This afternoon, Dorie, my lovely kitty, came in and I noticed that she had some fur hanging from her throat. I grabbed it to pull it out and she yowled and I noticed that her throat was all bloody and the skin was torn and punctured. Some animal tried to rip her throat out!

   I tried to clean it out but she kept fighting me and when I got a look at how bad it was I just burst into tears. My beloved cat, Tara, died a few years ago and I still mourn her and I just can't stand to see any kitty in pain. I immediately called the Vet Teaching Hospital and they told me to bring her right down. She yowled all the way there (hates being in the car), tried to bite to doctor and threatened to claw my face off. So, acted pretty normal for a kitty at the vet *g*.

  The vet put stitches in and she is on antibiotics. She has to go back tomorrow to have her dressing changed. She looks like she is going to be okay. I brought her home and she was woozy from the sedative but she sat on the mat by the front door and vegged for a bit, them climbed up onto my lap. I just gave her the first course of medication and she's taking a bath.

  I'm so relieved that she is okay and still pretty shaken up. I cried in the waiting room at the vet's because they were taking such a long time and I was worried. I know, I'm usually not such a basketcase but...it was just so awful, seeing her all torn up like that! I am so relieved that she is going to be okay!

 

  Okay, so I've finally broke down and downloaded (*shhh, don't tell the MPAA!*)  some TV series' that everyone talks about but I never watched. Here are my thoughts:

  24--After one episode: Overwrought and predictable. Won't be watching again.

  Lost--After two episodes: Man, I cannot STAND  Matthew Fox's face!!! Its like Dylan McDermott from 'The Practice' and how everyone is like, "Oh, he's so hawt!" and I feel so lied to because he looks like a giant douche! I just can't stand to look at him. GRR! So no, probably won't watch anymore. I know, its stupid but I cannot watch a show where the main character irritates me this much.

True Blood--After 9 episodes: Dude, first off this first season completely follows the book, just like 'Dexter'. Which is great if you haven't read the book but if you have, it feels like a 14-hour book review. Except that some of the characters are tweeked and Lafeyette doesn't die at the end of the season. I've heard the second season is different (no longer book canon) but I didn't want to start with second season because I didn't want to miss anything. So, okay, my thoughts.
   Anna Paquin is smoking hot and she plays the "southern belle" thing quite well. She's surrounded by white trash but is stubbornly above them, which I like. However, Stephen Moyer (as Bill the Vampire) is only okay for me. He's got some sizzle and he and Anna have a lot of chemistry but there is something missing with him. And I think way too much screen-time is given to the antics of Sookie's womanizer asshole brother Jason.
  All in all I feel about the series the same way I felt about the books; entertaining at first but the author just keeps shoveling ridiculous on top of ridiculous until something breaks or it comes out on the other side into pure camp. This show treads the fine line (and the books cross it after the 4th one). So, I'm torn. Is it fun? Yes. Sort of. But its not fluffy enough to be pure stupid entertainment and its not serious enough to be good drama. So it comes down to interest. And, after 9 episodes, I just lost interest in it.

Battlestar Gallactica--zero episodes (yet): I am pretty excited about this show because I have heard great things about it. However, I am waiting for Ryan to get back before I watch it. I got him hooked on "Farscape" but, because I had seen the series, he ended up watching a lot of it alone and I wanted something to watch together (he wanted me to watch "Lexx" YUCK!). So, this is the next one on my list.

  Also--just "The Celluloid Closet", a documentary about homosexuality in Hollywood cinema. It looks really interesting. And I'm rewatching "Sex in the City" and still think that Big is not good for Carrie. And I still cry when Miranda finally realizes that she loves Steve (my sister thinks I am just like Miranda LOL).

  What are you listening to?



What are you reading?

  A Phantom of the Opera retelling called "Kristina: A Fantasy" found here: www.fanfiction.net/s/4803765/1/Kristina_A_Fantasy  Stephanie is an amazingly talented writer, with the ability to create compelling original charecters and use interesting plot devices to great effect. She also doesn't languish in the purple prose and over-blown romance that so many fan fic writers (particularly in this fandom) do. She has a very subtle, seductive style of writing that leaves me breathless. A word of warning though--this story is a re-tread of the entire PTO universe. Its realistic and wonderful and everyone should read it. But don't expect Leroux or Kay. Its more Ursula Le Guin.

What is your current obsession?

  Michael Jackson. I am listening to his discography again, discovering these little-known songs that I just love. 'Strangers in Moscow', ' 2000 Watts' (in which he sings in a very low register and is surprisingly amazing!) and all of the interviews (even that shitty Bashir one). I have fallen in love with MJ all over again and am still so sad that he is gone.

What are you drinking?

  Pepsi in a can. Just finished my vanilla latte (I drink one every day).

What are you eating?

  Nothing now but just ate a mushroom and swiss burger at Denny's.

What are you doing?

  I'm at work right now and i'm on summer vacation for the next 6 weeks so am just hanging around the house, sleeping, watching old movies on TCM, generally vegging out. I am also doing some volunteer work and beta-ing some stories for various authors.


  No obligation to anyone to do the meme but feel free to steal it if you'd like.

  Only 6% of scientists are Republicans, according to a Pew Forum poll. Once again, the right alienates the educated as "intellectual elites" (as if there is something wrong with being intellectual!) 
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/10/only-six-percent-of-scien_n_229382.html

In other news, Peggy Noonan ripped Palin to shreds in her column at the Wall Street Journal today. It was hilarious because, as much as I hate Noonan, I will always hate Palin more for being proud to be dumb. Says Noonan, "She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying."

online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html


Finally, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is out on Friday!!! And yes, I will be there at midnight on Thursday because I am a pathetic fangirl *cough* I mean, because my daughter really wants to see it. Yeah!

So, there's an article in the Daily Evergreen (college newspaper) today about Google trying to create an open-source rival to Windows. It will be called Chrome (like their browser) and we be targeted for notebooks, not desktops. here you go--link to Google's announcement of the project . This article says that Google is a frenemy of open source because its raising awareness and demand but is in direct competition with Linux applications. Dunno that I agree with that but I think that Google and Microsoft are slugging out a pretty interesting grudge match (first Bing and now this).

  I have to say, both my PC and my laptop are powered by Linux. In fact, I deleted Vista completely from my desktop because it is 1. shitty and 2. because I believe in supporting open-source alternatives. I also heartily disagree with Microsoft's business tactics and strong-arming of smaller companies, as well as their stranglehold on the market (using kickbacks to get Windows installed on new PCs, the TCPA, ect). And don't EVEN get my started on the DRM! 

  So, this is a pretty exciting step and I'm hoping that Google can punch a hole in Microsoft's hide, whether or not they are charging for the product (I assume they will be). Here's to hoping that it will at least raise awareness of Linux as a viable, and even better, alternative.


  Oh, and for that have asked--my trip was splendid. I enjoyed every minute of it and came home rested, relaxed and ready for 6 more weeks of vegging, LOL.

  So, Bill-O is at it again. On the day of MJ's memorial, the hateful old windbag said, "O'Reilly criticized Jackson for "incredible selfishness -- spending hundreds of million dollars on himself while singing 'We Are the World,'" and said that it "should make any clear-thinking American nauseous."

  What a bastard. MJ gave millions to charity each year. He holds the Guinness World Record for most charitable giving by an individual. Not to mention,  HOW MUCH HAVE YOU GIVEN TO CHARITY, BILL?





tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx

  I've been spending the past several days and the  holiday on the beautiful Pacific coast with my beautiful Ryan.  Its been a lot of fun and I will update when I have more time. RIght now, I'm driving down to Tacoma to see Erik and have some lunch at Red Robin. YAY!!!

 SC Governor Stanford's wife, Jenny, is not playing the typical supportive role of a philandering politician's wife. Instead, she's come out with both fists flying--more power to her, I say. Good on her for having some self-respect! I LOVE THIS WOMAN!

"He was told in no uncertain terms not to see her," she said in a strong, steady voice. "I was hoping he was on the Appalachian Trail. But I was not worried about his safety. I was hoping he was doing some real soul-searching somewhere and devastated to find out it was Argentina. It's tragic."

The Sanfords had separated about two weeks ago. She said her husband told the family that he wanted some time away to work on writing a book and clear his head. The first lady said, "I had every hope he was not going to see her."

  "His career is not a concern of mine," Jenny Sanford told reporters camped at the end of her driveway as she left with her boys for a boat ride the other day. "He's going to have to worry about that. I'm worried about my family and the character of my children."


www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31574996/ns/politics-more_politics/

  Michael Jackson is dead today-cardiac arrest.

  So many of my childhood memories involve MJ--even growing up in Fundyland.. When I was 8 year old, my mother went on a date and left us with a babysitter who had a poster of Michael Jackson from "Thriller" with the glowing eyes and me and my sister were so freaked out, we couldn't sleep.

  When I was 12, my sister Loni told me that she was gonna marry Michael Jackson.

  I remember being 14 and listening to the "Man in the Mirror" and "Remember the Time" secretly while my mom was at work. I recorded "Back or White" from the radio onto a tape and listened to it until the tape broke.

  I watched Jackson's taped rebuttal to the allegations of molestation, shown on every channel in prime time for an hour. I believed in his innocence then.

  Its so sad...Whether he was a pedo or not, MJ was a phenom. His music defined my generation. I could name a dozen of his songs easily (what other artist could I say that about? ). I'm sad today, people. Really sad.

I participated in the raids last year and probably will again this year.

Meme stolen from lady_drace

Only answer yes/no. You may explain if questioned in comments but not in the meme!

( Read more... )

There's a war going on for your mind

Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography
Lovers take shelter
Post-production debutantes pursue you in Nascar chariots
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into holy water supplies

There's a war going on for your mind

Industry insiders slang test tube babies to corporate crackheads
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "Stop snitchin'!"
Conscious rappers and whistleblowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles and marionette strings

There is a war going on for your mind
Professional wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them
The desert sky is their bluescreen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you
"Pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection."
And meteors these days are the size of corpses

There's a war going on for your mind
We are the insurgents

    I'm taking another philosophy of religion class, this time called "The Mind of God and the Book of Nature". The first book we read was Keith Ward's Pascal's Fire. The point of the book is that science and religion are not really in conflict so long as religion is seen as an extended inquiry rather than a set-in-stone kind of thing (fundamentalism). One of his "proofs" is that the universe sees fine-tuned for life. I've seen this argument many times and so I wrote the first paper on the problems with the "fine tuning" argument.

  The professor is a theist so I knew that he would have a problem with the paper (he's already called me into his office once because he felt I "dominated" the conversation in the class by giving only one viewpoint, which is ridiculous considering that 1. my viewpoint is the opposite of the book so that TWO viewpoints and 2. I raise my hand and he calls on me before speaking, so its not like I take over the class). Anyway, we got the paper's back a few days ago and I got an 87. EIGHTY SEVEN!!! This is the lowest grade I have EVER gotten on a paper in my college career. The instructor did write comments about why I got the grade but I was pissed for several days over it. It seems to me that he was biased against my argument and judged me more harshly because of that. However, to be fair, there were some things I could have done better with the paper and I'm not as mad now as I was two days ago.

  So, I will have to rewrite the paper at the end of term (an option he mentioned early on). Its not like it matters, since this isn't my major. But the rhetoric of religion is my area of focus so it doesn't look good on a transcript if I don't do well in philosophy classes. Plus, I am trying to minor in philosophy. So I do need to pull a 4.0 out of this class.

  Anyway, bitch bitch bitch. This class is killing me.

It was with shock and deep grief that I read of the vicious, cold-blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller. While he was at church, no less. And then I read the journalistic accounts and I was filled with cold rage at the lies that are being spread about this truly great man, this champion for women’s lives. The accounts mention that he provided late-term abortions and then went on to quote the anti-abortion rhetoric regarding his “slaughter of thousands of little boys and girls.”

The record must be set straight. Dr. George Tiller provided third-trimester abortions to women with doomed pregnancies. The majority of the fetuses were already dead, the rest would not survive past birth if they went to term. In many cases, both woman and fetus would die if the pregnancy continued. These were very much wanted pregnancies that went horribly wrong. Contrary to anti-abortion aspersions, no woman obtains a third-trimester abortion simply because she no longer wishes to be pregnant and wants to fit into a prom dress or a bikini. Third-trimester abortions are illegal for any reason other than severe fetal deformity and grave threat to the health or life of the pregnant woman.

“Pro-lifers” tried time and time again to get Dr. Tiller’s medical license revoked, but those efforts were shot down in court every time because Dr. Tiller only ever performed medically necessary third-trimester abortions. They shot at him, they stalked him, they vandalized his property, and they forced him to take security measures that ultimately failed. So dedicated was he to saving women’s lives that he pushed on despite these vicious acts of terrorism.

My heart goes out to his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. Though we did not personally know Dr. Tiller, the assassination of this compassionate, loving and exceedingly courageous man has left a hole in the hearts of millions of us.



  The death of Dr. Tiller was tragic and the rhetoric that passes for debate about the cause and effect of his death is deplorable. I hope that this horrible act will highlight the dirty hands involved in this murder by both right-wing and "pro-life" groups.  Hate speech incites violence. It is disingenious of groups like Operation Rescue, who call for 'action' against 'murderers' like Dr. Tiller to pretend that they aren't a part of the problem.

  But the mischarecterization of all Christians as condoning murder is equally illogical and stupid (yes, this is being done all across atheist boards). It makes me embarrassed to even be associated with you.  Dr. Tiller was himself a Christian and no, churches don't typically preach murder from the pulpit, even crazy fundy churches like the one I belonged to.

  This was an act of domestic terrorism. And undoubtedly it has some religious roots. Put religion and politics are inextricably linked, especially as far as this murdered was concerned ( he was also part of an anti-govt militia group). www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/69151.html It is impossible to say whether it was radical religious views or radical political views that led to this murder. But one thing is clear--they are RADICAL views. So lets please all stop with the wanking and have a real, productive conversation about this horrible crime.

  

  My hair is finally long enough to cover my ears! It seems like I've been growing it out forever. I finally have it in the style I want, which is that Victoria Beckham cut where its short in back and longer in front. I don't have a digicam so no pics but its cute.

  I tried dyeing my hair last night with a new brand-Natural Instincts-and it didn't go well. It is really red. Like, REALLY red. I'm hoping that it will calm down in a few washings.

 

Title: Friends with Benefits
By: Cyrano the 2nd
Spoilers: Set in 2x21 “The Vegas Renormalization” and includes quotes from the episode. AU after the “friends with benefits” conversation.
Category: romance, maybe a little bit of angst
Rating: PG-13
Word Count:3320
Disclaimer: I do not own BBT, Sheldon or Penny. I only take them out to play with them and then put them gently back in their boxes.
Summary: "Sheldon, are you propositioning me?"
Author's Notes: This is my first fan fic in this genre so comments and critiques are welcome. I do not know if this is a one-shot or something that I will continue. Cross posted on my own LJ and to FF.net.

( Read more... )

I've been sick with the (swine) flu for two weeks and so I'm finally crawling out from under my rock and feeling functionally human again.

So, about 3 weeks ago Michael Behe showed up to my campus for a lecture in honor of Darwin's 150th birthday. (I know, I was like too.) the talk was in the large theater and roughly half the crowd were church people (they brought kids and everything--first time I'd ever seen children at any of the lectures on campus). There was also a guy walking around in a cleric's collar, handing out CDs. On the front it has two clockwork insects and it says, "Case Closed! The science against evolution! Sponsered by SciFree: Providing the balance to logic, objectivity, reality, sanity and facts--"Anything can be true if you believe enough!"

Inside, there is no CD. I laughed SO HARD over this. Turns out it was a protest by the Biological Sciences faculty.

The lecture was Behe's usual nonsense--"irreducible complexity", flagella motors, poking holes in evolutionary theory but not providing an adequate rebutting theory.
On of the real highlights was when one hothead Bio professor went up to the mic and told Behe to his face that he was liar and that he was trying to pull on over on the gullible.

Oh, and Behe was also quite angry and defensive about the Dover vs. Kitzmiller ruling (where it was ruled that ID cannot be taught in public school because it is not scientific and it in essence a religious idea). He called the trial Kafkaesque, which is funny because the analogy isn't at all apt. I really want to go up to the mike and ask him about his admission during the trial that, if the definition of "science" was broadened to include Intelligent Design, we would also have to teach astrology in the science classroom. (Yes, he actually SAID THIS under oath!)

I wish that Behe would either get his act together and stop supporting a discredited theory or at least adjust his talking points to address the fact that his bacteria flagellum model has been explained by evolution for over *ten years*! I don't know why he keeps trotting out this old stuff...I think that he is counting on the fact that half his audience won't have the biology background to understand what he's saying. Kind of like "Dazzle them with *science*!" only...not really science.

As I said, half the audience was totally supporting him while the other half was so angry that they were nearly jumping out of their seats. The girl next to me kept shouting at him and I had to tell her to calm down a couple times. She was just so angry that he was distorting the facts. But the people behind me (church ppl) were totally on board (I suppose it doesn't help that there was a 7 day creationism seminar in town the week before).

So, the lecture was the most eventful I've ever been to. I feel sorry for Behe, honestly. I think he's a good guy. He's just hung so much of his credibility on ID that he can't or won't admit that he might have been wrong. Its like those guys in the 80s with cold fusion...just insisting that it worked even when it was clear to everyone that it didn't. Its just sad...