of sexual orientation, let me tell you). What I didn’t get was how anyone in their right mind (or left mind, or a mix of the two) could *possibly* write a rape scene where the woman gets up and hitches a ride and never thinks about it again. I mean, really. That was a female character who was…well, a guy. Never been tempted to read anything else he wrote after that.
ROFL
Weblog Wannabe tells us: “According to Jordan, the key to staying up is masturbation. Not being a coffee drinker, I’m seriously considering it.“
I’m already jealous of Silvergull…she writes:“Welcome to the Blogathon! For the next 24 hours, I’ll be updating this site approximately every 30 minutes. I plan to do this mostly from home (“blog base 1”), but may also take a walk down to Futures (a bakery/cafe in my neighbour; “blog base 2″) with my laptop and connect to my blog through my mobile phone.” *drool*
Of course, Sympatico would pick now to get persnickity. Jason and salmon and I all seem to have been smacked down by some random sympatico thang.
What did you do last night?
[+][beam] Brin [to Hildegarde]: I went for coffee, then to Canadian Tire, then to Wendy’s (which made me feel sick, oddly enough), then to coffee again until 3am (where I got to hang out with people I don’t like all that much, with a few exceptions. Plus this kind of cute guy showed up, but then I noticed he had his tongue pierced, and I shuddered and purged thoughts :)). 🙂
I was supposed to go see Planet of the Apes, but I kind of decided early on that I didn’t want to…I wanted to prepare myself for this event. So I met up with Jason at the Duke of York (And ditched my CRRS buddies, to my own horror) and had come chicken fingers with an obscene amount of plum sauce. And then….well, what did I do. I played with the cam, and then decided to go grocery shopping at midnight. I was hoping that the later I stayed up the most awake I would feel tonight. Let’s see if that works.
Blogathon begins
Well, I guess it’s about that time. I’m still getting used to the idea of being on cam. What fun! Well, is this #1 of 48? I’m scared now. 🙂
’twas the morning before the blogathon
Wooohooo! Good morning! We’re getting ready to get ready to go! So exciting!
Hey, it is Jason the interloper.
Bloggin’ time is nigh!
Camera Fun
Now it *is* a self-refreshing page, but it borks me something fierce. I was just getting some off the balcony shots. This is too much fun for my little brain. 🙂
Okay! Now the cam is active and there’s a link to it on the top right (the cam icon). At the moment the pic is a moo object with the pic on it…I’m hoping that soon the link will be to a self-refreshing page, but at the moment it’s not.
Ah well.
I just added the link for the cam, but there’s no cam and no url for it yet, so don’t be too disappointed. It’s coming, it’s coming….
More on Homosexuality from the experts at Metafilter
i find it difficult to believe that homosexuality could be so sudden, but i suppose such is possible; if it were so, i would argue that its genetic basis may well be different from other homosexuals for whom evidence of their orientation is there throughout their lives. that probably complicates the matter from a genetic point of view quite a bit.
Um….who *doesn’t* feel different as teens? as pre-teens? Who doesn’t feel that they’re just not quite like everyone else? Who are these famous people who walk into their high schools and say, “ah yes…this is where I should be. The people here are JUST LIKE ME…they think like I do, and I never ever worry about saying or doing anything that they would consider ‘uncool’, but I completely understand what normal is.” I think gay people have the advantage of using their sexuality as an excuse for being weird kids. Being weird or feeling different from others isn’t what makes someone gay. The rhetoric is strong, but I personally have serious doubts about it.
A note from your Ultimately Normal Hildegarde(tm)
More tidbits to think about from Metafilter: If homosexuality isn’t a choice, is heterosexuality? What about bisexuality? Are we genetic robots, unable to make any decisions without our DNA preapproving them? I personally enjoy the nature vs. nurture argument. I find it interesting. Mostly because of what it says about how we see our options. Is it a choice to be gay? Yes, I think it is. To a point. It’s a choice to act on it, it’s a choice to be that person. To take on that label. Because being gay or lesbian is more about being labelled than anything else. It’s a set of behaviours. But what’s the root of the question? Is it biological, having feelings for people who are the same sex as you? Well, I suppose, since feelings are really just chemical reactions, yes, to some degree it is. But what makes me laugh about the whole thing is the idea that somehow you are actually hardwired to prefer men over women, or vice versa. That’s the part I don’t believe. And I don’t believe it based on anything at all scientific.
I think we’re probably hardwired to be attracted to people. To bodies in general. Cause every little kid ends up with a strange crush on an older girl/boy and everyone laughs about it later on. I was talking to my sister about this this week…she was saying that it made such sense to her that I should be gay. Of course….given her situation in high school….Melissa, would anyone have been surprised if it had been YOU who came out at university, and not ME? Of course not. (She was the man-hater, after all. And a raging feminist. I was a feminist, but not a man-hater.) I wonder if we would be having this conversation at all if we got rid of the idea that there are basically three forms of sexuality: being straight, being gay, and being a fence sitter. I think that’s so ludicrous. What if we understood that we are just sexual, and something might tweak us here and there to go for this and that kind of person, or kind of body, but that we can’t judge beyond that?
The conversation gets silly when people try to determine what ‘gay’ means in the grey areas…if you aren’t opposed to the idea, but never try it, what does that mean? If your fantasies often involve the opposite sex, but you date the same sex? Rather than pulling out the thought police or making up a blood test, maybe we can just admit that all behaviour is a choice…sexuality is the part that’s a given.
What was that about beauty again?
A comment that got my blood boiling on metafilter: Simply realize that 99% of the females in the world are not knockouts, and that only .1% of them are the lucky genetic winners to be superstar beauties and get on with your life. No. The truth is this: 99% of women in the world are knockouts. The other 1% just need a better hairstylist.
Another important quiz:are you a lesbian? This is what they have to say about me: The lesbianity is strong in this one. You love the ladies. Either that or you just like cats and bad music. I bet you’ve got a good collection of baseball caps. Or are they scalps from your sexual conquests? Oh, no. They’re baseball caps (sorry ’bout that). I don’t have a cat, no comment on the bad music, and I don’t own a single basball cap. I fact, I don’t even like baseball caps. Feh. What does it say about you?
Below: the random words of an affectionate drunk. Now I’m behind on my ‘ditching this popstand’ goal because I needed more sleep that I anticipated. I want to go get some underwear before I head out. Yes, underwear. There’s nothing quite like knowing you have new underwear for the next week or so. It’s the best part of christmas, and why shouldn’t it happen in July? Hmmm…that I can go get terrible food court food at the mall. Yep, looks like I’m still decided on that move….
And I had the most horrible dream. First off, the fact that a volume of the Social Studies and Humanities Index was missing was Achieve’s fault. And Jason got a new office in this very 70s building, all red and white geometry. And he was really excited about something I don’t remember. And suddenly….oh, this is cool, it wasn’t a new office, the 70s geometric space that was also a library was actually achieve. Cause we (me and rhonna and salmon and jason) started to have an argument on beam, and there were two other characters, new characters who were on beam, but didn’t know what was going on. And everyone was in the strange building, in different parts, having this argument. And salmon said something really severe (I don’t remember what) and jason got really upset and left. And I couldn’t catch up to him. And as usual in dreams like this, I couldn’t see anything properly. And the argument was such that I was quite sure Achieve was dead and maybe jason would run home and pull it down. I have no idea what the argument was about. But it was very upsetting. And woke up all upset, too. So, no fighting. And no bad 70s decorating around Achieve.
Andrea, Erik….how I *love* you…..just got home after a great time at the Bookshelf. What more can I say?
Melissa, Pete, yes, I love you too. 🙂
Oh, this is quite disturbing…Re-Versed Lyrics: they take popular songs and put ‘Christian’ lyrics to them. My favourites:
All-Star becomes God’s Star; We’re the Monkees becomes We’re Not Monkeys, which even just the title kills me; Mombo #5 becomes Praise #5; and, my very personal favourite is here: sing this to the tune of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:
Reformation Polka
When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian!� Oh, –
-Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation –
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter’s profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints’ Bull’tin board:
“You cannot purchase merits, for we’re justified by grace!
Here’s 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!” Oh-
-Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation –
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
“Are these your books?� Do you recant?” King Charles did demand,
“I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!” Oh-
-Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation –
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting “George” as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin’s model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek!� Oh-
-Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation –
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
Let’s raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that ‘catholic’ is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets his chance,
So come on, Katy, drop your lute, and join us in our dance!� Oh-
-Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation –
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
Oh yeah….
I’m not entirely certain what this has to do with my blog per se, but I’m quite pleased and flattered nonetheless.
WOOOOOO! Looks like I’ve convinced Laurie to get a character at Achieve! Wonderful! Now we can actually moo productively for a change….
Well, I don’t think it could get any hotter. I’m melting here. My sister and I went to the mall and found funeral outfits. (Funeral is on Wednesday.) We had a good time in spite of our reason for being there. I just got out of the workstudy meeting on achieve, and Laurie stumbled on! Hooray! How I miss her….I know I owe her a trip out there, and I’d better get on it…Oh, funeral. It’s my Uncle Juris. He’s not really my uncle. Actually, he’s my grandmother’s cousin, on my mother’s side. But really, really really, is was the closest thing I ever really had to a grandfather. I’m glad though that while he’s been suffering for years because of the affects of the numerous strokes he’s had (suffering, along with his wife, my aunt Ruby), in the end he was diagnosed with cancer, far too much for them to do anything about, and he died quickly after that. They had just taken a trip out east and had a lovely time…when they got back home, Uncle Juris just felt terribly tired.
I’m not sure what to say about belief these days…I’m suspicious of atheists now, where I used to be a vehement one. (Who am I to say what is and what isn’t?) And I don’t believe most of what’s said about god. I don’t particularly believe in an afterlife, though, I recognize my profound inability to have a well-informed opinion on the matter. But I can hope….that perhaps there’s a moment, between life and death, a moment of profound well-being, that stretches out and seems to last forever…and that’s where I like to imagine my uncle juris is.
Do I need this? Of course I do.
Bah, now I’m getting tired again…and cranky. Someone is testing my tutorial and just commenting that I should use more animated gifs or quicktime movies instead of standard gifs, and that I should have sounds (which are currently disabled because of the upgrade), and just pointed out typos in my text. Gaaaaaaaaaah…..
ThatFaT GiRL is pretty serious….I mean, when they say hate, they aren’t kidding. Still, there are some interesting quotations….
“My dream is to walk on the street and not be noticed.”
–Jerry Poole, candidate for Dr. Mal Fobi’s $20,000 to $40,000 obesity surgery.
“Anxiety is worrying about getting your waist back after having twins.”
–Jane Seymour
Well. A friendly cat nipped in to ‘meowr’ at me to go out (I should have put her out before I went to bed) and now I can’t fall asleep again. Funny thing about this house. And Top Gun is on. Can Tom Cruise ever ‘act’ as anyone other than this Top Gun guy?
I went to see a fabulously silly movie that I absolutely adored…and on the way back home the sun was setting, and there was a thick fog the the ground, with that thick, sweetish smell that comes with it…and I remembered how much I love southern Ontario, how it can go from absolutely urban to nothing but rolling countryside in a matter of minutes. So there we were, driving through the in-between places between Kitchener and Guelph, with the fog in our noses, singing along to the music in the car, windows wide open, and I felt the way I’m supposed to feel at moments like that, so happy, so overwhelmingly happy, that the only thing I can compare it to is complete dispair in its totalizing impact. There was a moment there that I thought I was crying. I’m not sure I wasn’t. And with nothing but happiness. And why? Because I’m alive, because I have a future, because good things happen, and they even happen to me. Do you ever turn around and realize that you are a gift to yourself?