Although I no longer work in retail, I do enjoy reading the occasional rant at customerssuck. In the comments of one post, I came across a great story of a cashier standing up to a customer who bullied a bagger with Downs. It was good to read right on the heels of another case of bullying I heard about today. It's always a good day when someone stands up for someone who is being bullied.

Story of the awesome cashier.

Watched Criminal Minds tonight:

JJ was fierce! She kicked butt--literally! Threaten to kill her kid, and she'll tear you apart! And then she got to be a beautiful bride, d'aww.

And Prentiss defused the bomb--using the powers of her mind! No way was she leaving JJ's partner to blow up, not her.

The women of Criminal Minds were on the awesome list tonight! (Garcia is always awesome, goes without saying.)

I just ordered this "I Support Marriage Equality" bumper sticker for my car. (Don't worry, I'll stick it on a car magnet and attach it that way. I'm not going to ruin the car's paint.)

I've wanted something in support of LGBT rights on my car for a while, and I decided to go with this one after reading an article about how reframing the discussion by using the term "Marriage Equality" instead of "Gay Marriage" or "Same-sex Marriage" actually helps influence people to see the issue as one of fairness. Makes sense to me.

brit_columbia requested FAKE fanfic for her birthday. I haven't written any fanfic in ages, but I decided that she deserved a little something. (Brit is currently writing a epic-length FAKE fanfic I've enjoyed very much.) So, I gave her a birthday cake--or at least a ficlet about a birthday cake.

Read Bikky's Birthday Cake at brit_columbia's LJ.

I got this meme from gehayi, and she chose five of my icons.

1. Reply to this post with "UNICORNS," and I will pick five of your icons.

2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.

3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.

4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon glee.

The ones gehayi chose:



1. Satan's Tiny Hellbeast: I created this one when copperbadge was being tormented by wasps infesting his apartment. He refered to them as "Satan's tiny hellbeasts", and I couldn't allow that phrase to go un-iconed. (Bees, I like; wasps, not so much.)

2. Triskele: I'd just read a book entitled Druid, and there was a mention of the title character wearing a triskele. I had to google the word, and became interested in them. And since many of roots in my family tree originate in Celtic countries, I thought a triskele icon might be a useful for a bit of "ethnic pride".

3. Liberty Kisses Justice: I can't remember how I stumbled upon this image by Mirko Ilic, but I knew it had to be an icon. I have a few LGBT-themed icons, but this one is especially useful for legal issues--or for items about lesbians.

4. Find X: gonnajumptoo created this icon, and I usually use it when I'm looking for something on a fic request site, or when I've found a requested item on such a site.

5. Warren Cup: I think I first learned about the Warren Cup when reading an on-line article about Homoeroticism in Art through History. As I was (re)reading Mary Renault at the time, I thought an icon featuring male/male sex in the ancient world would be appropriate. (Yes, I know Renault wrote about Greece, and the Warren Cup is Roman, but close enough.)

Thanks, gehayi! Anyone else want to do this meme? Just say "unicorn".

I came across an AMAZING webcomic yesterday, Artifice. The main character, Deacon, is an "artificial person" (an adroid).

He was designed and programmed to be a super-soldier, but when the story begins, he's failed to carry out his orders and has to convince his superiors that he's salvagable. His orders were to kill all the colonists on a small mining colony, but his falling in love with one of the colonists, Jeff, created a bit of a dilemma.

The story shifts between his debriefing and flashbacks, and there's plenty of dramatic tension in each. The sex scenes are both sweet and hot--without being explicit. And the story raises more questions even as it answers some. And yes, the artwork is amazing. The artist, Winona Nelson, is a master of subtle facial expressions. (The writer is Alex Woolfson.)

The story is complete, so you don't have to fear the numerous cliffhangers.

Read Artifice. You'll be glad you did.

Came across a funny video today, CCOKC- Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron. A group of former child stars, Kirk's peers, slap him down for his homophobic comments. Watch, you won't regret it.

Oh, and CCOKC is pronounced "cock". Now I want an "I Love CCOKC" t-shirt.

When we got our dog last summer, he'd just been neutered earlier that day. Given that Sean was an adult male dog, and awash in testosterone, I fully expected to see him hump something in the house. And I'd be the one who'd have to explain to my kids what the hell he was doing. He didn't, and I thought I'd dodged a bullet.

Tonight, after many months of celibacy, my eunuch dog decides that my daughter's giraffe neck pillow* is irresistable. He goes into a frenzy of manipulating it into just the right position, humping it, snuggling it, and then doing it all over again.

I heard my husband and older daughter laughing hyterically in another room, and then daughter carried the giraffe into me and said, "Watch this." Sean, following at her heels, repeated the performance as soon as she dropped the giraffe onto the floor. (Younger daughter, owner of giraffe pillow, didn't witness this, and we've all sworn not to tell her.)

As my dog enjoyed a post-coital snuggle with the giraffe, I said, "It looks like Sean has a girlfriend."

My daughter than said what I was really thinking--"Actually, it looks like a boy giraffe. Sean has a boyfriend."


* Younger daughter's favorite animal is the giraffe, and as she often steals my neck pillow on long trips, I gave her this last Christmas.

Most of you already know I'm a HUGE fan of copperbadge, AKA Sam Starbuck. Well, Sam's done it once again: written something that everyone should read. By the People: or How Reality Television Did Away with Campaign Ads is for everyone who's ever despaired of politics as usual or been horrified by the latest "reality" show to appear on their TVs.