sundries

[rm]

Howard Zinn has died.

Apple's tablet, the iPad, got announced today. I think it looks awesome and has the potential to be fabulous. We'll see as it may be hard to justify while also owning a mac laptop, but I like it as a light diverse diverse as opposed to the limited Kindle. But folks... the menstruation jokes? The ongoing iTampon stuff? Seriously grating on my nerves. Ever heard of a pad of paper?

Torchwood rec: angstslashhope wrote Underwood which is proof that no, not all random sex scenes on the Internet are the same. Also? The inspiration was apparently this photo (More or less SFW, but definitely was porn in another age). Even if you're not in fandom, check out the pic.

Idol Musings has started getting into people's hands. Apparently it's over 600 pages (which sure does justify the hefty cover price). Here's an early review.

Obama is apparently going to call for the repeal of DADT during the SotU tonight. How much am I not getting excited. How sick am I of Obama occasionally doing a shout-out to the queer consistency so we'll keep giving him money while his bipartisanship apparently means inviting people involved in that Uganda "kill the gays" mess to the White House prayer breakfast. Yeah, sorry, I'm fed up by having to be grateful for crumbs.

This story keeps getting weirder and weirder. Why aren't people paying more attention?

The one Kaffekltasch I was really interested in at Gallifrey One is, of course, during a panel I'm on.

Right, so my Dragon*Con guest status is official. Who's going this year?

Patty report: she has a cold and she's trying to sort out her summer archaeology plans, which may prove to be accidentally hilarious. More when we know it.

Comments

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I've been following the iPad all day. The things that concern me are how limited it is, the DRM issues, and the strong limits put on 3rd party development. It looks amazing, but I'm concerned that as far as function goes it may be just a high priced toy that falls to the side like the Newton did.

The big plus for me vs other pad type readers is that it has a screen that does not have to flash inverse to refresh a page. This is what has stopped me from buying a Kindle or the Sony E-Reader.

We are ever so close to the Hitchhikers Guide ... all the knowledge, wireless updates, portable ... this is a good thing(tm).

[hughcasey.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but I'm still finding the iPad jokes funny. But then again, I am an emotional 10-year-old, and I do not deny it. ;-P Given that, I'm sure they will be getting on my nerves in a few days as well.

As for that photo... hey, maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think that it's DAY-UMED HAWT!

It would be good if Obama called for an end to DADT... I'd rather he asked for a repealing of DOMA. But I'm totally pissed off about reports that his new budget is going to totally gut NASA's budget, including killing the entire moon program. Bastards. :-(

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh I think it's TOTALLY hot and utterly charming too. It's just safe-ish for work is all.

DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE SPENDING FREEZE. It's pandering and plan economics and and and... moon!

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

One of my friends is a contract librarian at NASA Goddard. His job could go poof.

(The joys of being a local Metro DCer! Spending freezes and budget cuts means people I know can lose jobs!)

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

Yay for you on DragonCon! It makes me happy that when last I checked you were right above James Marsters in the guest list! Two of the people I plan to see when I'm at DragonCon. ;-D

I will be there with the fam (husband and kid). Hopefully we'll at least have time to say "Hey!" in person. Between SCAdians, belly dance buds, HP friends, James Marsters pals, steam punkers, and old con going buds my head hurts with how much planning I'm going to have to do to see everyone I want to. I'm thinking a detailed sheet marked out in 15 min. intervals just might work! ;-p

[rm.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I don't normally have many priorities at Dragon*Con -- I do the panels I'm on and I try to go to the Torchwood programming but invariably I wind up ridiculously busy.

Marsters and I are usually right near each other on the program because of alphabetical thing. My old buddy marrus often winds up squeezed between us.

[intelligentrix.livejournal.com]

Marsters and I are usually right near each other on the program because of alphabetical thing. My old buddy marrus often winds up squeezed between us.

That actually sounds pretty hot...

*waving* Hi, another friend of Marrus here.

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

I have never liked Apple stuff particularly, but when Mad TV ran an "iPad" fake ad in 2006, it's really hard not to make jokes, and/or wonder about Apple's decision.
http://mashable.com/2010/01/27/madtv-ipad/

Oddly, the only place I see giving the Landrieu story play is Fox.

Yay DragonCon!

[rm.livejournal.com]

MSNBC Is on it, but in a "what the fucking fuck is this?" way which is sorta funny.

The MadTV thing, which I only just found out about, does make the epic amount of the menstrual humour slightly more understandable to me.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

There are all kinds of play-on-words for the i-family. There was a fake ad for the i-brator that came out somewhere around the time of the i-pod. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqN6749QqtA ) and the "i-pooed" image of the man sitting on the loo.

My first exposure to menstrual humor came in my freshman year in high school. The class segments were changed from " Periods " to " Mods " or " Modules " because of the volume of jokes being made. Literally, students were bending over in the hallways while walking complaining about cramps related to their " First period " , or " Third period ". It didn't seem all that funny to me, compared to my Steve Martin records and Monty Python on PBS.

This was a high school in the backwaters of farm country. This kind of 'humor' was rampant along with jokes about birthing cows, shoveling manure, mom and dad making babies in the hay silo, and other such things. I transferred out after my freshman year partly because I wanted to attend another school with a better tech program, and because the principal was stabbed.

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

I'm not getting the feminists that I read who are blaming Apple instead of the twittersphere for the iPad jokes. How is it that we've had mousepads for so long without losing our composure like we're a bunch of ten year-old boys? And remember a few years ago when the Wii was released and nobody bought one because the name reminded them of urine? Sheesh!

I'm with you on DADT. I'll be relieved if it gets done, but it should have been done a year ago during his honeymoon period. My bet is that he won't put the effort into it AGAIN and it'll fail and he'll try to use it as proof that we need to support him even more. But I'll be thrilled if I'm wrong.

[5251962.livejournal.com]

I thought it was fairly amusing this morning- and then the "OMG, what is an iTampon?!" stuff started showing up on Twitter in earnest- and that I just couldn't help laughing about. There were people wondering what Apple'd come out with and why they were calling it that- I don't know if you saw that. That tickled me no end. I'm totally a 10 year old kid in my head at times.

That picture is absolutely amazing.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

So sad about Zinn. I hope that at least more people who were vaguely aware of him while he was alive will actually read him now, since it seems to work that way sometimes.

And that photo. Is. So. Hot. OMG.

Are people in general really not paying attention to the O'Keefe thing? Because it is all over the parts of the internet that I can stand to read.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Mainstream media is totally like "O'keefe thing is weird and complicated, ignore" if they are covering it at all. It deserves to be a much larger story than it is.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

You'd think fake pimping + wannabe watergating = a winning media combination, but apparently not.
That's a real shame.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Maybe a better question is why is the media making it sound like some frat-boy's drunken and senseless random series of pathetic, not-funny jokes, rather than providing an intelligible (much less compelling) narrative.

[moizissimo.livejournal.com]

iPad. No flash = no Adobe Digital Editions = no ebooks from the library (school or public, actually), which is one big reason why I'd get something other than my iPhone.

[curriejean.livejournal.com]

Yes! Underwood needs the hell recced out of it! :D

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Covered the launch today, and I am underwhelmed. It's a pretty, shiny toy. And you could have heard a pin drop in the room when Steve announced the 3G "deals"... from AT&T.

Also the jokes got old at about 7 this morning as I was standing in line to get my press credential.

I want it because it's dazzling, but the only thing I can think of that it would do better than my laptop is be an ebook reader. And I won't buy a Kindle because I can't take it into the bath with me, never mind spending $200 more on something I won't take into the bath with me (which is where I do most of my reading).

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Ha, I wasn't on twitter today but I can fill in the blanks on the iPad jokes.

I'll be at Dragon*Con. I even reserved mah room already!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Which hotel are you in this year? Right now we're in the Hyatt.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Sheraton! I tried to get the Marriott, like everyone else, but no luck!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm on the switch-list for the Marriott, and if I'm not there I'd almost prefer the Sheraton (cheaper, quieter), but I figure if I'm _in_ the hotel with the Green Room, maybe I'll finally go this year. Hell, maybe I'll get some business done too.

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Ever heard of a pad of paper?

Yes. In primary school. With the same jokes. I'm hoping that they go away reeeeeeeeally soon now.

[such_heights]

Hurray for guest status! Heh, if I don't get the job I'm going for, then I'll be doing the extended edition of my US summer trip and will be at Dragon*Con, which is a good consolation prize.

On Howard Zinn

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

Sad to hear, but hey, he made it to 87! And he looked pretty good up to the end.

Maybe I harp on the finally made it to real old age bit because I've know quite a few whom have died way before 75. Sad to hear that he's gone, but I'm glad he got to stick around quite a while.

[hmrpotter.livejournal.com]

I will be at DragonCon, as usual. I was wondering when they would finally add your name to the guest list. I'm really curious as to who else will come this year, although I am bummed by the lack of Potter-ness so far. But it's still early...

[rm.livejournal.com]

Ah, that lag was my fault - I got the contract right before our cruise, but just faxed it back in yesterday! I think we're a looooong way from knowing what fandoms will be represented this year.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

weird story--no one is paying attention because it's muddled and confusing and then more confusing.

That's my guess, anyway.

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

Ha! That picture would so be Jack. (The one with the Torchwood fic rec.) Very cheesecake-y.

Hmmm, might check out that Idol Musings at the library before I buy it. Though anthologies are usually good buys, as I find that there is always at least one story or essay that is really good, and makes buying the whole thing worthwhile.

I'm not sure why more hasn't been shown on O'Keefe. Perhaps because he's a fellow journalist, and other journalists are afraid to criticize his techniques here?

Summer archeology!? Whoot! Sorry, Stargate fan here. I liked reading about archeology before Stargate, now every time I read something about archeology, I start thinking on how I can turn it into a Stargate fanfic.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

Yeah .. already had heard enough jokes/comments about whether or not it came in a version with Wings by about 12:30 central time today .. I am the only person on the sales floor who menstruates but seriously ..

Why the iJokes

[nobodyreally.livejournal.com]

The vast majority of the stuff I see floating around my twitterverse comes from women who have worked in tech firms. Women like me.

For years we have watched while they ads like this filled the landscape: Qsol ad We have sat in meetings where they made those decisions, and sat in offices with 'ads' on the wall that could have been from strip clubs. (See also, dealing with these - not all - guys on a daily basis. Marketing is notoriously sexist and immature.)

We also passed the MadTV iPad skit around when it happened, years ago.

So we were in possession of the context that made ripping Apple a new one fun. (Quite a few of my friends are writers and enjoy word play, so that helped, too.)

I guess what I am saying is that, if you don't like it, that's fine. Just ignore it and move on. It's a big world, we can each exercise our own humor preferences.

But we, who are entertained to see Apple not notice that the spoof already existed before they made their "OMG We are changing the world!" announcement had some harmless fun. And truly, Apple deserves to have a bit of the piss taken out of it for their "we are the most specialest people ever" thing.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Man, RIP Zinn.

I love vintage porn! Love, love, love! They have hair! :D That story was so good too.

Congrats on D*C. I really hope one day I get to make it to that and/or ComicCon. Just to say, hey, I dun it!

[hope]

Thanks!

I love all that vintage porn. It's just too good. I had the tab open for months.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

How sick am I of Obama occasionally doing a shout-out to the queer consistency so we'll keep giving him money while his bipartisanship apparently means inviting people involved in that Uganda "kill the gays" mess to the White House prayer breakfast.

This. See, this is why I distrust charisma in a politician. They think a pretty speech will fill the place of actually doing stuff (also, big non-impressed face for mentioning all the GBLT rights things achieved that he did NOTHING to help)



I'm amazed that that story is being ignored - are things so bad that a smoking gun like this is ignored?

[sethg]

Mark Kleiman suggests that repeal of DADT could go in as part of the next Defense appropriations bill, and if the Republicans in the Senate want to block it, they would have to filibuster the entire bill. The Defense brass is now in favor of repeal and the public favors it by a wide margin, so the odds of peeling off two Republicans for cloture are fairly good.