tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32336342011-07-28T22:51:07.644-04:00The expense of spirit in a waste of shameDan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.comBlogger3701100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-87042774357075819302010-08-28T15:49:00.000-04:002010-08-28T15:49:55.119-04:00

I got your dogmatic, intolerant, proselytizing, anti-assimilationist Islam right here: But, you know. Those mysterious Wahabis Shiites Sunnis Sufis. So strange. So hostile to modern culture. So very Not Like Us.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-89062432584883071142010-03-04T00:01:00.001-05:002010-03-04T00:01:00.823-05:00

In honor of National Grammar Day: To whimsically digress, let us invoke here the existence of the infix in English. The official party line, promulgated at the elementary-school level, is that English has prefixes and suffixes but no infixes. The thoughtful grammarian will have noticed that English has at least one infix, bleeping, as in abso-bleeping-lutely, in-bleeping-credible, and

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-80336343122751530262010-02-23T20:01:00.000-05:002010-02-23T20:01:10.691-05:00

So Elly, who is one of the finest writers and crafters I know, is starting to do how-to videos, and the first one out the gate is showing that she has as deft a hand with a video editor as she does with a blue pencil.* Behold: Fantastic. And while the polish and perfectionism of her work is what I admire, it's the lolcats and the two-headed chicks that make her One Of Us. (Impressed? She

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-22029349863402109292010-02-19T21:56:00.001-05:002010-02-19T22:15:47.749-05:00

Two things of note: first, HaloScan is now ded ded ded ded, taking with it the last couple of years' worth of comments here, which sucks but gives me an excuse to redecorate the place without worrying about preserving those bits of my old template. So - new look! New sidebars! New Blogger-hosted commenting engine!* Enjoy, if that's the word I'm looking for. Second, today marks the anniversary of

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-13099637921778453572009-12-21T15:29:00.001-05:002009-12-21T15:34:58.604-05:00

We light candles now,For this is the dying time;A little fire in the long darkTo heal the wounded world. For this is the dying time,And all things pass in their hourTo heal the wounded world.Give way now to the cold and dark. And all things pass in their hour:Green and light and good cheerGive way now to the cold and darkAll through this longest of long nights. Green and light and good cheer:Keep

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-73786977835170292822009-12-15T13:13:00.003-05:002009-12-15T13:36:50.261-05:00

BODY: Holy crap, it sure is getting cold. Winter must be coming.MIND: It sure is! It'll be the Solstice soon.BODY: We'd better stock up on lots of fatty and sugary food, then, for the long trek across the tundra. You never know when the next mammoth is going to come along.MIND: Actually, we don't need to do that any more. Remember? We got civilization about, oh, six or eight thousand years ago.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-26965089967046325602009-12-04T23:59:00.004-05:002009-12-05T00:18:11.257-05:00

Good heavens, is that the time?...I knew I was forgetting something somewhere.Right. Back on the wagon, hopefully.While you're waiting, have some JBE:

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-15558253960905385882009-06-19T22:19:00.003-04:002009-06-19T22:41:26.202-04:00

(I've been feeling for a while like I ought to be doing cooking posts. Consider this as a test of the waters.)Normally when I do Pizza Night, I build the suckers from the bottom up - homemade crust and everything. Tonight I didn't feel like going through the whole sponge-growing-and-kneading process, so I got some prefab crusts and threw some stuff on 'em.Stacy is a Purist, of course, and got a

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-61571950982580242842009-06-09T16:15:00.003-04:002009-06-09T16:36:11.555-04:00

So yesterday, for the first time since the millenium or so, I went and had most of my hair cut off.Several factors came together for this. One is, yes, that I'm still unemployed, and I was starting to feel less and less in love with my hair more than it was a liability to me. It's stupid and unfair that it should be so, but stupid and unfair are, alas, still forces to be reckoned with in the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-25279488049404668372009-02-26T20:53:00.004-05:002009-02-26T21:08:27.226-05:00

Most of my (no doubt rapidly declining) readership probably knows this already, but a week ago I got my second laying-off these twelve months, and am back on the job hunt, in the teeth of the Econopocalyse and everything. So, uh, wish me luck, or something - not least that whatever gig I happen to land next doesn't have "Redshirt" listed as implicit under "Other duties as assigned."It's bitter

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-29841125235527464302009-01-20T12:47:00.002-05:002009-01-20T13:11:07.097-05:00

I lost track of time today and realized that, entirely coincidentally, at 12 noon I was listening to "A Farewell to Kings."I didn't make it into the office lunch room in time to see the inauguration coverage - by the time I got up there, there wasn't even standing room - but I look forward to watching the recaps later. For now, what I've heard of the proceedings makes me not only feel like I'm a

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-13185679596342589222009-01-17T10:34:00.004-05:002009-01-17T11:35:54.460-05:00

MaMa is gone. She died around 1:00 this morning, and an era passes away with her.Talking to family this morning as we made the rounds of phone calls to pass the news along, the most shared sentiment seems to be relief. I think most of us had our big moment of grief and shock when we understood that the end was coming soon, and we've been anticipating this ever since. The best we could have hoped

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-60794642632603047832009-01-16T09:39:00.007-05:002009-01-16T10:21:03.763-05:00

Monty is home and hale and well, if a little worn out from his hospital stay. Stacy picked him up yesterday afternoon and he spent most of the evening asleep; he's on a bland diet and antibiotics and under observation, but seems to be doing okay. He's one lucky little guy.Most especially glad to have him home again was Willow, who spent a whole lot of the time he was away moping and pining and

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-58515197467767550582009-01-14T10:04:00.004-05:002009-01-15T08:22:34.516-05:00

Two things from the last day or so in the Not Good News column:First, the latest word on my grandmother (better known to us, and most of of you, as MaMa) is that she is not well and fading fast; she's no longer able to eat, which likely puts her remaining time (barring bona fide divine intervention, which I doubt she would welcome even if she believed in it, which she doesn't) as a matter of days

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-59297376124110359802009-01-07T21:22:00.003-05:002009-01-07T21:39:30.286-05:00

Obviously, I needed humbling today. It seems there's this young drummer named Sara with a gift for polyrhythm and an ear for prog.Here she is at 12, doing "Red."And at 13, doing "YYZ."That there is pure joy. I should live so long as to infuse all my work with as much.(Via TNH, on BoingBoing.)

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-22253573925717806832008-11-16T02:27:00.005-05:002008-11-16T03:04:58.526-05:00

"Hey, Rocko! How's your novel coming for National Novel Writing Month?""Not so good, Hef. I'm still stuck on Page 1. I can't figure out what comes after 'It was'.""Oh, you should try my technique! It's working great so far.""Really? What's your word count?""I have... 150,462 words.""That's fantastic, Hef! And only on week one! What's your secret?""Oh, it's easy, Rocko! I just write one paragraph,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-14575870977227679942008-11-04T23:15:00.002-05:002008-11-04T23:18:12.796-05:00

Yeah, this is about how I'm feeling right now:Yes. We. Did.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-48256263749287619812008-11-03T21:00:00.010-05:002008-11-04T08:36:55.970-05:00

Want to talk about conspiracies of entrenched power? I'll give you one: decades of work, and the money to pay for it, have been spent on pounding the idea into your fuzzy little heads that all politicians are sleazeballs, political action is hopeless, no one goes into a public service career for idealistic reasons, democracy isn't a thing to be proud of, and your vote doesn't matter.Are you aware

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-19384037044243603852008-10-27T20:40:00.003-04:002008-10-27T21:30:42.965-04:00

1. Yes, I know. No, nothing in particular, other than inertia and a lot of "Oh, my, is that the time?" I had the best of intentions, but you know how that one goes.2. Well, that, and I was persuaded at some length to join Facebook. Where I think I owe a bunch of people karma, or daffodils, or appletinis, or something. Damn place is crack cut with pure evil.3. And because I'm so good at keeping up

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-32240084707776306612008-06-07T18:35:00.004-04:002008-06-07T19:14:26.054-04:00

For anyone still watching this space, a placeholder post; lo, I am not gone forever, but my last couple of months have been a heady mix of the very good and the almost comically dreadful, with little in-between except my suddenly inflated commute. Some of the high end, at least, I may feel inclined to elaborate on soon, but for the moment I'm far more out of blogging steam than I've been in a

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-30460983971045007842008-03-21T12:47:00.005-04:002008-03-21T13:47:56.060-04:00

Tagged again!Right, the Official Rules:1. Pick up the nearest book.2. Open to page 1233. Find the fifth sentence.4. Post the next three sentences.5. Tag five people and post a comment here once you post it to your blog so I can come see!As chance would have it, my nearest book is Iain M. Banks' Excession, and the passage in question is a spaceship transmission giving the title shot (and for

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-9041106055363486672008-03-21T00:01:00.004-04:002008-03-21T01:42:49.305-04:00

The blogosphere is awash in art of late, it would seem:First, those of you who are fans of my late grandfather's work should check out this stuff that Tony found in one of the many recent attic excavations. Some of it's the abstract expressionism that he was known best for, but there's lots of atypical pieces there too. (I, of course, like the one that looks like a Great Old One, but YM,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-82298838071596741712008-03-13T11:40:00.010-04:002008-03-14T15:55:49.559-04:00

So the last time around I mentioned my quirky and highly subjective system of organization for my bookshelves (and, indeed, other shelvable media as well). As it happens, last week Elly threw down the gauntlet for bookshelf pr0n posts, so this seems like as good an excuse as any to take a tour of one small corner of my library. So, then: Mah buks. Let me show u them:This is the bookshelf most

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-51725314280850275642008-03-06T20:35:00.002-05:002008-03-06T22:27:48.531-05:00

(Finally, this, as promised last time, only lightly altered for current continuity. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, and so on.)So a little over a month ago I turned 34, as the inevitable and inexorable progression of numbers would have it. At this point, I'm no longer in the least surprised that as I stumble on towards my status as venerable graybeard (a designation increasingly literal these days,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-41428673427224299962008-02-12T12:32:00.000-05:002008-02-12T13:28:40.171-05:00

I've had a substantial post in the works for a little while now, in part taking up the gauntlet for Aishwarya's memetag, and which I mean to finish, um, soonish. I've been distracted, I fear.Mostly of my focus lately has been on updating and distributing my resume, as I found out not too long ago that my job's being reorged out of existence at the end of the month. I'm actually pretty much okay

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-57018513017915527422008-01-16T11:06:00.000-05:002008-01-16T11:20:57.717-05:00

As of right now, after eight years of waffling, I am back on the dried frog pills.Wish me luck.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-24947541068387191882008-01-05T23:45:00.001-05:002008-01-06T00:35:27.010-05:00

It's officially the close of the season; happy Twelfth Night, everyone. For your imminent Epiphany, this Magian gift: the enormously talented Cat Valente, who seems to be assuming the mantle of the new century's Angela Carter, has a Winter Queen speech at Green Man Review for an issue dedicated to her work. It is lovely and moving and full of her strange magic, so go thou and read.Sir Toby. ...

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-10562213816414422782008-01-04T10:30:00.000-05:002008-01-04T10:54:24.900-05:00

No one is ever going to mistake me for a political blogger, thank Heaven, but I'll say this about the outcome of the Iowa caucuses: Coulda been worse.Some far better commentary from round the Blogosphere:Alas.Shakesville.Scalzi.Feministe.Making Light.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-39152147210053415282008-01-01T18:09:00.000-05:002008-01-01T19:00:38.221-05:00

I've spent all the time between my last post and now either out of town or sick or both, and between that and the impending post-holiday blues I'm still a bit short of vitality, but nevertheless: Happy New Year, everyone. Here's hoping the best of what's passed is the worst of what's to come.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-64489233224046439392007-12-21T09:43:00.000-05:002007-12-21T10:06:24.310-05:00

(I swear I was going to post this today even before I read Sarah Daisy's comment on the previous entry's LJ crosspost.) DO I DETECT A NOTE OF UNSEASONAL GRUMPINESS? said Death. NO SUGAR PIGGYWIGGY FOR YOU, ALBERT."I don't want any present, master," Albert sighed. "Except maybe to wake up and find it's all back to normal. Look, you know it always goes wrong when you start changing things..."BUT

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-20829598422936949252007-12-20T10:51:00.000-05:002007-12-20T11:01:45.821-05:00

Several times over the past year or so I've been reminded of the wondrousness of little light's incredible blog, Taking Steps, and yet neglected to add it to the blogroll. I've fixed that now.If you want to know why you should be reading it, look here, and here, and here, and here.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-59645706119312605972007-12-19T11:59:00.000-05:002007-12-21T09:42:43.491-05:00

The HPL Historical Society's holiday albums, collected together as An Unbearably Scary Solstice, look delightful, but the playlist seems to have one glaring omission, which I have endeavored to correct here. (To be fair, I'm sure it's not the first time such a thing has been attempted, but thus I contribute to the living folk tradition.)Ahem - On the 13th day of Mythos, Cthulhu gave to me:13

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-70576493282680253782007-12-18T09:16:00.000-05:002007-12-18T09:51:38.007-05:00

Okay, I am officially done slagging New Jersey now.Garden State, you are hereby forgiven for Trenton.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-51693676999182668752007-12-15T22:30:00.000-05:002007-12-16T16:33:03.547-05:00

As I write this it is now (for the next couple hours, anyway) ten days until Christmas, and a week until Solstice. I've just about reconciled, though, that those two words mean pretty much the same thing to me.I am not and never have been a Christian, except maybe in the vague fluffy Unitarian sense of "what Jesus said was so nice, who cares if he was God or not" (and, when I'm in the right mood,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-71272327380130561992007-12-15T20:27:00.000-05:002007-12-15T22:02:56.603-05:00

Q: O great and wise Oracle, I see that there's an interesting new organization that's advocating for the legitimacy of fan-produced derivative art and seems to have some intriguing ideas. Do you think maybe there could be a discussion of it on the Internets that doesn't almost instantly spiral off into some lackwit wondering why anyone would want to write someone else's characters, and how

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-47833849838030062862007-12-13T22:47:00.000-05:002007-12-13T23:03:09.699-05:00

What can I say? I seem to have gone through my regularly-scheduled massively antisocial can't-be-bothered-with-human-contact wintery funk a whole season early this year. Let's all hope like hell that's done with.I do in fact have some things I want to blog about now, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait just a little longer while I get my act together and quit waiting until the end of the night to

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-2015726394347528592007-10-04T09:30:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:54:44.932-04:00

Spotted in this week's Musician listings in the local Craigslist:Lead guitarist looking for an Alternative Rock band. [...] Must start out doing covers. if the band can actualy stay together long enough before drugs, alcohol, or someone's wife breaks the band up.. then perhaps some originals.Also, he's looking for someone who can come by and touch up the paint on the NO GRLZ ALLOWD sign on the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-53533637338179021272007-09-26T09:40:00.000-04:002007-09-26T09:45:30.111-04:00

Dear Mid-Atlantic Climate:Plz to be getting on with Autumn now thxbai.That is all.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-56809388245929737962007-09-18T08:36:00.000-04:002007-09-18T10:53:56.896-04:00

Another in a year of lost lights: Jim Rigney, who wrote under the name Robert Jordan, died on Sunday.He was, by all accounts, a fine human being as well as an accomplished writer: kind, funny, generous, and even in his declining health larger-than-life. The late John M. Ford thought the world of him and his work, and drew the map at the front of the Wheel of Time books; now they are both gone

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-33365029841770351662007-08-28T12:09:00.000-04:002007-08-28T12:13:00.792-04:00

Busy summer. Lots of Stuff happening. Energy for blogging at low ebb. Here, have one o' them Open Threads.Will return with updates soon.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-33442845192173983962007-06-26T18:53:00.000-04:002007-06-26T19:46:32.343-04:00

Here's something happy for all you wyrdfolk fans: a short and very sweet interview with Timothy Renner of Stone Breath and Crow Tongue, wherein he talks about music and family and the uneasy balance of work and life. It's awfully nice to discover that some of the folks I admire, who make the creation seem so effortless, talk about struggling with their art, especially since "like blood from stone

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-44430006134817701992007-06-21T18:26:00.000-04:002007-06-22T19:57:23.188-04:00

The Summer Solstice is upon us, moving the hemisphere from semi-official to official summertime and drawing out the daylight to its breaking point. We've had a weird mix of weather here, alternately springlike and unbearably hot; Heaven only knows what the actual summer's going to look like.For me, the last few weeks have also been marked by several waves of decidedly un-seasonal depression of

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-50682077055686825042007-05-23T00:25:00.000-04:002007-06-16T19:03:36.059-04:00

In the spirit of honoring the anniversary of the Second Defenestration of Prague, I've finally tossed a bunch of outdated links and got the new comments up and running. Will see about importing the old comments into the new format soon, but meanwhile, we'll actually be able to have conversations around here again. Huzzah.Have also plunged into the forum-moderation business lately, as I recently

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-61024994512111289742007-05-02T14:47:00.000-04:002007-05-02T15:13:29.604-04:00

I know I've been neglecting this place of late. I've actually been pondering whether I want to do the necessary cleanup around here (including updating a whole bunch of links in the blogroll, installing HaloScan, and seeing if any of my archived comments can be imported) rather than packing it all up and moving to new digs; on some reflection, this feels too much like wanting to burn down the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-38442341029174831002007-03-19T21:32:00.000-04:002007-03-19T22:01:02.554-04:00

Memes again! This one's what might be described as "self-tagging." If any of my faithful readership want to carry on with it, here's how it works:Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate!You WILL update your journal/bloggy thing/whatever

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-20445283245213645122007-03-07T23:22:00.000-05:002007-03-07T23:40:49.139-05:00

No, I don't know where the hell the comments went. It may be that BackBlog truly did dissolve into air, into thin air.I've been meaning to switch to HaloScan anyway; I managed to save an archive of the comments here up to the end of last year, so some of that may yet be restored. Should've updated recently! Oh, well.In the meantime, I suppose you can always come around and harass me on the LJ.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-74661046196423811122007-03-02T22:53:00.000-05:002007-03-03T00:14:45.000-05:00

Elizabeth Bear (whose books you should read, and on whose livejournal I've found myself of late engaging in the Wednesday night Criminal Minds fansquee, because I am the King of the Chubby Nerds) has written a self-described feminist screed on the Subterranean Press website that pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about this gender-and-society stuff:Dear Patriarchy:I don’t care what you

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-52730495758306683462007-02-23T16:30:00.000-05:002007-02-23T16:36:49.741-05:00

No one who has known me for long will be surprised to know that Spyder is one of my very favoritest people ever. I half-seriously call her the sister I didn't know I had, mostly because there isn't a word for a person who is neither a relative nor a lover, but for whom "friend" is woefully insufficient.Anyway, she turns 23* today. I'm heading up Noo Yawkwards in a few hours to celebrate in person

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-7452820361559011752007-02-22T20:27:00.000-05:002007-02-22T21:01:04.352-05:00

So it's been the better part of a month since I turned 33; I am now the same age as Christ was when he was tortured to death, and also Frodo when he inherited the One Ring. This is not really what you'd call a couple of good precedents.But many thanks, anyway, to all of you who sent your good wishes last month. It was nice to see some folks around these parts who haven't joined in for a while.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1169519983527918832007-01-22T19:07:00.000-05:002007-01-22T21:39:43.973-05:00

Okay, okay, uncle.Seriously, I'm fine, just going through my regularly scheduled post-holiday winter withdrawal. Normal blogging (by which, of course, I mean "bursts of loquaciousness punctuated by mysterious silences") will resume shortly.I turn 33 in three days, causing me to wonder if maybe this will be the year I finally feel like an adult and not like a clever teenager getting away with

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1165629983455311362006-12-08T18:24:00.000-05:002006-12-08T21:06:23.526-05:00

Another November victory, in case you didn't see: Patrick successfully completed his NaSoAlMo project, and it's a winner. Julia is everything you look for in a concept album (or at least, as the hints have it, the first movement of one) - deft storytelling, an interesting structure of themes and movements, and lots of really fine songcraft that holds up both separately and as a coherent whole.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1165188534482123152006-12-03T16:38:00.000-05:002006-12-03T22:48:23.993-05:00

O frabjous day! Kip Manley's "A 'Restless' Exegesis" - one of my favorite pieces of Buffy crit, on the subject of one of my favorite episodes - is back online.Of course, in the post-Season 7 world, some of it is inevitably dated (at least for those who believe there were more than five seasons of Buffy; you resurrection-deniers, I suppose, are on your own), but it's still an incredibly smart,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1165091486523658722006-12-02T11:31:00.000-05:002006-12-02T15:31:27.300-05:00

If anyone's had any doubts - yes, I did make goal once again this year. Huzzah! (It was touch-and-go this week; I was sick since last Saturday night, and still not quite feeling at full even now, but I managed anyway, because I am a Serious Artist and will Suffer Magnificently when required. So it goes. Anyway.)Those of you who've signed on as readers, at least those with a supernatural talent

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1164151029480547952006-11-21T18:17:00.000-05:002006-11-21T18:18:34.950-05:00

Brief updates, since I haven't in a while.So I left off last night at 31,700 and a bit, which certainly puts me well on the downslope (wordcount-wise, but not for plot, which is really just now picking up). The good news is that the book itself feels less broken in some ways than maybe all of my previous efforts, which I guess is the kind of progress I ought to be making.This also steels my

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1162923969328088062006-11-07T17:17:00.000-05:002007-10-25T11:28:32.218-04:00

Whee! I am woefully behind! This will, I hope, be corrected for as of the the upcoming three-day weekend; in the meantime, another set of helpful hints for myself and all the rest of you.Everything I Need to Know About Plot I Learned from Running RPGs1. No outline survives contact with the characters.2. You don't have to have every room mapped out if you keep a couple of generic encounters handy

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1162907613231156892006-11-07T08:52:00.000-05:002006-11-09T12:00:37.066-05:00

Vote.Later, ETA: Good work, everyone.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1162490408117822432006-11-02T12:17:00.000-05:002006-11-05T13:56:42.170-05:00

Okay. After some consideration, I think I've decided that the best way to share my work-in-progress this year is through Google Documents' handy Viewers feature, which lets me invite people to look at the text without me having to do much of anything except keep the damn thing updated (which I'll be doing anyway, since Google Docs is also functioning as one of my backups). Some of you were in the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1162320964759293102006-10-31T17:49:00.000-05:002007-10-25T11:27:07.433-04:00

And now, at the eleventh hour, I reveal my Big Secrets. Attend:How I Hit 50k Four Years Running and You Probably Can, TooIt occurs to me that, this being my fifth (!!) year participating in NaNoWriMo, and having four-for-four shiny Winner bars to my credit for it, I might count as something like a Veteran; and it may be useful to share such wisdom as I have for how you might do the same.And it

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161990394238639352006-10-27T18:48:00.000-04:002006-10-27T19:06:34.253-04:00

John M. Ford's memorial service was today. I post this shortly before his wake is scheduled to begin.(That first link, by the way, has a couple of excellent places to make memorial donations, if you're of such a mind.)I cannot be with his friends and admirers today except in spirit, but I can make this offering; as I said in the thread on ML, everybody got a little Mike Ford in 'em now.Justice?

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161920495987024712006-10-26T23:10:00.000-04:002006-10-26T23:41:36.003-04:00

Ten years ago tonight - and probably about this time too! - I was in a little bar in Parkersburg, WV where I'd gone to see a really excellent band called Jimmy Clinton and His Mean Red Spiders, when I got a drink sent to me (for the first time in my life, no less) by attractive young woman in glasses and a black pleather skirt. Turns out she'd seen me play a couple of times in the same place,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161819421094287962006-10-25T19:49:00.000-04:002007-10-25T11:29:51.444-04:00

This one I posted to the Plot Doctoring section of the NaNoForums. It's long, and substantial, and probably mostly speaks for itself. I should make the point here, once again, that I am in no position at all to be dispensing writing advice, callow amateur that I am, but I'm not really letting that get in my way. And it's proven to be a popular thread on the boards, which certainly warms my dark

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161817893247989612006-10-25T19:05:00.000-04:002006-10-25T19:11:33.266-04:00

The ever-sensible piny has started (well, a couple of days ago now, but never mind) a Feministe thread on bisexuality; I contribute, way down the line.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161721646370286382006-10-24T16:16:00.000-04:002006-10-24T16:27:26.386-04:00

I have returned from another long weekend in the West Virginia hills, this time for a session of recording with two-thirds of OVO to lay down the first serious tracks for Supplicant, our debut LP.Of course, we started things off in proper rockstar fashion by finishing half a bottle of amaretto and sleeping till Saturday afternoon, so while we weren't quite as productive as we might have been, we

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161283386079685232006-10-19T13:24:00.000-04:002007-10-25T11:13:54.330-04:00

Most of my online writing these days, it seems, is on the NaNoWriMo fora, where, contrary to my presence almost everywhere else on Teh Internets, I can't seem to shut up. I have, indeed, been well-nigh pontificating on a number of writing-related subjects, for all that in measurable terms I have as much authorial cred as your average poetry.com prizewinner. But I've never let that sort of thing

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161227059555898982006-10-18T22:16:00.000-04:002006-10-18T23:04:19.626-04:00

Yes, as I mentioned previously, it's about that time again.This has not exactly been my best year for writing (prose, anyway; songwriting I've actually managed a bit of); that rather impressive breakdown I had right at the end of last year's effort seems to have taken some of the wind out of my sails, especially as far as trying to continue Otherwood goes. We'll see if this time around does

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1161196356587836742006-10-18T12:21:00.000-04:002006-10-18T16:38:08.070-04:00

Oh, all right, one more (since Aishwarya tagged "you," and I, like Vishal, am taking it personally):Three, Three, Three Things3 books:Imajica, Clive BarkerRiddle-Master, Patricia McKillipThe Nightmare Factory, Thomas Ligotti3 albums:In the Court of the Crimson King, King CrimsonOf Ruine or Some Blazing Starre, Current 93Hoofbeat Caw & Thunder, Timothy, Revelator3 movies:Se7enThe Name of the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1160442869534752912006-10-09T18:37:00.000-04:002006-10-09T21:15:03.440-04:00

Tagged again, this time by belledame, who caught it from feministe; and who am I to refuse? So, then: five things (hail Eris!) Feminism Has Done For Me:1. I work as a Filthy Assistant at a small woman-owned company, and am the only male out of ten employees at corporate HQ. Aside from having feminism to thank for making it possible for me to have the Best Boss Ever, I also don't have to feel like

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1159203867240453712006-09-25T12:11:00.000-04:002006-09-25T13:05:24.930-04:00

Like many, many others in fandom, I was devastated this morning to learn that John M. Ford died late last night.I knew him mostly by his delightful (brilliant, funny, erudite) posts on Making Light; I knew his writing largely by reputation, though I'd just gotten around to rereading his story "Chain Home, Low" in The Sandman: Book of Dreams and marvelled at its loveliness, determined to find more

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1158938007603181572006-09-22T11:45:00.000-04:002006-09-22T11:32:40.200-04:00

Well, this is timely: We have finally got out act together and put up the long-overdue OVO page on MySpace, which also find linked at sidebar.Mostly rough mixes, at this point, but nonetheless that's a whole new crop of material suitable for unsettling the listening public, available for download and for Vishal to sigh and give me a firm talking-to about my doubtless mangling of Sanskrit. Huzzah!

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1158785269446796172006-09-20T16:08:00.000-04:002006-09-20T20:02:01.193-04:00

Well. Since the subject's gone and come up now, I might as well lay this out plainly - the closest thing to a manifesto I'm likely to do on my own tastes and on my philosophy of composition. I figure it's all going to be out there at some point, so I might as well go ahead and own it now.I like music with solid, simple, repeating chord structures on which you can layer other things, and maybe

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1158698208498138332006-09-19T17:37:00.000-04:002006-09-19T16:36:48.553-04:00

I wasn't sure I was going to link to this, but I think it really gives the following the necessary context; plus, hey! It's my first Internet your-music-sucks flaming! It's giving me that warm feeling of having arrived, somehow, like your first mugging in a new city.The whole unfortunate exchange has cemented something for me about just what it is that gets up my squid about snobbery, and why I

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1158677209655830572006-09-19T11:12:00.000-04:002006-09-19T10:46:49.676-04:00

Holla and avast! 'Tis that most glorious o' days again!Yer stalwart cap'n has been adrift in strange waters some while now, what with peregrinations ta lands afar; but he's returned ashore, and is preparin' ta regale ye with no end o' salty tales, and mayhap a fine shanty or two. O' course, it be worth notin' that a mug or two o' the strong stuff might go far in recallin' his custom'ry

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1157040907776409552006-08-31T10:46:00.000-04:002006-08-31T12:15:07.830-04:00

In a few bare hours, I'm off to Swampstock XIII and likewise more or less off the radar for a short while. Some of yez I'll be seeing there.And it gives me the warmest of rock-star warm fuzzies to note that OVO will be taking the stage on Saturday to perform a whole set's worth of material that will be new to lots of people in attendance because it didn't exist a year ago. Woot. (Take that,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1156860805173068362006-08-29T10:07:00.000-04:002006-08-29T10:13:25.190-04:00

You probably know this already, but Caren and Niels have arrived safe and sound in the Middle Kingdom, after some small red-tape delays. Everyone wish them well and send them love!

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1155916818160019782006-08-18T11:42:00.000-04:002006-08-18T12:00:18.450-04:00

I have a strong suspicion that there have been conversations going on in my house not unlike this one.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1155744295659163652006-08-16T12:03:00.000-04:002006-08-16T12:04:55.676-04:00

You Are 52% LadyYou're part lady, part modern woman.Etiquette is important to you, but you brush aside rules that are outdated or silly.Are You A Lady?...Well, hello.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1155176023935870412006-08-09T19:53:00.000-04:002006-08-09T22:13:44.000-04:00

Literature is holy to me, which again shows how much I know about holiness.- Kurt VonnegutI've been tagged by Jean, who had it of Antiprincess, who got tapped by Belledame; so on with the memeage:1. One book that changed your life: Er, "the good ones all do" is a copout, so I'm going with The Hobbit, which made the kind of impression on me at six that you never get over.2. One book you have read

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1155005204971493972006-08-07T22:28:00.000-04:002006-08-07T22:46:45.553-04:00

Over the weekend we bid a fond zai jian to Caren and Niels, who are going to have to settle for what passes for Chinese food in China for a year or so; we're already looking forward to being able to take them out for proper Chinese when they get back to the States.And oh, yeah: we miss them already.Safe journey, sweethearts. May the Lord of Beginnings shine His light and grace upon you as you

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1154787371609512762006-08-05T10:11:00.000-04:002006-08-05T10:16:12.460-04:00

Belledame skewers an especially deserving example of premillenial loonyism; I contribute, with my usual sense of subtlety and tact.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1154574690122978572006-08-02T22:41:00.000-04:002006-08-02T23:11:30.200-04:00

Today or possibly yesterday was Lughnasadh, though considering the truly awful heat wave currently boiling this slice of the Mid-Atlantic, I'm reluctant to set anything on fire I don't have to, and dancing is right the hell out; one assumes the gods will understand.As compensation, though, I offer this, which I wrote ten(!!) years ago and, alas, probably works better sung than read:Fields of

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1153509686225350912006-07-21T14:54:00.000-04:002006-07-21T15:21:26.310-04:00

Good show last weekend - or at least we more or less looked like we know what we're doing, which goes a long way.Here's a brief rock star montage, for them of yez that missed it:I'm off to WV tonight, and from thence to Cleveland to see Les Claypool make thumping noises and be disturbing; and after that, we're having a big rehearsal and bandthink session, so there will hopefully be more

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1152649640858032042006-07-11T16:21:00.000-04:002006-07-11T16:27:23.526-04:00

Weird glitch with comments in the last few days: you can post 'em, but they don't register with the comment count. So if you've left one since yesterday, it really does show when you click through, even though it reads as 0 on the front page. But you probably noticed that already.I assume this is some strangeness on the part of BackBlog that will resolve itself in due course.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1152638517733228282006-07-11T13:08:00.000-04:002006-07-11T22:20:31.006-04:00

Syd Barrett, dead at 60.David Bowie, from the linked article: "His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed."See also the BBC's obit.Some hand in handAnd some gathered together in bandsThe bleeding hearts and the artistsMake their standA fond farewell; the world is sadder and less strange today. Wish you were here.(Hat-tip to

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1152499950871374942006-07-09T22:46:00.000-04:002006-07-09T23:09:26.210-04:00

In case anyone's still watching this space who wants to know and doesn't yet: OVO will be playing at The Cup this Saturday, and it looks like we'll be rolling out some new material. It's our first show since St. Patrick's Day, so I think this may actually count as a reunion concert of some kind. Come on out for the ren-folk proggoth love!

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1152069837604559542006-07-04T22:29:00.000-04:002006-07-05T12:06:51.920-04:00

I've been seeing a lot of references to this lately, but hadn't clicked through to watch until today (appropriately enough - not to mention we spent the afternoon watching Serenity, which has plenty of things itself to say on the subject of Independence). And can I just say:Wow.Damn.And yes.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1151035897326303132006-06-23T00:07:00.000-04:002006-06-23T00:11:37.336-04:00

It's probably much too early to start getting excited about this; but not too early, perhaps, to fervently wish for Alan Cumming and Ian Holm in the title roles.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1150992005070753462006-06-22T11:00:00.000-04:002006-06-22T12:00:05.266-04:00

This month's been a whirlwind, Faithful Readers, and I've been off the radar as much as not; forgive my sparseness of discourse lately.I was in NYC for MoCCA a coupla weeks ago; thence to WV this past weekend; and tomorrow I'm leaving for NEARfest, which looks to be especially good this year - I'll do an after-action report if I have the opportunity.And somewhere in there I picked up the new

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1149647915874057932006-06-06T22:04:00.000-04:002006-06-06T22:38:36.176-04:00

It's 06/06/06 today! I hope you're all enjoying your Scandinavian death metal albums and Black Masses.Meanwhile, slacktivist commemorates the day with one of his immensely sensible meditations; and of course there's some clever Beastliness going on over at Making Light. Me, I think I'll just relax with a bit of soothing music.(Of course, whether or not 666 has any apocalyptic significance is

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1148439781645671392006-05-23T22:37:00.000-04:002006-05-23T23:03:01.720-04:00

This most Erisian of dates marks the anniversary of the Second Defenestration of Prague. Celebrate appropriately.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1148054727987717552006-05-19T11:55:00.000-04:002006-05-19T12:05:28.090-04:00

The wise and excellent Sage talks sensibly and at some length about boobs.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1147305013477740962006-05-10T19:47:00.000-04:002006-05-10T19:50:13.486-04:00

Stuff there's no social protocol for: Looking at your boss's computer at work and noticing she has a World of Warcraft icon in the Start menu, and sharing that split-second moment of nerd telepathy where you agree to pretend that you didn't see it and don't know what it is.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1147289012466321392006-05-10T14:39:00.000-04:002006-05-10T15:23:32.676-04:00

I blinked and missed the last two weeks, most of which were spent new-parenting with Monty.He's growed a bit since then, too. We love him to pieces.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1146095915364106932006-04-26T18:10:00.000-04:002006-04-26T19:58:35.420-04:00

You've likely seen it already, but Making Light set off another round of the neverending fanfic debate yesterday, with this heretical apologia: Good fiction gets under our skin. It can change the way we see the world. But whatever its effect, it’s a significant experience. It would be a bizarre thing—unnatural, even—for writers to not engage with that experience. ... In a purely literary sense,

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1145820937365333442006-04-23T13:39:00.000-04:002006-04-24T13:00:30.460-04:00

I missed out on Blog Against Heteronormativity Day Saturday, more's the pity; but a post on my new favorite feminist blog says everything I'd have wanted to anyway:But I do think that until such time as it's genuinely not seen as shameful to be "girlie," we're not gonna make much more progress. Not in feminism, not in the gay rights movement, not on a number of fronts, in fact, that on the

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1145763918176167822006-04-22T23:23:00.000-04:002006-04-22T23:45:18.266-04:00

For the benefit of anyone who might be dropping by here after recently acquiring one of my CDs, I declare this Open Thread I.Welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment, introduce yourself, and join in the general conversation here. The same goes for anyone who's been lurking and just needs an excuse.As for youse regulars: if you haven't already, check out our new baby.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1145558811669985032006-04-20T14:34:00.000-04:002006-04-20T14:46:51.743-04:00

Submitted to the wisdom of the collected readership: Would I be guilty of presumptuous cultural misappropriation if I started wearing a kurta? Because, damn, I'm really starting to want one.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1144953354146458762006-04-13T14:24:00.000-04:002006-04-13T14:35:57.253-04:00

Posted without comment: two examples of position descriptions from a government website I came across this morning while researching labor categories:Functional Responsibility: Follows a number of specific procedures in completing several repetitive clerical steps performed in a prescribed or slightly varied sequenceandFunctional Responsibility: Uses some subject matter knowledge and judgment to

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1144179549029222892006-04-04T15:20:00.000-04:002006-04-04T15:39:09.076-04:00

Q: Why can't you listen to prog today?A: Because it's 4/4.- Feel free, obviously, to replace "cool" with "irredeemably dorky," as per your own preferences.(Hi, everyone! I sure had a fun March. More on that soon. Meanwhile, if you haven't already, have an eyeful of this.)

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1140755840131395842006-02-23T23:29:00.000-05:002006-02-23T23:37:20.150-05:00

Just under the wire this year, but today's the day Spyder goes up to eleven twice.Happy Birthday, my evil twin! I played "One of Those Nights" at the open mic tonight in your honor. I hope you did something even cooler; here's to a fabulous year-to-come.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233634.post-1140571948813238902006-02-21T20:28:00.000-05:002006-02-21T20:32:28.843-05:00

I don't know, but I think I just peed myself.

Dan L-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378801381611890154noreply@blogger.com0