ruthi

I have baked a cake.
Recipe stolen from :
http://gottalittlespacetofill.blogspot.com/2009/09/easiest-cake-ever.html

( cake recipe )

I didn't have vegetable oil, so I melted butter instead and used that. But as written, the cake is dairy-free. It does use eggs, though.

ruthiwhy is it easier to feel bad about the things I have not done than to feel good about the things I have done?
supermousebecause you are not writing down the things you have done
ruthi Okay. I shall write down the things I have done.
supermouse there is, quite literally, an *infinite* amount of things you have not done. You have not climbed everest or repainted the kitchen, you have not adopted 27 cats, nor trained a budgerigar to say 'your flies are undone!'. You have not driven to Manchester, nor painted the Mona Lisa.
ruthi these are all true.
ruthi I have not painted a budgerigar, nor taught the mona lisa to speak
ruthi But! I have joined bookmooch! I have sent out books that were requested.
ruthi I have examined apples and carrots and thought 'these would be better in a stew', and then I made stew.
ruthi I put up an LJ-post about the unneeded comics singles and got requests and now I have given them away!
ruthi I got out to the pub and met friends and even remembered to buy people drinks
supermouse you did many good things!
ruthi ...I startled gmh and hobnobs by talking about moustache-bleach

So, things done:
I have joined bookmooch, and listed books (8 of them, so far). I have replied to requests for books, and mailed out 4 books - one of them to the US, even.

I looked at the comic-book singles that the beloved had cleared off the shelf and decided with him to get rid of a lot of them. Many of them, because we got the collected trades, which are a more durable format. (But we're keeping My Faith In Frankie, obvs.)
I posted about the comics in my livejournal , offered them out, and made arrangements for the comics to go away.

I took out the six issues that abigailb had asked for and put them in my bag, to remember to bring them to her.

I got to the pub on Tuesday, met people, played games. Lost at poker, learned something I had not known before.

I have bought some stationery that I had been meaning to buy for a while, to organise stuff.

I remembered the brand of crisps that the beloved mentioned missing, and when I saw them on a shelf in a shop I was in, bought some for him.

I went to the pub on Tuesday and out to the post-office on Wednesday.

I went to a pub I had never been to before - The Wenlock Arms - and I met friends, and took the comic-book-singles that the beloved had cleared off the bookshelf, so they are
1. out of the house and 2. on the way to kincaid

I went out today, to the batflat, and there were people and babylon5 and pizza

and I am realising I have been out most evenings this week, and meeting friends, and also I have cooked stew and not killed anyone. It has not been a bad week.

I am a terrible person.

Sinead's Hand

Permission

Today I went out to the post-office and sent out four books that had been requested via bookmooch. Yay me.

Also I bought more padded envelopes for sending more books. I bravely resisted the lure of other shiny stationery.

* * *

I recieved the first two issues of Filament in the mail and I like them and they make me happy.

* * *

I went into the kitchen last night to make myself a quick meal and accidentally put on a stew.

Hello.
My name is user name= "" and I am a flake.

I joined bookmooch on Sunday, I think. I fed it the ISBNs of some books I do not see myself re-reading.
I have some requests for books already. Yay.
I have even found a couple of padded envelopes to re-use.
The bit about writing out addresses and heading out and sending the things - that has eluded me, so far this week.

But hey. It's only Tuesday.

My friend Del wrote a story and it is beautiful and I want you to read it:
In a far-off land (I cannot say exactly where, because the maps that show the way have long since been made into sandstone and memory), there once lived a man.

Carrot Burger ( recipes )

Tuesday there was pub, and playing a wordgame called 'snatch', which was fun, and people, who are good company.

Wednesday there was babylon5, with a particularly bad episode of season 5. But it was fun to heckle :) Also I managed to bring ice-cream and a pizza-flier, and they were appreciated. Although possibly the penguin did not appreciate having a tub of ice-cream stuffed up its rear.

Thursday I went to see apiphile do stand-up comedy in Kentish Town.
Henry Ginsberg Was Also funny.
The Northern line pretends to be one line but is at least two.


youtube link, The Waldo Ultimatum

This morning I had a ( d ream )

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/

Free Books at goodreads.com, an lottery thing. Many only available to people Great Britain and the US, some available in Canada, some more widely than that.

If you publish a review of the book you win, the terms and conditions say:

# By accepting an advance copy and posting a review, you grant Goodreads and the publisher an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute your review.

But goodreads is a site where people put their reviews of books online anyway.

ihavecake as a guest: A++, would host again.
She's found somewhere to move to, and went off On Saturday night. That took a shorter time than I expected: it was less than a week.

***

Today I cancelled my eMusic subscription. I signed up on Friday or Saturday - and the first 25 downloads are free. So I tried to download some songs. An EP, a collection of songs. I got a file with an .emx extension. And that was not music.
I tried to download other things. Single songs, not collected.

... where are the mp3s?

I searched around and found that there was an eMusic downloader. Well, three: one for windows. And one for Mac OS X. and one for Linux.
I use Linux Ubuntu. So I went to my trusty package manager, and searched for 'eMusic', and found the 'emusic remote'. Installed that. Opened it. Couldn't get to eMusic, couldn't get to the songs I had downloaded. trying to download the same again didn't do anything useful.

...So I tried the linux downloader from their site, which was a bit more faff.
I handed it over to my sysadmin at this point. ...
He ended up installing the Windows eMusic downloader under WINE.

So I could finally find the songs I had downloaded and there they were. In mp3 form.

And could I use this thing to connect to the eMusic store? No.
And was everything clear and easy and fun and accessible? No.

And was the windows thingy actually useable under wine? It was not.
Not only was it not clear and easy and fun and accessible, it wasn't even clear in its oh hi, FUCK YOU IF YOU USE LINUX.

so um. I know I am not a geek. I have been happily using Ubuntu because so far it has been a very user-friendly, not getting in the way experience. I want to watch youtube videos and read journals and blogs and play silly flash games and talk to my friends and I can do all that without the computer getting in the way.

The eMusic store didn't mention the downloader in the introduction, in the 'here is what you need to do'. It mentioned customising and telling the store the kind of music you are interested in. There's a video introduction thing, I watched it and that didn't mention the necessity of a downloader either.
And it doesn't work with Linux.

No, I don't care if it worked for you. I don't care for technical suggestions now. My best efforts and the best efforts of the technical expert did not make it easy. Or fun. Or useable.

I cancelled with 19 free downloads to go. I didn't want to risk forgetting to cancel and it flipping over to the paid subscription by accident.

I have Spotify here. I had spotify on the Mac OSX before, and on the ubuntu computer I have it via WINE. I installed it myself, the spotify website had instructions I could easily follow, and now it just works. I can open spotify and listen to music I choose. if people put up a spotify link, I have to copy-and-paste it instead of clicking. That is still easy and useable.

And I have Transmission, that's a bittorrent client that came with Ubuntu, and I have friends who sometimes upload music. And there are blogs that sometimes put up mp3s to listen to.

Brought ihavecake to the Pembury and that seemed to go well. There was beer and food and games and the famous ferret http://twitpic.com/fw1z9
It was a good evening.

Today I failed to go to a television recording of The Big Food Fight, which is hosted by Sue Perkins. Is a food-themed quiz-comedy thing. And has Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall as a team captain.

I have tickets for the television recording of Argumental on the 21st of September. Anyone interested?

Today I cooked mash and fried burgers and the food was ready late, but it was tasty.
remind me to post about carrot burgers at some point.

Rabbits, rabbits.

Things Learnt on Monday:

• How to make an unordered list in HTML



• Banana Curry is tasty

linkses:

http://imgur.com/2UQd.jpg Warning signs about the internets.


http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-09/st_thompson the New Literacy
as examined by Andrea Lunsford

http://gizmodo.com/5348516/cd-case-features-built in-theremin-and-artistic-circuitry-match-that-bittorrent Built-in Theremin!

Geek Social Fallacies


And from the Financial Times, a story that is too long for me to read right now:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/eeca345e-8de1-11de-93df-00144feabdc0.html How Music Changes Through the Years
( Mitch Miller's Part in Pop History )

It's been a very sociable week.

Tuesday had The Pembury, with games, and people. Yay the Pembury.
Played Scrabble, and I kept getting really good letters - I got both a Y and the Z. Which was nice, because both the people I played are better than I am at scrabble.

Wednesday had De Hems, and other people, and music that was too loud, and when recognised, bad and wrong as well. But there were friends I had not seen in a long while, and it was fun. I drank kriek for
megamole :)

Thursday I slept wrong and woke up in the afternoon and avoided socialising. I wanted a break.

Friday - cousin Shay and an Italian restaurant, and a free half-hour on Oxford street, during which I tried on shoes. I even bought a pair.

Saturday - lunch of sushi, then long and long and long trip to Manchester via , er, Sheffield. bank-holiday (long weekend) train-journeys ftl. No, not faster-than-light.
Also, Birchwood. oops. (failed to change for Manchester Airport when it was needed, only realised it late, had to retrace.)
Then Mary's birthday party, which was fun, and full of people, and there were scones and clotted-cream and home-made jam, and cake. Also some passive smoking. crashed at Mary's.

Sunday - I was made tea. also there was ringing-around-for-taxis- where each taxi firm plead fresh out and gave me the number for the next taxi firm. I got to my train with a minute to spare!
Then I had to warn prospective guest not to arrive yet. oops, communications.
Hours and hours of train journey.

Got hoome! Alerted guest. (Guest ihavecake is staying while searching for flat to move into.) Guest arrived, with car full of stuff. She stood at the car deciding what to take and what to send to be stored for later, while I picked things up and carried them up the stairs. Clever guest. Once things were all moved, tea was made.
Took special care to show guest where tea-makings are, and I can now cast 'summon tea' effectively. Hurrah!

Thorfy's Chinese Chopstick Tips
Thorfy's Chinese Stir-Frying Meta-Recipe

Human Biochemistry, The Basics as relating to dieting

Campaign against man-sitting on the train in Boston

A Parody:
Where Are All The Men Bloggers?

And an explanation

*
Affordable Modern Art!

An film I want to see, starring Sophie Okonedo

I did a bit more tidying today, and sweeping. I washed dishes, and so did the beloved, and it doesn't show how much cooking happened on Saturday (there was a curry and pan-fried bread and rice, all by the beloved). Also, a load of washing.

It was hot today, we had the air-conditioner on.

Delilah came to visit and was a delight. It was good to see her again.

***

Jacque Demy made an mpreg film, where Marcello Mastroianni gets pregnant! I had not known that. I hadn't known there'd been an mpreg film before 'Junior' with Emma Thompson (and Arnold Swazenegger). L'événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune (a slightly pregnant man)

I also want to see Les Demoiselles de Rochefort and Peau d'Âne.

In the extras disc for Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, there's a film about Jacques Demy's career and films, by Anges Varda. That's where I learned of 'A Slightly Pregnant man'.

In it, Michel Legrand also talks of composing the music for 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg', and how he and Jacque Demy told each other - this is where the audience would reach for the second handkerchief, this is the third handkechief (for wiping away tears). ... I hadn't known it was a sad film. I knew it was colourful and musical and famous. And as I was watching it, some things were sad, and some were funny, and some seemed like reasonable things to do at the time. None of them seemed crying-sad to me.

***

Side-exclamation: oh! That's Michel Legrande! Wow. He wrote the music for An Animation film by a teacher of mine. No wonder animation-teacher was so awed.

***

Things:
I've attended a house-warming
and a comedy-show on the Camden Fringe

I've watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
and Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium
and Slumdog Millionaire

I've bought new shirts and new trousers.

I have tried an ice-lolly I had not tried before: it's called 'Mister Magic', and it has multicoloured sprinkles on a chocolate (probably chocolate flavoured) cover on pink ice-cream.

I played a game I had not played before: it's called 'Ingenious', and it's a board-game. Played it at the pub, of course.


I've just watched a trailer for an animated film about long-distance friends - penpals, in fact - and I'd like to watch this film: it's called 'Max and Mary' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRjB8PEDkM
(Last time I posted about an animated film I wanted to see, I actually managed to go and see it, I hope it works again).

Today I saw a bit of 'The Day Today' and a couple of episodes of 'Brass Eye'. They're british parodies of news shows. It was horrible and funny and wrong.

I have a game on my computer, on the Windows side: Monkey Island Special Edition. It is a present from the beloved. It has been ...omg, over a decade and a half since I first played 'Monkey Island'.

Sunday afternoon, The Jokerists in Comecidal Lolocaust.
Camden Head, (Nearest tube stop: Camden Town) starts 4:15 in the afternoon, there will be cupcakes after!
I will be there, I'll be glad to see you there, too.

Also on Monday Afternoon and Tuesday Afternoon.

Linkses:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6675065.html?nid=2788&source=link&rid=1328403725 Bloomsbury changed the cover of the book Liar by Justine Larbalestier : the book had a black protagonist with short hair and a photo of a white girl with long hair on the cover. There was criticism about the white-washing, and now the book got a different cover: a photo of a black girl. For the hardback, even.

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/08/06/cover-change/


Gay man wins runner-up prize in EA's Dante's Inferno 'Lust' competition, and tells them what the can do with their money:
http://gaygamer.net/2009/07/update_runnerup_for_lust_conte.html
via
http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/07/gay_gamer_punks_electronic_art.php

I got BOOKS today! Mostly from bravecows, but also one from Housmans, the bookshop on Caledonian Street near King's Cross that also does White poppies at poppy-time. White poppies are for peace and in memory of civillians, as I remember it, but I may not be remembering all: search and see for yourself.

List of Books:

The second book of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson-this is in hardback and it is BIG.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

Gone Fishin' - An Easy Rawlins book by Walter Mosely
(George Clinton, when he was president of the USA said that Walter Mosely was his favourite author. IIRC. Nope, I meant Bill Clinton. Damme. and wikipedia says it was in 1992, while Mr. Clinton was a presidential candidate. Ah yes, I remember it well).

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , Orange prize winner. It's an enjoyable book. It does have heart-breaking times in it, though: it's partly set during the Nigeria-Biafra war.

The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

~~ some of these are because of conciously trying to read more books which are not by white men. Not eliminating reading books by white men - I enjoy reading many books by white male writers - just expanding and reading more voices, different points of view.

*

On Sunday after-next, August 9th, There is Comedy! Part of the Camden Fringe.
Stand-up Comedy in London, UK, by Funny Women, for YOU. http://www.camdenfringe.org/index.php?action=&id=3&disp=details&acts_id=262
(recommended for people over 14 years old).

Have a picture:

That's two of your comedians.


*

ooh, Swing Patrol looks interesting.

A beginner's class of Charleston on Saturday afternoon on Brick Lane for £5 quid, that sounds like fun. http://swingpatrol.co.uk/news-item/456/saturdays-at-brick-lane.php

Also On Thursday 30th June, plinth + swing dancing. What could possibly go wrong? http://swingpatrol.co.uk/news-item/450/trafalgar-square-and-live-art---format-for-the-night.php

*

Some friends in Wales are going to look at the shiny (or not-so-shiny) Steam Train. http://www.pathfindertours.co.uk/Steam.htm

*

I don't like insects at all. The grasshoppers in the flat are unnerving.

*

I meant to thank people for writing about issues in the new StarTrek film , so I didn't have to. People who wrote about what Uhura did and what she wore, and how she looked. liviapenn who wrote about Uhura becoming more central , as her relationship with Spock echoes Kirk's relationship with Bones. bravecows who raised the issue of mostly white american people, and the computer not being able to recognise or understand a specific accent.
It made it easier to enjoy the film, I was not sitting in the cinema getting angry and thinking 'can nobody see how wrong this is? Or how bad that bit is?' I knew I was not alone, and that made it easier to enjoy the fun of the film.

--

Also in my head there are instructions for success at Starfleet Academy...

Be as white and as usanian as you can.
(Spock is an alien, but is still of white human skin-tone, and has a USAnian English accent)(Uhura speaks with an american accent, has straight long hair. Kirk is white, USAnian, and gets to be captain. See how that works?)

Have a famous Starfleet officer hero father.
It'll help you get in, get you asked personally to join, even.

Since even famous officers can express problematic opinions and get into political trouble, or may otherwise fall into disrepute, it's better if this starfleet officer father has died heroically in a space-battle. That way he can stay heroic! And officers who trained in starfleet academy with him will remember him and treat his offspring with the preference they obviously deserve.

Be male.
Seriously, being top of your class *and* in a romantic relationship with one of your professors are not enough to get you the posting of your choice on the ship of your choice. Proving you have capabilities that are above and beyond what the current officer in the posting has are only just enough to get you in.

Look good in Starfleet Uniform
:)