John Simm is my Master now...

I picked up a rec for this from veni_vidi_vids and have to agree that this is one of the best series vids for Queer as Folk I've yet seen. I love the way the various characters get their moments and there's a real feeling of the large ensemble that made up this cast. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Unconditional by dreamrequiem.

Wow, are we having a winter storm here. Barely any snow as of yet but I couldn't sleep this morning from the force of the wind outside rattling the building. It's even distracting me now that I'm awake, and we had to go rescue some of the balcony Christmas stuff already. I'm just really glad I don't have to go catch a bus today.

I've posted the following to sim_studies but also wanted to include it here.( Read more... )

1) ICONS! On DW: "You can now rename icon keywords and the comments that use that icon will continue to use it -- it will no longer revert to default."

One of the main reasons people need more icon space is so that their old icons don't disappear if they want to add new ones. This is a much needed, great new feature. (There are some nice new features for community maintainers too). Also, DW is running a poll asking people how many icon slots they would like to see offered in the future, so if this matters to you, go vote. Plus, there is another poll about whether you would like to be able to "retire" icons from your icon page. This means that the icons will remain attached to their old appearances in posts and comments, but you won't have them currently available for use, and thus won't have to sort through them on your icon page when you're looking through the batch of icons you currently are actively using.

Just as an aside, it's pretty nifty to have new options spring out of current discussions so quickly. There is a major personal touch in the way DW is run.

2) Reading this Sequential Tart posting that asked "Are Dolls at all culpable for crimes committed by imprints? Do we ever really stop being ourselves? Do our selves really exist at all?" made me think of the latest Castle episode. About partway through I asked Mike, "Doesn't this make you think of Dollhouse?" all the more so due to Marc Blucas' being a guest star. Then, too, the "ice holes" made me think of Stephen Colbert.

3) Speaking of that Sequential Tarts post, there was this line: "As Topher pointed out to Boyd …we're programmed every day, by the media and by our social interactions; does it really matter how the programming is done?" ( Read more... )

Somehow, I was struck by this plaintive little story in the local paper:

Mason City officials say one person was injured in a fire that apparently started when a shoe placed next to a heat lamp in the top of a fish aquarium overheated.

The fire happened Sunday afternoon at a mobile home. Officials say the fire was contained to the aquarium that was a housing a lizard.

Fire Capt. Richard Paulson says one person was injured and taken to a Mason City hospital. The person’s name was not immediately released.

Paulson says the lizard died in the fire.

Poor lizard. And I can just imagine the kind of living space where a shoe is likely to wind up on top of an aquarium.

I can't stop laughing about this, although the fact that this guy is an elected official should give me pause.

In the opinion of Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block the Christian message of the "Peanuts" television Christmas special.

Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman's "friend's list" had access to the post. ( Unsurprisingly, the mayor also doesn't get the Friends List concept )

I'll be over here, listening to Joe Cool's Blues, one of my favorite albums. Wynton Marsalis' dad Ellis wrote some of the music for the Peanuts specials, and Wynton and his brothers join their dad and other artists to record these favorites. Now, that's family values transformed into art.

( In which I praise Dollhouse to the heavens and then knock it down so fast it gets instantly killed. )

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In other news, T-Minus 2 hours until the unbearable noise starts. I love football, but I hate obnoxious football fans. Trufax.

( In which I bitch about Glee. )

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In other news: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast and Portugal. O HAI NICE TO MEET YOU, GROUP OF DEATH.

I've been so scarce on LJ for so long, I think I'm making more of this posting thing than it deserves. So I will just babble.

I had the best Thanksgiving in a long time. My father died over a decade ago on Thanksgiving, very suddenly, and that cast a pall over the holiday for years. But I've reached the point in mourning where you welcome the reminders of the person you've lost. And memories of my dad were nicely bookended by the opportunity to see my kids, both of whom came home from college. M:TNG-1 was ill, but at least I was reassured she was getting a bit of rest, and emails indicate she's feeling better now. M:TNG-2 brought a delightful friend, or, rather, jwaneeta brought them both and the cranberry sauce.

Mr. M slaved over the stove Wednesday night and all day Thursday, producing turkey with all the trimmings, including absolutely amazing fig stuffing. We set up and trimmed the Christmas tree, wandered around Iowa City, and jwaneeta dragged me out to the movies. We saw "2012,: which is the funniest film I've seen in ages, with the added bonus of pretty images of the Earth being destroyed.

Whew, had guests for the Thanksgiving weekend and then much prepping for Christmas going on. Result? Many days worth of posts to catch up on through speed reading.

Speaking of reading, On the Media had a whole episode about the state of books and reading. While I am sure anyone reading this post will likely find various segments interesting, I thought the one on Books 2.0 was of particular interest with its discussion of interactive writing with authors and readers.

"I'm willing to bet you that there’s a young woman who’s getting her Ph.D. right now who grew up in MySpace, in Facebook, somebody who is comfortable and excited about working in a public collaborative space. She is a seed of the future."

Today is World AIDS Day, so take a little time to learn about what you can do to stay safe, and to help others as well.

Also, because my country is awesomer than yours:

- Brazil proves developing countries can use generic medicines to fight HIV/AIDS epidemic
- Brazil has paved way for tackling HIV/AIDS, says study
- Brazil faces fresh HIV/AIDS fight -- the new challenge is how to provide free treatment for complications of chronic HIV and AIDS.
- And figure out how to solve the AIDS problem in Brazilian prisons

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Brazil is among the countries that hold the highest number of patients actually living with HIV in the world. Estimates say about 650,000 people here live with the virus. Fact: that is HALF of what the predictions said in the early '90s. Back then the AIDS epidemic in Brazil was on the same growing curve as the African continent.

Except the Brazilian Federal Government devised the freaking brilliant strategy detailed on the articles I linked above. So, AIDS medication here is FREE. We said a loud and clear FUCK YOU to the USA and the pharmaceutical industries and we broke the patents and we produce almost all of the drugs in the AIDS cocktail for 70% less than they would cost otherwise. And the Health Department banks the complete treatment. It's free for anyone who's diagnosed with HIV.

We still have a long way to go. We still fight the prejudice [and OH MY FUCK, the prejudice is GINORMOUS], and we have to deal with A LOT OF religious zealots who won't wear condoms [and then when infected will deny the disease and refuse treatment], we have to fucking figure out a way to stop single white male USAers and Europeans from spending their vacations here -- because here's where the sex tourism industry is [and most of the sex workers are minors, btw].

But my government and many non-profits have produced a massive amount of nationwide awareness campaigns. Condoms and needles are massively distributed. Radio spots, magazine ad spreads, TV commercials. Dudes. TV ads [sponsored by the Federal Government] with famous actors making double entendre jokes about erections and telling everyone to wear condoms are like, the most common thing in the world for us. The Health Department fights the disease with awareness and information.

Because that is what works -- you stop AIDS by talking about sex. It's not a theory, it's a fact. Brazil has been proof of that for the last 20+ years.