tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21493498233644242442024-02-20T15:45:06.407-08:00EffulgenceA description of a variety of things, hopefully including all the fascinating aspects of my trip to Europe.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-534239597636286702010-07-31T22:29:00.000-07:002010-07-31T22:51:41.992-07:00Values, Labels, and Authority, Oh My!Lately there has been some talk about being "THAT mom", about values, and about 'letting' your kids do things. A lot of people have had something to say about it, and it would talk too long to go over everything, but in general the discussion has focused on whether parents should allow their kids to do things the parent disapproves of, on whether the parent should help the kid do things they would not choose for them. I think the point that needs to get across to those naysayers in the unschooling community and beyond is that you don't really have a choice. Your children will do whatever it is they want to do, and there is absolutely nothing - and I mean NOTHING - that you can do to stop them if that is what they really want. But it should also be taken into consideration that happy children - and teens - very rarely do anything that is harmful to themselves or others. I'm not saying "Of course your kid isn't going to do anything harmful!" because many people do. But if your kid is happy, content, provided for, and treated with respect, they are unlikely to have any desire whatsoever to be that person.<br /><br />However.<br /><br />Another point that needs must be presented is that just because your kid isn't engaging in any activities that are harmful to themselves or others, <strong>doesn't mean they aren't going to make you uncomfortable</strong>. Most kids grow up with values that are different from their parents in some way. They want different things for themselves. They believe different things. If you strongly believe that, for example, it is very important to improve your mind, there are a lot of people who would back you up and call this a good value to hold. I would even say that yes, improving your mind is always a good thing.<br /><br />But what if your child doesn't agree? What if your child prefers physical activity to mental, or creative activity? What then? Do you force your child to learn about atoms and quadratic equation, or do you sign them up for a soccer team or buy them some modeling clay? The people who have been participating in this blog carnival, the people who are "That mom" or "That dad" or "That sister", are the kind who would rather see their children happy and doing what they love then see them doing what makes them, the mother or father or sister, happy, doing what THEY love. People who put down their own values for their children's, people who put down lesser wants for wanting their children to be truly happy.<br /><br />I'm sure this doesn't address all the concerns people have voiced, or not voiced, but still. The main points are there. You can't stop your children doing what they want...and why would you want to?Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-78449059503964230342010-04-22T03:33:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:59:20.268-07:00Religion - Today's Topic of ContemplationSo, lately I've been thinking about religion and god(s) and why people need these things. Of course, it is generally acknowledged that a lot of people are religious for comfort reasons. I do understand that. I understand the comfort you could get from going "Hey, it's not MY fault things didn't turn out alright. It was the Lord/Allah/Zeus/Whoever." or "I can't do anything to solve this really terrible problem, but I'll pray, and God/Allah/Zeus/Whoever will fix it for me." I really do get where you're coming from, religious types. But I always just think the comfort bit is outweighed by the fear bit. Religion, even positive happy religions, are all about the fear. "Will I get into Heaven/Valhalla/Whatever?" is a big one. "If God/Allah/Zeus/Whoever lets bad things happen to THOSE good people, will he let bad things happen to me?" is another. And then there's the other fear. "What if I'm wrong?" Everyone is a Doubting Thomas sometimes during the religious life. Everyone questions the existence of God/Allah/Zeus/Whoever and Heaven/Valhalla/Whatever. They wonder if a different religion or form of thought is correct and they chose wrong. In other words, they are filled with fear.<br /><br />I believe that I wasn't raised to be an atheist, but I was raised to be logical and scientific, and until someone shows me a big magical man/woman/creature who created the world and controls the fates of insignificant mortals, I simply won't believe he/she/it exists. I know a lot of people are agnostic, and there's no shame in that. That's actually a pretty scientific "I don't know." mentality there. But me, I believe men/women/creatures are innocent of creating the universe until someone can prove them guilty. I think we're just here, and we'll just go and that's all there is. No point, no purpose, just the random inevitably of all things.<br /><br />That being said, I've been thinking about this, and found that my own brain defeats the idea that people believe in God/Allah/Zeus/Whatever because they find it comforting. We can't say all people take comfort in believing this is true, because, as I am discovering, I don't. The idea that there is something after death is unpleasant to me. The knowledge that when I am dead, I will simply be gone and that will be it is VERY comforting to me. It seems peaceful. I have always loved sleeping - it takes you away from your problems, takes you out of the world and nestles you safely in the comfort of your own mind. It seems to me death is just a sleep with no morning. Just peace. The lack of things to worry about. I have always said that the best thing about death is that you don't have to live with it - to me, this is very true. In a particularly good episode of the TV show "House", Dr. House voices the opinion that he prefers to believe this is all there is, because he would rather not think that this is just a test. This is another thing I believe and find comfort in.<br /><br />Now, I'm not saying everybody should go out and kill themselves - I am a human being, and as such, have a distinct attachment to life. But it seems to me if I have to leave this world, I'd rather not just leave it for another one. Enjoyable as life can be, it can also be hard. Ever heard the phrase "This too shall pass"? I like that saying. There are good things and bad things about being alive, and if you have to give up the good things, wouldn't it be nicer to not have to do the bad things anymore, either?<br /><br />Of course, if you believe in Heaven/Valhalla/Whatever, you believe that all there is after death is an eternity of happiness, but I don't think that is possible. Humans get bored easily. Eternity would just make us miserable. Isn't it more comforting to think that after we have lived our (preferably long) lives, we get to just go to sleep? Like coming home after a long, hard, day, all you want is to lie down and not have to work anymore. Yes, people should lead good lives, and long ones. I'm not suggesting that death is preferable to life. What I AM suggesting is that death is preferable to...forever. Think about the things about life that suck. The things that would still suck, even in Heaven/Valhalla/Whatever. Annoying people. Boredom. Your own insecurities. Stress. And just...living. Or afterliving. The every day wear and tear of Doing Things.<br /><br />Wouldn't it be nice, at the end of everyThing you wanted to Do, to just...Stop?Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-81165297028297579462010-03-22T21:56:00.000-07:002010-03-23T01:03:40.514-07:00And on the first day...Chloe woke up very late that day and was then transported by Lynelle to Qacei's house. Qacei and Mary were all "Oh, it is Chloe, hi" and then Chloe and Qacei hung out. Shortly thereafter, Chloe and Qacei took it upon themselves to make a video. It was a very amazing video. This very amazing video that Chloe and Qacei had taken it upon themselves to make was TTLZVCBFOS3. the only issue here was that they didn't actually have the SCRIPT for TTLZVCBFOS3. But they had a little piece of the script, so they made that. This might sound simple, but in reality, it was very complicated. Who would play which parts? Where would they film? Did they have adequate props and costumes? Eventually, though, after many difficulties, many hours, and about ten thousand outtakes, the video came together, and they had filmed all the shots. Then they retired to the computer room and uploaded the shots onto Qacei's computer. They had like 59 shots, though, so they had to delete some of them and mesh some of them together and basically edit the whole three thousand pounds of film they would have used had their video not been digital.<br /><br />Anyway, they did this, and it took them quite some time, but they managed it, and when they were done it was totally awesome and they put it on the internet for Zephyr to see and laugh at.<br /><br />The End.<br /><br />P.S. Don't tell Zephyr about this, cause he don't know yet.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-43248240690584587532009-11-07T02:40:00.000-08:002010-04-22T04:03:47.408-07:00Stupid Homophobic News ReportersI was recently surfing the web when I came across a news article detailing the death of a thirteen year old boy named Jesse Dirkhising. He was raped and murdered by a gay couple who were family friends. His death was a horrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to his family, of course. However, things like this, tragic as they are, happen frequently, and if I mentioned every single one of them on my blog it would explode, and then my head would.<br /><br />So why am I mentioning this one?<br /><br />Well, it seems fair and unbiased reporting no longer exists in this country. It seems no one can just write a news story and report the facts. It always has to be a political statement, always has to be about pushing your views on people. And the stupid bastard who covered the story on the website I happened to discover it on has views that are, quite simply, WRONG.<br /><br />As I read the article, I began to get the impression that the author had something against homosexuals. However, I decided that this was only because I have many homosexual friends and relatives, and am sensitive to the issue. But the feeling only got stronger as I read on, and by the time I finished the article, I had serious doubts about this man's opinions on homosexuality. But I was interested in seeing if I could find out more, about the case and the man in question, so I clicked a link located at the bottom of the page. The article I found was a discussion, of sorts, of the Washington Post's rebuttal of certain accusations hurled at them during the course of the article. In this 'discussion', the author of both the original article and the 'discussion' made several comments that were not only blatantly homophobic, but also really, really, annoying.<br /><br />So what did I do? I decided to blog about it. I know I don't blog very often, but occasionally I get really annoyed with people, you know? So. Basically, this man indicated in both articles that homosexuals are somehow more likely to be pedophiles and rapists than heterosexuals. He also expressed religious viewpoints, something I believe a good reporter never does. Not everyone who reads your articles believes in your god, asshole. Two comments in the 'discussion', and one in the original article, got to me particularly, and I'd like to share those with you, so you can be mad at him too.<br /><br />In the original article, he comments that one of the men 'manipulated [the other man] into a homosexual relationship by stating that four characters from the Bible (David and Jonathan and Ruth and Naomi) were homosexual'.<br /><br />Like people have to be convinced to be gay! Like it's some kind of choice! He makes other comments like that, too, that it's a choice, some kind of fetish. This kind of talk disgusts me.<br /><br />And the 'discussion'...<br /><br />For starters, he says 'I...never considered myself "hostile to homosexuals." Not approving of sin does not necessarily make one hostile to sinners.'<br /><br />WhoaWhoaWhoa Back Up. Sin? Not only are you making homosexuals out to be bad, you're also expressing religious viewpoints, as previously mentioned. BASTARD.<br /><br />Secondly, and I think worst of all the things he says, he says 'Keep in mind that Jesse's guardians saw nothing wrong with a 13-year-old boy spending weekends with a homosexual couple. That's crazy.'<br /><br />............<br /><br />AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!<br /><br />Like that's automatically a horrible thing to do? Like they're bad parents for letting their kid be around homosexuals? He also quotes, in the original article, something Jesse's grandmother, Betty Yates, said. She said 'The parents put him in a situation he should not have been in. They knowingly let him spend weekends with the two guys, knowing they were gay. Jesse was a typical 13-year-old good kid. You do not put a 13-year-old child into a situation like that.'<br /><br />Clearly, that author agrees with her. It just makes me furious that these people assume the fact that these men were violent and twisted had something to do with the fact that they were also gay. Obviously, this was a horrible crime, and of course this boy should not have been hanging out with THESE PARTICULAR men. Does this mean we should start avoiding homosexuals? Of course not! The majority of them are no more likely to harm another human being than you are. And any logical, sane, clear-thinking person would know that.<br /><br />Best Wishes to anyone not this reporter guy,Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-19247392737216899852009-01-11T13:38:00.000-08:002010-04-22T04:06:31.904-07:00Isn't that bizzare? Aren't you just going...'Ooh'?I'm actually posting something. Shocking, huh?<br /><br />Basically, I have nothing good to say, and therefore never say anything. But I figured everyone who reads this is hating me for not posting anything and making their lives more difficult without reward, so I thought a post was in order. I've been keeping a journal, which is probably a contributing factor in the lack of blog posts. Everything I'd say here, I already said there.<br /><br />What have I been doing lately, you ask? Well, I dogsat (which mostly consisted of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel for three days straight), I came home and watched more Buffy, I helped mom clean my room for me (hehe ^ ^) and then I watched some more Buffy. Actually, I strapped mom to the futon and forced her to watch the first two episodes with me. Aren't I just too evil?<br /><br />Anyway, following that, I sat in my own bed (wow, right?) with my own TV on a stool at the foot of my bed and watched Pump Up the Volume, that Christian Slater movie about the illegal radio guy. It was pretty good, but the ending was unsatisfying.<br /><br />Anyway again, we're gonna clean some more today, only mom has to watch football first. It's very important. Life or death football. Cause...Um...God is playing. In the football game. Against Joe the Used Car Salesman from Alabama.<br /><br />He's a very dangerous man, you know. Bent on total destruction.<br /><br />Moving on, I have stuff to do now (including but not limited to sorting old toys into different categories. It's important.) so I'm gonna go. I hope you all hate me less after this, and I also hope it will last a while, cause I somehow can't imagine myself writing another post any time really soon.<br /><br />Hey, maybe I'll put up those blog posts I wrote in Italy sometime soon. They'd be way late, but still, you know? Okay, so I'm actually going now. Good luck in all your New Year's endeavours. Bye!~Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-11348686150997091802008-11-12T17:33:00.000-08:002008-11-12T17:42:22.160-08:00Book Five: The Final Something Or OtherSo, this is late.<br /><br />Sorry.<br /><br />On her last day, Cole went in to Sunnyside Down to barista again, and spent large quantities of time working the register. That was traumatizing, and made her emotionally fragile. But she got to make Marie her special drink, which was fun. Then Cole's father figure and sister arrived, and there was joyfulness and she made them buy things for her so she could ring them up, which was also fun. So, she had her some drinks and foods, and then they left, taking Buffy Season Seven home with them, NOT Buffy Season One, which was good, because Season One was not theirs. So they drove, and they drove, and Cole and her sister talked about things, and Cole told her sister a story in lolspeak, and it was good. Then they were home, and there was homeness, and Cole was frazzled, but she talked with her parental figures and sister and they ate some of the cupcakes Cole and Qayte made in Book Two: The Mysterious Baked Goods which Cole had brought with her from Magic Land, and she slept.<br /><br />And it was good, because Cole finally did some writing on her NaNovel, and she thought she might actually be able to finsih it by the deadline.<br /><br />Which would be good.<br /><p>THE END</p>Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-23437537561672433592008-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:002008-11-10T21:57:12.309-08:00Book Four: Everything and AnnouncementsSO! I woke up at the prescribed time this morning, a first...well, at most a fifth...in Chloe history! Be proud of me, gorammit!<br /><br />Anyway...moving on!<br /><br />Cole woke up at the prescribed time this morning and got ready speedily. Then she and Qayte and Qayte's mother Marie all went in to Sunnyside Down, and Cole did her some baristaing, including, much to her pleasure, terror, and humiliation for no reason, some ringing up of people. Real live customers. There was also serving, and taking orders, and making drinks, and calling drinks out, et cetera et cetera. She enjoyed herself greatly, and took her usual wages for the day. She and Qayte dropped off her books at the library during their break, because she had decided to go home soon, and they needed to be returned. So anyway, she worked, and played, and had her some chai. Then it was time for the going home club. Aaaaand, they went home. She finished her green scarf, which is lovely, by the way (or would be, if it was real, which it's not, because this is a work of fiction). Also, Qayte had some bits of mossy fuzzy yarn left over from her new cat hat she is making for barista Melissa, and Cole made those into a choker and a bracelt. The choker is braided and the bracelet is crocheted, but you can't tell the difference, so it doesn't matter. Cole and Qayte went to the park again, and wandered around, and they found out that school is out today for some innocuous reason. They discovered that if you sing one of the camp songs twice it fits their moon dance fairly well. Cole danced with her umbrella. Then there was a crocheting/knitting/braiding/Buffywatching party at Qayte's, with just her and Cole, and that is when Cole finsihed the scarf. They also watched some Gilmore Girls. Then there was some getting on of the computer, and Cole discovered that there is a <a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=78171652&albumID=1673317&imageID=21478822">picture</a> of Kell I where she looks like the mom in Gilmore Girls, which is nifty swifty, which is Cole's phrase of the day/week/indefinite time period.<br /><br />Anyway, I has to go now, regardless of the shortish post, because I has nothing more to say on the matter. But first, two announcements. One is for the sake of anyone who didn't know and wanted to, and the other is mostly for the sake of my parental units.<br /><br />ONE: My male parental unit is going to pick me up from Sunnyside Up tomorrow, and return me to the bosom of my family. Yes. Perhaps, perhaps, just maybe, I might actually get some writing done.<br /><br />TWO: We are going to visit Abbi and Kell I and Alec and Kyra and Tim. There is no other option. It's my way, or...well....your way. But this should be your way. Cause it would make me happy.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-54023671606409379082008-11-09T22:10:00.000-08:002008-11-09T22:22:40.754-08:00Book Three: Bulfinch, Buffy, and....Bulius.Today's novella. It's totally a novella. Deal with it.<br /><br />After Cole had checked her messages on the computer and stuff like that, she and Qayte decided to mall. So they were driven there, and they alighted and entered the building, though sadly, Cole was forced to leave her book in the car, because it's hard to read Bulfinch while walking through a building full of overpriced stores and mindless sheeple. So Cole and Qayte went into a bunch of stores, looked at clothing, felt all the soft things they could find, and grabbed Juliuses from the Food Area, which Cole did not consider to be a court. In fact, she never considers them to be courts, because they are areas. Areas full of chairs. And tables.<br />Anyway, so after they had done everything the could possibly do and hadn't seen any cute boys at all, Qayte called her parents and they went to wait outside of Old Navy.<br />They waited for like half an hour, went back inside, waited a little more, and then Qayte's father arrived, and they went back outside Old Navy and he picked them up and brought them back to Qayte's place. In the car, Cole got to finish the story she was reading in Bulfinch, which was Tristram and Isoude, which she loves, even though it makes her sad. Anyway, so they got home, and they had them some food, and some talking, and then they watched BUFFY! which was totally awesome, of course. Also, laundry was done, which was yay for them, because they were running low on wearable pants. While Buffy was being watched, Cole worked on her scarf making project, which was progressing nicely and had reached eleven rows (barely) when they finished watching Buffy and retreated to the computers. So Cole wrote on her blog - which was nothing like this one - and did some Myspacing and decided to read some more Bulfinch later.<br /><br />The End of Book Three.<br /><br />You should anxiously await Book Four, which will probably consist of baristaing and park-going.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-87374167798861251202008-11-09T12:32:00.000-08:002008-11-09T13:10:15.491-08:00Book Two: The Mysterious Baked GoodsFather, it has been three? days since my last confession. True, I promised last time that the next book would be out tomorrow, but as with all writers, I am behind on my deadline once more. So here's the second book, a couple days late.<br /><br />Let's see...<br /><br />The day after Cole and Qayte went to the library, they travelled to the local park, which was a magical land of wonder and joyness. And swings. Which they swung on. And a couple of really curse-filled thirteen year olds. Then they walked around, and talked about random stuff, and they whiled the day far far away. The day following that they decided productivity was the key, and so after another quick trip the park and a drive into Sunnyside Up for supplies, they proceeded to bake. The mixed them up some chocolate batter, and although Cole tried (and succeeded) to eat some of it that was left in the bowl, Qayte tried (and succeeded) to keep it away from her. Then they evened out the batter in its containers, so they were all the same height, which was harder than it sounds. They stuck it in the preheated oven then, and mixed them up some frosting. There was some trouble with a 'double boiler' and an argument over sour cream, which was added to the frosting according to the recipe, against Cole's better judgment, because sour cream is the devil. Then the frosting was carefully mixed, and tasted to make sure it wasn't poisonous. The baked goods were cooling, the frosting was ready, and Cole and Qayte got out their secret weapon. As soon as the baked goods were totally cooled (though Cole protested that they could be frosted before that point, Qayte would not LISTEN TO REASON) Cole and Qayte each frosted six of them, leaving about eight tons of frosting left over. A cake was suggested, to deal with the excess frosting. Then, frosted baked goods in hand - or rather, on counter - Qayte broke off a couple of pieces of white chocolate from the Ghiradelli bar they had purchased earlier, and she shaved the into curly strips with a cheese grater. Then they sprinkled white chocolate on the cupcakes, took some phototographs, and showed them off to those members of Qayte's family who were not in their rooms. Then they each ate one. They were freaking delicious.<br /><br />Not that I would know.<br /><br />Then they moved on, placing the baked goods in a plastic box in the fridge. They decided some fortune telling was in order, and, retrieving some paper, they made cootie catchers. They asked them lots of questions, and one of Qayte's could see the future. Once the dog had attempted to eat Qayte psychic fortune teller and they had grown bored trying to think of new questions, they decided to play a game of M.A.S.H. They wrote down their categories - where they'd live, what kind of house they'd have, how many kids they'd have, how much their salary would be, what their job would be, their car, and where they'd have their honeymoon (and of course, who their husband would be) - Cole chose two options for each category, and Qayte chose two. They were playing to see Cole's future, you see, so Cole chose one's she wanted, and Qayte chose one's Cole really didn't want particularly, thanks. Then they played, leaving Cole with a good mix of good things (husband, type of house, um..something) and bad things. Then they played for Qayte, which was hilarious. Really hilarious. But anyway, they had to get on AIM right that instant and inform Qayte's future husband of their discovery, which they did. Unfortunately, the future husband was idle, so they talked to....um...need a new name...Anna? Alice? could just use her name, I suppose...Abbi, instead, and they asked her if she wanted to play M.A.S.H. Once a little wikipedia had explained to her what it was, they had her choose her options, and they selected another option, one each. Abbi wound up with fairly Hi-larious results, which I can't recall. Meanwhile, the future husband got on, and he was informed of his role. This startled him, but it was all good. They also did M.A.S.H. for Kyra, which was funny, because she got Johnny Depp for a husband. They asked Qayte's future husband awkward questions, several of which he would not answer. They discussed his children, and how they wanted them. It was Cole's opinion that he should have, like, ninety kids, and fill up whole orphanages, so everyone could have his children. Then it was very late, so they went to bed, but Cole insisted on checking her Myspace first, which just goes to show you how low she had sunk.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-74781894762981302732008-11-06T21:04:00.000-08:002008-11-06T21:27:11.875-08:00Book One of the Saga.See, a trilogy in four parts can only have, well, four parts, so to continue updating you on my activities, I have to start a brand-new series. True, it's set in the same universe, and the characters are basically cheap copies of the ones from the last books, but I think you'll find that their actions (while similar in many ways) definitely have their differences. So, this is Book One; The Library at Magic Land.<br /><br />Once upon a time, in Water Land, there was girl named...um....um...Cole. Yes. Cole. And Cole was visiting her friend...Qayte (that's pronounced like Kate. But with a Q. And a Y.) in Magic Land. Anyways, so Qayte's parents owned a cafe, unlike the cafe owned by the parents of the friend the previous protagonist was visiting. Instead of powdered chai, they used liquid chai. Yes. So Cole went into this cafe with her friend, this cafe called Sunnyside Down. And she helped the baristas there serve customers, though she only worked the register twice, and that was with assistance. She mostly made drinks, bused dishes, served food, and loitered when she wasn't needed. She had herself a chai, and later on, a bagel with herb spread, and right before she left she got her a strawberry banana smoothie. It was deliciously fun, and funnily delicious. After she did that, she and Qayte walked to the Library and retrieved some lost tomes. Qayte got herself one lost tome, and Cole managed to finaggle about eight. She had not finished her smoothie when they went inside the library, so Qayte hid it inside her jacket while they looked at books. Then, when these ancient tomes had been gathered, they realized Qayte had not brought the magical pass that was required by the Library at Magic Land to remove the ancient tomes from the premises. But the GRAND KEEPER OF ANCIENT TOMES looked her up in their secret database, and it was good. And there was much rejoycing. So Qayte and Cole took their tomes back to Sunnyside Down and left them in the office while they went to look at beads and metal bits and other magically delicious items. When they had looked to their heart's desire, they returned to Sunnyside Down and contacted Qayte's mother Marie via a mystical communication system designed many aeons ago to allow daughter's to contact their mothers when they need rides. So Marie arrived at Sunnyside Down and picked Qayte, Cole, and their ancient tomes up and drove them back to Qayte's fortress, where Cole begin reading her ancient tomes involving art with words printed on it. When she had read four of these mysterious volumes, she re-emerged from the land of ancient tomes with art and printed words inside of them and posted this.<br /><br />But she didn't really post this, because I am posting this, and of course, Cole doesn't really exist. All the characters in this story are fictitious and all that.<br /><br />See you tomorrow for Book Two.<br /><br />Title to be decided.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-3317206426387575712008-11-06T10:32:00.000-08:002008-11-06T10:22:02.593-08:00Thirteen Things I LoveAbout Doctor Horrible.<br /><br />1. His goggles. I want them. They are wonderfulness packed inside welding goggles.<br /><br />2. The songs. They are also wonderfulness, primarily because Joss Whedon was involved with their making.<br /><br />3. 'Slipping' specifically, as demonstrated by the fact that I posted it. It's a great song. Very dramatic. Lots of sudden starts and stops.<br /><br />4. Captain Hammer, AKA Nathan Fillion. Mal/Caleb/Captain Hammer/whatever. He's awesome, and Captain Hammer is hilarious. (see below)<br /><br />5. "These are not the hammer."<br /><br />6. Bad Horse, the thoroughbred of sin, and his singing letters.<br /><br />7. Moist, Sidekick Extraordinaire. "In case you need anything dampened or made soggy."<br /><br />8. It contains sporks. Enough said. (I love sporks)<br /><br />9. Laundry. But in a good way.<br /><br />10. Everyone's a hero in their own way. "You, and you, and...mostly me, and you."<br /><br />11. It has seriousness. Um....amusing?...seriousness?<br /><br />12. It's just so freaking FUNNY! I laugh permanently every time I watch it. Does that make sense? I wasn't sure how to phrase it.<br />Anyway. Funny.<br /><br />13. The fact that it involves three Whedons and musical numbers makes it pretty much the most awesome thing to ever exist in this or any other universe.<br /><br />So yeah.<br /><br />Can be found at this <a href="http://www.drhorrible.com/mushortio.html">location</a> and should be. If you're awesome, I mean. You'll enjoy it.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-29896274899180196102008-11-06T09:49:00.000-08:002008-11-06T10:30:12.723-08:00Doctor Horrible: He has a PhD in horribleness.Look at these people,<br />Amazing how sheeple<br />Show up for the slaughter,<br /><br />No one condemning,<br />You lined up like lemmings<br />You lead to the water,<br /><br />Why can’t they see what I see, why can’t they hear the lies?<br />Maybe the fee’s too pricey for them to realize,<br />Your disguise is slipping, I think you’re slipping,<br /><br />Now that your savior’s<br />As still as the grave you’re<br />Beginning to fear me,<br /><br />Like cavemen fear thunder,<br />I still have to wonder,<br />Can you really hear me?<br /><br />I bring you pain, the kind you can’t suffer quietly,<br />Fire up your brain, remind you inside you’re rioting,<br />Society is slipping, everything's slipping away, so,<br /><br />Go ahead, run away,<br />Say it was horrible,<br />Spread the word, tell a friend,<br />Tell them the tale,<br /><br />Get a pic, do a blog,<br />Heroes are over with,<br />Look at him, not a word,<br />Hammer, meet nail,<br /><br />Then I win, then I get,<br />Everything I ever,<br />All the cash, all the fame,<br />And social change,<br /><br />Anarchy, that I run,<br />It’s Dr. Horrible’s turn,<br />You people all have to learn,<br />This world is going to burn, burn, (yeah it’s two R’s, h-o-r-r yeah right), burn!<br /><br />No sign of Penny, good,<br />I would give anything<br />Not to have her see,<br /><br />It’s gonna be bloody,<br />Head up, Billy buddy,<br />There’s no time for mercy,<br /><br />Here goes no mercy–<br /><br />That’s not a good soundGil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-21424461942148687212008-11-05T22:51:00.000-08:002008-11-05T23:02:28.880-08:00Part Four: A Cup of UpSunnyside Up, that is.<br /><br />WARNING! THE FOLLOWING MAY BE INACCURATE, BECAUSE I HAVE A TERRIBLE MEMORY!<br /><br />Wednesday the 5th of November (actual date)<br /><br />We woke up at early and travailed to Sunnyside Up, where we washed our hands thoroughly. Then Qacei made me a chai, and I watched and learned how to do it. I also learned how to pull shots, grind coffee, make coffee, make americanos and mochas and syrup flavored ones, refill water pitchers, clear and scrub tables, bring in the bus bins, fill an airpot, make a bagel, run the cash register (didn't get to ring anyone up, just learned how), and restock mugs. I took my wages in food. I had me a garlic or possibly onion bagel with herb spread, a chai, and a strawberry banana smoothie. It was yum. I also got to deliver some foods and call out drinks that I made and bring the orders back to the kitchen. I was pretty much involved in all the goings on, except the dish washing, and that was pretty much by choice. I did, however, scrape residue, toothpicks, and napkins off people's plates and cups and et cetera so I could leave them for other people to wash more easily. Then my shift (sort of) unfortunately ended, and we left. Qacei and I travailed to Goodwill, Payless Shoes, Borders, and Michael's before returning to the household. I am making a scarf. A crocheted (kro-CHET-ed) scarf. Then there was some eating, and some Buffy watching, and some compuhtering, and I took a shower.<br /><br />And then it was now. And now it's gone.<br /><br />Or something along those vague and familiar lines.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-17292035483529189432008-11-05T22:50:00.000-08:002008-11-06T10:31:10.489-08:00Part Three: The King of ClingAnd Other Random Tales.<br /><br />WARNING! THE FOLLOWING MAY BE CHRONOLOGICALLY INACCURATE DUE TO MY TERRIBLE MEMORY!<br /><br />Monday the 3rd of November<br /><br />Buffy commences.<br /><br />There was watching. And playing (the video game). And Talking about.<br /><br />We kicked ass at that game. Sort of. I looked up cheats with and without Qacei's permission. She didn't like it. But then she told me to.<br /><br />It was confuzzling.<br /><br />I don't know what happened after that. Buffy makes my brain explode.<br /><br />Tuesday the 4th of November<br /><br />ELECTION DAY! What can I say about election day? It was a simple gala affair. We watched the television, we watched the online updates, we baked Barack Obrownies, we celebrated each victory, including the final one. We watched Obama's speech, we watched McCain's, we set off fireworks and yelled really loud, we ate the Barack Obrownies, which were more delicious flavored by victory. We invented a supervillain, the King of Cling (he shoots cling wrap at people as he yells 'Cling on' (Get it?)) and his sidekicks, McMaverick and Moose. We invented a vampire who loves swiss cheese but can't go near it because it's hol(e)y. We called people. We danced. We sang. We did a multitude of other things.<br /><br />We slept.<br /><br />To be concluded.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-17296981221573180072008-11-05T21:58:00.000-08:002008-11-05T23:11:00.871-08:00Part Two: A Story of StoryWARNING! THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY BE CHRONOLOGICALLY INACCURATE, BECAUSE I HAVE A TERRIBLE MEMORY!<br /><br />Sunday the 2nd of November<br /><br />The parental units leave after a delicious breakfast of deliciousness at Sunnyside Up (Brunch? Whatever.) taking MJ dearest with them. Well, perhaps MJ had left our group, but Story remained, and we took it into our heads (malfunctioning as they were) to walk to the grocery or some such ridiculous thing in the pouring rain. So we started walking, and then we decided we didn't really want to go to the grocery, but Donna picked us up and dropped Qacei home before bringing Story and I to the place where Story keeps her horse. We got the horse out and Story rode him, and then I got to ride him too. (WHEEEEEE!) I did not gallop, but I did manage a brief canter. And I rode bareback at one point, which was awesome, though slippery. Very smooth horse. Then we took him out back to eat apples from the apple trees they have there. He (the horse) ate the ones off the ground and Story and I picked nice deliciousness off the trees. they were very juicy. Then we climbed a hay island and drank soda and ate apples. Then we carried some more apples out, saw a youngling horse, and carried the apples home/to Qacei's (same thing). Then we hung out and it was fun. Story and I had cheesy nachos with mango salsa. Then...some more stuff happened, but I don't know/remember what. Story goes home.<br /><br />To be continued. Again.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-44714839584071812702008-11-05T21:24:00.000-08:002008-11-06T10:33:35.422-08:00Qacei'sis where I am. I am learning important things and eating food and it's fun. I'm going to assume (perhaps incorrectly) that you want to learn more than that about my stay, so I'm going to tell you. I think I will make it a trilogy in four parts. This is part one, and it constitutes my Non-con post, even though Non-con ended several days ago.<br /><br />WARNING! THE FOLLOWING MAY BE CHRONOLOGICALLY INACCURATE DUE TO MY TERRIBLE MEMORY!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part One: The Non of Con</span><br /><br />Friday the 31st of October<br /><br />After an excruciatingly (remember that, excruciatingly. It was excruciating.) early morning, we drove in the car for five hours. That was also excruciating, but not as bad. Then, finally, we checked into our hotel and drove to Sunnyside Up - we'll come back (not literally) to the hotel in a minute, but for now... - where we encountered others of our kind. We hugged people and dashed to the bathroom together. We hurriedly changed into our costumes, MJ, Qacei, and I. I was Harmony the preppy vampire (some of you are familiar with her. Some of you are not. I'll let you decide who's cooler.), MJ was Spike the totally completely awesome (male) vampire, and Qacei was Drusilla the psychic vampire, and/or her non-canon sister, Allisurd. Once we were ready - me with my leggings, Qacei with her dress, and MJ with her gelled back hair - we went out into the scary universe of trick-or-treating with Hayden and Diana. The other 'rents stayed behind, though they were costumed. We went from shop to shop, begging for sweets, which we recieved posthaste, though we did have some difficulty getting out without knocking over small children. Then, loot in hands, we returned to Sunnyside Up, home of deliciousness. We retreated from there to another home, the home of my QaceiQacei and family. There was fun. And a party. And we did stuff. And then we, and others, went out trick-or-treating in Qacei's AREA. (We'll also get back, semi-literally, to the word 'area'.) Then we returned and sorted our candy into piles, primarily sorted by type. We traded the things we didn't want for things others people who did want what we didn't want didn't want but we wanted. Then we changed our costumes (with some of MJ's hair gel, I became a person having a bad hair day) and walked to 'the mansion' where we each received 2-3 full size candy bars. Then we went back to Qacei's and ate candy. LOTS of candy. And we did stuff. Then MJ and I slept at Qacei's that night, instead of ever returning to the hotel which we had paid for.<br /><br />Saturday the 1st of November<br /><br />Partyness. We played Honey I love you and put on makeup and ate armadillo roadkill and terrorized newbies by accident. Mom and dad went to the hotel for sleep, MJ and Story and I stayed to vex Qacei and co. further.<br /><br />No, I don't really remember this day at all. There was a lot of partying. Tim Booth came. Mary's blog says so.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-30197569483026386642008-10-23T21:52:00.001-07:002008-10-23T22:08:29.284-07:00ThursdayIt happens to be. So it's time for another Thirsday Thirteen. How about...Thirteen Things I Do During The Day, Which May Or May Not Be Educationally Relevant.<br /><br />1. Read good books of all kinds, but mostly fantasy, and primarily Diana Wynne Jones when in that category.<br /><br />2. Write books, poems, short stories, journal entries, blog posts, post it notes, math problems, ideas, thoughts, lists, and other assorted scribblings.<br /><br />3. Draw people, bouncy balls, and other shadow-casting/shiny objects. This is definitely educationally relevant, but it's also fun. Notice how often that happens?<br /><br />4. Watch TV shows, but only if they are good ones.<br /><br />5. Read Manga, which belongs in a seperate category from reading books, because Manga isn't just words, it's also images, so it's more like Read/Watch Manga. Perhaps I'll use 'View'. View Manga.<br /><br />6. Watch Anime, usually online because Netflix is slow and boring. Currently watching: Ranma 1/2 (or re-watching, as the case may be, and is.)<br /><br />7. Clean my room, which is not done very frequently, but is now occuring at the slow slow rate of our friend the limpet.<br /><br />8. Eat. This doesn't seem very important, but it takes up a large portion of my time, so I thought I'd mention it here.<br /><br />9. Listen to music. Unlike most people, I actually listen to music without doing anything else, sometimes. It's more than just background noise, people.<br /><br />10. Watch movies, as we own some very good ones, and quite a lot of enjoyable ones. I think we have several hundred.<br /><br />11. Go on Myspace, email, instant messenger, or other forms of communication, including, shocking though it may be, the actual physical presence of another sentient being.<br /><br />12. Read fanfiction on fanfiction.net, which does not occupy much of my time, but as it does occupy some of it, I thought I could add it to the list. It is sometimes good, as compared to the rest of the fics out there, which cause people to gouge out their own eyeballs and eat them.<br /><br />13. And finally, I, Chloe, your beloved friend and/or relative, spend large quantities of time missing you, and you, and everyone at camp, and everyone at the conferences, and my family members who live far away, and the family members who live in the same house as me, but whom I never speak to, as I am a recluse.<br /><br />Brava, me. There's probably other stuff, too, but how am I supposed to know what I do all day? It's not like I pay attention or anything!<br /><br />C.B.P.M.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-32917254010920036582008-10-23T21:46:00.000-07:002008-10-23T21:49:35.027-07:00PixelationHeeheehee. I'm so productive, I pixelate drawings in my spare time. Not that I have any other kind of time, but whatever.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQRg0qbbwBJHBeIxSbDJwChuGaWHsQdHm1m7wiFiO4aV-W3VvfNSY5JvS8EwcGdfFlbvYSSbqu7xhRS1n9g68TSqXBWkDF7Kv1xieMKdsRymQ8DZxY-8u1ojThrPOZ96V6CeCmFQ7FLJ8/s1600-h/pixelation.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260577823533364594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQRg0qbbwBJHBeIxSbDJwChuGaWHsQdHm1m7wiFiO4aV-W3VvfNSY5JvS8EwcGdfFlbvYSSbqu7xhRS1n9g68TSqXBWkDF7Kv1xieMKdsRymQ8DZxY-8u1ojThrPOZ96V6CeCmFQ7FLJ8/s320/pixelation.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Yay!</div>Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-16668639953745032132008-10-21T22:23:00.000-07:002008-10-21T22:43:59.881-07:00Hello, AgainUnfortunately for my avid readers *hem hem* I have not posted anything. At all. Since we got back. I do have a couple of blogposts written down, but unfortunately again, they are written down in my notebook, which is in my bag, the location of which i am unclear on, and I am too lazy to find it and type the aforementioned blogposts into life.<br /><br /><br /><br />So you're getting this, instead, until I get my lazy butt back in gear.<br /><br /><br /><br />Mom tagged me for one of those blog tagging games that happen so often, and I'm going to be a kind and merciful daughter and obey the rules of the game. The rules of the game stand thus:<br /><br /><br /><br />Thou shalt Look into Thy Documents and open folder the sixth containing Photographs.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thou shalt count to Photograph the sixth in said folder.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thou shalt taketh this Photograph and post it on thy Blog, in all its heavenly dimensions.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thou shalt then write, using the Keys supplied for thee on thy keyboard, a Short Story detailing the whereabouts of the contents of said Photograph, and explain to all who may read thy post how this Photograph came to be taken by thy heavenly hand, or by the less heavenly hand of another.<br /><br /><br /><p>This being done, Thou shalt then Tag another, and so continue the traditions of the ancients.</p>So here's the picture, have a nice day.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5UzxN5Rjk5Y9QYjgHBy4QXC3KW1QmcP1QLUAlIA-KsprdY922Ltt_Wst2Pq9Wf8aKdnKhqfQAhG5b_06obclNjv_3c7-6fD6AtQSgXqC05JjcRLcJZuQuh9rXnko03p-OQPhOmClYhCx/s1600-h/P1010032.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259847048915167746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5UzxN5Rjk5Y9QYjgHBy4QXC3KW1QmcP1QLUAlIA-KsprdY922Ltt_Wst2Pq9Wf8aKdnKhqfQAhG5b_06obclNjv_3c7-6fD6AtQSgXqC05JjcRLcJZuQuh9rXnko03p-OQPhOmClYhCx/s320/P1010032.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This was taken out my dorm room window at the Summerhill School in England, and shows a firepit, some logs that may be used for chairs or balancing acts, some buildings, and the skateboard ramp. Also, a tree.<br /><br /><br />I taggeth all who read this. May your eyes be scorched by this Tag and may thou not rest until ye have completed the task now laid before thee. Ye Evile Godde of Blogges art satisfied, and I go in pieces.<br /><br /><br />C.B.P.M, ano domini 2008Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-66285261052957843472008-09-08T10:16:00.000-07:002008-09-08T10:27:21.773-07:00Hello, World!Here I am, finally on a computer after about five days of Living and Learning. The conference was great, of course, but also very tiring. After flying on two different planes for a whole day and then driving for two hours, I found myself at the YMCA, and promptly stayed up all night with some people I knew, and some people I got to know. Then a few crazy days that don't actually last as long as you think they do, a couple of funshops, a few talks, and drawings all over my hands and forearms, and I caught a plane to New York city. Of course, I'm not actually seeing much of it, apart from JFK and this hotel, but stil, now I've offically been to New York.<br /><br />In a few hours time I catch a plane from JFK to Dublin, then a connecting flight into Milan itself. I don't know exactly when we arrive, but I know it's going to take a long, long, time. Once in Milan, however, we'll be picked up by the Baldos, and driven away to begin our wonderful European vacation. Should be fun, huh? I bet you're all really envious. I know I would be :D<br /><br />Anyway, I don't have much else to say. Can't guarantee many (or any) blog posts while I'm in Europe. No computer with me, and not a lot of time for typing on one anywho. But I can promise I'll tell you all about it when I get back. Maybe I'll write some stuff down in a notebook while I'm there, and just post that. That might work. Anyway, don't expect any consistency. I'm going to Europe, dude. I don't have enough time or energy to be a computer geek in Europe.<br /><br />But no matter. Farewell, and I hope you have an awesome time doing whatever you're doing. See you all in October!<br /><br /><3Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-45962935598047072462008-08-26T10:09:00.000-07:002008-08-26T10:58:23.435-07:00NBTSC and MeIt may or may not have come to your attention that I have not been blogging, checking my email, or doing anything at all much for the past week. I have a really really good reason for this, which I am going to explain to you now. I was at NBSTC, or Not Back To School Camp, a summer camp for un/homeschoolers. It is run by Grace Lewellyn, author of the Teenage Liberation Handbook, or TLH. It was some totally awesome fun, but no internet for the whole week. This concludes my apolegetic phase, and I'm moving right on in to the part where I talk your ears off or your eyes out about what, exactly, I did.<br /><br />Let's see...hung out with more than half of the campers, learned the names of almost all of them, ate vegetarian food, served other people the same, swam in the creek, walked around in my bra and pants, went to bonding night, the trust circle, prom, the graduation ceremony, the intention circle, meetings every morning and every night, workshops, and unisex late night parties in the girls bathroom, made new friends, learned new things (for instance: chocolate is made by separating cocoa butter from cocoa mass and mixing them back together in a certain way with a few other ingredients), hugged everyone I could, slept in Forest Dell, got a hug button, got an oh, James button, pushed people's buttons, and talked, and talked, and talked.<br /><br />You may be wondering what kind of camp I was at, where girls can wander around shirtless and let boys in their bathrooms and learn about chocolate and get mysterious buttons. Well, and unschooler camp. True, boys are not, technically, allowed in our bathroom, but the staff didn't mind when one of the boys came in and sat on the counter and talked with us. As for the shirtless thing, as long as the bra stays on, it's fine. After all, bras cover more skin than some bathing suits. Talk to me about hug buttons, or the intention circle, or Bean's chocolate workshop, or feeding about sixty-five people cornbread and chili in under an hour, or about the totally awesome costumes Bitty and Arne wore to prom. Ask about my recent promotion, or Advisee groups and what the hell was up with the Nathen pose, or why Madelyn and I are planning to build a Tupperware castle next year. Ask about the mosh pit at seven in the morning that woke me up, or Grace belly-dancing in one of the Talent Shows. Ask about Dave Thomas's sandwich song, or why he's called the Dish Queen, or the time he called himself Bitty and got thrown in the creek as a sacrifice.<br /><br />Ask about camp, and you'll hear so many stories of fun, and learning, and growth, and healing, and inside jokes, and new talents, and old friends, you'll really wish that you had been there with me, just to experience that.<br /><br />But here's the best part; there's always next year. If you're under eighteen, come and be a camper and you'll have the most joyful time of your young life. If you're over eighteen, don't sweat it. Come be a staffer - they have almost as much fun as we do. But even if you can't make it, we're always sending our best wishes to you, and hoping you get at least a little piece of the energy and experiences we get every single year.<br /><br />For more information, or to sign yourself up, go to <a href="http://nbtsc.org/home.htm/">the website</a> and look around. (If that link doesn't work, sorry. I'm afraid I've been having recent difficulties getting to the NBTSC website. Google it.)Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-83379613669590092882008-08-12T04:51:00.000-07:002008-08-12T05:11:13.166-07:00NaNoWriMo......Is actually in November, but I don't care! I am going to write 50,000 words in 30 days anyway. (NaNoWriMo is a...a...a <em>thing </em>that challenges writers and non-writers all across the globe to do just that thing. For more information, see <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">the NaNoWriMo website</a>.) Right now. Not set to any one month!<br /><br />Actually, I'm too impatient to wait to start until November, but whatever. Now, some might say this is a little nuts of me, once they take into consideration my busy schedule at this juncture, but whatever! What's a little inter-continental travelling got to do with writing, anyhow? To them I say "You are probably right, but I'm going to drive myself insane ignoring your advice anyway!" I fully intend to write my 1,667 words a day until I have 80,000. And yes, I know I said 50,00 before, but that was in a month. I'm going over a month. I am not constrained to society's expectations! I am free and unfettered!<br /><br />Actually, I'm just too lazy to write the number of words per day required to make 80,00 in a month. But, again, whatever. In case you are interested, which you are probably not, my book is about a girl who goes to learn Alchemy at a prep school and gets involved in a battle between two schools of Alchemy that have existed since basically forever. There's magic. And school. And neon green lab coats. And zombies.<br /><br />Anyway, it is 5:05 AM and I am going to bed now. I have the sneaky suspiscion I'm supposed to wake up before ten in the morning a few days from now, and I'll never do it if I keep going to bed at ungodly hours such as this one. No offense to the hour.<br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtqKXl04J6B2VW7jvxRyUa-Nc_Q46jiRDV7IwMcLWYNyinnSWt4RCZBc-lIQKok47Jtyb5rUZyT7D7zW2_mieNzzNYU3DPTbM-FzpyIV7sdfjafocg-c1FFq-cxhWMJ0FN9JwwQljuO4K/s1600-h/nano_07_winner_small.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233602239156391122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtqKXl04J6B2VW7jvxRyUa-Nc_Q46jiRDV7IwMcLWYNyinnSWt4RCZBc-lIQKok47Jtyb5rUZyT7D7zW2_mieNzzNYU3DPTbM-FzpyIV7sdfjafocg-c1FFq-cxhWMJ0FN9JwwQljuO4K/s320/nano_07_winner_small.gif" border="0" /></a>Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-83967864734912774822008-08-11T02:45:00.001-07:002008-08-11T02:50:22.309-07:00Postsecret<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvYVE9jQ8zCxpGras1eDz8pL_YkitpYCuMMNC4hhP7Y1sxPvqvccybeZAbDST4pjxa1PJKPR3ZaLptQ9OGxtxOu7SNaIRGsSIRnzlMLdgbv_n5IU5vGPjGTKT12sT8RsOjEp45QFCagYl/s1600-h/postsecret.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233194221224885618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvYVE9jQ8zCxpGras1eDz8pL_YkitpYCuMMNC4hhP7Y1sxPvqvccybeZAbDST4pjxa1PJKPR3ZaLptQ9OGxtxOu7SNaIRGsSIRnzlMLdgbv_n5IU5vGPjGTKT12sT8RsOjEp45QFCagYl/s320/postsecret.bmp" border="0" /></a> They would find it less <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">appealing if the kid who was a jerk to them in first grade was killed by a truck at age thirteen.</span><br /><p><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span> </p>I am secretly proud of myself for recognizing his photo on the news six years after I last saw him, and I will continue to be proud, regardless of how bad I feel for his parents. (I would feel bad for him too, but Dumbledore advises me not to, see left-hand side of blog.)Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-18625651263222808642008-08-08T00:32:00.000-07:002008-08-08T00:44:31.267-07:00West of Bathurst on grading papers.T.A. Barbara of the webcomic West of Bathurst has this to say on grading papers, and on the quality of the papers themselves.<br /><br />"See this pile of essays. Observe it closely. No strings attached...no trickery of any kind. What follows, ladies and gentlemen, is genuine magic. <em>This </em>student argues that 'To the Lighthouse" is concrete proof that Virginia Woolfe suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.<em> This </em>one spells Byron's name 'B-I-R-U-N' and asserts that he wrote, and I quote, 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'. This one has submitted a paper that consists of only three paragraphs, but is two thousand words too long. <em>This </em>one cites 'The Family Guy' as a legitimate secondary source. <em>This</em> one is wrong. <em>This </em>one has plagiarised. <em>This </em>one writes off-topic. <em>This </em>one does not know what a comma is.<br /><br />"Average mark if I follow the guidelines of our University's English department: seventy-two. As I said, genuine magic."<br /><br />Ah, It's a sad state of affairs...Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149349823364424244.post-11474747446163801282008-08-08T00:13:00.000-07:002008-08-08T00:46:31.587-07:00Friday Fill-Ins1. You know you're old when <span style="color:#33ff33;"><span class="">you </span><span class="">stop </span>having fun doing something stupid for the hell of it</span>.<br /><br />2. My heart is divided <span class="">between </span><span style="color:#33cc00;">West of</span> <span style="color:#33cc00;">Bathurst</span> and <span style="color:#33cc00;">sleep</span>.<br /><br />3. <span style="color:#009900;"><span class="">Free </span>time</span> is what I need RIGHT NOW!<br /><br />4. I have felt the <span style="color:#006600;">sun inside my head</span>, I have known the depths of <span style="color:#006600;">my inky black soul</span>.<br /><br />5. Gah, won't these people <span style="color:#66cccc;">stop expecting me to be what I'm not just for them?</span><br /><br />6. <span style="color:#00cccc;">Live</span> <span style="color:#00cccc;">life</span> as soon as you can! <span style="color:#00cccc;">(you don't know <span class="">how </span>many more chances you'll get)</span><br /><br />7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to <span style="color:#3333ff;">possibly reading fanfiction or drawing or writing something</span>, tomorrow my plans include <span style="color:#3333ff;">going</span> <span style="color:#3333ff;">to the health club with <span class="">mom, </span></span>and Sunday, I'm going to <span style="color:#3333ff;">the club again with both mom and MJ</span>.Gil an Oghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02639078319906938307noreply@blogger.com0