artiephesus

Egg Hunting

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:26:33 GMT

Yeah, yeah, it's been ages...

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 03:22:53 GMT

But this meme ended up really cool, and I wanted to show plura. I don't think it'll post to my facebook, so it goes here.

form action="http://memes.angrygoats.net/post/haiku" method="post">

Haiku² for artiephesus
its closest coming about 4000 feet from the hill of tara itself
<input ... > @ <select ... ><option ... >aboutmylife.net</option><option ... >advogato.org</option><option ... >blogger.com</option><option ... >blogs.gnome.org</option><option ... >blogspot.com</option><option ... >deadjournal.com</option><option ... >greatestjournal.com</option><option ... >insanejournal.com</option><option ... >livejournal.com</option><option ... >myspace.com</option><option ... >spaces.msn.com</option></select><input ... >
<input ... >
Created by Grahame

</form>

Random driveby posting

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:15:55 GMT

Since I started keeping my professional blog, you may have noticed that entries over here have dropped off. I have never been a good journal keeper, but rest assured that I'm doing well, and those of you who are following my actual news can see that the book scene is going well, also. :)

So yes. Life is good. Got to hang out with my old karate instructor and his family yesterday. They are thinking of moving, which is sad, but since it's been like a year since we last saw them, it's possible we'll actually see them more often if they live several states away.

In other news: fun links! Want a seal? Here's the Official Seal Generator. Hours of fun an entertainment!

Also:

What is your true element? (Great Anime Pictures) (Very Detailed Results)

EnergyThe raw energy that makes up all of the universe. This is your weapon. You are wise, observant, and understanding. You are the one who balances between good and evil. People come to you for advice and you almost always have advice to give them. In the hectic world full of black and white, you are the only one who can make decisions clearly.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Can anyone tell me what anime the image is from?

Now, back off to work... ;)

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:46:17 GMT

If You Ruled the Land . . . by wackyweasel

Your first name:

How you gained your rule:

Your title is:

Your Royal Beauteous Grace on High

Your symbol is:

the lion, for power and pure badass

You rule from:

a clear, crystalline palace, and change in the basement

At your side is:

the band who plays your theme song

Your enforcers, troops, and guards are all:

veeeery heavily armed

Your most popular law is:

"Whack Your Boss With A Dead Fish" Day

Your least popular law is:

State bird is the blue-footed booby

Your worst enemy is:

um, the peasants you oppress?

Your popularity rating is:: 54%

Your chance of being overthrown is:: 82%

Quiz created with MemeGen!

I am so gonna get overthrown...

In other news, an old camp friend of mine responded to my author mailing list's most recent posting with her own fabulous news--she's a mom! She sent me pictures, and it's amazing to see her looking like a grown up, since I think the last time we saw each other, we were both fourteen.

Just wow.

Ennies

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:10:19 GMT

Edit: I thought this image linked to the actual Ennies voting site, but alas, I apparently don't know how to imbed the link properly. It's here.

Must thank shanna_s for her recommendation of Naomi Novik. My husband picked up her books (which I'd checked out from the library) and by last night he'd already nearly finished the first one and was loving it. I'll get my turn shortly.

Celtic Horoscope

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:34:01 GMT

Honestly, I'm trying to remember my graves now, as he's done a whole thirteen month Celtic tree calendar. For ages I had the whole thing written out on a sheet of graph paper.

...Moments later...

Nope, just checked my copy of the White Goddess and it's not in there. It's probably lost to all time. Which means that a blogthings quiz and report is the next best thing.

You Are A Rowan Tree

You are full of charm and cheer. You light up a room.
And while you crave attention, you do it without ego.
You are an interesting mix of contradictions - and very unpredictable.
You are both dependent and independent, calm and restless.
You are passionate, emotional, gregarious, and (at times) unforgiving.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

This makes me a Libra/Goat/Rowan. Note that all three have some aspect of balance in their descriptions. I find this amusing, as for a time I was the most Libra person I knew. (I worked hard to stop being indecisive, which has taken away some of my natural Libra quality. Not that it was an entirely successful effort...)

In further intersting horoscope news, I just read an interesting myth about the Yaang/Goat sign in the Chinese zodiac. The myth goes that the goat was originally two branches that sprung up out of the ground; the goat came up from the ground following them, only to find that the branches, now horns, were attached to his head. The book I was reading said that this is representative of the goat having two different world views from the start of his existence, and he holds both of them in his head at the same time. I like to think this means I am destined to embrace Negative Capability.

Perhaps if I can't find a school that will let me do the dissertation I'd like, I can find one that will allow me to look into horoscope mythology. But I'm guessing for that I'd have to go to Bristol, and as much as I'd love to live in England for two years, I just don't see it happening.

More Piracy

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:09:34 GMT

This link is mostly for moonitic, who I think it will make giggle. Of course, she also probably knows about it. ;)

Pirates

Margins

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 02:34:25 GMT

Quick update: If you're going to be clever and adjust the margins on the left hand side of your odd pages so as to better fit a double-sided document in a three ring binder, you should also be clever and adjust the margins of the right hand side of your even pages.

So much for my cleverness...

Romance Pop Quiz

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 22:09:04 GMT

1) What is it with romance novels involving pregnancy? Most of the period romances I've ready end with the heroine becoming pregnant, involve a happy pregnant/birth giving epilogue, or use pregnancy as a plot device that forces our bewildered hero and heroine together. Why do you suppose that is?

2) If you were recommending your top five paranormal romance titles, what would they be?

3) Not a quiz, but a fun article about how Harlequin is taking back its manga line from Dark Horse. The new line is to be titled Pink Ginger Blossom.

***

On a completely different note, happy birthday dragonladyflame!

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 03:20:24 GMT

I was going to take the pirate quiz that mastyrwerk posted in his most recent entry, but the link is broken. How will I ever know my secret pirate identity now?!?!

In other news, I must someday get the Pegasus Publishing T-shirt, Yin Yar. The eternal pirate vs. ninja debate still rages strong, and I'm looking for some middle ground. This is more than likely because I am a Libra and must sit on fences.

That said, someone the other day proposed the idea of ninja pirates (not pirate ninjas). These highly trained ninjas could become masters of the seas, using their near-magical capabilities to rule the waves. Also, they could become the swing factor of the eventual all out pirate vs. ninja battle.

I am very amused.

Also, I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean II. The actual sword fighting I felt was not as good as the first movie (which was nearly worthy of Princess Bride standards), but the choreography is brilliant, and the variety of settings, circumstances, and obstacles involved in the sword fights is absurd enough to utterly make up for the fact that Johnny and Orlando do not repeat the beautiful fight from the beginning of Pirates I.

Heinlein quote

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 19:55:50 GMT

Rober Heinlein apparently once said something brilliant about writing science fiction for young readers. According the the reviewer who mentions it, "Robert Heinlein once said that his juvenile SF was so good because he wrote the best possible novel for adults he could and then left out the sex."

If anyone knows this exact quote, I'd love to get the full thing.

(Note, the quoted text above is from January magazine, an Australian literary criticism magazine, from the August, 2003 issue.)

Save Tara!

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 18:01:36 GMT

Ganked from amhranaiochta's lj.

I want to encourage all of you to go here
and here
to sign petitions to protect Tara. The proposed M3 freeway will pass through the Tara-Skryne Valley, at its closest coming about 4000 feet from the Hill of Tara itself. The entire region around Tara is considered invaluable by archeaologists. To quote one petition: "Nowhere else in Ireland is there a landscape that can claim the Tuatha de Danaan, Celtic gods and goddesses, St. Patrick, Daniel O’Connell, Thomas Moore, heroes and High Kings from Fionn MacCumhail to Brian Boru, an archaeological complex of temples, tombs, enclosures and henges spanning five millennia, and a continuous place at the centre of Irish spiritual, cultural, political and literary history, as part of its fabric."

I don't know how much online petitions actually do (money probably speaks far louder, and if there were somplace to donate to Tara's upkeep to prevent it from becoming the next Schleiman's Trench, I'd put up some cash), but it's worth a shot.

Myth and Astronomy, Greeks and Native Americans

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 23:15:07 GMT

I found this interesting article on LiveScience. Apparently, an astronomer identified a petroglyph in Arizona that may depict a supernova from 1006 CE. He's using Scorpio as a modifier, however, so many readers are skeptical about whether the Native American tribe that created the petroglyph would have also identified Scorpio as a scorpion, like the Greeks did. Anyway, it's interesting, and it's here

Did the Ancient Greeks and Native Americans Swap Starcharts?
Posted on June 6, 2006 @ 08:50:23 EDT
Author Ker Than
I had a story on SPACE.com yesterday about a very cool discovery: a one-thousand year old petroglyph, or rock carving, that was found in Arizona and which might depict the supernova of 1006, or SN 1006. The carving is presumed to have been made an ancient group of Native Americans called the Hohokam.

The researcher who made the discovery argues that symbols of a scorpion and stars on the petroglyph match the relative positions of SN 1006 to the constellation Scorpius when the star first exploded.

Well, after I wrote the article, a lot of thoughtful readers wrote in with a very good question: Scorpius is an ancient Greek invention, so what are the chances that Native Americans living more than an ocean away looked up at the night sky and also saw in the stars the outline of a scorpion?

As one reader succinctly put it:

“There are three possible solutions to this: Either the Hohokam people had the same name for the constellation as the Greeks, there was significant contact between North America and Europe prior to this date, or the petroglyph is a fake and does not date to that period.”

So which is it? Is the petroglyph an example of a cosmic coincidence, a hoax or startling evidence that the ancient Greeks and Native Americans had contact with each other?

I passed the question along to John Barentine, the astronomer who made the discovery. Barentine’s reply below:

“Your readers are right, this announcement very well should be greeted with some skepticism. The identification of what I refer to as a scorpion petroglyph with the classical constellation of Scorpius is, naturally, tentative. I make my case for these glyphs representing the 1006 supernova event largely on the arrangement of the scorpion and the bright star being very similar to the arrangement of these figures in the sky on the night the supernova appeared. Historical research (e.g. that of Richard Hinckley Allen in “Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning”, Dover Publications, 1963) suggests that in virtually every world culture where scorpions are indigenous creatures, the stars of the modern constellation Scorpius were identified with scorpions and their mythology. In fact, I believe Allen refers to this constellation and Taurus as among the “oldest” constellations in terms of their appearance in history.

“That said, of course there is the probability that the appearance of these symbols in proximity to one another is coincidental. Given that the people who created the drawing left no written record of their history, it’s impossible to verify this claim independently. However, we are pursuing the avenue of attempting to date the petroglyph via chemical means. A date roughly corresponding to the early 11th century would, I think, support my claim. Also, there is as much circumstantial evidence for my claim as there is for the famous Crab Nebula pictograph in Chaco Canyon, NM, with which many archaeologists do not agree. So my announcement today is a suggestion, first and foremost, worth further investigation.”

Another link

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 20:36:15 GMT

This one care of amhranaiochta: http://www.literature-map.com/

I must remember to show this to the ladies who work at my library! I can't help wondering how it's powered...

"We are the cure..."

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 20:15:36 GMT

An excellent, slightly spoilery, parody of the new X-Men movie. evadne_noel is my favorite movie reviewer ever.

-A

Ireland, Oh Ireland

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 18:06:35 GMT

Well, it's been just over a week now that I've been home from Ireland. I had just a great trip, and to top it off, finished most of the edits to the first half of my novel. The rest was edited when I got back, so I was able to quickly turn the whole thing around to my editor. Hurrah for inspiration and the support of a writerly gang of students!

Too much work, too little time this month. I've got to get together some material for a convention--that's my "to do" list for today. More when my schedule clears up.

Sat, 13 May 2006 04:13:11 GMT

Out of curiosity, does live journal delete your posts after, say, two years? I could have sworn I started this blog in 2003, but I only go as far back as March of 2004...

It's really too bad. There was one entry in particular that I really liked from back when I first started writing here. I'm afraid it is now lost to me forever. Le sigh.

Sat, 13 May 2006 03:58:18 GMT

Interesting publishing articles have been cropping up over several of the ljs I read. shanna_s mentioned How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got (Real?), and Got a Life (although I'm sure I haven't remembered the title entirely correctly), as did jeff_duntemann. I thought Jeff's article was particularly poignant--what *are* publishers doing if they're not noticing that the books their publishing are a) plagiarised, b) not nonfiction (re: the Jonathan Frey fiasco)?

I think the New York Times started the whole trend, really. Funnily enough, plagiarisers in the mass media then get to write books or have documentaries made about how they were actually victims of the system, as though their fifth grade teachers didn't mark them down for copying out of their reference books on reports. I remember lectures upon lectures about not copying. How did other professional writers miss this?

Shanna's entry talks about how frustrating it is to watch the people who comment on the "Opal Mehta" scandal be derisive simply because of its genre, as though plagiarising chick lit is somehow less of a crime than copying from a classic. I think that people who make that kind of commentary on chick lit are simply not familiar enough with copyright law.

The last interesting publishing article is one I think I pulled from Jeff and haven't read in its entirety. You can find it at http://alg.livejournal.com/84032.html?thread=1578560&style=mine -- and I've currently forgotten enough html tagging that I have to recommend copying and pasting. For people interested in the publishing industry, I'd recommend it.

As a note, I'm loosely considering either starting a new live journal under my real name so that I can write about my books and do shameless self-promotion here, *or* deleting a bunch of old personal entries from this live journal and continuing the shameless self-promotion here, and probably not doing memes anymore. Anyone who actually reads this journal and has an opinion is encouraged to offer commentary. ;)

-A

Super Heroes and Seattle

Thu, 11 May 2006 03:04:29 GMT

Your Silver-Age Superhero Career

LJ Username

Your alias first-name is:

Your alias last-name is:

You can turn....

...into:

You team up with...

ewanioangal2511

...to battle:

werewolf lobbyists

You petition to join:

the X-Men

Their response:

they agree, and when they all completely disrobe in celebration, you flee in terror

You are best remembered for:

your moving acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards

Your heroic level: - 87%

This Quiz by sigma7 - Taken 428 Times.
</a>

New - Dating Advice written by YOU!

Wa ha ha ha.

I had a lovely time in Seattle this weekend. One of the highlights was hanging out with norroway at the Science Fiction museum and getting a tour of her office. The other highlight was the wedding that brought me out to Seattle. I've got other friends also getting married in Seattle in August, and I'm looking forward to going back!

Meme fun

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:35:10 GMT

I thought for sure I'd be the poet, but this was kind of nifty and Jungian, so I thought I'd share regardless. :)

Magician
I'm not telling your actual score. Hmph!

The Magician is free and full of energety. Magicians like to entertain. They like to change things. They seem driven by some invisible force. Things that never change quickly become boring to them, as they live fast-paced lives. They are very creative and able; many successful people are Magicians. Magicians, as the name implies, are often very talented and capable of performing feats that seem impossible. Although they are very artistic, they aren't usually introspective or philosophical. Magicians prefer to live in the minute. Although they really like people and even devote a portion of themselves to the world, they need their space. You can't corner a magician. He'll disappear in a puff of smoke.

The Magician's complement is the kind and generous King.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 70% on Confidence

You scored higher than 90% on Creativity

Link: The Medieval Archetype Test written by isayso on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Weird computer glitches

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:25:49 GMT

My computer runs a virus scan every Thursday morning. This morning, it ran as normal, as did my Windows Update, which apparently needed to restart my computer to take effect. I don't baby sit my computer, so sometimes I click on things and then leave the room. This, apparently, leads to my doom.

I usually save all the time. I click on the save icon in Word whenever I finish a scene, a sentence, or just haven't in awhile. This is perfectly normal behavior for me, so much so that I don't even think about it. Note, this is step two of the doom process.

This morning, after I'd checked my e-mail but before I'd started any projects, I left the room to get breakfast and etc. after clicking on an icon saying something about updates, which popped up a nice little icon reminding me to shut down. I don't recall telling the computer to shut down, but when I returned to the computer after my breakfast, I noticed that all of my programs had been shut down. I checked the assignment I'd planned to work on today, saw that it had saved, and assumed all was well.

This afternoon, just moments ago, in fact, after finishing up some work on the other project, I opened the document for my novel. All of the work I did yesterday has completely, irrevocably vanished. Gone gone gone...

DOOM!

*sigh*

(No, no auto-save version popped up. I'll just have to rewrite. I should be glad--usually the second draft is better anyway, right?)

Reviews up at V&B

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 18:27:24 GMT

Actually, I'm still catching up on my reviews. Today, I posted my end-of-December year-in-review of the good stuff I've read/watched/played. Feel free to check it out. V&B Best of 2005

Next year, maybe we'll open to voters. :)

Everyone else is doing them...

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 17:25:24 GMT

Threepio
You scored 37% airiness, 94% squishiness, and 63% edginess!

According to our patented Jawamatic^TM technology, you are most like See-Threepio (C-3P0) in personality.

Threepio, being a protocol droid, favours traditional values. Programmed for etiquette and protocol, he is always concerned with doing what is proper and expected, caring for people's material needs above all else. He is methodical, value-driven and practical at his best.

Threepio is, in a word, diligent.

(The polar opposite of See-Threepio is Artoo-Detoo.)

The eight profiles are as follows:

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 25% on airiness

You scored higher than 97% on squishiness

You scored higher than 78% on edginess

Link: The Star Wars Personality Test written by MiguelSanchez on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I love Threepio, really. Anthony Daniels gets props for being the only guy in all six Star Wars movies. But... I'm not that pessimistic, am I?

Rah, I am merciless.

You Are 40% Boyish and 60% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

I'm not sure that I thought these questions were actually relevant to boyishness or girlishness even in the stereotypical sense. Could have used more sugar spice and snails and tails...

<td align="center"> artiephesus --
[adjective]:

Smelling like turnips at all times

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

This is just gross.

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind.
You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

I would consider doing this on a less-than-permanent basis, actually. A friend of mine just introduced me to Special Effects Hair Dye, and some of the colors glow under black light. Must find out how her weekend went, as she went with either Cherry Bomb or Hot Lava...

As life goes, things are good. Had two people send me the same link to a job posting in Seattle within twenty-four hours, which tickles me to no end, but I'm intent on staying on the freelance wagon for awhile, especially now that I have a part time job out of the house to offset the being-alone-all-day-at-work issues.

It's been deliciously fun to get back in touch with people lately, as well; a friend e-mailed out of the blue a week ago, so we've chatted on the phone a few times since then. I've caught some very fun people online in various formats, and it's been nice catching up.

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 03:10:26 GMT

Ah, now I've got it figured out. :)

-A

New icons

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 03:09:40 GMT

So, I finally uploaded some new userpics, which is fun. If I did it right, the one that should show up with this entry is a monk gif that I got somewhere, years ago, online. If someone recognizes where I filched it from, I'd love to know.

If I *didn't* do it right, I've got a user-icon from the Love Hina manga, which is cute, but not as cool as a monk. (Mostly because the monk makes me think of Terry Pratchett's "Rule #1" from Thief of Time, and that makes me smile.)