Blog Archive

Just finished David and Leigh Eddings' latest book. The pov shifts mostly don't work and mostly end up repeating the same things in almost the same words over and over again instead of providing new and useful insight. They needed an editor for that who could stand up to their momentum of fame.
Also, the ending? It sucks when it is done in SF. In fantasy where it isn't even a grand old tradition? Gah.

Also, I think the message would have been stronger if the character who was revealed to be more than they appeared had just been themself.

In all? a mostly enjoyable book with very loose editing and the world's worst plot resolution device. Not their best work.

acquired from <lj user="Seiryu_16">

Leave a list of fictional characters in your journal that you would love to get a message from. It is your friend-list's mission, should they choose to accept it, to write you an in-character "letter" from a character on that list. Then they post their own list in their journal and the process continues!

1 Jubal Hershaw
2 Kaylee Fry
3 Skeeve the Great
4 Kerrigan (Pre Zerg)
5 Grayson Death Carlyle
6 Aphrael
7 Eric Banyon (the older more together Eric)
8 Fiona (Barimen?)
9 Dirian
10 Belldandy

't’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe.
This one be a bit picky. Ye can slack off an' th' results be fine, but then ye’ve put in th' effort fer somethin' that wasn’t worth 't. Do 't starboard, an' this makes an exqusite sandwich, an experience o' more than jus' flavor.

Mike`s "what else be I doin' wi' me free time?" sandwich.

Ingredients
2 slices o' thick sliced roast beef (a wee thicker than an American nickle)

1 slice o' thick sliced roast turkey breast (a wee thicker than an American nickle, roast chicken might work too. Ham dasn't.)

1 sandwich sized slice o' mild cheese (provalone or mild cheddar be me favorites. I make 2 thin slices off o' a 1 lb block o' cheddar or use one slice o' presliced provalone)

1 bun or bun-like roll. I use wee hoagie buns, but I`ve used hamburger buns an' they's turned ou' fine.

Tools
1 Microwave safe plate (I use paper)
1 spatula or fork
Regular plate t' eat off o'.

Process
This assumes ye be havin' a bilge watery microwave like me. If ye own a good microwave, yer order o' events be modified.
Prepare all o' th' ingredients before hand. Make sure th' turkey stays away from all heat sources (Ideally put th' slice o' turkey in th' fridge on a paper plate or somethin'.) Let th' slice o' cheese sit ou' but nay 'ere 't will get hot. 'tis goin' t' act as a heat buffer in a wee while.

Turn th' o'en on t' broil an' wait fer th' coil t' glow a nice hot red. While waitin', put th' roast beef on th' microwave safe plate an' put 't in th' microwave. Don’t start th' microwave yet.

When th' o'en be ready, pull th' top rack ou' about 6 inches an' place th' buns cut side up on th' rack. Close th' o'en door an' go stand at th' microwave. If yer microwave be slow, start 't starboard away, but otherwise ye probably want 't t' wait 45-50 seconds so th' bread an' th' roast beef come ou' one starboard after th' other.

When th' faces o' th' bun be browned, remove them from th' oven. (Oh use o'en mits if ye must. Wuss.) Put them on th' eatin' plate. Put th' hot roast beef on one o' th' buns (Ideally th' one that goes on th' bottom.)
Then in quick succession, put th' cheese an' then th' turkey breast on top o' th' roast beef. Put th' top bun on th' turkey an' serve smartly. Ideally, whoereis eatin' th' sandwich will start after th' roast beef has cooled enough nay t' hurt the'r bung hole, but before th' cheese has melted or th' turkey has gone soft.. Th' sooner ye start eatin', th' better, an' if th' turkey be warm when ye start, ye wasted th' preparation effort.

Eat 't plain, nay mayo or mustard or other sauces. Fresh sliced onion (raw) be arrr if ye like that sort o' thin' (I don’t) an' dry spices will nay screw anythin' up much. A wee drops o' flavored olive oil an' a wee bit o' fresh milled pepper put on th' roast beef before ye nuke 'tisn’t completely amiss, but sautéed onions ruin th' texture an' simplicity o' flavor o' this sandwich.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe.
This one is a bit picky. You can slack off and the results are fine, but then you’ve put in the effort for something that wasn’t worth it. Do it right, and this makes an exqusite sandwich, an experience of more than just flavor.

Mike's "what else was I doing with my free time?" sandwich.

Ingredients
2 slices of thick sliced roast beef (a little thicker than an American nickle)

1 slice of thick sliced roast turkey breast (a little thicker than an American nickle, roast chicken might work too. Ham does not.)

1 sandwich sized slice of mild cheese (provalone or mild cheddar are my favorites. I make 2 thin slices off of a 1 lb block of cheddar or use one slice of presliced provalone)

1 bun or bun-like roll. I use small hoagie buns, but I've used hamburger buns and they've turned out fine.

Tools
1 Microwave safe plate (I use paper)
1 spatula or fork
Regular plate to eat off of.

Process
This assumes you have a crappy microwave like me. If you own a good microwave, your order of events will be modified.
Prepare all of the ingredients before hand. Make sure the turkey stays away from all heat sources (Ideally put the slice of turkey in the fridge on a paper plate or something.) Let the slice of cheese sit out but not where it will get hot. It is going to act as a heat buffer in a little while.

Turn the oven on to broil and wait for the coil to glow a nice hot red. While waiting, put the roast beef on the microwave safe plate and put it in the microwave. Don’t start the microwave yet.

When the oven is ready, pull the top rack out about 6 inches and place the buns cut side up on the rack. Close the oven door and go stand at the microwave. If your microwave is slow, start it right away, but otherwise you probably want it to wait 45-50 seconds so the bread and the roast beef come out one right after the other.

When the faces of the bun are browned, remove them from the oven. (Oh use oven mits if you must. Wuss.) Put them on the eating plate. Put the hot roast beef on one of the buns (Ideally the one that goes on the bottom.)
Then in quick succession, put the cheese and then the turkey breast on top of the roast beef. Put the top bun on the turkey and serve quickly. Ideally, whoever is eating the sandwich will start after the roast beef has cooled enough not to hurt their mouth, but before the cheese has melted or the turkey has gone soft.. The sooner you start eating, the better, and if the turkey is warm when you start, you wasted the preparation effort.

Eat it plain, no mayo or mustard or other sauces. Fresh sliced onion (raw) is okay if you like that sort of thing (I don’t) and dry spices will not screw anything up much. A few drops of flavored olive oil and a little bit of fresh ground pepper put on the roast beef before you nuke it isn’t completely amiss, but sautéed onions ruin the texture and simplicity of flavor of this sandwich.

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In t' spirit o' t' holiday, I think I'll be double postin' today.

*sigh* me Pakistani IMer seems t' have thought I was a lass (or gay, it could go either way.) He eventually asked me if I had any beautys, and when I said "No, I'm straight." He quit chattin'. Oh well. (I'd assume he thought I was a lass, except that me MSN account broadcasts me first name t' t' world. t be entirely possible that me name doesn't actually occur in hus country and thus he has no gender referents for it, but were I him, I would have used a search engine t' figure that one out.)

Oh aye.
Arrr.

*sigh* my Pakistani IMer seems to have thought I was a girl (or gay, it could go either way.) He eventually asked me if I had any boyfriends, and when I said "No, I'm straight." He quit chatting. Oh well. (I'd assume he thought I was a girl, except that my MSN account broadcasts my first name to the world. It is entirely possible that my name doesn't actually occur in hus country and thus he has no gender referents for it, but were I him, I would have used a search engine to figure that one out.)

Oh yes.
Arrr.

So today I have:
Input 10 more Coke Rewards Codes
Read some Oh my Goddess.
Watched Geeks In Love, Ultimate Show Down of Ultimate Destiny, some bizzare anime girl on a loop spinning a leek to the tune of some eastern european singer scatting in a language I don't recognize, the Japanese end of the world asteroid impact video, a 1965 Chevy commercial with the casts of Bonnanza, Bewitched, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a cheesy 1984 D&D commercial, and a new Wierd Al Video.
Plotted something for a D&D adventure some time in the near future.
Made fried rice (was okay, not my best effort)
Avoided writing a response to every article in a 32 page booklet about evolution published by the Jehova's Witnesses and chocked full of either willful deception of idiotic misunderstandings.
Not been Pope Inconsederate Nazi the first.
Written a disjointed "essay" about Belldandy (sort of) and posted it in a mostly public forum.

I haven't felt this geekishly fulfilled in a long time.

Especially when you add that to rewatching Love Hina and Visions of Escaflowne in the last two weeks, DMing an adventure last Friday, rereading Love Hina in the last couple of weeks, playing a few rounds of nethack, and relearning the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets. Oh and hanging out in a game store.

The Geek is back. Long Live the Geek.

What are we going to do tomorrow night?

Try

To

Take

Over

The

World

Wow. That is disjointed, even for WhyTee.

I thought that I had talked about this here in the past, but a quick search of the pdf of my journal that I created a couple of months ago via www.ljbook.com doesn't turn anything up, and I remember it as having been at least a year ago.

You see, the thing is, I really like Oh! My Goddess.

More embarassingly, I like Belldandy.

Let me digress for a moment.

A couple of years ago, I read a book about anime that included almost as an aside, an interesting thesis. It was something like "Successful (or popular) media confirms society's norms." It isn't that all characters always fit into the rolls that the society that the media was intended for's norms, but the ones who do will tend to be happy, and even the characters who don't conform to the expected will really be contented only when they are filling their socially expected roles. For example, Love Hina. Ketaro plays several traditional Japanes Male roles through out the series and as soon as he finds the first one (Hard working mostly dutiful student) his life starts improving. Naru on the other hand is an agressive girl who out performs everyone. Throughout the series most of the times that she is actually happy are when she is helping Ketaro, being domestic, or generally not being herself. By the end of the series she has become a wellspring of calm and beauty who has faith in her man and isn't even upset by him being late for their wedding. Shinobu really changes very little throughout the series, and is the second closest character to the traditional Japanese woman anyway. Su, well, she's sort of the Pheobe role in the series. Mutsumi Is very much a traditional Japanese woman who is happy throughout the whole series (and has a lot of the positive traits of Belldandy that if she didn't have some strong negatives at least implied, I wouldn't be able to stand her.) Kitsune well she's half of the cautionary tale of the series. She and Haruka both differ from the cultural expectations and are both unhappy. (Haruka becomes a fairly traditional wife and becomes happy) Motoko... Motroko is a tomboy warrior who strives to fill her sister's shoes. Her sister also gave up her accomplishments to get married and a big part of what Motoko learns throughout the series is that that is okay. By the end, she is decorating a wedding cake, and while she is still a warrior, she is also a romance novelist who writes wierd samurai romance novels. As she embraces more of the traditional Japanese feminity, she becomes more grounded and happiert too.

Ooh then there's Friends. Pheobe is the only character in the whole series over how many identical seasons the show ran that didn't fulfil society's expectations, and while she wasn't unhappy in her role, she was constantly the odd woman out. The rest of the cast? Wealthy, pretty, white, boring. Exactly what you are supposed to strive to be in America.

(I am hamstrung here by the smallish amount of TV I watch.)

Tool Time. Tim Allen's character is an absolute geek. He revels in it. Almost every bad thing that happens in the show is due directly to his geekhood.

Vision of Escaflowne.
Van: Warrior. As he becomes a better Samurai, he becomes happier.
Hitomi: Dares to want things for herself. Every freaking time that she tries to get something she wants, she gets to watch people die in fires. The only times that her precognition doesn't cause her pain are when she is using it to aid the male characters, and even then, only if she is helping them for them and not for what she wants. (Seriously, she once tries to use her power to get a guy, and she causes the death of a king, the injury of his son in law, and the firey death of a bunch of random towns people. Her grandmother on the other hand, was very happy but only ever did things when called by the Male character who was obsessed with her. (Other characters. these two encapsulate the series though)

Back to Belldandy.

You see, she is absolutely the image of the suportive subsume-yourself-to-the-needs-of-others ideal that is one of the acceptable roles for a Japanese female (not limited to Japan, but particularly egregious there.) Her older sister (one of two female characters in the series who have sensual sides at all) is continuously unhappy. She is brash and bossy and dominant, and a half-demon to match. The younger sister shows signs of turning into Belldandy as she gets older. The Male Lead is actually fairly similar to Belldandy after he gets over the inexperienced letch bit that all harem manga have their characters go through apparently.

Someday I want to read something like Love Hina or Oh! My Goddess where the two love interest characters partner up/get married whatever early on. From the midpoint of Love Hina, Ketaro and Naru could have been having regular sex (or at least been boyfriend/girlfriend) without seriously changing the story at all. From the point that Naru decided that after all she did like Keichi and that she prefered him to the unobtainable Seta, they acted mostly as a partnership/couple (with a couple moments of stupidoubity.) As things stand, that period gets written off by the words "Four Years Later."

Actually on second thought, in Oh! My Goddess, they do start acting as partners fairly quickly. (I'll have to reread the early issues to see where that happens.)

Hurm... it may be that I've found the answer.

If that happened around book10 to 15, that means it happened at about the same number of pages as it did in Love Hina and is thus much too slow.

In Oh! My Goddess, Belldandy really does care about everyone. And while Keichi isn't as petranaturally good a person as she is, he does too. (He takes on a very culturally feminine role in this series. Which since Skuld and Urd and really everyone but Belldandy and the geek girl and the rich girl whose names escape me at the moment are quite culturally masculine in the series, lends a sense of ballance. (His sister could go either way but she eventually dissapears from the series.)) (<-- Still don't see why I'm not supposed to nest parenthetical bits in other parenthetical bits)

She's willing to give up a lot for pretty much anyone, and everything for Keichi and her loved ones. But this isn't unilateral. Urd, Skuld and Keichi all demonstrate their willingness to give up their most important aspects for her as well. While she expresses this as a strong conformation to societal norms, it is a recriprocal trade.

(There is an awesome issue where Keichi is being quietly despondant while trying his best to cheer up someone who is having troubles that they can't do anything about. She confronts him about this, and he tells her that he's recently come to realize that his relationship with Belldandy has the potential to hurt her a lot. See, he is mortal. She isn't. He's realized that because his wish bound them together and they fell in love, his mortality has the potential to be a huge blow for her. Well, it is more indirect in the comic.)

In O!MG Belldandy's happyness isn't because of her conformation to societal norms. It is because she is a happy person. Two seperate issues.

so a while ago I posted about dual wielding a small and a tiny greatsword. I missed the bit where you get a -2 penalty on attack rolls with the small one and a -4 penalty on the tiny one (On top of the penalty for using 2 weapons)

So, I was looking at the PHB today. I had never thought through the implications of the weapons size chart. For a medium creature, a small creature's 2 handed weapon becomes a 1 handed weapon, and a tiny creature's 2 handed weapon becomes a light weapon.

2d6 medium becomes 1d10 small or 1d8 tiny.

Critical Ranges and multipliers stay the same.

For 100 gp, a human ranger can dual wield a small and a tiny greatsword, do 1d10 and 1d8 damage and get 2X criticals on a 19-20 and have a light weapon in the off hand. All without having to take exotic weapon proficiency bastard sword.

08:00. Yet another hour I was not meant to see.

So you can be ambulatory. Which means you have to have a mode of ambulation. This implies the ability to ambulate.

I had forgotten how much I liked Love Hina. The epilogue is quite neat, and I sort of wish that there were a couple of books set in that setting with the main characters from the original being the background characters in the new one. Have them leading their lives, sort of like what the original X-men do in the new xmen groups' comics. They are there, sometimes they are very there, but the new people are very much central. Have a couple of cross over characters (Shinobu, Sarah, Su) but make the story about Emi and some other new residents. (The older characters could be handled like Haruka and Seta. You see bits of their lives and actions, some times they take center stage, but if the viewpoint characters go somewhere else, we quit following what is happening in their lives.)

Silly
Rabbi
Kicks
Are
For
TRIDS!

yane no ue de sora o aogu, hizashi wa uraraka
miageru sora, karadajuu genki ga minagitteku

I liked the fan translated version of the manga better than the official ones I bought. (Comes mostly from them leaving a big chunk of the common words untranslated in the fan translation. There are points where you know that's not what they are saying in the tokyopop edition.)

Okay

Astroturf : bad

viral marketing : ?

When a company hires someone to go create a new identity on a forum, establish themselves as respected forum members, and then plug the product? That's bad.

On the other hand? When they create a massive distributed online/offline puzzle/mystery that ties in with an upcomming product? That can be hella cool (I'm looing at you I love bees)

In the middle ground? We have electronics companys hiring attactive well dressed people to wander around high traffic areas using their products. That seems more honest than the forum people, but less honest than is desirable. On the other hand, I'd rather see how a piece of equipment works in the field instead of seeing a commercial for it.

The sound and image quality is much better on the WMV than on the quicktime one:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/08/30/keith-olbermann-delivers-one-hell-of-a-commentary-on-rumsfeld/

I wish we had more Olbermanns countering the mostly unquestioned by the mainstream media ex cathedra dictums from the office of the president and his supporters.