Team Yote!

My Anthrocon review...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:08:53 GMT

I feel really really strange and unbalanced, not wearing my tail all day long anymore. :-P

That aside... When I think about it, this was just an immensely satisfying Anthrocon, in so many ways. Though I did not get to catch up with everyone that I would have liked, I did get to meet quite a few hitherto now online-only friends that had been a long time in coming, and, I got to reconnect pretty deeply with a lot of old friends many years running now.

I was also extremely proud and happy to finally be able to bring along my mate Rex, and introduce him to so many of my friends, I long ago had decided that, rather than keep trying to explain our relationship, the best thing to do was just to say, Here he is! and let people just see him, and us, for themselves. *chuckles* And.. I guess it worked, apparently. I am just overwhelmed by all of the nice, wonderful things that so many of you had to say for us. It means so much to us both, that you saw in us what we see in each other. *hugs all*

So yeah, anyway... All in all, very good Anthrocon! :) There's always more that you want to do, than you can do, given just so many hours in the day. But, what we did do was quality indeed. Thank you to all of my friends for being a part of it, and if you had any moments with me and/or Rex that you felt were significant, then rest assured that those are the times I'm thinking of here, and are the most poignant to me. And, Deaddog crew in particular, I think that we can all safely say that, at the end of the day, we are all who and where everyone at that con wanted to be, whether they actually were or not. ;) Great success, and thank you all for such amazing times! :D

***

Anyway, finally... Normally, like many, I too usually suffer major Post Con Depression after these things... But, not this time at all. Because, this time I did not leave all that which I love behind. This time, I brought it with me, shared stories, friends, laughter, and amazing experiences together.. and now, miraculously... I actually get to bring it all back home with me again, to keep. Rex, you are my companion, my soul mate... my Everything. You're the one that makes it all worth living. Happy Nine Months, sweetheart.

Back from AC

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:40:40 GMT

And it was totally awesome ^.^

A short, short report soon enough, in the meantime, here's my favoritest things from the masquerade:

P.S. reminder: BBQ this Friday the 4th. Details to follow.

AC bound!

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:11:43 GMT

In just a few more hours, I'll be on my way to Anthrocon - see you all there! :D

Keith Olbermann interview with George Carlin

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:23:05 GMT

George Carlin, rest in peace - you left this world just a little bit funnier than you found it.

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:38:54 GMT

And, most importantly...

Here's to you, George. May you never be deleted from our address book.

Note to self... Don't read lj before going to bed...

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:09:49 GMT

Because somehow, now I have to try to sleep with the knowledge that George Carlin has passed away.

That really really sucks... He just had a new HBO special, not even a few months ago. He was one of my all time favorite comedians, starting way back when I first saw his Carlin at Carnegie special, one New Year's with my parents. I was around 9 or so at the time (lol, yes they let me watch) And I was hooked ever since. It's hard to describe why this affects me so... I dunno, I mean, other celebrities that I grew up with have passed on, over the years.. but George was just always rather strongly burned into my psyche, somehow. The world will be a very strange and different place, without him and his outlook commenting upon it. I'm just glad that I did get to see him live, one time, in college.

Goddammit...

Rubbin' elbos with the Old Money. ;-P

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:08:26 GMT

So I had an interesting experience on my way to work this morning.

I was waiting all by myself for the bus that would take me down the hill to the light rail station, when this old old, hella old guy, in an expensive suit, pulls up in his sedan. He asks me if I want a ride down to the (NYC Hudson River) ferry. I give him the once over, but he looks harmless enough, and since the ferry is right accross the street from the light rail station, I say sure.

On the way down, he's asking me all kinds of questions about the ferry, how I like it, what do I think of it, what do I think of the new bus system to it, etc. I tell him it's great, but that the busses down the hill had been a little bit slow in coming this week, to which he responded that, well, if there's ever any problem, to give them a call about it.

All this specific talk of the ferry seemed a bit odd, so I asked him what his interest was.

Lol.. Well, as it turns out, this is the guy that owns the freakin' ferry! ;-P (And, apparently, a lot of that very expensive NJ coastline accross from Manhattan along the hudson river). He founded the thing, way back in the day. Arthur... Imperateur, I think he said his name was? I've probably got the last name spelled wrong. Anyway though... My little brush with the super rich, and famous-even-if-you-don't-know-it for the day. ;-P

Bucky update...

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:28:33 GMT

And here it is. Today, Bucky pleaded guilty to the January burglary of Fal's and my apartment, as well as the one of our downstairs neighbor Malachi from last October.

I don't know the final specific counts exactly, as this was just told to me by the prosecutor over the phone, we were not in court today. I guess I'll bring myself to care enough to look up the details, eventually.

In any case, his sentencing is on August 1st, at which time he will be released on parole, with time served. He will remain in jail until then. It was explained to us by the prosecutor some weeks ago that, in NJ, in the case of a first offense burglary guilty plea bargain, the law has a "presumption of no jail time" (that's the prosecutor's term). 'One Strike', basically. After this, however, he does now have a felony on his record, and if he does anything else like this again in the future, then there will be mandatory jail time, plea bargain or no.

So yes, basically on August 1st, he will be released on parole, after serving about six months of jail time combined for both NY and NJ.

HOWEVER, more importantly, the prosecutor made sure that as part of his plea bargain, he does after all have to give FULL monetary restitution to me, Fal, and Malachi. ^.^

The restitution will, in fact, be a term of his parole. As will, most likely maintaining some sort of gainful employment - both for his own good, and so he can actually make that restitution, however long that might take. (and, staying out of trouble, keeping his nose clean (elohel), checking in regularly with his parole officer, etc.)

I dunno, he probably very likely will get more of that free housing and foodstamps and what not, that he did before. BUT, if he violates any one of those terms of his parole, INCLUDING not making restitution payments to us, that will constitute a violation of his parole over all, and that WILL send him back to jail, if he does.

So, fair enough then. Six months of jail, and he has to pay us back, and he gets a chance to get back on his feet, and maybe learn what its like to actually have to make an honest living for fucking once. :-P If he does, then you know what, great, good riddance, more power to him. Ironically, that's all we'd ever tried to give him in the first fucking place. But, if he doesn't, and he fucks it up again this last time, then right back in jail he'll go, and good riddance there too. His choice basically, I'm good either way.

In the meantime though... enjoy those foodstamps, and keep makin' mah money, bitch! :D *whipcracks*

*I have no idea what's happening at the moment with Florida Guy, and all that stuff. They may very well still scoop him right the fuck up after Aug. 1st and add their own stuff on top of it all (at which point, (I think, anyway) he will have the felony on his record, for the purpose of their statutes), or they may not, I have no more info about that at this time.

Metal Gearl Solid 4 first impressions...

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:59:07 GMT

Okay, now keep in mind, I haven't even started playing yet!

I've just now got it installed, and left it on the title screen awhile to see what happens.

And...

Bond-ish French women... shooting darts... swimming with skull octopus...

WTF????? :-P

Yup, this is definitely a Metal Gear Solid game...

[EDIT: They allow you the option to download their multiplayr patch via Bittorrent, if you prefer, rather than Http. The more users dl'ing the patch, the faster it will be for everybody, and the home servers don't get over loaded. Consoles using distributed patching - now that's cool! :D ]

Alright, alright, I'm finally convinced...

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:16:37 GMT

I guess I'm voting Republican this Fall, after all.

video courtesy of triggur

The smears have started already...

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:22:14 GMT

Just as Obama has clinched the nomination, the right has apparently started some rumblings about a video tape of Michelle Obama "raging against whitey", while speaking at the Trinity church.

And here it is:

Now you tell me… How is it that the inbred crackers who watched this video and freaked their shit can genuinely claim that they’re hearing “whitey,” as opposed to what she’s very clearly saying?

kind thanks to city_of_dis for the scoop.

Lurve...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:56:30 GMT

Alright, so... I know I said that I tried to avoid these kinds of posts... but this just can't go by without mention.

So the other night, as I was on my way home from work, my husky called me up, and I spent the train ride home just talking to him. Among other things, I talked about how I just couldn't wait until one day we'd be able to move in together, and we'd be able to come home to each other every night, make dinner together.. ya know, that whole domestic thing. "One day hon, " he said, "One day."

Finally the train ride ended, and I transfered over to the bus that takes me up the huge hill to my block. The bus was very very crowded and loud, so I said that I would call him back when I got home.

So anyway... I got home, opened my door, all ready to do just that, when I look over to the couch... and there he was, sitting right there! O.O

My sweet guy had driven up, all the way from South Jersey on a weekday, to surprise me at home. AND he had dinner in the oven!! :D Chiken parmesan, with extra sauce and cheese, just the way I like it. *heart patters* He drove all the way, beat me home from work, and surprised me with a hot dinner that he made all by himself by hand.

*laughs* And he let me go on, on the phone, all about how much I wanted this kind of thing, and all the while, he was already there to surprise me like this, and I had no idea. My jaw pretty much fell on the floor when I walked in and saw him. Lol.. sneaky sneaky he is. I like that. ^.^

I truly do have the best boyfriend, in the entire world! :)

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:17:32 GMT

2_gryphon on Glenn Beck Worth reading. Well done sir, very well put.

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:48:04 GMT

Congratulations to Hillary, for a very hard fought campaign.

That being said, I am very happy that the horse that I wanted all along is in this race.

Let's do this thing!

(video courtesey of jblaque)

The most important interview you may watch this decade...

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:00:43 GMT

In his own words: Scott McClellan interview, with Keith Olbermann

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Bonus: John Dean interview (Bush / Nixon comparisons)

Not that we haven't told you all this before... From the beginning, actually... But, still...

Thu, 29 May 2008 17:42:22 GMT

But now even Bush's own former press secretary, Scott McClellan, can't take the lies anymore! Scott McClellan!

Bush's own former press secretary Scott McClellan basically confirms pretty much everything, regarding how this administration lied us into a war of choice, not because they had any wmd's or were a threat to us, but for the president's own glory, tried to bury any evidence that showed the truth, and tried to destroy anyone who inconveniently tried to point out that truth (oh yeah, and then they lied about doing *that*, too, by the way.) And to top it all off, much of Bush's motivation was to show that he could beat Daddy, to boot.

The Huffington post rightly blasts McCellan for waiting until now to say all this, rather than five years ago when it might have actually made a difference. But still, these revelations are quite damning, considering the source.

Some choice excerpts:

"Perhaps the most damning revelation regarding Iraq is McClellan's assertion that the real reason Bush wanted to invade Iraq was the "opportunity to create a legacy of greatness" by transforming the Middle East into a land of peace and brotherhood. Over 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers sacrificed for a neo-con wet dream of democratic dominoes across the region. How chilling is that?"

"McClellan also tosses in a pinch of Oedipal subtext: "The president had promised himself that he would accomplish what his father had failed to do by winning a second term in office. And that meant operating continually in campaign mode: never explaining, never apologizing, never retreating."

"Speaking of Rove, McClellan's tome continues the obliteration of the Rove mystique, reminding us what an out-and-out liar Rove was and is -- more than willing to assure McClellan that he wasn't involved in the leaking of Valerie Plame's identity when, in fact, he was up to his Turd Blossom in the sordid affair, having discussed Plame with Matt Cooper and Bob Novak in an effort to discredit Joe Wilson."

"McClellan also makes it clear that the indelible, says-all-you-need-to-know-about-this-administration photo of Bush looking out the window of Air Force One during his too-busy-to-stop flyover of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina was a Rove special: "Karl was convinced we needed to do it -- and the president agreed."

Bonus: Olbermann's take on McClellan.

Not McClellan related, but more on how the so-called "Liberal Media" (*cough cough* bullshit!) aided and abetted the Bush administration's lies on the war.

You could have the supporters of the President alone. And they would say why this war is important. You couldn't have a dissenter alone. Our producers were instructed to feature two conservatives for every liberal.

Once again... Not that any of this is particularly new or surprising. Um... Hello, Rightwingnutistan? We. Told. You. So. We've been telling you all of this for years. Does it sink in now? No? How many more freakin' dominoes have to fall?

Happy Birthday, Benny! :)

Wed, 28 May 2008 19:09:28 GMT

At midnight tonight, it will be exactly four years ago, to the instant, that I found Benny, stuck in that tree over by Fal's old place. (A tale which is chronicled here, here, and here.)

To just walk on by, or not...? That fateful decision changed my life forever. I can no longer imagine my world without him.

And though we will never know the exact date, as the vet, at the time, figured him to be about a year old, I thus also proclaim this day to officially be Benny's birthday.

So happy 5th birthday, sweetheart. I will love you for all of them to come, until the end of our days. :)

The subprime mortgage meltdown for dummies...

Wed, 28 May 2008 01:00:42 GMT

Here's an interesting little tidbit - a powerpoint-style presentation on how the Subprime Mortgage Crisis happened, using stick figure cartoons.

Simple, yet surprisingly effective and accurate. If you've been wondering or confused on just what all the hubbub's about, have yourself a look-see. It would be funny... if it wasn't so depressing. :-P

Courtesy of giza

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:41:17 GMT

So yesterday evening, I went down to South Jersey to meet up with my husky and some of his friends, and we all went to the Strawberry Festival (think: traditional traveling carnival, with rides and games and cotton candy and stuff.) together.

Had a really great time, eating fried oreos and candy apples, riding and screaming at each other on the Pirate Ship, tea cups, funhouses, etc... ~~making out~~ looking out over the town from the top of the ferris wheel, and generally goofing off, dancing, and having a great time. A really really wonderful night it was, the classic, movie-perfect date together, in every way, and it was a lot of fun finally getting to meet all his other friends down there, as well. Oh yeah, and for the third time now, unbidden... he brought me roses. ^^; Such a romantic, he is. I has the best husky in the whole wide world, and I love him very very much. :)

***

Tonight, spending the evning at home with Rex and Fal, along with Watcher, Wulven, Wolfgang, Taka (or now Ethan Husky, I guess I should say. :-P ) and Max. Watcher is going to cook for us, apparently (Mmmmmmm! *wags*), and later this evening we may all go out to see Indianna Jones.

Tomorrow, Rex and I will be going to TigerKitten's graduation party, will probably see a lot of y'all there. ^.^

***

I have just found out today that the new Metal Gear Solid 4 will have several 90 minute cut scenes in it...

90 minutes!

SEVERAL of them! :-p

***

This Sunday evening, HBO will be showing their movie, Recount, their new docu-drama about the 2000 presidential election. Looks to be very very interesting - think about giving it a look see, especially you young'uns that may not quite have been been old enough yet to remember all that at the time.

***

And... That's about it for now. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. ^.^

Awesome Bill O'reilly meltdown dance remix ^.^

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:53:01 GMT

Lol...

Blatantly stolen from absinthetic

Bonus video parody - the producer speaks back.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:17:59 GMT

But... But... He's an appeaser!

What do you mean?

He appeases!

What does that mean?

Um... Appeasy!

What does that mean?

Appeaseah!

What does that mean?

Appeasow!

Oh, Smack!

Funny, it seems like Chris Matthew's last sentiment there applies to a great many that I could name on the Far Right of the spectrum, about a great many things... :-P

Olbermann tells Bush to STFU... ^.^

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:18:28 GMT

Part 1

Part 2

Need plane tickets to AC?

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:10:18 GMT

So, I've got round trip tickets from JFK airport to Pittsburgh, leaving on Wednesday evening June 25th, and returning Monday afternoon June 30th, for $200.

I will be making other travel arrangements after all, however, so I'm looking to get rid of these so I don't have to pay the cancellation fee. If anybody wants 'em, leave me a comment here (all comments are screened). If nobody takes them in like the next three days, I'm just gonna go ahead and cancel them.

Thankee kindly. ^.^

Blast from the past.

Tue, 13 May 2008 20:14:53 GMT

So Arstechnica now has their seventh installment up, on their History of the Amiga computer series. (all previous parts also reachable from there.) And in this one, they exclusively focus on the gaming capabilities of the system, for which it stood so far above the rest of the pack, in it's day.

I had just about every game they list there, as a kid, and I remember them all as fondly as the author seems to. Big time nostalgia moment! Any other old Amiga fans will know just what I mean, I'm sure, and for the young'uns out there, go have a little look at an important part of your video game history. ^.^

short and sweet update..

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:14:06 GMT

So our fursunleashed camping trip this past weekendc was totally awesome! ^.^ It rained a bit at first for some people, but they managed to do very well with the little tent city they created, and fortunately it stopped just right about when Rex and I arrived on Friday.

I did not bring my camera, but I know several others got some very good pictures which I need to try to collect (rev_fox, I particularly need yours please! :) ) Anyway, it was great fun hanging out in teh nature for a few days with good friends, many of whom I had not seen in quite awhile. Thank you all for such a great time! And Tigra, your Dispatcha (sp?) campfire ritual was totally awesome, and, as far as I'm concerned, will be the true heart and soul of the weekend for me, whenever I think back on my memories of it. Really really beautiful. ^.^ *big hugs!*

Oh yeah, and also now I can check off "The Woods" from my list of "Places Where I've 'Done It'"... But, I digress. <3 my husky. ^.^

Anyway, waaaaay down south a ways, I have heard that Eliot's spring party was a huge success, down in Florida. That sounds like it was a whole lot of fun, and I'm glad that everyone who went had such a good time - I'm gonna seriously have to make an attempt to get down to one of those, one of these days!

Other than all of that, not much new going on round here, same ol' same ol', which, at the moment, is pretty good actually. Hope everybody out there is doing well.

Q.