Clipmarks | missangelyss's clips

Why Steampunk Is Popular

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:30:46 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

1. It’s Geekery The Genders Can Share

On the most basic, most appealing social level, steampunk is a way to masculinize romance.

2. An Aesthetic Response To The Science Fiction In The Culture

clean, happy technology with rounded edges. Which is great in that it’s completely user-friendly — but terrible in that “user-friendly” means “predictable”

3. Like Being Goth Without Scaring Your Parents

People think of goths as weirdoes who take vampires too seriously, and therefore they can’t help being worried on some level that a crazy goth might, you know, want to make them bleed. Whereas steampunks are — what? Weirdoes who take pocket-watches too seriously? What are they gonna do, vehemently tell you what time it is?

4. Bridging The Subgenre Gap

Steampunk is helping to bring us back to the days when the subgenre categories didn’t matter so much

5. The Future: UR Doin It Wrong

Steampunk basically lets us go back, at least in our imagination, and try again

Create Quality Time by Ignoring the Clock

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:42:15 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: This is something my mommy was amazing at and something I hope my children will consider me amazing at when they are older.

I miss you, mommy.

Clip Source: www.mycup2yours.com

Last Saturday, as my daughter and I were out running errands, she climbed into the front seat of the car and, with a huge smile on her face, stood up through the sunroof. “I’ve always wanted to do this!” she shouted, reaching her hands to the sky.

She and I had started out earlier for our errands. I had my list of things to do and was looking forward to being productive.

Three times last week, my daughter asked me if we could get a hot chocolate together.

Three times I said no.

It was, “We have to get to basketball,” and “We have to get to swim team,” and “We can’t, or we’ll be late for cheer.”

As I thought about that, I wanted to make this day different. Our schedule was wide open, and I wanted to make the most of it.

I smiled and looked in the rear-view mirror. “Want to go to Starbucks? Just us girls?”

Her eyes got wide. “Sure!”

When you think about it, my daughter and I didn’t do anything “special” on Saturday.

But, really, we did.

Tags: parenting, quality time

10 Words to Avoid When Writing

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:37:36 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: I think I am really kind of guilty of a lot of these. ;c)

Clip Source: preciseedit.com

Really: "Avoiding this word is a really great idea."
Reason: A really great idea is the same as a great idea. If you need to emphasize something, such as the "greatness" of an idea, use a single word that means what you are trying to say, e.g., "Avoiding this word is an excellent idea."

Think: "I think the government should stop people from writing poorly."
Reason: If you write an opinion, the reader understands that you also think it. Just say what it is you think, e.g., "The government should stop people from writing poorly."

Sort of/Kind of: "Using these words is sort of annoying to the reader."
Reason: If using these words is only sort of annoying, you haven't told the reader exactly what it is. If it is annoying, say so: "Writing this way annoys the reader." If it is not annoying, tell the reader exactly what it is, e.g., "Using these words bothers readers." Use words that mean what you are trying to say, and give the reader exact descriptions. This also applies to "kind of."

Tags: english, writing

69 Ways of Saying, "You Whore!"

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:48:48 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: www.pornokrates.com

Biter: A wench whose quim is ready to bite her arse: a lascivious, rampant wench.

Buttock Broker: A bawd, or a matchmaker.

Covey: a collection of whores. "What a find covey hereis, if the devil would but throw his net!"

Dells: Young buxom wenches, ripe and prone to venery, but who have not lost their virginity, which the "upright" man claims by virtue of his perogative: After which they become free for any of the fraternity. Also a common strumpet.

Hedgewhore: An itinerent harlot who bilks the bagnios and bawdyhouses by disposing of her favours on the wayside under a hedge. A low, beggerly prostitute.

Rantipole: A rude romping boy or girl; also a gadabout, dissipated woman. To ride rantipole; the same as riding St. George. See RIDING St. GEORGE. Also see WHORE.

Riding St. George: The Woman uppermost in the amourous congress, that is, the dragon upon St. George. This is said to be the way to get a bishop.

Trumpery: An old whore; or goods of no value.

Tags: english, language, humor

Cheney Mystery Solved!

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:31:56 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: kevin.vox.com

Exploring the mystery behind the reflection in Dick Cheney's glasses

Clip Source: a4.vox-data.com

The Letter in the Pond

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:32:59 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: After digging up a pond in his new home, he found this letter under the liner.

Clip Source: www.thatcanadiangirl.co.uk

Recently, a friend of ours, Simon, moved to Over, just North of Cambridge, UK. He was moving to a lovely property, with a nice garden and a pond.

Simon wasn’t so keen on the pond though. It’s not very child friendly, and with two young ones running around the garden, he thought it would be safer to get rid of it.

A few buckets and hours of sweating later, Simon lifted the pond lining to discover a laminated piece of paper sitting at the bottom of the gaping hole that once was the previous owner’s pond.

Tags: humor, bizarre

Quit Coddling Your Kids

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:11:05 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: I have to admit that I'm guilty of being overprotective but I do agree with the author.

Clip Source: artofmanliness.com

1. Give them some independence

This culture of obsessive over-protectiveness is bred by the media.

Don’t coddle your kids by keeping them under lock and key and only letting them out if you can keep a constant eye on them.

2. Let them do unsafe things

They fail to understand that while sticking kids in a protective bubble may keep them in safe in the short-term, it leaves them more vulnerable in the long run.

3. Don’t be their best friend

The reality is that parents want to be their child’s best friend because they’re afraid of their kid not liking them.

4. Don’t automatically take their side

While it’s natural to think the best of your children, don’t be overly defensive when others criticize them.

5. Make them work for what they get

6. Don’t praise them indiscriminately

“If everyone is special, then no one is” -The Incredibles

Tags: parenting

Who Do These Homeschooling Parents Think They Are?

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 04:18:10 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: It's funny how some people seem so set against a parent's right to homeschool. This comment lampoons that beautifully.
(More at the site.)

Clip Source: phatmommy.com

There is an interesting discussion going on at the Asbury Park Press web site about the pros and cons of homeschooling.

TANSTAAFL2: I don’t know who these parents think they are. You would think they might leave the shaping of their children’s minds, careers and futures to trained professionals, but they insist on interfering in their offsprings’ lives every step of the way.

As if these children were actually their responsibility from birth to adulthood. Don’t they realize these are the people’s children, the state’s responsibility. As such, they must be molded by the state and educated in accordance with state requirements — no more and no less.

They must be taught the role of the state is to protect the individual from his own inherent stupidity, because the individual is incapable of making intelligent decisions for himself, and therefore cannot be held responsible for his actions. The state must act as parent, Big Brother, nanny.

Tags: homeschool

Dave Barry's 14 Things It Took Me Over 50 Years To Learn

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:24:59 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: blogs.jobdig.com

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

6. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

13. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

Tags: humor, wisdom

How to Be Annoying on the Internet...

Tue, 29 May 2007 22:27:38 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: www.chiprowe.com

1. Make up fake acronyms. Online veterans like to use abbreviations like IMHO (in my humble opinion) or RTFM (read the fucking manual) to show that they're "hep" to the lingo. Make up your own that don't stand for anything (SETO, BARL, CP30), use them liberally, and then refuse to explain what they stand for ("You don't know that? RTFM").

4. Software and files offered online are often "compressed" so that they won't take so long to travel over the phone lines. Buy a compression program and compress everything you send, including one-word e-mail responses like "Thanks."

7. Join a discussion group and tie whatever's being discussed back to an unrelated central theme. For instance, if you're in a discussion of gun control, respond to every message with the observation that those genetically superior tomatoes seem to have played an important role. Within days, all discussion of gun control will have ceased as people write you threatening messages and instruct others to ignore you.

Tags: annoying, internet, humor

Latin Phrases Which Ought To Be In Use

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:21:48 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: www.math.ohio-state.edu

Latin phrases that ought to be used
Latin Phrase	Abbrev.	Literal English	Translation	Examples
cave fatuum! (masc.) cave fatuam! (fem.) cave fatuis! (pl.)			Beware of the fool(s)!	Sign posted on the managers' restroom door : Cave fatuis!
cave felem!			Beware of the cat!	Sign posted on lawn to ward off salespeople and proselytisers: Cave felem!
caveat attemptor!			Let the tryer beware!	Sign posted by the very high diving board: Caveat attemptor!
sacra bos	Sac.b.	holy cow	Holy cow!	Sac.b., Batman! This could only be the work of the Riddler!
sacra forda	Sac.For.	holy pregnant cow	HOLY COW! (more emphatic than "Sacra bos)	Sac.For., Batman! We've been snared by the Riddler!

Tags: latin

Teen Witch - Top That!

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:28:48 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: O, how I've missed Teen Witch and didn't even realize it until I happened to catch it on TV today!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: 80s, rap

Vonnegut's Rules For Short Stories

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:40:05 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: R.I.P. Kurt

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.*
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Tags: vonnegut, stories, writing

Worst Analogies from High School Essays

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 11:06:17 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: diggfinds.com

The following are actual winning analogies in the “worst
analogies ever written in a high school essay” contest:

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.

Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.

Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:\flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaak/ch@ng by mistake.

He was as tall as a six-foot three-inch tree.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

Tags: analogies, english, essays, humor

Ten Commandments of Self-esteem

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 03:52:23 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: www.healingeagle.net

Thou shalt not consort with people who make thee feel bad about thyself.

Thou shalt cease trying to make sense out of crazy behavior.

Thou shalt not keep company with those more dysfunctional than thyself.

Trust thy body all the days of thy life (thy mind doth fornicate with thee).

Thou has permission at all times to say "NO," to change thy mind, and to express thy true feelings.

What is not right for thee is also not right for thy brethren.

Thou shalt not give beyond thine own capacity.

What thy brethren think of thee mattereth naught.

Wherever thou art, therein also is the party.

Thou shalt sing thine own praises all the days of thy life.

Catherine Cardinal

Tags: self-esteem, self-worth, affirmations