So, I've decided...

I'm going to buy a book a month for Ana, build her collection up nicely (focusing on what she can enjoy now AND when she gets older) and get Seth a subscription to Babybug magazine. In the long run, the subscription is cheaper for him and I don't have to hear Lizziey say that she has books from her other relatives. I've seen those books and I don't think much of most of them... they're all of them either with noises attatched or much too long/tedious for a baby his age. Books for little kids should have short sentences, few pages, lots of repetition, and rhymes. Which goes in with repetition. He's not going to pay attention to many of the books she's got for him.

Two barely related thoughts.

This is how they're related:

I often read communities that really have nothing to do with me, just because I find them interesting (not in a mockworthy way). So I read boob_nazis even though I have no intention of ever having kids (but if I go nuts and do, I'll breastfeed) and I read deaf even though, really, my hearing is too good for my own good (must... invest... in earplugs!) and I read customers_suck despite my never having a job (well, then again, EVERYone reads that comm, so this one doesn't count) and so on.

First thought:

1. Does anybody else do that?
2. Anybody have an interesting community to read? I'm bored. Again.

Second:

Anyway, I'm on deaf and somebody posted this link. And, foolish child that I am, I checked the yahoo messages for the article. Dear god. I skip past the obvious trolls, doing a better job at it than some of the deaf-supporting people (one of whom commented to a pseudo-eugenicist that deafness is never hereditary, that was brilliant and patently false) and I'm still being accosted at all sides by the sillies! ( Read more... )

It's like a train wreck. Half these people are blatant trolls, more, really, and yet, I can't stop reading. It's horrible. And I just spent time replying to some of these people. *rolls her eyes*

Incidentally, I'm not passing judgment on this captioning system. I know that when it comes to making money, movie theaters already skate pretty close to the line, so I can see how it's going to be a problem for some of them. And while I don't object to helping people with things that aren't necessities, I also think we should deal with necessities first, then deal with other things. So I'll have to wait and think on it before I can say if this is good or bad. I'm just looking for things to get upset about now, really. Makes my posts life more interesting.

I have a question...

Occasionally, with a wide and varied range of people, the subject of homeschooling comes up. And somebody inevitably pops up to say they're against homeschooling because "they want their children to learn to socialize". And yet, if they sent their kid to school, and the kid spent time with his/her friends in class, the teacher invariably says "you're not here to socialize, you're here to learn". Which is true. If you want to socialize, aside from HUGE homeschooling groups, there's other places like the playground and structured "after school" activities. But some people just keep missing the point, I think.

Last post before I go off to nurse my headache

Which is a stupid phrase. I'm nursing myself, I want my headache to die. Headaches do NOT get love and attention, and certainly not lovin' attention, and NO NURSING.

But I digress. Very much do I digress.

I read Monstrous Regiment today. Um. In the past 24 hours, anyway. I loved it. It was great. It was wonderful. It's a good book, I think, to start out with as far as Discworld goes because it doesn't focus on our main characters too much, so it lets you kinda sink into the subject without having to worry about missed backstory. Yes, I also eschew the concept of reading a series in order.

Oh, and it's funny. I honestly was laughing out loud at various points during the book, like when ( CENSORED )

or, really, when it steadily became more clear that ( CENSORED )

. Good book, good times, loved it. The only thing I really didn't like was ( CENSORED )

. And the ( CENSORED )

Also, I read Maskerade. I was getting a little hungry then, so I didn't appreciate it as much. Pity. Will re-read it later.

Okay, sorry, this is my last post!

I forgot, I was going to list good books for Jazzy. She needs a new obsession. So, firstly, anybody with good taste in books is welcome to post their favorite/least favorite authors/books, even though I just asked this a while ago.

Secondly, my in-no-order list. Books are in italics, authors are in bold. When both a book and its author appear on the list, the book is more highly reccommended than the rest of the books by that author.

Fahrenheit 451
The Giver
Gathering Blue
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeline L'Engle
Night Watch
Monstrous Regiment
Jingo
Terry Pratchett
Letter's from the Inside
Tomorrow, when the War Began
John Marsden
Jean Auel (yes, she's overrated, but her books are nice and long)
Dr. Seuss (with an eye to social criticism)
Handmaid's Tale
1984
Animal Farm
Brave New World
The Third Witch
Parable of the Sower
Octavia Butler
Ella Enchanted
Zel
Donna Jo Napoli
Jackeroo
Interstellar Pig
Jill Churchill
Ender's Game
Ender's Shadow
Orson Scott Card
Patricia C. Wrede
Diane Duane
Diana Wynne Jones
Trickster's Choice
Tamora Pierce
Shade's Children
Patrice Kindl
Sophie's World
The Elegant Universe
I am the Cheese
Speak
Good Omens

I could go on, but that's enough for now, I think. Wow. I read a lot of kid's books. *shrugs*

Incidentally, I'm also getting interested in picture books on their own merits. They've always interested me, so this is just an upswing in the cycle, probably prompted by the babies.

More commonly confused words

Two dimensional: Flat. With regards to people, "lacking depth of characterization".
One dimensional: A line. With regards to people, no such thing.

A 180 degree turn: An about face, a complete reversal.
A 360 degree turn: Spinning around, ending up back where you started.

I: The first personal singular pronoun, nominative case.
i: The ninth letter of the alphabet, lowercase.

You: The second person pronoun
Ewe: A female sheep
Yew: A type of tree
U: Oh, look, another letter, and it needs a friend because it's all alone :(

LOL Laugh(ing) Out Loud
LOLOL Laughing out loud out loud? Laughing out laughing out loud?

And more words I want to add to the english language

Warning, these all come from Terry Pratchett, and will continue to do so until I recover from this addiction.

1. Skonkies. As in "a pack of skonkies". Meaning: Condoms. We start using that and the Earl of Condom will no doubt forgive us from his grave.

2. Century of the Fruitbat. Okay, it's not a word, but it's a lot more fun to drag people into the century of the fruitbat than to drag them into the 21st century, isn't it? And it uses the word "fruitbat", which is very similar to "fruitcake" and evokes all sorts of ideas about insanity, most of which are accurate.

3. Clacks. Now, this is where I have problems. I WANT TO USE THIS WORD. I really really do. But how would I use it? The clacks are roughly analogous to the telegraph in some books, in other books we find some evidence that at least some of their running is like the internet. And they're called "clacks" because they go "clack-clack" (big surprise, here). So, what would they be here? Would they be the internet in general, or is that too vague? Perhaps they could be the press, but that's not a word that I use that often. Or they could be email, but I hate email. The telegraphic style used by Verence via the clacks could possibly be compared to the telegraphic style known and loved/loathed as "chtspk". It's a bad comparison, but I like it. So, I hereby designate IMs as "the clacks" because when you're typing, it makes a clack-clack noise and I really really like the word. Well, I do this week, anyway.

Sub-question:

In the annals of chtspk and l337, which is better, teh kewlest or teh r0xx0rs?