It's really quite a challenge to do interesting layouts without using a single image ... but damn is it fun! This is Skimmer's attempt at a something fluffy and cheerful.
Failing horribly, of course. But having fun en route. It uses tons of css, so beware.
Skimmer, cackling into the night5:01 p.m. Tuesday, December 3, 2002
The true reason I haven't posted in ages? Freudian porn.
Well, actually that's not quite accurate, but it's close enough for hand grenades and horseshoes. I'm working on my thesis (Hilda Doolittle, the figure of Helen, Freud, and Robert Graves - pray for my mind, oh friends.) Tonight, I was reading about 'maternal phallus' or some other such fascinating criticism that frankly makes you sound either insane or hung up on long pointy things when you talk to people. And my thesis is mostly an anti-Freudian one. Ah well.
Other news, I guess I should declare it mostly open - Dexia Works. It's a site for an original world that I'm playing with along with some good friends of mine. I'm cooking up an idea of setting up a new layout, but for now it matches Nez's main page.
I'm working right now on a series of little stories with Aster about Roland and Olivier. I've got no idea when it'll be posted, but we'll see.
What else? Jess posted a comment about liking this blog. It's always nice to hear that someone's hearing your words. Even better when they like them.
Oh - and be so glad that you missed my wonder of a Fiction Writing class. We haven't gotten towns attacked by "engines" yet, but the misogynist paranoid who seemed to want to molest his daughter in one story was getting pretty high on my 'ick' list. Sad thing was that the kid in the class had no clue why we'd object.
Rav - reading and waiting
11:09 p.m. Wednesday, November 6, 2002
The gingkos have made their move at last.
At some point between 9:00 last night and 8:30 this morning, the gingko trees outside the Math Building did that thing gingkos are supposed to do but don't always do and dropped their leaves, all at once. The ground crew does not begin work until 9 in the morning, but Skimmer has a 8:30 class, so she got to wade through approximately a foot of leaves en route. Wheee! Unfortunately, these trees are both female and have been dropping fruit for some time now. Squish. Ah, the stench of gingko in the morning ... it's still worth it.
B the time she got out of class the leaves had been cleared off the path, and when she cut in front of the math building en route to another class, later, there was no sign of them even on the grass. The ground crews are efficient. However, the fruits had begn to drop at regular intervals. Of about fifteen seconds.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
Skimmer, still boinging01:35 p.m. Friday, November 1, 2002
Updated linkslist. Finally added Jess. Everybody go over there and check out the Mandelbit; it's extrordinarily cool. Finally took off Suzelog, too, as it has ceased to be interesting. Took off Technomancy, reluctantly, but it's dead and gone and we all mourn for it.
Jess, this is very belated, but: Talking about events doesn't make someone an average mind. If someone is sufficeintly intellegent, they can talk about people and make it more interesting than a 'small mind' talking about ideas. The telling point is when someone is unable to or uniterested in discussing ideas, not when they don't, for whatever reason, because they're probably still *thinking* about the 'ideas' and it's showing in *how* they talk about events.
Skimmer, late for class03:14 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Oookay.
Skimmer was en route to lunch yesterday at the Dorm Across the River (since it actually serves edible food, about half the time) when she saw at the side of the path this huge gray *thing.* Upon closer examination, it turned out to be ... the top of a keyboard.
No keys, no contacts, no lights, just the faceplate.
Alright, she thinks, what now?
Weeeel .... a little further on she nearly trips over what turns out to be the Function keys, and there's the huge flopping this that looks like an internal spill-protector, and there are bits an pieces of what might be the bottom half all over.
Now, judging from the distance this thing was from the dorm, it's entirely possible that it was trown out an upeer window, but since the dorm in only three stores high at this point, for it to break apart so much even pon hitting the sidewalk seems diffcult. More probably it was dismantled before it hit the ground. Perhaps it was run over with somethig, although Skimmer has no idea what.
In any case, though, this makes the Cupholder Incident look like small potatoes, and Skimmer wishes very much to know what the poor keyboard did to deserve such treatment.
Oh, and on the faceplate, there was an intact label for, if Skimmer recalls correctly, keyboardsonline.com. She guesses this counts as an anti-commercial for them, assuming the keyboard was destroyed after its catastrophic failure, which seems likely.
Skimmer, still confused02:25 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, 2002
It's improving, Rav, it used to lead to a pr0n site.
In other news: Skimmer has this project, wherin she tries to draw 'modern-day' versions of all the major Greek gods, because she finds it amusing. It spawned ages ago when she first read Cryptonomicon; it gained legs and came out of the swamp when she started her Classical Mythology course. Today, she had a lecture about mystery cults, which has finally led her to decide on an image for Dionysus:
Hippie.
Obvious in retrospect. All about going outside the confines of civilization, the bit in Bacchae where the messenger reports that the women on the haill wren't having an orgy but are wandering aorund singing with their hair down, &c. But yes, Dionysus would have long curly hair, a long beard, and wander around in sandals and homemade clothing with a Flower Power symbol on a chain ...
(For the curious the only other god to take specific shape so far is Athena. She has glasses, stompy boots, and a sweatshirt reading 'w00t' - and she bears a laptop in a messenger bag.)
Skimmer, EVIL PLOTS R US03:14 p.m. Wednesday, October 9, 2002
So, I said to myself, time to check my spam trap account.
I typed in www.eudoramail.com .... and my browser opened to a site on spoon collecting.
After some checking, I realized that I typed www.eudormail.com. And that link takes you to www.spoonrack.com. Random fact of the day.
Rav, singing08:52 a.m. Wednesday, October 9, 2002
Whose idea was it to make the standard display for Windows XP include a green start-button and a blue taskbar? With curved edges?
It doesn't just clash, it looks hideously organic. When Skimmer uses a computer, she does not wish to constantly be forced to remind herself it is, indeed, a computer and not some variety of glowing plant.
Skimmer, technophiliac05:54 p.m. Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Digital Design is a lot easier once you figure out which pins are supposed to be input and which output.
Digital Design is a lot more fun once you personify the numbers. Instead of a restless college student staring at truth tables, you become a Dark Overlord forcing your captives into breeding programs in an attempt to create a race of Ultramen! Or possibly some sort of mad scientist.
Nand sounds like the name of a country. Zarathustra of Nand? It would be of course on the border of Xor ... hmm. Zarathustra of Nand, meet your nemisis, Nada of Xor! You must defeat her in a battle to the death, or else ducks shall rain rom the sky, disrupting the agricultural cycle and overloading the mental hospitals!
Skimmer, replete with evil plots04:53 p.m. Friday, September 6, 2002
For a class, I'm reading Maurice by E.M. Forster. It's actually fairly nice reading. Short chapters, and this printing has nice clear text. Ignoring the weird Freudian implications of it here and there, that is.
However, I just hit chapter 9. In it, hero-boy was talking to boy number 2. This was just after an unpleasant summer where hero-boy tried to kiss a girl and she ran off because she though it was like kissing a corpse. Hero-boy wrote to boy number 2 about this girl, and said that he thought he loved her. Boy number 2, by the way, is madly in love with hero-boy. In chapter 9, boy number 2 is sighing and looking glum, and he asks if hero-boy read something by Plato (i.e. do you know about this thing called homosexuality?) Hero-boy says yes, and then boy number 2 professes his love. Then, in a scene that looks far too like fanfiction, boy number 2 flees.
I repeat, in a scene far too like fanfiction, the boy flees. .... I'm reading yaoi. Published yaoi. For class.
The book was written in 1914.
Thank you, carry on.
Rav, reading02:51 p.m. Saturday, August 31, 2002
Regarding Suze's entry on veganism: Sadly, Skimmer agrees that hardcore vegans are being rather stupid about it.
Skimmer herslf is a "pesco-vegetarian" - won't eat any meat except fish. This is probably healthier than a meat-eating diet, and certainly healthier than pure veganism. Or at least, easier to keep healthy. She had it easy in that her family has never been big on meat to start with. Thus, it was just the difference between a little and none. However, for people raised on meat, it's an ingrained habit. Humans have an astonising ability for cognitive dissonace, which is why the slaughterhouse video probably wouldn't work, although it would definately get people thinking.
But ... "Veganism denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude - as far as is possible and practical - all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment." This is apparently from the founding documents of the Vegan Society. It reads like a company mission statement, doesn't it?
If you want to help the earth, be compassionate, safeguard your health ... buy organic and don't eat a lot of meat. However, don't feel guilty for eating a little. Humans are omnivores.
(According to the site the quote came from vegetarian used to be referd to as Pythagoreans. A much nicer name in Skimmer's opinion. Presumably originating in ancient Greece, with overtones of universal harmony that she finds appealing. Hmm.)
TBC.
Skimmer, happily off to get a tuna sandwich10:24 a.m. Thursday, August 29, 2002
So far this summer, I went to New Mexico, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. So - lots of travelling. I got to meet Aster during my running around, and saw a Renfaire. Renfaire was - surprisingly fun, though I got my entire summer's worth of a tan in the space of a day.
I was reading D and her new story that she's working on (which is, btw, a very interesting sounding brew - then again, I've got a weakness for Italy in that time period.) It's neat to watch a society being created - I had similar fun playing with a story that I'm writing. In the end - I think writing a world is alot like a chess game - a real world has a lot of balancing. There's good people and bad people, but a lot of the world are mostly neutral. Neither saints nor sinners, but people trying to live. Unfortunately, middle of the road isn't much of a story - so one has to show the middle while talking about the peaks - or make the middle interesting. Then again, that's what I love about writing.
Other fun - I was talking about ballads with Nez and the coversation turned around to the fact that Nez had never heard of some of the ballads that were in all my childhood lit books. Then again I always loved ballads. Ballads and fairy tales were summertime reading when I was younger. There was this one story that was a Vassilissa clone that had the phrase "Be bold, be bold, be bold but not too bold least your heartblood should run cold" on the doors - I've seen the phrase used in a Bluebeard story - but I could have sworn that it wasn't a Bluebeard story where I first read it. Then again, ballads and fairytales are like poems for me - I remember snippets, but never the whole.
Rav, cooking in my mind11:36 a.m. Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Skimmer has been spending four evenings a wek at her local library, doing the Picklist. The Picklist is a great big list of books people have put holds on, which therefor need to be plucked from the sheleves. she's encountered a few curiosities in the process:
In other news, there is nothing to fill up a bright Sunday morning like sanding flamingos. No, Skimmer is not going to explain that one.
Skimmer, not (yet) on a sugar high, honest11:43 a.m. Sunday, June 30, 2002
Tommorrow, I'm heading out to New Mexico to help my father with some large format photography stuff. If nothing else, I'll have time to write.
Birthday was pretty good. I had a nice dinner the day before since my actuall birthday was messed up due to other things - it's weird how a holiday is more then the sum of it's parts, I guess. I mean, 'Christmas' for me isn't Christmas, but instead it's the night that my parents and me get the tree up, and we turn out the lights and sip our assorted drinks (usually wine for my parents and tea for me) and we watch the lights. That's what I remember more then the presents.
Back on track though, I got a copy of the Arc the Lad Collection - it's an amazingly well translated game. Usually Working Designs translates stuff a little too - cute for my taste. I'm not that fond of humor in games when I'm looking for a dramatic story. However, I'm happily about 3 hours into Arc the Lad I, and I don't want to shoot a single character yet. This is, btw, better then I did with Lunar Eternal Blue for patience.
What else? Well - D posted a comment on free speech and journals that was, to my surprise, almost exactly what I would have said. There's a fine line between 'Well, you said it, so I can respond' and 'You're a twit, go away.' But then again, I'm the sort of person that thinks one should try to be polite first, and 'debate' second. It's just the way I was raised, I suppose.
As for Shoujocon, I've got a hotel room and plane tickets. Nez will be rooming with me, and with any luck, I can run into D. If anybody want's to arrange running into me - e-mail me. I'll be up by noonish on the 19th.
Rav, who's packing08:07 p.m. Monday, June 24, 2002
Or I live more or less. End of the school year came along with a sinus infection, and I still feel a little icky. I may have to run down and get another course of anitbiotics to kill it off.
Other fun has been fighting a remolding project on my parent's kitchen. So far - I've laid about 20 square feet of granite tile, and a lot of tumbled stone tile for a backsplash. At least the new stove is nice, and I have real food and not dorm food product.
In other things - I've started making thai curry. Amazingly easy once you have the basic ingredients. The last time my parents and I headed up to the large Chinese store, I picked up a can of coconut milk, and a container of curry paste. During the school year, I found this article online on Thai curry, so I had an idea what I was looking for. I've tried one with pork, onion, and new potatoes from the garden (potatoes were a little underdone, but other then that it was fine,) and one with pork, onions, and green beans. The green beans came out wonderfully.
The only other thing I can think of, save missing Skimmer since she's off home, is that I started talking with White Aster. She's a wonderful writer who has a very nice version of Edgar (he's actually _pleasant_ and even sexy.) I wrote some critique on one of her stories, and she agreed to look at one of mine. She's playing with a character of mine called Kageashira. Great fun.
Day before yesterday, a storm rolled in, and I went out to watch it. The lightning was flashing and the air had cooled with that little lifting as the pressure changed. The sky was this dark greenish grey of _real_ weather - and I was finally home.
Rav, who's happy
11:53 a.m. Thursday, June 6, 2002
Censors of the world, Skimmer wishes to draw a small fact to your attention.
The opening chapter of Sign of the Four sounds like it was written by a fifth-grader *unless* you are willing to *leave in* the actual opening, because otherwise Holme's comments about "rebels at stagnation" simply make no sense.
Sherlock Holmes had a cocoaine habit. This is how Arthur Conan Doyle chose to write the character. He had his reasons for doing so. In the Victorian era (which is, incidentally, the setting of these stories) this was nothing illegal or stigmatized. If you are seeking to rpovide an anti-drug message, recal that Holme's comments are prompted by the fact Watson severly upbraids him for the habit.
This was not why Skimmer chose to remove the copy of The Sign of the Four that you had placed your odious hands upon without so much as an "Abridged Edition" notation; it was teh fact that the front cover of said copy was only attached by virtue of three layers of library tape. However, it is something to bear in mind.
Skimmer, annoyed01:31 p.m. Sunday, June 2, 2002
And not the kind you do outside in dirty clothes.
So Skimmer just got home from another exCITing semester of college, and the first thing she does? (Well, apart from draggin her suitcases inside, complaining loudly to her sympathetic parents about the dangers of airline food, and collapsing for half a day.) she finds Something To Do. Now, her mother is a school librarian, and the school library (unsuprisingly for a public school) is an underfunded mess. The fiction section, for example. The fiction section badly needs Weeding. As in, someobdy to go through it and notice that this book, while it may have been a fine and wonderfl book when it was published back in 1959, today has a cover hanging literally by a thread and most middle-school kids would read it and just go 'Huh'? And that someone turns out to be ... Skimmer. Wheh? Well, she is the librarian's daughter and she does have some degree of literary taste, which is, so her mother tells her, more than the librabry assitant who had been tapped previously and had to be pulled did.
So, The Adventure Begins. We don't really need two copies of a book entitled "High School Dropout" ... or one ... okay, it's a paperback romance, let me guess the ending. Ahah! I guessed right. Bye-bye ... Arthur Conan Doyle may be classic, but this book is half as old as him ... okay, will the computer program that wrote the latest Nacy drew novels please stand up? I'd like to adapt it to scifi ...
After three days she's done thrity shelves, filled a cart with weeds, and wants a day off. So her mother goes in to work without her and starts removing the weeded books from the system. She only had to put two back on the shelves.
Next week: M to Z.
Skimmer, litereary04:33 p.m. Friday, May 24, 2002
Ethics is like origami with bitter people who have hearts of gold in a way, but I'm loving it.
"And so: you do not know me, but you know something of my appearence. You can also percieve the directions and dimensions of my intentionality. You cannot know who I am but you can help me to be by percieving that in me which escapes me, my fidelity or infidelity to myself. In this way you can help me get away from inertia, tautology, repetition, or even from errancy, from error. You can help me become while remaining myself."
(Luce Irigaray, i love to you, 112)
Rav, living on life
03:24 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2002
Oh fellow lover of all that is good and true in life, Skimmer's suggestion is to tkae a tip from her fellow lunat^H^H^H^H^Hstudents at CTY and refer to it as 'Liquid Sex', or 'Virgin Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.'
Skimmer, late for class09:08 a.m. Thursday, May 9, 2002
It will cause you intense dizziness, and the high angle of the stairs will intensify it, as will the structural design of said fire escape. Furthermore, removing your sunglasses will not help, since you will then be unable to descend the fire escape using your memory of the view on the way up.
Skimmer, with many good ideas for art11:53 p.m. Monday, May 6, 2002