| Book Review: Magnificent Desolation, by Buzz Aldrin |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|06:16 pm] |
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http://www.universetoday.com/2009/07/19/book-review-magnificent-desolation-by-buzz-aldrin-with-author-comments/ http://www.universetoday.com/?p=35249  Magnificent Desolation, the new autobiography by Buzz Aldrin I very much enjoyed chatting with Buzz Aldrin a couple of weeks ago, for some stories leading up to the 40th anniversary of the July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 landing on the moon. I found him honest, personable and generous with his time.
But when his publicist offered to send a copy of his new book, "Magnificent Desolation," I didn't set my expectations too high. I didn't know what to make of an autobiography by a retired Air Force pilot and astronaut. Doesn't that history put the "Rocket Hero" pretty squarely in the category of techie or a jock — a non-writer type?
Well, color me impressed. The book arrived late last week, and I turned the last page this morning — looking for more to read!
(...)
Read the rest of Book Review: Magnificent Desolation, by Buzz Aldrin (680 words)
© anne for Universe Today, 2009. |
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| Weekly Toranoana Doujin Rankings ~ July 18, 2009 |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|04:27 pm] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NaniwaManga/~3/_aqz6hYx6TA/ http://mangacast.net/?p=2813  Let me just call it now…We are officially in Comiket season. 9 of the top 10 are pre-orders, and outside of Toranoana, I am starting to see doujin freaks making their lists as they prepare to send them off to DJ wranglers. Sadly I will not be attending this year’s event. I don’t know how I am going to deal with that right now, but I am certain that my wallet will appreciate the change of schedule. SIGH…
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生搾りPEACH FIZZ
Nama Shibori Peach Fizz
by: Tsukino Jougi
Circle: MounRuuraa
Category: anime - Toei - PreCure
Price: 525円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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Four Leaf Lover
by: Shindo Eru
Circle: Da Hootch
Category: manga - MediaWorks - Yotsuba&!
Price: 751円
Age Rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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シスターズブレイク
Sisters Break
by: Haikawa Hamlen
Circle: Diogenes Club
Category: RPG - Hobby Japan - Queens Blade
Price: 630円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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ミラクル☆ぶぁにらあいす
Miracle Paniraaisu
by: Mitarashi Kousei
Circle: Mitarashi CLUB
Category: PC game - KEY - Kanon
Price: 735円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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DYNAMITE RAVE
by: Kojirou!
Circle: Brave Heart Petit
Category: Video Game - SquareSoft - Final Fantasy
Price： 630円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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勇者の挑戦状2 猫リセット
Yuusha no Chosenjou 2 Cat Reset
by: Rakko
Circle: R2
Category: Video Game - Enix - Dragon Quest
Price: 735円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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MONSTER PLAY
by: Minamino Makoto
Circle: Studio Pal
Category: Video Game - Enix - Dragon Quest
Price: 735円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/08/16 - Pre-order Comiket
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真希波捕姦計画
Makinami Hokan Keikaku
by: Yoiko
Circle: Pannacotta
Category: anime - GAINAX - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Price: 788円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: 2009/07/11
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Hi‐SICS 04
by: Chiba Toshirou
Circle: celluloid-acme
Category: manga - Houbunsha - K-On!
Price： 735円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: Pre-order Comiket 2009/08/16
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ヴァレリアハート
Valerie Heart
by: Kirishima Satoshi
by: Arem Gakan
Category: manga - Houbunsha - K-On!
Price： 630円
Age rating: 18+
Release date: Pre-order Comiket 2009/08/16
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| Congratulations to mabfan on twin girls! |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|01:50 pm] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mabfan, one of the beloved moderators of the SFWA LJ, and his wife, Nomi, have welcomed twin girls into the world today. Heartiest congratulations on a collaboration that is better than a two-book deal.
The twins are fraternal, and both are girls. The first baby was born at 9:20AM, weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces, and is 17" long. The second baby was born at 9:21AM, weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces, and is 19" long. The twins were delivered by C-section at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. The attending physician was Dr. Rafik Mansour. The delivery was originally scheduled for this Thursday, but was moved up for medical reasons.
Full details at SF Scope.com.
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| Religion, Politics, and SF/F |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|12:19 pm] |
Boy, I bet (hope) that title got your attention. I usually don't blog about religion or politics, but I awoke this morning with an amusing "axiom" bouncing around in my noggin. Here goes: Religion is where delusional people believe in miracles. Politics is where others delude people to believe in miracles. Science fiction and fantasy is where people create the illusion of miracles—though most of us know this is all just make-believe...I hope. In other news, I just got back from Wal-Mart with the family where I purchased some shoddy, inferior merchandise that was on sale, because frankly I need this crap to eke by in this mortal coil. Though perhaps I'm just deluding myself. ;-)
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| A miracle of miracles |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|11:31 pm] |
I'm not really a big fan of Malaysia, just because everytime I go there I end up with horrible experiences (let's not get into those because that's another long journal entry in itself!). But last Friday I had to go to KL for a couple of meetings and finally had my first hassle-free Malaysian trip, save for a very long line up at KLIA's Immigration.
Had a great stay at Le Meridien, which is conveniently located beside KL Sentral. This is probably what made my stay better than the usual since I didn't have to deal with those evil Malay cabbies. I swear, they make Filipino cab drivers look like angels, and Manila taxis seem like limos.
I wanted those Starck Ghost chairs for my dining room
I really liked the heather gray and brown accents. And the sheets are divine. Too bad I only had around 6 hours of sleep on it, since I had to wake up at 7am the next day.
I was kind of disappointed that the toilet was clogged when I first checked in. I tried flushing but the water just rose. This was the second time this happened to me in a KL hotel, but for a 5-star hotel this was unacceptable.
Overall, I had a very pleasant stay at Le Meridien. What made up for the toilet incident was Al Nafourah's excellent lamb kebab and one of my now favourite desserts, the mouhalabieh (rice pudding with orange and rosewater). My bill came to around RM 100+ including a honeydew shake.
I'm salivating again.
Speaking of good food, I can honestly say that I've pretty much had the best meal of my life at DELIcious The Marc last Friday night.
My friend Janice brought me there since she said the decor was very Jade. She was right - I loved it the moment I stepped in. White and airy - plus the cobalt blue sky made an interesting backdrop.
Calling a restaurant DELIcious is risky, but this Malaysian chain holds up to its name. In fact delicious is an understatement - I would have to rename it FOODGASMIC.
The wild mushroom soup was the chunkiest I've ever had. I asked them for a little bit more parmesan cheese and it was perfect.
Janice had the French onion soup, which I normally would have had since I consider myself a French onion soup connoisseur, but I was craving for mushrooms. I should've ordered this beauty.
Look at that cheese!!!
And compare this to the French onion soup I had the next day at Ye Olde Smokehouse in Cameron Highlands (more about that tomorrow). What a pity ripoff... and this was double the price of the one at DELIcious.
Back to more scrumptious food. Check out the smoked salmon and caviar pasta I had as my main course. Caviar and smoked salmon on a generous platter for around RM 24!
All this - plus the biggest Oreo milkshake I've ever had (below) for less than RM 60.
With Malaysian friends Janice and Andrew. Thanks to Janice, I now have a regular dining spot in KL. The menu is extensive and I haven't even ordered any of their famed desserts (I was too full). I'm looking forward to my next KL trip because of this resto. Highly recommended (if it wasn't that obvious yet).
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| Another ReaderCon stopgap |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|12:44 pm] |
In which I admit that, though there were other things I can and may still post about (I'm thinking, especially, the "Poetry in SF" discussion) I can't possibly post about everything.
Anita and I have been coming to ReaderCon for five years now, and it has become a place where I meet and/or catch up with numerous people, usually in five minute intervals, because that's all I have time for. I got in good quality time (but not at the same time) with sovay and imago1, caught up with Drew Morse and his charming wife Marcy, partied with yuki_onna, hung out with cristalia and clarkesworld at the Goblin Fruit party, managed at last (as is obvious) to meet tithenai in person and experience her and mer_moon as a team, had the great pleasure of finally meeting Michael and Jeri Bishop, had fun but all too brief conversations with many, many others. When Anita and I left we were talking about .... well, how nice everyone was. It almost makes us want to move closer, so we could, in theory, see all you folks more than once a year.
Gods of Finance willing, here's to next year!
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| 4 years <3 |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|12:27 am] |
It's really amazing. <3
We're not always the happiest. We're not always the saddest. (Thankfully!)
We're not always in agreement. But we don't fight everyday. (Thank heavens!)
It's really nice that despite our busy schedules we still get to spend time together. I am happy about that. :)
It's all about the love and commitment that we have to each other, that's why we're together.
I met him through a friend, we started talking a lot over LJ and YM and we're even working together for almost 3 years. I don't know what's going to happen next but I do wish for the best.
This post should have made it last Wedneaday but I think that I've been on Plurk more than I stay in LJ. But it's better late than never. ;) And this is LJ, one of our first channels of communication so it has its sentimental value. |
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| Out of town and out of touch |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|12:15 pm] |
I'm in Florida, settling my parents back in to their (usually) winter home. They only have a very slow dial-up and it's not separate from their phone line so I can't stay on long.
Hard day getting back yesterday --everyone on edge and miserable although the flight itself went fine. My dad seems very comfortable being back here and is doing most everything for himself. Even pouring juice. He smoked his first pipe today in over a month.
BIG honking thunderstorm last night while my mom was out shopping for groceries and my dad's meds (she got to the pharmacy too late and had to go back this morning and got there too early. Oh yeah, and the car left down here wouldn't start so we had to call the AAA first thing. It never ends does it? ;-) Storm shut down power twice but luckily only for a few minutes. Mom came home soaked.
Back Thursday night...Just don't want anyone to sorry about why I'm so silent. |
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| Technojoy |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|10:28 am] |
Technojoy
My favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard, talks about how while some people have technofear, he has technojoy. He loves new technology, and I'm right there with him. Now that I'm past 99.99% of the hassles of transferring everything to the new computer (and getting used to some of the new aspects of it), I'm loving it. (I'm still desperately looking for a recommendation for a video card--preferably with two inputs, one of which would be DVI--that will work with a Dell Inspiron 545 without problems. Dell's been... less than helpful so far, but I knew their customer service wasn't that great going in.)
Just having a CD-Rom drive that works reliably is a thing of beauty. The one on my old computer never worked 100% right but it took me a long time to realize that was the problem.
The new computer also works with my wireless printer much better and has a faster connection (N) to the network than the old one did.
Vista has its ups and downs, but I'll upgrade to Windows 7 (for free!) when it comes out, so that's fine. I hope it keeps some of the ups and ditches the downs.
As a soldier relates to his guns, or a carpenter to his tools, I relate to my computer. As a stay-at-home writer, it's how I get my work done, how I communicate (professionally and personally), how I stay informed, and sometimes how I have fun (playing games, although I also have the Xbox 360, and of course all the regular tabletop games I play). I know that the current trend now is to have everything on a smartphone, but that kind of device really doesn't make sense for me, since it's meant to be useful on the go, and on the go is one thing I am not. At least not professionally.
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|11:17 pm] |
I'm noticing one thing about this stunt KHR is doing right now: it's making me dizzy.
Because I'm one of the people indeed interested in both what's happening in the manga (it's starting to pick up) and what's happening in the anime (two words: Fon. Reborn.), going through discussions on LJ and MH forums is starting to confuse me.
Two mindsets are required, see. One that is purely manga-oriented, and one that is manga-plus-anime-oriented. I have to reset my brain for each time, because I have to mentally jump from the Choice events to the Arcobaleno events.
BTW our house always has these nowadays, because my mom is a healthy-eating fan:
It helps my sanity that I am NOT the biggest fan of Mukuro. When I see those, I exclusively think fruit, and nothing else. It's rainshowers that make me think other things.
Goodnight.
EK 8 ) |
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| New Review |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|02:38 pm] |
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http://www.edrants.com/new-review-25/ http://www.edrants.com/?p=12164 My review of Chuck Barris’s Who Killed Art Deco? appears in today’s Chicago Sun-Times. And truthfully, the review is far crankier than I remember it being when I filed it. Indeed, the piece is more than a bit ridiculous with some of its pedantic quibbles. I don’t know how many reviewers would actually confess such qualities, but I am committed to candor. This is a Chuck Barris novel, for crying out loud. Not a Donald Westlake novel. But it was an annoying book with homophobic conceits. |
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| Paperheroes.Net V2.0 - Lifestream Edition, Progress and Order Form! |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|09:15 am] |
(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/0v4bh)
For months I've been promising myself to go and revamp paperheroes.net - only to uh, either forget all about it / procrastinate / be distracted by bright shiny objects / oh hey, Big Bang Theory's on! This is the first time in awhile that I've finally been able to sit down and actually do this and so far, it's seven hours of my life well-spent. Normally, I just spend it eating Cheetos, or something.
Celebrating Paperheroes.Net - Lifestream version! If you don't know what Lifestream is, chances are you'll be hearing all about it soon enough - it's rather like Twitter, only geared more towards bloggers. It's a great way to keep track of all your social networking portals in just one website, forming one giant blogging cohesion much like a terminally geeky Voltron robot, except powered by the internetz and narcissism. And I form the head, yo.
Basically, here's everything that's new with this version:
1. Twitter Updates! Because I am not satisfied with using the Twitter portal alone to go off and about, annoying people I haven't even personally met. You can check out my recent twitter updates here as well - not that there's anything really relevant that you need to read there. I mostly just show off dolls, and then ooglewank.
2. Flickr photos! Every time I upload a new doll in my Flickr account, you can now view it almost immediately in my Flickr widget!
3. Feature Blog Entries! Every once in awhile, I showcase some entries I've done at the top of the blog - either because it's an unusual doll that I don't normally make, is popular when it comes to page hits, or because Ihave nothing else better to do. They get their own nifty feature image, too. Current featured blog entry now, for example, are the Jonas Brothers dolls.
4. Better organization! Starting with the next entry, small blurbs of each blog post shall be available; clicking on the title brings you to the full blog entry. Eachentry, usually when dolls are being featured, will also have a cropped photo or two just to add a bit more color and images!
And last, but not the least.....
I get a lot of requests every week, and I'm not often able to email every customer with progress reports and updates regarding their dolls. I also wanted to keep an easily edited listof dolls thatI need to do and dolls thathave been ordered, to make my life so much easier. Fortunately, I am also blessed witha boyfriend with mad programming skills, and he managed to make me an order and status form to hep me out. He's romantic that way.
Now, if anyone would like to request for a doll, all they need to do is send in an order form via this page (or by clicking on the customize your own doll ad in the blog). I'll email back with the price and details, and once everyting has been settled, I add your doll to the order form's status page, where you can monitor your doll's progress (status of completion, shipped updates, etc).
Thanks to everyone who's been visiting paperheroes.net! We now average roughly 10,000-12,000 unique hits a month, and for a little hobby crafts blog, this is an awesome landmark! |
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| pyramid watermelons |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|07:05 am] |
I've seen those square watermelons, but now the Japanese are selling pyramid-shaped watermelons. They go for 52500 yen, roughly $557 US. I don't know how it tastes, though. |
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