Prairiecrow's InsaneJournal

You Are a Unique Wedding

For you, love is rare and important. You consider love a gift, and you're know you're lucky for each person in your life who truly loves you. To be unloved would make you feel rejected. You love carefully and deliberately, and you take being loved in return very seriously. Romantic love makes you feel secure and taken care of. You take romantic relationships seriously, even in their early stages. When you're with someone, you tend to quickly build your own little world together. It's likely that outsiders don't truly get your relationships.

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Found via a post on (I believe) dot_pagan_snark...

Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog.

Oh, Jesus, I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. I took Middle English in university, and whoever's writing this inspired parody has got it down pat as far as I can tell.

An excerpt from one of the list of Favourite Posts...

Serpentes on a Shippe! (spoylerez)

Al of Londoun ys aflame wyth newes of the grete entertaynment of 'Serpentes on a Shippe,' the which ys perfourmed ech daye by the menne of the gild of beekeeperes (and thus ys ycleped a 'b-movie'). Ich haue just nowe retourned from a trippe to see yt wyth Litel Lowys and Tommy Vske. Whan ich was ther, Tommy founde for me a copye of the romaunce in fyve chapteres on whiche the performaunce ys based, and Ich shal pooste yt heere for yower redyge. (This writer hath a verye good style - ich am reallye jealous. Oon daye, peraventure, ich shalle write sum thyng of Arthur; and yet, the matir of Troye hath alwey ben easier for me.)

Spoyler alert: If ye haue nat yet sene the performaunce of 'Serpentes on a Shippe,' rede nat of the romaunce, for it doth telle of the manye suprises and straunge eventes that happen in the course of the storye, and thus it mayhap shall lessen yower enjoiement of the performaunce yt self.

...

*wipes eyes*

Maybe you have to be an English major to appreciate it.

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WOW.



( Two more behind the cut )

Yes indeed... back before "Photoshop" was even a gleam in the eyes of the future, it took real painterly talent to create a good movie poster. I stand in awe.

Ended up going to the Keycon Halloween social last night, at the last minute and on the spur of the moment. It started with me going to the Games Day associated with the social, and which took place in the afternoon. When I got to the Legion where it was being held, I found six people already engrossed in a game -- and a huge room otherwise empty except for L.A., who was laying out decorations to put on the walls. I ended up going out with her to pick up pushpins and raffle tickets, lunch at Subway, and the meat order for the social from Cantor's (best meats in Winnipeg!) So I didn't get any gaming done, but I did help set up the hall for the social that evening.

For those of you who aren't from Manitoba, a social is an event where you rent a large hall, get a DJ, and sell tickets, usually $10 each, for an evening's worth of talking and dancing. Long tables are set out with chairs and provided with munchies like potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn. There's a cash bar and another long table set with silent auction prizes (usually huge themed gift baskets, although last night's offerings also included a gorgeous sword). And at midnight there's a buffet with lunch meats, rye bread, cheese, condiments, and more chips.

Last night's music was picked to appeal to the older Keycon crowd: "The Time Warp", "Rasputin", "Doctor in the TARDIS", "Rock Lobster", etc. I only danced once (gotta watch that heart rate still), but I spent a wonderful evening chatting with old friends I've lost touch with and really only see at Keycon. What convinced me to attend, in spite of needing to get work done at home? My friend Tracy B, who wandered into the Games Day toward the end, saw me, and wheedled me into coming out that evening. She even drove me home so I could take my Metamucil, drove me back to the hall, then drove me home again at midnight. What a princess!

( Pictures under the cut )

From the real to the virtual... dragons.

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You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

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THIS is what you support.

(With thanks to ms_daisy_cutter, who brought it to my attention via her blog.)

George's surgery went fine. He's already almost fully recovered, with no need to take even a single T3. His pain threshold must be astronomically high...

Dragons, then off to work.

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All free libraries in Philadelphia to close October 2nd 2009.

All Free Library of Philadelphia Customers,

We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009.

Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009:

All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled
All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers, computer classes and after school programs, will be cancelled. We are exploring the possibility of relocating the Philadelphia Author Series programs to other non-library facilities.
All library visits to schools, day care centers, senior centers and other community centers will cease.
All community meetings at our branch and regional libraries, and the Parkway Central Library, will be cancelled.
All GED, ABE and ESL programs held at Free Library branches will be discontinued, students should contact their teacher to see if other arrangements are being made.

Just... outrageous. And horrible. And a tragedy for the city's poor. If the State Legislature fails to pass funding legislation to keep the libraries open, that would pretty clearly demonstrate that the needs of the general public mean nothing to them.

(With thanks to ms_daisy_cutter for bringing this to my attention.)

( My Interests Collage! )

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There's a new Scott Cunningham book coming out in October:

http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/book.php?pn=H914&ref=CONCunningham062409

Llewellyn is pleased to present a new Scott Cunningham book—a long-lost Book of Shadows. Recently discovered in a battered manila envelope, this previously unpublished manuscript was penned by Scott in the late 1970s or early 1980s. This rare book includes original spells, rituals, and invocations and an herbal grimoire. Featured in the design are Scott's actual hand-written notes and hand-drawn signs, symbols, and runes.

More than ten years after his passing, Scott Cunningham is still an iconic and highly regarded figure in the magical community. His books on Wicca are considered classics, and his writings continue to inspire and inform those new to the Craft.

Am I excited? You betcha!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96288&id=553642182&ref=mf

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97169&id=553642182&ref=mf

Please stop by and have a look, and leave a comment if you're so inclined. She was a beautiful girl, and I promise there are some very cute shots in there. :-)

Many thanks to everyone who took a moment to write condolences and well-wishes concerning Mina's untimely death. Reading your words of comfort helped ease my heartache.

We've gotten through the first couple of days without her. Emmie, our other cat, seems to have realized that I'm no longer "spoken for" and crawled onto my chest for a cuddle this afternoon; I'm so very glad about that, because I was afraid that I was going to be completely bereft of cuddles now that Mina is gone.

It's sinking in, between waves of grief, that there was really nothing we could have done for her. Feline leukemia has no treatment. And that she was lucky to have drawn the "least painful option" card, because anemia sapped her strength but probably wasn't particularly painful, unlike some of the other conditions that FL can lead to in its final stages.

In a month we'll get Emmie tested to see if she's contracted it also. However, two vets that we've spoken to so far think it's likely she hasn't; as an older cat (around 14), she probably has a degree of natural immunity to it, so even if Mina was shedding the virus for several days she's likely shaken it off.

Memories of Mina to follow, when I'm emotionally coherent enough to write them. She was an affectionate girl with a big personality. The gap she's left in our lives will take quite a while to fill again with other things. Here are some photos of her:

( My sweet little girl... gone, but never forgotten )

*sniffle*... *sigh*

And just so they don't die too... my dragons.

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Mina is dead. We took her to the vet and had to have her put down immediately.

Feline leukemia. The vet figures she was infected when she was a kitten living with her feral mother.

We are both in shock. And the apartment has a horrible emptiness to it now.

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Full of spoilers, but oh so worth it. (Tip: Keep watching after it says "The End".)

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The very first ever Blond GUY joke I've seen..... And well worth the wait!

( Don't look at me... )

( And the survey says... )

Just bred my first red Dorkface egg (the last one in line):

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... teh Dragons!

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The little cloud hatchling has less than 17 hours to grow up. Yikes!

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More on Keycon later. Must eat. Urgh.

Breakthrough pain! Only a 3/10, but still, I've slugged it with another Percocet.

I suspect that my brain will shortly be melting out of my ears. Say goodnight, Gracie.

Made a few slight changes. This is the final version.

( Cloud effect added, extreme background details taken away )

I think it looks a lot better.

Seven new species of eggs, with some variants, have been released at DragCave. I managed to snag one.

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Courtesy of lostreach...



If you like it, folks, spread it far and wide. These points need to be heard.

D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium

Not in bed yet. Too restless to sleep.

Everyone else I know is getting Slytherin...

Your result for The Sorting Hat Test...

Gryffindor

You scored 39% Order/Chaos, and 63% Moral/Rational

Take The Sorting Hat Test at HelloQuizzy

Amazon.com says they're "deranking" all adult titles, but in fact they're only censoring LGBT titles.

ms_daisy_cutter has an entry with many excellent links here.

So, what to do about it? As per a press release from Erica Friedman of Yuricon & ALC Publishing:

Amazon De-ranks "Adult" Books?

This is not a crisis, nor should we run screaming, but I think it is important enough that every reader, writer, publisher, editor and all champions of freedom of expression should take note. Amazon has changed its policy and has de-ranked books that it deems "adult" in nature. This includes anything they count as erotica and many non-adult LGBT books, as well.

I do not advocate being outraged. Outrage accomplishes nothing. I *do* advocate a polite, but firm letter campaign asking that Amazon allow sales to indicate sales rank and nothing else. I distrust their definition of "adult" if it does not include Twilight, but does include Annie on My Mind.

Please make a firm request that all books be ranked and that they do not involve behavior that can be seen as censorship or "protection." Please feel free to Digg this or forward it to MLs, forums, sites, etc. The more people who protest politely, the more of an impact we can make.

You can contact the Amazon Executive customer service email at ecr@amazon.com, call the customer service phone number: 1-800-201-7575 or login to your Amazon account and visit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/general-questions.html?ie=UTF8&browse_node_id=468496

As a publisher of LGBT comics, as a reader of whatever I want to read, as a member of the community of humans that prefers to think for myself, I ask for your support against this misguided policy.

Erica Friedman
President
Yuricon & ALC Publishing

... I'm really, REALLY hoping that this is just a glitch in their system. But when it comes to bigotry, sadly, I am rapidly losing my capacity to be surprised.