One of my grandmothers is named Lilla, and if I ever have a daughter that may factor into her name.

Suzi, on the dating thing, try to keep an open mind but trust your instincts. I don't need a partner to be interested in all that I'm interested in, but if they diss it right off and don't show curiosity about why I like it? Bad sign, IMHO.

MUST. NOT. ENGAGE. THE. STUPID. ON. THE. INTERNETS.

Which stupid with this be? There's SOOOO much.

Hippo Birdies, Glamcookie!!!

Which stupid with this be? There's SOOOO much.

Obama is a Muslim and that's why he canceled Natl Day of Prayer! He MUST be a Muslim because he can recite something in ARABIC!!

I'm very much not a Daisy. Or a Sally, for that matter.

For me that click is very often when you feel like you've known someone forever, even though you just met

That's happened to me a few times. One was my BFF; we met when we were sixteen at an SF con. Another was my most recent ex, with whom I am still great friends. And two friends I met at Leverage Con; the three of us were acting like we'd known each other forever within about five minutes. Those were platonic clicks. Sexual clicks, I dunno. A lot of people seem to get sexual clicks with me, but I rarely feel that click for anyone else. I can find someone beautiful, or physically attractive in that I just want to keep looking at them, or pet them, but to actually want to get naked and vulnerable and do naughty and potentially embarrassing things? It's rare that I find myself wanting that.

I don't need a partner to be interested in all that I'm interested in, but if they diss it right off and don't show curiosity about why I like it? Bad sign, IMHO.

Yep. On a first meeting, it feels like they're dismissing *me* when they do that.

It takes me a long time to be myself around people.

It's funny - I'm either massively shy and pretending to be interesting, or else I'm relaxed and don't-give-a-damn and able to be myself. Probably depends on how much I want the other people to like me. The more I care what they think, the more shy I become. Which is why I'm usually hiding in a corner at F2Fs!

Good luck on the faux-project, Theodosia! May it work out perfectly!

Season 2 of Leverage is also on Netflix streaming!

Oh good! Now I can erase the recordings.

I've thought about Daisy in honor of my grandmother (Marguerite) for a long time. Cute!

My great-aunt was Marguerite and was known as Daisy her entire life.

I'm pretty sure I had a great-aunt named Ima Daisy Bottom. I'm not absolutely positive that that first name is correct.

How Violence Increases Our Vocabulary

basket case: Today, a basket case is simply a neurotic person, but during WWII, it meant a living soldier who had lost all his limbs and was brought home in a basket. The United States military denies that real baskets were ever used to carry soldiers. Regardless, the original meaning of the word is still gruesome.

gung ho: You may be gung ho about collecting stamps, playing solitaire, or other individual pursuits, but originally the term was more applicable to teams. The U.S. Marines first used it a as a slogan during World War II, after general Evans Carlson adapted the Chinese kung ho, which means “work in harmony”. While the teamwork element of the definition has faded, the enthusiasm bit has certainly remained.

I knew that one. eta: It was Chinese Communist rebels who used the term.

Some new terms:

fobbit, hillbilly armor, and IED: The war in Iraq is contributing its own expressions. A popular word on the rise is fobbit, a term that combines FOB (forward operating base) with hobbit. The word is a derogatory term for soldiers who stay too close to base and help themselves to three square meals a day. Another expression gaining steam is hillbilly armor, a term for scraps used to bulletproof vehicles.

That's interesting. I was recently wondering where the term "gung ho" came from.

My great-aunt was Marguerite and was known as Daisy her entire life.

I just think that's adorable. My grandmother goes by Margot. As it turns out, Margot was a family name, but her mother decided to get "fancy." This is a story that will sound familiar to anyone who knows that my parents agreed to name me Jesse, and then at the last minute, my mother put Jessica on the birth certificate. It's a family trait!