We'll miss you, Sarah Jane Smith. RIP Elisabeth Sladen #doctorwho

When I was a kid, I wanted to BE Sarah Jane...actually, I still do.

io9 has a great article about Elisabeth's work as Sarah Jane, where they point out "Her death is a huge loss to Doctor Who fans, and to fans of strong female adventure heroes everywhere."

I never consciously thought about Sarah Jane as a "strong female adventure hero," but she was. She probably helped shape me as much as any other woman I watched on TV as a kid. Apparently, Elisabeth was an active influence on how Sarah Jane was written. Without Elisabeth, Sarah Jane would not have been who she was, and I wouldn't be who I am without Sarah Jane. I don't remember watching any other show for hours upon hours like I did with Doctor Who (maybe Scooby Doo? Well, Daphne & Velma are no shrinking violets, either).

One of my favorite episodes from the new Doctor Who series is "School Reunion" where Sarah Jane returned, meeting up with the 10th Doctor, David Tennant:

The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; 

the world was lucky to have Lis. 

- Russell T Davies

Maybe Will & Kate should come down the aisle THIS way...

Remember Jill and Kevin's Wedding Entrance Dance? T-mobile reimagined it for Prince William & Kate Middleton's upcoming nuptials, with look-alikes and all. Very cute and clever.


YouTube - The T-Mobile Royal Wedding

via Mashable

Dr. Who + Snoopy = Awesome!

Loving Snoopy as a Dalek :)



By Ape Lad
via @bonniegrrl

Titanic sank 99 years ago today

I dug through Flickr a bit and came up with these:

WooHoo! More Red Dwarf coming!

Exciting news from Robert Llewellyn's blog:

The LlewBlog - Red Dwarf - Smegtastic: "In November this year we start to record a new series of 6 episodes, presently titled Red Dwarf X. I’m not sure of the Broadcast dates but we finish recording them in early February 2012. I don't know if this is going to be a prequel to the three specials we made in 2009, or the follow on, or if Kryten will have a new turbo boost for his groinal attachment, or if it takes place on the ship, or Starbug, or if the Skutters will have speaking parts or even indeed, if Rimmer will be any less of a smeghead. All this is to come."

Can't wait to watch!

The babies are hatching!

Check out the Eagle Cam in Decorah, IA - one chick hatched this morning, with two more to go.

Decorah Eagles, Ustream.TV

Thanks to my friend and coworker Teri, The Cheeky Librarian, for the heads up!

Best April Fools suggestion ever

"Voice search to locate nearby kittens will also work on Android devices, and iOS devices with the Google Search App, so try meowing into your phone to find the kittens near you."

Meow Me Now - Official Google Mobile Blog

Imagining people meowing into their phones makes me smile.

Lightsaber Popsicles! Or, "Yesss, delicious Jabba"

Forget the popsicles, I want that jingle as a ringtone!

Oh, wait...ThinkGeek read my mind!

OMG! This is so exciting!

For all my fellow font nerds:

Comic Sans Pro Typeface Family Makes its Debut | Business Wire: "Featuring elements such as speech bubbles and cartoon dingbats, Comic Sans Pro extends the versatility of the original Comic Sans, designed by Vincent Connare for Microsoft in 1994. “Hats off to Monotype Imaging for enlivening Comic Sans and getting it back to its roots as a comic book lettering face. Now everyone can write with more panache – and look even more like a pro using swashes, small caps and other typographic embellishments,” said Connare." [Emphasis mine]

via Boing Boing

P.S. If you didn't click through to Boing Boing...April Fools!

And I thought I was hearing things...

Emergency Sirens Triggered Accidentally - Omaha News Story - KETV Omaha: "OMAHA, Neb. -- Douglas County officials said emergency sirens heard over the noon hour Wednesday were set off accidentally."

CNN knows who to contact about missing cobras :)

So you've probably heard the Bronx Zoo is missing a cobra, unless you're living under a rock (and if you are, have you seen the cobra anywhere under there?)

CNN wanted more information on just how dangerous this cobra is, so they called the same person I would call: my second cousin Terry Phillip, Curator of Reptiles at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, SD.

How to catch an escaped cobra:


More of Terry's comments here: Reptile Gardens expert weighs in on snake fiasco for CNN.

And if you'd like more from the Bronx Zoo's Cobra, check out its twitter feed. :)

Tearing down the Kline Center at Chadron State College

I spent many many many hours in this building, working on the college newspaper. There are some great memories in there. It's a little sad to see it go.



via KOTA - WeatherBug

The view from my window tonight

A few days ago, we had 70-degree weather along with with hail and tornadoes (which, thankfully, missed us). But winter apparently isn't quite done with us yet...

Heh...

A chuckle for you at the end of the day:

Facebook Photos Help to Incriminate Bigamist: "A word of caution to any would-be bigamists who may be reading this: If you’re posting photos of your second wedding to Facebook, you might want to make sure your first wife can’t see them."

Could you have said no to this face?

Neither could we, so we brought Quinn home from the Nebraska Humane Society six years ago yesterday (Yes, yesterday. We never can remember an anniversary until the day after *sigh*). 

He's slowly turning into a bit of a grumpy old man but he's as much of a cuddle monster (and bed hog) as he ever was.

A Nebraska version of beef & cabbage for St. Pat's :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For those of you not familiar with runzas, they're a mix of ground beef & cabbage baked into a bun. They're German-Russian, not Irish, but I did enjoy this one with a Guinness. :)

I should make my own (my mom used to make a ton at once then freeze them), but with a Runza restaurant just a couple blocks away, I never do.

Recently Read: Apple's Role in Japan during the Tohoku Earthquake

Kevin Rose posted a couple emails from a friend of his who works in an Apple store in Tokyo. Whatever else I may think of Apple, I think it's awesome that they stepped up in such a way for their customers and employees in such a hard time.

Kevin Rose - blogg - Apple's Role in Japan during the Tohoku Earthquake

The whole thing is a great read, but this part especially impressed me:

"You know how in disaster movies, people on the street gather around electronic shops that have TVs in the display windows so they can stay informed with what is going on? In this digital age, that's what the Tokyo Apple stores became. Staff brought out surge protectors and extension cords with 10s of iOS device adapters so people could charge their phones & pads and contact their loved ones. Even after we finally had to close 10pm, crowds of people huddled in front of our stores to use the wifi into the night, as it was still the only way to get access to the outside world...Even after we had to close, many of the staff stayed outside the store to fixing iphones and teaching people how to contact family or stay informed via wifi. "

Et tu, Tuesday?

Beware the Ides of March...


YouTube - Julius Caesar: the Ides of March

Happy Pi Day!

Today is Pi Day! Why not celebrate with pie? :)

By pauladamsmith

Recently Read: The awesomely terrifyingly amazing power of counting to three

Mom-101: The awesomely terrifyingly amazing power of counting to three: "I love that the mere act of counting to 3 can make my children quake with fear."

Ain't it the truth! Click through for a cute story of "misusing" this superpower.

Remember the 'lost civilization' of Friendster? [video]

Someday, will we look back on Facebook, Twitter, et al in the same way?


Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of 'Friendster' Civilization


via Explorator

Celebrate International Women's Day with women writers

I've been in a Nyquil coma for days, so I almost missed noticing today is International Women's Day. The Google Books blog has a great post on Five Female Trailblazers in Literature You May Have Never Heard Of:

"Though it's impossible to compile an exhaustive list, we're highlighting a few individuals who went places no woman, and sometimes no man, had ever gone before in the world of words. These woman made history with their pens, quills and ancient stone tablets...The 100th anniversary of International Women's Day is an apt opportunity for us to look back and celebrate the profound influence of these often unsung female stalwarts. Without the pioneering work of Enheduanna, Hrotsvitha, Lady Muraski, Aphra Behn and Selma Lagerlöf (not to mention: Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Emily Brönte, Charlote Brönte, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Pearl S. Buck, Frances Burney, George Eliot, Amy Tan, Eudora Welty, Gloria Steinem, Louisa May Alcott, Agatha Christie, Flannery O'Connor, Emily Dickinson, Anne Frank, Mary Shelley, Sylvia Plath, Alice Walker, Harper Lee, Danielle Steel, J.K. Rowling and many others), who knows where we might be?"

Work as a game

I got a kick out of this post by Chris Baty, depicting his workday as a series of online "games." I'll have to ponder a bit about the best way to characterize my job in that light. It will have something to do with getting books and articles from across the country (sometimes from around the world - bonus levels?) in the fastest time at the lowest price. Maybe finding an article free online = bonus points? Hmmm....

What would your job be like if it was a game?

The Office of Letters and Light - Playing Online Games at Work 

The lonely life of a writer...not so much

Saturday, Rainbow Rowell's latest column for the Omaha World-Herald focused on how writers in Omaha often don't realize how many other writers are local, how it seems hard to find and feel part of a supportive community when writers are such solitary creatures. It's such a common trait of writers that it's practically a stereotype. But she did uncover one special secret:

"Nebraska's tightest-knit, most welcoming writing community has to be the romance writers. The Heartland Writers Group (the local chapter of the Romance Writers of Nebraska America) meets monthly and is open to all sorts of writers, published, unpublished or just getting started." [the correction is mine]

Cut to me with a big grin on my face - Heartland Writers Group is MY writers group!

I've never met a more welcoming group of people, writers or otherwise. I look forward to our monthly meetings and any other gatherings we can come up with and I'm really disappointed when life interferes and I have to miss one. Thankfully we have an active email loop (several, in fact) where we give and get support 24/7 between meetings.

I'm so thankful I found this group - they keep me going in so many ways - and it warms my heart when others notice what a great group it is.

So check out Rainbow's column, then come visit us at our website and blog! If you're a writer, you might even want to visit us in person. If you're not, I hope you have a community in your life that's as supportive of your goals, whatever they may be, as Heartland Writers Group is of mine. I love you, HWG ladies!

In case the world isnt high-definition enough for you:

Hey, they're cheaper than a TV :-)

How to accept your Oscar

Photo by prayitno

Highlights from Accepting Your Oscar: A Guide:

• Thank the spiritual being of your choice. Point up/over/ wherever (probably not down).

• Definitely act surprised. Practice this one in the mirror beforehand.

• Thank significant other, then blow a kiss to him/her. Have significant other practice “in love” face.

via Shoebox (they have a great blog)

A Lost Choose Your Own Adventure Book? That would be awesome!

I wish this was real:


Lost Choose Your Own Adventure by ~Hartter on deviantART

Trying Jedi mind tricks

Hey, it could work...

Christchurch earthquake on Flickr

Some amazing pictures from New Zealand, both of the devastation but also of people helping out in such a tough time:


via a search set up by Flickr Blog

Happy Presidents Day!

Pearls Before Swine

Studs of the '80s: Ooh La La or Not So Much?

Photo by Gage Skidmore

A little weekend guilty pleasure:

Studs of the '80s: Still Hot Today? - Photo Gallery - LIFE

A nice then-and-now gallery. I have to say Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis definitely hold up (Bruce was one of my first celebrity crushes and it's never faded). Jon Bon Jovi has actually improved. Some of these other guys have definitely gone in the other direction. David Hasselhoff (another early crush) just makes me shudder these days.

I'm reading: Don't Believe The "Lots Myth"

Don't Believe The "Lots Myth": "You see, money doesn’t make us smarter; it just amplifies what we already are. If you’re a mess with a dollar, chances are you’ll be an even bigger mess with a million dollars. If you’re wise with a nickel, chances are you’ll be great with a thousand nickels."

Gah! Where'd that other parenthesis go?

via xkcd

Neil Gaiman on Piracy

Neil Gaiman has an interesting perspective on piracy:


YouTube - Gaiman on Copyright Piracy and the Web

via Travelin' Librarian

Not one perfect draft, but many imperfect ones

From my evening's reading last night (boldface is mine):

Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers: More than One Draft: "Do you understand that writing a novel, memoir, screenplay involves not just writing one draft but many?...Get your ego out of the way. The more you are able to tolerate imperfection, the more quickly you can finish a draft and every draft makes the story better."

How true. As much as I think I "know" that the first, second, maybe even the final draft down the road won't be perfect, something in my head digs in its heels knowing I have to get words on the page imperfectly in order to make progress. I think this is why I did so well on NaNoWriMo in 2009 - I had permission to write a messy first draft.

I need to remember to give myself permission to write imperfectly on a daily basis or I'll never get anywhere. Just in case you need it: I give you permission, too.

Cross-posted at Heartland Writers Group

Humorous headline of the day

Police: Burglar Caught With Beef, Sausage In Pocket

I'll let you add your own dirty jokes.

Punctuation is i'mportant

via Reality Check

Reading: 80 years of marriage

Great story!

80 years of marriage: "'They all said it wouldn't last.' But Elza and Vivian Moses surprised them all. He is now 102, and she is 97. They have become minor celebrities in central Illinois since September, when they reached an astounding milestone of marital longevity: their 80th wedding anniversary."

Less complaining. More sexy rumpus.

via The Oatmeal

We don't do Valentine's Day very big in our house. It kind of gets a polite nod more than anything. I'm impressed I actually decorated this year (if hanging a single shiny heart wreath counts as decorating). We usually have a little bit nicer dinner than usual, and that's about it (although I was just joking with hubby about having heart-shaped tuna sandwiches tonight). On top of that, I'm home with a sick kid today, which doesn't really amp up any romantic feelings.

Among the feeds I read in Google Reader today, the "I HATE Valentine's Day" variety seem to be outweighing the "I LURVE Valentine's Day" variety. I think there may be a lot of residual junior high disappointment floating around out there. Apparently The Oatmeal noticed, too, and decided to address the situation:

The Oatmeal

Though I agree in general with the entire post, I loved the final point so much I had to put it up at the top of mine (see it up there?). I think it might be a good mantra for life, not just Valentine's Day. :) 

Blackberry not working?

My Blackberry Is Not Working!

(Just in case you didn't get the Orange reference, it's a mobile carrier in the UK)

Copy editors are never not working

Cool Google Doodle today

In honor of Thomas Edison's 164th birthday:

via Google

Did you miss the Super Bowl commercials?

I did, too. Thankfully, /Film is looking out for us.

Watch This: All 61 Ads from Super Bowl XLV (2011) in 2 Minutes | /Film: "Some of us watch it for the ads. And some of us probably didn’t get around to watching it at all. For those who wanted to be in the second category but ended up in the latter, the folks at AdWeek have come up with a pretty spectacular compilation"


All 61 Ads from Super Bowl 2011 in 2 Minutes

The Heart of an Entrepreneur

Design by LittleGretchen

My friend Ann Stephens has an inpsiring post on her blog today: Esther Howland spotted a market, got to work, and started a highly profitable business

...when she was 19

...in 1847.

An American Queen of Hearts | Ann Stephens Romance

Do you remember Chumley?

Hubby has been watching Pawn Stars on Netflix lately and I find the show incredibly interesting and aggravating at the same time - I love learning the historical context of the things people bring in, but I just keep thinking "I would NEVER sell or pawn that if I had it."

One of the guys on the show has the nickname "Chumley," which triggered a memory for me. I'd completely forgotten about Tennessee Tuxedo and his pal Chumley who I used to watch when I was a kid. Wikipedia says the original show was cut up and mixed in with The Underdog Show, and that's probably how I watched it. It's funny how I hadn't thought of those characters in years until "Chumley" wandered onto the screen in Pawn Stars. I found a video from Tenessee Tuxedo to share:


Tennessee Tuxedo - Lamplighters

I love it when these little memories pop up.

Oh, be-have, Mr. Darcy!

Recently, Igor was planning to write "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Minus Zombies" until he discovered someone had already written it, so now he's got a new idea:

DORK TOWER, Friday, February 4, 2011

Some quick inspiration for your Monday morning

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

Dis-Kinect?

A bunch of WIN

I set up this post a long time ago, but never hit publish for some reason. I still like these, though, so here ya go:


see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm


see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm



see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm



see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm

Arrrr!!!

Deadheading for the future

Photo by turtlemom4bacon

Deadheading for the future (via Unclutterer): "The more you clear out and eliminate what’s “dead” in your life, the more space you create for opportunity, love, and success in the future. You have more energy to put toward strengthening yourself and blooming even more gloriously than you did before."

Ozzy. Bieber. Tron Suits. Tell me this is just a Nyquil-induced hallucination

http://m.celebuzz.com/p.p?a=vpi&postId=227545971&m=b&mfId=1100543859&sessionToken=&postUserId=1523420



Update 2/4/11: Here's a better link: http://www.celebuzz.com/2011-01-28/justin-bieber-and-ozzys-super-bowl-ad-first-look/ (and the Nyquil is gone, but the hallucination is still here, apparently)

Let other kids have those electric cars...

I'll get mine a dalek!



Unfortunately, judging by the kids in the commercial, I'm afraid mine's too old for one of these. Darn. Maybe I could just get one to sit in the corner.

It's Groundhog Day...again?

Photo by Robbert van der Steeg

I know Groundhog Day is over (or is it?) but I didn't come across this until late last night as I was about to go to bed, and I didn't have a chance to read all the way through it until lunch (and I read the WHOLE thing - feel free to skip to the end if you want), so here it is, better late than never: 

Just How Many Days Does Bill Murray REALLY Spend Stuck Reliving GROUNDHOG DAY? (via /Film)

I'm just glad it was Simon Gallagher, and not me, who spent all the time it would take to figure this out. Phew!

Star Wars: Tron Legacy

This is an interesting mashup:

How rejections have changed...and how they probably haven't

I came across a link to this rejection slip from the company that produced many of Charlie Chaplin's flms at Nathan Bransford's blog. I had to chuckle over some of the comments about the slip at BoingBoing:

"It seems to have been mistaken for some form of checklist on how to make a successful movie by current day Hollywood."

"Isn't this the set of Apple App Store guidelines?"

"Now I want to fill this form out for every horrible new movie that comes out. There's gotta be a movie that completely fills the sheet. "

#16 is my favorite.  I wonder how many possibly great movies were passed over because the screenwriter had bad handwriting.

Darth Vader vs The Volkswagen

Hubby just sent me this video. Love it!

Winter Break: Catching the waves...in photos

Here's a nice (virtual) break from the cold and snow.



Some time ago, a friend forwarded me some pictures by Clark Little and I've been saving them for a day like this. Little photographs waves as they come ashore in Hawaii, giving "unique and often dangerous perspective of waves from the inside out, captured in photos for all to enjoy from the safety of dry land." This video from his YouTube channel gives an idea of how he gets these amazing shots. A handful of his photos are included in the video, but his online gallery is full of his amazing work.

2010 Slideshow

I'm having trouble dealing with the fact that this is what you're having trouble dealing with

Twilight.png by mdesive on Aviary

Remembering the Challenger Disaster

photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video

I was doing my spelling.

I remember that clearly to this day. I can even see the spelling workbook. Despite years of rearranging and sitting in all sorts of places, facing all different directions in that one-room school I attended,  I remember specifically where my desk was that day.  I remember that the phone rang out in the coat hall and the teacher went out to answer it. A moment later, she rushed back in, saying "The space shuttle blew up!" I don't think that really made much sense until she turned on the tv. We could only get one or two channels on the antenna (no cable service for a tiny school house miles from town) but it didn't matter. In those  days before CNN was ubiquitous, every channel had turned to coverage of the tragedy.

I don't remember crying at school. I mostly remember shock that morning. I know I cried later. I think it was a long time before I could think of that day without a tear.

Space flight seemed like such a "given" until then. It was something the adults had all figured out and it would only be easier by the time I was an adult, I thought. The Challenger explosion cast doubt on that for the first time for me.

I still hold my breath every time I hear "throttle up."

Friday Fun: The Norton Antivirus Online University Bowl

My friend Cheri La Claire posted this on her blog yesterday. It was so funny, I had to share:


Online College Bowl