In Hard Core Logo sequel news:

lamentables is a rock star! \o/

I can't think of a Canadian screenwriter I trust more.

1.Hi! I'm sort of new at Japanese and I was wondering why sometimes there are two kanji for the same word, such as 才 and 歳, there are others but I can't think of them right now. I tried googling but i couldn't find anything. :(

2.Ohhh, and i was wondering what the word for "different" as in the opposite of 同じ would be. When i look it up in the dictionary all i get is words that have the nuance of "unique, odd," like how we'd say "Ohhh, that's different." I'm assuming they don't have that same nuance in Japanese, right?

Thanks!!!!!!!!

Xander worries about vampires as well as demons. Anya thinks Buffy and Giles have issues to work through. Buffy and Giles have a discussion involving raising children on a Hellmouth.

This chapter is rated FRM.

LOAH - Chapter Eighty-Six

http://paperpools.blogspot.com/2008/05/winnie-der-pooh.html

I went to a 2-hour Artikelkurs at Hartnackschule toward the end of April. As it turned out, the course was not really about articles at all, it was about grammatical gender: it offered an introduction to mnemonic techniques that would help one remember whether a noun was masculine, feminine or neuter. The technique was essentially that of the art of memory as practised in antiquity, one I've heard of but never bothered to try: one assigns an image to the thing to be remembered. So one might assign the image of water to 'das' and then, to remember the gender of a neuter noun, assign a mental image to the noun and associate this with water. One assigns the image of a woman to 'die' and then, to remember a feminine nouns, assigns it a mental image and associates this with a woman. In one's mind, then, one might have a sofa, a book, a knife, floating in a pool. And so on.

At the beginning of the class the teacher did an experiment to see how well students memorised things using the techniques they already had. Students were given a list of 20 words, each of which had been assigned one of three articles invented for the occasion (fif, led, had). They were given three minutes to memorise the articles; asked to chat among themselves for two minutes; then given a test on the articles.

The number of correct replies reported was:

2 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 18 19

(I got 15.) The teacher asked those who got 15 or better what they did. One girl said she memorised the nouns for 2 articles, because everything else would take the third. (This was esentially what I did: write down two lists and memorise those.) Another (who got 19) said she constructed a story using images from one group of nouns, another story for another.

The teacher spent the rest of the class explaining how the visualisation technique worked. At the end he gave another test, again with 20 nouns and 3 invented articles, asking us to try the visualisation technique. I got 20. The results for the class were

(pairing results with original results):
18 20 20 20 20 18 20 19 19 18 17 20 20 19 20 20 19 19

or (in ascending order)

17 18 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

We can summarise by saying that on the first text only 3 people got a score of 17 or higher, while on the second test no one got a score below 17; on the first test no one got 20 right, while on the second 9 (almost 50%) did. But it's easier to see the dramatic shift in the distribution of scores with a couple of graphs:




(Yes, yes, the information definitely could be better presented, but there is work to be done.)

Now, we can't be sure the improvement was entirely due to use of the visualisation technique. I used a combination of visualisation and the two-lists trick (i.e. bothered to visualise only two sets). Since another member of the class had mentioned this trick, it's quite possible that others in the class were also combining the two. Still, it's pretty impressive. The only problem is, the technique is of limited use in mastering the art of German articles.

At the risk of stating the obvious, it's fairly straightforward to correlate a mental image with the article 'der' and then associate this images for appropriate nouns. It's not at all straightforward to come up with a system of mental images such that 'der' is associated with masculine singular nouns in the nominative, feminine singular nouns in the genitive and dative, and plural nouns in the genitive. It's by no means obvious how to organise one's mental images so that 'den' is associated with masculine singular nouns in the accusative and plural nouns in the dative.

Now, recycling is a very good thing when one is dealing with scarce resources. It's not obvious that articles, whether definite or indefinite, fall in that category. Instead of cunningly reusing 'der' (so that it turns up not in one case but three), why not use it exclusively for the nominative masculine singular? And have a unique form for the genitive feminine singular? And another for the dative feminine singular? Go on, you want to say, be a devil!

The problem is, natural languages are not like programming languages. There's no one issuing a beta release and then fixing all the things that interfere with performance (for instance, by slowing down processing, taking up too much memory to store...). We can't fix the languages, so we have to fix the learners.

The interesting thing about the class was that it showed the (to a foreigner) peculiar German reluctance to help those grappling with the system of articles. It's not peculiar that the man in the street has better things to do with his time, of course, but schools are unanimous in shying away from the dreary task. This school was unusual only in ducking the issue in a course specifically advertised as addressing it.

[reposted because Blogger put it in the wrong place chronologically. ]

http://paperpools.blogspot.com/2008/05/garamond.html

Garamond fonts are nearly as plentiful as mosquitoes in August. There’s a version from International Typeface Corporation (ITC)®, a version developed for Adobe Systems®, one produced by the Monotype® foundry, another drawn for Simoncini™ and still another for Berthold™. Linotype® has two versions (three, if you count the Stempel™ Garamond design). And this doesn’t even take into account Garamond faces that use different names, such as the Sabon™ and Granjon® designs.

Since Claude Garamond made his first font more than 450 years ago in France, there have been so many versions of this typestyle that it’s a challenge to know them all without a full-scale database. In foundry type, machine-set type, phototype, and now in digital form, literally hundreds of Garamond designs have graced pages over the centuries.

From the first issue of Illuminating Fonts, a new series from Fonts.com. Subscribers to the newsletter can receive future issues by e-mail; also available in PDF download here.

Just got my Literature in English GRE scores back, and I scored a 580. Sixty-third percentile. Yuck. I mean, it's above average, but not by a whole lot.

So what does this mean for me, exactly? I figure I've got three options:
-Apply to Comparative Lit and interdisciplinary programs (Stanford's Modern Thought and Literature dept, Rhetoric at Berkeley, etc), which was my original plan anyway before I got talked into planning on English.
-Apply to English PhD programs at schools that don't require the subject GRE (Columbia and UChicago, for example) and middle-of-the-road programs at state institutions whose average subject GREs are on the lower end of the spectrum (e.g., UMass-Amherst).
-Apply to do a terminal master's in English or CompLit, probably pay through the nose for it and go into even more debt, and work on a PhD afterward.

So far the GRE score is the only blemish on an otherwise pretty damn good undergraduate record...has anyone else here been in a similar situation? Any advice?

so, remember that picspam I posted earlier?  here are some icons to go right along with - most of them are from The Zeppo (although there are a couple from the wallpapers I'm posting today too)

teasers:
     

( I'm not gonna waste the perfect comeback on you now. But don't think I don't have it. Oh yes, it's time will come! )

I've looked at other entries and other communities/sites but I haven't gotten a clear answer so I'm hoping to get one here.

I'm taking out loans for my MA program; I was already aware of this happening so I'd planned for it. The loans will cover all the tuition and college expenses.

Due to personal/life reasons I'm not sure I'll be able to work for at least the first semester of grad school, or at least not work full time. Do students take out loans just to live? (eg: pay the rent, food on the table, pay other bills?). If so, does anyone have any suggestions? I emailed my school's financial aid office and they pointed me towards their page where all the info is, but I confess to being very confused with the whole PLUS loans, other loans, etc. I'm not looking for a loan to pay my school but a personal one.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have amazing credit and have payed my undergrad loans faithfully since graduating so I know I'm a good candidate for loans, I just don't know where to start.

Thanks!

Riley: Come in.
Buffy: You never called. So I didn’t know...
Riley: Oh, hey, I’m sorry. I’m just...I’m a dead man. Secret. Highly. Or it’s supposed to be. And...and then you find out. I can deal. You’re special. But last night with your friends was a disaster. I mean, could I’ve been *less* convincing? I was *trained* to be sneaky and stuff, and I’m like "Hi! Paintball. Just passing by!" I should have just given them my security code and rank.
Buffy: You have a security code and rank!?!
Riley: No. Did I just say..? This is so not good. Everybody knows about me. I’m finished. It’s the end of the world.
Buffy: No, it’s not.


[Fic]
x.Giles Takes to His Bed by zandra_x, Btvs ensemble, G.
x.Anyanka's Pearl by anyjay, Btvs Ensemble, PG.
x.Legion by elinora, Spike/Buffy, Ensemble, PG-13.


[Ficlets/Drabbles]
x.A Plaice To Call Home by beer_good_foamy, Angel, G.
x.Nicotine Fix by darkhavens, Spike/Xander, PG.
x.Bump In The Night by firefly_124, Joyce, G.
x.Sweet William by redrikki, Spike's mother, G.
x.Love The Way You Taste by killerweasel, Lindsey/Angel, NC-17.
x.Justice by mabus101, Giles, Kate, PG.
x.Five drabbles by deird1, various Btvs characters, PG-13.

[Fic Updates]
x.By Erie's Shore Part 6 by tessarin, Faith/Xander, Giles, Willow, ensemble, FRT.
x.Mutual Losses Part 2 by darklingdawns, Spike/Buffy, PG-13.
x.House of Women Part 67 by nwhepcat, Xander/Faith, R.
x.Waiting Around Part 12 by herself_nyc, Buffy/Spike. *outside link*


[Reviews/Fic Recs/Meta]
x.Three unique Spike/Xander recs by katekat1010.
x.ariastar poses meta-text/text/subtext questions about televion, writing and pairings.
x.Review: Angel: After The Fall # 7 by woman_of_.


[Icons/Graphics/Video]
x.16 Btvs icons by all_at_once.
x.Video of Alyson Hannigan's "Late Night" visit to Conan. *outside link*
x.14 SMG & Btvs icons by marylou_gr.
x.74 Spike/Buffy icons by effulgent_girl.
x.25 Btvs/Ats icons by angdelia.
x.Fanart: Unexpected Surprise by angelus2hot, Darla, G.
x.40 Jossverse icons by darlaslilgirl.

[News/Meta/More...]
x.James Marsters will not be attending the Fangoria Convention. *outside link*
x.Juliet Landau's documentary "In Flight" to be screened at the Motor City con this weekend. *outside link*
x.NY Mag article on Michelle Trachtenberg. *outside link*
x.Joss Whedon interview at the L.A. Times. *outside link*
x.Dollhouse: First Promo Pic and the Primetime Scheduling for the series. *outside link*
x.David Boreanaz updates his NHL blog. *outside link*

Spike: What’s this? Sitting around watching the telly while there’s evil still afoot? That’s not very industrious of you. I say we go out there and kick a little demon ass! What, can’t go without your Buffy, is that it? Too chicken? Let’s find her! She is the Chosen One after all. Come on! Vampires! Grrr! Nasty! Let’s annihilate them. For justice and for the safety of puppies and Christmas, right? Let’s *fight* that evil! Let’s *kill* something!

Oh, come *on*!

From the episode "Doomed".

Ok, so in any community, there is always going to be that element of low character, low moral fiber, or otherwise people that just keep things unpleasant and not fun for the rest of us. We call them "trolls" on the internetwebs. In the case of Austincommunity, we have a couple of them. Some are worse than others. The one I'm interested in talking about today is justincr3dible. In my experience, his additions to the community are by and large negative. His comments to other people's threads do not enhance, they merely detract and start fights. I don't find that acceptable. I don't want to make it a habit to just say "I'm God and you're gone" so I want to leave it up to the will of the community. I will leave this poll up for 24 hours before I let the poll make the final call.

So, given what you know about this guy...

Poll #1188417 Keep justincr3dible or not
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Should we permaban him?

Also, be civil in the comments. Good comments would be ones that point out good and bad posts by justincr3dible. However, if justincr3dible responds to anyone's comments in this thread or in their own journals, the poll will be considered over and I'll go ahead and ban him.

can anyone recommend a good psychiatrist? i've been with mind over a year for my bipolar ii and things are not improving. experience with bipolar ii a plus, but not required.

I need to pick up a new messenger bag as my current bag is worn enough where it will likely end up dumping my laptop on the sidewalk one of these days. I'd like to find something of local manufacture if possible but ultimately it will be up to the price : quality ratio...

Does anyone have recommendations for a shop in Austin that has a good selection of leather bags?

I'm not much of a mall person but am willing to venture there if necessary... if there is a local shop that specializes in this though I'd love to check it out.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

This is a little bit of a love letter.  Well, if letters were pictures of pretty boys made into wallpapers and virtual book covers,  and if by letter it meant that I co-opted someone else's words in order to show them how much I love them.  Except in a totally platonic way. 

So, this post is an open love letter to tabaqui and eliade and reremouse - all writers who make the Spike/Xander love burn so bright, so rich, and so beautiful.  When I'm looking for a story that I know will pick me up and steal my attention and make me smile in all of the best ways, I go back to these stories, by these authors.

And since I couldn't think of any better way to honor these fics and the wonderful authors who wrote them, I've put together book covers and wallpapers to illustrate each fic.   Under each cover graphic are links to the fic and links to the different sizes of wallpapers (if you need a size that I haven't made, please drop me a note, I'm happy to modify).  They're all sharable, of course!  And I hope every one who uses them enjoys looking at them and thinking of the fabulous fics that inspired them as much as I do.  (and seriously, if you haven't read these fics and you call yourself a Spike/Xander shipper?  Go read!). 

( The quotes in these wallpapers are theirs, but the love - That I hope you'll all share! )

My pants have been getting tighter and tighter over the past eight months, as I not so slowly pack on the pounds again. It's gotten to the point where I honestly can't even button some of them around my hips, let alone my waist, and some of those that I can button are so uncomfortable that I absolutely hate wearing them. I was down to just those pairs this morning and really didn't feel like spending all day feeling like I was being squeezed to death so, out of curiosity, I grabbed my Fat Pants, the size 50 jeans that I wore at my absolute heaviest, and tried them on. I was dismayed, though not at all surprised to find that while they don't exactly fit, they don't not-fit, either. I look like I'm wearing MC Hammer pants and the slightest tug would have them falling to the floor but I can walk around in them without a belt, and this is disconcerting.

I've known for a while now that my weight gain has been out of control but I had no idea it was quite this bad. I was wearing 34s at this time last year and could have probably fit in 32s if I tried but I'm at least ten sizes larger than that now, and probably more like twelve or fourteen. I've said at least a hundred times since last summer that today was the day I got back on track and I even succeeded at losing weight during some of those periods but I've been gaining on the whole for a while now and it needs to stop.

Today really is the last day that I'm going to let myself sabotage my body and I'm going to do everything I can to get back to the size I was and below, including applying to the Rush and going there at least five times a week. There's one in Cleveland only a couple miles from where I live and another on Lee Highway only a few miles from where I work and they're both 24 hour, so I plan to take full advantage of their services. Shawnda also has a membership and I can see if she would be interested in exercising together, as that would make me even more likely to go.

I'm trying to find an autobus company that'll take me to Monterrey from Austin.  My friend said to take Turimex, but she can't remember where they are located or their number.

Has anyone here taken them?  How far in advance will i need to purchase?  I'm hoping to leave tomorrow.

ANY help is much appreciated!

Happy Birthday, upasaka!

I'm looking to replace my [women's] cross trainer sneakers, and Tylers's came up as one of the best places to get a new pair. I haven't been professionally fitted in a few years (I usually just pull the cutest/cheapest/most comfy pair off of the shelf), so I'll need some help picking out the right one for me.

I know the Tyler's at Bee Caves and the one on the Drag are supposed to have their strengths, but which one would be best (if at all) for shopping for cross trainers? If it matters at all, I have tiny feet with high arches (which was great in ballet class).

Thanks in advance.

Kind of a weird question but my family needs some help in figuring this out...

Does anyone know how long it should take a funeral home to get a permit for cremation from the city of Austin?
We are using Mission Funeral Home, and it seems to be taking a while.
Has any one had experience w/ that home?

Thanks so much.

*waves* Hi all!  I'm so excited to be back again for another day at spring_with_xan !

Some of you may remember that my last day I was doing picspam of my favorite Xander Season Three moments.... and I have my favorite Xander episode behind the cut for you today (and I'll be posting icons and some wallpapers in a bit if you're tired of the picspams). 

Ok, about this episode.  You might have guessed, it's The Zeppo!  And you might have also guessed I had a ton of trouble keeping the caps I chose down to just 8.  Instead, I give you 32 of my most favorite moments!

I hope you like!  And now, onto the Xander!

( Fav Xan Moments 3.13 - The Zeppo )

I know I still haven't answered comments on the last chapter, but I'm trying to keep my vow to post some fic at least once a week, so I'm putting this one up now.

Title: Bug on the Cosmic Windscreen

Author: Miss Murchison

Rating: PG

Summary: Spike landed in the BSG 'verse and made a bit of a splash, or at least a splat. He thinks he's there to help, and the bewildered Colonists don't know what to think. This went AU after Pegasus. I may have stolen an idea or two after that, but I've changed whatever happened to fit my plot. So far, none of my thefts have gone further than the end of Season 2. Also, just because someone has been revealed as a Cylon on the show doesn't mean that person is a Cylon in this story.

Thanks: to keswindhover and revdorothyl for being such great friends and wonderful betas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Joss, ME, and the creators of BSG and all the other stories I reference here. I thank them for creating so many universes for us to play in and enjoy.

Previous chapters are here. (I will get around to posting the more recent chapters on my site soon, but for now the new bits are only on LJ.)

A short Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galactica for those who have never watched Battlestar Galactica is here.


( Chapter Eleven - Plan 6 from Outer Space )

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone in this community attended BU for their MSW and/or MPH, and if you did, if you could give me any input on the program and the school itself.

Thank you!

x-posted in socialwork and swk_students

We are North East Round Rock, and while it sounded like hail, we couldn't see anything on the ground. Just trying to figure out if our area got hail so I can see about the roof. We have shingles all over our yard, so we are going to need to do some repairs. The plus would be if insurance covered it.

...Um...Cheebah got it posted for me, look inside. Probably better "behind the cut."

So as a prize for a contest at work, I've won a MacBook Air. It's the standard configuration MacBook Air, which you can see here:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air&sf=wHF2F2PHCCCX72KDY

The retail price is 1799 when purchased through the Apple Store (plus tax, obviously). If you buy it from Amazon it's like 1710. I'm not charging tax and I'll hand deliver the thing, factory sealed in it's box, for the low price of 1600$.

I'm not shipping it anywhere. I'm not taking anything but cash. If you have any questions, ask away. Let me know if you're interested. I would like to part with it by the end of next week.

Finished with The World Republic of Letters. Thank GOD. At least it wasn't for nothing; Casanova's obsession with Paris notwithstanding, I think it will form the theoretical basis for my diss.

Other progress was made in that area this morning. It looks like I'm going to have joint supervision between the German department (where it will be Dr. P, yay!) and the Latin Americanists. I'm quite pleased with this on a number of levels, the first one being that I really like the LA prof who'll be supervising me (though, uh, I have no idea how to pronounce the man's name, as it's Portuguese rather than Spanish). He did one of our critical theory sessions and samba'd in front of the class. It was quite energizing. Secondly, I'm a lot more comfortable doing a project of this sort with a Latin Americanist on board, because my LA background is, uh, much thinner than my German background, let's say. Thirdly, he thinks he can put me in touch with people who were actually involved in what I'm writing about (!!!!). And fourthly, on a practical level, it gives me a third letter of rec for my PhD applications. Since I'm applying to comparative lit programs mostly, it'll be nice that it will come from a non-German Studies prof.

I'm quite excited about the project. It's really specific and obscure, but also, as far as I can tell, original. It'll be a huge amount of work and I'm a bit nervous about certain aspects of it (I lack a background in certain key areas, so I'll have to bone up on some basics), but I have a good feeling about it (and also four months in which to write it). And it's a truly comparative project, which will be good for my applications as well.

Eeee. *bites nails*

Shalom Harlow by Stephane Sednaoui
Unpublished



( revolt )

ただ、その顔ぶれの中でも特に、そのときそこにいたことを覚えている者ほど、七年経った今でも、わりと親しい。
What does the underlined part mean? If it were just もの I'd think it was some sort of nominalizer + ほど, and if the ほど weren't there I'd think the 者 was referring to the people there (which I still do). I dunno, that bit's confusing me.
And while I'm here, does anyone know of any good resources that compare kanji with similar meanings as well as readings, such as 見る and 観る, 聞く and 聴く, 会う and 逢う, etc?
Finally, is it legitimate to write 。。。 instead of ．．．　or ...? Because every time I see that it annoys the heck out of me, but I don't want to get all grumpy about it when it turns out that that's perfectly legitimate. (And who knows, maybe ．．． isn't legitimate either, except in manga.)

icontest icons including (+ alt variations):
Buffy the Vampire slayer, Angel, House MD, the btvs paley reunion, misc actress/actors. stock animals,

Teasers:


Here at my journal

Title: Long Distance Lover
Author: fides
Character/Pairings: Giles/Ethan
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Unbeted.
Summary: Giles gets an interesting wake up
Notes: Short piece written for the mmom challenge

Link to story

At this late date, I may start confusing days and events, but, as a rough guide, I am using the tour pamphlet and trying to remember the deviations. The visit to the Ghibli Museum set the tone for the day. As with most days, the tour group traveled like a herd of cats mainly by public transit, particularly the subway, whose stations had an "M" sign. A miscalculation (first of many) of fare led to a readjustment at Kichijoji station. We walked through suburban Tokyo and the Inokashira Park to get to the museum. I had been to this place before but I did see a different animated short in the theater, took more pictures outside (photography was forbidden inside) and purchased various items such as post cards and film strips. As I expected, much was similar to my previous trip, but I did enjoy the walks along byways and drainage ditches of the area. After the museum, we walked to Mitaka Station and took the train to Akihabara (oops, I need to continue this on another post...byebye)

{25} Alias (Lauren Centric)
{10} Buffy & Gossip Girl
{44} Friday Night Lights
{20} Twilight
{29} Robin Hood, Oth, movies, challenge entries



@ blessings_burns

This may not be the best place to post this, but then again, it is kind of on topic...

I own a small computer shop.  We often get people bringing in their systems to get cleaned of virii and other assorted malware.

What I would like to have made are stickers to place on these infected machines to warn my employees not to plug them in to the 'net till they're clean. (I hire complete n00bs and teach them...)

Ideally, I'd like them to be obvious, noticeable, and the message clear: 

"This Computer is INFECTED.  DO NOT connect to the network." or something to that effect.

I'd also like them to have a graphic similar to yet distinct from the biohazard symbol. 

A format like the European Hazard Symbols or ADR labels would be appropriate as would something along the lines of these. 

Yes, I would make these available to people who would want them at close to my cost (usually no more than a dollar or two each) plus the cost to ship them.

Any takers?

From Suzi: ( Indy Anna Jane is boooooored! )