A Secret History

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/passiveaggressivenotes/~3/346296269/

Jul. 26th, 2008 @ 04:01 am franger al fresco

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/?p=9336

geetha in sydney says this note appeared in the shared dining room the day after the city’s gay mardi gras. the best part? “a few people admitted the condom might be theirs, but nobody would take credit for the note.”

related: dearest roommate

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 09:26 pm Alil something i wrote

ποῦ: location: Work
ὡς δοκεῖ: mood:

cheerful

Tags: moroni

( Read more )

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romulus214

Jul. 26th, 2008 @ 08:17 am τὸ οὐδέν: no subject

Paris

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fefa_koroleva, posting in

deviantart

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 09:06 pm τὸ οὐδέν: no subject

Not that any sane person wouldn't figure this out *before* making herself sick, but hey, Thai iced tea has a ton of milk in it, huh?

Oy.

*groan*

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serenejournal

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 08:59 pm X-Files

Tags: review

I saw the new film today. Love Mully. Love Sculder. The movie stank. Is it can be sad time now?

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bettybaker

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 09:41 pm Chinese help

ποῦ: location: home
ὡς δοκεῖ: mood:

curious
ἡ μουσική: music: 川井憲次 - 謡Ⅲ - Reincarnation

So, this is kind of hard... There's a song from the soundtrack from the original Ghost in the Shell movie which is in Chinese and has a Chinese title. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to romanize it for its filename in Windows. On top of that, I'm not sure what dialect it's in, although since the movie takes place in Hong Kong so it's probably whatever dialect they speak there. Anyways, the title of the song is "毎天見一見!". Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, for the romanization, please provide it in a format with no diacritics.
Also, I know this is a long stretch, but does anyone happen to have the lyrics (in hanzi, although romanized w/ diacritics and/or and English translation would be nice too).

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tsukikage85, posting in

linguaphiles

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 10:18 pm Overwhelmed

Tags: contacts

Until I few days ago, I never heard the term 'steampunk' except as a description for a few videogames and books. By chance I found some beautiful jewelry on Etsy tagged as steampunk. I was curious and this led me to the various communities on the internet.

I really like all of the different steampunk inspired clothing and outfits I have seen so far, but I hope to find a more casual style.

I'm not much of a DIY gal except for knitting and crochet...and I've never strayed too far from tshirts and jeans. I'm curious as to where some of you look to find clothing to put together for outfits...I'd like to try and step out of my comfort zone.

hildekitten's recent photos look like fun to wear...I'd love to come into work one day like that.

If this post is redundant, please smack me and point me in the right direction. :p

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truestar, posting in

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 11:03 pm Helping a friend

Tags: -kid approved meals , -meal planning , -n00b questions , easy-recipes , foods that non-vegans would like

So, my "save the kitties" friend has finally started to realize the cruelty that goes on in the meat industry, and wants to try to cut meat out of her diet. And, she has recruited me to help her learn to cook and try some new foods. The hard part is that she is very wary of food and gets "weirded out" by textures of things. And likes her veggies in a bowl with salt and butter. She says she doesn't like beans, salsa, corn, especially together (which completely shot down my first easy dinner idea, heat those three together, eat in a tortilla or over rice).

She and her meat-lovin boyfriend are coming over, and I want to surprise them with dinner. I was thinking of making the tofu balls from theppk.com with some pasta and sauce, and a strawberry spinach salad (baby spinach, strawberries, granny smith apple, toasted almond slivers, & rasp. vinagrette mmmm). But I need help coming up with a good balanced meal plan for her, or ways to slowly introduce new foods so that she doesn't get fed up and revert back to meat & pasta.

I gave her links to some blogs and vegweb.com and said that we can look through some of the recipes to find fun things, and start using more meat analogues. I would also like to try and keep the food filling and very healthy.

I'm thinking
stir fry with peanut sauce (maybe using those MSfarms chik strips)
"sausage" style tempeh (i think its from theppk)
falafel

What are some other hearty recipes that picky eaters might like? Or good tips for beginners? My taste in food has changed so drastically, that I'm having a hard time remembering what I used to eat, and how to prepare food that is not spicy and using more 'common' veggies, or how to introduce more 'exotic' things.

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pinksprinkels, posting in

vegancooking

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 10:01 pm We're in California!!!

My kids and I got up this morning at 3am Eastern / Midnight Pacific, to catch our 6am flight from Indianapolis to Orange County. We landed in CA at 10am after a connection in Texas, and managed to salvage enough energy to do a little drive-thru visit to Hollywood/Vine, and a little drive-thru cruise along the beach at Santa Monica on our way through to visit the Getty Villa this afternoon. I'm so glad we merely drove around the bustle of the usual crowd-magnets, in favor of this.

Thing1 in particular, really, really made me smile with his genuine interest in ancient Greek and Roman art. He's always enjoyed art museums, and I can't say I didn't have a bit of trepidation of taking two worn-out teens there on the first day of our visit. Thing2 wasn't as into learning the difference between red-figure and black-figure vase painting, or the evolution of expression of human-form from the blocky early Greek Kouros to the more flowing contrapposto that influenced the Romans, and was revitalized in the renaissance... but he played along nicely. I used to teach this stuff as part of humanities courses for the community college circuit in Chicago a few years ago, so it was neat to be able to bring this stuff to life for my kids.

We took lots of amazing pictures, but they're all on an SD card that my laptop doesn't like. I've had luck mounting such cards by using my GPS as a card-reader before, but I'm too tired to run down to the car now. These pics will have to wait. We're all too comfy here in our Motel 6 room (the kids are asleep already, heh)...

Tomorrow, we're planning on visiting the California Science Center, then have dinner with someone I've known via Helen Boyd's forum. After that, all four of us will get a couple hours in for some less-ancient art at the Getty Center.

Then Sunday, we're off for a day-trip to Escondido to meet up with a long-time friend and her wife, who've scored us some passes for the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Having driven around LA today, I had frightening flashbacks of commute-times-gone-by, when I used to teach in Chicago with frantic hour-long commutes on the Borman Expwy. I'm very quickly reminded of how much I enjoy my current commute to work each day... all five blocks of it.

On Monday, it will be farewell to southern California, and time to begin our journey up the coast.

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fluffthebunny

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/346244521/commando-nerd-patche.html

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 09:43 pm Commando Nerd Patches for iPhone scanning

John Young has written some cool projects for Make, such as this helmet-mounted water gun. He just alerted me to another nifty thing he made: Commando Nerd patches, which can be scanned with an iPhone.

Here's how he describes them:

You have an iPhone. And that means you're just HOURS away from being able to put a QRcode reader on it (there's one currently under review at Apple.)
Once you have a QRcode reader, what will you do then? Why, you'll wear a stylish Commando Nerd patch all around town, naturally! You can configure the patch to link to anything you want. People can scan your code to see your blog... or buy your art... or watch a YouTube video of you giving them the finger. Here's my blog post taking it out from under wraps.

I have about five or six velcro-backed patches left in the prototype set before I start making and selling them For Real.

This'll be fun; the iPhone provides a lot more, and a lot more interesting, opportunities for offline to online integration than just "here's a link to my facebook page." One thing I want to do is link the patch to a paypal "subscribe to me" link. You know, you could offer help-desk services right there in person:

THEM: "Excuse me, could you install a virus checker on my computer?"
YOU: "Certainly! Just take your mobile phone and scan my patch right here..."
THEM: "What's that?"
YOU: "That will subscribe you to my IT services. Only ten dollars a month for up to three incidents!"
THEM: "Uh... how about I just take my laptop to the Geek Squad?"
YOU: "Oh, gosh, okay."

Or maybe:

THEM: "Hey, man, what happened to your leg?"
YOU: "I broke it in five places. Scan the patch on my cast with your iPhone and watch a YouTube video of me ALMOST making the jump!"

Commando Nerd patch

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 10:33 pm "I'm tired and I wanna go to bed"

ὡς δοκεῖ: mood: sleepy

Tags: body.sleep , body.tiredness

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

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rosefox

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 07:23 pm Perfect cinnamon rolls

Tags: breakfast foods(uncategorized) , desserts-cinnamon rolls

Seriously, she got these just right. The only tweak I made was forming the dough into a rectangle maybe 16"x12" rather than a 12"x12" square, and then dividing the dough into 12 rolls instead of 8 (I think they're plenty big this way: 3-1/2" across and 1-1/2" thick--just remember to reduce the baking time if you do this). But the dough, filling, and topping combine to make one dangerously gooey and tender cinnamon roll. She even includes instructions for doing everything but the baking ahead of time, so you can have hot, fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast/brunch.

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weizenwind, posting in

vegancooking

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 09:13 pm yay movie

Save the Last Dance is on. I think of this movie every time Sahira has us rest our hands on our knees during cool-downs.

Also? It reminds me of my drama professor who was slightly obsessed with Julia Stiles, and this movie. And he hated reading and writing conclusions, so we never wrote them for that class.

Ahh, good times.

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fallenkalina

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 07:01 pm One photo from Comic Con

Tags: gentlemen , ladies , outfits , photos

One photo from Comic Con today. (Many more will be posted when I get back next week).

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desar, posting in

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 06:42 pm Oh Dear

ὡς δοκεῖ: mood:

amused

This might not be the best link to click at work...but on the other hand it wasn't meant to be NSFW.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-made-me-laugh-til-i-cried.html

After I read this, I laughed until I cried.

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quervin

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 08:32 pm Holes on Friday

Today began with a video conference with a classroom at the International Space University summer session, meeting this year in Barcelona. I talked about my current and past projects, answered a couple of questions... we must have looked strange to them, bundled-up while the students were in shorts. One woman in front was in short shorts, and had the legs for it... it was almost cruel to show us that, here.

This afternoon, we finished drill checkout and began drilling tests, still a half day ahead of schedule, and getting to 56 cm in a couple of hours. Software glitches, as expected, popped up and will be dealt with... I built room for that into my plans. And the repeaters back to the base camp ground station are nearly done, so we should begin having net access from the drill site 5 km away in the crater.

It's Friday night... a week ago, I was being held and hugged at my birthday party. And it was warm. Tonight... I have nothing to do, no one to be with, nowhere to go. A bit depressing... still, not unexpected.

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brian1789

The Mysterious Creatures of Max Ernst

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 06:21 pm τὸ οὐδέν: no subject

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vae_editor, posting in

anachrotech

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/346176855/house-industries-stu.html

Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 08:03 pm House Industries "Studio Lettering" font collection

My favorite type designers, House Industries, have a new set of fonts called Studio Lettering. The description is intriguing:

Before the era of digital publishing, highly-trained artists in lettering shops plied their talents to give personality to advertisements, editorials and package designs. While the eye-catching beauty of hand-drawn lettering is still relevant in today’s visual landscape, this bygone skill has sadly fallen to the wayside. Designer Ken Barber brings the lettering artist’s sensibilities back to the modern designer’s desktop with our new Studio Lettering collection. More than three years in development, these fonts use advanced programming to create living and breathing lines of text that escape the rigid constraints of traditional type to flow as they would from an experienced letterer’s hand. The first 200 purchasers receive a free 64-page hardbound Studio Lettering book!

Price is $160. House Industries "Studio Lettering" font collection

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 07:30 pm Monster Corner vintage hobby shop

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/346175640/monster-corner-vinta.html

Coop alerted my to this amazing photo of "The Monster Korner" in a New Jersey hobby shop from 1964. Every square inch is a treat to the eyeballs.

The only place a shop like this could exist today is Tokyo.

The text from the photo reads:

Rich Palmer ran the nation's largest volume hobby shop in Parsippany, New Jersey. Aurora hired him to organize its Monster Customizing Contest in 1964. Aurora received national television attention when the CBS Evening News visited his shop. Walter Cronkite and Palmer held a conversation in the "Monster Korner" of the store. Big Frankie occupies the top shelf in the Monster Korner.

Monster Corner vintage hobby shop (toyranch's photostream)

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 12:01 pm When singing about Airships was FIRST in FASHION

Tags: music , references

In the 1900's when all this was new, the fashion in music was singing about Airships, and bi-planes:

This year in addition to our big show at this years Dragon*Con, Abney Park will be leading a Steampunk Sing-a-long featuring vintage airship and pirate music. Above are three fun ones (just filled with innuendos) that we'll likely be botching up.

I thought the Steamfashion Community might enjoy a taste of the ORIGINAL Victorian airship music.

Listen to old-timely recordings of them here: http://www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers/music/music_content.html

Download the sheet music here: http://libraries.mit.edu/music/sheetmusic/

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robert_from_ap, posting in

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 02:44 pm NYC Picnic Reminder

Tags: events

Hello all!

serindrana here with a reminder of the picnic on August 2nd in NYC! Like always, I provide the disclaimer that this event isn't meant to interfere with dear

jaborwhalky's event - please, nobody change plans! I'd feel absolutely terrible.

Contained herein are just the basics of the event for the information of those attending:

Date: August 2nd
Time: 2 PM - ?
Location: We shall meet up on the steps of the Natural History Museum (Central Park West between 81st and 79th street) before walking to Central Park itself.

Currently, including myself and

liu_xing, we have six or seven confirmed attendees, but we wouldn't mind having one or two last additions. There will be iced teas and cooled ciders along with finger sandwiches and sweets, all home-made. We encourage everybody attending to bring one or two treats as well, to make the event a sort of pot-luck!

Currently, the forecast for the day is cloudy, but with a low chance of rain. However, if the day arrives accompanied with rain, we will be meeting up at the same location before proceeding to Alice's Teacup. If it looks like rain, do bring enough money for food!

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serindrana, posting in

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Jul. 25th, 2008 @ 04:53 pm courtesy of mcsweeney's

Tags: culture

S H O R T I M A G I N E D
M O N O L O G U E S .

- - - -
Mom, Dad,
I'm Into Steampunk.
BY Marco Kaye

- - - -

Remember when I was crawling around the attic, looking for my old Planters-peanut-man Halloween costume? I didn't donate it to the children's theater, like I told you. I salvaged the monocle, top hat, and cane, combined them with a swallowtail tuxedo, and stole away to a midnight screening of the underrated masterpiece The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Don't get me wrong; I still live in your world. In this very house even. But now I exist between two eras: an Edwardian past and a quixotic future where dirigibles can travel through space and time.

No, I won't take off my topcoat. And that's exactly my point. I understand your confusion. The nascent trend I have latched onto is difficult to define. Maybe I can explain it to you with the new mods I've been working on. No, Mom. Not like in Quadrophenia, although I appreciate those mods' fondness for tailor-made clothing. These mods.

This looks like a late-18th-century organette, correct? Look again. It hides the Dell laptop you got me when I went to college. This bronze hand crank turns it on, and I've hidden a miniature photo printer where the tune sheet is supposed to go. I even installed Linux. I've put a lot of time into this since I quit my job at Anthropologie, which is something else I wanted to tell you about. Don't get up and go to Lowe's yet. But when you're there can you get me a two-speed fan capacitor?

You'll appreciate this, Dad. Would I ever lose this cell phone? It's got a back plate of soldered brass. I created the aged patina with simple ammonia and salt. I'll replenish that soon, if you'll quit bugging me about it. Check this out. These interlocking gears are what I use to dial. They also explain why I haven't been replying to your texts recently.

Of course, I didn't need to mod Grandpa's railroad watch, but I did want to tell you that I'm borrowing it indefinitely.

If you want to label me retrofuturistic so I can fit into your compartmentalized worldview, that's fine. But look past my airplane goggles. This is my lifestyle. While many of my kind doubt there'll be a complete societal collapse in the future, a near-cataclysm is likely. In this scenario, I will be able to repair a generator, suture the wounded, and even train carrier pigeons. I'm learning valuable skills.

Don't be silly. I am not affiliated with the goths who hang out at the end of the boardwalk. Yes, rivetheads have made attempts to horn in on my culture. It's attractive to them. Since Evanescence went mainstream, they've been able to buy their clothes at Spencer's Gifts. But just because they read about our ways on Boing Boing doesn't mean they can rock a true neo-Victorian lifestyle. It takes a lot of time and a lot of welding.

How long? Why are you so locked down to the months and weeks of today? Anyway, I've known for a while that I belong to a hypertechnologized gaslight era. I've loved trains since I was 2. Remember my obsession with Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? And although I don't remember getting a good grade on that Nikola Tesla essay, I was really enthusiastic about the subject.

Don't shackle me to your outmoded ways of work. Trade and barter are more valuable to me than any coin. Besides, I'm plenty busy guest-hosting a blog called The Neon Corset. My band, Shades of Crimson, has taken off. We just booked a gig at the Rusty Rudder.

Is it too soon to invite you to a night of experimental performance and magic? My friends and I are hosting a postvaudevillian event at the VFW Hall. If you attend, I would appreciate if you called me by my new name, Alchemancer.

Don't look so crestfallen, Mom and Dad. At least I'm not into cyberpunk.

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__uptight, posting in

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Jul. 26th, 2008 @ 01:32 am Hair Dressing

Tags: hair

Dressing up one's hair is an important part of fashion for both ladies and gents, therefore I bring you a few links.

These are delightfully easy to co-ordinate with your current Steampunk ensemble: http://www.dressytresses.com/store/details-hs.asp?PID=1793

There are more on this page, though less Steampunk: http://www.dressytresses.com/store/hsshort.asp

Some of the claws on this page are quite fun: http://www.dressytresses.com/store/claws.asp

Especially this style: http://www.dressytresses.com/store/details.asp?PID=966

I stumbled across this site a while ago while looking for hairstyle inspiration and found that quite a few of their items while not being specifically Steampunk, can certainly cross into the genre.

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mr_roper, posting in