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Poem for Monday and Mount Vernon Lambs
Mar. 22nd, 2010 12:41 am![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
littlereview( No Heron )
It was another gorgeous mid-70s day for Ostara and the first full day of spring, and we spent most of it at Mount Vernon, where we metdementordelta and walked nearly the entire public grounds. We did the house tour, which was a bit rushed since there were so many people on the estate (I think spring break was a factor as well as the weather); then we went to see the new smithy, the kitchens and work buildings, the slave quarters (which were partially closed for renovations), the upper and lower gardens, Washington's grave, the colonial farm, the slave cabin, and all the animals including cattle (whose calves were in the rear fields but we could see them from near the smithy), pigs, chickens, and lots of lambs:
( Turtles and Friends )
My evening would have been great too if I had not turned on the television. We came home to the news that Maryland had lost to Michigan State and the Terrapins were out of the NCAA tournament -- hey, at least Cornell won. I always crave peanut soup after visiting Mount Vernon because the restaurant there has terrific peanut soup, soapaulled indulged me and made it for dinner. Then we watched Desperate Housewives to see John Barrowman, who is playing a really, really creepy character, which he does very well, but I'm completely out of the loop on the show and will finally admit that I really can't stand Teri Hatcher -- she plays a bitch who's too much of an idiot to realize she's a bitch, so she tries to maintain her self-image as a nice person by manipulating other people, and it just makes me loathe her. As for the rest, I haven't cared about Bree, Lynette, or Gabrielle in years, and I don't know anyone else.
A couple of days ago I came within hours of leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent over this "deemed passage" anti-Constitutional nonsense, and now they've passed a health care bill that benefits insurance company donors as much as individuals and will restrict reproductive health care. Don't look for any cheerleading from me. I can't stand what the Republican Party has become, but the Democratic Party is so much about ego and money and compromising away what should be core principles to hold on to the other two...ugh, I can't listen to most of them. As I said when people said idiotic things to me a couple of years ago for announcing that I was voting for Clinton over Obama in the primary, I have really had it with being told that women must once again take one for the team for the good of everyone. Now I'm thisclose to quitting the team.
It was another gorgeous mid-70s day for Ostara and the first full day of spring, and we spent most of it at Mount Vernon, where we met
dementordelta and walked nearly the entire public grounds. We did the house tour, which was a bit rushed since there were so many people on the estate (I think spring break was a factor as well as the weather); then we went to see the new smithy, the kitchens and work buildings, the slave quarters (which were partially closed for renovations), the upper and lower gardens, Washington's grave, the colonial farm, the slave cabin, and all the animals including cattle (whose calves were in the rear fields but we could see them from near the smithy), pigs, chickens, and lots of lambs:( Turtles and Friends )
My evening would have been great too if I had not turned on the television. We came home to the news that Maryland had lost to Michigan State and the Terrapins were out of the NCAA tournament -- hey, at least Cornell won. I always crave peanut soup after visiting Mount Vernon because the restaurant there has terrific peanut soup, so
apaulled indulged me and made it for dinner. Then we watched Desperate Housewives to see John Barrowman, who is playing a really, really creepy character, which he does very well, but I'm completely out of the loop on the show and will finally admit that I really can't stand Teri Hatcher -- she plays a bitch who's too much of an idiot to realize she's a bitch, so she tries to maintain her self-image as a nice person by manipulating other people, and it just makes me loathe her. As for the rest, I haven't cared about Bree, Lynette, or Gabrielle in years, and I don't know anyone else.A couple of days ago I came within hours of leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent over this "deemed passage" anti-Constitutional nonsense, and now they've passed a health care bill that benefits insurance company donors as much as individuals and will restrict reproductive health care. Don't look for any cheerleading from me. I can't stand what the Republican Party has become, but the Democratic Party is so much about ego and money and compromising away what should be core principles to hold on to the other two...ugh, I can't listen to most of them. As I said when people said idiotic things to me a couple of years ago for announcing that I was voting for Clinton over Obama in the primary, I have really had it with being told that women must once again take one for the team for the good of everyone. Now I'm thisclose to quitting the team.
And that's a Big Bang for the Ladies!
Mar. 21st, 2010 07:44 pmmerfilly posting in ![[site community profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo![[community profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ladiesbigbang is going to be opening in April, and it's accepting various media forms as the primary "bang"! Not just fic, ladies and gents, so please come by and check it out.because i find myself identifying with someone i can't identify with
Mar. 21st, 2010 01:19 pmcrossedwiresI had no idea Cary Grant movies were so slashy. Run, Don't Walk is a romantic comedy with Grant as the meddling matchmaker to Chris(tine) and Steve. It's set in Tokyo, during the 1964 Olympics, with Grant's character, William Rutland, there on business. The premise of the movie is that he's there with no place to stay because he arrived early and "it's the Olympics, you know", so he answers an advertisement on a bulletin board. The apartment belongs to Chris, and Rutland manages to charm/bully his way into staying. I initially thought the romance was going to be between the two of them, but no, Rutland is happily married to someone we never meet. It has the hallmarks of other romantic comedies set in 'exotic' locales: stereotypical Asians in the background, Japanese best friend for Chris, comic misunderstandings of culture and language (which leads to Rutland and Julius receiving a marriage blessing/fertility token by accident). And George Takei. The more things change... Although I think the dialogue is much sharper and wittier than in more recent romcoms; I like the banter and bickering and word play. Jim Hutton, who plays Steve, sounds so much like a younger James Stewart. There's a boatload of chemistry between him and Grant.
(no subject)
Mar. 21st, 2010 03:02 pmhatmanThe problem with V8 juice has always been the taste. (Well, that and the high sodium count.) It's the juices of eight vegetables blended together, but it pretty much tastes like thickened, salty tomato juice.
They finally realized that a little while back and came out with V8 Splash and then V8 Fusion. They blend vegetable juice with fruit juice (Splash is more fruit, Fusion is more balanced). That makes it much sweeter and more palatable, but of course it adds sugar. They do make "light" and "diet" versions, though. Unfortunately, the "diet" version appears to be watered down carrot juice with some other trace juices and flavors thrown in.
It was slow to take off at first, but it does seem to be selling reasonably well now. Which prompted the Ocean Spray people to follow suit. They now have a few flavors of "Fruit & Veggie juice." Of course, they've got the same problem - sugar/calories. So they also make a "light" version.
The "light" versions of V8 Fusion and Ocean Spray Fruit & Veggie have about half the calories and offer about half the nutritional benefits (1 combined serving of fruits & vegetables instead of 2, etc.) of the regular... so guess what the difference is. Can you guess?
It's... water! Yes, while the regular flavors list various juices as their first (and thus primary) ingredients, the light equivalents of those flavors list water first. They took the same juices, watered them down, and called the result "light." The kicker? The "light" juices are the same price as the regular.
They finally realized that a little while back and came out with V8 Splash and then V8 Fusion. They blend vegetable juice with fruit juice (Splash is more fruit, Fusion is more balanced). That makes it much sweeter and more palatable, but of course it adds sugar. They do make "light" and "diet" versions, though. Unfortunately, the "diet" version appears to be watered down carrot juice with some other trace juices and flavors thrown in.
It was slow to take off at first, but it does seem to be selling reasonably well now. Which prompted the Ocean Spray people to follow suit. They now have a few flavors of "Fruit & Veggie juice." Of course, they've got the same problem - sugar/calories. So they also make a "light" version.
The "light" versions of V8 Fusion and Ocean Spray Fruit & Veggie have about half the calories and offer about half the nutritional benefits (1 combined serving of fruits & vegetables instead of 2, etc.) of the regular... so guess what the difference is. Can you guess?
It's... water! Yes, while the regular flavors list various juices as their first (and thus primary) ingredients, the light equivalents of those flavors list water first. They took the same juices, watered them down, and called the result "light." The kicker? The "light" juices are the same price as the regular.
Logged in vs. not is something which interests me
Mar. 21st, 2010 01:24 pmzvi posting in style_systemIs there a CSS class that toggles for whether the viewer of the journal is logged in or not? (I've got a feed that I am subscribed to that is not on my default reading filter, and I'd like to display:none it when I load my reading page while I'm logged out.)
Fandom 20in20
Mar. 21st, 2010 05:01 pmlyd posting in dw_community_promoPromoting fandom20in20, it's a new community for all icon makers, it follows the 20 in 20 communities structure, and I believe it's the first of this type to make it to dreamwidth. First round just opened for sign ups.
fandom20in20, it's a new community for all icon makers, it follows the 20 in 20 communities structure, and I believe it's the first of this type to make it to dreamwidth. First round just opened for sign ups.(no subject)
Mar. 21st, 2010 04:22 pmmarny_h96 posting in dw_community_promolittleknownbooks is a brand new community for recommending books which didn't make it onto a bestseller list but deserve more attention. With thousands of books being released every year, there are lots who simply get overlooked and only a handful of people have ever read them. This is the place to talk about those books.How to be a filthy seditious Dreamwidth supporter
Mar. 21st, 2010 05:35 amfoxfirefey posting in dreamwidth_metaSo, maybe you are into Dreamwidth, or maybe you want to be more into Dreamwidth but are having troubles making that happen, or maybe you know somebody who wants to be into Dreamwidth but doesn't know how to get that ball rolling. Being "into" Dreamwidth, in this instance, is defined as having a vested interest in helping Dreamwidth grow and thrive, especially in a way that personally benefits you.
This article is going to give you suggestions on how to be a filthy seditious Dreamwidth supporter (as opposed to just a Dreamwidth user or nonuser, which is a perfectly fine thing to be too!)--and they're just that, suggestions. If you have a reason to not use one, don't use it--it's just a general practice guide! (It uses a lot of points from 101 Ways to Help Dreamwidth Grow, if you are curious.) It assumes that you use Dreamwidth and enjoy it, or are strongly interested in using Dreamwidth. And while volunteering is great, this article isn't about supporting Dreamwidth that way, either. So, with that in mind, let us continue!
Bookcrossing
Mar. 21st, 2010 01:10 pmmartyna posting in dw_community_promobookcrossing is a community for Bookcrossers world-wide.Bookcrossing is a way to give away your books so that others may read them. After registering them on www.bookcrossing.com you can follow their travels all around the world! Help spread literacy and have fun at the same time.
If you have a question, don't be afraid to ask here or in the community!
Poem for Sunday and Wheaton Turtles
Mar. 21st, 2010 12:03 amlittlereview( Here, In Silence, Are Eight More )
We had yet another glorious spring day in the DC area, low 70s, sunny and calm, so while Daniel was at robotics, we took Adam out for what was supposed to be a hike on the Virginia side of Great Falls, except that traffic backed up all the way down Georgetown Pike, so we figured we'd try the Maryland side, except that there was a big PARKING LOT FULL sign at the Falls Road-MacArthur Boulevard intersection, at which point we decided that since we needed to pick Daniel up on the other side of the county anyway, we might as well go to Wheaton Regional Park and Brookside Gardens to see flowers and hopefully find less mud than we'd been warned to expect by the Potomac River. It turned out to be the perfect place to spend the afternoon -- we saw lots of animals, including turtles, frogs, geese, ducks, fish, snails, assorted songbirds, and a few bugs, plus the flowers that are already blooming in the park:
( Turtles and Friends )
After a stop at two different Trader Joe's to look for hummus, Paul made penne with zucchini and ricotta for dinner, then we watched Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, which we got at a bargain rate because we ordered it from Disney along with The Princess and the Frog. It's a lot of fun, though I think his female characters are more interesting in later films; it's about a World War I flying ace, so of course I was thinking Snoopy, particularly since the pilot flies a red plane and is an animal who's smarter than the people around him. (Maybe Snoopy is a human under a curse?) I thought it was headed for a Beauty and the Beast ending and was delighted that it was more complicated than that. We missed the Kansas game, though I can't say I'm particularly sorry that they're out of Maryland's quarter of the tournament, though I am sorry that Villanova lost!
We had yet another glorious spring day in the DC area, low 70s, sunny and calm, so while Daniel was at robotics, we took Adam out for what was supposed to be a hike on the Virginia side of Great Falls, except that traffic backed up all the way down Georgetown Pike, so we figured we'd try the Maryland side, except that there was a big PARKING LOT FULL sign at the Falls Road-MacArthur Boulevard intersection, at which point we decided that since we needed to pick Daniel up on the other side of the county anyway, we might as well go to Wheaton Regional Park and Brookside Gardens to see flowers and hopefully find less mud than we'd been warned to expect by the Potomac River. It turned out to be the perfect place to spend the afternoon -- we saw lots of animals, including turtles, frogs, geese, ducks, fish, snails, assorted songbirds, and a few bugs, plus the flowers that are already blooming in the park:
( Turtles and Friends )
After a stop at two different Trader Joe's to look for hummus, Paul made penne with zucchini and ricotta for dinner, then we watched Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, which we got at a bargain rate because we ordered it from Disney along with The Princess and the Frog. It's a lot of fun, though I think his female characters are more interesting in later films; it's about a World War I flying ace, so of course I was thinking Snoopy, particularly since the pilot flies a red plane and is an animal who's smarter than the people around him. (Maybe Snoopy is a human under a curse?) I thought it was headed for a Beauty and the Beast ending and was delighted that it was more complicated than that. We missed the Kansas game, though I can't say I'm particularly sorry that they're out of Maryland's quarter of the tournament, though I am sorry that Villanova lost!
cleaning tip
Mar. 20th, 2010 10:26 pmdamalurI picked up a great cleaning tip today for MacBooks: Mr. Clean Magic Erasers do an amazing job of wiping the fingerprints and smears off the casing. My fifth gen hasn't looked so clean since 2008. (Does anyone else get irrationally excited about cleaning products and the NEW AND EXCITING WAYS they can be used? SoftScrub, man!)
Multifandom: Ladies' BigBang
Mar. 20th, 2010 10:35 pm900degrees posting in fandomcalendarLink: ladiesbigbang
Description: "Woman-centric multimedia big bang challenge that welcomes artists, fiction/meta writers, vidders, podficcers, fanmixers, picspammers and graphics folks. A woman is someone who self-identifies as a woman. The focus will be on existing and canonical women characters. Trans characters are more than welcome."
Sign-up date: From April 1st to April 30th.
Due date: September 1st.
Posting starts on: September 10th.
More info: FAQs #1 and FAQs #2.
ladiesbigbangDescription: "Woman-centric multimedia big bang challenge that welcomes artists, fiction/meta writers, vidders, podficcers, fanmixers, picspammers and graphics folks. A woman is someone who self-identifies as a woman. The focus will be on existing and canonical women characters. Trans characters are more than welcome."
Sign-up date: From April 1st to April 30th.
Due date: September 1st.
Posting starts on: September 10th.
More info: FAQs #1 and FAQs #2.
Word frequencies in posts
Mar. 20th, 2010 01:42 pmfoxfirefey posting in memewidthThe following's a list of word frequencies from the latest page, which displays a truncated/cut version of the latest public posts to Dreamwidth. A word only counts once per post; this data wasn't cleaned for unicode entities, although I should do that, so it's not as perfect as it should be, but I thought some people might have a passing curiosity like I did. The following table only shows words that show up 500 times or more in posts between the beginning of the year and yesterday. All the words have been lowercased.
( Table of word frequency doom! )
( Table of word frequency doom! )