Aspirations

Ganked from lell

Wizards are scions of arcane magic. Wizards tap the true power that permeates the cosmos, research esoteric rituals that can alter time and space, and hurl balls of fire that incinerate massed foes. Wizards wield spells the way warriors brandish swords.

Magic lured you into its grasp, and now you seek to master it in turn. You could be a bespectacled sage searching for dusty tomes in forgotten sepulchers, a scarred war mage plying foes with fireballs and foul language in equal measure, a disgruntled apprentice who absconded with your master's spellbooks, an eladrin upholding the magical tradition of your race, or even a power-hungry student of magic who might do anything to learn a new spell.

A cloak of spells enfolds you, ancient rituals bolster your senses, and runed implements of your craft hang from your belt. Effervescing arcane lore pulses through your consciousness, a constant pressure craving release. When will you know enough magic to storm the ramparts of reality itself?

D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium

If it's bolded, I've done it. Stolen from mirkwoodelfchic .

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (knitting, crochet)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (two in the same game, in fact)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class. (just one, mind you. One hour of class. Someday I'll know kung fu)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (many many times)
62. Gone Whale Watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (and by quilt I mean afghan I crocheted)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (self-published with my writer's group, but it's a start)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Wallace Shawn, aka the Sicilian from The Princess Bride)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day (at least once a year, a new book comes out that I must finish, usually in less than six hours.)

Wow. Just wow...I'd love to be able to play piano like this. I'm gonna have to dig out my old (very easy, somewhat boring, after this) sheet music for this song...it's my favorite carol.

I know I haven't been on here much, but this deserves a mention. For five years, I've been doing NaNoWriMo, and every year previous I've won. Well stick a fork in me, I'm done, again. And two days early. Thanks, lell, for putting me up to that "oh, finish on the 28th because you're 28" challenge. Huzzah. This is a historic day, my friends. YES WE CAN.

International trailer for HP 6. The last few seconds are quite funny.

Yes, the writing is pretty juvenile. Yes, it's pretty much Mary Sue. Yes, it's vampires and werewolves and teenage angst. But at heart it's a love story, and that makes me smile. So yes, even though I'm way out of the target range for the books, I'll see the movie, and hope it isn't horrible. If nothing else, I can look at Robert Pattinson for a few hours.

  The Past Life Quiz My Result: A Romantic Poet Take This Quiz! Before you were you, who were you? This quiz will help you remember your past life. Â

fun free quizzes meet cool peeps

While I doubt I was actually Shakespeare, at least I know this writing thing isn't a fluke...

more animals

This kitty looks like Mike's cat Sophie. Can't beat the fluffy.

What Your Fridge Says About You

You like to be surrounded by things you love. You aren't exactly greedy, but you can be materialistic at times. You tend to be a fairly thrifty person. You splurge occasionally, but you're mostly a saver. You don't tend to be a very adventurous person, but you do surprise everyone now and then. You have a bit of a wild side. You try to be responsible, but you don't always succeed. Your heart is in the right place though. You are likely single - and a workaholic.

This was too much fun for just one journal. It's a listing of my del.icio.us tags, and you can get one too, if you click on the image :) Click over to aspire to the stars to see another version.

Everyone's favorite monster-maker has died, alas. We'll miss your models!

...there's lots in this post. Why I'd vote Republican:


Obviously there's a tiny bit of exaggeration in this video, but please for the love of cream cheese, get the conservatives out of office!

A meme. From anghara, which I fudged a bit on because the first name I tried just did not make any sense and there was a better picture at the #2 place instead. The quote is good, though.

Album cover meme:

Go to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
You then take the pic and add your band name and the album title to it, then post your pic.

So the name of the band: Honley. (a city in West Yorkshire, England)

The title: Something to be Happy. (Mahatma Gandhi)

and the album cover:
from this very pretty picture. #3 was a dog. Literally. Sorry, more of a cat person, and besides, this one is green.

You might know that the writer's group that I participate in has written an anthology of short stories based on landmarks of St. Louis. I'm in it, with a modern day faerie tale that takes place at the Muny (the Municipal Theater in Forest Park, the oldest and largest outdoor amphitheater in America, with trees growing out of the stage...)

And by golly, the book is out! You can check out the page at www.toastedraviolibook.com (though there's not much there at the moment) which has a link to buying the book online, do a book search on Amazon for Toasted Ravioli, or (the best way) ask me for a book in person. That way you get a discount and a signed copy and I (or the group) gets more money.

Or better yet, come to our first signing this Saturday (tomorrow, eek) the 26th of January at Legacy Books, 5249 Delmar (at Union) from 12 pm to 5 pm. All the authors will be there, so you can get a full complement of signatures on your new book, and the authors will read from their work. There should also be a Q&A session for the curious.

I hope to see you there!

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Artistic Nerd
Drama Nerd
Social Nerd
Musician
Science/Math Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

And I tried so hard to be a science nerd. I just ended up as the math-impaired engineer.

Found this last night during the People's Choice awards. Wow.

moar funny pictures

Because the world is better with lolcatz.

From jennawaterford via lizbee, an "intriguing social status meme".

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please repost this list with your own answers on your own blog
and leave comments for discussion only
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The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

Bold the items that are true.
Father went to college
Father finished college [but he has an unfinished masters degree]
Mother went to college
Mother finished college [but it was an associate degree only; she wants to go back to school badly]
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children's books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels [we didn't go on many vacations, mostly to other family members' homes]
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
There was original art in your house when you were a child [done by my parents, to boot]
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child [only children have some perks]
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

I had a very good childhood, for all that I don't remember most of it. But I always knew that art was not the way to make money, because there were many things we did not have because we couldn't afford them.

Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 65% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 65% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 65% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 60% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 55% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 50% Inara Serra (Companion) 50% Alliance 50% River (Stowaway) 45% A Reaver (Cannibal) 15%

You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character am I?" quiz...

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I hope that I am a published writer. Probably still doing science on the side, because writing does not provide health benefits...

St. Louis is the 6th most literate city in the US, according to this study. Huh. I bet I had something to do with that ;) Not really, of course.

Get ye out to a Borders and find Carol Berg's Lighthouse Duet books, Flesh & Spirit and Breath & Bone. They are wonders. I picked up B&B last night and was up till 5 am this morning finishing it. I want to live in Navronne...

Your Superpower Should Be Super Speed

You're quick witted and fast to act. You're mind works at warp speed. From your perspective, everyone else is living in slow motion. You get so much done, people have accused you of not sleeping. Definitely not a couch potato, you feel a bit crazy if you're not busy doing something. Why you would be a good superhero: You're be the first on the scene... and likely to finish the job before anyone else shows up Your biggest problem as a superhero: Being bored by everyone else. Including other superheroes!

It's the last day of work before the new year. Huzzah! Alex and Leo come by tonight! Double Huzzah! I have a surprise Christmas present from a friend I don't see much! Triple Huzzah!

If I don't catch you, have a very Happy Christmas and a very Merry New Year.

Only a few more hours to wait until I can go home...