I am awake at 7:30am because I have to do my physical therapy appointment early today so I can get on the road to Laguna by noon. I do not enjoy being conscious at this hour. So I'm staring at my computer screen and doing a meme to try to wake myself up.

( Movie habits meme )

Got the bandage changed again today (well, the ace-- the splint stays 'til Friday), the stitches came out (a week early! I guess it looked good. there's no swelling anymore either), and I WAS ALLOWED TO CLEAN MY HAND.

You should picture spontaneously-appearing forest animals merrily cavorting around a la Snow White when you read those words.

You do not know how haaaaaaappy I am. Hot weather + crusty three-week-old dried blood between my fingers + constricting bandage = STICKING. MAJOR STICKING. I was yanking at my fingers every five minutes to separate them. And now they are cleeeeeeean and happy, or as much as I could do with lots of alcohol pads. Now that the stitches are out and the wound is closed, I can wash my hands for real once the bandage is off. I really miss washing my hands. It is really difficult to wash one hand, and it's not even thought-provoking like the similar koan; it's just tiring and inadequate.

But my arm itches like hell in the bandage, 24/7. It keeps you awake with the itching. ITCHING ITCHING ITCHING. But that'll be over with soon, too.

Friday I go to physical therapy and I'm supposed to get two braces to replace the bandage, a stationary one for sleeping with and one that sort of pulls at your fingers with rubber bands and you have to pull back against it for daytime.

This is unbelievably itchy. I am in a world of itch.

Helen came home last Thursday, exactly a month after her surgery. She's thrilled to be home, I'm thrilled to have her back (calling her every commercial break to talk Mole does not cut it), and my dad's thrilled he doesn't have to come over to scoop cat litter anymore. Helen is doing OK. I didn't burn down the house in the month I was alone or the two weeks I was also handless (mostly I just didn't eat anything in order to avoid the stove and things that are hard to open).

I'm thrilled to have my own bed back, all hard as a board and seven feet in the air (the two of them still think I'm going to break my neck).

I got a bunch of stuff from a guy from the Voltron forums in the mail today, the best being a nice bootleg Daltanias, who's busy battling MP Optimus Prime now. I have Gumby and an Ood cheering them on.

Also I have the package of the century coming tomorrow sometime before 430 and I'm sort of flapping around refreshing the tracking page as if that is going to help it get here faster.

Shoo shoo shoo. You've got a Catband page to finish inking.

What is your present goal?

I am finished with school. Now I just have to wait for them to post grades and do the paperwork.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/23/news/economy/oil/?postversion=2008072311

I think the whole oil crisis has left us more environmentally aware. In addition I really don't care for how these prices are ruining our economy. Like this quote:
"The fundamentals haven't changed, but oil probably rose too high too fast."

Gee you think? Tell that to those who are without a job from the mass auto industry layoffs or to those who need to pay about $2-$3 for a loaf of bread.

I personally wish I have enough insider knowledge to point the finger on who is responsible for this, but aside from a key vote passing investigating on oil speculation, we really need to look towards other alternatives. I think most of us now feel oil is not a reliable fuel source anymore and that's great. i'm with the grain that we need something else and that we save oil for industries where change in technology is very slow/costly, ie airline.

I wish I could tell her she was right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORA MY LOVE

I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night and thought of you and our grand cinematic adventures

<3

thelifelist
A forum for exchanging lists of things you'd like to have done before you die.

ljsecret
Share a secret through the means of art, under complete anonymity.

mourning_souls
A community for cemetery photographers, dark poets and anyone else who appreciates and admires the beauty of cemeteries.

Page 20 is finally up, after an age.

I am sad that this page took so long, because it is one of my favorites. I wrote it one year ago. D:

Read the comic before you read the rest of this.

Everything on this page is from an actual Brooklyn rooms-for-rent Craigslist listing. The Slip 'N Slide hallway I lifted from here. I love that listing so much. When I first saw it I almost wished I needed an apartment (and had money), so I am bestowing it on Amber. It couldn't be more perfect for my purposes: when I first wrote this scene in 2003 she found the listing on a flyer on a lamppost, but it had the exact same kind of qualifications. I am not actually using that listing, of course; you'll see her roommates will be different and the rent and exact location aren't the same (it's also only May at this point), but as an alibi (i.e. proving that the kind of apartment I need here is still available in the neighborhood) and as the lender of the prospect of a Slip 'N Slide hallway, it works quite nicely. THANK YOU, MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS. The qualifications listed there are basically exactly what you should expect Amber's new roommates to be like.

This page is dedicated to my favorite Internet-thief and a certain hilariously computer-inept lender of Internet whom we all know and love. The only free-wifi places around here are yuppie holes. :(

Oh, and while a few people we've seen have Heto's art all over the place, that's Steve's art on every wall of Jill's apartment (he is *prolific*). Poor Steve, we don't meet him for a while and all he has so far is are passing mentions on page 14 and 15.

Now, off to draw some naked people.

So I have been horrendously sick lately. All I will say is it involved birth control and when I told my mother about it she laughed and told me "Stop right now and slap yourself in the forehead like on those V8 commercials"

Today is the first time in a few days I haven't wanted to vomit, so that's good. It didn't help that I've been feeling crappy anyway for some reason. I left work after like 2 hours on Wednesday and felt sooo bad cause I haven't been there that long :x Jennee was very nice about it and instant I went home right then even though I told her I wanted to stick it out as long as I could. She told me on Friday that if I needed to leave to go ahead and do it because they understood and I can't feel better by working.

Ryan has been very sweet and taking care of me <3 I love him lots and feel bad for making him worry.

Sorry to to people who's notes, emails and comments have gone unresponded to. I'll try and catch up in the next day or so. I haven't read LJ in almost a week now, so if I've missed anything important then let me know.

I have to go back to work in like an hour. Faaaaaail. I don't like these weekend split shifts at all. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't live a half-hour away. However, I finally met the manager chick that's been mia since I started and daaaaaaamn is she a bitch. It seemed like everything I did yesterday was wrong even though Carson and James tell me I'm doing just fine! Bitch please, I've taken care of critters from all over the world, I think I can pick up after a dog. I was gonna ask to switch and maybe get Sundays off so I could get a few more hours and not have to do two days of this 4 hours between shifts thing, but I don't think I want to work with her anymore then I have to already during the week :| We'll see how my hours and paychecks go for the next couple of weeks.

Ok, that's it really.

My paid account expired and this makes me extra sad cause I only have 6 icons and they are never the ones that best reflect what I want D:

Later.

The first of my two final classes is now done. I have 1 more assignment for the other class, but I can't turn that in until tomorrow.

Now there will be dog walking.

Click for larger image.

( And complete poster with more cast under here )

They're handing these out at Comic-Con, 1 per person!

I don't know if you get to choose which one you get. I assume it'll either be at the Paramount booth or the freebies booth. I know I have some people on my friends list who are going and probably don't care about ZQ or Trek, so if you get handed one of these and don't want it, would you mind holding onto it for me on the offchance that I don't get that one? I will be very very happy if you do. Thanks. :D

Augh, May 8th is so far away! I hope they release an actual trailer and promotional photos soon.

I've been re-watching some classic Trek lately and it really is amazing how much he looks like Leonard Nimoy. Every once in a while Nimoy will have some particular expression and I'll suddenly see ZQ.

WHY DO I ALWAYS COME HOME FROM CONCERTS WITH BUGS IN MY SHIRT?

Account Structure Update
Back by popular demand, Basic Accounts will be available to all users again by the end of the (northern hemisphere) summer. More information on the decision-making process and proposals relating to the future of Basic Accounts are in lj_2008.

New Themes
Two attractive and all-new Flexible Squares themes, "Circular" and "Circular Brown" are now available.


L to R: Circular and Brown

New V-Gifts
Give someone you care about the gift of enticement. With the new Chocolate Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream, Tea, Coffee, Curry and Sushi v-gifts, all the significant people in your life will be able to share in the longing for the tasty edibles below. Plus, it reminds loved ones you think they're really sweet, really savory or just plain satisfying.


L to R: Chocolate Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream, Tea, Coffee, Curry and Sushi

Ж-Men...but not the ones you might expect!
This week LJ Russia launched Ж-Men, a new comedy series about superheroes, inspired by the LJ communities dedicated to superheros, comics and cartoons. The title's "Ж" comes from ЖЖ, the nickname for LiveJournal in Russia.

Ж-Men's script is written by a group of LJ enthusiasts who also happen to be television professionals. Who knew? Following the premiere, five more episodes will be broadcast over the next two weeks. We hope you find the series fresh and enjoyable.

This is, of course, an experiment for LiveJournal. As always, we'd love to hear what you think!

What is the difference forever relationships and for now relationships?
and/or
What do you miss most when not in a relationship?

A friend just emailed me this: http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/spp08sadv10?rk=GdMKze91cOuDW

Can anyone find more information on this? Here's what I've found so far:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/newsroom/press-releases/proposed-hhs-rule-would-compromise-womens-health-21514.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/washington/15rule.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/07/abortion-reprod.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0708/Dems_rip_Bush_draft_rule_on_abortion.html

I'm always hesitant to panic/get angry about things like this immediately because as the big Orphan Works Bill scare of recent times proves, occasionally these policies can be misrepresented by poor wording and lead to a snowball effect of news sites and people reporting a horrible political plan that doesn't accurately reflect the original proposal.

But if this is true, this is utterly ridiculous. It certainly wouldn't be surprising either considering our president has never made it any secret that he supports fundamentalist Christian beliefs playing a large role in government and US laws.

( Big rant within )

Now that the programming is up and a few of my LJ friends are posting their CC plans, figured I'd post mine.

I'll be there Friday-Sunday. Here's a tentative schedule of my plans/the panels I'll be attending:

( Read more... )

Some of that may change depending on what my friends want to do. I'll be in a wheelchair because I'm still not allowed to put weight on my right leg and there is no way I'm going to try fighting my way through the crowded halls on crutches, so much of my schedule will also be dependent on whichever one of my friends is pushing me around at the time.

I'm going with shoomlah, avorpalllama, and catfish42. I'd love to try to meet up with other friends who're going at some point. If you want to meet up, let me know and we can figure something out.

i don't know how much i can be coherent about thomas disch's death here. i was crying and screaming over the phone at helen, i can't understand why no one cares. how could it take me so long to find out (i found out from somebody's goddamn ebay listing), how there could be so very little treatment in the papers or anywhere. it's like when lloyd alexander died. thomas disch was a new yorker, a great and brilliant man, and the papers don't care. no one even cares.

some bloggers care, but it's horrible that a man like him can go out with so little notice.

his death, as people who actually knew him have said, isn't surprising. i hate saying this, but you knew he was going to kill himself, just not when. someone said they're glad he was able to go on his own terms, and i agree with that-- i am glad he is finally out of his misery, back with charles-- and philip dick and everyone.

it's just so tragic that he had to. his partner of 35 years, charles, died in 2005. he was devastated and he's been deeply depressed since then-- plus all kinds of housing nightmares. his landlord kept trying to evict him out of their rent-controlled apartment on the excuse it was under charles' name. the man was a genius and he wrote goddamn everything-- i mean that in terms of volume and genre-- brilliant stuff, he's won a crapload of awards too, and he had to worry about where he would get money for food. how does this happen?

how can this happen?

he famously never saw any money from the vhs of the brave little toaster. after the brave little toaster disney wanted him to write more stuff for them and, i didn't even know this, he was paid $5000 for the lion king and then shoo, go away, no credit or nothin' for you.

it's a goddamned tragedy that a man like him gets so little notice or credit in life or death.

i am who i am because of thomas disch-- i can't even explain. no one even understands why i'm so upset. helen didn't know who i was talking about. god damn it.

but rest in peace. or if you get to be a ghost, scare some pirates.