It has been a busy news week, and now it is today. Today has no news in it, and do you know, I don't mind? It has been a day of walking around downtown Durham, getting materials for Scrap Exchange Projects For Next Week and now, sitting in the library because there's internet here, and that's an important thing for Rabbits to have-- especially because for some reason, notcot.org seems to be blocked at work, and that's just unacceptable. I am lost without my design fix.

Arkham Horror is a game which is so terrible, it is awesome. I think I would like to play it 90 times more.

There is a book open on the table with me called American Elves: An encyclopedia of Little People from the Lore of 380 Ethnic groups of the Western Hemisphere, and a book on the shelf up there entitled, You Eat What you Are. This convinces me that I picked the right corner in which to nestle myself and my tinyputer, for the time being.

Happy Sunday wherever you are, and here.

Tags: for good or for awesome, i luff durham, literosexuality, my scandalous homosexual life, randomness, teh internets are fight
be's: Durham Central Library
feels: complacent
hears: tomorrow wendy // Concrete Blonde

So, the formerly-sekkrit photo project I mentioned earlier?

Ummm... there's a gallery in Mississippi what wants to give it a show in the Fall! So... yeah! Many of us who were part of the project are hoping to be there and, um, and...

Well, that's just too frigging cool, isn't it?

Tags: art is the shotgun, for good or for awesome, photozeist
feels: giddy
hears: missing you // John Waite

I realise it is grossly unpopular to be rubbery over this thing, and the prevailing sentiment is one of cynicism and snark (and yes, LA shouldn't have to pay for the whole deal when the man's estate is more than enough to cover the memorial expense), but I am extremely sad that I missed watching Michael Jackson's memorial yesterday. Goddammit.

I did hear the snippets of it on NPR this morning, the Reverend Al Sharpton bellowing to MJ's children, "You daddy won't strange! What you daddy had to deal wit was strange!" And that little girl, voice meek and trembling, saying that hers was the best daddy in the whole world...

Yeah, I lost it. Weeping over the steering wheel on 147 towards 40 East.

This probably makes me completely lame, but I don't give a shit. I'd rather sniffle along with "Will you be there?" in my sentimental lameness, thanks much.

(Though Ke-rist, this whole business in China is pissing me off. When will the Chinese figure out that uber control of the media and of information is a poison? Much better to flood the people with so much information that they're overwhelmed and paralyzed as to what to do with or about it and...

...oh wait.)

Tags: celluloid circus, death, lametastic, loss, politikkks, ranty mcranterson, sadness
be's: wukr
feels: sad
hears: La Banlieu // Beirut

So a few weeks ago, kylecassidy had a Thought...

...what the photos would be like if someone just carried around a camera that captured an image at random. And of course, I then thought why not find out?

So I managed to catch the call for volunteers, which means recieving random texts throughout the day on the 13th and 14th of june. And when we got the texts, we took a picture RIGHT NOW THAT SECOND. The results are here:



Go check it out. :D

(And much love to talkstowolves for the awesome banner!)

Tags: art is the shotgun, for good or for awesome, photozeist
be's: wukr
feels: artistic
hears: Drive // The Cars

Got approved for my apartment-- sign the lease tomorrow, get the keys on the 30th. Stuff out of storage sometime (hopefully early) next month.

Fuck yeah! I have an address again!

My bed may be in storage, but I have a motherfucking address again!

DANCE!

Tags: ja whol, movin on up, pied a terre, thank the maker
be's: wukr
feels: relieved
hears: September's Not So Far Away // The Field Mice

Hrm. The connection here at Francesca's is being crap, so before it craps out again, I will just say that I had a magnificent 4th of july with co-workers who came into Durham and frolicked with me and other lovely people at ghettonqueen and Harris's place and at the Bull McCabe, and yes.

Now, I have finished my Limonata and the internet still seems to be sketchy, so I think that I will go browse and sigh at the Ox and Rabbit, then perhaps go home and watch 1776. Or maybe more Oz. Or both. Whichever!

(also, happy belated nativity to theferrett and to redbaroness2! Recovery and lovely all around.)

Tags: bliss, fireworks, friends, holy-daze, i luff durham, natals
be's: Francesca's dessert café
feels: awake
hears: people ordering coffee

Scrap Exchange event this morning, which was oddly speedy and surreal for a Scrap Event. T'was the 4th of July Parade at Durham Central park, which meant that breakfast was farmer's market watermelonade and a doughnut-muffin. Yea, verily so.

We were there largely to provide materials for people to decorate their bikes and scooters and strollers before the Event, and the Central Park committee provided what was probably a good deal more than 99 Red Balloons for the participants, and yes. An elderly gent dressed as Ben Franklin elicited snickers from myself and my compatriot about spyhilitic french hookers, though not within earshot of him or of small children, necessarily.

And now, as the internet at the Crash Site seems to be no more, I am sitting at Francesca's, having finished some rumination on the Sewer Creature of R'leigh, some e-mails and a bowl of curried vegetable soup which was actually kind of amazing.

Oh, you're still stuck back at the whole sewer creature bit? You are curious about potential tentacles? Well, see for yourself...



I swear, the fabric of reality is wearing mighty thin, these days.

Tags: 4 the details of stimulating enjoyment, chthonian horror, i luff durham, squishy things, weirder than skavitch, wtf!?
be's: Francesca's Dessert Café, Durham
feels: amused
hears: Stormy Weather? I think that's what's playing.

Several thousand happys of natal-days to the awesome shieldhaven and the divine sruna! May you each have as many and as marvelous revisits of said anniversaire as possibly there could be desired. Tiens and huzzah!

Tags: friends, natals
feels: sleepy
hears: captain badass // Songs- Ohia

Registrations are open for blogathon 2009!!! HUZZAH!

So this is a must, as in the years they have it, it is one of the few times I get any concentrated writing done. Oh HELL yes.

I've not got my charity stuff (I will probably be doing the same mental health org I tend to do each year) set up yet, but shadesong is roaring out of the gate, and if you're so inclined, please go sponsor her here.

And/Or, you know... go sign up yourself.

:D

Tags: 24hour continuous downward spiral, writing
hears: On the radio (live) // Amanda Palmer

So tonight, Meg and I formally and permenantly called it quits. This does make me sad, among other mixed things, but it was very much my decision, and hers as well, as we both have kind of done enough damage to each other, and need to move on with our lives on our own.

We are not enemies, nor rancorous in that way. None of you who are on both of our f*lists or consider yourselves friends of us both need feel like you have to choose sides, or choose one over the other. If you consider both of us a friend, and feel uncomfortable remaining so, that's of course up to you, but I just wanted to make that clear. We're not really going to be talking for the next couple months-- two month rule, and such. We don't expect to have any issues at the LARP in August, and are cool on that point. Fun over drama, yo.

Love to you all.

Tags: blended blessings, for every light on broadway, psa
feels: blank
hears: tomorrow wendy // Concrete Blonde

So about 20 odd people doing the electric slide in the CCB plaza in Downtown Durham to the tune of "Thriller" and "Billy Jean"?

Complete. Fucking. Win.

(Also, the main reason there wasn't the actual Thriller dance bit is no one remembered it. But there was a lady there what heads up the local Beaver Lodge, and wants to do a fully choreographed staging of it. Yeah, I'm down.)

Tags: dance dance dance till you drop, i luff durham, my subversive homosexual life
be's: wukr
feels: complacent
hears: southern cross // Crosby Stills and Nash

Things left to do today:

• wait for freecycler to drop by
  
• Go to last hour of Michael Jackson memorial dance party downtown.
  
• Pick up 30" blinds for the front room of the old house.
  
• The windows.
  

2nd pass on kitchen floor is drying. Probably 1-2 more before it's done-ish. Spent about 3 hours scraping paint off of hardwood with goo-gone. Am wondering what of the many cleaning products I have used today has turned my fingers green. This is less than cheery.

I think an hour of regressing back to when I was in elementary school and bad meant good and a guy could be both a werewolf and a zombie and a legend all at the same time, and all of it was just hman nature, that'd be a good thing to have.

Tags: cleanzeist, death, loss, mobility upwards and otherwise, movin', muusik, squishy things
be's: der not-hausen
feels: stressed
hears: In the Aeroplane over the Sea // Neutral Milk Hotel

Well, all of the Stuff is moved or in storage. And I am reasonably ensconced in my temporary berth, with cats and french movies.

Tinyputer is making a very odd grindy noise. This worries me somewhat.

Much more cleaning tomorrow.

And so much love to technoir, shieldhaven and aetatis, for being awesome as all hell and helping out today, and to ghettonqueen and her darling, for providing the digs. There are no words for the rockstar-awesome. None.

Still waiting to find out the final weight of the stuff that went to storage. This also worries me somewhat.

alors, et bon nuit.

Tags: exhaustion, mobility upwards and otherwise, while waiting
be's: little house in teh ghetto.
feels: recumbent
hears: solitary man, late of neil diamond, johnny cash, and shieldhaven

Moving is always stressful, I think. Two hours till the earliest that the movers will arrive. About as ready for 'em as can be. Cool People arriving probably a little sooner. This is a great goodness.

But on a positive note-- my rock band guitar, that I thought was utterly dead, is in fact alive and well and working.

If I had known this a week ago, I'd probably be a lot less stressed-- though I would, perhaps, have far less done.

Tags: g33k, gamezeist, gotta go gotta leave, movin'
be's: der not-hausen
feels: anxious
hears: 3 inch horses, two faced monsters // Modest Mouse

Spent the morning building boxes in the living room, waiting for the cable guy, and watching The Making of Thriller on VHS. This was one of the first tapes I recall watching, in the days of small rabbits. Followed it up with Moonwalker, taped off of HBO back in the day. It almost feels like a trivial thing to be sad about, right now, but... well yeah. Childhood, man.

Feel incredibly wasted this morning. There was a bit of an interruption in internet service, due to them shutting it off too early. Now this is fixed.

Working on packing and tossing things since 7 or so, and now I need a nap in the worst way. A nap and maybe a hamburger. In some order.

be's: the not-hausen
feels: exhausted
hears: can you feel it, in head.

Quite a lot better to-day than earlier. Still an ungodly amount of things to do, and very little energy to do it. So-- mental unpacking of schedulethings here:

Tonight-Friday: Triage! Finish up packing things that Go To Storage and things that come with me.
Friday: Taking things to Pennies for Change/Thrift World/Consignment, any other getting rid of extraneous stuffs, cleaning.
Saturday: Moving peoples come at some point. Other than that-- cleaning, moving Stuff Am Keeping With over to Harris and Nat's.
Sunday-June 30th: Any remaining cleaning/home repair. The landlady seems to have people who want to move in the day I move out, but quite understandably, they want things to be as clean as possible. Of course, I say.

Hrm. I'm really not good at this, but if anyone wishes to help out-- particularly in the cleaning area (or even in the keeping Rabbit company so she doesn't lose her freakin' mind area) at any point over the weekend, such would not be unappreciated. Quite the opposite.

Also, I've got homes for some of the critters, and I /think/ the birds are okay staying with me, but if anyone about does happen to want to house a couple of rather charming rats, do let me know. Longshot, I know, but thought I'd see.

Work is something I need to focus on again. I shall do that now.

Tags: fuck the necessary, holding pattern, keep moving forward!, let us pray, movin', pas mal, request-textes, wukr
be's: wukr
feels: busy
hears: monster ballads // josh ritter

technoir is right-- this is so very me.





Except my books are largely inherited, and really... I like being called Dungeon Master.

Tags: but hey i'm dungeon master!, d20, g33k, webcomix
feels: amused
hears: plasticities // Andrew Bird

Happy fathers day, and also Solstice to the lot of you who have causes to celebrate either.

I am finding June as troublesome, if not more so, than May had been. But the yard sale is going all right. Better than I had expected.

That is something!

Tags: holy-daze, randomness, up by the bootstraps
feels: busy
hears: Summertime Clothes // Animal Collective

Bookish meme seen around the interwebs, but most recently on ironed_orchid's journal.


1. Take no more than 15 minutes to produce a list of 15 books that have influenced you in style, ideas, relationships, language, or other ways that you find important, and/or books that have really stayed with you -- you keep thinking of that quote, you are always remembering that character, you are frequently reminded of that moment.... that kind of thing. This is not a favorites list.

Time starts now:

1) Just So Stories-- Ruyard Kipling
2) Foucault's Pendulum-- Umberto Eco
3) Secrets of the Shopping Mall-- Richard Peck
4) I, Robot-- Issac Asimov
5) The Silver Link, The Silken Tie-- Mildred Ames
6) Asylum for Nightface-- Bruce Brooks
7) Dangerous Angels-- Francesca Lia Block
8) Mind of My Mind-- Octavia E. Butler
9) The Silmarillion-- JRR Tolkien
10) The Ravenous Muse-- Karen Elizabeth Gordon
11) The Dictionary of the Khazars-- Milorad Pavic
12) 7 Nights-- Jorge Luis Borges
13) Wolf Whistle-- Lewis Nordon
14) Prince of Foxes-- Samuel Shellabarger
15) Invisible Monsters-- Chuck Phalanuik

A special shout out to Dean's book of fairy tales. And now, off to the Scrap for Event.

Tags: apropos of nothing, bookish, literosexuality, memesheep, randomness
feels: awake
hears: yard sale // Avett Brothers, in head.

Happy Waterloo day, boo.

Just... yeah. Wow. Of all the videos I've seen soo far, this is something else-- this is a protest that is kind of... well, amazing.

Also, if you want to help, here's some ideas.

Tags: gobsmacked, green revolution, when the revolution comes
be's: hoooom.
feels: whew
hears: The revolution will not be televised // Gil-Scott Heron

Post by one_hoopy_frood, via shadesong (keep in mind that this is a re-post, and thus some of the statements herein represent the original poster, more than myself. That said, I think that it is important to get these things out and said, better than via a link):






If you are reading this right now, you have more luxury than someone in Iran could ever hope for right now. If you are watching TV or a video on youtube, updating your status on Facebook, Tweeting, or even texting your friend, you are lucky. If you are safe in your home, and were able to sleep last night without the sounds of screaming from the rooftops, you need to know and understand what is happening to people just like you in Iran right now.






They are not the enemy. They are a people whose election has been stolen. For the first time in a long time, a voice for change struck the youth of Iran, just as it did for many people in the United States only seven months ago. Hossein Mousavi gained the support of millions of people in Iran as a Presidential candidate. He stands for progressiveness. He supports good relations with the West, and the rest of the world. He is supported with fervor as he challenges the oppressive regime of Mahmoud Amedinejad.*


On Friday, millions of people waited for hours in line to vote in Iran's Presidential election. Later that night, as votes came in, Mousavi was alerted that he was winning by a two-thirds margin. Then there was a change. Suddenly, it was Ahmedinejad who had 68% of the vote - in areas which have been firmly against his political party, he overwhelmingly won. Within three hours, millions of votes were supposedly counted - the victor was Ahmedinejad. Immediately fraud was suspected - there was no way he could have won by this great a margin with such oppposition. Since then, reports have been coming in of burned ballots, or in some cases numbers being given without any being counted at all. None of this is confirmed, but what happened next seems to do the trick.

The people of Iran took the streets and rooftops. They shout "Death to the dictator" and "Allah o akbar." They join together to protest. Peacefully. The police attack some, but they stay strong. Riots happen, and the shouting continues all night. Text messaging was disabled, as was satellite; websites which can spread information such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and the BBC are blocked in the country. At five in the morning, Arabic speaking soldiers (the people of Iran speak Farsi) stormed a university in the capital city of Tehran. While sleeping in their dormitories, five students were killed. Others were wounded. These soldiers are thought to have been brought in by Ahmedinejad from Lebanon. Today, 192 of the university's faculty have resigned in protest.





Mousavi requested that they government allow a peaceful rally to occur this morning - the request was denied. Many thought that it would not happen. Nevertheless, first a few thousand people showed up in the streets of Tehran. At this point, it is estimated that 1 to 2 million people were there. (Personal note: I've heard reports that it might have been 3 million-- but nothing is confirmed at this point). Mousavi spoke on the top of a car. The police stood by. For a few hours, everything was peaceful. Right now, the same cannot be said. Reports of injuries, shootings, and killings are flooding the internet. Twitter has been an invaluable source - those in Iran who still know how to access it are updating regularly with picture evidence. Women are being brutally beat.

Tonight will be another night without rest for so many in Iran, no older than I. Tonight there is a Green Revolution.

For more information:

PICTURES:
Here - from Boston.com
Here - on Flickr
Here - _sober's twitpics. There's a lot of good twitpic photostreams of things going on.


NEW INFORMATION:
Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish - near constant updates
ONTD_political live post - Collated information, pictures & etc in the comments
Revolutionary Road

ON TWITTER:
(I've removed the names of twitterers actually in Iran, but do follow @ProtesterHelp!)

Also, check out the advice Here and here, on how to help out, if you can, and how to stay up to date.


ETA: SIGN THE GLOBAL PETITION! 25,000 signatures and growing! http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protest-against-the-june-2009-coup-detat-in-iran.html





دنیارابگوییدچطورآنهاانتخاباتمان دزدیده اند
Tell the world how they have stolen our election.




(original post by [info]one_hoopy_frood here - please repost!)
*ETA: I'll comment that, as regards to how Mousavi will get on with the West, nothing is firm or certain. However, in the likelihood that the incumbent cheated, it really doesn't matter what the numbers say-- he ought to be ousted for that criminality. If you would have won, and you cheat anyway, you still ought lose.

Tags: green revolution, politikkks, ranty mcranterson, the post heard round the world, when the revolution comes
feels: angry
hears: Give // Tori Amos

Lj's fairly quiet today, but I suspect it's coz everyone is glued to twitter, checking out #iranelection.

What amazes me is how People like Warren Ellis and Stephen Fry keep tweeting ip addresses for Iranian bloggers and twitterers to keep sending out reports around the government filters. Dunno the wisdom of making those too public, but wow. I mean... wow.

Also, (tip o' the hat to pleroma check out The Diane Rhem show broadcast today dealing with this whole ordeal.

There was a time when the way to get this kind of info out was lj. But the speed of twitter... man, the speed of twitter. Whatever else you want to say about it, it's not just the Johnny-come-lately of social media, it's verily Johnny-on-the-spot.

Far more than NPR, by the by, which told me all of nothing on the way to work. Sheesh.

ETA: Looks like people who are posting proxies are leaving them up about as long as is necessary to get the info to who needs 'em, then taking 'em down. Good goin' folx!

Tags: even more amazing, politikkks, teh internets are fight, when the revolution comes, you say you want a revolution?
feels: thoughtful
hears: Archangel // Burial

So it's here! It's alive and awake and I read it last night, and you all should read it when you can to-day, or else listen to teh Cat read it in her dusky, story-teller's voice:





Yes yes, go follow September following the Green Wind, and donate if you can and you wish! It helps, and lo, it is worthy.

Tags: dress and sail, helping hands, literosexuality, reading, teh internets are fight
feels: giddy
hears: your ex lover is dead // Stars

Yeah, so, Iranian elections and madness and you know what?

Next time I am due for a nightmare, it will probably resemble this image:



Largely because, though it is hardly the most gripping of the images in that flikr set, it is the one that already looks like the main of the few nightmares I have ever had.

Wearing green today, and yeah. Go check out the #iranelection hashtag on twitter, if you're interested.

Tags: politikkks, when the revolution comes, you say you want a revolution?
be's: wukr
feels: anxious
hears: pepper // Butthole Surfers

And here are some other rather belated pictures from the May King's Gate event. Mostly from the Iron Stalwart competition... I didn't take any during the ball, as I was rather occupied then with the lindy and all. Nonetheless... hee.

Tags: for good or for awesome, g33k, larp, picspam
be's: bed.
feels: good
hears: sims 3 music from the other computer.

So last week, my mailbox was quite filled with many wonders all in a day.

I recieved my Vampire Deluxe comic and goodies by tzarohell (with aid of the equally talented odin_za_vseh), the fabulous and multi-talented authors of Baritarian boy. Which is equally fabulous, and the art is decadent and deco and yes.

Also, on the very same day, I got my latest installment of yuki_onna's omikuji_project, which was randily, meltingly lovely. Which brings me to mention that said author will, come monday, begin posting The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, a YA novel mentioned in her latest, Palimpsest, which if you haven't read and you know me, you can probably get me to lend you my copy, or, of course, purchase your own.

Anyway, read the post, and if you're so inclined, sign up for Omikuji, download e-books, and/or check out adoptingcat. People who live wishes and make dreams oughtn't be in such dire straits-- and it is well, I think, well and proper for folks who love said dreams to band together and help out, so we can continue to drink our fill of them. And you can get some lovelies while doing it.

Or, in shiny iconography:


Help Catherynne M. Valente
adoptingcat

Tags: gods and monsters, helping hands, literosexuality
be's: Bed.
feels: hopeful
hears: Fitz and Dizzyspells, in head.

I have wanted nothing so much all day as to be curled up in bed and reading books, so that is what I am doing. The sky agrees, and insists it's time to unplug all the computers against possible lightning or power surges.

In the meantime-- yes books, and curling, and watching the cats watch the sheet lightning flash against the window, and my little herb garden out front rejoice in the deluge.

Tags: bliss, from de sky come de lawd & de lightnin', randomness
feels: giddy
hears: crickets. No, seriously, the ones the spider hasn't eaten yet.

This is gonna be some kind of crazy week of madness and doom.

Bring it, bitches.

Tags: singing about piratey things, wukr
be's: wukr
feels: anxious
hears: Instead // Madeline Peyroux

So yeah, David Carradine was found dead today.

This kind of... well, hell. Y'see, among the things I write about, I've a Coyote, in the sense of Old Man Coyote, and damn if David Carradine wasn't just utterly Him. And it's odd that he's gone, not only because I enjoyed his acting, but for that as well.

Other than that, not sure what to say. But... yeah.

Tags: celebrity crush, death, ficciones, loss, old man coyote, sadness
feels: sad.
hears: I've seen all good people // Yes