Who could resist that smile?

Remember when we were car shopping and I nearly had us buy a Scion xB?

I still think they're adorably ugly and I still think I'd like to have one someday... unless I buy this:

That's the Scion iQ as seen at the New York Auto Show. It's been marketed for awhile in Japan as a Toyota, though the company thinks maybe it would do better in the States branded as a Scion. (Ya think? Maybe?) Isn't it cute? Look at that happy expression. It would rub off for sure. Think how happy I would be driving a happy little car.

Anyway...

Photo source:  The New York Times

More:  Watch these!

Tracing old patterns, and migraines

This is one of those posts that give Shallow Thoughts from Iowa its name! Shallow. Anyway, here are two little random tips:

One is, if you're going to trace off an old pattern (and never use the old patterns as is, they are too fragile), use bleached  muslin instead of tracing paper. Much sturdier and it still folds up nice and small for storage. Doesn't slip around on the fabric as you are cutting out the pieces, either.

The other is, I may have found a migraine cocktail that works for me:  One Imitrex, 800 mg ibuprofen and 3 cups of very strong coffee. Rest in a dark room 1 hour. Can I get a hallelujah?

He's catching up, slowly but surely

Email this morning:


Brother: good morning.  now you're three years older than me, so I guess that makes you boss, at least for almost two months ... when you go back to only being two years older than me ... and still big sister ... but slightly less so.  one of these days I'm going to catch up, though, and when that happens you'd better watch out.


Me:  Yes, well, you ARE catching up. Right this moment you are 93.75% as old as I am, whereas one year ago you were only 93.61% as old as I. It's only a matter of time.

The Hugos

The Hugo finalists have been announced, and you can find the full list here.

Up for the full-length movie award are five films, each of which I love but for completely different reasons, and I'm glad I'm not going to be one of the ones to pick a winner, because I'd be completely at a loss. They are (in alphabetical order):

    

See what I mean? Argh!

And Kij Johnson's "Spar" is a nominee for the Hugo. She's already won the Nebula with this story. I have read it twice and while I find it amazing, I cannot honestly recommend it; I feel like I need to go through an autoclave a couple of times each time I read it myself, as the ick factor is extremely high. It's a story that I can admire as a piece of writing without saying I actually like it, if that makes any sense. As Kij herself describes it on her website, "This is a very disturbing and sexually explicit story - not for kids!"

Why Zombies Don't Run, by Simon Pegg

(Yes, we did celebrate the Resurrection this morning, but still this is a post about zombies, not faith.)

Simon Pegg wrote this piece for The Guardian back in 2008.

You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can't fly; zombies do not run. It's a misconception, a bastardisation that diminishes a classic movie monster. The best phantasmagoria uses reality to render the inconceivable conceivable. The speedy zombie seems implausible to me, even within the fantastic realm it inhabits. A biological agent, I'll buy. Some sort of super-virus? Sure, why not. But death? Death is a disability, not a superpower. It's hard to run with a cold, let alone the most debilitating malady of them all.

Birthday present from Britta

Britta gave me my birthday present a little early. It's this great government-issued official Zombie Survival poster, which I can put where I can easily see it from my desk for quick reference. Just in case. Because you just never know.

Judy Laquidara's recipe for Kahlua Heath Bar Dessert

Saving this here so I don't lose it.

April Foolishness 2010

A roundup of springtime trickery from around the Interweb.

First, my email this morning contained this amazing offer from TFAW.com:



Failbooking got me with this moderately funny one.

And finally,

Oooooh! I missed one! What if they finally made that Halo movie everybody has been waiting for... in Bollywood?

April Fool's Day tricks seemed a bit scarce on the Web today, which means either people are too busy to be coming up with good ones or (more likely) I was completely duped by them and didn't notice.

Update: As an example of the latter, I was horrified at Lil Guildies and very thankful to find out that it's not real.