This might put a hitch in the way I use favorites on Twitter. I tend to favorite things in less of an "I like this" and more of a "I want to read this later" manner. I send an RSS feed of my favorites to Google Reader which lets me look at things later on so I don't "lose" them in my twitter stream. I may have to re-think that practice as I don't want to unnecessarily contribute to full inboxes...
Do you use favorites (or any other Twitter features) in an unusual manner? Please share!
I picked up the mail Saturday and discovered my brother & his family had sent me a package. Inside was the most awesome. book. ever: It's A Book by Lane Smith.
Here's the book trailer (containing most of the text...hey, it is a children's book*)
I found a great post on Lane Smith's blog about the evolution of It's A Book.
*Just a note: Even though it is a children's book, it does have the work jackass in it. I notice they left that out of the video. (Maybe they thought that might hurt sales?) It does add to the hilarity of the last line, in my opinion. But then, the book isn't for my kid, it's for me. Your mileage may vary. :)
Most people don't know that back in 1912 Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the "Titanic" was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after New York City.
Mexicans were crazy about the stuff.
The Mexican people were eagerly awaiting delivery and were disconsolate at the loss. So much so that they declared a national day of mourning which they still observe today.
It is known, of course, as...
Sinko de Mayo
(Yes, it's a groaner)
This joke is all over the internet, but I found this particular telling at Urban Dictionary.
"We don’t know much about what version of Android this will be running, but our source did tell us that the mockups had shopping comparison and calorie counting apps — you know, because every woman watches the pounds. We also heard that “calming” adjective used to describe the wallpaper. "
You know, because I couldn't add those myself (if I wanted them), or change the wallpaper.
I almost sure everybody has already seen this, but the video tickles me. My first impression was "How cool! But he's probably not really a verger." I suspected an actor or someone just dressed as a verger. However, The Daily Mail ran a story about the verger and the Abbey's reaction, so I guess he must be the real deal.
[Update: I've just been chastised by my mom: "Why do you think this isn't real? It is a 'thing' for clergy to do cartwheels. The pastor that married Jeff and Erin did cartwheels on Easter at Each service." So there you have it! ;-) ]
The funny thing is, I came across this picture on Flickr, and it's captioned "One day when the time is right, i will cartwheel in the abbey"
Not quite Westminster Abbey, but the Houses of Parliament "next door"
(These seem to be the only pics I can find that I took in the vicinity)
Anybody else getting up in the wee hours to watch the royal wedding tomorrow? LilGirl claims she's getting up with me, but I'll believe it when I see it. Still, I have a tradition to uphold of staying/getting up to watch the wedding then falling asleep before the ceremony itself starts, and she wants to join in. We'll both be going to bed soon after dinner tonight. At least that's the plan.
When we (I) get up to watch, I'm leaving network TV as my last resort. I'm not fond of tons of inane commentary, so I've got a couple ways I'm going to try watching the wedding on our Roku box, either on YouTube Live or another livestreaming app - unfortunately, I can't be sure they'll work in the morning. At worst, I'll watch the networks on the TV and whatever I can on the computer. I'm trying to stay emotionally flexible on this and not have a meltdown like Frankie Heck did on The Middle last week (I tried to find a clip of that particular scene, but no luck).
So I'm not a big fan of weddings in general, but I am a HUGE history nerd and an even bigger British history nerd, so I just can't help myself when it comes to historic events like royal weddings (I am sooo going to annoy you all the rest of the week). I came across this video on my friend Cheri La Claire's blog and had to share. These dresses are just gorgeous. I'm very impressed that Princess Charlotte's dress from 1816 not only still exists, but seems to be in such good shape. Enjoy:
A supposed ninja has been terrorizing Pitsburgh. I dunno, from the description I don't think this guy is really a ninja. Just sayin'...
"He was like a gazelle that just got attacked by a lion...He got up and fell, and got up and fell. Then he jumped off a cliff." [The witness] reported that he "did not move with the grace typically associated with a ninja" and that he therefore "will not live in fear of the ninja's return."
WTAE news, quoting neighbor Chelsey Cunningham, said the ninja also left behind "like, a fifth of liquor."
I came across this quote at AdviceToWriters over the weekend. When I'm down about having to fight for my writing time (which I don't do very well yet), it makes me feel a little better to know that J.K. Rowling still has to fight for her time, too:
"Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg." - J.K. ROWLING
Yes, it's another video that turns out to be an ad, but I just love the message:
I love the mix of paper books and e-readers in the video. It's how my (and I think a lot of people's) reading happens right now: This one paper, this one electronic, another paper...and so on.
I love ebooks. I love that I don't have to haul a long book with me (War and Peace weighs the same as Winnie The Pooh on my tablet or phone) and the covers don't get torn up in my bag (no matter what I do, that happens). I love that I can make notes and highlight passages and those will be searchable on my device or on the computer next time I need the reference.
But until issues like DRM and the ten bazillion formats we have right now get ironed out, I haven't turned my back on paper completely. But I'm definitely moving steadily in the direction of "all ebooks, all the time": I donated 11 grocery bags of books to my library's book sale this month and then moved the largest bookshelf in the house into my daughter's room because she has more print books than I do now.
These days, if I can only get a book in print, I do my darnedest to get it from the library. All the bookshelves in the house are still full, despite that purge, and I'm not buying any more to accommodate the few stacks that still make up part of that never-ending mess in the basement - more have to go, and no more are coming in until they do. But ebooks get a pass because they only take up virtual space. The virtal-ness of ebooks might be my favorite thing about them. (Don't worry, I still have an entire bookcase of antique books I can open up and inhale the "book smell" from - I think I'll always need that)
How are you doing your reading these days? All paper? All electronic? Or, like me, a mix of both?
I'm a big Felicia Day fan, but the only other thing I've seen Emily Blunt in was Young Victoria. It wasn't until Princess Mary (played by Blunt) lets her hair down (in many ways) in Guliver's Travels that I noticed the resemblance.
