Jilli some etymology for double-dog dare.

Oh!Oh! Where's Steph? And JZ?

At the Pride parade in Chicago this year, there was one of those protest groups with the big signs about going to hell, and a loudspeaker, and a guy preaching, yadda yadda. I was across the street taking shelter in a shady doorway while the preacher man ranted on. At one point he gets on to the subject of Sodom and Gomorrah, and booms for a while about hellfire, etc., and concludes with "And do you know, WHAT WAS THE SIN OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH?"

And I thought of you guys and our conversations here, and so wished I was close enough to answer.

But then, brief pause, and then, over the loudspeaker "Well, you're not being very hospitable, ARE YOU?!?"

I about died laughing.

Ahahahahaha!!!! That's awesome!

Huh, so here's this big ceremony in a big giant ball room and someone thinks that the presentation described was appropriate? wow. that's just appalling.

Did you see the whole thing? What was reaction in the room like? Did it seem that the majority of the people were upset?

I saw the whole thing. I was at a table of six (this is the theater in the Reno Hilton,which is broken up into tables). Everybody at my table was appalled; it was harder to judge the rest of the room.

However, one of the presenters looked down at her script, said "And a lot of bad things happened that year, but I'm not going to worry you with that", and went on with the award. She got a round of applause.

Allyson, is Maya doing Suz Brockmann's next thingy?

Otherwise we'd all be bathing in ice cream and James Marsters would be worn down to a nubbin.

How I needed this laugh today. Isn't Marsters nearly nubbin-sized already?

I now have a burning desire to stand on the streetcorner screaming "ACCEPT AMBIGUITY INTO YOUR POSSIBLY EXISTANT SOUL!!!!"

I triple dog dare you. And can I come, too?

You get some idea when I tell you that (A) the video montage included scenes of Tienanmen Square set to "Don't worry, be happy" and (B) up until Friday night, the video montage included scenes from both September 11th and the Challenger explosion.

Wow. I tasted bile there.

Religion is the world's oldest fandom. Can't blame them for trying to share the love.

This is a nice way of looking at it.

Dude, that award ceremony sounds like something out of a farce. Or something.

You know what? Telling/asking someone try not to be too upset? MAKES IT WORSE. (not at all in a chiding way, I guess some people are just expecting that something is hitting me harder than it appears and so are trying to be soothing.)

I already am feeling a little stupid about my reactions (if I didn't know better, I'd blame PMS. Which was also my middle school. Which I suppose I could blame too, if I wanted. But that's really not relevant.) and sympathy just makes it worse.

Maybe I just need a nap. This is dumb. Nobody died.

It's really too warm in my apartment.

I saw the whole thing. I was at a table of six (this is the theater in the Reno Hilton,which is broken up into tables). Everybody at my table was appalled; it was harder to judge the rest of the room.

I've heard that all that kept some people from walking out is they wanted to be there to support friends who were nominated for the awards.

Timelies all!

Well, I'm just about all packed for my trip. All that's left is stuff I need tonight and tomorrow. Eee!

Holy crap, Betsy, that may be the most appalling thing I've heard today.

I'm also biased because Judaism is generally discriminatory when it comes to proselytizing. Jews are fair game, but gentiles are pretty much turned away at the door and have to be pretty persistent to get in.

It's true -- so much easier when the person on the street asks me "Are you Jewish?" and I can just say no. It took me years to stop engaging with people who wanted to talk to me about Jesus.

Hivemind question:

I'm trying to buy a small electrical appliance ($15-$30) that will grate cheese just like a cheese grater. All the little devices I saw in the store will mince and chop stuff. Is that the same thing?