Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

May you find the peace you so lacked in this life, Michael.

WASHINGTON - At least one person has died and several people are trapped and injured after a Metro Red Line train derailed and collided with another Metro train, officials say.

I know fuzzface00 is okay; I got the link from him. I sent jilesa a text message, as I doubt actual calls are even getting through at this point, but haven't heard back yet, and would not be surprised if she didn't get that either. (wcg, do you know off-hand if she's still commuting on the train?)

The truly unsettling thing is I'd opened a belated birthday card from her not ten minutes before the news hit my Twitter feed....

UPDATE: Just heard back from her; she was driving to dinner from work when my text came in, and will email with more info when she gets home.

My thoughts go out to all those aboard, the rescue workers, and everyone waiting nervously by the phone.

I don't think I've ever gotten a transatlantic phone call before.

And really - could I have picked a different icon for this?

"I'm trying to determine if the Nazis would've put you in a concentration camp, or just wound you up and pointed you at the enemy."

"Okay, it's a hard-to-see urchin."

So the Free Game of the Day on http://www.gamehouse.com/ last night/today was The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes. It's a fun little hidden-object game - but the designer was clearly a Whovian.

The first couple of references - a Professor Eccleston, a Mrs. Pertwee - were good for a giggle.

"Peter Moffat" made me snicker.

But the latest suspect was Captain Jack Barrowman.

Oh.

Bitch.

PLEASE.

all past comments have been deleted as I should have kept my comment between me and you, for that I am sorry. However if you don't see how your comment was offensive you never will.

this comment will also be deleted after posting. Sorry for fucking up you lj.

IF YOU WOULD HAVE HELD FUCKING STILL FOR FIVE GODDAMNED SECONDS, I WOULD HAVE APOLOGIZED TO YOU, FOR LOVE OF CHRIST.

I didn't realize that my phrasing came across as discriminatory. And I am sorry. But I somehow doubt that you'll be reading this, so what fucking point is there?

---

For the curious, this is now being worked out privately.

...along with proof that I have, in fact, "arrived" in Silicon Valley:

One of the folks I work with at Burning Man has started his own company, asked for my resume, and thinks I'd be a good fit.

It's not so much crunching data as crunchy-granola, but still. ;-)

More as it happens.

I. Am. Broken.

My mental health is easily in the worst condition it's been since dafydd and I broke up four and a half years ago...possibly the worst it's been since I originally started therapy a decade ago.

I spent most of yesterday frantically tossed between abject misery and barely-controlled rage. I do not trust my reactions to anything or anyone currently.

Tomorrow morning I am calling Behavioral Medicine to get back on mood stabilizers. From there, I will start the process of finding a therapist I trust and can work with. In the meantime, please understand that I am unlikely to tolerate good-natured joking, well-intentioned cajoling, or any sort of "tough love" that might be your first instinct with which to respond. And I make no promises as to whether it will make me burst into tears or throw you against a wall. (And no, this is not hyperbole; I have physically attacked gridlore in the past, in front of witnesses, when I was sufficiently off-kilter. I'm not proud of it - I was almost physically ill when I finally stopped myself - but I have to acknowledge this side of me.)

Comments disabled. Please do not email me, leave comments on unrelated entries, or call.

In no particular order:

• Starting to feel like I might actually be competent as an assistant department head. (Starting. Nothing more. And I'm still not interested in taking the next step.)
  
• The sight of firestrike in a tuxedo taking my very breath away...and being further overwhelmed by the thought of someone so beautiful sharing his life with me.
  
• Encountering someone I wasn't sure I was ready to see (and even less certain of zir readiness to see me) and having it go remarkably well. (Zie's still smoking fuckin' hot, though. And who knew zie could sing like that?!)
  
• Speaking of singing...the phenomenal success that was Friday night, and feeling ever so slightly smug that getting kor27 to work the con was originally my idea.
  
• The "spoon conservation device," as zyxwvut dubbed my scooter Friday night on the party floor.
  
• Giggling furiously as I rolled down the plastic-covered carpet, thinking of bubble wrap.
  
• Seeing my friends doing awesome work in the Masquerade, and being rewarded - repeatedly - for their efforts.
  
• ICE CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!
  
• Time with loved ones. Not enough of it - never enough of it - but precious nonetheless.
  
• The best Emergency Holographic Boyfriend EVAR. (I can't wait to see Dr. Doyle's pictures of those two together....)
  
• Weasel Tags.
  
• "It was drunk, I was dark...."
  
• The splendid dichotomy of sitting in a room full of catty commentary that would leave the Algonquin Round Table in the dust...and feeling cherished and accepted.
  
• "...a joint that's merry."
  
• Finding out that the ribbons gridlore and I had ordered this year had been specifically mentioned in the Ribbonology panel on Friday, resulting in their singularly absurd popularity. (Warning me would've been nice, pentaclemoon. *grin*)
  
• Flirting with eye candy.
  
• Acquaintances becoming friends. Bonding over the weirdest things.

Looking forward to the staff BBQ in three weeks.

I think this may possibly be the best photo I've seen of kor27 in all the years I've known him.

(crossposted far and wide; apologies to those of you who will see this multiple times)

chairmantycho just sent the following to the staff list, with a request for distribution.

Dear Attendees,

With deep regret, I must inform you that Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon will not be able to attend BayCon this year due to illness. Unfortunately, their doctor felt it was best for Mercedes to refrain from travel at this time as she has a nasty version of the common flu. We are in contact with them, and have been told to expect her full recovery. As a long-time fan of their work, I share your disappointment. I assure you that we are doing everything in our power to have them available via internet conference, and the Hyatt has begun working with us to solve the technical aspects of making that possible. We are also working on replacement programming that will highlight and celebrate their body of work and achievements. In addition, they are still sending many of their physical works of art for you to see, as well as autographed bookplates for BayCon to distribute. They are very disappointed as well, as they were very much looking forward to meeting us here at BayCon.

We will continue to keep you posted as we re-confirm our backup plans, and work towards having Mercedes and Larry available for you by internet conference.

Thank you for your understanding,

Tycho
Chairman,
BayCon 2009

Well, we WERE @ the game...but the weather sucked and the neighbors sucked harder (latecomers taking business calls & not actually watching)

I just realized that none of my Voltaire MP3s made it onto the laptop. Indeed, I'm not sure they made the transfer from the old desktop system to the new machine.

I found the "podcast" files on the website, but that's less than half of the tracks I had before...and most distressingly, neither "Ex-Lover's Lover" nor "The Headless Waltz" was among them.

HOWEVER (and there's always a "However")...I did manage to find this:



(gridlore and I were looking for this a couple of days ago with no success. Why it came up tonight, I can't tell you.)

As some of you already know, eleri is in the area for a seminar this weekend, and she'd love to see as many of you as possible while she's here. So we've made plans for a get-together, and hope you can make it.

When: TONIGHT! - Thursday, May 14th, 6-9pm
Where: Fresh Choice, 5353 Almaden Expy #39A, San Jose, CA 95118 - (408) 723-7991
Who: eleri. kshandra. gridlore, assuming he hasn't fallen asleep already. You. And you. And yes, you, even though you've never met her before.
Why: Because Everyone Loves Eleri. It's not just a good idea...it's the law.

I'm planning on starting a table in the back room. If that doesn't happen, just listen for the inappropriate comments and hysterical laughter.

"I simply stated that he spelled it wrong. I never claimed that my spelling was *right.*"