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Everyone · has · a · story-
I guess this is mine.
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So, yeah, you don't hear from me for ages... Anyway, here's some comic strips about Japan!
Current Mood: |
 chipper | |
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Sci Fi Book Meme
This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov --- Yes. I am a heretic. It bored me.
3. Dune, Frank Herbert*
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein*
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin*
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley*
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury*
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey* --- I attribute loving this one to being 13, though.
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman--- I keep meaning to read this one.
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice* --- See Dragonflight.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin*
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke*
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien*
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson*
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock --- I think I have read this book... I've read some Elric book...
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks --- How did this even make the list? It was the most boring cliche book ever.
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
I'm a little offended that The Song of Ice and Fire books didn't make this list. How was it compiled, I wonder? Significant in whose opinion? Where are Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser? Those books influenced the whole field of comic fantasy, one could say they created the field. What about the Neverending Story? So it was written in German, so what? What about the Princess Bride? That certainly deserves mention before the Sword of Shannara.
Yes, I am an opinionated snob.
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I got to be school photographer today, for a bike riding lesson (including a lot of traffic safety, and a particularly graphic demonstration of what happens when you jump out in front of a moving vehicle...). That was pretty nifty. Though it's particularly challenging to take pictures of some 140 moving children with a fairly low quality camera and bad light (nice and cloudy today) and expect anything good to come of it. I'd be surprised if one in ten turn out. Thank goodness for digital cameras! That's about it for today. |
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Today my cat woke me up at 5:15 with smelly litterbox failure. The day has not yet gotten better. I need a better cat icon. This is from when she was still all little and cute. Instead of concentrated molecular evil with sharp, pointy teeth.
Current Mood: |
 listless | |
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Throw me your two cents and... 1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours. |
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Random, random thought. I was looking at my little weather indicator on my cell phone today (and yes, my phone has a weather indicator... with cute little pictures... I love Japan...) and it's to be sunny for the first time in weeks. Lovely weather. But the little sun is red! I've pondered this in the past but I decided to write about it today, for the simple reason that I have nothing else to do. Hand any little kid at home a piece of paper and ask them to draw the sun, and what color will they make it? Yellow, of course. Logical, since the sun is yellow, right? But hand the same paper to a Japanese child, and they will invariably make it red. How can you look at the sun and see something red? Where do you get red from? Well, really, you can't look at the sun at all, can you? We know it's technically a yellow star, but when you manage that sidelong glance through the clouds or whatever, it comes across as white. And when it's setting, it's clearly red-orange. But we as westerners have as a group gotten together and decided that the sun is yellow, whereas Japanese have, as a group, made the decision that it is red. Hence the little smiling red sun on my cell phone this morning. There are so many little things that our culture and upbringing decide for us- no matter how long I live in Japan, I can't look at a traffic light or a new leaf and claim that it is blue. I can't see a rabbit in the moon. I think the sun is yellow. I don't really know what my point is, here, but I think it's interesting, anyway. Maybe that when even the very colors we perceive are different, is it any wonder we have a hard time convincing out students that it's a good idea to look us in the eye and ask questions (not a problem I actually have, but my little guys haven't quite figured out proper behavior yet...)? Maybe just that immersing oneself in a foreign culture is more difficult than it might first appear? Maybe that I spend too much time looking at my cell phone? Yeah, that's probably it.
Current Mood: |
It's sunny! |
Current Music: |
Clicky clicky typey type. | |
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I may have successfully fought off yet another attack of strep throat- knock on wood. This is really getting silly, but I seriously can't seem to go a week without another sore throat. I don't want to be on antibiotics again, I think that was starting to get to the point where the cure was worse than the disease. Hate antibiotics, really I do. Also, BSG is evil and so is Ron Moore and I hate them like the evil, evil plague that they are... evil. Just evil. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. This is because I am waiting for Aabh's dad to send the second season, grr, grr, snarl. What else? There is nothing in the world quite as awesome as Costco. Nothing. Except for a nice MLT... I have nothing more to say, I don't think. I still live.
Current Location: |
School |
Current Mood: |
alive |
Current Music: |
The stupid Supermarket fish somg is running through my head. | |
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There was a time, way back when, when I was comfortable living on the edge of destitution. I remember buying tea one teabag at a time because the little co-op in Nederland sold them for 10 cents each, or baking bread not because I enjoyed it (though I do) but because flour was cheap. The days of Breakfast Ramen (a fabulous invention of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) djinni). I've been living the good life a little too long, never having to worry about things like that, and I can see a serious change in my attitudes about money. For the most part, of course, being able to eat and buy manga and feed my cat is certainly not a bad thing, but consider- my rent is due tomorrow. I get paid Monday. And I'm not going to pay rent 'til Monday, not because I can't- I'd be left with 50 or 60 bucks but I can pay it- but because I worry that something might happen between now and payday. I mean, what if my cat eats something wierd and I have to take her to the vet? I have to have a cushion! I've got a completely different idea of what the word 'broke' constitutes of, now. I feel put upon if I have to cut back on my dinners out or trips to the karaoke bar, if I decide I need to buy new work clothes and have to wait a week or two. I can't imagine going back to the old way, though. After all, a little complacency is better than a straight week of egg sandwiches. Or pancakes. Though the Breakfast Ramen was pretty yummy. |
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"Eat healthily. A good rule is to eat 10-15 calories per pound of "desired body weight." If your ideal weight is 170 lbs, then consume 1700-2550 calories a day (1700 for sedentary individuals and 2550 for extremely active types.)"Ran into this bit of healthful advice on a page of tips on cold prevention. So let's see... I'm about 110 pounds but I'd rather be 120, so I should eat between 1200 and 1800 calories a day. Even if we assume I'm active (ride my bike to work, classroom on the third floor, play with the kids at lunch...) and thus get to eat 1800 calories, I'd still be on the verge of starving myself. And 1200- I want to get almost that much out of one meal (slight exaggeration here, but really). 1200 calories is enough for a sedentary 8-year-old. People should think before they put stuff like this on the internet. If we can't trust the internet, what has the world come to? Of course, the whole reason I was at the page in the first place is because I feel like I'm coming down with something, again. Would make it like the 12th time this year. If anyone has any magic not-get-sick tricks (other than "don't work at elementary school"), please tell me.
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blah | |
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Yesterday I taught the teachers at my school the word "spork". And that made my day, because they all got it and laughed. Sporks make everything better. Now, for that birthday meme. Good day for declarations of war and plane crashes... 1. Type in your birthday (minus the year) in the search bar at Wikipedia.com
2. List three interesting events, two births, and one death that happened on your birthday. Events-
Dec 8, 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room, the second public library of Europe.
-----This is appropriate. 1941- World War II: Pacific War - After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the U.S. Congress passes a declaration of war against Japan.
-----And so did a bunch of other countries. Japan didn't pay it much mind, and up and attacked Hong Kong. 1980 - John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York City.
-----My mommy and I sat around in the park holding hands with a bunch of other hippies and singing "Give Peace A Chance." Births-
1542 - Mary Queen of Scots (d. 1587)
-----I love this woman. 1832 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
-----And this guy just has a cool name. Deaths on Dec 8 are pretty boring and it would just be silly to say John Lennon again...
899 - Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 850) And that's that. I don't really have much to write about here, I'm noting. ( Hmm. I get to be cold, miserable, and then die- Imaginary world quiz ) |
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I should make the best out of this internet thing while it lasts. But I probably won't. I think my life will be better without internet, honestly. I lose hours doing absolutely nothing and I have nothing creative to show for my life over the last year. Pretty sad. So for that, and money reasons, I'm thinking I'm not going to put internet in at the new place. I just don't need those kind of distractions. I can do email and forums and stuff from work, and really, what more do I need? So, yeah, internet free Maia. Maybe y'all will see some actual art or something out of me. Maybe a novel. That would be pretty spiffy. Although, I predict something more like 'reading a bunch more novels.' Meh. I need to go to bed and kill my cat. ( This just in- I cause blindness! )
Current Mood: |
cat must die | |
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I note that Livejournal will not allow 'killing you with my brain' as an interest. This is what I do when I'm supposed to be packing.
Current Mood: |
 procrastinating | |
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I have fun taking these tests, but I wish the people who wrote them would check their grammar. Apostrophes are our friends. So are capital letters. Not the result I expected; in fact, it seems very off. But okay, whatever. ( The Tarot Card Meme. ) |
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So today I have to start moving. Again. One of these days, I'm actually going to live in a place for more than a year, and it will be the upper end of awesome because moving is HELL. I don't expect my cat will make it any easier. In fact, I expect she will do quite the opposite, as she is a demon disguised as a small fuzzy kitteny critter. A friend of mine, also moving, dropped off a box of stuff that she was giving to Guy, who hasn't got an apartment yet, so I'm holding on to it. That was a lot of commas. Anyway, said box is seriously big and heavy and stuff, and packed full of all sorts of random possibly useful stuff. So this morning at 6:47 precicely, I hear a beeping noise. Given that it's 6:47, my mind is not entirely there, and the first thought I have is that it's maybe a fire alarm. Of course, the fire alarm didn't go off when I burnt an entire pan of soup to rock hard cinders a couple weeks ago, and I'm not certain I actually have one, but the morning mind does not recall such things. I sleep naked. One of my perennial fears is that someday in the middle of the night there's going to be a fire or an earthquake or something equally catastrophic and I will be forced to go running outside stark naked and clutching a cat. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any cause for that, nothing was burning or shaking, just beeping. Emanating from the Box of Doom. And just as I had started to search for it, it stopped. Okay, great. No more beeping, getting on with the morning, make coffee, start thinking about shower... beep beep beep beep... This is now getting annoying. Still have not had coffee, still have no brain. Cat is demanding food in her most convincing underfoot fashion. And I start tossing things out of the Box of Doom. Hangers, pots, pans, mirrors, cups, sheets, Aha! A clock. With a snooze button! I win! Only, no, because nothing happens. Push every button, pull out the battery, no dice. What the hell? So I stand there stupidly holding this clock until the beeping stops again. Well, I have the Box of Doom half empty, might as well finish it. Turns out the culprit is one of those extremely cheap prepaid cell phones that are so popular in Japan. I can tell, because it says "snooze mode" in the screen... and because it's started beeping again. So I push some buttons. Nothing. This is very annoying. I can't turn the damn thing off. I've lost three quarters of my morning to this thing. AARGH! It takes me yet another round of beeping to come up with the idea of pulling the battery out of this one. I am not at my best in the morning. So her I am, on what is going to be my busiest day in weeks, lots of classes, moving after work, and I get no breakfast and no shower due to this stupid thing. The moral of this story? Perhaps it should be "Don't accept boxes when you don't know what's in them." Or maybe "Check whether you're giving a bomb to your friend." Or "Never eat soggy waffles." I don't know. Who sets an alarm for 6:47, anyway?
Current Mood: |
 cranky | |
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Blaze
~ 59% Water ~ 62% Wind ~ 51% Earth ~ 81% Fire ~ |
I've got a ruby red desire
I've got to hear the red bird sing...
Let's see... your personality reminds me of the...
...fiery Ruby, the red variety of corundum, or its little sister, the Garnet that inspires love, passion and sensuality. Your colour is the luscious red or glaring pink.
Interpretation:
Out of the seven chakras, the Ground Chakra, which is associated with the element of fire and represents our basic desires and driving force, seems to be predominant in you. Though you will certainly be fun to be around, this may result in a tendency to make decisions impulsively or feel restless and agitated.
You can balance it by wearing an Aquamarine or a Turquoise; they both inspire balance, peace and serenity.
A Tarot references concerning your predominant element:
If you are a young lass or lad and still unmarried your card is the Page of Wands. Young women, especially married ones, identify with the Queen of Wands, also known as the Queen of Clubs. If you are a young, unmarried man, you are the Knight of Wands, and married or mature males are identified with the King of Wands, commonly known as the King of Clubs. Ladies and gentlemen, here is your strong-willed man you've been looking for.
These are the results you will get if you score highly on...
None of the four elements: Balance Wind: Gust Fire: Blaze Water: River Earth: Valley Wind & Fire: Thunder Wind & Water: Clouds Wind & Earth: Canyon Fire & Earth: Lava Fire & Water: Tornado Water & Earth: Trees Wind, Fire & Earth: Storm Wind, Fire & Water: Stars Wind, Water & Earth: Forest Fire, Water & Earth: Avalanche All four elements: Harmony |
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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You scored higher than 59% on water |
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You scored higher than 13% on wind |
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You scored higher than 27% on earth |
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You scored higher than 88% on fire |
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Very Smart
You scored 85% knowledge, and 0% confusion |
| You are very smart. You know a lot of details about the world. You have probably traveled a bit and were paying attention along the way. Also, you didn't choose any (or many) seriously incorrect answers. Great job on that part. Don't forget to vote on this test! |
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My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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You scored higher than 42% on knowledge |
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You scored higher than 0% on confusion |
| Hah! As usual I am very good at guessing on tests. Sadly, that has actually become a useful life skill in modern soceity. Yay I know stuff! |
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