I'll never be able to do the butterfly -- I can't clear my sinuses fast enough to not choke on water as I'm trying to breathe (even with opening my mouth at the above water moments). It's only strokes that keep your head above water for me, alas.

Same here - I'm good at backstroke and sidestroke, but as soon as I have to put my face in the water? Fuhgeddaboutit.

I was up until 2am writing chapter three. Which is done! I am done. I am TIRED, but I am done.

Yay, Allyson! Buzz me if you need Spanish translation help.

Now that skating proposal is off to Agent Kate, I have to get my head back into 1964/65 New York and Los Angeles. I believe some period music and skimming through some magazines is in order.

I have to get my head back into 1964/65 New York and Los Angeles.

YAY!!!!

Balloon Jesus. Actually, a number of Balloon Jesuses.

I like this comment:

For the first time ever I think I kinda understand the Muslim prohibition on "artistic" depictions of the Prophet.

eta: from Bitch Ph.D., which looks to be an awesome blog....

YAY!!!!

Heh, Tep-- I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm really finally ready to dive back into it, full speed ahead. (And am I bad for getting a little chuckle out of the fact that this is the MS that scared away one agent for being too "brutal"?)

eta: from Bitch Ph.D., which looks to be an awesome blog....

It *really* is. I've been reading it for a while now.

And am I bad for getting a little chuckle out of the fact that this is the MS that scared away one agent for being too "brutal"?

Hell, no.

Man, I'm tired. Allergies kept me stuffy and awake all night. I think it was a Buffista theme. Well, the not sleeping.

Rhythmic gymnastics? I didn't even know that they were having that this time around.

Is it true that the Olympics are replacing baseball/softball with Ballroom Dancing?

And I can't help but think that there should be some short form of cricket that they can play at the London Olympics.. .

Nice look at the Olympic Cross Country course and what the fences were about

I love that picture of Kat and Noah sliding too - despite the blurry. Also the one where he's reaching for that steering wheel. He's so adorable in his plaid shorts.

The Flat Earth Society discussion board: [link]

Here's a very cool game, where you have to guess people's accents (as the read Kipling!). I did terribly. [link]

From my above link (originally it was posted here: THE MOON: A Propaganda Hoax)

The Moon does not exist!

This is no lie. Until recently, I, too, believed in the traditional, establishment view of the moon. But any thinking person, untainted by the biases imposed on us by the controlled media, will have no choice but to reach the conclusion I did once faced with the facts described in this account.

You can see it. But think about it – without the help of so-called "experts", how do you really know what you’re looking at? It could be a hologram, projected from various government installations throughout the world. It could be a large, crudely painted balloon, held in place by helium and propelled by tiny sails and rudders (which is why it moves across the sky so slowly). Or, most likely, it could have been different things at different times and different places, depending on the technology available to the conspirators and the culture and beliefs of the population being deceived.

The hoax could easily have been imposed on a gullible world at many points in human history. Perhaps it began as a collective hallucination or a religious myth, or perhaps an especially bright star that came to be exaggerated over time. However the moon story started, early proponents of the hoax were swift to recognize how it could be exploited for their benefit, and shrewdly devised a scheme to use it to their advantage.

They began to spread rumors, falsify scientific observations, and invent new gods to represent this fictional celestial body. They ingeniously concocted the idea of "cycles of the moon", and as their resources increased, were able to create the illusion that this object in the sky actually went through such changes. To make their hoax more plausible to early, superstitious societies, they arranged for these cycles to coincide with the months of the year.

Awesome!