http://ifeelpithy.com/ en Copyright 2008 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:17:05 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Technorati Profile UPDATE I think thats all of my posts. Now I have to start setting up redirects. After that, I am going to try to restore my comments. UPDATE I've set up a few redirects, but don't have them all. But, I think I have restored all of my comments. Unfortunately, I could not find an automated way of getting the date and times set on those. So, they all have recent dates and times. I just couldn't bring myself to leave off the comments so, I had to move them over even if the date and times are wrong. This was all done manually, so if your comment doesn't show, let me know. I will go back and try to find it. UPDATE I will be working on comments for my food site and then go back to redirects. After that, I plan to post my entire process.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2008/06/re_claiming_my_blog.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2008/06/re_claiming_my_blog.html Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:17:05 -0500 You may or may not have noticed that I have been missing. Well, its like this: I got hosed by my hosting company. I have since moved to another company, but unfortuantely, I had not exported my entries using the Movabe Type tools before my hosting company lost my database files. So, I have been copying and pasting my entries into a newly installed Movable Type interface on my brand new host. You may still notice some weird issues as I get things back up. I'm very grateful to the Movable Type support community for all of their help and am also extremely pleased with my new hosting company, Hostmonster. After I get all of my posts back and some redirects in place along with all my comments, I will then have to go about doing the same for my food blog. I am not sure if I am going to put the Fluff report back online. I may simply add a category to this blog and put all of those entries there. This has been the biggest pain and has taken so much of my time and it will continue to do so until I am finally done. So, updates may be few and far between until I get a handle on all of this stuff. http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2008/05/im_back_sort_of_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2008/05/im_back_sort_of_1.html randomness Sat, 31 May 2008 16:18:34 -0500 Pajiba. I immediately bookmarked them because I loved their their snarky and erudite take on movie reviews. While I have disagreed with their reviews in the past, I've never felt the need say anything here about one of their opinion pieces. But there is one that I feel a need to respond to.


One of their more recent writers, Agent Bedhead, wrote a guide titled Ass-Kicking Heroines as part of what they call Pajiba's Guide to What's Good for You. The guides generally get their detractors. Obviously, the writers can't please everyone since they are working from a personal bias. But this particular guide seemed to be really reaching hard for women to write about. And that made me sad. So, this is just a little addendum to her post. Obviously, I can't please everyone either, so feel free to let me know who you think should be on the list.


CAVEAT: I am going to do my best to follow her guidelines (Horror/SciFi/Fantasy/Comics)so that will leave out a few that I really like (Geena Davis as Charlie Baltimore in The Long Kiss Goodnight, Pam Greer in various roles, Gena Rowlands in Gloria, Meryl Streep in the The River Wild, and Bette Davis in almost everything- just to name a few personal favorites). Also, for the sake of brevity I am only focusing on movie characters. It sucks I know, TV and the printed word are rife with kick ass heroines (luckily for you fellow Buffy fans out there, Agent Bedhead included television and print). So, feel free to list your favorites from any genre in the comments. One more thing, this addendum makes no sense without reading the the original post OK. Enough stalling. In no particular order, I present:
]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/11/asskicking_heroines_an_addendu_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/11/asskicking_heroines_an_addendu_1.html essays Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:42:24 -0500 Mr. Blank's Carnivale of Black Hearts hosted by a friend of ours at Tasty World. I've said before that Halloween in Athens is an experience and everyone tries to make it a party. So, I tried to remember to take pictures this time. Only of course, I didn't get pictures of all the costumes I liked. The one I really wish I had gotten a picture of was a very petit woman-I think she was a drummer for one of the bands- dressed as Hulk Hogan. She even nailed the voice and called everyone "brother" all night.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/10/oh_what_a_time_we_had_hallowee_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/10/oh_what_a_time_we_had_hallowee_1.html randomness Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:40:14 -0500 So, you may have noticed that I haven't written anything lately. It's not from lack of anything to write about. If I say I've been busy, it will sound like a cop out. But, really I have. I have a new job. I'm kind of still in shock about it. It happened very quickly. A friend of mine told me about an open position in a different college at the university so, I applied. Because things work so slowly there, I didn't expect to even hear from anyone for at least a month. Only, they immediately contacted me about taking an aptitude test and and an interview. With very little time to prepare, I went. That night I got a call offering me the job. I am going to be a web developer. Well, not really. That is the official job title, but really I'll be learning to be a web developer. Yes all those years of teaching myself html and cascading style sheets have finally come to fruition. I get to learn web programming as well as design. My first day on the job will consist of my leaving for an intensive 3 day training course in Adobe Creative Suite. Their putting me up in a hotel with a pool and everything. But, here's the thing. I am really nervous. You see I have been at my current position for almost 9 years. Even though I've gotten really burnt out and over it, I'm really comfortable here. Its that whole stepping outside of your comfort zone thing. I'm worried about the dumbest things too. Like, I worry if my brain is so set in its ways that it will refuse to learn new things. I worry that I will screw up something so major on their website that I will be fired on the spot. I worry that people will think I smell- I have begun sweating a lot more than normal this year and have been searching furiously for a clinical strength deodorant and am about to begin searching on line. So, those are a few of my worries. Then there is the guilt. I have been where I am for so long that I feel bad about leaving. I find that there are all kinds of things that I just handled and now have to list out for the group until they get a replacement. I began packing up my things the other day and realized, I have seen 9 years worth of students graduate. I have seen and helped 9 years worth of graduate and post graduate students earn their master's and phD's. I have seen many of them go on to teach at the same college. Its been a long time. But, the thing is it IS time. Its time for me to move forward. And that is my biggest worry. What if I take this chance and move forward only to fall flat on my face? I know thats probably a normal fear- or maybe it isn't and I am one of those people who fears success. I guess my biggest problem is that I don't feel like I can celebrate the way that I should. Different members of my family are going through hardships. They all say congratulations, but they are preoccupied. Then I feel guilty because I want them to be a little bit happier for me. Then I worry that I am not sympathetic enough to their problems. The thing is I gave this job 6 weeks notice. So, now everyone knows I'm leaving and I have pretty much checked out and am feeling pretty isolated. I've been trying to busy myself, which has been very easy. I have inventories to take, instructions to update, student workers to train- I'm swamped. But every time I get frustrated at work or feel like I'm moving on too soon, I think about the perks. I took my current job because I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I was really interested in technical writing and training. I was also interested in networking and computer hardware. But, this college couldn't afford to train me in any of those things. I had to learn it on my own and by being willing to research until I found the right answer. And that was cool, but it did nothing to help me find a focus. I knew I wanted to go further in technology, but never thought I had the right type of training to do anything web related. I mean I can build websites, but I never really learned anything about design. I figured as long as I kept the designs simple and clean people wouldn't notice that I wasn't a designer. And now, here I am the perfect candidate for a group looking to mentor someone. Even better, this is a college that can and will invest in training for their employees. When I was talking to the friend who told me to apply, I told her that I really did feel like it was time for me to move on to something else. There was a pause and then she said, "Chas, you were ready to move on 3 years ago." And she was right. She IS right. So, maybe all I'm really doing is trying to convince myself that its ok for me to be happy about this. Which is silly because- and I'm letting you in on a big secret here- I prayed for this. Not this specifically, but about 3 months ago, I started hoping and praying that I could find a way to move on before one more computer lab was added to my roster of duties. I wanted to get out before I started hating my coworkers. I wanted a job that could take me further in the things I would love to know. I always wanted to be a real geek girl. And I think I am going to finally get the chance. So every day that I walked into the building, every morning when I woke up, I would just say "please let something happen to get me out." And then this happened, and it happened so quickly that I haven't really had time to second guess it. Which is probably what I am doing now that I have all this time on my hands. Can you picture it? Me. A maven of PHP and Java and a whole bunch of other web technologies that sound like things I should know but don't. I know nothing about what my new set up is going to be. But, I do know that the atmosphere is Macintosh friendly and I won't have to work with students anymore. I'm sure I'll still have to convince myself that I have not stepped into a zombie movie as I drive on to campus every day. I'm pretty positive that I won't be able to escape whatever office politics are waiting for me. And, there is still the chance that my new coworkers will think I smell bad, but I do think this is the luckiest thing to have happened to me in a long time. I think the moment when things will really sink in is when I wipe my hard drive. Right now, I'm so focused on all the things I have to do before I leave. Even writing a formal letter of resignation so that my boss could post my position as being open didn't have the resonance I was expecting. Instead, that was when the feeling that I was an outcast began. Maybe I hurt myself by giving such a long period of notice. Its not like they can afford to get mopey about my leaving them just before the start of a new semester. They have to get their act together and move forward too. I wonder if they will buy me lunch as a fond fairwell. Probably not, since I was the oe who always arranged the good bye lunches for people who were moving on to other jobs. So, all I can do is wait it out. And now, that all I can do is wait it out, I am trying to hold on to that sense of excitement I had when I received the phone call telling me I got the job. Of course hubby and I are going to the mountains for our anniversary this weekend. Maybe the serenity of the place will help me get a grip on whatever this is. Anyway, thats what's been going on with me lately. I'll be updating you guys on the book drive and letting you know about some incentives I have in place in upcoming posts. Stay tuned. http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/10/whats_going_on_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/10/whats_going_on_1.html randomness Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:41:25 -0500 So, very disappointed in the Dreamweaver training. Even more disappointed than I was in InDesign. Both classes were taught by the same person and that may have something to do with it. Anyway, I am no stranger to Dreamweaver. Its what I used to build this site and several others. Its pretty much how I cut my teeth on HTML. So, I wasn't too worried when he started off talking about very basic things. As a matter of fact, I kind of zoned out a bit until I heard him say that Dreamweaver was basically a layout tool. It seemed a rather strange statement to make about something that has so many coding capabilities and made me question what he knew about HTML in general. So, I'm sitting there trying my best to keep from looking as bored as I was. My boss was sitting next to me and she wrote me a note saying something along the lines of "he's going to start talking about table layouts." Sure enough, the second I finished reading the note, he starts talking about using tables to create your web layouts. It wasn't until he started talking about ALT tags that my boss got really fed up. He basically told the entire class that the W3 Consortium would come after a business or entity for not using ALT tags in their web sites. At that point she wrote a note that said "This guy is a hack. Let's leave." I stifled a giggle and figured we would leave at the next break. Only she started gathering her stuff together, just as he started talking about the Assets Panel in Dreamweaver, she whispers "gather your assets." And we did. All four of us just walked out. Of course we helped ourselves to the complimentary sodas on the way out. http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/09/more_notes_from_atl_this_guy_i_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/09/more_notes_from_atl_this_guy_i_1.html randomness Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:44:13 -0500 So, you guys know I got a new job right? I am currently writing this post from a hotel room in Atlanta. We are here for 3 days of intense CS3 training. Yesterday's Photoshop class was awesome, although I had forgotten how hard it is to sit still and listen to someone talk for hours at a time. I really feel for those poor elementary school kids. It must be torture to have all that energy and have to sit still and quiet. I am 32 and don't have anywhere near the energy that an 8 year old has and I was sure I wouldn't make it. Anyway, we are on day two and while the InDesign course wasn't as informative as the PhotoShop one, I am really looking forward to Dreamweaver tomorrow. Right now, we are all in our respective suites working so, I thought I would take a little break to post something. I know its been a little while. So, here's a bone. Actually, I do have a post that I have been working on. I haven't posted it yet, because its fairly intensive and I have had to piece out small bits of time to work on it. Its also fairly movie geeky so beware. Hopefully, I will be done with it and have time to proof it in time to post it this weekend. I won't be home until Friday. My two direct supervisors and I are meeting with a company rep here in Atlanta Friday morning. We will be heading back to Athens after the meeting on Friday. I have to say this has been a good time. I am really getting to know the people I will be working with. I have eaten at probably some of the best restaraunts in the world, and I am learning a lot about software that I have always wanted to be an advanced user in. Hopefully, I will get the chance to talk about this week with you guys. Right now, I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath- which I must say is kind of awesome. Its been a long time since I've been this excited about work. Anyway, I'll get back to you guys this weekend. I think you will enjoy the post I plan to make then. And after that, I will post of my adventures in Atlanta. http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/09/quick_update_from_atlanta_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/09/quick_update_from_atlanta_1.html randomness Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:45:06 -0500 Letters from Pemberley the First Year is another of what I like to call Jane Austen fan fiction. This book is a compilation of letters written by new Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy to her sister Jane. The novel is a fast and enjoyable read. Its author Jane Dawkins doesn't set out for historical accuracy as she is no expert in either the period or Jane Austen. She simply wishes to entertain based on her love of Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics), as well as other works of Jane Austen. Dawkins peppers Elizabeth's first year at Pemberly with familiar characters. Many of the characters, though renamed, are easily recognized from other works by Jane Austen. It becomes a fun game identifying them based upon Elizabeth's descriptions. Overall, its an enjoyable novel. There are a few rough spots where the language doesn't come across just right. Some of the phrasing in the letters is awkward. But the basis of the novel is well thought out. While I never really pictured Elizabeth as a character who would be shy or reticent about anything. I did understand the premise that Elizabeth, so recently separated from her family and suddenly mistress of a large household would doubt herself. The idea that many would think Mr. Darcy married beneath him would surely haunt her as she made her mark upon society and her new household. It is in this area that Dawkins really shines. Elizabeth's pride does not allow her to back down from the challenge of proving that she is good enough. Which is what I would expect from the Elizabeth of Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics). However, this Elizabeth shares her fears with her sister and in these letters we see how lonely it must have been for her to leave her family behind and start this new life with the man she loved so dearly. This novel is an introduction to the new Mrs. Darcy, Mistress of Pemberly. While the spirited light hearted Elizabeth Bennet is still there, she is changed as one would expect. I have only one personal gripe about the novel. It is composed of 25 letters from Elizabeth to Jane. I wish that we could have read Jane's replies to her sister. Which left the novel feeling incomplete. However, having just discovered that Dawkins has written a sequel to her sequel entitled More Letters From Pemberley: 1814-1819: A Further Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, it is entirely possible that the novel was left incomplete on purpose.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/08/book_reivew_letters_from_pembe_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/08/book_reivew_letters_from_pembe_1.html book reviews Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:37:20 -0500 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7). I was mentally taking notes on the points I felt most mentioning while reading it. I was working out exactly how to describe how awesome the book is without revealing anything. And then, wouldn't you know it? I found a review that was so much better than any I could have written. I may have mentioned this website before. If not, I have definitely meant to. Its mainly a movie review site. At least that is how it started, but it has branched out. It now provides book reviews. I have to say that if I didn't love this site so much I would hate it. The site is called Pajiba. And you can find one of the best reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) here. A word of warning about the review: If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read the comments. Now, that I no longer have that review to write, I want to point you in the direction of something super cool. The nerd in me absolutely loves the idea of legal scholarship as applied to Harry Potter. Read some of the papers linked in the article. You will be shocked at how much study has gone into the Harry Potter series from a strictly legal standpoint. One last thing. We are in year 2 of the Oasis Youth Shelter Book Drive. We did OK last year. But I am really wanting to go above and beyond. And I need your help with that. I feel that the simple act of giving may be its own reward, but its always cool to get something in return. To that end, I am asking you guys to tell me what my next incentive program should be. I have a few ideas:

• Another matching program


• A prize giveaway to the person who donates the most.


• A hall of fame for our most prolific donors.


• A chance to see me humiliate myself in some way as a thank you to meeting a certain donation goal.

What do you guys think? I am open to all ideas and suggestions- as long as they are legal and don't require me to take my clothes off.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/08/harry_potterkind_of_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/08/harry_potterkind_of_1.html essays Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:38:38 -0500 popculturejunkmail for the link. I think I am going to have to go through my books and take pictures of the inscriptions now. Of course, I've donated so many of my books to the Oasis Youth Shelter that I really need to hit the used book store again. Anyway, check it out: The Book Inscriptions Project.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/book_related_this_is_so_freaki_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/book_related_this_is_so_freaki_1.html reading related Tue, 26 Jun 2007 02:32:09 -0500 Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Having previously read Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, I was already familiar with Lamott and found her writings to be truly inspirational. For a long time my reading Bird by Bird and landing the job I really wanted were intertwined in my mind. A week ago, I was talking to my husband about how difficult it is to get back to writing anything when I had gone so long without doing it. His only suggestion was that I find some inspiration to just dive right in again. It was his use of the word inspiration that reminded me of the book. I checked it out of the library and began to read. And once again, I could see clearly how I had lost my way and my focus. And while I can't say that I have been on a real writing roll, I have been more focused and practicing everyday. Bird by Bird is part writing manual, part inspirational motivator, and part autobiography. Lamott starts with a story of her childhood. Her brother had procrastinated on an assignment about birds. With the report due the next day and her brother sitting frozen at the table with stacks of books and research he was near tears. Their father sat down beside him and said "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird." This is the first real instruction that Anne has for her students and it should stay in the back of their minds as they work toward their writing goal. The book is loaded with helpful advice to help writers get started or move forward. Advice like working with short assignments and banging out that "shitty first draft" are the backgrounds for helping a struggling writer develop their characters and plots. While the advice is very simple, Lamott warns us about the truly difficult and complicated work that awaits an aspiring writer. The beauty of the book is being able to see the craft involved in creating it through the information she has provided. Most important, Lamott is funny. Her humor infuses every aspect of the book even when the subject matter becomes sad and almost painful. She never flinches away from telling us how difficult and sometimes just plain degrading a writer's life can be. All the while, she repeats like a mantra that all you can do is work. All you can do is take it bird by bird. What I love about this book is that its like sitting in a writing class where there is only me and the teacher. Her voice is clear and empathetic. She understand the need to simply write to get it out even if no one ever sees it. She is patient and full of humor. She understands the grand fantasies about what it will be like to be a writer and she wants to make sure that I know that the fantasy never lives up to the reality but I should keep working anyway. Anyone who has ever been interested in writing should read this book. She provides the necessary pieces for crafting a work along with all the practical advice you could ever need to get started and work all the way through. But the truest piece of advice that she could ever give is in the title. Just take it bird by bird.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/reading_to_write_part_1_bird_b_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/reading_to_write_part_1_bird_b_1.html writing related Sat, 16 Jun 2007 02:33:40 -0500 Another part of my childhood got chipped away this week. Mr. Wizard, also known as Don Herbert, passed away on Tuesday. He was 89 years old. I always felt smart after watching Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon. That my parents had grown up watching his show off and on didn't really mean anything to me at that point in my life. I was still selfish enough to think that I had discovered things like this (I was a teenager before I finally acknowledged that the Monkees had been on television before I was even born). Mr. Wizard would take these seemingly complicated experiments and break them down so that anyone could understand the science behind them. I tried many of them myself. My parents liked this show much better than the green slime drenched You Can't do that on Television so they encouraged it. Even when I was in middle school and (in my mind at least) too old to watch Mr. Wizard, I still did. There were so few things to make an adolescent girl feel smart in the late 80's so I clung to what I could find. I don't claim to have any overt love for science. Literature is and always was my thing. But, Mr. Wizard helped me understand the physical world around me and for that I will always be grateful.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/as_my_childhood_continues_to_s_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/06/as_my_childhood_continues_to_s_1.html essays Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:36:32 -0500 The original donation matching program is still in effect until July 13th. So, if you missed out on turning your single donation into 3, don't worry. You can still turn your donation into two. I will match any donation you make from the wish list. All you have to do is forward your shipping confirmation to chasitymoody [AT] ifeelpithy [DOT] com. So, what are you waiting for? You know you want to donate a book to a troubled adolescent.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/it_isnt_over_yet_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/it_isnt_over_yet_1.html Oasis Youth Shelter Wed, 23 May 2007 02:21:08 -0500 Book Drive
Seems only two people have taken me up on the "triple your donation" matching program. If you are still interested, I will be matching your donation by doubling mine in honor of Mother's Day. The program ends Sunday May, 20th. So get to it people. Send one measly book from the wish list and the shelter will get three. You can't beat that. Random Television Stuff
Tuesday night was the final episode of the Gilmore Girls. I loved the show. I mainly loved all of the constant food mentions. Here's how I decided to say goodbye. Book Related
I just finished reading How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed. I devoured it in a day and a half. The writing style was clunky in places, but the book itself was so enjoyable that those parts could be overlooked. Who would have thought that a book that focuses on a chamber pot could be so engaging? I spent the entire read alternating between truly feeling for the main character, Abigail, and wanting to shake her for being so dense. A while back I read Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company: A Novel. I wasn't as impressed with it as I was with Shop Girl. I think it goes back to my impatience with nonsense. The lead character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, lived in a self created world of neurosis. Now, I like neurosis as much as the next person- I adore Silvia Plath's work. But there was something about Daniel's love of these completely fabricated quirks and eccentricities that really began to grate the more I read. The difference really is in the characters. I could relate to Mirabelle. Daniel Pecan Cambridge, not so much. And maybe that's the point. I definitely found myself voicing my frustration with the character of Daniel out loud. I definitely had to put it down because it seemed impossible that any character could be so intelligent and so obtuse at the same time. So, if Martin's goal was to thoroughly frustrate the reader before finally making his character move forward, he accomplished it with this reader. I just started reading The House of Mirth. It seems I've read it before, but I don't remember it. So, I find myself falling in love with Edith Wharton all over again. Its been more than 10 years since I last read anything by her. Her style is even more beautiful than I remember. I am going to try to enjoy every second of it. Self Promotion
My food web site, The Southern Epicure, has been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award - Best Food Blog. Amazing. If you participate in things like this, I would love a vote. But, honestly, there are so many better candidates out there that I am simply surprised I was nominated at all. That's it for now
Seriously. That's all I got right now.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/odds_and_ends_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/odds_and_ends_1.html randomness Sat, 19 May 2007 02:22:37 -0500 update your book mark to wish list. I'll be updating it on past entries and anywhere else I can find it. I'll be back soon with more book drive updates. In the meantime, check out the book drive's website to find out more ways to help.]]> http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/minor_updates_1.html http://www.ifeelpithy.com/archives/2007/05/minor_updates_1.html randomness Sat, 12 May 2007 02:27:15 -0500