Okay.

This is one of those split-personality entries. The part that may or may not be worth reading will be tagged with the proper Advisory colour. It could just be emo kid whining, it could be deep and useful introspection. I won't know until I write it.

To-ga! To-ga! If you've ever wondered what you need to be in proper style for those frat parties, here you go.

Went home today for a bit, hauling along little sister and her friend. Big sister and the maternal grandparents were home, too. So there was food and laundry and other such things. Much merry was made. I begged off a bit to help a friend troubleshoot her computer's modem. Turns out that her end was fine, but the receiving end wasn't receiving. Stayed a bit longer and talked, and from that talking, I have some new ideas and thoughts to mull over.


( Personality flip-flop )

Okay. Angst bout over.

Have things to do. Like class tomorrow. For those of you getting back, or already in your classes, a word of advice from Llewellyn.

Up here at the top, for those on livejournal who either want to contribute or to contribute, the community fandom_aid_auct is seeking items, be they crafted, commissioned, or looking for a new home, to be offered up for auction, with proceeds going to a hurricane relief charity of the winning bidder's choice. Rules/procedures available here. I'm not sure what I could offer up as a possibility, so I think I may think about bidding. (Although I suspect I'm going to get out-bid on the O+M books. Currrse you, college expenses!)

Happy Labour Day to those of us celebrating it. Although, it's a bit disheartening when you realize that the people who are supposed to be celebrated in this day are increasingly being treated as parts by multinational corporations. Those same corporations appear to be more interested in maximizing their executives' earnings instead of ensuring a living wage for their workforce. Labour seems to be less unique and more commodified. That is rather scary, to be honest. I would rather not consider myself a cog, not a number, but a being. Happy Labour Day, all.

In breaking Board News, the second ingredient of the Guacamole of Doom was unearthed, in the hands of one Neil Gaiman. The Satanic Tomato's appearance makes us worry about any plans being accelerated. We are currently in the process of acquiring the tomato. (maritzac had this gem appear to her and she passed it on.)

Ever wonder just how much that sting really stings? Well, if you use the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, you can say just how aggravating it was to have been bitten/stung by that particular insect.

It's a war zone in New Orleans, apparently. The troops are trying to establish security in the area. This is a necessary thing, yes, but first priority is getting necessary supplies to the people who need them. The place brings out both the best and the worst in the people. The question is: Are the people who are behaving badly doing so out of greed or of fear? Is it just a reaction to try and grab whatever you can when faced with something that threatens to wash you away? Even if it is material goods - you might be able to pawn them off as a barter exchange somewhere else. I just wonder how many of these people are good, decent people who are just scared shitless. Start taking away the fear, and you can start restoring the order.

In a "Watch and see this become true" sense, the /! article President declares War on Weather is not too far off the mark.

The William S. Burroughs Department provides some interesting art - Altered Books. Pages of various literatures with patterns drawn on them, highlighting passages on the page and deriving new context. I have a dual opinion of the process: At the same time that the art is beautiful and something to be explored, I'm a little leery about what could potentially be used as fodder for it. I somehow suspect Burroughs would go after Shakespeare, Poe, and the other "classics" with the technique, as well as the more "pedestrian" romance novel fare that I see displayed at that site. I feel somehow more okay with it that it's those kinds of books, rather than others. Perhaps the Calvin and Hobbes strip about "high" and "low" art applies here. (Although I've always considered comic strips to be "high" art.) I guess it's because I think the cut-up applied to many romance novels would improve them. Of course, this is a stereotype, as I don't read romance novels. At least, not ones that don't have lasers, dragons, elves, starships, or other such widgets as storytelling devices.

The Pedant proves his worth again in the channel as I tried to see if something would work in science terms the way it needed to in narrative terms. The answer was a resounding no from a tactical standpoint, but I think I may have devised the justification as to why the narrative works the way it does, hiding behind the banner of Utility and Multipurpose-ness. There's also a nagging bit that the characters tell me that things have to be the way they are, but that changes the rules into something other than what the Pedant's ground is. From there, I can hand-wave myself past his objections. Naturally, that's weaseling out to achieve it. And it spawned a "why mecha don’t' work in any SF universe that actually pays attention to science" discussion. Not that I understood most of it (I'll bet less than half of it I actually got), but it was useful. Frustrating, in that the Pedant is inflexible in all aspects of the discussion, and has enough knowledge to back things up so that they make sense. It's not the type of frustration that you get with people who are wrong and won't admit it, it's the frustration of people who can't be budged. Right or otherwise, there's something about that inflexibility that rubs me extraordinarily raw. It took considerable willpower not to just scream in frustration. Consistency is wonderful, but not when the story gets sacrificed to it. At least, that's how I see things.

So I suppose I had my first fight in the channel. Amiably, sure, but a fight just the same. File away that The Pedant is to be consulted only as a last resort or when I really need something to be exactly correct, and move along.

I need to go to bed, anyway.