The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

So apparently, the fastest way to get me to add a book to my wishlist is to tell me that somebody is protesting it and wants to burn it. Stacey got me an awesometastic "I Read Banned Books" bracelet for Christmas - clearly, she knows me well. I'm sure this says something about the psychology of Dani, but it doesn't take any kind of degree to know that I'm a bit contrary.

This is...impressive. Granted, I don't have a HUGE array of experience, but Don Giovanni and La Boheme are two of my favorite operas, I've heard nothing but good about Porgy & Bess, and Daughter of the Regiment looks fun.

Season passes. I wants them. $500 is perfectly reasonable, right?

So, collarnojutsu posted this a few days ago, and I totally missed it because I suck. Then I found it linked somewhere else, and laughed like a banshee until I cried. Seriously, there's so much funny contained here that I don't think I could decide on a favorite line. So here I am, to share the joy with you all. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH!



(Note to self: Check painkiller dosage. Fibro was flaring bad earlier, now I'm not in pain but am full of the...something)

...

They were JUST in town a couple of weeks ago, too. I'd so have taken off work for that. Because DUDE.

(This entry brought to you by a random character in the book I'm reading who was named Graydon.)

This guy is kind of my hero. Anger management fail FTW!

AURRRGH!! And that's a scream of rage, not piratey pirateness. Because I FORGOT IT WAS THIS WEEKEND AND NOW I CAN'T GO!!

Woecakes, I haz them.

Oh, Japan...the world will never be ready for you...

Hat tip to cutelildrow!

WUT.

I...I got nothin'...

...I want one.

I am in need of pretty cocktail pictures - ones involving the colors brown/tan, wine, purple, blue, and green especially. Anyone know of where I can find some on the internets?

ETA: I could just, you know, search Flickr for cocktail groups. *headdesk* SO!! Another question for the braintrust:

-I have a friend with a Mac - don't have more details than that at the moment - who's having an absurd amount of trouble doing pretty much anything. Especially when she's running photoshop. It took her FIVE HOURS to upload fewer than fifteen pictures to Etsy, which is pretty much insanity. Anyone know enough about Macs to offer up some suggestions on how to clean things up and make it run smoother? With Windows, it's easy - clean out the crap, and then defrag, and that seems to take care of most people's problems. Macs? I don't know enough about them to really be able to help.

Soooo....Any Rav types want to give me some love? *flutters eyelashes in a fetching fashion*

I've had half an hour of sleep, and it's not looking like I'll be getting any more. So I'm going to post a million pictures to remind myself of why I haven't strangled him yet.




This is where we're at now. I can't exactly go to bed and leave him out here unattended. Sigh.

( Onward pictures! )

Brandon Sanderson has written an heroic fantasy depending on originality of character and plot.
His heroines and heroes are outstanding -- especially Vasher, the Warbreaker, whose special relationship with his sentient sword is both sardonic and sinister. The mysteries of life after death, of identity and destiny, the politics of magic, are unveiled through three-dimensional characters.

Not only has Sanderson drawn a freshly imagined world and its society, he has also given us a plot full of unexpected twists and turns. In subtle prose, noteable for its quiet irony, Sanderson tells the story of two sisters and the god they are doomed to marry. Anyone looking for a different and refreshing fantasy novel will be delighted by this exceptional tale of magic, mystery and the politics of divinity. It's fair to say Warbreaker might even take your breath away!
--Michael Moorcock

...I'm going to have to buy the hardcover, aren't I?

I have beer. Blackberry Witbier, to be precise. And about ten pounds of freshly picked end of season strawberries. And nobody else in the house is awake. This is...just about perfect.

This is dumb. Hiding your fiber by not listing it on public utility maps, are you serious? Hiding it by openly labeling it something else completely different that has every right to be there makes SO much more sense, and cuts down on the interference with your daily operations. "We don't have a single point of failure. Our systems are redundant." Riiiiiight. Keep talking, you might convince yourself. Yea, I've been working on "highly redundant" military and government projects for seven years now, and they pretty much are never as redundant as the planners think they are.

(Aside: I was just attacked by a Giant Scary Killer Spider from Mars. NOT COOL.)

My goal for June is to finish six skeins of yarn. In addition to other projects, and note that I don't mention how many I plan on starting. My usual goal is 3-4. Mids doesn't start until July, Mini Bossman runs me ragged on work days, and the Ninja is...a wee bit tense on the weekends now that he's working again. Should be interesting - I'll need the spinning just to stay sane.

ETA: This just made me snort water out of my nose:

*chortles like a madwoman*

Spinning? It's like soothing crack for my brain. I've broken down and started bringing projects with me everywhere...including work (mostly for Fridays and Saturdays, after the real work is done). If you ever want every random person who sees you to strike up a conversation? Bust out a spindle. For serious. I've had more conversations with coworkers today than I think I've had all week, and I haven't exactly been quiet. I'm also making progress on my maybe-lace project that's been dormant since December. (It'll probably end up closer to a light fingering, but that's still major progress for me!) It's preeeeeetty - a gorgeous blue/brown blend with plenty of sparkle that twists and changes at random.

This post brought to you by the letter 'B' (for boredom), and the number Crackferret.

Ok, it's official, I have now heard about the strangest job evah. And, trust me, I've heard about some strange jobs (although I'd love to hear about more if you've got them!)

In one of the crafting communities I'm in, a girl was talking about a gift she made for a friend of hers, whose job is...shaving the genitals of butterflies. Shaving. Butterfly. Genitals. And then sexing them. Presumably in the "are you a boy or a girl" way, but given how the job description started off, it's really hard to be sure.

There are no cupcakes. This makes me Very Sad.

Ok, I rarely watch TV and never American Idol, but a friend sent me this and it's almost stupidly awesome. Thus.

I am SO AMUSED!

The shit is heretofore ordered to never hit the fan in the quantity it did today. Also, I plan on strangling some of my airmen with their own entrails. Who wastes FIVE HOURS of my time troubleshooting the wrong servers? When ours weren't even turned on! FAIL. SO MUCH FAIL. And in the meantime, I have six other crises I'm trying to triage, with multiple Important People and our freaking commander literally breathing down my neck and asking for updates every two minutes. On different things. Making it impossible to focus on any one thing for long enough to get it working.

SO MUCH STRESS RIGHT NOW.