Just made a batch of homemade kimchi and now it's sitting on my counter marinating. Here's hoping that fermenting cabbage in my house isn't as stinky as it sounds. >_>

I've been having so much fun lately, I've gotta share my new hobby. At the recommendation of a couple friends on my flist, I checked out PaperbackSwap.com, where you basically trade in books you don't want for 1 credit each, then use those credits to get free books that you do want. Basically, the way it works is that you post up all the books you're willing to part with and when someone requests a book of yours, you mail it to them. When you find a book on the website that you like, just request it and the owner will mail it to you. In the end, you only have to pay for shipping for the books you send; the books incoming to you are free.

My main reluctance was the shipping part. I hate waiting forever at the post office, so the thing that won me over was the fact that you can print mailing labels from home to send out the books. (You pay for the postage online, print out the mailing label on a normal sheet of paper with the postage already on it, and drop the book in the mail box.)

If you're thinking to yourself, "Eh. I'm not really the book-crazy reader type," don't let that stop you. PaperbackSwap has a ton of manga (including yaoi), comic TPBs, cookbooks, books on CD, you name it. I know most of my friends who are manga collectors have at least 50% of their titles on their shelves just for collection's sake and they don't think they'll really read them again. If you've got some dusty treasures that you're not getting enjoyment out of any more, trade them in! You could find some new series you never would have heard of otherwise, and at least you'll be reading something new.

At least for me, half the fun is just from sending out books as much as receiving them. I'm one of those crazy people who enjoys wrapping presents, so it's been fun wrapping up books, slapping on labels with packing tape, and sending them all over the world like some book-strewing Johnny Appleseed. Within the first two days of joining, I'd already sent out 20 books. By now I've sent 37 books and I just joined last Wednesday. >_> And it's not just the Christmas-in-July feeling of sending out packages, but knowing the books will have a good home that's satisfying. I put up a lot of my old gaming books and they got snapped up right away. It makes me happy to know some gamers might be having grand adventures now, when those books would have just collected dust otherwise.

Anyway, give it a look. If you're anything like me, I think you'd have a blast with it. Also, I posted up some Fake and Gravitation manga, a One Piece art book, the original Weiß Kreuz art books/manga and other fun stuff, and I wanted to let my friends get first crack at them. Someone snapped up my copy of The Covering this morning, and I suddenly wished my friends had had first shot at it.

If you're into reuse/recycle/DIY/green-friendliness, this site fits the bill. Plus it's a great way to find out of print books or stumble across new titles you might never find at a bookstore or library. Anyway, check it out. You get 2 free credits just for listing 10 books. And I'm raving about the site because I genuinely think it's cool, not to get referrals, but if you decide to sign up, my account name is 'kokelly' if you'd use me as a reference or if you just want to browse my shelf: http://www.kokelly.paperbackswap.com If you sign up, let me know so I can check out your books, too! =D

I'm on the hunt for some fresh reading material and I was hoping for some recommendations. I'm a sucker for science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but the thing that really rocks my socks is a non-human protagonist. A story told from the perspective of an android, alien, a goblin, a telepath--anything or anyone who has a perspective that's distinctly "Other" and different from our own. (I especially like books with the "Other" character surrounded by humans, rather than a human surrounded by the Other)

There are plenty of books that have a non-human character somewhere in the cast, but they're usually relegated to some second-banana supporting role--cool if they "get a lot of play," but less interesting if they're just jammed in there for cheap exotic flavor. There are also plenty of books that have non-human characters like elves and dwarves, but these characters are often different in name only. The elves and dwarves may be different in subtle aesthetic or cultural ways, but never in a way that would smack you as, "Whoah! Not human. Definitely a unique POV here." I love a book that takes me to another world, but that 'world' is in the character, not just a strange world setting.

Can anyone recommend a good book that fits this xenophilic preference of mine? =)

Other strong likes: Books that break standard gender roles, or preferably reverse them (tough, butch women or meek, sensitive men), flawed but sympathetic characters, positive portrayal of people of faith
Strong dislikes: Misogyny, racism, books that bash on deities/people of faith, stupid or unlikable characters, 'dick flick' machismo characters

Thanks for all comments, discussion, and recommendations! ^_^

Meme time!
You gotta love when someone brightens your day by posting an amazing or cute animal video in their blog. Now pay it forward! Post a cool/cute/amazing video (preferably about animals, but anything uplifting will do) in your journal, then ask your friends to post their own faves.



Well, my soul sister, crystal_lilly is bored at work and I've been meaning to share this for a while, so here's an adorable animal video--sleeping piglets flapping their ears in reaction to human voices. I can't stop watching it (partly because of the videographer's cute dialect and the spontaneous singing.) Cool!

( Video below )

Hope some of you will post videos, too!

In a breaking story still emerging, President Barack Obama has announced the nomination of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court to replace the retiring justice David Souter.

Republicans hastily called a press conference to announce outrage at the selection, and an immediate filibuster.

Here was the initial story from the A.P.

Obama to nominate Jesus Christ to Replace Souter
Friday, May 1st, 1:22pm Ass-ociated Press

WASHINGTON -- In a hastily called West Wing press conference, President Barack Obama announced that he would be nominating Jesus Christ of Nazareth to replace the retiring David Souter on the Supreme Court. "I'm confident that I'd found a candidate known for wisdom, humility, affinity for all human beings, and a solid sense of justice," Obama said, with Jesus standing quietly next to him in meditative repose. "I'm also confident that I've found a candidate all congressmen, republicans and democrats, can agree would make a valuable addition to the court" Obama continued, as Jesus blessed the wine. Picking such a globally revered figure, and the founder of Christianity, was a bold move by Obama that some experts said would force republicans to offer their support. But by early afternoon, the republican response had yet to take shape.

You'd think nominating the globally respected philosopher, religious icon and founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, would go over well with republicans. You'd be wrong.

"This is yet another example of a liberal president nominating a liberal, without any consultation with the republican party on his selection." Newt Gingrich responded at a hastily called press conference from the bedside of his cancer ridden dying wife, whom he's divorcing. Convicted Felon Tom Delay agreed, continuing Gingrich's line of attack in a solo appearance on Meet The Press. "The President assumes that just because we invoke Jesus's name while justifying violent torture, starting horrible wars and letting millions of children go without health insurance, that we're an automatic vote for Jesus. Not this time, Mr. President!" Delay snapped. David Gregory followed up with questions about how his hair looked, then booked Delay for the next seven consecutive Meet the Presses

(( The rest of the article here... ))

I've heard several friends now say, "I support civil unions, but not gay marriage. Marriage is a religious institution and the state should have no say." Huh. That can't possibly be true because atheists and agnostics have been getting married (yes, the "M" word, not "civil unions") for decades now. If marriage were an institution only for the faith community, then no secular couple should be allowed to marry--they should have civil unions.

It bothers me because it seems like a rather cowardly and untrue excuse. Even a black friend who had just finished talking about the unfair concept of "separate but equal" went on to say he supports gay civil unions but not marriage because marriage is a religious institution. If this is a religious issue, then people in the faith community should be equally opposed to non-religious people marrying. Heterosexual or homosexual becomes irrelevant at that point.

Look. Marriage is either for people of faith only (in which case agnostics and atheists should be filed under "civil union") or it's a completely non-religious state-appointed status, in which case gays and straights should both be allowed to marry.

If you oppose gay marriage, that's your right and your voice, and this post has probably done nothing to change your view point. But please, stop hiding behind the excuse that it's a faith issue. Unless you push for heterosexual atheists to be filed under "civil union", it's hypocritical to put only gays there. If your problem is with gays specifically, at least have the guts to come out and say so.

Finally, why should the faith community be so worried about this? If gay marriage isn't "real marriage" in the eyes of God, human laws aren't going to change that. It's not like laws passed on earth are somehow pulling the wool over God's eyes. Either He acknowledges these marriages as legitimate or not. That's up to Him, and our secular political legislation will have no affect on His judgment. ( Read more... )

I'm a Christian and I support gay marriage.

Not saying that these extinctions are necessarily good or bad (with a few obvious exceptions), but it's interesting to see how our culture is changing. Here's ( 24 things going extinct in America--VCRs to honeybees )

Okay. I've got an etiquette question and I'm curious to get others' opinions. Alan and I sometimes volunteer our house as a place to host church meetings and small groups. The folks who attend these are friends and acquaintances, but most of them aren't so close that we'd get together one-on-one. Think of it on the same intimacy level as some friendly coworkers whose company you enjoy, but you probably wouldn't hang out just the two of you outside of work.

So twice now we've hosted a meeting at our house at 6:30 (totally different group each time) and both times a person showed up a quarter hour early at 6:15. Okay, yes. I'm a slacker. I'm still frantically hiding dirty dishes or wolfing down dinner at that time before an event. To me, it seems rude to impose on your host by coming a quarter hour early in case they're doing just that sort of last-minute preparation.

So here's the rub: Both times it's happened (a different person each time), they apologize for being early and then give the excuse "I got off work." As in, they got off work at 6:00, it only took them 15 minutes to get to my house, so now they're early.

Wait, what? What kind of excuse is that? If you're "Sorry for being early", then why don't you come later instead of ringing my doorbell? I don't care when you get off work, the event starts at 6:30. >=/ Maybe I sound like a crazy antisocial hermit, but if I arrived at a person's house that early, I would park down the street and read a book, then arrive at the expected time. (I wouldn't park in the host's driveway because they'd probably feel pressured to invite me inside if they heard me drive up.) Better yet, I'd run an errand on the way to the person's house to soak up that extra 15 minutes with something productive. But either way, I'm not arriving early and imposing on a host I don't know that well. (Obviously the situation might be different if I was going to a party or a close friend's house for a visit)

Is this rude, or am I the crazy one for opting to read in my car for 15 minutes rather than arrive early? Yes/No answer below and comment if you've got supporting details to share.

Poll #1400584
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Is it rude to show up 15 minutes early to a meeting at someone's house if you just got off work?

Important advice!



Ahhh, Onion News, where would we be without your diligence?

( Kitty fans--Check out this video! )

The first 1:15 are a little weird, but then it really gets rolling with cat yodeling. Good stuff.

On Sunday, my church canceled its regular worship services for an event called Faith in Action. The theme is "Don't go to church; BE the church." Normal church services were canceled and the entire congregation split up through the community to do service work. People painted over graffiti along a huge stretch of fence along the highway, made bandages out of bedsheets to be sent overseas to hospitals in Africa, helped a low-income family move to a new apartment, cleaned the apartments of disabled seniors, assembled a greenhouse for the local middle school, etc. Even the kids got involved--older kids tagged along to help their parents and the little ones helped make pet toys for the local animal shelter. The church facility itself was used to host a big pancake breakfast for the secular mentoring group, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Our pastor is extremely cool. Just in the 3 years since he started leading the church, he's really got the congregation fired up about service (something I was already passionate about, but I didn't expect my church to be equally excited.) He's doing a great job combating the "social club" element I've seen so many churches fall into where people go to potlucks and complain about the situation of the world, but don't actually do anything of value. As soon as Pastor Brian came to our church, immediately he rallied the congregation around a book called "The Externally-Focused Church," which basically puts the church's emphasis away from from serving itself and back to serving others. It raises the harsh question: "If your church disappeared today, would anyone [outside of it] care?" (Oops; And I realize I'm putting too much focus on Fearless Leader because, really, it takes a whole congregation of willing hands and bodies to keep this sort of service work up year 'round. Yay for everyday people!)

Ahhhh, finally a message I can really put my strength into. Jesus spent his entire life coming alongside the outcast and downtrodden, teaching people to serve, care for the poor, and love one another. It's a shame how much of this important message gets overlooked compared to that single act of the cross. I know the cross is important, but what about all those things Jesus SAID in those 30-something years of his life before his death? I'm proud to be part of a church that doesn't just talk about it, but lives it. (And Faith in Action isn't just a one-time thing.)

Alan and I signed up for a project that came alongside an environmental protection group, yanking up these nasty bush-like weeds called scotch broom. It's an invasive species that was brought in from Europe and it's messed up the balance of the Pacific Northwest ecosystem. So we were out there for hours on Sunday yanking weeds with these tools called "weed wrenches" (the roots go way too deep to pull 'em by hand.) All this to help protect an endangered native butterfly that lives in a rare ecosystem called "wet prarie" near here. How cool. I always thought it's a shame there aren't more tree-hugging Christians. I love the bumper sticker of an ecologist who goes to our church: "If you love the Creator, protect Creation."

My back is just now recovered from its stiffness, but it felt great to be out there working. =) Makes me realize the weather's warming up and it's time to start working out my arms again. (Much to Alan's delight)

I'm also about 3/5 done editing my second novel. =D

Native English speakers, are you familiar with the idiom 'woolgathering'?

Sample sentence: I tried to look busy so my parents wouldn't accuse me of woolgathering.

Poll #1390781
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Did you already know what 'woolgathering' means?

I thought this was a common expression, but Alan didn't know it, and I'm not sure whether I should use it in my book. Thanks for voting! (Please comment if you have something further to add)

Whew. I'm still alive. Just busier than a cat in a new litter box. ^^;

Had my brother over for a week (we had a blast! ♥ ♥ ♥), then I was swamped with service projects for a week, and now my parents are over for a week. I'm hovering dangerously close to the brink of burn-out, but I AM saying "no" to all new incoming projects that people at church are asking me for. But, hey. That's March and April every year for me. For some reason, those two months get loaded up LIKE CRAZY with volunteer stuff every year. Maybe because the weather is finally nice.

Actually, it's pretty funny to see how shocked people look when I tell them I'm too busy and can't take something on. They're so used to me and Alan saying "yes" to everything, they do a double-take like they didn't hear me right when I finally lay down the "no." Haha. But really, I'm not complaining. Alan and I are staying kid-free for life, but I want to use this privilege not just for my own selfish gain of extra video game hours, but so I can make a difference in other people's lives instead of the lives of my would-be children. I love mentoring teens and donating my time to volunteer efforts. It's good for the community and it's good for my own peace of mind. I know my life isn't wasted; I'm making a difference. (Plus, jeez. I work at home. I need to get out of the house once in a while or I start to become self-obsessed, withdrawn, and lose perspective on the needs of others)

Miss you all, though. And after Saturday, I should be... (dare I say it?) free again? >_> I'm sure I just jynxed myself.

( Gratuitous meme )

Man. I'm really sorry for being late with replies to e-mails and such, but it's been a crazy two weeks. (What is it about March and April every year? Seems like all my community service stuff gets piled onto those two months and I can barely come up for air!)

This afternoon, I'm leaving to pick up my brother from the airport. He's spending his entire spring break with us (♥!!) so he'll be with us from today through next Sunday. If you didn't know, I have a brother who's two years older than me (but people tell me I never seem like a younger sibling. True/Untrue?) My bro and I love each other like crazy. We've got a relationship unlike any other siblings I've ever known. Despite being close in age, we never stepped on each other's toes or fit into the squabbling siblings category. I think because our parents were both so strict we ended up being really close and he always felt more like a close friend who lives in the same house rather than a brother.

Aaanyway, since he's taking so much precious time off from work and school to be with me, I'm gonna make sure he gets my full attention, so I probably won't be around online much until after the 5th. See you all!

I knew I didn't fit the usual mold of femininity or masculinity, straightness or gayness. I didn't have the vocabulary to apply terms to myself for what this sexuality might be. For that I'm very grateful. I think trying to come up with a label for myself would have made me change who I was to better fit that label. Instead, I let myself just be. I am what I am, and I would be judged by my character and ideas rather than what I'm sporting between my legs.

In freshman year of college, I tried posting on a forum using a gender-neutral screenname, never defining whether I was male or female. It freaked people right out. Or rather, I couldn't say much before I was interrupted with people who wanted to know whether I was male or female. Had to know. And all I could think was, "Why does it matter?" Whether discussing social justice or frivolous fandom things, people couldn't cope with an unknown gender. They required me to define myself or we couldn't continue the conversation. I think they wanted to know which category to put me in because that would change their response to my views. This sadly turned out to be true.

( I began gender-bending and posting as a male. Suddenly I was respected and looked up to. The same opinions I expressed as a male were applauded and taken seriously. )

( But I started to feel like a traitor to my own cause. )

( I'm not going to downplay my femininity to prove myself as acceptably male. I'm not going to downplay my maleness to be acceptably female. I'm going to be me. )

( Gender inequality? Not on my watch. )

Some deep thoughts on transgender and gender identity issues, specifically in my history. If you don't care about that sort of thing, please give this post a pass.



The Disney movie "Aladdin" was in theaters when I was a kid and I loved that movie. I would put myself in the place of Aladdin--the adventuresome hero who loves the princess and, if he rescued her, would get to touch her soft breasts. I accepted this as a matter of course. Of course viewers were supposed to relate to Aladdin--he's the protagonist, the leading man. With my blinkered child's perspective, it literally took me years to realize that many (most?) girl viewers put themselves in the role of the Disney princess instead of the prince. Not everyone wanted to win the princess so they could touch her soft breasts(!) Some people wanted to be the princess(!!) This blew my mind with thoughts of, "Why would anyone want to do that...?"

( I was Westley, not Buttercup. I related to Beast or (heaven help me) even Gaston before Belle. )



( In middle school, I started to more consciously realize how I felt about girls. I wanted to protect them, to woo them, to make them feel beautiful... )

( I wanted to sweep my lover off her feet, not be the one pursued. ...If one can strip the gender from these words, I wanted to be the 'husband' and not the 'wife.' )

This cat is freaking cool. Click the link to see a short news story on a REALLY ugly cat. But the neat thing is that despite this cat's, ahhh, unorthodox appearance, he's got a chill personality. He seems like the feline version of untouchable cool. No matter how he looks and no matter what sort of repulsed looks he gets from others, he still seems mellow, open, and friendly. I want to be more like this guy in the face of rude treatment. You've inspired me, ugly!cat!
~~~

In my first novel (currently being considered by a hotshot young agent), horses are extinct and the only mode of transportation are camels, steam-powered cars, and ox-drawn carriage. Since camel-riding is the main mode for my protagonists, my interest in camels has increased 1,000 fold lately. Like my favorite animal, the hippo, they're so ugly they're cute. ^__^ Here's a [low-quality] video of two camels in a car bawling their little dromedary heads off. Neat!

~~~
Finally, shamelessly stolen from gaminette:
If you cannot enjoy a mug, what business have you owning one?

( Lucky muuuug! )

Man, I love Washington state. I've only lived here a couple of years, but I'm completely smitten! The evergreens, the cloudy skies and rain, the liberal and eco-friendly political climate... ♥ I know circumstances may call me to leave one day, but I hope to live here as long as possible.

When Alan and I bought our house, we chose it entirely because we love the layout--high ceilings, sky lights, lots of open space--but as an added bonus, we later found that we live right next to a gorgeous walking/biking/hiking trail.


Professional pretty boy Alan struts his stuff.

( The beauty of my backyard. Let me show it to you. (Image heavy) )

"Was it always this way?" One thing that sucks about being young is that I have no perspective on the big picture when it comes to politics and American culture. From age 1-18, I had my head in the clouds. I was writing stories in my head since before I could physically write, dreaming up characters and new fantasy species. It was great to have 18 years of creative daydreaming under my belt to help me boost my novel-writing as an adult, but damn it left me out of touch with reality.

Or maybe it's just from being a kid. Kids by nature (I believe) are selfish beings. Life's a struggle, there's a lot to learn, and kids are very inward focused on meeting their needs during this time. So of course kids are a little blindered to what's going on in politics.

Born in '81, Regan and Bush passed me by without me really knowing a thing besides what they looked like. By the Clinton administration, I still wasn't really out of my larval phase yet and I didn't know much about him besides the overblown (haha get it? blown?) sex scandal. Dumb teen that I was, I had a nice knee-jerk reaction to that whole scenario: He's a bad man to cheat on his wife. How dumb can this guy be to philander around while under the moral scrutiny of the entire American people? Okay, maybe I was onto something with that last part, but I wasn't asking the more important question: Despite his moral failings, is this guy good for the job of Running the Country?

The Jell-O of my developing brain didn't really start to 'set' until I started going to college. Year 2000. Here's comes G.W. I'm not going to go on a long depressing, "I hate Bush" rant. The real point being, that for the last 8 years, the only years I've been developed and self-aware enough to have an educated opinion on culture and politics, has been the GW years.

So damn. The plethora of sassy kicky Dommes from the '80s are a distant childhood memory. Simply the words "the '90s" instantly jerks me back to painful memories of surviving middle school and high school. Then I emerged from my chrysalis into a world of hypersecular modernism, blatant misogyny, and ramped-up sex and violence in the media to make my guts churn. 20-somethings: Remember being a kid and "Gremlins" was freaking terrifying? Now my little sis-in-law has seen the "Saw" movies and barely flinches. There's something very sick about that.

And now I don't know what to do. I feel crushed by a tide of things that need changing. I feel like I'm running in circles going, "Holy crap! This culture is terrible! Something's gotta change!" I'm ready to put my shoulder in the yoke and start working for that change. Social activism on the individual level.

But something inside me also says, "Just wait, kiddo." Not that I shouldn't be an activist. I am and always will be. But I think if I was only older... If I was 50 instead of 27, I'd have that larger picture that I'm missing. I'd be old enough to remember how the culture has changed wildly in the last 30 years and will do so yet again. That maybe it's not all a downhill slide and a government that pisses on its people. Maybe instead of grinding my teeth into sand with frustration over social injustice, I need to be patient, to get older and wiser. So I can still do the right thing but I can chill the f--- out in the meantime. I'm not afraid of getting old. I welcome it.

Forgive me, but I've got to get this off my chest. Twitter posts on LiveJournal annoy the crap out of me. Allow the fellows at Penny Arcade to help me explain through the medium of an amusing comic strip:



"The last "tweet" I ever did really explains it all, for me. I was up in Vancouver, and I put up a message saying so, and what kinds of activities I was engaged in. After I did it, I heard a voice - my own voice - saying, "Who the fuck do you think you are? Who are you that you can force your Goddamned minutia on other people, your stupid bullshit, your stone-ground artisanal condiments? How dare you. You should be ashamed." And I was.

~Penny Arcade's "Tycho" from the blog article accompanying the strip

I mean, doesn't it seem a bit arrogant to think the mundane details of one's life are noteworthy enough to broadcast to the world? Twitter might be a fun way to kill time, maybe jot down a note to oneself, but it really doesn't need to be blasted across the entire flist as read-worthy material. Especially not on a daily basis. Anything worth saying and of interest to others is probably going to take a little more thought than 140 characters would allow. (The same goes for most one-liner posts)

I'm not trying to be mean. I guess I just had to say it for the same reason I'd let someone know if their zipper was down. Maybe I'm alone in this opinion, but Twitters stand out jarringly like spam letters in the midst of well-worded letters from friends.

I am not the content police. Journals are for the journalers and I can't stop you from Twittering if your heart is set on it. But please at least consider keeping Twitters to yourself or locking them under "Just Me" under the "Show this entry to:" heading.

I love my Twitter friends dearly and I won't tell you what to do with your own journal, but please be understanding if I remove you from the flist to keep my friend's page a little more spam-free. ;)