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Setting up for NaNoWriMo
I’ve been thinking off and on about it since I first posted about it, and I think I just might go ahead and give NaNoWriMo a shot.
I’ve also been considering kirsten’s suggestion of blogging my progress in some way, as there’s a good chance that devoting a lot of time to pounding out a novel in a month might very well impact just how much I post here on The Long Letter. Following up on that idea, then, I present Untitled (since I’m still kinda clueless on just what I’ll be writing, it seemed silly to name it just yet).
More to come, I’m sure…
An American tired of American lies
I’ve always enjoyed Woody Harrelson‘s acting, but I never knew that he was much of a writer. He’s in London right now performing in a play, and wrote an excellent editorial piece for The Guardian.
I remember playing basketball with an Iraqi in the late 80s while Iran and Iraq were at war. I didn’t know at the time that the US and Britain were supplying weapons to both sides. I asked why they were always at war with each other and he said something that stayed with me: “If it were up to the people, there would be peace. It’s the governments that create war.” And now my government is creating its second war in less than a year. No; war requires two combatants, so I should say “its second bombing campaign”.
The history taught in our schools is scandalous. We grew up believing that Columbus actually discovered America. We still celebrate Columbus Day. Columbus was after one thing only — gold. As the natives were showering him with gifts and kindness, he wrote in his diary, “They do not bear arms…They have no iron…With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus is the perfect symbol of US foreign policy to this day.
…in wartime people lose their senses. There are flags and yellow ribbons and posters and every media outlet is beating the war drum and even sensible people can hear nothing else. In the US, God forbid you should suggest the war is unjust or that dropping cluster bombs from 30,000ft on a city is a cowardly act. When TV satirist Bill Maher made some dissenting remarks about the bombing of Afghanistan, Disney pulled the plug on him. In a country that lauds its freedom of speech, a word of dissent can cost you your job.
Via MeFi
I’m going to hell, aren’t I?
In an effort to help protect the DC-area public from the current sniper shootings, the local police have issued a list of tips for staying safe. One of the tips is, “When moving outside, walk briskly in a zigzag pattern.”
Okay, yes, I know this is a horrible thing, and I do hope that they catch this psycho soon.
But I do have to admit to a certain level of amusement at picturing the entire DC population zigzagging along the city sidewalks like a bunch of drunks.
Brrrrrrrrrrr
Okay, so skydiving has never been too high on my list of things to do. In fact, I don’t think you could pay me enough to do it voluntarily. However…
…skydiving naked just seems even crazier.
Thanks to Jeremy for this one.
Best. Mefi. Thread. Ever.
There’s an absolutely wonderful thread on MeFi right now. It started with a link to Greasy Kid Stuff, a wonderful little trip back to the playground, and all the rules that kids live by…
Nyah nyah nyah nyaaahh nyaaahh. Few grade-school kids could successfully define the word “schadenfreude” if asked, but you had better believe they know what it means. Furthermore, they have even less interest in disguising their glee at another’s misfortune than most grown-ups (viz. Nelson’s gratified “HA ha” on The Simpsons). Taunting another kid she knows she can outrun, cackling as another kid gets in trouble — nothing pleases the average child more. If you listen carefully, you can hear adults chanting “nyah nyah nyah nyaaahh nyaaahh” when other adults who just cut them off get pulled over by a cop.
The ensuing discussion is filled with all sorts of further childhood fun, games, and other dangerous activities. Everything from looping the swingset to taunt trivia to other fun variations of ‘tag’, and lots, lots more.
Things like this are why I still love the ‘net.
No wonder I’m a wimp!
According to a report to the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, natural redheads (yup, like me) have a higher sensitivity to pain.
People with natural red hair need about 20 percent more anesthesia than people with other hair colors, they told a meeting of anesthesiologists. The unexpected finding not only suggests that redheads are more sensitive to pain, but offers insights into how anesthesia works in people.
“Red hair is the first visible human trait, or phenotype, that is linked to anesthetic requirement,” Dr. Edwin Liem of the University of Louisville in Kentucky said in a statement.
“In a nutshell, redheads are likely to experience more pain from a given stimulus and therefore require more anesthesia to alleviate that pain,” he added.
So hey, I’ve got an excuse for wimping out now, right?
Ow.
Quit it.
Ow.
Quit it.
Thanks to /. — there’s some more interesting info on redheaded genetic quirks in the comments, too!
Royce and me
In return for the ASCII-me that Royce sent me, I thought I’d share this rare, candid snapshot of Royce and I outside my old apartment in Anchorage.
(Well, okay, so I didn’t have my head shaved back then. But hey. It’s close enough, right?)
The Lego-figurines were created at The Mini-Mizer, a cool little Flash toy for recreating you, or your friends (or your enemies, I suppose) Lego-style. Fun toys!
Ascii-me!
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Royce sent this to me.
Too.
Freaking.
Cool.