So, I did e-mail the librarian. I actually think it was a pretty good e-mail...not accusatory in any way, just "FYI...". I've already heard back from the librarian, and he was apologetic and also told me how he will re-frame it in his spiel. I thought that was really nice.

Do you think the kids realised the not-goodness of the animals' situation, Fay? Because that would be nice, all of your teaching moulding the young minds of Thailand, mwahahahah!

Well, they are only six or seven, and so they don't exactly have a very good context for grasping what would be a reasonable amount of space for an animal - I mean, if it was a battery chicken scenario, they'd be able to see that the space was inadequate, but they're a bit young to make a very good judgment call on the size of the enclosures. We're working on it.

(For example, the chimpanzee dressed in human clothes and chained to a bicycle by the waist wasn't automatically upsetting to them, and as far as they were concerned he had a lot of space, because he was pedalling around the people space. But, you know, in chains. Ditto the gibbon, who wasn't in an enclosure, and struck them as free, until I pointed out that the chain around his waist meant that he could travel back and forth across a highwire as freely as he wished, but couldn't, you know, go anywhere else. Although at least he had a little house thing to get into if it rained. Food or water, though, I wasn't seeing so much of.)

Am now home. I can haz crappy internet connection! (Having purchased one of the wee 15 day card thingies.) And curtesy of the 7-eleven I have a vast amount of useless nibbly crunchy things like cashew nuts, rice cakes with pork floss, sushi-flavoured rice'n'tapioca'n'seaweed crisps, crunchy banana slices etc etc. But I think, rather than munching through everything I bought, I may order food delivered.

eyes empty packets with guilt

'Course, by then there may be not be any nibbly crunchy things left. Um.

I can haz energy!

For example, the chimpanzee dressed in human clothes and chained to a bicycle by the waist wasn't automatically upsetting to them, and as far as they were concerned he had a lot of space, because he was pedalling around the people space. But, you know, in chains. Ditto the gibbon, who wasn't in an enclosure, and struck them as free, until I pointed out that the chain around his waist meant that he could travel back and forth across a highwire as freely as he wished, but couldn't, you know, go anywhere else. Although at least he had a little house thing to get into if it rained. Food or water, though, I wasn't seeing so much of.

Oh dear. Well working on it is a very good start. Enjoy your nibbles!

I just ordered nibbles as someone was driving to the shops. And by nibbles I mean cheese. I really must cut down on my cheese intake. Just not today.

Gronk. So far today, I woke up, took a shower, and then, while making breakfast, somehow managed to spill about half a carton of soy milk all over myself. I so don't have enough patience to deal with today.

Hil, milk baths are supposed to be good for your skin.

yeah, I know.

In other news, a friend sent me this - seemingly it's making the rounds:

From the Manitoba Herald, Canada The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The actions of President Bush are prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly. Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of Sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?" In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk." Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. "They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though." When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races. In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said. Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

Great pictures, Raq!

Quick update: I have been tossed to the wolves here at work, where wolves = 300 first year law students with an assignment due in less than a week. Also, we are riding the roller coaster of home-buying. The inspection didn't go as well as we would like, and I don't feel like we have enough information to make a decision on whether to ask the seller to fix or give us $, so we are getting more estimates/guesses/opinions. The agent seems to have finally learned that when we're talking about my money (and spending it) I lean lawyer, not librarian.

And that makes *me* think of a really poorly aimed whip/flogger.

Aw. You know you've been in Bitches for a while when you can remember back when Teppy really was vanilla. I mean, VERY vanilla! French vanilla, even - we had whole conversations about the sheer lack of kink.

Um. All y'all know that was just a front, right? I mean, yes, back when I claimed to be vanilla, I wasn't engaging in kinky activities at that time, but I've always, *always* been kink-inclined. And just like a gay person who is single doesn't stop being gay, just because I wasn't actively engaged in kinky activity doesn't mean I was vanilla.

But, much like coming out, it was really hard for me to identify -- in public, that is -- as kinky.

Uh, and honestly, I still don't think of myself as kinky, or perverted, or whatever -- I'm just *me.* All the kinky stuff is just how I roll.

All y'all know that was just a front, right?

I was never sure how much you knew, and how much you allowed. It could have been you thought you were vanilla, because you needed it to be that way, and you had a tight clamp on even your desired proclivities. Or you could have been lying.

And by "you" I don't mean to accuse you, Steph, of lying. Just that those are the opposite boundaries I draw in scenarios like that--consciously unaware all the way to consciously aware and never going to admit it.

Either way, it's cool when you become comfortable with how you roll.

Me, I don't roll.

eta: If you read the above post and take any offense, that's totally not what I meant! I'm just having phraseology problems this AM.

All y'all know that was just a front, right?

See, this is what I get for believing people. I've been fondly imagining the liberation of Miss Teppy all this time, only to find out she didn't need liberating.

I bet a bunch of you pervy types are secretly closet celebates who subscribe to Self-Denial Now and who practice cold showers every morning while contemplating the purity of nothingness.

Raq, did you get to see Shakespeare Scum?

We couldn't really settle at any show, but I did catch a bit of "Richard III: Just Misunderstood."

I have to say I was a little let down by the Faire (or I guess in MD it's RennFest). It's more county fair than historical immersion now; I don't know if fewer people work at the RennFest or if there are more attendees (it was packed), but we stayed all day and had only one encounter with a cast member (when Mal tried to run in front of the King's procession). There was one turkey leg booth, but many places to get churros and fried oreos. Only about 1-2% of people were in costume, even counting the hideously innappropriate costumes (one guy was wearing Vans, knee-length cargo pants, a wife-beater, and a Spartan helmet). Even counting the people in normal (for goths) clothes with tails.

Anyway, it was crowded, so I guess they are doing all right economically. I just miss the RenFaires of my youth. Get thee away from mine lawn, knave.