Wednesday, April 25, 2007

CarnivAOL #38 call for submissions

   "Calling all cars!" Barbara, at Life and Faith in Caneyhead, has put out the call for submissions for the next edition of CarnivAOL. It is due for publication this coming Tuesday, May 1st, and she's looking for your entries. Email them to her at bhbner2him@aol.com before midnight Sunday night for inclusion.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Comments conversations

   There has been some interesting activity in the comments section of a couple of older blog posts here. If you are interested, check out the comments threads of Astrology: hit or myth?, and Homeopath Asha Frost. In fact, the latter entry counts as an example of Scalzi's Law of Internet Invocation, as the person I wrote about has turned up and commented.
   Such fun!

Sunday, April 15, 2007

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment

   John says:
Weekend Assignment #160: Suggest a Weekend Assignment for one of the next few upcoming weeks. Why? Well, because very shortly now, I'll be doing a three week book tour, in which I'll be traveling all over the country like a madman in support of my latest novel, The Last Colony. While I'm doing that I'll still be checking here and doing things like the photo shoot and the Weekend Assignment, but it would be helpful for me if I had the Weekend Assignment topics all lined up and ready to go. Not only that, but we do this "suggest a topic" thing about once a year, and it generally ends up with some really interesting topics that I myself wouldn't have thought up. So in all, this seems like a great time to pick your brains for great topics.
Here's mine:  

Weekend Assignment #(T.B.A.): Using the HeroMachine 2.0, design your very own superhero - based on yourself, of course. Post the picture of you-as-a-superhero that you have a created. (You will have to know how to make and edit a screen capture in order to do this. If you are not sure how to do that,
here is a short and easy to understand tutorial.) Briefly describe your special powers and abilities.
   If you have been around long enough to have participated in Weekend Assignment #16, you could design that superhero, or make up a completely new one.

Extra Credit: What super-villain is your arch nemesis?

   I am Canada Man! Using my powers of diplomacy and political moderation, I fly around the world defusing potentially nasty situations, and undertaking peace-keeping missions instead of wars.


   My arch nemesis? The evil Dr. POTUS, who, with his incessant chest pounding, and empty rhetoric, creates anti-western attitudes around the world.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

The reason I ain't been around much

   I have indeed, as Dawn surmised, recently rejoined the ranks of the gainfully employed. I have accepted a position as a stockboy in the local Kwik-E-Mart. The hours are good - only 7:00AM to midnight Sunday through Saturday - and Mr. Ho, the owner, is paying me in fresh Vietnamese rooster eggs and cases of stale dated Pepsi, so that's OK too. The only things I'm having a little bit of trouble coming to terms with are Mrs. Ho's insistence that I wear only cut-off jeans and spandex tank tops, and her constant intercom calls of, "clean-up in aisle sexy," whenever Mr. Ho leaves the store.
   I do get an hour for lunch, and the stipulation that I take it before 10:30AM or after 3:30 PM is something I can work around. Hopefully, I'll eventually get used to the smell of livestock in the back room.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

CarnivAOL #37

   Hello Thursday! It's time to round up your submissions for the next edition of CarnivAOL. I have not heard from the the person who agreed to host this week's carnival, so it falls to me to showcase it at the CarnivAOL blog. Please email submissions to me at PLittle@aol.com before Sunday at midnight for inclusion in Tuesday's edition.

   As well, I am actively looking for guest hosts for the carnival - doubly important right now as I have precious little free time in my personal life at the moment. If you are interested, read the entry at the CarnivAOL blog called
hosting guidelines, and drop me a line to let me know what date you would like to host. Check out upcoming editions for available dates.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I fear I have made this one too easy

Go to IMDb.com and look up 10 of your favorite TV shows. Post three official IMDB "Plot Keywords" for these 10 picks. Have your friends guess the show names.

   Well, have at it!

Human/Android Relationship, On The Run, Spaceship - Battlestar Galactica - Cin

Arrogance, Cane, Drug Addiction - House - Russ

Cult Favourite, Spacecraft, Interracial Relationship - Star Trek - Russ

Tea, Robot As Pathos, Empath - Star Trek:TNG - Cin

Barbed Wire, Prisoner Of War, Funny Nazi - Hogan's Heroes - Russ

Sitcom, Surgery, Anti-War - M.A.S.H. - Russ
 
Office Worker, Grim Reaper, Crushed To Death
- Dead Like Me - Russ

Female Soldier, Space Opera, Wisecrack Humour - Firefly - Cin

Working Class, Father Daughter Relationship, Toilet Flush - All In The Family - Cin

Camp, Crime Fighter, Millionaire - Batman - Russ

via Cin

Wednesday, 12:55 - As I suspected, far too easy. No one has got the first one, though. So I still win...for now.

Wednesday, 8:20 - And Cin blasts the last unknown out of existence. I may have to try this again using different shows and not quite so obvious hints, eh?

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

CarnivAOL #36

   The newest edition of CarnivAOL is the 36th, and it has just been published over at Carpe Diem. Dawn has done an excellent job hosting this week, and offers up fourteen examples of blogging from around AOL J-land for your reading pleasure. Go check it out.

   The next edition of CarnivAOL will be published on April 17th at Lisa's blog,
Please don't take life for granted. If you would like to have one of your own entries featured, stay tuned to the CarnivAOL blog for more details on how.

   I am still looking for volunteers to guest host 
upcoming editions of CarnivAOL, and I would like to hear from you. If you are interested in hosting an edition of CarnivAOL, send me an e-mail. Check out available dates at this page.

Monday, April 2, 2007

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment

Weekend Assignment #158: What's your favorite time of day and why? It doesn't have to be a specific hour and minute, mind you: "early morning" or "after midnight" or "sunset" works just fine, too. Although if you do have a very specific time, by all means note it.

Extra Credit: What's the longest you've ever stayed awake?

   My favourite time of day? I'd have to say dusk. There's a short period of time, just after the sun goes down, but before it really gets dark, when it seems like every colour in the world is just a little bit richer, and more vibrant. It's almost impossible to capture photographically. You just have to go out and experience it yourself.
   If we were going to choose an actual time with a mathematical theme, the way John has done, I'd say 11:23:58. AM or PM, it doesn't matter. Who can tell me what the significance of those numbers is? (Simon, you're not eligible).

Extra credit: I have no idea. I'm sure I pulled an allnighter or two back in school, but I don't remember any specific examples.