I probably wouldn't consider, ordinarily, entering a creative writing contest sponsored Slate, but I read today that they're asking people to compose a sentence in the style of Sarah Palin. So I don't why I wouldn't enter. I've got an ace in the hole.
- What gravitates to me a band like the Kennedys is their endless, satirical outlook on society.
- I'm convinced Bon Scott is alive and his soul inhabits the body of that certain co-worker. Every time I see him in the corridor, he acknowledges our connection with a simple "Oui, Oui, Oui!"
- For the longest time, I abstained from this morning delicacy until my junior year of college.
The only real problem I see is determining exactly which incoherent phrase to submit. I may have to start thinking up some pseudonyms.
Given the fact I need to work extra time tomorrow evening, added on to a previous engagement, tonight will be a 2-for-1 special. These days, I only have enough dedication to blog for a consecutive week when it concerns a matter of utmost importance. I think it's safe to say we're all thankful for a 3-day work/school week. Strike that. Who in their right mind will be working their fingers to the bone past 3pm on Wednesday? Non-Americans not included.
Before I drone on any further, I have to correct myself and mention this list isn't necessarily just made up of depravities. For instance, the first component on tonight's menu is coffee. Plain and simple. For the longest time, I abstained from this morning delicacy until my junior year of college. Now I'm pretty much an addict, save for the IV needle. It would behoove my employers to write an annual check to Juan Valdez.
Second on tonight's list is simply: pie. I hope this doesn't come as a surprise. I've always been a proponent of pie. Warm and soft with a slightly creamy taste. Well, all pies don't require a cream additive. But at the same time, it doesn't hinder the taste, either. You can safely assume I'll be face deep in pie later on this week. A decadent dessert men and women all over the world can agree on.
I'm sure this isn't an original idea by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, I'm sure throughout grade school around this time of year, teacher would always ask us to write down 5 things we're thankful for during Thanksgiving week. Now I'm not gonna bore you with the predictable answers like "family" and "good health." Boring. We know we're all thankful for the vices in our society. Remember when Donald Sutherland ("Professor Jennings") posed the question in National Lampoon's Animal House?
- "Was [John] Milton trying to tell us that being bad was more fun than being good?"
Naturally. Because vices keep us from killing ourselves once we discover we're not going to change the world. Don't misinterpret that last sentence as "Kill thy neighbor." After all, we do live in a society of "laws." No, this is, more or less, a list of vices that won't necessarily send me to jail or the gas chamber. Only Saint Peter may raise both eyebrows when he's scrolling through my book of (mis)-deeds when the time arrives.
The first on the list is alcohol, the cause and solution to all of life's problems.
Well I could have stood for that to be a lot longer. If it weren't for a certain deranged pug waiting for us at home, I think Carrienation and I might have extended our stay until our bank account ran dry. I realize I'm not going to find a lot of sympathy for this sentiment, but I'm not sure nine days in paradise was quite enough.
Our destination was a beach resort in Tulum, Mexico, a resort area about two hours drive away from Cancun that caters to smug bohemian types. Most of the resorts along the beach make their own electricity with wind turbines and encourage conservation in various ways. The result is a beautifully preserved, thinly populated stretch of beach with no jet skis, no jorts and very few drunken college students.
Our main activities consisted of:
1) Sitting on said beach, and
2) Bailing on the many sight-seeing opportunities people warmly suggested for us.
We really meant to get to Chichen Itza -- the most famous Mayan ruin -- and to the Sia Kian Biosphere just down the road, and to the cenotes (fresh water underground caves) that the area is famous for. But we kept waiting for a bad weather day to do those things, and it just never came. Sad, really. We did get to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (because we could get there by bicycle and they had iguanas) so that's something.
Man, I’ve been swamped lately. I never thought the 104 Posts in 52 Weeks (104P52W) Challenge would be, well, a challenge. Hell, I hit 104 posts back in May. Yet, here we are. I considered composing a lazy list covering the past two weeks. I was even going to bullet-point it to make it easy for Jodi to understand. But that seems like cheating. It also seems like more work than I’m willing to put into a post. Again. So instead I’m going to ramble on until this one reaches the requisite hundred word minimum. This should about do it.
As strange as it may seem, if we don't post today we will default in the 104 Posts in 52 Weeks (104P52W) Challenge. (Not that Jodi or Dabysan would ever notice, but that's beside the point. Pride is on the line, and we've come too far to lose now.) Fortunately for us, the bylaws are quite clear: this bullshit self-referential post counts. We'll have more to say tomorrow.
I have to say, I can't recommend this whole honeymoon thing highly enough. I don't know if its the tropical air, or the warm, blue sea, or the not having looked at work e-mail in more than a week or (most likely) the fact that I've have so much unhurried, uninterrupted time with the lovely CarrieNation, but I feel like a million dollars. That said, I really can't see spending any more time talking about it while I'm here, so I'll tell you all about it when I get back to the blustery Eastern Seaboard.
First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!
The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.
A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.
Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.
On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.
And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!
~ daisy
As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.
The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.
When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.
It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.
Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.
As always, thanks for your patience.
I had been kicking myself for not trying to extend my stay in the Emerald City through the weekend, but I guess things have a way of working out for the best whether we realize it or not. M-----l headed west the day after I came home, and he and Homebody spent the morning watching my team play his team. I could have been there watching with them. It's best that I wasn't. There are worse fan bases in sports, but no fans are worse than Bengal fans when it comes to keeping a little bit of success in proper perspective. I still remember vividly the bitching and moaning on the part of Bengal fans when the Steelers shredded them (and Carson Palmer's knee) on the way to Super Bowl XL. You'd have thought the league promised them a championship or something, the way they cried about "being robbed." And I have no doubt that everyone in southwest Ohio believes after today that they are owed a Super Bowl victory. After two flukey losses, I kind of hope we face the Bungles a third time in the playoffs. I look forward to seeing them (and, hopefully, Carson Palmer's knee) shredded by the Steelers once again on their - the Steelers' - way to a seventh Lombardi Trophy.
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