You can call me a duck herder, 'cause that's part of what I do hereabouts. Yep, just rounded me up some ducks and herded them out of the office. Quack, quack.

Weird search of the Day, coming in before even maslow's hierarchy for face powder:

truly free passwords to authentic porn

... as opposed to those costly passwords to fake porn. Sheesh people!

Update: got a search yesterday for truly free porn no checking - what is it about truly and free and porn? There's none of that here!

Sand in the Gears

Ahem! Hello? Everyone? Anyone? *is this thing on?*

CentralBooking has relaunched today.

Please go check it out. It's definitely worth the effort. I know, because I've had to enter all the information at least once.

I took the What Mythological Creature Are you? test

[via Wicked Persephone]

Definitely worth readin: a story from the road. Eh.

When part of the data entry job that you're doing requires checking checkboxes, it's best to do them from top to bottom, rather then from left to right.

Just a tip.

Ha!! Thunky-Think-Thinknomore-Thunkishere mittens. [via Molly Zero]

Another winner (by Dinah): The Jon-Jon Diaries

Dinah directed me to this wonderful site: Postulant Edith's Sister Journal, and I'm loving it.

I want to go to BA-DA-BINGO!. Wanna go with me?

Brad points out a well-phrased reminder that it's rude to tie up other people's time while you're on the phone.

Ha!! I know so many jugglers who would get a kick out of this.

You know what? I've read many, many reviews of the Oscars show that I missed the other night, and everyone seems to agree in one thing: That Gwyneth Paltrow looked bad.

And you know what? I have yet to see what they're talking about. Can anyone help me out here?

Things I wish I had thought of during my babysitting career: Adventures in Babysitting

Awww. Actor Dudley Moore Dies at 66. I didn't see many of his movies, but I enjoyed the ones I did. [via Erin]

mad musings of me (uk), a thoughtful and articulate blog about issues affecting women.

On cell phones and family

Call someone to say you love them, that you miss them. Don't write jumbled thoughts in email, write to say how you really are. Use all these tools to get in touch with the people you care about. And think sometimes, for your sake and for your friend, of how you can make their day.

Holy cat door!!! Flo Control [via Pamela]

From U.S., the ABC's of Jihad

In the twilight of the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation.

The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's core curriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books, though the radical movement scratched out human faces in keeping with its strict fundamentalist code.

As Afghan schools reopen today, the United States is back in the business of providing schoolbooks. But now it is wrestling with the unintended consequences of its successful strategy of stirring Islamic fervor to fight communism. What seemed like a good idea in the context of the Cold War is being criticized by humanitarian workers as a crude tool that steeped a generation in violence.

[via Alex]

Bitchy Rant of the Day:

Tell me something:

Let's say you're drawing up an email list for an upcoming shindig, and you come across a couple you want to invite. You have an address for each member of this inseparable pair, and you know that, in the event that you should invite only one, the other will most certainly hear of it. Do you still send out the invitation to both? Or just to the one most likely to receive and act on the email first?

My issue here is that in the second case, the person who didn't get the email might feel (if this happens often enough) like maybe once in a while they'd appreciated getting invited to parties and get-togethers as an individual, rather than as the taken-for-granted half of a pair. Or worse *gasp*, like the host might have forgotten their existence altogether and has invited only the interesting (or better) half.

In case you haven't guessed by now, I am generally the half that doesn't get the email. Ever. What's worse *gasp* is that I am not part of a couple, or other romantic joining. No way, Jose. Naw, it's just that my best friend is very popular and gets invited everywhere, usually within the same general group of people. One would think, after 7 months of going to parties with him, that once in a while, when people sent out the invitations, I might get one as well, rather than hearing about the affair from him and going along as his "ornament" (term used lightly, as I'm not really ornamental material).

This assumes, of course, that the hosts of these parties and gatherings even want me there. It could be that the allure of my friend's attendance is enough to make them tolerate my presence, and they wouldn't really miss me should I decide in a fit of nerves not to attend since I didn't get invited. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and thinking that maybe since we do show up together so often, they simply assume that if he is invited that I'll show up and they're happy with that assumption. I don't know what the deal is, but I'm getting tired of apparently being thought of as "whatshisname's friend"*, and not as myself.

So yeah. That's my bitchy little rant for today.

*Not that I mind being known as his friend. After all, he is my best friend. I'm just looking for a tiny bit of recognition that I have a life and personality separate from his. Argh.

Gutfisk - always good to say when you go out with Swedish people for sushi.

Quote of the Day:

If Ben and Mena got hit by a bus, God forbid, the angels would cry and ... we'd never get an upgrade for Moveable Type. But we'd still have this version so we'd still be running even though we'd never get any support.

I was asked this weekend just what is it I'm looking for in a man, and I couldn't come up with anything. This was probably because I was surrounded by examples of male physical perfection and I couldn't seem to keep my mind on what really matters, which is personality, sense of humor, etc.

However, I stumbled across my perfect example when discussing Crossing Delancey with Kevin yesterday afternoon. What I find really attractive in a man:

He's handsome, charming, confident and capable, able to talk to bobbes, knows what he wants, etc. And he's not ashamed of his job (if it's not white collar), does it well, and is well-rounded in his interests. Oh, and he always says the right thing, which you'd think is a movie-only trait, but I had a boyfriend who could do that, so I know it exists in the real world.

Kevin is of the opinion that I need a Jewish man. He might be right.

Nice. Collage Machine Interface Ecology [via Jish]

Yay!!! Musee saved -- 3 cheers for all of us [via Heather]

Worth reading: The Adventures of Dr. Hunchback and the Mr. Robot Guy, by Walker. [via Jane]

My mom just called me to let me know that my great-aunt Margaret passed away yesterday.

She was 90 years old, and the most gracious woman you could ever know. She never had any children of her own, but our family is huge (Irish and Catholic, you know how it is), so she took care of all us. She was a painter at one time, and I have a few of her pieces hanging in my bedroom. I hadn't seen her for about a year and a half because she lives in Los Angeles and I just don't get down there very often, but every time I talked to my grandma, I asked after Aunt Margaret's health and got the full update.

She had congestive heart failure, arthritis, and a host of other health problems, so she had been in a lot of pain for a long time. She had a good life and it was time for her to go, but it's hard all the same. I miss her already.

This is way cool. [via Jish]

Important reminder for the day after the Beer Train: Turn the ringers of all your phones off, or you will be awakened by the very persistent people who want to talk to you at 9:30 a.m. the next morning.

Never mind that that's an ungodly hour on a Sunday morning regardless of what you did the night before.

*yawn*

Btw, it was great fun, and all of you who missed it really passed by a unique opportunity to hang out with a wonderful group of people. Maybe in another two years, we'll have a chance to do it again. Thanks to Jish, Min Jung, Brian, and Faisal for coming out and doing the journey with us!

Pictures of the Year International

Google bows to Scientology's DMCA request, yanks critics' site

Quote from Google.com e-mail 20.03.2002: [START]

We removed certain specific URLs in response to a notification submitted by the Religious Technology Center and Bridge Publications under section 512(c)(3) of the the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Had we not removed these URLs, we would be subject to a claim for copyright infringement, regardless of its merits.

[via BoingBoing, where you can find a complete list of the links removed from the search engine, via Rebecca Blood]

Sometimes all it takes to show you how good your life is is to hear about the problems of others. In January, I agreed to be in a friend's wedding next month, and since then, I've done nothing but bitch and moan about how maybe it wasn't the best decision to make, but it's too late to back out now, etc. I'm also rather concerned about my financial situation and the forecast for my living situation, and I'm constantly preoccupied with these issues.

But I called the bride today to see how she was doing, and how the wedding plans were coming along, and to tell her that I'd gotten my dress in the mail, and that's when I realized that, whatever I may feel is less-than-desirable about my life right now, I have it good.

One bridesmaid just went in for gallbladder surgery and now has a serious case of pnemonia.

Another bridesmaid's mother just passed away.

The last bridesmaid just found out that the father of her child up and moved to Texas without telling anyone, effectively leaving all the raising of their son (also the ringbearer) to her.

After telling me all this, the bride asked me how I was because she was concerned for me, the last bridesmaid who had not reported in. In surprise at how true it was, all I could say was "I'm fine and there's nothing wrong with my life."

I'm going to start living accordingly.

So I went to the grocery store this evening for light bulbs and somehow found myself in the frozen pizza aisle. As I turned away from them, exercising my will to not buy anything I didn't need, I watched a woman ahead of me approach the freezer doors to inspect somethingorother, all the while talking rather loudly to herself about the twofer-one sale and how interesting, and oh my, what a good deal, etc.

As I passed her, I smiled to myself, demonstrating my innocent pleasure in the eccentricities of old women out shopping by themselves.

Just then I remembered that, as I had turned away from the pizzas and walked by gentleman inspecting the Hot Pocket selection nearby, I had been muttering, and not entirely to myself, "Evil. Evil. Evil. Pizzas are Evil."

*sigh* Why do I come up second in a search for pictures of naked cows?!?! I just don't get it.

Fun! VirtualStapler.com [via 50 Cups]

Dear Diary...

"I suppose," she said. "There should be a law about these people with web diaries or they should all wear identifying clothing or something, so that innocent bystanders who don't need some perverse kind of public fame can know to steer clear."

[via Ryan]

After coming home to a cold apartment (again) because the heater is broken (again), with a living room in which both the halogen lamps have bitten the dust and will not work with new bulbs (since sxsw), in a car where suddenly the locks don't work consistently (since yesterday), and the window button is about to fall off (wtf?!?!?!), and the hatchback never releases on the first try and the electric keys are lost to time and space (since forever) ...

"Entropy just makes me fall apart sometimes."

Meeting tidbit: "We have no bugs in our software. Only unwanted features." -Niklas

Last night was a horrid, vicious, bad mood; rushing around and driving too much behind every slow person in the Bay area; a nice dinner; picking up some new-to-me floor lamps (I am so done with halogen) and visiting with a friend in her new-to-her and remarkably well-designed apartment; watching some good tv (didn't think it was possible, eh? try West Wing and 6 Feet Under); brownies; and then a loooooooong talk involving a lot of tears and a lot of honesty and unloading of resentment and confusion.

I'm dead tired this morning, but my heart is so much lighter. As will be my living room, once I get those lamps set up.

Watch out!

Booklovers unite!

snow

Burn, Baby Burn!

I wish I had a burner of my very own.

Along with my love of eating, my need to blog is less than it was before (these are good things, mostly). Obviously not gone entirely, but definitely less than before.

I had to talk myself into eating dinner last night, and breakfast is a habit that's hard to break. And this blog is just so that those who know I'm alive because of my presence here will be reassured that I'm not home sick today.

I am congested and tired and want to sleep all the time. *zzzzz* (not such a good thing - I have stuff to do!)

The Man Who Lives in a Rainbow [via Eric]

An AIM moment:

D: Some ritzy Euro car manufacturer is doing a "diamond edition" with one in the speedometer.
D: He says it makes a statement.
Booboolina: "Steal me"
D: I think the statement is "I'm a pretentious fuck", but I'll generally keep that to myself.

World Press Photo of the Year 2001. Worth looking at. [via Allen]

So this is why Jish decided to get a Mac. [via Amit]

Cool artwork: Kimberly Schamber Studio

I so don't handle stuffy-headedness well. Poor miserable me with the sniffles and the blocked sinuses.

Allergies suck.

Email moment, from my friend Robert

Subject: Irreverence

We got in an application today from a youngster who said she was doing a report on the life of Jessie James and she also wanted the King James Bible. Word association guy that I am, I shortly came up with the Jessie James Bible. "Gunfight at Gethsemane: The Romans came looking for Jesus, and this time...he was ready for them!"

I hear the Director's Cut of the Jessie James Bible has a special previously deleted stigmata scene directed by Sam Peckinpah for the truly heretical.

In other word fun news, today I came across someone named Fedora Justus. Which also makes me think of a potential movie sound bite: "The drifter rode into town bringing his own brand of fedora justice."

A lesson I've learned over the past few years:

If you spend too much time worrying about getting someplace, chances are you'll miss the good stuff.

It's only been a day, but already I miss JessaJune. I also envy her. I'd much rather be in Ireland.

SF Gate Picture of the Day: Shoe Chewing

Eight-month-old Anna D'Ecorle chews on one of the hundreds of children's shoes placed around the Statehouse rotunda at Topeka, Kan. The idea was to remind lawmakers of the importance of early childhood programs, or maybe of why parents should stencil names on kids' footwear.

As well as what kids will do with shoes if you leave them laying around. I guess the best you could hope for would be 1) the shoes are new or 2) the shoe she's chewing on is her own.

Email moment, checking up on a new friend a week after SXSW:

So, how the hell are ya? Have you recovered from SXSW alright? I am almost sleeping normally again. And I eat three times a day, too, all before 12 a.m. :) And the flaking on my forehead is *almost* finished. It's just up at the hairline now, where it looks most like dandruff. My nose is still Rudolf-red, but that's to be expected. My mom was as ashamed of me as I was for going out without sunscreen.

Still dealing with the abuse I subjected my body to. I have, however, washed all the cigarrette smoke out of my sweaters this weekend, and finished unpacking completely. Yay me!

Tim defines his relationships such that I want to be his friend.

Ha!! Hahaha!!

Update: Hehehee!!

So glad I'm not an addict.

Oh, and apparently men grow up at 30. Obviously the author doesn't know some most of the men I know. [via RedCricket]

Two long drives this weekend have allowed me lots of time to think about things. I had a good time turning 30 last month, but there are aspects of passing this milestone that haven't been so much fun. I know that growing and changing aren't supposed to be comfortable experiences, but I could use a break right now.

I'm being purposefully vague here, mostly because I lack the energy to put my thoughts into a readable format right now. Suffice to say that I'm trying to dredge up the strength of will to do what I have to do, as well as re-examining my convictions, and reflecting on the foundations of some of the relationships I'm in right now, and whether history alone is a good enough reason to continue them. Tough.

Btw, Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Hope you got your green on!

So, my SXSW overview, day by day, beginning with the shortest day: Friday.

Btw, this is just going to be a big link-fest going on, and I will miss some people, but it’s certainly not on purpose. If I miss you, let me know and I'll add you in the appropriate place.

So yeah. Friday afternoon, Jish, JessaJune, and I flew into Austin, lookin' for a good time. And we found it. Within an hour and a half, after stopping at our new favorite hotel we were on our way to Michael and Ari's place for a pre-Breaking Bread With Brad meet-'em. And meet 'em we did. I finally got to put a face to Leia, Bryan, Julie, and of course Michael and Ari. And naturally, we also got to see the people we know and love (read: those who have visited California): James and Tim.The new folk included Dave, Matt, Mike, and Mark, among others.

We discovered that green is the new black, and that Michael and Ari have a cute son and a very friendly dog. They also have the neatest toy, that some people could not get enough of.

This being the first social event of sxsw for us, Jessa and I were kinda nervous and prone to stick together, if only because we didn’t know anyone else that well. That didn’t last long, though, because (sing along with me here) everyone was so nice! The DFW bloggers are a great bunch, and I’m looking forward to seeing them when next I visit Dallas sometime in June.

Then we headed off to the Iron Cactus for the Break Break With Brad dinner, which turned out to be a hoot and a holler. Afterward, we headed on over to Polly Esther’s for karaoke, where Mena sang Stand By Your Man, Jish and Brad sang love songs to one another, Bryan showed us just how much he can get down doing the Humpty, and Ernie displayed his intimate knowledge of Brittney Spears songs.

So ends the first evening of our SXSW experience. Stay tuned for Saturday and the kickball game.

Her eyes have captivated the world since she appeared on our cover in 1985. Now we can tell her story.

They found Sharbat Gula, the National Geographic girl with the incredible eyes. You know the one I'm talking about. [via trianide]