Um. So here it is. A default entry. Nothing much to it yet.

But eventually there might be something. Once I get all the stories in my head sorted out, I'll be right back to writing. I'm thinking something about the Bechdel test applied to various fandoms might be interesting!

Comments are open to any LJer. Have fun. I don't think this journal will be f-locked much, but ya never know.

Wow, I don't think I've actually posted in this journal since...er...August, maybe. Most of you have probably defriended me by now, so I'm not sure how many people are actually going to read this. But I shall write an update to you anyway.

I haven't done anything notable since I last updated this journal. Finished another semester at college, continued RPing, raised my dog. I'll be tending to my dad for the next month or so since he broke his leg out in the snow, so there goes my holiday break, but nothing too bad has happened.

If any of you are interested in contacting me for any reason, your best bet is probably to IM zokiblue on AIM.

Er...back to my usual silence now, I guess. Feel free to comment with questions!

So...yeah. I think you all know about the DDOS attacks that brought down Twitter, Facebook, and LJ all at once on Thursday. And we've guessed that it was done by Russia to silence Cyxymu, a pro-Republic of Georgia blogger the Russian government doesn't much like.

The worst of the damage seems to be over, but LJ's refresh-rate limiters have been shutting out certain users that are unlucky enough to share IPs with the attackers. A quick Twitter search shows this is still happening. I was one of them, and completely locked out of LJ all night last night, but I guess they're done with my IP since I'm back. So I made a Twitter account to join the complainers over there. :)

http://twitter.com/ZokiBlue

I'll be posting short bursts of thought there every now and then, when I don't have enough to blog about here. Maybe I'll figure out how some of you guys cross-post your Twitter feeds to LJ later.

Where are your Twitter feeds, guys?

DISCLAIMER: If you don't have the same inclination toward social justice that I do, or if you believe that all people who don't look like you are dragging your country down and should be sent back to where they came from posthaste, then the below post isn't for you.

( Cut for race-related issues as bemoaned by a liberal white girl. )

...whew. I'm gonna go nom on some ice cream while I think about what to do next. And on another note, I'd like to go to a Unitarian Universalist discussion on Sunday. I've been struggling with my faith lately, and I'd like somewhere to go to find my own path. Also, the community service projects are something I definitely want to try my hand at. Anyone have experience with these congregations?

Man, it's been forever since my last post in this journal.

( Convention Blues )

In other news, my dog nearly tackled me to get to my lunch today. No, puppy. Just because everyone else feeds you people food doesn't mean I'm going to. I really wish they would stop.

- Pick ten awesome characters. It doesn't matter if they’re OCs, relatives, celebrities, anything. So long as you’re not one of the ten, because that’d spoil it a little, even if you’re really awesome.
- Answer all the questions according to the characters.
- Tag some folks (if you feel like it).

1. Tidus (Final Fantasy X)
2. Rei Hino (Sailor Moon)
3. Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
4. Number 5/Johnny (Short Circuit)
5. Anya/Anastasia (Anastasia 1997 Don Bluth animated film)
6. Billy Cranston (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
7. Aladdin (Disney's Aladdin)
8. Ryoko Asakura (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
9. Misty (Pokémon)
10. James Norrington (Pirates of the Caribbean)
( Not that anyone cares. Poor Norrington. )

LJ WON'T LET ME UPLOAD NEW USERPICS ON ANY OF MY ACCOUNTS. WHEN I GO TO THE 'EDIT USERPICS' SCREEN ALL I GET IS A BLANK PAGE. WTF IS THIS FUCKERY.

Is it just me, or are other people having this problem?

(don't mind the capslock. I just realized today was the one year anniversary of my joining CLDR and even though I've been gone for months I might be planning something. Nostalgia force, go!)

Sad news. Wayne Allwine, who has voiced Mickey Mouse for over 25 years, died on Monday. He was 62 years old.

This is probably a silly thing to be sad about, but Mickey has always been a friend of mine in childhood. I admired his spirit and goodness. Even though Goofy's my favorite of the core Disney crew, I've gotta give the mouse some respect. What's even more heartbreaking about it is that his wife, Russi Taylor, voices Minnie Mouse. They were truly the alpha Disney couple.

( Memorial image under cut )

Rest in the light, Mr. Allwine, and thank you.

It's a tossup between that bowl of dry dog food when I was two years old and that sheet of looseleaf paper I ate many years later.

Let's see...when I was two years old, I was taken to my second family Christmas party and left to my own devices. Crawling about on the floor, I discovered a yummy looking bowl of round brown treats sitting unattended. 'Cocoa Puffs!' I thought, eagerly digging in. Well, they weren't Cocoa Puffs.


Yes, I couldn't tell the difference. *shamed*

This moment was caught on camera by my gossiping aunts, and I am forever teased with this memory. All I can say is that it tasted like it smells. Not too good. But I didn't care, because I must've somehow tricked my brain into thinking it really was chocolate.

There's no big story behind the looseleaf paper nomming, though. I was just hungry and on a dare.

I have reading to do for class tomorrow and I CANNOT. CONCENTRATE. AT. ALL.

I'm trying hard to keep my focus on the literature, but there's a few problems.

1. This material is really, really boring.
2. I'm stuck in a loud environment and my brain keeps shifting attention to the voices, dog barks, and minor implosions all around me. I tried using my music player to counteract with my own noise, but the outside noise just gets so loud that I can't drown it out without causing hearing damage. I wish I could hide away but then I'd be in trouble for being a hermit.
3. My parents keep interrupting me. No, Dad, I do not care how funny Homer Simpson is. No, mom, I do not need your nagging to get my assignments done. And stop reading everything I look at online over my shoulder. I promise I'm not looking at porn---hi mom.

ARGH.

Tagged by Xy to talk about Sailor Mars, my second-ever muse. I still love her, even if I haven't played her in a while. A certain Blue Ranger has taken over my entire musebox since he moved in, and while I love you Billy, you really need to learn to share. :|

( Mars Crystal Power, MAKE UP! )
09 → Please choose 5 friends with your choice of character.
filogrrl's Ronon (<333)
digivolution's Joe (JOOOOOEEEEE!)
turio's Shinku (for the lulz, yeah? Please?)
metamorphic's Gilgamesh (maybe this'll get your muse moving again?)
envythechemnerd's Derek (at least I think it's your Derek?)

Fuck.

I broke the toilet.

( minor potty talk within )

So, what are your spring break plans?

Hey guys check this out!

( freaking huge image under the cut )

Anyway, today I stumbled across a website where you can make your own MagicEye thingies! They have pre-set patterns and 3D images, or you can provide your own stuff. It's really neat---but I haven't been able to test it, because I have lazy eye and really poor vision in my right eye, so I'm unable to see stereograms. :( Sucks to make things I can't even see---but hey, at least I'm not blind! *adds to Gratitude List*

Holy fuck holy fuck HOLY FUCK, Y'ALL.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/187342/page/1

( Shock and horror at my old pal Ex-President Bush under the cut )

On a more personal note, I'm doing alright in class. Just dealing with a screaming dad worrying about losing his job. Economy sucks, but at least I've got somewhere to live and eat and sleep. I think I'm going to declare today 'I'm Fucking Thankful For What I Have' day. Good friends, good health, decent life. <3

Technology sucks.

My sister installed a new house phone this week. It's nice and shiny and stores messages, but it has one other special feature that she didn't mention. My internet now disconnects every single time the phone rings. It's just like having dial-up again, except I get booted off instead of the calls not going through.

It wouldn't bother me so much if my mom didn't frequently get calls from friends that can last an hour or more. But hey, not much to do except suck it up and play Minesweeper. I always seem to hit one of the mines on the first click, but one of these days I will defeat the mines! And not lose an arm and a leg!

True story:

So I have a Western Civilizations class. Today I got to read all about arrangements for marriage in Ancient Rome, the laws of dowries, and things of that nature. But we didn't discuss anything close to that in class.

What the professor actually spent most of the period doing was telling off-subject stories, and one particular story scared me.

"Every semester, one of my students has died. Sometimes it's on the way to a cheerleading competition, sometimes it's on vacation, sometimes it's a suicide, sometimes they drown, but every semester I lose a student. And it's always the A students, I've never had one of the less studious students die on me. I think they know their street smarts better if they don't study as much."

*brb getting Cs*

Part of this is for sociology class and a topic I want to explore in my major, part of this is for general interest. So let's see how it goes!

So, are most of you familiar with the Smurfette Principle? The theory that states that many works of fiction, especially action or comedy shows, only require one female character because they're all alike from the perspective of the usually male writers? This next discussion is about what happens when there's more than one major female, but there might as well only be one for all the characterization they get.
( Feminist outrage in my literature? It's more likely than you think. )

I'll update this post with my list of passes/fails in the fandoms that I know well later. But I just want to get a survey of all your fandoms: which ones pass, which ones fail?