sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

Hey there DJs! Are you interested in some Stage Time at the Anthrocon 2010 dances? Prepare your audition mixes! Every year, Anthrocon provides many hours of dances, showcasing the talents of some of the best DJs the Furry Fandom has to offer. If you're interested in being a part of this magic, send us your audition mix (details below). All auditions must be received by January 1st! Selection will begin in January.

In order to DJ at Anthrocon, you must submit an audition mix. The best format is MP3, but almost anything will do. If you're not sure if your media is acceptable, e-mail the address below to find out. Most likely we'll be able to work with it.

Please be sure your mix is at least 30 minutes, and at most 90 minutes. When considering DJs, the following items play a part in selection.

- Live mixing skill
- Phrase and beatmatching
- The use of mixing hardware
- Song selection
- Genre (Don't assume we won't play what you mix, take a chance! If it kicks ass I might book you even if we've never had that genre before)
- Attitude
- Experience

Please understand, no single one of these things will determine who gets to DJ and who doesn't. The selection process is a balancing act.

Send all questions and comments to: smblion at anthrocon dot org

A reminder, if you have DJed Anthrocon in recent years an audition mix is not needed, but you MUST e-mail me to notify me of your interest to return in 2010. If you do not e-mail me you will not be booked.

I wonder if this is what Jericho's guards felt :-)

http://www.thebackpew.com/backpew/0_jerichoguards.htm

1. "He knows if you've been bad or good." Liberals don't make such moral judgements.
2. "He doesn't care if you're rich or poor, he loves you just the same." Liberals hate the rich.
3. "A stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth" Liberals hate smokers. Unless it's weed.
4. "He was chubby and plump" And probably spent all summer eating fast food.

Any more?

time for the monthly second saturday bostonfur lunchmeat. This coming saturday, november 14th. noontime in the foodcourt at the Prudential center in Boston. We usually meet in the little alcove by the windows.

Hope to see you all there.

For the last 4 months, I've been slaving away on a 20 track album that was based on cliche places or events you would find in a standard RPG, like your ice country, enchanted forests, haunted graveyards, airship themes, and boss battles! The Mock RPG Soundtrack, "Aurora Divide" has been completed today, and I would love it if you would come listen to it!

I've had a lot of the tracks on my FA page, but all tracks have been remastered, some have been changed a bit. All HQ, ready for your listening pleasure!

For those who have been following along on the Mock RPG soundtrack project for the last few months, THANKS GO OUT TO YOU for keeping me motivated with your comments and criticism!

I'm still working on some graphics for the page (I'm a musician, not a graphic artist, so bear with me) but check out the album here:

http://jackchandler.bandcamp.com/album/aurora-divide
http://jackchandler.bandcamp.com/album/aurora-divide
http://jackchandler.bandcamp.com/album/aurora-divide
http://jackchandler.bandcamp.com/album/aurora-divide
http://jackchandler.bandcamp.com/album/aurora-divide

And of course, C/C is encouraged and appreciated!

On Saturday night, the House voted to pass HR3962 by a vote of 220 to 215 -- a narrow three-vote margin. Two democrats and one turncoat republican. (Rep. Cao of Louisiana, who took over the corrupt William Jefferson's seat... and who is apparently about as cheap a date as they come, seeing as how the price for his sellout support was merely a "commitment" from Obama to "work together to address the health care issues of Louisiana". We all know how much a "commitment from Obama" is worth; that and fifty cents will buy you a gumball.)

Think about that for a moment. Despite a full-court press by the White House and a veritable orgy of arm-twisting and deal-cutting, in the end this thing passed by only three votes.

This is a setback, to be sure... but not a fatal one. There's still a lot of baseball yet to be played in this game, and just because Pelosi was able to jam this thing through doesn't mean it's not still far from a done deal.

First of all, this still has to get through the Senate, and it's nowhere near certain that Harry Reid actually has the votes to pass this thing. In fact, he's already said earlier this week that he didn't think the bill could be voted on before 2010... Keep in mind that Pelosi could afford to lose some votes; Reid can't afford to lose even one Democrat, and the slender margin of the House vote despite the size of the Democrat majority and all the arm-twisting applied to get HR3692 to pass, has to make Senate moderates nervous.

And even if Reid does decide to try to emulate Pelosi and jam this thing through on the fastest track possible, whatever passes the Senate isn't going to be the same as what passed the House, so they'll have to go through all the reconciliation processes and then try to shepherd the combined bill through both houses again -- a process which will have to stretch out until 2010, if only because of the holiday recesses coming up.

And that last bit is key. Pelosi and Reid can't keep their congresscritters in Washington and away from the voters indefinitely -- within the next week or two, they will be going home for the holiday recesses. And when they go home, they'll have to answer questions from constituents, who will be learning more and more of the details about the bill they supported, and demanding answers, and this can only serve to make the congresscritters even more nervous.

If our side keeps the pressure on, the congresscritters will almost certainly be in a very different mood by the time they get back to Washington -- especially since 2010 is an election year and, barring some immediate and miraculous turnaround, the electorate is likely going to be in a foul mood over the still-sluggish economy. The White House may not have learned from Tuesday's election and Thursday's demonstrations, and the Democrat leadership may be pretending that they don't think it meant anything, but those Senators and House members up for reelection in 2010 are going to have the twin specters of New Jersey and Virginia in the back of their minds.

After all, Pelosi and Reid can only make their lives miserable on Capitol Hill. They can't fire them -- but the voters can.

Have you ever wrestled with your faith? I know I have.

By "wrestling with your faith," I'm talking about struggling to continue believing in the Bible and Christianity while being increasingly confronted with arguments and "evidence" to indicate that Christianity (and the Bible) as we know it today isn't true Christianity as Jesus or God intended.

One of my friends is quite adamant that Christianity today is significantly different than what Jesus taught, and that the Holy Bible is the same way; and nothing I present as a counterargument will convince him otherwise. His bottom line is that both Christianity and the Bible need to be taken with a grain of salt, but of course I can apply the exact same reasoning to his argument.

So as far as I can tell, that argument is inconclusive. In the meantime, I'm gonna stick to the Bible and Christianity. Even if both of them have changed since Jesus' time, I still believe God can, will and DOES use them to further His kingdom. And to be honest, I have nothing to lose and eternal life to gain.

But I will admit, it hasn't been easy.

Hi everyone!

I made the second round of tryouts for the Jeopardy! College Championship. I'm in LA right now, and all the stuff going on is tomorrow. I simply ask for prayers for a good night's sleep so I can have a clear head and a sound memory for the test.

Thanks,
Ian

This made me giggle:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/07/health.care/index.html
Well, it's now the House of Representatives' position that it has "essentially unlimited" authority to interfere in my life. And yours, fellow Americans. It's up to the Senate now to decide whether the government abides by the Constitution at all.

Sometimes I feel like taking a vacation from my religion. I'd stop believing in God, or at least act like it, until I was ready to come back. The idea is that I would have my faith and love strengthened by the contrast -- absence makes the heart grow fonder, y'know?

Then a rational part of me notes the problem with this. Imagine you're on a cruise ship and getting bored with it. You could jump overboard to liven things up, with the anticipation of being grateful once the crew hauls you up. But at best, this is inconsiderate to everyone aboard who cares about you at all. Plus, if the ship's moving at a good clip when you jump, they'll take a while to turn and reach you; you'd better have good endurance for treading water. You'd also better hope that none of the more inhospitable inhabitants of the water get to you first.

Don't know if you guys have noticed, but Pre-Registration is open! Go!

I already have.

I am cancelling the movie meet today.

My definites all had to bow out (ones meeting me early in the day). I am not feeling well and I have another matter to tend to this afternoon and timing may be tight for me to make the movies on time.

I don't think I will be rescheduling but,I may have something else going on next month.

Sorry for the short notice. I am tired and I don't want to head out to the theater if no one else is there.

I am cancelling the movie meet today.

My definites all had to bow out (ones meeting me early in the day). I am not feeling well and I have another matter to tend to this afternoon and timing may be tight for me to make the movies on time.

I don't think I will be rescheduling but,I may have something else going on next month.

Sorry for the short notice. I am tired and I don't want to head out to the theater if no one else is there.

As we all know, Congress is voting on the health care bill today. A bill that will include mandating that everyone has to buy health insurance with costly fines and even jail time for those who refuse.

I do not have nor do I want health insurance.

I've only needed to see a doctor once in the last 20 years and that was for a short lived bout with clinical depression that I'm now cured of.

Having to buy health insurance would be a waste for me.

A time may come when I'll need it, but I'm a grown adult, not a child, I'm perfectly capable of deciding when I need health insurance.

Some would say things along the lines of "what if you suddenly get hurt or sick?" Yeah, there is that possibility, but I'd rather take my chances, however foolish that may seem.

My point is that I DON'T WANT IT FORCED ON ME!

Even if it wouldn't ruin my credit rating because then I wouldn't be able to pay some of my other bills.

Why can't the creators of the bill leave people alone and let people decide for themselves when to get health insurance? Why do they insist on treating us like children who can't make out own decisions?

It's no wonder that people are saying things like "Attention congress. Ram health care down our throats and we'll ram it up your ass in 2010!"

http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/Clown-Manatee-142688483

Also:
http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/Vivid-Manatee-142321628