"Pro-male"?? Have males been so desperately discriminated against lately that they need their own privilege-preservations societies? And it is just me or is it weird how all those different categories -- faith, maleness, family, patriotism -- are presumed to have anything to do with each other, just because they are strong together in the same sentence?

Because those of us who are part of the "tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show" aren't true patriots, like the New York firefighters were....

Oh and re: Bradley's outfit, Tim was totally reminded of Daniel V's Inspiration piece but didn't seem to feel that Bradley had been quoting and seriously, the judge's loved it. Hey, I was just hoping that he wouldn't be eliminated. To get to the Top Three was a bit of a Birthday Present.

Calli, is there any way you can vague up some of your manual writing enough to make a sort of generic portfolio? Remove all the identifying information, and cover with a note saying something like "this is a representative sample of my skills but the original is NDA'ed from here to next Tuesday; do not fold, spindle, mutilate, or pass on to anyone else beyond the immediate search."

Timelies to everyone! Loved last night's PR challenge, and thought that Bradley's little terrier was the cutest dog of all. Also glad to see him do well on his birthday, especially since he pulled that shirt out of his hat at the last minute.

Oh, and Kat, great thesis topic! Also loved the idea of the Victorian Lit and Science class--my Victorian Lit class was a blend of poets and essayists (Ruskin still makes me want to claw my eyes out), with some Lewis Carroll thrown in, but we did spend some time on the whole Pre-Raphaelite movement, both lit and art. As for Chaucer, enjoy! I wish I could take another Chaucer class--that was my first upper-level English class in college, and one of my favorites. I still remember most of the opening of the Canterbury Tales' prologue (our teacher recommended memorizing it for recitation to aid our comprehension of Middle English the rest of the semester, and it did help tremendously).

Kat asked last night:

bon bon, are the hives from the hot? I'm just curious.

I don't know what they're from! My skin might be dry, but I'm fairly used to hot weather. I had some more this morning but they seem to have calmed down.

Eerie 'nativity' scene

You know, just the other day, I was thinking that I don't really seem to have any "Uncanny Valley" reactions.

Thanks to ita for proving me wrong.

Thanks to ita for proving me wrong.

No problem. Least I can do, really.

My thesis? I'm looking at cookbooks and housekeeping manuals from the 16th and 17th century to see if and how they had an impact on women's literacy. As women became more literate, they published more of these books so I want to see the impact on literacy and, ultimately, on culture. Though the time period might change, given the availability of early modern cookbooks.

Cook for Kats! That reminds me of Nü Shu - the secret chinese writing system for women which I think was often used in recipes.

My thesis? I'm looking at cookbooks and housekeeping manuals from the 16th and 17th century to see if and how they had an impact on women's literacy. As women became more literate, they published more of these books so I want to see the impact on literacy and, ultimately, on culture. Though the time period might change, given the availability of early modern cookbooks.

That's awesomely cool.

I've lost about 10-15lbs (I don't own a scale) since I stopped snacking on sweets at work. I'm hoping running (which we'll start again this week, now that our lungs are recovered from June's colds and the heat's less oppressive) will take care of the rest of what I want to lose (which is at least another 20lbs) without me having to become a slave to Fitday again.

I'd like to lose another 50. I'd be happier with my body if I lost at least 30. I've stopped drinking regular soda and have cut way back on my sugar intake, but I need to get back to the gym. I'm hoping that once $$ gets settled down, I can join Bally's again.