Marry, Date or Dump: Hamlet, Meme
Since I found this “Tumblr-ish” meme on WordPress, I decided to do it here. Who would you marry, dump or date in Hamlet – Horatio, Laertes or Hamlet?
Hamlet, John Barrymore
I’d marry Horatio, date Laertes and dump Hamlet.
WordPress again
In my last post, I mentioned my two new wordpress blogs. I might as well describe them in a bit more detail, since I intend to keep them closely connected to this blog.
One of them is mainly about veganism and animal rights but also animals, plants, gardening, nature human rights and more. I call that VeganLynx. The other contains quotes, images and links to articles about writing, books, fandom, history, languages and more. It’s called Crimson Corundum.
The difference between those two and this one (and my other homepages/blogs) is that on this one, I write original blog posts. On the two new ones I share things I find on the internet.
Update about my Cybook Odyssey
I knew there was something seriously wrong with the Letto! I’ve just had to charge my new Cybook Odyssey for the first time. The manual says the Cybook lasts for about a month on a single charge (actually slightly less). I expected something like three or three and a half weeks at best. Guess what? Mine has gone seven weeks on a single charge. As you must have guessed by now, I’m really pleased with my new ereader. As far as battery time is concerned it’s the same as the Kindle Touch (or Kindle Keyboard). It’s official: I can definitely recommend this device to anyone looking for an ereader that handles epub books. The only thing I’m not that happy with is that it takes ages to fully charge. It says 3-5 hours on the site and it took 5 hours for mine.
New photo on my photo blog
I’d just like to mention that I have moved my photo blog from Tumblr to WordPress (wordpress.com) and I have just posted a new photo after more than a year.
The Fairy tale meme
Taken from katemacetak’s Livejournal.
Snow White: Do you consider yourself pretty? Name the part of your body you think is the most beautiful!
No. Not ugly either. Just plain. My hair is probably quite nice, and maybe my eyes.
Cinderella: What is your shoe size?
Big. 40 (7)
Sleeping Beauty: How many hours do you sleep each night?
Not sure. Not enough. I’m always tired. But then I probably need more than most people.
Little Red Riding Hood: What is your favorite food?
Vegetables, especially avocados and kale.
The Frog Prince: What do you find disgusting?
Body fluids and tissues. Dead bodies. Certain people’s mentalities. But not frogs and toads…
Jack and the Beanstalk: What plants are in your room?
None, but in the house, several, including Hoyas, Monsteras and Geraniums.
Puss in Boots: Do you have a pet? Do you want one?
My family and I have dogs and cats and will probably always have them. I used to have rabbits, guinea pigs and cockatiels and I’d like to have some of those again some day, but it’s difficult, so I’m not sure if/when that will be.
Rumpelstiltskin: What is the meaning of your url?
Ruby is my birthstone, and Crimson Corundum is another word for ruby.
The Little Mermaid: Can you sing?
No.
Pinocchio: What is your greatest wish?
To have children.
Peter Pan: What is your (mental) age?
On a good day, somewhere between 12 and 24. LOL. On a bad day: about 900 years of misery, sorrow and disillusionment.
The Star Money: What is your most prized possession?
I love my books, but I think I’ll mention my very cool Vegetarian Leather (Dr Martens) boots. 🙂
Beauty/Belle: What is your favorite book?
What a difficult question. I have to pick just one? I suppose I’ll choose either Gregory Frost’s Shadowbridge or Garth Nix’s Sabriel (and the rest of that series). But I have so many favorites.
Classics: Jane Austen’s Persuasian, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
Fantasy: One of the ones I mentioned above or Frances Hardinge’s YA book The Lost Conspiracy. But really, it’s impossible to pick just one or even few.
Mysteries: Either Eliot Pattison’s excellent mysteries set in Tibet (especially the later books) or Barbara Nadel’s equally excellent mysteries set in Turkey. Or Jean-François Parot’s also excellent historic mysteries about Nicolas LeFloch, set in pre-revolution France.
Non-fiction: too many to mention, but definitely something about history and/or languages. Or… (LOL – I just can’t stop) Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.
Book quote
A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.
E.B. White
My new e-reader
Earlier this spring I bought a Letto aka Bookeen Cybook Odyssey. Because of issues with the battery I had to return it to the seller. When I contacted support someone there was very polite and suggested I return the Letto, so I did. After quite a long wait (because of Easter holiday) I received the Letto back, without any changes. There was just a condescending message about watching a video to learn how to use the device. Furious, I emailed them back and asked for my money back, then returned the Letto once again. In a curious twist that I still can’t explain, the Letto ended up with a different company than the one I’d bought it from. They, very decently, returned it to me with a friendly note and finally I sent it back to the seller. I think they must have received it, because I haven’t heard from them.
To cut to the chase, I have now bought a new ereader, the Cybook Odyssey HD Frontlight. Short and sweet. Not! LOL.
Anyway, the only thing I miss from the Letto is the brushed aluminium back. That was really pretty and pleasant to the touch. Not that the polished plastic back is any less pretty, not just quite as pleasant to the touch. There’s still a rubber frame that is nice to the touch and in most other ways this new Odyssey is identical to the Letto.
Just a little gripe about the name HD: I wouldn’t call this device HD. It’s alright, but there’s no real difference between this display and the other, except for the Frontlight. Despite a slightly higher price, I bought this one instead of the Cybook Odyssey 2013 (without a frontlight) because I tend to read at night. Bad habit, I know. So far I’ve only tried to use the light twice. I’m trying to cut back on these all night sessions. The light works great though.
So far the battery seems fine. I have only had this new Odyssey for just over a week, but already I’m loving it. *Keeping my fingers crossed* that the battery will hold a bit longer. It’s supposed to last ‘almost a month’ or ‘several weeks’. I’ll take that as ‘at least three weeks’. An otherwise rather negative French reviewer admitted that her device’s battery actually lasted longer than a month, so I’m hopeful.
Another thing wrong with the Letto that had nothing to do with a bad battery was the fact that AdLibris, the web bookstore that I bought the Letto from, had intentionally made it harder to transfer books from any other source than their store.They had actually changed a few things around so that people would get fed up with trying and only buy books from Adlibris. Not very nice, but understandable, I suppose.
As far as userfriendliness is concerned, I wouldn’t say that the Cybook is quite as fantastic as the site claims, but it’s quite alright. I have no complaints so far. It’s not as easy to use as my Kindle Touch or my iPod Touch, but that’s probably too much to ask anyway.
In conclusion I’ll just mention how beautiful this ereader is. The Kindle Touch is as pretty, but there are many other ereaders out there that are not. Some look very plastic and primitive and probably creak.
Update about the Letto
I’m giving up. After trying to get the Letto to charge, and ending up with a battery lasting about 24 hours instead of the 30 days I was promised, I’m going to return it and get another. Hopefully that will work better. At least the store was decent about it and didn’t try to put me off.
New veg*an sites
Lately, I have joined two new veg*an sites with chat rooms, that I really like. Also, I’m waiting impatiently for the launch of another. This is a short ‘review’ of those sites.
First of all, Happy Cow. The site offers a list of veg*an and veg*an-friendly restaurants and shops all over the world. I have known about this site for years, but only joined recently. Members can post reviews of these restaurants and shops. They also get a profile page. They also have a blog, message boards, private messaging and a very nice chat room.
Veganchatroom.uk is a similar site, with chat room, directory, message board etc. Most, but not all, members are from the UK. You don’t need to sign up anywhere to join, but there are advantages to signing up. For instance, you can use the same ID all the time, so people recognize you. Also, you can get a short profile so people can check out who you are and what you stand for.
It’s been ages since I last had a veg*an chat room to hang out in, so it’s great. Most of the time, there’s at least one other person around to chat with. I can’t say that I’ve made any close friends, but at the moment, it’s just nice to hang out with like-minded people.
Bleat, finally, looks very promising, even though, of course, I haven’t used it yet, since it hasn’t been launched yet.
This is what it says on the site:
So, what’s all this talk about Bleat?
For vegans everywhere, something big is about to happen…
Say hello to Bleat.
If you’re a vegan trying to find vegan friendly restaurants, looking for the latest recipes or just interested in meeting other vegans, all you have to do is Bleat. If you’re a vegan concerned for the rights of animals, have questions about a raw-only diet or simply perplexed about pulses just Bleat. Even if you’re a non-vegan and you’re simply contemplating the idea of a vegan lifestyle – BLEAT!
What’s so great about Bleat?
There’s a lot to discover at Bleat, such as:
A vast comprehensive vegan resource
Interact with vegans from all across the globe
Advice on vegan friendly brands
Recipes, restaurant guides & reviews
Information on the welfare of animals
How do we sum Bleat up? Well, Bleat isn’t just a vegan social network and it’s certainly far from just a vegan directory. Simply put, it’s a whole new way to get the absolute most from your vegan lifestyle.
Go on, Bleat about it.
It seems like a great addition to my old favorites, Livejournal (and Dreamwidth), Tumblr and last but not least Care2.
