Syzygy.

There are sex toys. There is bondage play. There is porn, and cosplay, and all sorts of other things designed to enhance the sexual experience.

But.

Somehow last night, a Thursday evening, late-to-bed, accoutrement-free, completely vanilla "quicky" was transformed into 45 minutes of some of the most mind-blowing, awesome sex of our lives.

We didn't do anything kinky. We didn't even talk dirty. There was no formula followed, and there is no blueprint to repeating it (dammit). It was just serendipity, completely unexpected on an average evening. I can't even describe it because there was nothing remarkable about anything that we did.

Except for the fact that it felt so damned good. And when it was done and we were sprawled side-by-side, gasping for breath, there wasn't even any post-game analysis pointing out a particular moment, any one thing that either of us did that was special.

That's one of the things that's both awesome and frustrating about sex. It's always great, but sometimes you have to work at it to make it that way - hence the aforementioned toys and games.

And sometimes when you least expect it, it just picks you up and whirls you around in a cyclone of sensation, then drops you out again, breathless and disoriented, and there's no way of knowing when it'll twist you like that again.

But damn, the ride is worth it.

I'll be offline again from tonight until Sunday night or Monday morning. Off for another weekend in the camper (in the rain!).

Yesterday's friending frenzy was a monster success and I welcome all new friends. By night's end I had over  well over 200  messages which gave me the idea to have another one  the minute my next book comes out so that you people can  friend each other into oblivion AND read Fountain of Marvelous. I have the best f'list on LJ! 

There are so many people and events in the news to care about. The tornado in Oklahoma, the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China happened in just seven days time. On the other hand, we Americans enjoy our superfluous distractions. I have heard more about Barbara Walter’s infernal memoir than I have about how our people in Oklahoma are doing. I have suffered enough.

 

I have decided to invent a “The Things I Don’t Care About” award. I will limit entries to time period of this past week – using a complex matrix system to come up with winners. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to do anything complicated so I will just pull them out of my ear.

 

And the “Things I Don’t Care About Award” goes to:

 

Barbara Walters and her stupid book called “Audition”

 

There was an alert in today’s paper that Babs is coming to San Francisco to discuss her new book. I don’t care who Barbara slept with, or whether she interviewed St.Francis or a Saint Bernard in 1972. Also, if Walters and Star Jones bitch slap each other every Saturday, I don’t care about that either.

 

 In short, Barbara Walters sleeping with anybody is such a wicked visual I may engage a hypnotist to get it out of my head. That and at least one Wham song while I’m at it.

 

The View

 

Except for Whoopi Goldberg, the rest of these hens are bitches and bore me out of my gourdini. I hate this show because I think it reinforces negative stereotypes about women by proving some stereotypes are true.

 

Gamblers Lost 34 Billion Dollars last year

 

Reuters ran that one. I am sorry that we have that many mega-dummies in our midst. I don’t care about them because anyone with a brain worth ten cents can deduce that casinos don’t give you free Jack Daniels and a bucket to put your money in because they think you are fascinating.

 

CNN reports a new message from Bin Laden may be on the way

 

Miscellaneous video droolings from John Q. Jihad is not news. Showing his dead ass in a ditch somewhere IS news. If I need to see an ugly idiot on screen, I can do that on U-tube all day long. If Osama’s carcass winds up in a Special Forces photo looking like a bagged elk, then by all means blast me with it. Until then CNN must remember: predicting events is a slippery slope traveled by Miss Cleo at               1-800-PSYCHIC       .

 

I wish you all a happy Friday and a great weekend, up to your eyeballs in what you care about. 

 

via daytonward

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080501/sc_livescience/parachutingdoghelpedwinwwii

"One doctor made a high-altitude jump himself to experience the strain on the body, nearly killing himself, and was able to calculate exactly when an airman's parachute should be opened to limit the impact of the g-forces, said Dean. And "Major," a 145-pound St. Bernard dog, was also tossed from a plane at 26,000 feet to test parachute straps at a high altitude.

Sporting his own custom oxygen mask, Major dog-paddled all the way down and landed safely, witnesses said. "

Prereged for merchanting - check
Paid Insurance - check
Paid booth rent to Poisen Pen - check
Prereged for camping with Barony of Marinus - check
Pay camp fees
Pay food fees
Secured driver to help bring me and books down - 90 % sure that Tucker will help me with this - still negotiating - check
Find someone to bring Kendrick down the second week
Make up Pennsic camping list
Pack up gear, pavilion etc - June/July chore
Put newer books in DJ - June chore
Pack books in boxes - July chore

Administration
Happy early birthday to goddessfarmer, kissmythistle,oneagain, theloriest, and tofu_cat, who all advance a year over the weekend!

Medical
Still mind-numbingly exhausted. Pain levels are low, though.

Help a kid get to camp!
mslaynie's son goes to diabetes camp every summer. The camp is paid for - but the transportation isn't, and it's a bear.

[Bad username: mslaynie says:]here</a> to help. Also to see a cute picture of a sea slug.

Myanmar
hammercock explains just how bad it is.

Link Soup
* Adorable tiny hog species saved from extinction
* Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions.
* Fabulous scrap metal sculptures. Also robot sex.
* "After 9,000 years of silence, Chile's Chaitén volcano (pictured on May 3) is erupting with lava, ash — and lightning."

Daily Science
In a boon to cancer treatment and regenerative medicine, scientists have discovered that a trick used by tumor cells that allows them to migrate around the body can cause normal, adult cells to revert into stem cell–like cells.

Large quantities of these reverted cells could be used to treat anything from spinal cord injury to liver damage without the risk of tissue rejection, said Robert Weinberg, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and co-author of a study appearing in Cell. Learning more about how cancer cells move around the body is also providing scientists with new insights that could thwart the spread of the disease.

Daily BPAL
( The Buggre Alle This Bible, The Ifrit, Nanny Ashtoreth, The Stormhold )

Friday memage!
Wearing: Grey tank top and matching girly-boxers.
Reading: Scar Night,by Alan Campbell; WisCon workshop manuscripts.
Writing: I need to get further on Katrianna's visit, and hopefully some more of her mother's story.
Planning: Today, lunch with the fabulous mendozaand the return of the medical wrangling from yesterday; tomorrow, one or two parties, depending on transport. Sunday may be family movie day.

You?

And a bonus: remember me blathering on about roller skating? Have a picture (by drwex). And if you're local, come skate with us!

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

Is now up

and thanks again to Stephanie for filling in this week!

Producer Graham King has set up Dan Simmons' award-winning science fiction book series "Hyperion Cantos" at Warner Bros., with Trevor Sands on board to adapt the first two books as one feature, says Variety.

The first book, "Hyperion," won the Hugo Award for best novel in 1990, while the second, "The Fall of Hyperion," was nominated for a Nebula Award for best novel.

"Hyperion" deals with a space war, with most of the action taking place on a planet named Hyperion, known not only for its electricity-spewing trees but also for the Time Tombs, large artifacts that can move through time. The tombs are guarded by a monster called the Shrike, which impales people on metal trees.

I loved this book series.

I have grave misgivings about whether Warner Brothers will do the story justice. 

Originally published at The International House of Bacon. You can comment here or there.

* The big news of yesterday is the California Supreme Court affirming same-sex marriage. While I’m in favor of gay marriage (as well as plural and whatever other kinds of consenting marriages one can conjure up), and I say this without having read the entire piece nor having read any detailed analysis as of yet, I still wonder if the use of the Courts to force this through is ultimately dragging down the acceptance of this sort of thing or not. Even if the legal reasoning is sound, there’s a good sized subset that will never truly accept such a ruling and cry “judicial activism!” while causing an extreme pushback, which we’re likely to see in California if and when the Constitutional Amendment to ban the marriages lands on the ballot. Without even getting into the way it changes the electoral landscape (Obama’s only a +7 against McCain in the most recent SurveyUSA poll in California from a month ago), I’m just wondering if the Court challenges are ultimately the wrong tactic.

* A couple via Melvin today, the first about a 95 year old man who’s garbage wasn’t picked up for 2 weeks in England. Why? A ketchup bottle and coffee jar were placed in the incorrect bucket for recycling.

* Second, why does CNN assume a recession in its exit polling?

* ThinkProgress - not smarter than a fifth grader.

* Live by McCain, die by McCain. Another week over, another pretty interesting and positive speech by McCain that offsets previous speeches early in the week that seemed designed to tweak the right. If Obama wasn’t such a weak candidate, I’d be more concerned.

* Speaking of McCain, agree with him or not - this is some fairly solid thought behind foriegn policy and American intervention. It’s apparent he has thought these issues through, and should, if critics stay smart, put to rest any idea that McCain will continue the perception (and I use that word specifically) of Bush’s “cavalier” policy.

* A lot’s being said about Bush’s speech to the Knesset in Israel, and whether it was a shot at Obama (personal opinion? Most likely). The point that a lot of people seem to be missing is that, even beyond Obama’s ridiculous foriegn policy (a record he’s trying to run from), Obama is likely to have a serious Israel problem in the general election. That it hasn’t been highlighted by now is somewhat surprising to me, because there have been more than an isolated instance or so: there’s the “understanding” as to why Hamas would endorse him - and a rather tone deaf “understanding” at that, the belief by some that he may be hiding some thoughts on the Israel/Palestine situation (”I’m sorry I haven’t said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I’m hoping when things calm down I can be more up front,” Obama’s advisor being in regular contact with Hamas, McPeak, Samantha Power - there’s a lot here. I’m not sure how much it will effect Obama long term, but I’m surprised we haven’t seen any significant discussion of it. Well, only somewhat surprised - that would come with the expectation that the media is doing its job.

* If you’re into this stuff, some crazy numbers about video game console sales during the month of April. Keep in mind - this includes Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii.

* Finally, a compilation of Manny Being Manny.

1. Jick made it very clear that using multis in the dungeon is a bad thing. If you've got more than one character in the clan, make sure that only one of them does the Hobopolis content when it comes out, okay?

2. From the latest radio show:

Q: Hobopolis info plz?
A: 6 New outfits, probably 6 new familiars, though that's probably not as exciting as you think. 15 new skills.


Definitely some good stuff to look forward to. :-)

Popping all over the blogosphere today, as a follow-up to yesterday's news from California:

Federal court tells Florida high school principal that he can't ban pictures of rainbows, even if they make people think of sex, sex, sex.

The key passage:

Davis also testified that he believed rainbows were “sexually suggestive” and would make students unable to study because they’d be picturing gay sex acts in their mind. The principal went on to admit that while censoring rainbows and gay pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the Confederate flag.

In fairness to the principal here, I have to admit that in high school, I did spend a lot of time thinking about sex, mostly wondering if a) I'd ever have any, b) if I'd be any good at it, and c) if that really cute guy two desks ahead in Honors Geometry would help me find out. I don't recall rainbows (or Confederate flags) being part of any of these thoughts, but after all of these years, I could be wrong. I've been reliably informed that high school guys spent as much, if not more, time wondering about the same things, so it's entirely possible that high schoolers are just a collection of raving hormones that will leap into sex as soon as anyone waves a rainbow in front of them.

I really had a hard time deciding whether or not to pull Home on the Range from Iris a few months ago -- no writer ever wants to not have a book out there.

However, this morning's reading indicates That for once, I made the right decision Scroll down to the part entitled WTF, Iris Print.

The real shame here is that it appears to be getting RW Day down. Tina Anderson is a veritable force of nature: nothing up to and including alien invasions is going to stop her from creating. But if you're relatively new (and if RW is not relatively new, I apologize, she's relatively new to me, which is not the same thing) this type of blatant unprofessional nonsense can wear one out.

A Strong and Sudden Thaw is a great book, well written and with careful attention to the mechanics of strong storytelling. I, for one, would like to see more work from Day, and would encourage her to not let Kellie's chronic inability to get a clue about how businesses work (for example, communicating more than once a year -- a very good thing)stop the flow of story.

You (and here, I am talking directly to RW Day) have it. You could get another publisher, and quite frankly, you deserve another publisher. Don't let this snafu make you put pen down. You're better than that.

"RUN!"

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/jkcarrier/glorianna

( Read more... )

Welcome new friends to my journal! A quick rundown of the cast of characters:

Me - Well, I told you already. I'm an executive by day, and a Wonder Woman at night with my two little ones...
TK - "The King" - my husband. When we met, he was in a play as the king.
ST - My daughter. She's 6, in kindergarten, and has inherited all of my sass.
GT - My son. He's 4, and is the clown of the family.
AS - My stepdaughter. She doesn't live with us - she lives with her mom in PA. She's 14.

Then there are random folks from my work I mention from time to time. Always under a nickname, to protect their privacy.
I'm also on the board of a volunteer non-profit organization. When they make me laugh, I also use nicknames there.

SO! Today's little story... poor TK has been having a bad animal week. On Wednesday, I got this email:

"I decided to get a breakfast sandwich this morning from McDonald's and sausage for GT. While driving home, a bird is in the street and obviously playing with "something." As I approach, IN MY CAR, I use the "foolproof Wonder Woman" method of encouraging a bird to fly away before it gets hit by the huge moving vehicle. [Ed: Which is to shout at the top of your lungs, "BIRDY BIRDY BIRDY! MOVE! MOVE BIRDY!"] It does, but flies very close to the windshield, releasing what it was apparently playing with.....wait for it.......A SNAKE. Yes, now I'm driving down the road with a small garden snake slithering on the hood of my car. It finally slithered off, and I proceeded home, wondering what the rest of the day will bring........
 
Snake on a Car,
Me"
 
Yesterday, he opened the back door and his foot squished on something. Convinced he had squooshed a frog, he looked down only to realize he'd stepped in a very dead bird that the cat had evidently left there. 

This morning, when he woke, said cat was sleeping on his head. Since he's completely allergic to cats, he can't breathe this morning. AND he's afraid to leave the house. :)

Nice piece from Nick Robinson (the BBC's Political Editor) on the political problems still facing Gordon Brown. In part, he suggests (without really squashing the chance of it happening) the possibility of Brown being replaced if things don't improve. He ends by saying:

Those who wonder who would replace Gordon Brown ignore the fact that the change could be made in a year's time by which time an alternative might have emerged.

The chances of this happening are not high. However, just down the river from the House of Commons at the National Theatre is a reminder of how political fates can be sealed. In the play Never So Good, Harold Macmillan replaces Anthony Eden - the man who waited years to be prime minister but who, as a moody insomniac, never looked comfortable in the job. Macmillan's quip in the play has some uncanny echoes today "The trouble with Anthony Eden is that he was trained to win the Derby in 1938. Unfortunately he was not let out of the straying stalls until 1955."

Some Labour MPs are wondering whether what was true of Eden then is true of Brown now. And if so, what - if anything - they can or should do about it.

I can't see Brown being replaced against his will, but for the first time in decades (and I include Major in this), we've got a Prime Minister who not only isn't enjoying Prime Minister, but looks like he'd be secretly grateful for someone else to force him out. He's the first Prime Minister I can recall who on every public occasion, convincingly conveys the impression that he'd rather be chewing a wasp than talk to other people, whether those people are reporters, interviewers or MPs in the House of Commons.

And for someone who would deny utterly that he's part of the elite, he reminds me more and more of Barbara Cartland's response to the interviewer who asked her whether she believed that class structures had broken down since 1960s: "Of course they have," she replied. "Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to someone like you."

From Slate Magazine Homosexuality, Polygamy, and Incest