I don't want to add natter to Bureau, so here's the link to the Wikipedia article on Otherkin: [link] (In a nutshell, "Otherkin is a subculture made up of people who describe themselves as being non-human or having a connection to a mythical archetype in some way, usually believing themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures.")

It's really... interesting. Also, I love this term:

Another example of a belief often met with skepticism by the otherkin subculture according to otherkin.net is those claiming to have been royalty in other lives, which is sometimes referred to as "elven princess syndrome".

Can I call in sick with elven princess syndrome?

I've noticed it a lot recently, but I suspect I'm only noticing on account of reading children's books over and over and over and over and over and it bleeding into my everyday speech.

Things in The Great Green Room

A telephone, a red balloon. A picture of the cow jumping over the moon. Three little bears sitting on chairs. Two kittens, a pair of mittens. A toy house and a young mouse. A comb, a brush, a bowl full of mush. A quiet old lady who whispers hush. Clocks and socks.

Note: This was done from memory. At my desk at work. I could type the whole damn book out, but I figured this showed my craxy enough.

That's SO WRONG. Did the US PAY MONEY for that???

It sounds like one FDA employee just decided to write it (at the urging of another FDA employee). Dunno if he wrote it on "company time."

eta: But it is on the FDA website, so they had to spend a little time putting it up, as well as the cost of hosting it....

I wouldn't have guessed this, nor have I heard anyone theorize that we unintentionally dramatize descriptions like that.

For instance, it seems perfectly natural to me to hear "It's far away" with a drawn out far, and "It's near here" will have a much shorter "near." That's nothing intrinsic in the word far--if I'm saying it alone, it's a pretty short syllable. But if I'm being moderately (read: normally) expressive) the first cited sentence has the longer "far."

Totally doesn't seem weird to me.

And, it's something I've seen mentioned in public speaking/krav teaching training--being up in front of an audience can easily flatten all the tone out of your speech, so working to not just put it back in but to make it the most expressive tone possible is important. It's why we're to snap "quick explosive pluck" and draw out descriptions of slower techniques. Taking something that we tend to do and emphasising it for more dramatic effect.

I dislike Baba Wawa a lot, but that's the lactivist in me talking.

Huh? I mean, I dislike her quite a lot just on incredibly annoying and useless grounds, so I'm with you, but what's the lactivist connection?

Well boo. I just found out that Alton Brown's new show is just a 4-part series. Still looking forward to it, but I was hoping for a longer run.

I just read the FDA song lyrics to my co-workers, and we think it was written on a dare by someone who was very drunk.

Did anyone here go to High School with a person who showed up later as an editor?

Were they universally hated, even then?

::weeps::

Awww, did I miss out on my chance for hot Otherkin lovin'?

So, I didn't get the job-type thingy (not quite a job, but would have involved the guarantee of a job). Which sucks. But I know I had a not-so-great interview, and... no, it just sucks. Sucky people! I would be great! Totally your loss!

So yeah, I really am moving across the country with no particular prospect of a job, and will have to begin the incredibly annoying job search, during which I will have to bite my tongue so as not to say, "Yeah, classroom management is a big problem, does anyone care if I can TEACH MATH?" Not, as you might imagine, looking forward. Kind of sapped my motivation for today's whirlwind of packing, too.

Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't have any motivation to begin with. But off I go to throw more random crap in boxes!

The voice study results seem intuitive to me, but what do I know? Within the last month, I read an article about a study which supports the theory that sleepy drivers are more dangerous on the road than alert drivers.

That sucks, Emily. But it is way easier to look for a job when you're in the place you're looking. If nothing else, you don't get the "It took me so long to get here for this gd interview! WHY WILL YOU NOT HIRE ME!?!?!?" rage. At least, that's how I remember it.