Princess Sparklefists

My brother called me cause he saw on TV that there's a gunman at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring.

That's about three blocks from my old apartment. Crazy.

Doctor Who fandom is going batshit today, but at least it's not Torchwood wank! (I don't usually read fandomsecrets [because it is a wretched hive of scum and villainy I don't care about your thoughts on yaoi] but yesterday's was basically the all Torchwood special wangsting edition.) Moving right along...

The Doctor has a new outfit! And a new companion!

I don't really consider a picture of their outfits is spoilery, especially once released by the BBC. If you do, don't click, and just stop reading now, kay? I really had no expectations for Matt Smith's attire (I figure if you build up this image of "OMG the eleventh Doctor must wear a dickie" then you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.) but I think I quite like this. The bow tie is awesome and sort of old school. Apparently there are also suspenders/braces, which is also fun. (It is my opinion that suspenders are superior in functionality to belts, but suspenders on females seems to be limited mostly to those who are either strippers or genderqueer, of which I am neither, or marching band members, which I'm not anymore.) Anyway. The only thing I'm not so sure about are the rolled up trousers. Is that a permanent thing, or did he just get off his bike and was trying to keep his trousers out of the chain?

Also, I want Karen Gillan's magenta/maroon/whatever Converse. I think it's been well over a year since I bought a new color, so it's totally time, right?

( Spoiler cut for that casting thing that's got fandom's collective knickers in a twist )

Ah, summer vacation. I love it. Finally, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, with no guilt. Not that I didn't still have an agenda for my day, it just doesn't involve school things!

• I went on a bike ride this afternoon, and when I got into town I discovered there's some sort of festival going on this weekend. Now that's fun and all, but it also meant that part of the bike trail was blocked, and the rest was very crowded with families and young children. My last big bike crash was caused by little kids veering left of center on a bike trail, so this was worrisome for me. There was one near miss when a kid swerved out in front of me, but I made it home okay. (And for once, I wasn't totally drained because I actually followed my own advice not to push myself past my limits.)


• We now have an official chore sheet at home, not that it makes much of a difference. Derelict housemate selected cleaning the bathroom from the list, but apparently his idea of "cleaning" means wiping down the countertop two days after making a mess cutting his hair. I decided I've had enough, so I spent some quality time scrubbing the floor, and basically anything else in sight, with bleach. It was a bit labor intensive, but there really is something satisfying about accomplishing a physical task.


• I need to stop watching Fringe while I'm eating, cause it grosses me out. Also, in the department of "Eeewwww," I am very lucky that I don't have a particularly sensitive stomach. Yesterday I decided to risk the sour smelling milk cause I was in a hurry and had already poured the Cheerios in the bowl... today I dumped out the rest and it was kinda chunky. Blech. I discovered earlier this week that the temperature in the fridge wasn't low enough, so at least now I know why everything has been going bad.


• I have time to read again! I went to the library (I had to hurry to get there before they closed for the weekend!) and checked out a stack of books, including a couple recs from friends before we got shooed out by some John Philip Sousa (there's some holiday spirit for ya!). I had my usual reaction of "Hey, I've played this!" And on more than one instrument, no less.


• There's an article about zambonis in the New York Times! :D

Now that Justice Souter is retiring, President Obama should seize the opportunity to appoint Edward James Olmos to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Rahm Emanuel can devise a secret plan to fight inflation.

If you don't understand what I'm talking about, you need to watch more West Wing.

There is a man in Russia who had a small fir tree removed from his lung. I think that's the most bizarre medical story I've ever read.

First off, we have this gem from last week's Washington Post on how today's college students aren't reading the beat poets, and are therefore idiots. Basically. I think it's just yet another round of "kids these days" BS. Today's young adults aren't less involved in radical politics because they like the Twilight books; there are loads of other societal factors effecting that.

What you see at the next revolution is far more likely to be a well-designed Web site than a radical novel or a poem. Not to be a drag, but that's so uncool. For those of us who care about literature and think it still has a lot to offer, it's time to start chanting, "Hell, no! We won't go!"

Well, yes, literature does have plenty to author. But just cause I don't really care for Kerouac doesn't make me dumb. You have your classics, we have ours. Okay?

In better news, the New York Times reports that book sales are up in Europe thanks to the recession. Books make for inexpensive but high quality entertainment. (Even French translations of Twilight. If you couldn't tell, I don't like being judgey about what people read. Even if Twilight is kinda lulzy.)

And in the Guardian, "Librarians are necessarily heroes and warriors - albeit in disguise." I would so love to work at the British Library, even if they have misplaced some of their books. And can I just say that the Guardian has a much better books section than most U.S. papers? (Actually, many U.S. papers are ditching books all together. Sad.)

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This has nothing to do with books, but the SciFi Channel rebrand? EPIC FAIL. SyFy? Seriously? I like io9's assement: "I mean, it's the same name! Just spelled stupidly!" Do they think people won't notice? For current science fiction fans, it's insulting. And for non-fans, well, what exactly has changed? I like some of the alternate options on io9, like "The Why Isn't Battlestar Galactica On Anymore Channel" or "The Look, Just Fuck Off Geeks, We Don't Want Your Kind Round Here Network."

Strangely, sitting here in front of two laptops does not make me accomplish twice as much work. (Although it does make me look like a nerd. My old PowerBook seems huge now.) I'm supposed to be writing a paper for my archives class--the prof calls it a lit review, but three articles does not a lit review make--and I've been avoiding it all day. I spent five hours cleaning the house (the kitchen was disgusting, and apparently no one else that lives here cares), and now I'm just dawdling and periodically making snacks. I do at least have one of the articles open now (on the other computer) so I can learn all about archiving blogs.

And now for something completely different... Everyone go read this article about train travel from tomorrow's New York Times. (Tomorrow's paper! It's magic!) It really makes me want to go on a cross-country train trip. Plus, I'd just like to go to San Francisco and New York anyway, so it'd be a good excuse. :)

According to this morning's Washington Post, Martha Washington was hot, and George was kind of a hunk.

I kid you not. They know this because of science.

Did anyone else catch this morning's NY Times article about the Biblioburro? The Biblioburro is like a bookmobile, only with donkeys. The service is run by Luis Soriano, a teacher in La Gloria, Colombia, who carries books to readers in nearby towns. I don't necessarily agree with the writer that the Biblioburro is "whimsical", because I think that downplays the fact that Soriano is providing an amazing service in an underprivileged area.

Anyway, check it out! I think it wins the coolest library of the day award.

The past week I've mostly been reading news articles that have left me frustrated or angry, so today I've got some other stuff I found interesting in the Sunday papers.

I know some of my f-listers may be interested in the Billie Piper interview in The Observer today. She talks both about her pregnancy and the upcoming series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which begins this week.

This is from last week, but I didn't finish last Sunday's Washington Post until I went to throw it in the recycling yesterday. (It's such a good thing we don't get the paper delivered every day. We'd never finish anything!) Anyway, there was a nice feature editorial about Ohio and being a Midwest transplant to D.C. written by Emily Langer. She writes:

I miss Ohio most when I hear other transplanted Midwesterners belittle their parents for being intimidated by subways that they have no occasion to ride, or mock the suburbs that seemed pretty great when they were running through sprinklers in their big backyards, or dump on cornfields and cows, especially when most of them spent their childhoods not on tractors but in minivans. But of course, I too have sinned by leaving Ohio, and there are days when I feel downright traitorous for having done so.

I don't think she mentioned in the article, but Ohio has a major problem keeping college graduates in the state. I know Governor Strickland is doing some work to reverse that trend, so it'll be interesting to see how successful that is in the coming years. (Says the Ohioan turned nomad.)

And for those who like to go to Magnolia and mack on some cupcakes, Jennifer 8. Lee asks Will Cupcakes Be the Next Krispy Kreme?. We had some pretty darn good cupcakes in Montreal, but I can't remember the name of the shop. Forget Krispy Kreme, though: why is there no Timmy's near me?