31 December, 2008
Roll On, 2009!
I don't have all that much to say for 2008. It wasn't the most heinously awful year I've had, but it certainly isn't going to rank anywhere in my top 10 best years.
I have deep love and gratitude for my friends who have shown me love and support through the hardest days of the year as well as celebrating our friendship throughout the rest of the year!
I'm so very grateful for my furkids, who love me in spite of (or, perhaps, because of) my many, many flaws.
I'm ready to see the end of 2008 and look toward 2009 with hope and the promise of a fresh start.
May the New Year bring you all much love, happiness, prosperity (or at least a revival of your 401k account!) and peace!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Labels: Happy New Year
~~ victoria on 10:46 PM ~~ 0 comments
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28 December, 2008
Simon Sunday: Momma Lurves Her Schmoopie-Pie!
Thus ends the final Simon Sunday for 2008. Stay tuned for the 2009 adventures of Simon the Schmoopie-Pie Kitteh!
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 9:12 PM ~~ 0 comments
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24 December, 2008
Dear Mainstream Media: Watch And Learn
Rachel Maddow demonstrates a level of professionalism and journalistic responsibility that I was afraid had been lost forever from contemporary media:
Bravo, Ms. Maddow!
Labels: in the news, Maddow Fangirl, personal responsibility, yay
~~ victoria on 9:05 PM ~~ 2 comments
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21 December, 2008
Simon Sunday: Holiday Spirit? Not So Much
I thought it might be fun to dress Simon and Billie up in holiday gear for a quick photo session. Simon thought I was trying to murder him, either by having the hat strap squish his brains out or strangle him, or by making him die of embarrassment.
As for Billie, she wishes you all a very happy holiday season! However, she wishes I would fall into a vat of cat shit and die:
I count myself fortunate that they are both pretty resilient. Simon was over his trauma when the catnip came out, and Billie hasn't revenge peed at all!
Happy Holidays!
Labels: Billie, cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 8:35 PM ~~ 0 comments
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Blog Note: Commenting Policy, As Such
Recent events have caused me to reflect on how I handle comments on this blog. As I recall, the only comments I've ever deleted from my blog have been spam. Today that will change.
The comment in question is was so breathtakingly racist that I'm a little embarrassed that I've left it up as long as I have.
Anyone who has read this blog for more than twenty minutes has probably figured out that I have had all of the racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of "othering" than I can stand. In case you might have missed the memo, bigotry isn't funny or edgy or clever. It's exactly the opposite of those things: It shows that the person making such jokes or comments lacks the imagination--much less empathy--to, even for a moment, consider what life is like for someone that doesn't have a place at the big Table of Privilege. Or maybe the commenter can and it is just so different to his/her experience it is just too scary, so anyone who is different must be belittled. But the purpose of this post is not to delve into the psychology of bullying, so I'll move on.
Why did I wait so long to remove the comment? I wanted to be sure I wasn't reacting to my anger and my somewhat bruised feelings (there is a little more to this story than just an exceedingly bigoted comment, the details of which shall remain private). Over the last several years I've been very conscious of wanting my actions to move me forward, toward a positive outcome, rather than my reflexive, street-brawling thowing of feet, fists and/or words, or stuffing my feelings deep down inside me and putting on a brave face for people who say deliberately hurtful things, all of which only served to fuel my anger and didn't resolve anything.
So, after reflecting on the situation I have decided to institute a commenting policy on this blog. And what that policy boils down to is this: This is MY blog and I don't actually have to put up with that shit. Therefore:
* You are free to disagree with my views on, well, whatever.
* You are even free to leave a comment saying you disagree with me, bonus points if you can explain your point of view and, you know, initiate a discussion.
* Hell, I don't much care if you resort to calling ME names: Believe me, I've heard them ALL before.
Just know this: If you leave a hateful, bigoted or sexist comment, with no discussion value whatsoever, the comment will be deleted. If these kinds of comments become commonplace around here, then I will start moderating comments, so you will lose that instant gratification of seeing your hate pop right up on the intertubes.
If it turns out that I have to moderate comments, then I may as well just turn commenting off altogether. I'd hate for it to come to that because I do like the two-way communication that a commenting system facilitates. However, I have a limited amount of energy to devote to cleaning up after people and I have even less patience.
If you want a place to spew racism, sexism, homophobia or whatever hate you're selling today, there are plenty of free blogging services out there: I suggest you try one out.
I now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.
Labels: personal responsibility, Why it is
~~ victoria on 8:34 PM ~~ 0 comments
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14 December, 2008
Simon Sunday: Sleepeh Kitteh Sundeh
Not much else to do when it's a chilly, rainy day other than settle in for a long nap.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 3:48 PM ~~ 0 comments
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Let's Get Some Shoez!
Um. Wow. This may be the thing that keeps me going until January 20, 2009.
Labels: in the news, ITMFA, politics
~~ victoria on 3:15 PM ~~ 0 comments
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07 December, 2008
Simon Sunday: Happiness Is Warm Laundry (Part #468)
Simon doesn't usually like it when I put something over him but last night I made him into a warm laundry and kitteh sammich and he was as happy as could be. I took this shot just before he fell asleep: He took a 25-minute nap inside his sammich.
Labels: cats, furkids, Simon, Simon Sunday
~~ victoria on 8:08 AM ~~ 0 comments
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06 December, 2008
Weekend Kinks: Lola +Bonus Tracks!
I haven't ever had a Weekend Music post of The Kinks? Really??? Time to fix that:
"Celluloid Heroes":
Muswell Hillbillies is one of my all-time favourite albums. "20th Century Man" is, IMO, one of the most brilliant songs ever written. Sadly, there's no version by The Kinks on YouTube, but there is a pretty ok live version (meaning video quality, not the quality of the performance) by Ray Davies (I'm guessing this is from his recent tour):
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:06 PM ~~ 0 comments
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