The color the sky would be in a static universe

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091101.html

I kind of want to paint the apartment this color.

Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett

Survivor disappoints again

I'm thinking about not watching the rest of this season. It's not because the Bad Person didn't get voted off; there's sound strategy reasons why the players keep voting other people out. The problem is the editors have decided that this guy (who's a misogynist, a narcissist, a liar, and a shitty player) is the funnest thing since bouncy castles and give him ridiculous amounts of screen time. It's one thing to back up his morning routine of made-up pseudo-tai chi with "O Fortuna." That was funny. It's another to spend 35 minutes of each episode watching him bully and smarm his way around camp. That has me alternately swearing at and flipping off the tv for most of an hour. I'm not seeing a good reason to keep watching a show that pisses me off like this.

Maybe b2 and I can talk about Lost over drinks instead.


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: The Abbess of Crewe, Muriel Spark

Sign of the times

I went to get a sandwich from my local Quizno's today, and found a sign on the door saying they were closed as of three weeks ago.

Darn it, I liked my local Quizno's.


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Yes Means Yes, Friedman & Valenti, eds.

L'Heure bleue

As I always say.

I know you do, although I don't believe I've ever actually heard you.



-- Edward Gorey


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman

Anxiety, not seasonal

As most of you have heard, ad nauseam, I got to the bus stop this morning and realized that I didn't have my wallet. I went home and searched, and did not find it. There was panic. I spent the morning all worried, making lists of things I'd have to replace and errands I had planned to run this afternoon and now couldn't because my wallet was gone. My boss pointed out that I could get money from my accounts by the quaint stratagem of entering a bank branch with my checkbook and writing a check to "cash." That was most comforting, and had not occurred to me.

We were freed after four hours' labor, and I sped to the burger joint where I'd gotten dinner last night. Wonder of wonders, they had my wallet, completely intact, behind the register. I <3 my local burger joint.

I went to run my errands, then popped over to M's for dinner with the family: S&D most charmingly met me at the station with umbrellas; K made yummy crepes for dinner; M won two games of rummy tiles; AL&CC obligingly ran me to my doorstep.


Today's earrings: diamonds, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Six Geese A-Slaying, Donna Andrews

Funeral

A lot of people came. Standing room only. A lot of people got up to talk, too. My favorite was one of the widower's baseball buddies who said that he usually tries to talk people out of marrying that young, but once he'd met Mariana, well, it all made sense. "That was the best decision you ever made, bro." Awww.

After, there was a reception. I couldn't deal and bailed rather quickly.


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: The Lyre of Orpheus, Robertson Davies

The web is a most astonishing resource

Tonight I stumbled across a scrap of etymology: Oil of vitriol
Cool, huh?


Today's earrings: turquoise, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Hard Row, Margaret Maron

Happy New Year!

The Guy With The Sign is back, now with more galaxies. Didn't really get a chance to read his new screed, but I note that he still has corporate backing.

I figured out that "Idea and Crafts Production Law" (literal translation) means "Copyright Act." I had this same revelation last year and didn't write it down. I wrote it down this time.

Survivor brought back the horriblest person ever to play the game, only to have him beg to leave at the first opportunity... and he was voted off! I can watch this season without cringing for the entire hour! (Still gonna cringe at the schmoopy couples, but at least they're not vocally proud of the banality of their evil, you know?)

If it goes on like this, the Year of the Rat should turn out ok.


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: To the Hilt, Dick Francis

More delights from the world of reality television

Tiffani won the Top Chef Christmas Special. Finally. This is good.

Erik voted out of Survivor, after Denise makes some decent decisions. Her best shot at this point is to stick with her alliance and hope she gets the last immunity. If she can do that, she can win. Any other path I can see puts her in also-ran territory, so I'm glad she chose to go for the gusto. I didn't like who she chose to take along on the reward. I did like that she took the time to mend fences afterward. If she can get in front of the jury, she has a lock on Peih-Gee's vote.
Courtney shouldn't have shot off her mouth like that.

Yeah, I, too, am good with Victoria staying on Project Runway. I wanted Ricky to go (I hate his hat and his time-management problems).
Elisa seems to have one hell of a resume, like, she's shown at Fashion Week and had her own retrospective and such. I don't know if that's the same as talent, but it is one hell of a resume.


Today's earrings: monkeys, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Rethinking Thin, Gina Kolata

WooHoo!

My business cards came in! I'm official!

Just like a real live girl.
["I was going to put "Real Live Girl" under your title, but HR talked me out of it."
- - Guy who ordered the business cards for me]


Today's earrings: fish, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Fluke, Christopher Moore

The Blues

468. Blueness. --N. blue &c. adj.; garter-blue; watchet.
[Pigments] ultramarine, smalt, cobalt, cyanogen; Prussian --, syenite-blue; bice, indigo, woad.
lapis lazuli, sapphire, turquoise.
blue-, bluish-ness; bloom.
Adj. blue, azure, cerulean; sky-blue, -coloured, -dyed; nazy-blue, cyanic; bluish; atmospheric, retiring; cold.
-- Mark Peter Roget, M.D., F.R.S., enlarged by John Lewis Roget, M.A., new edition revised and enlarged by Samuel Romilly Roget, M.A. [Edition of 1941]


Today's earrings: sapphires, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Maskerade, Terry Pratchett

Numfar! Do the Dance of Joy!

The nice lady in the Mauritius Government Printing Office sent the promised fax. All praise the nice lady in the Mauritius Government Printing Office. :)

Several suits in the office today. My boss was kind enough to remind me that I'd agreed to show them the Happy Dance while they were in town, as they had missed the "75% Complete!" celebration. And then she brought up my promise to perform the Dance of Joy when we get initial updates published on all 104 books... and that day looms nigh. I really need to study up on the Dance of Joy.


Today's earrings: diamonds, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Logorrhea, John Klima, ed.