Sunday Linkfest!

Hello, peoples! I need to finish patching the heels of my socks and then I'm shutting down the computer to do some actual work, because I have two books and two articles to read for the coming week which I would like to do before the classes are here!

Alongside the Queensland floods, which I'm sure we're all aware of, there're also floods in Brazil, which aren't getting quite as much recognition in the blogosphere. Check out the LA Times, Business Week, CBC, Reuters, BBC, Al-Jazeera, MSNBC, and CBS for more details from the other day. If you like, ask your local embassy how you can help. BBC has a picture gallery here too.

'Tis the season for Feministe's Next Top Troll!! HUGE TRIGGER WARNING if you're interested in clicking through to vote for this year's Top Troll! Here are the first rounds:
Are We Text Messaging Now?
If At First You Don't Succeed...
Back To School
Jesus is Coming; Look Busy
How Many Different Ways Can I Call You A Bitch?
I'm Actually Just Worried About Your Health
The Post-Racial
Aww, You Made a Get Back In The Kitchen Joke

While still at Feministe, Chally is now no longer a teenage writer!

Found this on Tumblr: What's a Meantime Girl? Our equivalent to the Nice Guy™.

ithiliana posted this a gazillion years ago and I keep forgetting to post it: Tell Us About Your Dissertation: And Other Commonly Fumbled Interview Questions. Great tips for those of us planning on entering academia.

RH Reality Check: Dear Sarah Palin: A Cousin of Congresswoman Gifford Speaks Out

LiveScience.com: Loughner Family Grieves Alongside Giffords'. I think this article highlights another important aspect of the shooting that gets dismissed a lot.

More on the Tucson shooting at Tiger Beatdown: Today in Assholes: Dear Andrew Breitbart, thank you for making false equivalencies.

Sady has a thing on Obama's speech on Tumblr, too.

Shakesville: And Never the Twain Shall Meet, and Part Two, on the US abortion debate. Melissa's take on the rhetoric surrounding the Gifford shooting. Also, RIP Chrissie Bates.

Why Tami Ditched the Lady Mags

Islam Scifi interviews Amal El-Mohtar.

Karen Healey points out some stuff you probably would not want to do as a buyer of books. But hey, if you really want to complain en masse about how publishers make getting books hard in your region, here's a great site!

A nerdy game proposal. I mean, a nerdy proposal done in-game.

The Harpies have some awesome articles this week: Won't Google Books Make Libraries Irrelevant and other FAQs (answer: no), The Pressure of Being Expected to Know: Reflections on Sexual Fluidity, When Fat Acceptance Isn't Enough.

Disgrasian intern named Kenneth Tong, a douchecanoe, Disgrasian of the Weak, for his Twitter campaign to market a size-zero pill and make women feel like shit for being anything above size-zero, all in a bid to be famous. Jen had a very nuanced take on Amy Chua's book.

From Muslimah Media Watch: Gender Bender: Abdulaziz’s Al Qahtani’s Lahd Exhibition, Afghanistan's Niqab Program.

Mother Jones explains what's happening in Tunisia, aside from claims that it's all happening because of Assange's Good Work.

Ouyang Dan: Tearing Ourselves Apart and Erasing People Outside the Narrative

Figleaf's Real Adult Sex: Kink.com Sacrificing Whatever Integrity It Thought It Had by "Sacrificing" Nicky Blue's "Innocence" and Grace Chang on the Consequences of Studiously Ignoring Non-Sex Trafficking Trafficking.

Madame Thursday rants about pharmacists who refuse to warn customers about their bigotry.

Dallas Voice: Another Bridesmaid Moment for the Transgender Community.

Leslie Feinberg speaks out against her sister co-opting her experiences as a trans person in writing a YA novel. Said sister responded, if you're interested.

s.e.smith: What Does Middle Class Even Mean?

There is a Sulu cologne.

From the Slushpile: Good vs. Great

Library emptied by users in bid to save it.

Hope you have a happy week ahead!

Ah, fuck.

So, in the summer of '08 I was working on a costume of Agatha's Signal dress and it went swimmingly. Kinda. As in, I got together the major pieces. I used pieces of spandex and chiffon, and bought chain with Tristan helping.

UNFORTUNATELY, over the last two years since I started on the costume, I put on weight. As in, substantial amounts of weight. This was noticeable when I went with Tristan to the Bead Pod and he had to help me into the costume, where it was demonstrated just how much weight I had put on. He said I definitely looked more boobtastic than ever before.

If it had just been the boobtasticness, that would have been FINE, except I've also added waist size.

I don't have enough material to let out the dress, because it wasn't material folded in so much as it is carefully measure straps.

And since I'm also getting tight in my everyday clothes, I guess it's time to hit the gym. And by gum I will lose inches off me even if I have to cut down on eating (well, I should anyway... it's literally comfort food at this point).

I'm having trouble concentrating on ANYTHING, hence the crafting. I've patched the heels of two pairs of socks, and converted a pair of gloves into fingerless gloves. I've ALSO sewn back on some buttons and sealed some holes on my sweaters. I took pictures of my socks! I shall post them in a bit. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I couldn't darn them because they're synthetic and I didn't have the appropriate thread, so instead I gave up some of the more damaged socks.

So. I'm just pissed in general at my size.

Also, I'm pissed at my futon too. I need a new bed. I'm tired of waking up with shoulder aches.

And I'm just generally been in a bad mood.