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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
| Saturday, November 7th, 2009 | ||
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mahmoth |
6:12p | The New Ashmolean So. As you may/may not know, the great, grand Father of Museums, the Asmolean, which lounges majestically on the edge of Oxford's heart, recently had a makeover. In all, this took some ten years of planning, wondering, small changes, big changes, eyeing, designing, redesigning and the myriad worries and niggles that come with something like this. It was all capped off by a year-long closure, that was to end today, rain or shine, done or not. As it happens, it was a good day. The early winter sun burned off any clouds that remained from the rains of the past week, and the overall weather was crisp, without sharpening to a cutting cold. Being that this was a Thing To See, and all the circumstances were right, down I went. The result is gorgeous. The outside, an old, Neo-Classical vision in white and gold stone has been seared, sanded and cleansed to a pristine finish, fresh as the day it was put up. Passing up the steps and across the courtyard, one moves through the grand doors (of which previously only a small section opened) into the thing itself. At first, little has changed. To the right is the grand staircase, lifting off into the art galleries. To the left is the avenue of Roman sculpture, effectively unchanged, though all the better for the addition of some discreet captions, leading onward into the quartet of Egyptian rooms, which await their own renovations. Beyond this, the frontage, all is different. The reforging has stripped away everything beyond the front and entirely replaced it with something new, weird and fresh. One word that springs immediately to mind afterwards is “fluid.” Rooms pass into one another with minimal intervention. Corridors pass between cultures, crossroads go in entirely different cultural directions. Stairs rise like crashing waves, while everywhere, there is glass that allows one to peer down or through into other galleries or areas. On a busy day like today, the open spaces are as much for movement as they are for just leaning and watching through or across glass, seeing people pass up and down. After a while, the sheer volume and mixture of places, styles and things turns the whole trip into a game, where directional combos yield strange and exciting results. Forward! Forward! Up! Left! Left! Forward! Forward! Right! MIDDLE EASTERN DAGGER WITH CHRYSANTHEMUM PATTERNING. Right! Up! Up! Right! Forward! Forward! Down! A SMALL VERSION OF RODIN'S THINKER. Downdowndown! Left! Forward! Right! Forward! GUY FAWKES' LANTERN. Everywhere you turn, there is something new and unknown, from a small hut for Japanese tea ceremonies, to a deep case packed with small Roman/Greek amphorae, all made for pouring libations of oil for the dead, to a jade elephant the size of a teapot. At one point, turning through the rehung art galleries (passing by a striking painting off a resting dog in a room full of religious work), one emerges into a room packed with still lifes, every inch of wall space packed with flowers, fruits, lobsters, cups, plates and other objects. The overall impression is that one has just walked into one of those paintings of densely hung galleries, and that if you turn round, you'll see an Elizabethan gentleman regarding you curiously. If there's a negative impression that arises from all this, it is that it is Unfinished. Dotting almost every room, floor and area, there are empty cases, objects woefully uncaptioned, captions that point at objects not present, and even cases not yet fully unwrapped. Depending on the circumstances, this can either tantalise or infuriate, weighted towards the latter, though presumably this will reward return visits. As it is, however, these are but off notes in a swelling chorus. If any of you are passing through, go there. (Oh, and possibly my favourite and strangest item in the old rooms, the Dick Head Plate, is still in residence, so all is well.) Current Mood:  chipperCurrent Music: Ry Cooder - Three Chords and the Truth |
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worldofwarcraft [ mephron ] |
11:31a | So you need a new mouse.... Even the most ability-heavy character could run raids with this mouse. I can just see someone getting one, mapping buttons, and just sitting back and going at it. It's a very scary mouse. |
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worldofwarcraft [ aj_hyena ] |
1:21a | When you're bored at 1 AM... Got bored, went and stood outside of Stormwind watching low level people come and go... until I put a hunter's mark on one of the guards outside and that pissed them off and flagged me... heh. So now I got an interest in doing For The Horde... or starting a raid for it... what kinds of good tactics do you guys have to share (notably Stormwind, since that's where I wandered to)? Current Mood:  amused |
| Friday, November 6th, 2009 | ||
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ninth_chevron [ zpm_makers ] |
9:46p | Discussion Post: Stargate Universe 1x07 Earth This is the discussion post for Stargate: Universe 1x07, Earth. Please don't discuss the episode on this comm outside of this post. |
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worldofwarcraft [ rufushonkeriv ] |
7:02p | I have the baddest priest ever. Chuck Norris has competition. You don't step on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger ( And you don't mess around with Monongahela. ) About 45 minutes of beating on the SAME OGRE in Nagrand - crits of a whole 9 points. :) Thank heavens for Power Word: Shield! And no, no one mined that ore. they probably thought the priest was sloooowly cleeeearing his waaaay tooo iiiit...... |
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kira_chan |
3:44p | Things to do today. Or at least start. Let's see...I have a day off today(I kind of slept through class by way of going to bed about 19 minutes before it was to start). I wanna list some of the stuff that I need/want to get done. - LAUNDRY. (I think all of my work shirts are dirty now...) - WRITE. (There are a gazillion things I should be writing, and four or so new ideas have cropped up in the past several days... I wanna get cracking on some/one of them, 'cause I'd like to have something to actually put up. :P I feel like a slacker.) - Make fanfic archive. (I'm tired of trying to find fics that I KNOW I've read and loved but can't remember the name or author of. Also, I'm terrified of them disappearing off the 'net. Thus, my solution is to make word documents of all of the ones I'd like to revisit on occasion and keep them neatly saved on my hard drive. Now...do I sort them by writer or by story name? Hmm...) - Clean out TV stand/entertainment center/thing. (I've procrastinated on putting my TV in there since it's so dusty, but Sean helped me get it out here and set up so he, Velma, and I could watch it while we ate dinner. Also, I need to put all of my games and movies in it so they'll quit cluttering a corner of my room at some point...) - Clean off stack of papers on desk. . . . - Organize receipts. - Finish those damn chocolate cremes by dipping them in chocolate. - Possibly make groups for TIMS and AC. (Possibly mod-journals as well? Hmm. Maybe with the theme of a main character...though I use KiraOHara for my general creative journal... :\) - Make CAKE. (Been craving. So badly. Determined to make it today. Currently foiled by lack of eggs and proper cake pans. D:) - Go grocery shopping. (Eh...may or may not happen today, but I should.) - Hang both bulletin boards. (First the one in the hall for posting stuff to roommates, then the one in my room for personal notes and momentos.) Irony of this? I've just spent an hour off-and-on making this list. :P I, um, made pudding too(using my new mixer!), so I wasn't just focused on this... >.> Edit: ONE thing got done. Oy. So I suppose this is now a "things to do in general" list. |
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worldofwarcraft [ justplainbob ] |
12:41p | So, uh. Any guilds out there, preferably Alliance, looking for a ToC25-geared MM huntard dwarf and possibly some random assorted alts? Willing to server transfer at least the hunter, but I've got an Uld25-geared tankadin and am leveling a DK and a warlock at the moment. And here Karbon is, in all his glory. http://www.wowarmory.com/character-shee I'm on PST, and I'd prefer raiding in the 6pm-12am time frame. I'm good for four or five nights a week of raiding, since that's not much different than my current schedule - up to 20, 21 hours a week or so. Ideal guild will be farming Uld10/25 hardmodes, casually clearing ToC10/25, clearing or at 4/5 ToGC10 and working on ToGC25. Log parses provided on request, although my DPS is admittedly erratic depending on if I am doing raid leader/officer duties or not, since yelling at people standing in the fire takes up an inordinate amount of my time. Raid experience: 4/5 ToGC10, 5/5 ToC10, 0/5 ToGC, 5/5 ToC25, 13/14 Uld10, 13/14 Uld25. Working on ToGC10 Anub'arak, Uld10 Algalon and the last few hardmodes required for my rusted protodrake. Have effectively abandoned any hope of doing Uld25 HM with my current guild, we might start working on ToGC25 this week or next. Leadership experience: Raid leader, Hunter class officer, ranged DPS officer, disciplinary officer, public relations officer, designated guild troll, loot distribution dude. A little about me: Angry ex-submariner, likes to drink rum while raiding, will stay on the functional side of drunk for the duration of any raid. Remember, people, a rising B.A.C. correlates positively with improved DPS. Former portable nuclear power plant operator, currently waiting for his VA benefits to kick in so he can go back to school. This is just throwing some feelers out there, any serious thoughts of transferring will depend on the next few weeks with my current guild and whether we perform cranial extraction from the rectum or not. And to provide a sample of what you might potentially be recruiting... Here are some samples. Imagine these spoken in a flat, angry monotone, it helps. ( Memorable quotes by me in ventrilo; these are rated R. ) Current Mood:  busyCurrent Music: DragonForce - Starfire |
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worldofwarcraft [ donnyman ] |
11:06a | tactics What are some sites/blogs I can go to where I can get tactics for raids such as TotC? My guild will be starting these soon and I need to do my homework. |
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riotclitshave |
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| Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | ||
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riotclitshave |
11:28p | |
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ampersand |
11:35p | |
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kaura_nighthawk |
7:29p | YC: Rejected "We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding. Please don't take it personally. The quality of the applications continues to increase with each cycle, and since there's a limit on the number of interviews we can do, we had to turn away a lot of genuinely promising groups. Another reason you shouldn't take this personally is that we know we make lots of mistakes. It's alarming how often the last group to make it over the threshold for interviews ends up being one that we fund. That means there are surely other good groups that fall just below the threshold and that we miss even interviewing. We're trying to get better at this, but it's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes. Y Combinator Staff" Does this mean our efforts are over? Fuck no. Now that I'm sure Y Combinator isn't taking us in, we'll direct our efforts at other investors. Somebody in FLEET, please remind Roscoe to get in contact with me regarding the possible investors he mentioned - and meanwhile, I have a list of other seed investors we can approach. All this means is we can stop waiting on this bit. Work progresses, and I don't even feel too bad about it. Edit: Actually, this oddly makes me more determined. I'm damn sure that part of the problem was that I personally didn't invest enough time polishing out the application in the first place - the plan was originally to include an intro video to the idea, so as to at least establish a face to the company. But because of everything from debate to journalism to school in general, that never panned out. In fact, I still need to write up the company's internal work structure for Shea, and every damn WTHX is a struggle against block clock and sleep - and it's just one per day! So I'll push at the investor problem even harder, once I get back from Stockton this weekend. We'll crack this fuckin' nut, even if I have to bring out the sledgehammers. And when Y Combinator's summer 2010 session comes around, we'll be ready for them. |
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mock_the_stupid [ opalcat ] |
7:56p | Pledge Fail This is hilarious. Representative Todd Akin recites the pledge of allegiance, to make a point about the pledge of allegiance, and messes up the words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ1uu1NY-c |
| Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | ||
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mock_the_stupid [ elementallove ] |
10:39p | Just...stop opening your mouth, please. My Calculus teacher is pretty cool, and if you say something stupid in his class, he'll let you know. There are only eight people in class, and you would think it wouldn't be very interesting, but it is. Today, he was telling us about Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous architect. One girl didn't know who he was (and I didn't either) so she asked him. Before he could respond, another girl, who is kind of stupid, said, "Don't you know, he's the flying brothers." And she made little 'wing' motions with her hands. I burst out laughing at her, and so did the teacher. Eventually, he calmed down enough to inform her that, no, he wasn't one of the Wright brothers. Their names are Orville and Weber. I've known that since fifth or sixth grade. And let's not comment on the grammar fail of 'he' also being 'brothers'. Current Mood:  aggravatedCurrent Music: Battlefield by Jordin Sparks |
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mock_the_stupid [ smurfasaur ] |
5:47p | anatomy fail my boyfriend might be retarded, or he might need to pick up a dictionary. bf: im going to kick you in the uvula me: do you even know where the uvula is? bf: its part of your vag right me: *dies laughing* no. |
| Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | ||
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mock_the_stupid [ ulisesgirl ] |
10:05p | Sitting in my infectious organisms class - it's a 400-level class and can be taken for graduate credit as well, so it's not easy stuff. We're talking about herd immunity and the graphs that go along with it. My professor mentions that when you get sick with an acute disease like the flu, one of two things happens - you A) get better and have immunity or B) you die. He also mentions that the incidence tapers off as more people recover. A girl in class raises her hand and asks "But, what about the dead people - are they immune?" The prof looks at her silently for a moment - "No?" She asks. Then it clicks. "OH! Ohhhh... He he, never mind!" I headdesked. |
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mock_the_stupid [ sinetimore ] |
6:06p | Lollercoaster! Everyone Buckle Up And Enjoy The Ride! My brother-in-law is a supposed expert on cars. Always offering to save me a couple of bucks. He did a brake job on my car, but didn't even check the bearings, figuring they were so big, "I don't see how they could ever fail." Well, they did, and I had to replace the front axle. My brother-in-law has a compact truck that was starting to give him some problems. So, he negotiated a trade with a guy for a car. Straight trade, no cash. All I heard from family was how my brother-in-law is a shrewd negotiator and really pulled one over on the guy. Today, the car won't start. And my brother-in-law looked under the hood for the first time. How do I know he hadn't looked there before? There was a lawn mower battery wired in instead of a regular car battery. I nearly passed out from laughing and am now a bit hoarse. But it was worth it. |
