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April 25th, 2009
12:11 pm
http://www.theyfightcrime.org/
You're welcome.
Current Mood:  chill
Current Music: Colonial Mentality--Fela Kuti
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March 29th, 2009
05:51 pm
Two weeks ago, my computer had a bit of an accident and kind of died. Turns out having no Internet is really, really good for me. I got tons of work done. Then there was spring break, which was truly fantastic. I got back three hours ago and have managed to read about two pages. I mean, I'm exhausted and jetlagged, but this is a little ridiculous.
Good night, Internet. I have work to do. By which I might mean napping. Also, food.
Current Mood:  jetlagged
Current Music: Family Affair--Sly & the Family Stone
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March 24th, 2009
March 8th, 2009
01:12 pm
OH MY GOD MY WINDOW IS OPEN AND I AM NOT FREEZING TO DEATH.
Couldn't this weather have happened when I didn't have to spend the whole day doing work? Le sigh. Spring has so much more meaning on this coast.
Current Mood:  excited
Current Music: La Primavera--Manu Chao (no, really)
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January 10th, 2009
06:30 pm
After almost exactly 300 pages, Anathem finally picked up. I'm 400 pages in now, which, after almost a week of reading, is a sign of how abysmally slow the going has been, and the book is finally the recognizable Stephenson I know and love. Crazy intrigue (much of which, I admit, I allow to go over my head rather than paying lots of attention), lots of unnecessary math (almost all of which I skip), outlandish plots and adventures involving really cool things like Arctic expeditions (or tropical expeditions or pirates or motorcycle chases or explosions or extremely high-risk pizza delivery etc.), badass brilliant women (version: genius and version: mechanic who sometimes combine their powers to form Super Hacker, known to the world at large as Penelope Garcia! Or maybe Elaine Roberts. Wow, even I can't believe I just made that reference, and if you get it, you should get some kind of serious geek award.), and the occasional really outstanding phrasing ("Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."). That being said, unless it improves amazingly in the next 500 pages, you are really not missing that much by skipping this one. It is definitely not as good as Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon or even Diamond Age which I really didn't get at the time but would probably enjoy very much if I reread it. Partially because none of those suffered from 300 completely boring largely unnecessary pages right off the bat. (Mr. Stephenson, people write complete books in less space. You need a new editor.) But also because there has been a lot more math and a lot less explosions. Which was my problem with Quicksilver, until I skipped to the second half. (The Waterhouses do math, the Shaftoes blow shit up. One of these families is more interesting to read about than the other, with the exception of Lawrence Waterhouse. Why aren't all the mathy bits as interesting as his mathy bits? That sounds very dirty.)
Also, I am back to mostly-solid food, just in time for me to eat something real and delicious on my birthday, and I could not be more delighted with this. And the not having to take pills anymore. I took more pills in any one day this week than in the last few years.
Also also, my cats are fantastic. Even when Fiona decides to spend the night poking me with her hard neutronium paws.
Current Mood:  lazy
Current Music: People in tha Middle--Michael Franti & Spearhead
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January 7th, 2009
04:07 pm
You know what's really awesome? Solid food.
You know what's not? Oral surgery.
I long for a sandwich. On a nice crispy sourdough roll. Or curry. Or, ooo, samosas! A burrito! Sushi, of course. Homemade tortilla chips. Stirfry! A tofu scramble! Pizza. Pasta. Oh, so much pasta. That really wonderful chanterelle pasta sauce my parents made for a super special culinary treat last week. Salmon. Ahi. Salad. Quinoa salad. Instead, I am doing mashed potatoes, tapioca, ice cream, pudding. Rinse repeat. That much ice cream and pudding sounds fun at first, but I'm pretty done with it now. I am really not into the painkillers. I mean, I am into the not being in pain, but I'm not into the nausea or stomach pains. Why do people take vicodin for fun? But. My lovely mother has been very nice to me, and got me really awesome ice cream and keeps making chocolate malts. My lovely cat has also been very nice to me. She really enjoyed Day 1: Emma Sits In Bed And Naps All Day While Snuggling Her Cat. Having an excuse to rewatch episodes of Criminal Minds is also pretty cool. It's a lot less scary if you fast forward through all the evil bad guys and screaming victims. I think Morgan's tilde-shaped eyebrows (~) and devastating good looks have got Kayley hooked.
Right now, I'm reading Anathem, or trying to. Mr. Stephenson, if you had not already won my eternal adoration with Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, I would not still be reading. There is absolutely NO need to make up that many words. An aut is a rite. A suur is a nun only more scholarly. A fraa is a monk only more scholarly. A concent is a convent only more scholarly. A saunt is a saint only more scholarly. A syntactic device is a fucking computer. A suvin is a school. It goes on and on. Making up words for these things? NOT NECESSARY. I have spent as much time looking things up in your 20-page glossary as I have reading 100 pages, you jerk. I am also fairly certain that if you tried, you could now write a book that was less than 900-something pages.
Current Mood:  hungry
Current Music: Street Corner Preacher--Amos Lee
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December 10th, 2008
10:31 am
Cookie A. is coming out with a book.
WANT.
I'm upset by my uncanny tendency to lose umbrellas, especially if they are new or pretty or I really need them. I think it's somewhere in my room, too. Bugger!
First of three Spanish finals in 40 minutes. Not looking forward to it. Also laundry day. 8 days left. 11-21 more pages to write by then--not a problem.
Current Mood:  cranky
Current Music: No Rest For the Weary--Blue Scholars
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December 9th, 2008
01:11 pm
Fantastic morning with delicious food in a real cozy house. My Spanish professor rocks. Her son is adorable. Also, I've been preapproved for all my classes next semester, and I only have three exams (all for Spanish) and two papers for finals. WIN!
( List of books I want to read over break )
Some of these I've read (Noughts & Crosses, for instance) or started to read (...a shamefully large number of them), but it's been a long time. Others I've been meaning to read for ages. I have five weeks of break. That's more than a book a day. This is going to rock so hard. I'm going to read and wait on cats all day.
Current Mood:  comfy
Current Music: Say Hey (I Love You)--Michael Franti & Spearhead
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December 2nd, 2008
07:37 pm
...I think I want to knit prayer flags...
( And now for something completely different, Things That Cost More Than They Should )
Current Mood:  optimistic
Current Music: Life & Debt--Blue Scholars
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November 30th, 2008
01:38 pm
First proper snowfall of the year! Great big flakes, and I think they're sticking now. Unfortunately, I have be at work, where I can't sit cozily with Fiona and drink tea and knit and stare out the window at the snow all day, but that's definitely what I'll be doing once I finish work. Minus the Fiona part. Which is very sad.
That and working on my great big final paper for Politics of History. Panic!
Also, listening to "Summertime" right now. The irony is not lost on me. (After which "July, July!" came on.) I may need a new morning playlist. Or a wintery playlist.
( Knitting rambling. )
Thanksgiving was lovely--Naomi is a smashing cook, her sister is nifty, and Wall-E is still one of the cutest things ever. Break has been kind of odd, though--I haven't been as good at doing work as I'd like. As evidenced by the fact that I am doing this instead of reading and outlining right now. Criminal Minds is a distracting thing--yes, I'm already rewatching it (and counting the number of things Morgan tackles: 12 episodes in, four doors, two bad guys, one other guy, Gideon kind of once, and Reid twice). Yay netflix for letting me be indulgent. ( Criminal Minds rambling. )
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Summertime--Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
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furious