Yes, if you see a car with California license plates that say SCOTICA, that’s me.

But no, I did not take the name from my LiveJournal — it’s actually the other way around.

I had been planning for ages to get personalized license plates as soon as I was financially solvent. Some years ago I settled on SCOTICA (Latin feminine nominative singular adjective meaning “Scottish”) because SCOTIA was already taken. I wanted something referring to Scotland and to use Latin rather than Gaelic or Scots because I didn’t want it tied to just one Scottish culture. (The SCOTICA on the plates refers to my interests, btw; it is not the name of my car.) A few months ago I paid off my credit card in full with money I had earned myself (what a thrill!!!), so I declared it time to get said plates, ordered them, and then picked them up just a little over a week ago.

Anyway, when I got a LiveJournal account a few years ago, I had to come up with something to call it. “SLK” was already taken, and I couldn’t think of anything appropriate, so I borrowed my future personalized license plate for the name. I think it’s worked out rather well.

Now all I need to do is get a custom license plate frame that says MedievalScotland.org...

Being the skeptical person I am, I decided to try to find the alleged BBC list, and immediately found Kristjan Wager’s blog post with the results of his own search for the original BBC list. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t find a BBC list of 100 books of which most people will only have read six, but there is a (rather different) BBC list of the 100 most popular books.

So, following Kristjan’s lead, below you will find both the current LJ meme’s list and the BBC 100 most popular books list (but not in that order).( Cut because I care )

My friend Rob, from London, is visiting and I'm dragging him along to West Kingdom 12th Night, so I need to find him some garb. Does anyone have something I could borrow for him? He's about 5'8", neck size 18, chest 45, waist 40, inseam about 28. Not particular about period or culture (although something that would fit with the name "Robert of London" would be a bonus for me, but he doesn't care!)

Any help greatly appreciated!

I just discovered that I can add I Can Has Cheezburger to my friends page -- that's so much nicer than getting it in email!

(Hmm, guess my secret addiction isn't so secret now...)

This made me literally laugh out loud:

 

 

I especially like the last five lines!

As many of you know, I have a web site, MedievalScotland.org, that has various articles and links concerning medieval Scottish topics, including names, history, clothing, etc. It also hosts Mari’s articles, including the Index of Names in Irish Annals, and will soon be hosting some of the J half of sue_n_julia’s articles, too.

If you’ll be shopping Amazon this holiday season --or any time during the year-- and would like to help support the MedievalScotland.org web site, just use this link (or any of the Amazon links at MedievalScotland.org) to get to Amazon each time you shop. Then I’ll earn 4%+ commission on your purchases, which I will use for web site expenses. (I will be able to see what items are purchased using my links, but I do not have any access to any information about who is purchasing items, or even if it is the same person purchasing different items.)

• Shop Amazon & Support MedievalScotland.org

If you shop Amazon UK, use this link (or any of the Amazon UK links at MedievalScotland.org) to get to Amazon each time you shop:

• Shop Amazon UK & Support MedievalScotland.org

(I’m not allowed to earn commissions on my own purchases, so when I shop Amazon, I always go first to one of the web sites I want to support that have Amazon associate links and use it to get to Amazon before making my purchases -- why should Amazon get all the profit when there are useful web sites to support?)

My Dragon Cave eggs hatched!

Dub Ban
Ech Uisge
Uaine Beg
Ruadnat

I also have learned more about how things work. The site monitors three statistics: "Views", "Unique Views", and "Clicks".

Views and Unique Views are both based on how often the image of the egg/hatchling/dragon is loaded/viewed, with Views incrementing every time it is loaded and Unique views incrementing only the first time it is loaded by a unique IP. This means that there is no need for people to actually click on the egg/hatchling/dragon image to increase the Views/Unique Views -- just loading, say, your LJ friends page when it lists an entry by me with the egg/hatchling image is sufficient to increment Views and/or Unique Views.

Clicks is based on how many times the egg/hatchling/dragon is actually clicked, but it only counts one click per unique IP. (I'm not sure if that is one click for a whole lifetime, or one click per life stage, but I'm guessing the former.) This means that if you have already clicked on a particular egg/hatchling/dragon, there is no need to click it again -- only the first click will count. (Well, unless you click from a different IP.)

Finally, I have discovered there are Dragon Cave fan sites where you can register or post your eggs/hatchlings/dragons and fellow Dragon Cave fans will view and click them (and you are expected to do the same in return) to help them hatch/grow. There is even one with a special "Emergency Room" area for eggs/hatchlings that are getting close to their deadlines. A very long and seemingly comprehensive list of such fan sites can be found in the Dragon Cave Forum. The two fan sites I used are The Dragon Cave Fansite and Daily Dragon Fix. This means --to everyone's delight, I'm sure-- that you aren't endangering my eggs/hatchlings by ignoring them! Ignore away, with my blessings! :-)

Loosely following a recipe that came in one of my CSA's newletters, I baked a little pumpkin (acquired from the CSA, of course) the other night (and another one tonight), and discovered that little pumpkins are easy and delicious, and a better for me than pumpkin pie. Basically, I took the little pumpkin (about the size of my fist), scooped it out like one does for a jack-o-latern, threw a bit of pumpkin pie spices inside, a tiny bit of salt, chopped up apple (idea for the recipe addition courtesy of hrj, if I recall correctly), some brown sugar and a slice of butter, popped the lid back on, wrapped it in tinfoil (because there was also a hole in the side, due to strategic removal of icky bits), and baked it for about an hour at 375.

Yum! And I'm sure it counts for at least two servings of fruits/vegetables, probably more... (and I still have four left -- next year I won't give away any of my pumpkins!)

[Scotica's dragon eggs: ]

I just have to share this :-)

I'm a member of an online consumer survey site (My Survey) -- it's one of those where you earn points for taking surveys and then can redeem them for cash. Anyway, today I was vastly amused because the survey they had me do was entirely about tomato based products, and how likely I would be to buy them, like them, etc. I can't eat tomatoes. I don't think my answers will be of much help to them...

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[Scotica's dragon eggs -- click to help them hatch! (I'm running an experiment and y'all are my test subjects ;-)]

I have been seeing expressed, in commentary in the main stream media, letters to the editor, blogs, online comments, and the like, the idea that drawing parallels between the struggle for Gay civil rights, especially same-sex marriage, and the Civil Rights Movement is somehow "insulting" to African-Americans. I can think of no better rebuttal to this misguided notion than to quote Coretta Scott King, widow of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' ... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, March 31, 1998]

"I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, quoted in the Chicago Sun Times, April 1, 1998]

"Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, quoted in the Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1998]

"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." [Coretta Scott King, a speech at the Palmer Hilton Hotel, quoted in the Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998]

"I say 'common struggle,' because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry & discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination." [Coretta Scott King, Opening Plenary Session, 13th annual Creating Change conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9, 2000]

"A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages." [Coretta Scott King, speech at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, USA Today, March 24, 2004]

[Source of quotes and citations: http://www.soulforce.org/article/766 ]

Please note especially where Mrs. King said "I've always felt...", and that she explicitly, in so many words, opposed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. There is no doubt that she --and her husband-- would have opposed California's Prop. 8 (and the other anti-Gay marriage laws) if they were still alive today.

We shouldn't be afraid to link the struggle for Gay civil rights to the struggle for Black civil rights -- Mrs. King wasn't. Civil rights are civil rights.


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[Scotica's dragon eggs -- click to help them hatch! (Yes, I'm running an experiment and y'all are my test subjects ;-)]

Blame duchessletitia. I have a dragon egg:

If people visit it, it will hatch. (We may be about to see what happens when not enough people click on the egg :-)

Anyone in the South Bay or South Peninsula going to one of the Prop. 8 protests today? I'm going, but it would be more fun to go with friends. If I end up going alone I think I'll go to the one in San Jose, but I'm up for going to any of the ones I could get to in time.

If you saw me in a police car, what would you think I got arrested for? Answer, then post this question to your own journal (if you want) and see how many crimes you get accused of.

I've made some more "No on 8" signs. In addition to the plain version, add your own text version, and "Another Catholic Urging" version, there are versions with "Straight Married Couple", "Christian", "Muslim", "Jew", "Buddhist", "Hindu", and "Mormon". I may add more as the whim strikes me (or I get requests).

For text links to the images, go to Printable 8.5 x 11 Inch "Vote No On Prop 8" Signs (Links to Images)

To see all the images on the same page, go to Printable 8.5 x 11 Inch "Vote No On Prop 8" Signs (Images) (Warning -- this is an image heavy page and may take a while to load!)

Please share these links with others!

Wednesday I voted no on Proposition 8, and this evening I made my own "No on 8" sign to put in my window (and tomorrow on my mail box), after searching fruitlessly online for a decent self-printable sign (finding a proper official yard sign is difficult). So, for the benefit of others who want a sign but can't find one, here is a copy of the 8.5 x 11 inch sign I made, as well as one ready to have a different line of text added along the top, and a third that just has the official No on 8 logo centered (without the added text above). [These are PNG files. I did them in Photoshop, so if needed I could save and upload them in other formats, too.] If anyone wants to improve on the graphic quality, please feel free --I've no doubt my graphics artist friends are shuddering in horror at these-- and I'll happily replace the files with better ones!

( Images behind a cut, because I care )

Please also donate to the No on 8 campaign -- the Yes on 8 campaign is flooding the airwaves with their dishonest ads and the No campaign needs help in order to combat them.

I got this from duchessletitia.

Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST

If I count headwords as sentences (because they are followed by a period/full stop):

"Robert of Bernis was a goldsmith in 1465 (Laing, 154), John Barnis witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1496 (Bamff, p. 37), and Alexander Barnis was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1524 (NSCM., I, p. 48)."

Otherwise:

"Alexander Bairins was admitted burgess of Aberdeen, 1575 (RSCA., I, p. 220), Gilbert Bairnis was 'sacristar' there, 1595 (CRA., p. 117), and Matthew Bairnis was admitted burgess of the burgh, 1616 (NSCM., I, p. 117)."

I'm going to let y'all guess what book that was!

[I've now fixed the typos in my original post]

Apparently, I'm not. (But then, they didn't ask about staying up too late baking three batches of zucchini bread...)

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

Oops.

When re-doing the filters on my email accounts yesterday, I managed to set them to filter out essentially all my email (except my email at the young, upstart university), so if you emailed me between the evening of Sunday, 20 July and this afternoon (3 pm, Monday, 21 July), I didn't get your email. So please send it again!

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done.
Indulge in remorse if someone calls you out on a listed item.

1. Double majored in Physics and Medieval Studies.
2. Called my parents from the police station in the Gare du Nord, Paris, France, to tell them I had shattered a glass door in the train station and that they might be getting a bill.
3. Cited in my dissertation an article that cited my dissertation.