lace_agate

I seem to be turning into more and more of a lurker, but I thought I should post something to justify my continued use of this site. So here are some cool things I found around the internet recently.
How to Rebuild the Wizarding World, according to Foreign Policy magazine. This is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in politics, Harry Potter, or both.
A Complete History of the Soviet Union, Arranged to the Melody of Tetris (scroll down for the video). Be warned, this will get stuck in your head for some time.
Calm Blue Oceans, a fun webcomic.
Knite, an absolutely beautiful flash comic that I can't recommend enough. Go and read it.
Some of those Viking warriors were actually women.
Rainbow cupcakes!
And a non-internet-related rec: the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'm about halfway through this series now after shadowsinfire persuaded me to read it and it's lots of fun. It's military sci-fi with a disabled hero who survives on his wits, a left-leaning, progressive political viewpoint, a good sense of humour, and some really interesting ideas. It also crosses into other genres: whodunnit, political intrigue, and, I kid you not, Regency romance. Highly recommended.

I had two essays due this week and I've got another one due next week.  I have been busy, but I'm taking a break at the moment.  The weather here is foul - cold and windy, mainly, which normally I wouldn't mind except it's really cold and really really windy.  It's been like this for a few days and is expected to stay like this until sometime next week.
I've also got a cold.  It was worst on Thursday, which was also when I had to write the bulk of my Earth Science essay.  I did manage to get it finished and I handed it in yesterday morning.  I'm feeling better today.
I also have a new fandom. shadowsinfire finally convinced me to read Katekyo Hitman Reborn!  And, well once I got past the first 50 chapters or so (which are basically filler), I started to really enjoy it.

( Possibly spoilery for Reborn!; discussion of shipping and what people read for )
Also, I got a book in the university bookshop sale about urban legends, UFO sightings and the (allegedly) paranormal in New Zealand.  Written by the head of the NZ Skeptics' Society.  I haven't read much of it yet, bud did you know that meteorites and shooting stars were considered myths by the scientific establishment until the beginning of the nineteenth century? 
Also: obligatory aliens in Palmerston North tag.

I guess sometimes I feel I'm posting into a void.

I'm back from America and I can tell you it was a shock to come from summer there to winter here.

I'm doing a theme study for English on utopia and dystopia; I've just read Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed.  I found it fascinating albeit quite slow-moving.  But the sheer number of ideas... wow.
I did find it interesting that a lot of the questions that the hero gets asked about living in his anarchic society are very similar to questions I often get asked about attending a Montessori high school.

Yes.  I'm posting a list of things I recommend to everyone.