it's a blur that moves right into focus

All the Geek idols are men, all the Geek interests are the...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:47:24 -0500

All the Geek idols are men, all the Geek interests are the male-dominated ones (aside from the generally neutral ones). Where’s the representation of female geeks!? (via)

formspring (1.3)

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:40:00 -0500

Why can’t you swallow pills?

That feels like asking me why I can’t fly! I don’t know, I just can’t. For context, I don’t swallow pills, regardless of their size. I get all my prescription meds in liquid form when needed, and for something like aspirin I’ve learned to chew them. I know that sounds gross, but it barely phases me anymore. To that end I only take Excedrin and obviously never take gel caps. For the kinds of pills that come in those little plasticy capsules, I can break them open and just swallow the meds. But back to the why — I suppose because no one made me learn how to do it as a child? I’m pretty stubborn.

How do penguins taste?

Thanks for the question Dad! (He ruined the anonymity by telling me exactly when he’d submitted a question.) Also, Dad, when I say don’t read something on my blog, DON’T READ IT. I only do it for your own good. Anyway, penguins. When I was a small child I was convinced that penguins were for eating. They must have looked like chickens to me? Or maybe they just looked delicious. No matter what my parents told me, I was just convinced that penguins would be tasty. I cannot say I’ve ever gotten to taste them, or that I will ever try to, but I’m willing to be they are, in fact, tasty. I mean, ducks and chickens are tasty? And so are fish. And so, I assume, are penguins.

Should i get one of these?

Yes! I don’t even know who you are, but I say yes. Answering questions is fun.

I made a new fancy formspring.me now, instead of of the old version. But you can ask questions at either.

This makes me excited for Christmas and travel and gayness!...

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:21:24 -0500

This makes me excited for Christmas and travel and gayness! (Okay, I’m always excited for gayness.)

yayponies:

jamief:

gayest tree ever?

yep!

formspring (1.2)

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:48:00 -0500

Give us a brief rundown of an interview or photo shoot you did where everything went wrong, or everything went amazingly right. (i.e. Pick the most entertaining one!)

This is one of those times I wish I were already my future-self, because Shana has way better interview stories than I do. Once at a party I tried to take a picture at the step-repeat of Sandra Lee (of Semi-Home Made fame) and she was not so thrilled that I didn’t give her enough warning. I felt like a jackass being reprimanded by a woman who does a cooking show yet sometimes just ices a store-bought cake and mixes a cocktail and that’s it. Also I know this person was thinking interviews with bands, but in my pre-music days as a linguistic researcher I used to have to interview elderly southern people about their life stories and memories of their community. I learned a lot about casual racism (“I used to love going to the city before the blacks took it over, oh of course I’m not a racist, I’m just saying, before the blacks things used to be so pretty in Atlanta, don’t you think?”), and also had a lot of people talk to me assuming I was both a Christian and straight, and tell me their grandchildren are gay in really roundabout ways (“She lives in Decatur, you know, it’s very alternative.” — That reference will only make sense to Atlanta people.) None of these stories are about bands. Once I had to wait in an awful little room before a Panic interview in 2006 in the arena, and they were soundchecking the equipment and playing the most horrifying music. The actual interview went well, but I was surprised because of the pre-torture that I didn’t snap and punch someone randomly.

What happens to the ducks when the pond freezes over?

Duck ice skating, obvs.

What has been the craziest porn scene you’ve ever watched?

I want to note this came in around 2:30 am and I have two sneaking suspicions as to who it is, and both of those people already have heard this story. WARNING FOR GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS AHEAD. Dustin sent me a video once, in reference to an inside joke that takes too long to explain, and told me I had to watch it right away. It’s a girl, naked, in a tub. And she is making these noises. And I couldn’t figure out why. And then suddenly (NO SERIOUSLY, WARNINGS WARNINGS WARNINGS — MOM AND DAD MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T READ THIS PART?) …. an octopus comes out of her. I am just going to leave it at that, picture it however you please. An octopus. My only regret now is that I never saved that video, because it’s insane and holy shit and all your left thinking is “HOW!?” It’s not even something I think of as porn because it’s more like an amazing sideshow feat. Anyway, nothing is going to top that any time soon.

Now that’s what I call questions! Ask one here.

interweber: urlesque: Total Eclipse of the Heart, duh. THE...

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:11:15 -0500

interweber:

urlesque:

Total Eclipse of the Heart, duh.

THE BEST.

This song cost us $1.49 and then we realized we already had it on SingStar 80s. OOPS. Best karaoke song ever, still. Although I also killed it at some Spice Girls later in the evening.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The Jungle Book predators who...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:42:18 -0500

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The Jungle Book predators who have forged a lifelong friendship

formspring (1.1)

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:11:37 -0500

Why are you so awesome? Isn’t it unfair to your co-workers?

You are somehow assuming that me being awesome excludes others from the chance of also being equally as awesome, if not more so. I feel like my coworkers awesomeness proves this point.

whoa! why is your formspring so crazy and anonymous (on your end)? also, how much do you love me? will there be papaya dog later?

whoops, I changed that so now it says “Ask Rae A Question” at least. I was just being really simplistic when I made it. And I love you a lot, anonymous person! There should always be papaya dog. Or Crif Dogs. Or any kind of unhealthy hot dog product.

How did you land such a great gig?

In the greater scheme of things, I spent a lot of time working both academically and in the music industry to make myself well-versed in fans and music marketing and the Internet. More specific to the job I have right now — I got it through Craigslist. No joke. Usually you get amazing music industry jobs via connections, but I totally broke that rule with a blind resume send and a really good interview. I ended up an an amazing company on amazing teams and doing something I love.

Man you guys are all about the softball questions! :) Ask more HERE.

More Obliterati photobooth action.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:46:01 -0500

More Obliterati photobooth action.

We’re hot. interweber: Aw, look! It’s me & Rae at...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:45:24 -0500

We’re hot.

interweber:

Aw, look! It’s me & Rae at Obliterati!

A sucker for this song, a sucker for George Michael. Everybody...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:17:00 -0500

A sucker for this song, a sucker for George Michael. Everybody wins. (And not to mention Dita Von Tease, jesus.)

lanaloves: kickdrumheart: sweeeeet omgosh yes. I have no...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:35:40 -0500

lanaloves:

kickdrumheart:

sweeeeet

omgosh yes.

I have no idea what is gong on in this picture, but I know I have to reblog it.

Spin swag.

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:02:42 -0500

Spin swag.

haterblockers: She’s amaaaaaaaazing.

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:54:50 -0500

haterblockers:

She’s amaaaaaaaazing.

My parents always tell me that they wanted Let’s Get It On...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:54:04 -0500

My parents always tell me that they wanted Let’s Get It On to be their wedding song. My parents are weird.

(Also sometimes I wish Brendon would just say “this song is about fucking YOURSELF.” Just to change it up.)

Whoa there! yayponies: I WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:38:20 -0500

Whoa there!

yayponies:

I WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR NEWSLETTER.

My flavors.me site, still in progress.

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:48:00 -0500

My flavors.me site, still in progress.

whitneyjane: clandan: Bang - Empires everyone go check their...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:02:53 -0500

whitneyjane:

clandan:

Bang - Empires

everyone go check their website to get the song for FREE!

REBLOG!

This is kind of amazing parody or REALLY SCARY REAL...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:38:38 -0500

This is kind of amazing parody or REALLY SCARY REAL LIFE.

katyisntfunny:

Ohhhhhhhhh my god.

This starts to get really good about a minute in.

THIS SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME.

countmeout:

Wow, I’m not really sure what to say about this video.

"On Nov. 29, 200 people attended [Stephen Davis and Jeffry Busch]’s wedding at Temple Israel in..."

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:40:38 -0500

“

On Nov. 29, 200 people attended [Stephen Davis and Jeffry Busch]’s wedding at Temple Israel in Westport, Conn., where Rabbi Leah Cohen performed the ceremony.

The synagogue was just a few miles from where Mr. Busch spent his childhood. “Growing up, I thought I’d have to move 10,000 miles away,” Mr. Busch said. “That’s what it meant to be gay then.”

Now the couple are not only living in his hometown, but Mr. Busch’s mother, 72, shares the house with them. When they walk in the door, she asks, “Have you eaten?”

”

- Read the whole beautiful courtship of Stephen Davis and Jeffry Busch at the NYTimes, but this part made your little birds choke up. (via begaylittlebird)

"The emoticon evolved out of tech culture. To be fair to the geekier among us (aka My People), folks..."

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:17:00 -0500

“

The emoticon evolved out of tech culture. To be fair to the geekier among us (aka My People), folks who spend a lot of time in front of computer screens aren’t the most socially adept under the best of circumstances. Now take away visual clues — the human smile, the knowing touch, the gentle, jokey jab to the shoulder that would soften a real world “RTFM, NOOB” — and you can understand what a glorious day it must have been when man realized he could, with three simple keystrokes, put a facial expression on an impersonal medium.

That man was Scott Fahlman. On Sept. 19, 1982, the Carnegie Mellon computer scientist sent out a message with the subject head “:-).” It was intended to clarify communication on a message board at the university, and it read, “I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: :-). Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use :-(.” The genie was out of the ASCII bottle.

”

- Things I used to write in every paper I ever did in grad school, including the thesis. Emoticons are such a love/hate thing, there’s barely middle ground.

“Smart people, nay, brilliant ones use emoticons. Articulate, bright, funny people. Yet when I see a smiley, my first thought is, “What are you, 12 years old?”

From: The Great Emoticon Debate, via Jezebel, via Salon.