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writer, singer, webwrangler, blogger, comedy tragic | about.me/vivsmythe

• Lesson learnt this weekend

  By tigtog on 2008-08-04

  “Big Swinging Dick” is much more obscure slang than I thought it was.

  Luckily the new acquaintances who thought I was just being whimsically rude about their friend also thought it was hilarious

• “There’s nothing so sad and ridiculous as a shiny-nosed girl trying to be a charmer”

  By tigtog on 2008-08-03 • ( 5 )

  So says the advertisement below for skin creams. While the cosmetics industry is still full of nasty beauty myth tropes, at least it’s no longer quite as condescending as this.

  
  Image Credit: Ponds-HowToBecomeSomeMansDreamGirl originally uploaded by Wishbook

  This phrase just makes me want to hurl: “wistful dreams of being some big strong man’s little dream girl”. Infantilising much?

• SF Sunday: intricately detailed worlds etc

  By tigtog on 2008-08-03 • ( 4 )

  I was having a grand old discussion about space-elevators (originally called sky-hooks) with my DBH last night, in particular how Arthur C. Clarke managed to flub some of the construction-tech in Fountains of Paradise, and how Charles Sheffield’s more accurate construction-tech in his almost simultaneously published space-elevator novel was mocked for not being the same as Clarke’s even after Clarke said “hey, actually he got it right”.

  

• Thread of the week: playful pedants alert

  By tigtog on 2008-08-02

  From John Scalzi: Another Entry in the Annals of “People Who Haven’t the Slightest Idea What They’re Saying” Awww, look. Someone’s trying to lecture me on speech and the Internet! A fabulous exploration into what does and what does not… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden (now with added Saturday*): funny fridge magnets etc

  By tigtog on 2008-08-02 • ( 14 )

  What other feminist funnies do you see around the place that make you smile? Add a link to an image in comments and I’ll use my Super-Duper Admin Powers to reveal it to other readers. For those who wish to… Read More ›

• They lied about the air too

  By tigtog on 2008-08-01 • ( 8 )

  Like Andrew Bartlett, I agree entirely with Andrew Bolt regarding the shameful weaseling by the International Olympic Committee regarding the whole idea of granting the 2008 Olympic games to the authoritarian dictatorship of China in the first place. Addit: just… Read More ›

• Sometimes, you see all you need to know within 5 seconds of flipping channels

  By tigtog on 2008-07-31 • ( 6 )

  Movie: ice and snow everywhere. Two men in front of bookshelves, one throwing all the books out. Second man objects – “these aren’t just books, they’re art!” First man (striking stoic squarejawed three-quarter turned pose) – “no they’re not, they’re… Read More ›

• No surprises: internet filtering test results show products block legitimate content

  By tigtog on 2008-07-31 • ( 12 )

  We said it would. Despite a cheery press release from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy that all is going well, an analysis of the actual test results shows that the tested filters slow connection speeds significantly (which means ISPs would have… Read More ›

• I see a great need

  By tigtog on 2008-07-30 • ( 2 )

  What the Foxtrot do others do to cope with the horrendous discombobulation of having a bingo word in Scrabulous but nowhere to put it down?

• Cognitive dissonance in the Seduction Community

  By tigtog on 2008-07-30 • ( 32 )

  This (long) post is inspired by the tapes of self-styled seduction guru Dimitri The Lover (AKA James Sears) that are being discussed on blogs all over at the moment (or at least linked to with a LOLOLOL!!1!), and the arguments… Read More ›