Jezebel's Journal

Too hot to post

2008-05-17T21:50:41Z

Feeding the bees,
originally uploaded by kightp.

... or even sit at the computer for more than a minute or two. I just came upstairs for another glass of lemonade, and to check on a bunch of photos I was uploading to Flickr.

Here: Have a pretty picture. There are more where that came from.

Back to the basement I go.

Go, California Supremes!

2008-05-15T17:41:17Z

Surely I'm not the first on your friendslist to pass the news along, but count me among the most happy:

California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban.

Kinda feels like Valentine's Day 2004 all over again.

Not the end of the struggle - the struggle never ends - but one more step along the way.

ETA: The law-geeks among you can read the entire 172-page opinion here, in .pdf format. Or, heck, print it and tuck it into the family bible, along with your marriage license, for posterity.

Happiest of birthdays ...

2008-05-14T13:54:23Z

... to janetmiles! I hope your day is splendid, and the year ahead even more so.

Happy birthday, dear grillghod ...

2008-05-14T13:53:37Z

Happy no-emergencies-with-big-damned-medical-machines birthday to yoooooou!

(And I'll ask saoba to give you a nudge, since she reads this thing rather more often than you do...)

Happy birthday ...

2008-05-12T13:38:03Z

hobbitbabe! May the day be wonderful, the near-term future exciting in *good* ways, and the year ahead filled with good things.

Obama in Albany

2008-05-10T18:52:47Z

Barack Obama
Originally uploaded by kightp

saoba sums up the rally, and I can't describe it better than she did. Except to say that fan-girl "OMG history in the making!" squee aside, that was one hell of a political address.

And I'm not talking about the R-word. Yes, Obama is a skilled rhetorician - we've all heard those speeches, seen him whipping crowds into a "Yes we can" frenzy. This was not that speech. This was a solid hour-and-a-half of detailed, frank and specific policy talk by a man who clearly knows his subjects inside and out - and isn't afraid to say what he doesn't know , and how he'll find out (including the memorable and refreshing words "I'll base my decisions on science").

He talked to us like adults. He didn't dumb it down, or promise us the moon, or offer a return to the mythical American Standard of Living. He reminded us that we've got a lot of work to do to recover from the damage the last eight years has done to our economy, our culture, our reputation in the world. And that we're all going to have to make sacrifices.

That sacrifice stuff? Got the biggest applause of the day.

History in the making, folks. I'm so glad I was there.

80-some photos of the man and the event if you click on the one in this post. Enjoy.

PSA: Shinies for a good cause

2008-05-06T23:31:46Z

If you like lovely things, like to support good literary causes and have some spare cash, then head on over to the Interstitial Arts Foundation jewelry auction, where you can bid on gorgeous pieces by the likes of elisem and copperwise, were inspired by the first Interfictions anthology and the stories therein.

Yummy stuff. Really.

Damn, I keep doing this

2008-05-06T16:41:59Z

Leaving my computer glasses at home, that is. One day a month, on average, and today's the day.

Which results in my peering at the screen through the bottom of my bifocals, which leads to a sore neck and the general inability to focus on *anything*, near or far. By the end of the day, I'll probably have to spend 15 minutes in the parking lot staring at the horizon before my eyes will focus enough for me to drive.

(I had this more or less solved for a while; I keep my *old* computer glasses permanently in my briefcase, since that part of my prescription hasn't changed much. But at the moment, those specs are stored at the theater with the rest of the "Rabbit Hole" props, as I've been using them as the reading glasses my character is supposed to have.)

Happy birthday ...

2008-05-06T15:43:40Z

... to davehogg, one of my oldest friends on LJ!

Keep your hands off my Flickr

2008-05-04T15:09:26Z

Microsoft walks away from Yahoo purchase.

Excellent.

Happy birthday ...

2008-04-30T14:28:59Z

tersa!

Happy birthday ...

2008-04-29T16:50:25Z

chakolate, from one old broad to another. (-:

Oregonians: A political PSA.

2008-04-25T15:21:04Z

If you aren't registered to vote in the May 20 presidential primary - or if you need to re-register because your address has changed since the last time you voted, or because you'd like to switch party affiliations so you can, say, vote in a presidential race where your vote will actually matter - you have until the midnight on April 29 to do so.

The state Elections Division provides a .pdf registration form and instructions here. You can mail it in (as long as it's postmarked no later than the 29th), or - to be safe - drop it by your county elections office. Here's where they are

Because of changes in federal law, you now have to provide ID when you register. A current, valid Oregon driver's license will do, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you don't have one of those, check the Elections Division site for your options.

Why register? Because you can. And because, against all expectations, our sixth-from-last-in-the-nation primary actually counts this year, at least on the (D) side of the ballot (and, I suppose on the R side if you're a Ron Paul fan - he's still on the ballot here).

Fancy that.

There are also some pretty significant state races on the ballot. If you threw away the voters' pamphlet you got in the mail, you might want to check it out here.

Happy birthday

2008-04-21T14:50:58Z

... marypcb! I hope it's an enjoyable one, and that the year ahead brings many fine adventures.

Amazing photographs

2008-04-21T01:39:50Z

... of the places we've discarded and let decay:

http://www.abandonedamerica.org/

Some pretty terrific prose with some of them, too.

Happy birthday ...

2008-04-19T16:16:21Z

jackiejj! I hope it's a lovely one, and full of quiet joys!

So much for gardening ...

2008-04-17T21:04:07Z

It's been pretty out today, I don't have anything much planned for the weekend and I'd been thinking it would be a great time to get the garden cleaned up and maybe put some lettuce and peas in the ground.

This, from the National Weather Service.

Statement as of 1:50 PM PDT on April 17, 2008

... Unseasonably cold weather with very low snow levels and near
record low temperatures in store for southwest Washington and
northwest Oregon this weekend...

All of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington will be affected
by an unusually Cold Spring weather system this weekend. This
system will bring significant snow to the mountains and
foothills... accumulating snow to elevations as low as 1000
ft... and near record cold overnight lows to the valley floor.

The timing of the cold weather is late Friday through Monday. The
sharpest drops in temperatures will occur Friday night into
Saturday. Snow levels will approach values more in keeping with
mid winter than early Spring. The snow levels will certainly
descend to the lower foothills... and its possible that non
accumulating snow could fall at elevations of 500 ft or less.

The coldest morning lows will be on Sunday and Monday. These
temperatures are going to challenge records at a few locations and
will be cold enough to harm tender vegetation.

This weekend... do protect any vulnerable Spring plants... and prepare
for mid winter like conditions if traveling through the mountains
and foothills.

OK, then.

Maybe I'll buy some seeds and potting soil and get some vegetables started indoors.

Happy birthday ...

2008-04-17T14:41:13Z

... to the inimitable mactavish! Have some fun, kiss a dog (or a boy (or a girl (or embrace the power of "and")))!

It's already yesterday ...

2008-04-15T14:38:02Z

... what with the International Dateline and all, but nonetheless: Happy birthday, ruthlawrence! I hope it was a fine one, and that the year ahead is filled with goodness.

Happy birthdays ...

2008-04-10T22:04:05Z

... to karenkay and tiger_spot - almost belatedly. It's been a busy day.

I hope your day has been splendid, both of you, and that the year to come brings only good adventures.

Nifty article: Online research

2008-04-05T17:57:44Z

Online Research When Google and Wikipedia Are Not Enough , by hhw in the latest issue of Broadsheet, the newsletter of Broad Universe, dedicated to supporting the work of women science fiction writers. It's just chock-full of great links to research tools, including the new-to-me Internet Public Library, which just rocks my socks.

I do love librarians.

Happy birthday ...

2008-04-04T18:23:27Z

gramina! May the day be wonderful, and the year ahead full of good things.

If you like opera ...

2008-03-31T20:19:47Z

... or just enjoy reading good writing about music, musicians and the world of classical performance, then you'll probably love the blog my friend leboyfriend is writing for the Portland Opera Co. To make it easy for you, I've syndicated his RSS feed to LJ:

operamanfeed

(Looks like it will be tonight before LJ's Magic Genies populate the feed; meantime, you can check the blog at its source:
http://www.portlandopera.org/blog/operaman)

It's wonderfully engaging, gossipy and way more fun than the phrase "opera writing" might suggest.

A little bird told me ...

2008-03-26T16:33:34Z

... it's sanguinity's birthday.

O Happy Day!

Hey - I almost missed a birthday!

2008-03-22T03:18:40Z

Happy birthday WEEKEND, millibean! I hope you're having fun!