sundries

[rm]

Patty and I had a lovely outside dinner last night, but then stayed up too late because work caught up with me. Boo.

Today my face hurts in a massive, horrible sinus way.

I posted my Dragon*Con schedule last night!

We're expecting a lovely fucking hurricane over the weekend that should make Dragon*Con related travel slightly annoying.

Dragon*Con people, there's a fake Irish pub near the hotels that has video trivia and tends to be Not Fucking Annoying on Thursday night. But I can only recall its location by sight in my head. This does not help me tell other people where it is or what it is called. Anyone?

Rather unexpectedly, won writerinadrawer Round 4. If you weren't following along, do go back and read the stories. Many, many people turned in at least one that was some of their best work, and I'm pretty sure we all embarrassed ourselves at least once (I feel like I can count at least four on that score (the embarrassment score) for me). In the end (and arguably through the whole thing, since exercises like this are weird), it certainly didn't come down to quality, but what happened to be to the tastes of whoever was voting in a given week. Also, while I could often tell who wrote what, I pegged something for cruentum that I still can't believe was misswinterhill a few rounds back, so that sort of wacky surprise was fun, but since everything is revealed now, a bit too late for you. Anyway, everyone, and most especially our host, thefannishwaldo, deserves a round of applause for Getting Through This Thing. I found this _much_ harder work than therealljidol.

30 mosques in 30 days.

Ad campaign to counteract anti-Muslim sentiment.

Extreme Dog Grooming.

Plato's pop-culture problem and ours.

The politics of "ma'am" I about fell over laughing at "Because it amuses me."

The Advocate has a point. As more conservative Republicans call for same-sex marriage, what does Obama achieve by opposing it? The people that wouldn't vote for him over this issue, already wouldn't vote for him. Right?

Interesting-and-a-half that pressure for marriage equality in Australia is now coming from a Tasmanian independent.

Are you fucking kidding me? Emergency message about crashing into the sea played to passengers by mistake. Mercury retrograde, we are done!

Comments

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

I was taught to use "sir" and "ma'am" as a kid. These days, I use them most often in conjunction with "excuse me," namely when people whose name I don't know leave something behind and I have to be like, "Hey person who looks male/female! Come back! Pick up your stuff!" (Because somehow gendering it narrows down who I might be yelling at by 50%? IDK.)

I also used "sir" and "ma'am" while I worked at the library with faculty/old people who looked like they might die and give the university money imminently. They seemed to appreciate it.

When I was eight, I had to explain to my dad that "ma'am" was not spelled "mam." That was awkward.

[weirdquark]

I work in a library in Texas. The students tend to call all female employees ma'am, including the student workers. Especially the core of cadets and the international students who are even more polite than your average student.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I am never offended when someone military calls me "ma'am." That seems normal. Anyone else though and it's pretty bizarre up here.