Hummingwolf at Home

"Help, My Friend Won't Stop Having Fibromyalgia At Me!"
Here's that bad advice you were hoping for.

(Link via supergee)

Sometimes people online will link to a comic strip and tell you, "This is the story of my life!" Well, yeah, this is the story of my life. Thank you, XKCD.

In other news, The Doctor has been following the news: Wikileaks, Cablegate, the media, and you.

Now wearing: Old-looking blue jeans, brighter blue mock turtleneck (or something), white socks, brown & silver shoes, old glasses I really need to do something about, and boring underwear.

Now hearing: Well, I would like to say it's my personalized Launchcast station; but that was discontinued a month ago, so I couldn't possibly be listening to that, right? ("Kuos" by Banco de Gaia.)

Now seeing: Computer screen as I sit here trying to think of what to type. Shifting my eyes to the left, I see a grey day out the window. The tree nearest the window is just starting to put out little green leaflets, which will soon grow into bigger leaves, which will provide food for what may be a massive infestation of Eastern tent caterpillars. I never wrote about those last spring, but I was utterly fascinated with those fuzzy guys in their teeming thousands as they took about three days to defoliate the old tree. Since both tree and caterpillars are native species, they do have a working relationship: tree puts out a set of leaves, caterpillars munch on them, tree mopes for a while, then tree puts out more leaves. Here's hoping the tree is healthy enough to put out an entire second set of leaves this year if it has to.

Now smelling: One of the spicier herbal teas from Celestial Seasonings. ("Not Yet Remembered" by Harold Budd playing on my nonexistent station.)

Now tasting: See above.

Now feeling: Sleepier than I should be, but less headachy than I have been.

Last meal eaten: Egg substitute, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, onions, and corn fried in olive oil & topped with Swiss cheese.

Pie eaten on Pi Day last week: Bacon and onion quiche (store-bought).

Beverage drunk to excess on St. Patrick's Day: Green tea.

Are there more of my kind? Possibly: see here for possible evidence.

Number of library books currently checked out: Hmm... four returned yesterday, three checked out, so... nine.

Wasn't there some New Year's resolution about reading all those books you bought last year? Um, yes. (Now playing: The Police, "Driven to Tears.")

Now reading: M.M. Manring, Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima. Marketing, racism, sexism--what's not to love? You gotta admit, the 1919 advertisement titled "The Cook whose Cabin Became More Famous than Uncle Tom's" has a certain undeniable OH AUNT JEMIMA NO quality to it.

Speaking of racism... O HAI RACEFAILZ: Notes on Reading an Internet Conflict.

Mutant joke of the week: Two Cows: SF Version (see both the comments there and the original post; link via supergee). (Now playing: Underworld, "Dirty Epic (Dirty Guitar Mix).")

Cuteness of the week: On Monday as I was walking down the alley, a wee child with whiskers on his face and his father (or guardian) were in one of the back yards I passed. I soon discovered that the little boy had a tall paper hat--he was the Cat in the Hat! The father said, "Apparently it was a very exciting day in school today. Who knew?"

Synchronicity: That night's House, M.D. episode had a cat as a major character.

Last TV show watched: Wednesday night's episode of Lie to Me.

Dream of the week: The one featuring Dean & Sam Winchester and Castiel. Mmm... Castiel.

How much TV do you really need to watch? Less than I have been watching lately.

Miles walked today: Probably a little over two. I wasn't feeling terribly ambitious (and now it's Sting, "Love Is the Seventh Wave").

Have you anything else to say? Not that I've managed to think of in the last few minutes (Liane Foly, "Des Heures Hindoues").

thewronghands brings us "88 Lines about 44 Presidents." Both fun and educational (and also a bit awe-inspiring)!

In other news: Aretha's hat makes everything better (Note: lots of pictures).

On a television-related note: I watched the new series Lie to Me last night. On the minus side: I do not need any more TV shows taking up my time and brainspace right now, and this series is on FOX. On the other hand: GUILDENSTERN! Will watch again, assuming it isn't canceled before the second episode has a chance to air.

Found while journal-hopping: Things I learned from British folk ballads by Jim Macdonald. Truly a must-read for everyone who might otherwise wander down to the wild rippling water or the greenwood side, or end up in a situation where the obvious rhyme is "maidenhead."

[Edited to change the link to the original post on Making Light, where there are some exceedingly helpful comments.]

The GOP Primary Field in Buffy Villains. Brilliant.
(Link via supergee.)

Both links full of graphical content, but no video.

First link via nancylebov: This are serious thread. If the words "lolrus" and "Orly" mean anything to you, you need to see this.

And via polonius: Parody Magic Cards, which will probably be of most interest to folks who have some actual clue about normal Magic cards.

A four-year-old article from Slate magazine which remains as relevant as ever: Anti-Terrorism Valentine's Day Tips.

This link remains my favorite Valentine-related link ever: Unfortunate Valentine's Cards. If you're one of the ones feeling lonely today, look through these cards and be grateful that nobody sent you one of those this year.

Thanks to anyone who has linked to the list of 101 steps to having a good relationship. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Okay, if you were hoping to read something sappy, read (or re-read) this goopy post about a first date. Yes, it's from last month, but it's still as sweet as it was the first time. And if you read that post before and were trying to repress the memory (or recover from the diabetic coma), read the masterful alternate version instead.

Anyone else have sweet or cynical romantic links to share?

A jar of gefilte fish, opened in Israel, has reportedly issued an ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to abandon his weapons of mass destruction. Coming on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim, the day that President George W. Bush has defined as a "moment of truth," the fishy comment has electrified the local community.

(The hummingwolf reads the rest of the story, attempting to stifle a giggle. She fails miserably.)

In cheery news, I got a card in the mail featuring this cartoon! Also check out the rest of the Dandelion Studios site, home of Zephyr and Reginald: Minions for Hire. Art work done by the same Dandelion who drew my cute hummingwolf icon. Go see!

Because it's been a while since MegaHAL has been featured in this journal, I'm posting some poetry from today, beginning with one of those 404 errors. (For the uninitiated: No, this stuff isn't supposed to make sense.)

404: Not found
the sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
to single saturn, last and solitary;
and his, who did not kill him?
was it famine or scurvy--i fought it;
i thought: how ridiculous, how off-base.

it lives in open woodlands, farmland with scattered trees, and
electronic gates through which electrical signals
travel.

( Yes, there is more )

["Mouseketeer ears in my eyes"? Sounds painful.]

Beginning with http://www.capnwacky.com/valentines/valcard1.html

Laughing too hard... can't... breathe... help...