The Cult of Lincoln

Monday, May 31, 2004



Dude! Over the past year, my size A sister has suddenly grown huge C-size boobs! There is hope for me yet!

(I'm sure she'd love to know I just posted this knowledge on the internet, but hey. This is big news!)

Priscilla said at 7:21 PM

3 comments




Okay, I'm happy. The images on the photo CD look a whole lot better than the prints I got back, so all is right with the world again. Just one problem:

Dear Eckerd,

When scanning images for a photo CD, please clean the scanner glass first. Dust is not your friend.

Love,
Priscilla

Priscilla said at 4:11 PM

0 comments




Does anyone else think that another good name for the Dean Dozen would be "Dean's List"?

I say this because I just found out I had been nominated for the 2003-2004 National Dean's List. 1/2 of 1% of US college students. Dude.

Priscilla said at 3:50 PM

1 comments




WAH. I just picked up my prints from yesterday's downtown photography fest with my family, and not only had one of my three rolls somehow gotten completely exposed, but apparently I wasn't metering properly on the others, and all the color is hideous and drab. Life hates me. Fortunately, I took a few frames on my mom's digital camera, so the day wasn't a complete loss, but still. Am despondent.

Edit: Okay, not a total loss. Some of them are going to be fun to play with in Photoshop. Will post some later, probably converted to B&W.

Priscilla said at 3:28 PM

0 comments




<rant>

Okay. My sister recently got into a car accident. She's more-or-less okay (she hurt her shoulder pretty badly, but it should be prefectly healed in the next couple of weeks), but her car was pretty much totalled. Therefore, it's time for the Spencer family to discuss new cars.

Now, before all this happened, we had pretty much decided that our next car was going to be a hybrid. I've been pushing the Prius for years; it's the car I really wanted when we went shopping for me three years ago, but my parents insisted we get a tank for my first car. As there were no hybrid SUVs on the market back then, I became Part of The Problem with a monstrous 17.3mpg behemoth, now dubbed "Saruman1." As my Dad refuses to drive my car when I'm in college for reasons I cannot fathom (in favor of his neolithic Cadillac that reeks of exhaust fumes), we were hoping that if Dad didn't want to drive my car, he could drive a new car of his own--hopefully a hybrid--and we could sell the Cadillac either for parts or to someone without olfactory glands.

1 Partly for its "mind of metal and wheels," part for its reckless abuse of nature, and part because it's played by Christopher Lee.

But now, one unprotected left turn later, my sister is next in line. My sister really wants another SUV, but as she seems to place aesthetics over environmental friendliness (I adore my sister beyond words, but you don't always have to agree with those you love), I don't imagine she would necessarily choose an SUV hybrid like the Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander, or Lexus RX-400h. And those three are all 2005 models anyway, so they're not even on the market yet.

My mom came up with the perfect solution. My sister drives the marginally less neolithic minivan (which we used for carpooling and have kept out of habit) for the next three months, then when I go back to Philly, she drives my car. I'm not coming home for Thanksgiving, and then over Christmas, we could just lease a car for the weeks I'll be home. Perfect. And even perfecter (yes, that's now a word), by the time I get home for Spring Break or next Summer Vacation, the new eco-friendly SUVs will be out, and we can reconsider the new car issue.

Sure, the minivan isn't the most fun car to drive in the world, but it's only three months. I drove it far longer than three months when I was learning to drive. And my sister said herself that she doesn't want to be one of those girls that responds to an accident "Oh, I totalled my car, let's just get a new one!", and this would solve that, too. Another bonus is that it means we wouldn't have to get a new car right away, giving my dad a chance to be in a more stable financial position. He recently lost his two biggest clients, and as the real estate market is still in dire straits, he hasn't had much luck securing new clients for the space.

*dreamy* Mmm, wouldn't it be nice if Kerry gave a tax rebate to families that drive hybrid cars? To counteract Bush's moronic tax rebate for companies that bought SUVs? Mmm, Kerry '04.

*realistic* So yeah. Everybody wins! My car gets used while I'm in college, my dad doesn't have to worry about coughing up tens of thousands of dollars right now, and hopefully the story ends with one of my family members getting a hybrid. The Prius gets three times the mpg of my SUV, and the hybrid SUVs get about twice the mpg, so my family does its part lessening our dependence on foreign oil and reducing air pollution! Woo hoo!


So that's Priscilla's little fantasy of the day.

</rant>

Priscilla said at 2:08 PM

1 comments




Does anyone know if there's a blogger equivalent of the LJ-cut now?

Priscilla said at 12:48 PM

0 comments




MASSIVE BOOK MEME OF DOOM!

+ Bold those you've read.
+ Italicise started-but-never-finished.
+ Add three of your own.
+ Post to your livejournal.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne

8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving (otherwise known as Simon Birch)
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett

70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding

76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett

94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett

154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery

181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells

195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read (saw the movie and had dinner with Nando Parrado. Does that count?)
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde

252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde

261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien (saw the movie)
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
(this was my favourite book ever for years)
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire (just finished the other day!)
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk (saw the movie)
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier (movie)
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder (I was in the play, but we only did the first two acts)
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux

341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
361. The Bible
362. The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter
363. The Dumas Club-Arturo P?rez Reverte
364. Neither Here Nor There-Bill Bryson
365. Around the World In Eighty Day-Jules Verne
366. Asterix, Goscinny and Uderzo
367. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
368. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tenneessee Williams
369. The Client, John Grisham
370. Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet B. Stowe
371. Hamlet, Shakespeare
(I am a terrible person)
372. The Mararese Circle, Robert Ludlum
373. Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho
374. 120 Days in Sodom, the Marquis de Sade
375. A Walk To Remember, Nicholas Sparks
376. House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
377. Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
378. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
379. The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snickett
380. The Fire Rose, Mercedes Lackey
381. Echo, Francesca Lia Block
382.The Wayfarer Redemption (Axeman), Sara Douglass
383. Visible Amazement, Gale Zoe Garnett
389. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
390. Emily of New Moon, LM Montgomery
391. Death and the Penguin, Andrey Kurkov
392. 21 Short Stories, Graham Greene
393. No Exit and Three Other Plays, Jean-Paul Sartre
394. The Collected Poetry of Anna Akhmatova
395. The Odyssey, Homer
396. The Invisible Man, H.G. Wells

397. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
398. The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett (movie, and snippets from the book)
399. Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
400. Tommy's Tale, Alan Cumming

401. Down with Skool!, Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
402. Stardust, Neil Gaiman
403. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Priscilla said at 12:20 PM

3 comments




It's the "type your username using different body parts" meme!

Nose: priscellie
Elbow: priscellie
Tongue: priscellie
Chin: pfdksxs c cdde.l.lkied
Foot: priscellie
Eyes Closed: priscellie

My body parts are so talented. Except my chin. My chin has now been officially disowned, as it is a disgrace to my family's honor. But then again, my chin allows me to do all sorts of cool things, none of which are coming to mind, but still, chins are cool, and I would look kind of stupid without one. So the chin is back in the family. Yay.

Priscilla said at 11:53 AM

0 comments


Sunday, May 30, 2004



I just got an email from Chris, my Film Noir professor. No idea how reliable this rumor is, but it makes me very very very happy nonetheless.
I've heard four hours ten for the ROTK extended edition, and since no release date has been set I'm guessing they are planning a theatrical release first, probably in the dead time of the year (September or October).
Oh please let this be true...

Priscilla said at 11:03 PM

2 comments




Dear Oliver Stone,

Alexander the Great liked men.

Love,
Priscilla

Priscilla said at 9:49 PM

4 comments




Has anyone compiled a list of Legolas' blonde moments? Because someone totally should.

Priscilla said at 3:26 PM

2 comments


Saturday, May 29, 2004



From an email started by Gene Elder. Feel free to pass it on!

When Norway was occupied by Germany in 1940, Norwegian women began to knit RED caps for children as a way of letting everyone know that they did not like what was happening in their country, that they didn't like having their freedom taken away by the Nazis. Similarly, in Denmark, women knit red-white-and-blue caps (colors of the Allies) for the very same reason.

The result was that whenever Norwegians and Danes left their homes -- to go to the store, to work, etc, they could see that THE MAJORITY opposed what was going on in their country. As you know, both countries organized effective Resistance efforts and changed history -- everything that happened began simply by wearing red! (or the colors of the Allies, in Denmark).

1. BACKGROUND: I believe, as many of us do, that at the very heart of our democracy is our right to oppose certain policies of our government. Increasingly, our Government is redefining "freedom" in ways that make too many Americans perceive that it is risky to oppose his policies -- and, in particular, current inroads about individual freedoms and policies in the U.S. and abroad. However, many of us DO oppose what our government is doing to individual rights-- and I have an idea that will allow all of us to recognize each other very easily so we can see that WE ARE THE MAJORITY.

2. SO... I have been thinking that it's time to take action in a way that is effective and easy for all of us to do: Just wear red every Friday between now and election day. Wear a little or a lot-- just be sure that when you leave your house to go about your day -- to work, to school, to the store, to the gas station, wherever you go in your daily routine -- that everyone who sees you will see that you are wearing red because you believe in freedom and you don't agree with our current administration's policies at home and abroad. I'm really certain that we'll see that lots of us wearing red for freedom -- because WE ARE THE MAJORITY. We just need a way to show each other who we are!!! Between now and election day, ask everyone you know to wear red for "Freedom Fridays".

3. I have already spread the word to friends and have had a very enthusiastic response. This email has been forwarded around the country by many who receive it - feel free to send in on.

Priscilla said at 11:59 AM

0 comments




WAH. OH THE TEMPTATION! Should I watch the Yahoo POA movie clips or not? A scene in Eternal Sunshine was slightly derailed for me because I saw it a couple times beforehand in interviews with Elijah Wood, and Pippin's song in RotK was even more powerful for me because I knew the song existed, but I refused to listen to it beforehand. So my more logical mind is telling me that I don't want to watch the PoA clips, as I have been so good so far, but everyone is talking about how wonderful they are and I'm already so close to the breaking point as it is. Gah, will someone invent a time machine already and make it June 3rd/4th RIGHT NOW?

Priscilla said at 11:01 AM

2 comments


Friday, May 28, 2004



(ganked from Molly Ringwraith)

Lembas Success Stories

Priscilla said at 11:30 PM

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And Babysitting Week is over! Wow. They were beyond adoreable today. If only I had figured out how to get them to read earlier! Why did this attempt succeed when all other efforts to encourage reading failed? We relaxed outside, enjoying the perfect sunny day, just reading. Molly didn't watch a minute of TV and didn't get tired of every activity two minutes in! Rachel was a babysitter's dream! What have I done, oh lord, to deserve these girls today? And as an added bonus, the parents pay exceptionally well, so I am rich, rich, rich! Oh, today is a good day!

Priscilla said at 3:07 PM

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Not sure where to start. Haven't blogged decently for a couple days, due to sitterdom. Um... let's see. Life lessons of the past few days!
  1. Trying to convince a terrified 7-year-old that thunderstorms are not scary is not nearly as cute or fun as one would imagine.
  2. Finishing Wicked and watching The Wizard of Oz (at the behest of said 7-year-old) the same day is not recommended.
  3. Which reminds me! Rebecca and Tanja, go here.
  4. Seeing Marcelina without glasses is unsettling.
  5. I am beyond awesome at lasertag and beyond painfully awful at Dance Dance Revolution.
  6. Rachel and I are supercool, as we cunningly managed to get a large percentage of the room hooked on Firefly. Of course, as the most vocal in their appreciation of the show (read: Marcelina) are now rabid Jayne fans, I am quite curious as to what they'll think about "Ariel."
  7. Chungy and I have grown apart a lot more than I realized. That was a shock.
  8. But her mom makes awesome omelettes in a very tight time frame. I never imagined I would like onions in omelettes, much less bell peppers, but wow, that omelette rocked.
  9. I am now quite convinced that my inability to remember names and faces is the result of some Eternal Sunshine-like memory erasure debacle. When running errands this afternoon, outside Barnes and Noble, a girl my age called out my name, and we small talked for five minutes, and I still have no idea who she was. Am I really that out of touch with my surroundings?
  10. I feel like there should be a tenth. Um... after over two years, the theme song to Arthur still makes me twitch violently. And searching my blog for a recap link, I realize I never blogged about it, probably due to excessive mental trauma. Maybe I will eventually. (Edit: Oh! I did post! A bit. Ici. Halloween 2001!)
And now I'm going to read some of "A Hat Full of Sky" now (finally acquired today) and go to sleep, because staying up until past 4 and waking up to have to face the kidlets isn't cool.

P.S.: Elphaba jokes "Yero my hero." So shouldn't "Fiyero" be pronounced fi-YEER-oh and not fee-YAIR-oh?

Priscilla said at 12:26 AM

5 comments


Tuesday, May 25, 2004



Gah, why am I so bad at remembering May 25th fandom-related activity?



Lilac for the Pratchett fans.

Of course, I plead the 11th, which is "Excused From Being Capable of Rational Due Thought Due to Being Exhausted from Minding Psychotic Trio All Day, After Starting the Day by Waking Up An Hour and a Half Earlier Than Usual and Running 5 Miles and Forgetting to Stretch Afterwards."


*snores loudly*

Priscilla said at 10:12 PM

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National Towel Day? Today? No, someone told me it was this Friday... I even marked it down on my schedule thing. Wasn't it supposed to be the last Friday of May?

*checks websites*

AAAAUGH. So it's officially now "May 25th"? That's what I thought originally! Wah! I have been unintentionally unfaithful! I shall carry my towel proudly as I venture forth to B&N to purchase "A Hat Full of Sky" and rationalize my egregious mistake with the logic that a Sensible and Dependable Babysitter Should Not Carry Around a Towel For Fear of Turning the Poor Kidlets' Young Minds... bah, even rationalization fails me! Oh, the shame.

*runs to closet to find a towel to compensate*

Oh, the leopard print...

Priscilla said at 5:31 PM

1 comments


Monday, May 24, 2004



WOO!!! Someone just mentioned on LJ that RotK:TR comes out tomorrow, which reminds me: A Hat Full of Sky comes out in the US tomorrow, too! *does a little dance*

Priscilla said at 10:05 PM

2 comments




Just watched Bush's speech on the future of Iraq. Gawked shamefacedly at just about every other sentence, marvelling "Did he just SAY that?!" Now have massive headache. Will recount epic babysitting tales later. Ah well. Mother of kidlets pays quite nicely, therefore am rich! Woohoo! (Or at least, will be by the end of the week.)

Priscilla said at 8:40 PM

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*giggles* I'm so sorry, Sam.

Another "Troy in 15 Minutes"-type summary

and Penny Arcade's suggestion for how to improve Troy.

Also, word on the street is the PoA is fantabulous. Why can't I see it RIGHT NOW WAH!

*grooves to "To The Limit (Come on Fhqwhgads)" for no reason*

Priscilla said at 10:03 AM

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Sunday, May 23, 2004



Dear People Who Made the Wicked Musical,

Did you even read the book?

Perplexed,
Priscilla

Priscilla said at 10:34 PM

3 comments





Priscilla said at 4:28 PM

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Okay, Dallas kids! I've talked to a bunch of people going to A-Kon (including my light and inspiration Kell Yarwood), and they're all going to PoA Midnight at Loews Cityplace. As Cinemark 17 still hasn't started selling tickets yet, I think we should join them. I'll be calling around today to get numbers so I can go ahead and buy tickets for us, but if you read this, go ahead and post a comment saying whether you can go or not. So July 3rd/4th at Midnight, Loews Cityplace. COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED. And as always, Mack and Chungy and anyone that lives really far out is welcome to spend the night at my house so they don't have to drive home in the wee hours of the night.

Priscilla said at 4:20 PM

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THIS IS MY 4,000th POST! REVEL IN THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF MY LACK OF A LIFE!

Priscilla said at 4:19 PM

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Woo! I am my own personal hero! I ran for an hour today, clocking 4.77 miles and an estimated 513 calories. As far as I'm aware, this is the longest I've run in my life. I am so good! By the end of the summer, I shall be slinky and vampish yet buff and athletic. Hurrah for turning over new leaves!

Priscilla said at 2:52 PM

1 comments


Saturday, May 22, 2004



Anyone still intending to vote Bush, consider this.

Priscilla said at 11:40 AM

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Friday, May 21, 2004



Shrek 2. Oh my good gravy, that was fantastic. Probably one of the best sequels I've seen in quite some time. And did anyone else notice the drive-through lady's nametag? BOOYEAH. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A CAMEO. I think I need to draw some Priscilla The Drive-Through Lady fanart. Mwaha!

Priscilla said at 9:46 PM

2 comments


Thursday, May 20, 2004



This game is brilliant. I was playing it all morning, until my mom made me clean my room.

Priscilla said at 3:39 PM

1 comments




*laughs*

From Troy in 15 Minutes

ACHILLES: HECTORRRRRRRR!
SMARTASS IN THE AUDIENCE: STELLAAAAAAA!

Dude, that was ME!

Priscilla said at 1:35 PM

1 comments




The Book Meme:

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph.

In the Chancery courts the etiquitte is not so strict. The following weeds are known for their long records of crime. Something about her might have said nanny, but it said it in an undertone of the sort employed by British butlers in a certain type of American film. They are all that remains of the greatest experiment ever conducted -- to find the Ultimate Question and the Ultimate Answer of Life, the Universe, and Everything. On the whole, he reflected, it could have been a lot worse.

The books are...
5. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
3. The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - Brewer
2. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
1. Whizz for Atomms (Molesworth) - Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle

Priscilla said at 12:47 PM

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So... what's that conservatives have been saying about the sanctity of marriage?

Priscilla said at 12:32 PM

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GUH. Remind me to go back to this site after I've seen PoA. I promised myself no more spoilers, yet look at the quality of these images! Wah, life is so hard.

Priscilla said at 12:18 PM

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*bangs head against wall repeatedly*

From AWN: SHREK 3 & 4 IN THE WORKS.
DreamWorks principal Jeffrey Katzenberg announced at the Cannes Film Festival that work has already begun on SHREK 3 and SHREK 4. Katzenberg said that after the first film the studio worked out the story of Shrek and the unanswered question left open in the original. SHREK 2, which hits theaters on May 19, 2004, answers the issues surrounding how Princess Fiona was left in the tower and how her parents would react to Shrek as her husband. The third film will address issues not yet announced, but the fourth installment Katzenberg says will deal with why Shrek came to live in the swamp in the first place."
You kill this story, Dreamworks, I kill you. Please please please don't destroy these characters! A strong script, that's all I ask! Let it hinge on development of a strong script! *wails*

Edit: Gah, and that's not all the AWN stuff I have to comment on today.

Re: "The Polar Express"
Dear ImageMovers,

Motion Capture and "Performance Capture" are the SAME THING. No need to make it sound all pretentious.

With annoyance,
Priscilla


PIRATES 2 & 3 TO HITS THEATERS IN 2006.
Disney announced its plans for the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise at the North American Theatre Owners annual meeting. Production will been on booth the second and third film soon with both film arriving in theaters in 2006 released six months apart. ComingSoon.net has also confirmed that Johnny Depp's wish of Rolling Stones' Keith Richards playing Captain Jack Sparrow's dad in the sequel will come true. Depp has long said that he modeled his performance on the legendary rocker.
16. WOLFGANG PETERSEN CASTS SPELL ON XANTH FANTASY SERIES.
Warner Bros. has snatched up the rights to the fantasy novel series XANTH to be produced by TROY helmer Wolfgang Petersen along with TROY writer David Benioff and Diana Rathbun of Petersen's Radiant Prods, reports VARIETY. Radiant's Samuel Dickerman will exec produce.

A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is the first book in the series, which chronicles a boy named Bink in the world of Xanth, where all the inhabitants must possess magical or face banishment.

"When LORD OF THE RINGS finally got made and THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE got set up, I felt that the XANTH series was the last great one," Benioff said.

"What excites me about A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is that it is a classic hero's journey in a very fun fantasy setting," Petersen said. "Today's technology gives us the ability to make a great film from a series of books that has been entertaining readers for 25 years."
Also, "Hellboy" is getting sequelled, Disney's "Jungle Cruise" ride will be the next to receive cinematic adaptation, and Neil Gaiman's "Books of Magic" are also coming to screen. Let's hope people realize they were written *before* Harry Potter.

Priscilla said at 10:40 AM

1 comments




Oh -- and PLEASE SIGN YOUR NAME on comments! Those without blogger accounts have to post anonymously, but please write your name at the end of your comment. I'm getting very confused with all the unsigned commentage going on.

Priscilla said at 10:28 AM

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Weird. This was the second time it happened. I was still connected to Kazaa and still getting a feed from Air America and I could load anything at tnm.n, but everything else on the web seemed to indicate that my internet connection was down. So if anyone was wondering where I was yesterday evening, that's my confused explanation. Huh.

Fortunately, this gave me some time to work on a new layout for WIAN and read more of Wicked. As for WIAN, I suddenly realized yesterday morning that I was an idiot and that the reason I didn't think I was very good at web design was because I expected it to be easy and just flow. I wasn't thinking about it being like every other creative endeavor, in which one must plan out things in advance and actually brainstorm. So now I'm starting from the drawing board, and I already like my new concepts much more than the half-baked ideas I had floating around before. So yay!

As for Wicked, I must pause briefly to HAIL THE PACKRAT SYNDROME. My mom got me a copy several years ago, and though I thought it looked like a great book, I just never got around to reading it. And when I was going through a bookshelf purge last year, I decided that I probably never would get around to reading it and put it in the box to sell to Half-Price Books. We had every intention of bringing the books to Half-Price, but they're still sitting in a bunch of boxes in the garage. Oops. I guess I know where I get my tendencies toward procrastination now. So anyway, Wicked was rescued, and I spent parts of yesterday reading, while on the treadmill yesterday (2.75 miles! I am so good!) and while lying uselessly on the ground that evening in the yoga position for relieving period cramps.

As for my actual reactions to Wicked so far, let's just say that it makes me feel much better about taking liberties with Men at Arms. Good grief, Wicked: the musical is almost nothing like the book! Although I hate myself for the things I'm doing to Angua and Carrot and Vimes, at least I'll have someone to point at and blame and say "But THEY were even MORE out of character!" and run away.

So yeah. A Hat Full of Sky in five days!

Priscilla said at 10:06 AM

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Tuesday, May 18, 2004



Blurgh. I've been working on a new layout for WIAN, and I'm rather ambivalent on one of the results. What do you guys think? Hideously ugly or tolerable?

The New
The Old

Priscilla said at 11:27 PM

3 comments




Dallas kids: Shrek 2 has been moved to Friday. I'm thinking 5pm at Cinemark 17. I can certainly provide a ride for anyone that wants one.

Priscilla said at 9:21 PM

3 comments




BillyBoyd.net just released news about Billeh's next project, a short film called "Instant Credit," from the creators of the delicious "Sniper 470." Of course, in this film Billy will be playing "a chef who is having a really bad day" and not a space-sniper that spends virtually the entire film shirtless, which is a bit sad, but the fact that his girlfriend Ali McKinnon has a role makes everything worthwhile, because Ali is cuter than toast. Joy!

Priscilla said at 12:57 PM

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Monday, May 17, 2004



Just got back from Ring Day, in which my younglings officially became seniors! *tear* They're all grown up and wearing white blazers and savin' China!

So one group of friends is seeing HP3 at Midnight, and another group is seeing it at 10:30 the next morning in organized costume. I have half a mind to go to both, as I've already committed myself to seeing the midnight showing (and I'm sure Kell would rather be at A-Kon the next morning), yet a lot of my friends can't go at midnight. Ah, the choices a woman must make in this earthly realm!

I think I'll go as Percy. After all, I have a Weasley sweater with a P on it and a red Prefect badge. Or maybe I could borrow Chungy's blue prefect badge and go as Penelope Clearwater... nah, Percy's much more identifiable. And as a guy, the costume would be easier to assemble, as I have no Hogwarts-style skirts.

*sudden flash of inspiration*

I WANT TO GO AS A MARY-SUE!

Priscilla said at 4:34 PM

1 comments




Happy 50th Aniversary to Brown v. The Board of Education!

Priscilla said at 9:59 AM

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Woo Massachucetts! Take THAT, Virginia!

Priscilla said at 12:46 AM

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"Shrek 2" comes out this Wednesday! Ah, the handyness of my new "Fangirl Calendar" in the sidebar! If I'm missing anything, comment and tell me what a t00b I am.

Priscilla said at 12:19 AM

2 comments




Well, I've switched comments from BlogBack to the new Blogger Comments. I don't like the look of them as much, but I think they're overall much better, as this way, people with popup blockers will still be able to comment, I'll get email notification (which I love about LiveJournal), and comments won't get deleted when their post is cycled off the main page. Handy!

So I just got back from seeing "Kill Bill 2" with Rachel and the first session of her summer goal of turning me into a Buffy fan. Both the movie and the two episodes Rachel showed me were wholly enjoyable! I miss hanging out with Rachel. Hopefully, this will happen more this summer!

Priscilla said at 12:01 AM

4 comments


Saturday, May 15, 2004




Priscilla said at 11:42 PM

1 comments




Go here. Click "News." Click "The Score From Troy." Listen. Apparently this score was ditched for being "too classical sounding." WHA? It's Anicent Greece, how classical do you want? And it's so much better than the score they ended up using. For shame.

Edit: ENDCREDITSGUH

Priscilla said at 11:23 PM

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*gasp*

So did anyone else notice JKR said "Sirius' eyes are grey" in the present tense?

Bah, it's getting harder and harder to be rational and accept said bucket-kicking. Ah, the trials of fandom.

Priscilla said at 11:02 PM

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AND GINEVRA IS A GERMAN EQUIVALENT OF "GUINEVERE!" I WIN!!! (of course, there's also the issue of Ginevra di Benci, subject of a painting by Leonardo, and also the Italian word for juniper, a principal component of Gin. *sigh*)

So yeah. "Guinevere." From the Welsh "Gwenhwyfar," which comes from two words that mean white/shining/Holy and cloud/phantom/shadow/smooth (from here.) And in Welsh legend, she was a shape-changer. Do we have an animagus in our future? And Juniper, in herb lore, is used for purification. So we have Lily symbolizing purity and now Juniper. Oh, JKR, no you di-int. This is too easy.

So I just read the sample page of an early draft of Philosopher's Stone, in JKR's nearly impenetrable handwriting. I think I've gone blind. (To see it for yourself, dial the correct number into the phone. Hint: Think OoP.)

And HOLY COW I AM AWESOME. Back when I was writing my miserable excuse for a prequel fic, I blindly guessed that Dean Thomas' dad had been a wizard and that the girl with the "heavy-lidded eyes" was Sirius' sister turned evil. And I had in my notes a mention of a "Frank Longbottom"... was that revealled in Book 4, or am I just that scary? No, it must have been canon. I never would have named him "Frank." (::checks:: Yeah, canon. Okay, now I can breathe.)

And hmm... "Mopsy the Dog-Lover" as Sirius' part-time "owner." Gah, I got so excited at this originally, because Mopsy is the name of one of the rabbits from Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," but I confused this for a split second with "The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit."

Theirloveissodistantlylinkedthroughchildrensliterature.

Question of the Day: Why reuse the name "Mafalda?"

Priscilla said at 4:22 PM

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So apparently JKR's new website reveals that Ginny's full name is Ginevra.

So... yeah.

The WIAN nut in me is now destroying entire cityblocks in a frenzied rage.

Edit: Wait! No, there could be something here! Forget Arthurian theories or the line of English monarchs! "Ginevra" is the Italian name for Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, Geneva... Geneva Convention? Hmm, I shall ponder this some more.

(Or, you know, it could always be a reference to the character in Bite Me.)

Priscilla said at 12:59 PM

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WOW. Further revelation of why Peter Jackson is a cinematic genius. GUH of all GUHs.

Priscilla said at 12:40 PM

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I just cancelled the espressoferrets.com domain. Just so you know. If you have any files hosted that you want to keep, retrieve them now!

Priscilla said at 9:44 AM

0 comments


Friday, May 14, 2004



Whee! Saw Troy, which was fairly godawful as predicted, but still crazy fun, as it provided unpreceedented volumes of substance for mockery. And with boring special effects-heavy and/or epic movies, it's fun to play "So is that CG, a matte painting, or a miniature?," so I stayed entertained. I did this for parts of Van Helsing, too. :D

So, um. Spoilers.

Things that were obnoxious:
  • Gods, what gods?
  • Cassandra? Who?
  • The Iliad? Was that what we're basing this movie on? Guh, I haven't even read the poem and I was wincing. Dude, this wasn't Troy, it was Achilles: The Movie!
  • Menelaeus killed? Wha?
  • Ten years? Huh?
  • The most godawful day-for-night since Nosferatu.
  • It violated the "hate" rule. Near the beginning of the movie, Agamemnon says something like "Of all the men favored by the gods, I hate him the most," yet I've observed that in nearly all movies in which one character says they hate another character, we're supposed to like the object of the "hate". For example, Jurassic Park's John Hammond says of Ian Malcom "I really really hate that man." Yet Brad Pitt's Achilles is entirely unlikeable. I thought of other examples in the theatre as I sat, bored in the first five minutes of action, but I can't remember at the moment.
  • Gratuitous skin shots. It's like "let's see how much of Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom we can show without actually showing their genitals!" I really didn't need to see that.
  • Delayed acknowledgement of Andromache. I've always felt that in big battle movies and such, if someone's name isn't said, then they're not important enough to be recognized as a character. The scenes with Hector, Andromache, and Astynax came off as flat, because Hector wasn't granting Andromache and Astynax character recognition. Andromache's name wasn't said until the very end, and Astynax's name was never said at all.
  • PICK. A. SIDE. Are we supposed to be happy or sad that Troy has fallen?
  • Um... is it just me or is the music for the sack of Troy the EXACT SAME MUSIC as Haldir's death?

    Things that were neat:
  • The CG wasn't painfully bad. It was actually quite nice.
  • They pronounced "Andromache" right! I wonder if they consulted the same UPenn source we did... UPenn is quite an authority in that area.
  • HAHAHAHAHA Aneas is such a dork!
  • The men are so hairless! This is very funny.
  • Mum says Brad Pitt said in an interview that he thinks this movie will make guys-in-skirts trendy. That would be so wonderful. I wish that were possible. The world needs more kilts, while we're at it.
  • Did anyone else see the name "Hermione" on the map at the beginning? Yeah, I laughed. In fact, one of Helen's daughters with Menelaeus is named Hermione. Of course, JKR named her after the Hermione in Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale," but it was still keen.

    I'll post pics from dinner tonight (and all the others Chungy and Ashley requested) tomorrow morning. Msleepy. Oh-- and Mimi, here is Tanja's "The Iliad: The Anime" that I was giggling over at dinner.

  • Priscilla said at 11:57 PM

    0 comments


    Thursday, May 13, 2004



    I just realized how hilarious my trip to New York with Rebecca and Tanja is going to be, regarding the time change. I live in Dallas, aka GMT-6. New York is GMT-5. Rebecca lives in Alaska, which is GMT-9. Tanja lives in Sweden, which is GMT+1. One girl will be 4 hours off in one direction, and the other will be 6 hours off in the other. I will be laughing at them.

    Priscilla said at 11:47 PM

    0 comments




    *laughs* I love it! Only in the new millenium! Adoration and eternal respect for whoever came up with Fan the Vote. It's a LiveJournal Community for volunteer fannish services (including art) for pledges to the Kerry Campaign and MoveOn.org! It's only been around for three days, yet the group's creator reports that as of early this afternoon, the community has raised approximately $1700 for the Kerry campaign and $156 for MoveOn. GUH.

    Edit: And Art the Vote, too! And VoteWorks!

    Priscilla said at 10:24 PM

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    Why is Blogger on crack? The publish times aren't even close to accurate!

    Priscilla said at 9:30 PM

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    Whee! Got a plan, got tickets, got a toga! Troy is ours for the taking!

    Priscilla said at 1:29 PM

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    Mum and I are going exercising. We are buff and curvaceous women of the future!

    Priscilla said at 11:56 AM

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    Is anyone in town to see Troy with me? Rachel M? Maybe the Daisies can see it with me tomorrow afternoon, after school? Ashley? Mimi? Tori? And Chungy, you're coming home sometime soon, right? So does that mean Rachel B will be home soon, too?

    After school, Cinemark 17 has showings at 4:45, 5:30, 7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:15. And actually, I should probably change that period to a question mark so that every sentence in this post will end in a question mark... shouldn't I? XD

    When does everyone get back in town?

    Priscilla said at 11:12 AM

    0 comments




    Blogger Stats!

    On Blogger Since December 2000
    Avg Posts Per Week 22
    Posts Written 4,040
    Words Written 311,527
    Outbound Links 2,544

    The Cult of Lincoln is spiralling out of control! Mwaha.

    So last night I saw Connie and Carla, which was very cute. It's about two female dinner-theatre performers that witness a murder and go undercover as male drag queens to hide from the killers. It was written by (and stars) Nia Vardalos, the woman who wrote and starred in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Go see it and spread the love, as it's flying very much under the radar.

    Priscilla said at 10:49 AM

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    Apologies if those subscribing to the CoL LJ RSS feed (wow, gotta love all those acronyms!) got spammed. The blame lies with the new Blogger, as it apparently assigned new URLs to the last bunch of posts, which resulted in doubleposting up the wazoo.

    Now I know what M was talking about yesterday! I told her about abeybaby, and she marvelled at the spam. I thought she was just referring to my habits of moderate to heavy posting frequency. Apparently not.

    So the buck is firmly passed to Blogger, but with love, because some of the new features are really quite neat. I'll get used to the new layout eventually. I just miss the "post" without publishing option. Ah well, I guess the "preview" makes up for it.


    I really, really, really need a new layout.

    Priscilla said at 12:55 AM

    0 comments


    Wednesday, May 12, 2004



    I am now registered for SIGGRAPH. I think I might die of joy.

    Priscilla said at 11:49 AM

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    I love Tanja.

    Priscilla said at 11:35 AM

    0 comments




    W00t! Dean's Blog For America won the People's Voice Webby in the Politics section! And lots of other cool people won stuff, so check it out!

    Priscilla said at 11:27 AM

    0 comments




    SCORE! I AM SO GOOD!

    COMM 262 VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1.00 CU B+
    CSE 121 PROG LANG AND TECH II 1.00 CU B
    CSE 131 PROG LANG & TECH LAB II 0.50 CU B
    ENGL 012 WRITING SEMINAR IN FILM:
    FUTURE NOIR 1.00 CU A
    FNAR 264 DIGITAL DES FOUNDATIONS 1.00 CU A
    MATH 114 CALCULUS II 1.00 CU B
    Term Statistics: 5.50 CU GPA 3.42
    Cumulative: 10.00 CU GPA 3.38
    Note that I was certain that I thought I would be lucky to get a C in Calculus and Java (Prog Lang and Tech II). I am officially on top of the world.

    Priscilla said at 11:07 AM

    0 comments


    Tuesday, May 11, 2004



    Not really any real news, but it's still nice to hear that all is in motion on the Serenity front! From AFN.

    15. ZOIC'S PERISTERE TAPPED AS VFX SUPERVISOR FOR SERENITY.
    Continuing a collaboration that has lasted eight years, director Joss Whedon and Zoic Studios' vfx supervisor Loni Peristere are reunited for the upcoming Universal feature SERENITY. The move marks the most ambitious feature to date for Los Angeles-based Zoic.

    The pairing is a natural extension of the work the duo completed for the television series FIREFLY on which the film is based. Peristere and Zoic Studios garnered the visual effects Emmy for FIREFLY in 2003, and Peristere has served as vfx supervisor on Whedon's successful episodic programs BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL.

    "We always felt that we were creating a feature film-level series, complete with effects that had a uniquely cinematic feel," notes Peristere, who is conducting previs for the movie. "Now we have the opportunity to take the concept to the big screen and build on the work we started in the TV realm. Joss and I have worked together on many projects and it's a thrill to collaborate with him on this project."

    "Loni Peristere and Zoic constantly expand my concept of what can be done with digital effects," says director Whedon. "They're masters of the new technology, but not slaves to it: their work integrates effects seamlessly into story instead of showing them off for their own sake. What they did on my TV show I had never seen in a movie. What they'll do on my movie... I'm just really excited to be working with these lunatics."

    "SERENITY will continue and expand upon the adventures of the memorable characters launched in the series, and will be joined by new characters created expressly for the motion picture adaptation. Whedon will act as both screenwriter and director, and the SERENITY cast will include such returning FIREFLY cast members as Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds, Gina Torres as Zoe Warren, Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra, Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye, Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, Sean Maher as Dr. Simon Tam and Summer Glau as River Tam.

    Launched by exec producer Steve Schofield and creative directors Chris Jones and Peristere, Zoic Studios (www.zoicstudios.com) is a leader in visual effects and CG animation in the commercials, music videos, feature film and episodic television arenas.



    Meanwhile, WHA? I just checked the Siggraph website, and it says the student price for the full conference is $395! Dude, I might be able to still go! Now I just have to hunt down and maim whoever told me registration was the ungodly sum of $2000. Because honestly, no student could pay that. *grooves a bit*

    Priscilla said at 7:51 AM

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    Monday, May 10, 2004



    Mum and I decided to pamper ourselves and get manicures today. Wow, I don't think I've work nail polish since 9th grade... *is sparkly*

    Priscilla said at 11:59 AM

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    Mr. Bush observed with no irony to Al Arabiya TV: "Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country, and we will help them rid Iraq of these killers." -- from here.

    You just can't ask for gems like that.

    Priscilla said at 11:56 AM

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    From TLC. Unconfirmed, but interesting.

    The Express is reporting that French actress Audrey Tautou is being considered for the role of Madame Maxime in the GOF film. The article says:

    " HARRY POTTER giant Hagrid has found his mate - in Amelie actress Audrey Tatou. The French beauty is in final negotiations to star in Harry Potter AndThe Goblet Of Fire as school mistress Madame Maxine, an 8 ft giantess who steals the heart of Hagrid, played by Robbie Coltrane.
    My source says: "Madame Maxine is this huge ugly giant whom everyone else finds terrifying. But the gag is that when Hagrid looks at her, all he sees is the beautiful Audrey Tatou."
    Is this Harry Potter or Shallow Hal? Der. I could see this as a running gag, also perhaps extending to some of his magical creatures, where he sees them as docile and benevolent, while they're actually terrifying and demented. And maybe also himself, when he dresses up for his "date", he could look in the mirror and see himself as Brad Pitt or something. It would be funny, but I don't know what it would contribute to the movie, other than making Hagrid look like a fool. It's a cute idea, but I don't like it.

    Priscilla said at 10:11 AM

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    And at 1:15 AM, I have finished reading my Friends list! And it only took me to skip=350! And now: unconsciousness.

    Priscilla said at 1:11 AM

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    I am smitten with Russian multiplication.

    Priscilla said at 12:34 AM

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    I'm sorry, but is it just me, or do the Troy pictures of Orli!Paris and Helen snogging look like lesbian porn? Or rather, what straight guys wish lesbian porn looked like? (Not that I know what real lesbian porn looks like. Um... WOAH DID YOU SEE THAT TOPIC CHANGE GO BY?)

    Meanwhile, Amazon reports that we US-ians are getting "Going Postal" (the next full-length Terry Pratchett novel) a week before the Brits and the other colonies get it! Haw haw! October 1st for us, October 7th (and later) for the rest! Serves you right for trying to delay the US release of "Hat Full of Sky!"

    Priscilla said at 12:11 AM

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    Sunday, May 09, 2004



    Oh, and hahahahhaha, last night I saw "Van Helsing." It took itself way too seriously, but it was still fun. And David Wenham as a dorky monk sidekick with an overgrown Luke Skywalker haircut pretty much made up for the PAINFULLY bad CGI. Ugh, it was almost physically painful at times. What is up with the rubbish rendering ILM has been doing lately? Not impressed, ILM. Not impressed. But it was a lot of fun, and Hugh Jackman is always delightful, so hurrah. And now, back to the maddened fray of my LJ Friends list! And uploading all the photos I took over the past few days! Which is a lot!

    Priscilla said at 10:28 PM

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    Ugh. Blogger has a new layout, and it's a bit obnoxious. It will definitely take some time to get used to. *hits Blogger with a stick for trying to change a good thing* Of course, it's not totally bad. One cool thing about the layout is a post count, where you can see the number of posts you've made in all of your blogs. This will be Cult of Lincoln's 3,879th post. Great googly moogly on a stick!

    Anyway, I just got home from Philly (ah, home lovely home!), so I'm going to catch up on LJ and people's blogs and such! And chat with Alicey about her new boytoy! :D *skips off*

    Priscilla said at 10:02 PM

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    Saturday, May 08, 2004



    My room is now entirely packed up. It's strange how one's life can be so quickly compressed into just a few boxes. :D

    Anyway, classes are now done, I found out that I kicked Java's heiney on the final exam (a 91, when the mean was 79), and mum is here, so all is wonderful! We went to the theatre last night to see "Van Helsing" (David Wenham!), but it was sold out, so we saw "13 Going on 30" (Andy Serkis!), which was very cute. It was especially entertaining, because whenever I see Andy I see Gollum, so it was like seeing Gollum channeling Rowan Atkinson, which is just gravy. Too funny!

    And now mom and I are off to ship stuff home and sell back books and such. Merriment!

    Priscilla said at 1:30 PM

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    Friday, May 07, 2004



    Daily Reasons to Dispatch Bush, brought to you by McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Ah, McSweeney's.

    Priscilla said at 10:33 AM

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    No. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances. I will not allow it. I'm sorry, but no. No, no, no!

    Priscilla said at 8:23 AM

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    Thursday, May 06, 2004



    LotR, X2, Potc and Firefly own you!

    So today I met with my friend Cathy to study for my Communications exam tomorrow. One of the first things we covered was Visual Deception, a small category of which was Prof Messaris's "Top 5 Special Effects." For some reason, Cathy wasn't really up on the special effects scene, so the overwhelming majority of the two hours we had together was spent explaining to her stop-motion animation, the "Vertigo" effect, bullet time, the psychology behind a choice to use a "morph" in an ad, and the process and pros and cons of key-framing versus motion capture versus virtual world construction. At length. Three times.

    I love Cathy and she is usually quite brilliant, but gah. At least I got to gush a bit about LotR and Massive and Andy Serkis, as Prof Messaris used Gollum as his example for motion capture and the Ride of the Rohirrim for virtual world construction. So I guess it evens out. And I got really good Italian food afterwards, so life is good. And now, back to packing! My room looks like a bomb went off.

    Priscilla said at 8:58 PM

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    Just in time for 5/7, someone has started an Anti-Bush Haiku Project!

    Ah, I look forward to the 2nd Annual World Blog Haiku day in July... though why it's not tomorrow I have no idea. We must inform Gneil and Dave Barry in advance this time!

    Priscilla said at 8:47 PM

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    Priscilla said at 8:32 PM

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    Grr. Okay, I now solemnly swear not to look at any more of the "trading card" pictures or any sort of PoA spoilers, no matter how enticing, because I still want some things to surprise me when I finally see it. No more!

    Priscilla said at 8:12 AM

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    Wednesday, May 05, 2004



    Sometimes I wish that the apple that fell on Newton would have killed him before he got around to inventing Calculus.

    I think about this a lot.

    Priscilla said at 10:21 PM

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    New icon, because you know someone was bound to do this eventually. :D

    Priscilla said at 4:47 PM

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    Dear Bush,

    It's called "Separation of Church and State," you moron.

    Never any love,
    Priscilla

    Priscilla said at 2:42 PM

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    W00t! My Dallas lovelies: Tickets are now on sale at Fandango for the midnight showing of PoA at both Loews! So who wants to go?

    Priscilla said at 1:26 PM

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    Let The Hobbit Happen.

    Spread the link around. It can't hurt! (Though they might need to shift their attention to Sony, considering their plans to buy MGM...)

    I wonder if WETA Digital will be hiring in three years.

    Priscilla said at 12:41 PM

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    Just got back from turning in my Film Noir writing portfolio! I am so good! And now, only two exams left! Math and Visual Communications. I'm half-done!

    And now, I study and pack!

    Priscilla said at 11:20 AM

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    Pics of the new PoA trading cards are now online. Everyone else has been linking to it, and I am no different.

    What is going on here?

    My vote goes to either Marriage Proposal, Operatic Seranade, or Tango.


    (Theirloveissocanon!)

    Priscilla said at 7:49 AM

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    Tuesday, May 04, 2004



    Heidi has penned the next "Bad Place" song, to the tune of "Come What May." It's "PoA!"

    *sings loudly*

    Priscilla said at 7:56 PM

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    How could I have nearly forgotten! On this day, May the Fourth be with you!

    *rimshot*

    Priscilla said at 6:51 PM

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    W00t. My Java exam has been thoroughly, righteously 0wnzed. I am so good!

    Priscilla said at 12:18 PM

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    Monday, May 03, 2004



    More Firefly news!

    According to the Dark Horizon website, while attending the "Starfury: Fusion" convention, Nathan Fillion was quoted as saying the $50 million budgeted 'Serenity' will not return as a television series should it preforms well at the box office; rather, it'll become a trilogy of movies.

    Filming will begin in June and will shoot for approximately 10 weeks with all nine original Serenity crew members onboard.

    'Serenity' is expected to premiere during the early part of 2005.


    *continuous ear-piercing squeal*

    Priscilla said at 5:39 PM

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    "The candidate has some new ads coming out, ads that humanize him, that make him seem almost non-robot like."

    I love you, ChangeForUS.

    Priscilla said at 3:14 PM

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    Dean is on the O'Franken Factor! <3

    Edit: GUH Why is this man not president?

    Priscilla said at 11:36 AM

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    Priscilla said at 11:12 AM

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    "Along the way, L. Paul Bremer III, the chief of the occupation authority, has revised policies that had seemed all but immutable as long as Iraq was bumping along, unsteadily but still surely, toward the transfer of sovereignty on June 30.

    Like a storm-tossed ship's master calling all hands, he has reached out to members of the old government, holding out the prospect of return to thousands of former officials and Baath Party members."


    STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID!

    Joe Drymala said it best. "Remember after World War II, when we were occupying Germany and we reached out to all those Nazis and put them in positions of power to stabilize the country? Since they'd, you know, done it before? Me neither, since it didn't happen. Since that would have been STUPID. Much like this is. But June 30 is fast approaching."

    Guh, why does everything about this idiotic mess remind me off "Trojan Women"? Hecuba: Now that the war is over, you can think of nothing better than to remake the conditions that are the cause of war."

    Priscilla said at 10:23 AM

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    Sunday, May 02, 2004



    I'm going to scream.

    Priscilla said at 11:32 PM

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    Priscilla said at 4:13 PM

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    Whee! Bryn Mawr was crazy fun. Friede was nowhere to be found, but it was still lovely to get to spend time with Schlien and Allison.

    Meanwhile, an explosion of coolness on the Harry Potter front! See the newest trailer (from a French source -- delight in the subtitles!), and then chortle over last night's Saturday Night Live skit!

    I am officially thrilled over the PoA movie. June 2nd, kids! The day after "Hat Full of Sky" comes out! W00t!

    Priscilla said at 3:50 PM

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    Saturday, May 01, 2004



    Whee! Last year's UPenn SIGGRAPH animation, "Dink," is one of the finalists in the MTVu "Best Animation on Campus" contest! "Dink" and two others are now just one vote away from a potentially obscene sum of money!

    And I finally posted all the photos I've been promising my IRL friends I'd post for ages. Go see!

    Priscilla said at 2:25 PM

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    Title cartoon by Bruce Eric Kaplan, used without permission.

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