From now on, I would like to be known as "The Scourge of the High Seas."

The Scourge of the High Seas has no traction on her sandals. She slipped last night going down the stairs to her apartment. This morning, her shoulder hurts. The Scourge of the High Seas is not happy about this.

Super-Special Zeitgeist Update

The votes have been counted. Or rather, the vote. Julie's vote. The rest of you apparently have no opinion.

My favorite depeche mode album is Singles 86-98. yeah, that's copout, but I don't care. :P

So there ya go. The Official Favorite Depeche Mode Album of Zeitgeist is Singles 86-98.

New poll question: What should be the subject of Sarah's best-selling novel?
a) Pirates! With talking evil zombie monkeys!
b) Dunno, but it better involve a squirrel with a gun somehow.
c) Pygmy mammoths. Duh.
d) Other (specify)

Oh yeah! Casey fixed the archive links. Everybody send him psychic chocolate, and then go read the posts from back when I was funny.

Once you've exhausted that, smack some penguins.

No more product entry updates. They're getting boring, and I've run out of anything funny to say. Anyway, I spent last week far more focused on preparing for the writers' conference, which was all kinds of wonderful and amazing, with small pockets of hippy-dippy-oh-hell-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into.

I have a million new ideas, and I'll never find the time to write them all. I met some really nice people, and I got a review copy of a new book, so I need to pitch it to the guy at the Oregonian and hope he wants a review, or else I'll feel guilty. But I'll still read the free book...

I went to a bunch of great workshops, including one by Skye Moody, who is also teaching a class at Hugo House that I really want to take. I learned stuff, and was reminded of stuff I'd forgotten, and was given names for things I'd internalized a very long time ago. So, yay!

And last night I ate Indian food until I got all sleepy and had to waddle back to the car, and then went to the Joint with Travis and Cat and Annie. And lots of friends were there, and I discussed writing with T-Cloud and made puppy eyes at Matt, and then the people with the chihuahua puppy showed up, and that's just about the cutest durn thing ever, except for my still-kinda-new nephew, Ami, new pictures of whom will be posted soon.

Okay, this is just weird: I just had to google the line "I could a tale unfold whose lightest touch will harrow up thy soul..." The damned thing's been stuck in my head all afternoon, and I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was from. And there it was, all annotated for me.
So, I get songs stuck in my head all the time, but who the hell ever gets lines from Hamlet stuck in their heads? And I somehow managed to combine it with the if clause from "To His Coy Mistress," so I ended up with "Had we but world enought and time, I could a tale unfold..." I think any geek points I lost yesterday have just come flooding back.

Product Entry Death March, Day 3 (Thursday): They're heeeeere...
Soundtrack: Pulp, "Different Class" & "We Love Live," heavy rotation of "Disco 2000" & "Bad Cover Version."
Caffeine Servings: 4
I fear my days of astronomical production are already behind me. After approving yesterday's work, I only got 41 products entered. Spent a lot of time checking the Apple music store to see if they had any more Sisters of Mercy or Iggy Pop. As much as I love the whole concept, thay are sadly lacking in certain artists. I mean, when you wanna hear "Sister Midnight," it's kind of a letdown to head out there and be denied...
I had to cancel my lunch with Grandpa today, too. Not fair, work getting in the way of my social engagements. I mean, where am I supposed to get my cookies from now, huh?

Product Entry Death March, Day 4 (Friday): Soylent green is people
Soundtrack: Redneck Girlfriend, "Blood, Sweat & Beers," heavy rotation of "I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)" -- Awww, yee-ah, cowpunk, baby!
Caffeine Servings: 3
Got fuck-all done today. Skipped an all-department meeting, approved yesterday's stuff, and entered one, count 'em, one new product. Lots of organizationals stuff, which really means I flipped through various catalogs and counted things. Feh. Left early.
Played Talisman with Casey and Mike in the evening: it's a game that's been out of print for 10 years. Let us all fall to our knees and praise EBay.
Slept. Lots.

Saturday: Didn't think about work one single little bit. Read a book and a half straight through. "Angel of Darkness" by Charles De Lint (aka Samuel M Key) is disturbing and creepy and gives you goosebumps on the back of your neck. I shall pass it around to everyone I know. Just goes to show, a good book is a lot like a venereal disease... (Umm... I don't think that metaphor really works, Sarah. Piss off, it's 9:30 on a Monday morning, and I haven't even finished my second cup of coffee. Bloody internal editors.) "Set this House in Order" by Matt Ruff (hooray for the local boys) is really good so far. I bought both of these Friday evening because the bookstore was out of "the Sparrow," which I'm reading for my book group. That'll show them... Or maybe it won't.

Sunday: Today I stopped by the Emerald City Comic Con and felt severely out-geeked. Discovered that there's going to be a Hellboy movie in April (Woohoo!!!), and bought the first installment of a series called Shadows, which I haven't manged to read yet. Got loaded down with swag. Considered, then rejected, a big, doughy pretzel.
Failed to watch the Oscars, but it looks like "Return of the King" went home with all sorts of stuff. In honor of that, I present a bunch of Hobbit/Lord of the Rings links:

Bilbo Baggins, Bravest Little Hobbit of Them All: So, before Leonard Nimoy pissed off all the Orthodox Jews with pictures of nekkid girls, he sang this song... See the beginning of his breast obsession right here. The one ring is apparently a dvd, too. Explains a lot, really. Or, actually, it explains nothing at all.

Towers Are the Players: A slightly more updated musical version of the Lord of the Rings. Precious is my bling-bling.

Middle-Earth Name Generators: Your one-stop elf/hobbit/dwarf/orc/etc naming place.

According to the Red Book of Westmarch,
In Middle-earth, Sarah was a:
Six-toothed Brandybuck

Elven Name Possibilities for Sarah:
The root name suitable for feminine and masculine is:
Carnësiwë
Another masculine version is:
Carnësiwëion
More feminine versions are:
Carnësiwëiel
Carnësiwëien
Carnësiwëwen

Hobbit lad name for Sarah:
Wilibald Muddyfoot from Bywater
Hobbit lass name for Sarah:
Melilot Muddyfoot from Bywater

Dwarven Name for Sarah:
Grîm Coalrage
(This name is for both genders)

Orkish Name for Sarah:
Thrakbrúg the Insane
(This name is for both genders)

Adûnaic name for Sarah:
Thânkhô