
Aubrey Beardsley
~~~
The Fairies
William Allingham (1824–1889)
UP the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!
Down along the rocky shore
Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes
Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain lake,
With frogs for their watch-dogs,
All night awake.
High on the hill-top
The old King sits;
He is now so old and gray
He’s nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist
Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys
From Slieveleague to Rosses;
Or going up with music
On cold starry nights
To sup with the Queen
Of the gay Northern Lights.
They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back,
Between the night and morrow,
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of flag-leaves,
Watching till she wake.
By the craggy hill-side,
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn-trees
For pleasure here and there.
If any man so daring
As dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.
Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!
~~~
06/18/2006
Lots of good recommendations to be found there, if you enjoy slash fic.
- Mood:
rushed
Read & sign her petition here.
I've also sent emails to both Sen. Clinton & Sen. Patty Murray (as suggested here, with relevant links) thanking them for their support of women's rights and their opposition to this proposal.
***
A related topic:
Unfortunately, there are still many who don't understand the basics of the reproductive system and how emergency contraception works. Emergency contraception is contraception - it is preventive - it prevents ovulation, and thus also fertilization, from happening (as there's no egg to fertilize) - but it does not have any effect on a fertilization that has already taken place. It is not abortion.
For an easy-to-understand, thorough explanation of how emergency contraception actually works, see this post from 2006 by biologist P.Z. Myers. (Warning: He makes no bones about his extreme distaste for the Religious Right.) I believe I've linked this post before, but it's been awhile.
***
So to continue the political theme ... you may have heard of Oklahoma County, OK Commissioner Brent Rinehart, who published a homophobic comic as part of his re-election strategy. A few sample scans are at that link, or you can download the full 16-page PDF. Now in a followup interview Rinehart defends himself: "One person's mud-slinging, I guess, is another man's issues."
County Assessor Leonard Sullivan stated, "I've really encouraged him on more than one occasion to get professional help. He really needs it."
Really.
***
Personal post to follow at some point. I'm about to make a mid-year resolution to force myself to make regular posts. Like NaBloPoMo, except
- Mood:
grumpy
- Mood:
enthralled
Jon Swift on the controversial New Yorker cover. I'm still laughing. (Also, I did almost inhale a pretzel, so please take my choking hazard warning seriously.)
***
And as a sobering chaser, I couldn't make a "no time to post" post without linking every one of you to
Life in this here USA ... sometimes it seems 49% of the population has drunk the funny Kool-Aid.
- Mood:
indescribable
- Mood:
amused
1. A favorite book!
2. A book that affected you in your YA years.
3. A favorite fantasy novel.
4. A favorite sci fi novel.
5. An awesome book (possibly a favorite) you think not many people around you have heard of/read.
6. A book you own more than one copy of.
7. An author whose every single book you own/will buy.
8. The worst book you've ever read.
9. A book you dislike that lots of other people you know like.
10. The most difficult book you've ever read.
11. Tell me what kind of books your mom reads/read.
12. What have you read so far this year?
13. What are you reading now?
14. What are you reading next? (list! list! You know you want to)
( My answers )
This is fun ... if anyone on my flist would like to do this, I'd love to see your answers!
- Mood:
curious
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well, let's see.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE, and
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read only 6 or less and make them read more!
I liked most books I've read from the list, but it is hard to say I "loved" books like 1984 and Animal Farm, or Lord of the Flies, for example. I was deeply enthralled by Wuthering Heights and Les Miserables, but did I "love" them? Hmmm.
I also suspect a re-read of the Chronicles of Narnia at my age would inevitably erase my love for it and have me deleting that underline - and this is one reason I fear to re-read it!
- Mood:
moody
(And I can spell my own name: DOI. ... Oh shut up, I'm still laughing at that one.)
***
Your result for The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test...
Owl

supposing that it is a very Blusterous day outside?"
"Very," said Piglet, who was quietly thawing his ears,
and wishing that he was safely back in his own house.
"I thought so," said O-wl. "It was on just such a
blusterous day as this that my Uncle Robert, a portrait of whom
you see upon the wall on your right, Piglet, while returning in
the late forenoon from a-- What's that?"
You scored as Owl!
ABOUT OWL: Owl is considered highly educated because he can spell his own name (WOL) and he can even spell Tuesday... although he doesn't always get it right. Owl is a good sort, really, although he can be a bit of a stuffed shirt, and he tends to overlook the smaller details in life - like the fact that his bellpull is actually someone's tail.
WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are confident and you feel capable of dealing with whatever life throws at you. You know that you can handle just about everything... mostly because you know how to delegate the job of actually handling things to the people around you. You aren't one of those Bisy Backsons, who rush around trying to do everything at once. You prefer to stay at home and reflect on life, rather than go out and live it.
Sometimes, you know, you need to stop waiting for things to come to you and go out and get them. You need to go enjoy the weather, smell the fresh air, and pay attention to the little people in your life. They may not be as great as you... but maybe they could use your help.
Take The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test at HelloQuizzy
- Mood:
quizzical
Your result for The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test...
Rabbit

woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him.
It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a
Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought
About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh,
and saying, "Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet," and then going
to Piglet, and saying, "Pooh thinks--but perhaps I'd better see
Owl first." It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody
said, "Yes, Rabbit " and "No, Rabbit," and waited until he had
told them.
You scored as Rabbit!
ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned.
WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out.
You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.
Take The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test at HelloQuizzy
- Mood:
quizzical
::wants::
"Teach the Controversy" teeshirts
Elsewhere, I found this tee, which I do not want to wear, but it did make me laugh: God Watches You Poop.
***
More fun:
Hulk Smash! review (or reviewer): hilarious review of the new Hulk film - warning: he did *not* like it!
Dr. Doom Loves 'My Little Pony.' (Thanks to
***
In other news, I just finished reading A Stabbing For Sadie by Wednesday Lee Friday, and it was seriously kickass. I was glued to the pages, which hardly ever happens anymore, because I seem to have some form of adult ADD when it comes to reading - it's either got to be very short, or I hop around taking tiny bites of four different things at once. I can't wait for her next book to come out ... should be sometime this Fall. Anyway, consider this a recommendation. It's hard to describe the story without making it sound bleak - a first-person narrative involving mental illness, childhood abuse and murder - but it doesn't seem bleak. Sadie's a really compelling and empathetic character. I know I'll be rereading this.
Next up: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer - involving in a whole different way, being nonfiction and about the FLDS cult. I have 2 other books waiting, both by women who escaped/left the FLDS. And piles and piles of other books after that, both fiction & nonfiction. I may not live long enough!
scent of the day: bpal's garden path with chickens
- Mood:
cheerful
Ginmar blogs the zombie uprising
'The Growlers' - short story by Wednesday Lee Friday
***
Random coolness:
6 unusual uses for paper clips
Red wine glasses based on the 7 Deadly Sins
An adopted fawn and his new family - including kitties and a Great Dane! (Super cute!)
- Mood:
awake
"The Raw Story is an alternative news nexus. We draw upon a panoply of news sources and select those stories we think most intriguing to a audience seeking news underplayed by the mainstream media.
"At the core, our goal is to unearth and spotlight stories underplayed by the popular press, in particular those which highlight betterment and open people’s eyes to injustice throughout the world."
(x-posted to
Hopefully this will be all over the news tomorrow and there will be a full transcript (I don't think one is available yet.)
As I've been reading, this is a good thing no matter what the outcome - because for one, it puts limits on what records may be destroyed; for another, it puts the administration's misdeeds into the public record; and for a third, it may prevent Bush from going to war with Iran.
Can't wait to see the transcript (if anyone finds it, please link me up)!
ETA 6.10.08: 65-page PDF of the resolution, detailing the 35 articles: http://www.democrats.com/files/amomento
- Mood:
surprised
The Human Rights Campaign, which exists to promote the legalization of same sex marriage, is calling for people to sign their petition in favor of same sex marriage. They are looking to present an overwhelming show of support for this issue to counteract the press attention that the anti-gay organizations are getting for their efforts.
Please repost at will and get the message out!
(Hat tip to
- Mood:
hopeful
The True Story of the Missing Jewish Women in Block 24 by
The Holocaust is not very far in the past, yet so much has already been forgotten, ignored, even willfully denied.
People share knowledge and memories in the comments as well. Not to be missed.
ETA: I forgot to mention - LJ has an RSS feed for the above blog:
- Mood:
hopeful
The community aims to influence selection of LJ Advisory Board members - bringing in both the Russian and "Everything other than Russian" voices to hopefully influence SUP in a way that is positive for users.
From the post linked above:
"The need to stand up for free speech on LiveJournal is especially critical in Russia, where LiveJournal user Savva Terentyev is behind bars today, facing the possibility of two years imprisonment for posting anti-police comments. [...]
"I am anouncing the creation ofljunited. A coalition of concerned LiveJournal users who believe that the best, truest, most honest encapsulation of our shared aspirations for LiveJournal have their roots in the promises we started off with.
A LiveJournal that is at its best, when it is:
Working with with the community, for the community.
Honoring the status of every account.
Maintaining the uptime and performance of the site.
Staying advertisement free.
Never sending us unsolicited e-mail.
Supporting the Free Software movement.
...and their final promise, to safeguard our privacy.
It is our goal to make this platform the gold standard by which all others are measured. One which we will encourage *ALL* LiveJournal members and all potential candidates to sign up for. A strong, unified movement of LiveJournal members, each commited to the premise that the promises that were made to us then should be our aspirations now."
And see the inaugural post at
- Mood:
hopeful
And the Y Chromosome Reserves.
This is about real life behavior - something we can all do, anytime, anywhere. The more of us, the better. In other words, be the change you want to see in the world - and this is an excellent way to put that sentiment into practice.
Please read & sign on!
- Mood:
hopeful
For the text version (blog format) of the Skeptoid Critical Analysis Podcast.
"Skeptoid is a weekly podcast dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture.
"Each weekly episode focuses on a single phenomenon — paranormal, spiritual, alternative, or just plain stupid — that you've heard of, and that you probably believe in. Skeptoid attempts to expose the folly of belief in such phenomena, and more importantly, explains the factual scientific reality.
"From the sublime to the startling, no topic is sacred, politically incorrect though that may be."
(x-posted to