Sunday, December 31, 2000
Happy New Year's Eve! I'm planning on putting up a new layout tomorrow, and I have lots o' links for you all :) See you next year!

Scully: But, Mulder, the new millennium doesn't begin until January 2001.
Mulder: Nobody likes a math geek, Scully.
[from the X-Files]

Aww, I miss Mulder :/
Posted by Joanna @ 03:14 p.m.

Thursday, December 28, 2000
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas; and even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a peaceful and happy day!

Many thanks to Kelley of The Scratching Post for linking to Jayelle Lukash's (a most excellent writer on some very controversial subjects, including being a pro-life feminist, which I am.) articles.

Creed, one of my favorite bands, has just opened a free online fan club @ CreedWorldWide.com. All people who become members before January 31, 2001 will be entered to win a trip to meet the band!

I love things like this: The Year 2000 in Pictures
[link via Fresh Hell]

I finally went out and bought the Lifehouse CD, No Name Face, and I am so glad that I did! All the tracks are splendiferous! ;) I also picked up Recovering The Satellites, by The Counting Crows; It rocks, too.
Posted by Joanna @ 01:08 a.m.

Tuesday, December 26, 2000
Updates soon. Excuse the broken graphic: I can't access my FTP account -- I'll fix it ASAP.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:38 p.m.

Saturday, December 23, 2000
I've been busy lately, no time to update. I will update soon, though. Until then, here's some random weirdness: MalePregnancy.com
Posted by Joanna @ 12:56 a.m.

Monday, December 18, 2000
Do you call Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, etc. cola, pop, soda, soda pop, or something else? The Pop Vs. Soda Page attempts to "plot the regional variations in the use of the terms 'Pop' and 'Soda' to describe carbonated soft drinks." Practically everyone who lives in Texas (where I've lived since I was seven; I lived in Minnesota before that) calls it Coke or soda, which can be really confusing; for example, you're over at someone's house and they ask you if you want a Coke, you say sure and are surprised when a few minutes later they bring you a Pepsi or even a Sprite! By the way, I never say "ya'll" either. I just can't do it.
[link via So anyway...]

Speaking of wacky and inane sites, Derek's Big Website of Wal-Mart Purchase Receipts is a great example. He claims to have all his Wal-Mart receipts dating back to 1996 online. It's odd and it's boring and has the ubiquitous pop-up banners. I guess I'm blogging it for the heck of it.
Posted by Joanna @ 11:45 p.m.

Friday, December 15, 2000
I'm being lazy, downloading Christmas music from Napster and drinking coffee. I only wish I didn't have to work later today. Ah, well.

It's hard to believe some of things that people used to put themselves through in the name of medicine! The Quackatorium. For more weirdness, check out WhatTheHeck.com

Meggan updated Quiddity. I like the new design.
Posted by Joanna @ 12:33 p.m.

Wednesday, December 13, 2000
It looks like we have a President Elect, good ol' G.W. (Hmm, I wonder who is going to take over the governorship of Texas?) Al Gore is going to concede tonight at 9PM ET. It's over, finally.

Rolling Stone has picked their People of the Year. Especially interesting (to me, anyway) are Shawn Fanning, P.O.D (whom everyone thinks is new band, but I've known about them since '93 or '94), and Creed.

"If Woolgar is to be believed, we really do want books, movies in cinemas, sex with real people.", from People who log off the net Forever. Of course we want all those things! Many things online are stupid, time-wasting, etc., but there are many good things about the 'net. It's chats that I find most mind-numbing and haven't been to a chat room in over a year, and I rarely use instant messengers. Why would I want to have a conversation with a total stranger, anyway?

Did you ever play MASH (Mansion Apartment Shack House) in elementary school? I did, and now you can play online, too. Oh, the memories ;)
Posted by Joanna @ 03:06 p.m.

Tuesday, December 12, 2000
This is disgusting: Photo Personals of more than 1,400 Female Inmates Wanting Pen Pals. I don't think it's digusting that they want penpals, but the way the site is written, it's as if the site owners are feeding off some men's weird fetish for "bad girls." On the scale of creepiness, I give this site a 10. Example, quoted directly from the site: "Some are just wanting a pen pal while others are looking for the possibility of a more serious relationship." Ewww. (Plus it's sad that all those women did something serious enough to be locked up...)

If this is true, I'm seriously mad. Yahoo! has begun to take over many reliable and useful websites and has begun to transform them into the cumbersome and inconvienent sites that we all loathe. Examples:

• WebRing.org - This used to be a great site to use when you wanted to create a webring; but guess what: when Webring.org and Yahoo! merged, everyone in every single webring created on WebRing.org had to sign up for a Yahoo! I.D.
• eGroups.com - A great site to host a mailing list -- until Yahoo! got involved, that is. They still haven't fully taken over, but they've almost completed the process. Soon everyone must have a Yahoo! I.D. to use eGroups.
• And now it seems that they are infiltrating Google, one of my favorite search engines, also.

I'm not one for watching other people surf the net, so I don't really check out webcams much, but at EarthCamTV you can look at lots more.

My family is most like the Jetsons, according to Emode's Family Test. Hmm, maybe so.

I have an "anything-goes Eclectic," decorating sense, according to House Beatiful's Style Quiz. Here's what my results said:

You've got a truly personal sense of style, and you refuse to be pigeonholed by someone else's idea of which pieces go with what. You mix and match whatever suits your fancy — from tramp-art accessories to Italian postmodern design — and somehow you manage to pull it off, thanks to your passion for things that thrill you and your well-developed eye. Find something new? You're sure to make room for it by moving cherished possessions around and shaking up the mix. Because for you the fun lies not only in finding perfect treasures, but in mixing and matching them playfully.

Thursday, December 7, 2000
From The Blue Ear, Global Writing Worth Reading: Sleeping On Long Street. We in the west are worlds apart from what the rest of the world experiences.

Cate's Garage Sale Finds. This is so hilarious! I wonder if we'll look so stupid in 50 years? Probably.

Too Much Caffeine Man. Heh.
Posted by Joanna @ 01:22 p.m.

Wednesday, December 6, 2000
It seems that everyone has been mispronouncing Dick Cheyney's name. It's supposed to be pronounced Chee-nee, not Chay-Nee. Having your name mispronounced can be quite annoying; I know from personal experience. My name is Joanna, but I'm often called JoHannah, Joanne, Joan, etc. Repeat after me: Jo-an-na! ;)
[Link via Catherine's Pita]

Novica.com is about selling art, but it's also about the international artists who create the pieces. It's extremely interesting, and I'm envious of the Wander Woman -- I want her job! :)

Ah, fonts! Heh, I'm a fontaholic. ;)

"She afflicts me! She comes to me at night and torments me! She's a witch!" Those were among the many spurious accusations that sent many innocent women and girls to their deaths in the Salem Witch Trials.
Posted by Joanna @ 12:59 p.m.

Tuesday, December 5, 2000
Hanging By A Moment, by Lifehouse is one of my favorite songs right now. I haven't heard any of their other songs, but I'm definitely going to check them out. I really like their musical style and with a lead singer who looks like this and is my age, they're irresistable! ;) (Eh, I know, I sound like a teenybopper...sorry)

I hadn't visted eBay for months, but I decided to yesterday because my boyfriend has been looking for a certain CD by a little known band and couldn't seem to find it anywhere. Well, I found it, bid on it and I'm currently the highest bidder. I'll know on the 10th if I won. I also bid on another CD -- I'll know if I won that one in two days. I've won two other auctions on eBay before and haven't been disappointed. I hope that holds true for these two also.

I found a java version of magnetic poetry today. Here is my creation:
She knows you & before morning
will give her gifts
sweet eyes and candy
she kissed my heart
her song is bright and silver
for the dream, it has angel's tears
together we laugh at the storm

Emily is still strange.

Curious G.W. LOL! I think it's hilarious, but if you're going to make fun of G.W., you should also make fun of Al Gore. It's only fair.

Some useful sites: GetLyrics.com, for all your lyrical needs ;)

YourDictionary.com. Yes, there are lots of other dictionaries out there, but this is a great site.
Posted by Joanna @ 01:44 p.m.

Monday, December 4, 2000
I think I'm going to ask for a magnetic poetry set for Christmas. I love stuff like that :)

Psychedelic art is beneficial to people with dementia. Hmm..., it seems to me that anything is better than sitting in a blank room all day long.

Even with Mulder gone, the X-Files is still my favorite show. I've missed two shows this season, because I have to work on some Sunday nights. I wanted to tape the shows, but my VCR isn't working :(

My brother just bought a digital camera, so I know how fun they are. I'd like to buy one myself, but I'm trying to save my money. It would have been great to have been selected to participate in the HP 100 Cameras Project!
Posted by Joanna @ 03:41 p.m.

Sunday, December 3, 2000
My internet connection has been really bad lately. Normally, I'm able to connect at 52bps (which I know is not that fast in the first place), but now I'm only able to get online at 33bps. Arrgh, I hate it; it's way too slow. Anyway, enough complaining -- I just had to get that out of my system. On to the 'blogging:

I think that MadTV is much, much more funny than SNL. Mad's sketches and characters are just more hilarious, in my opinion.

I don't know why exactly, but I've always found things like Codes and Cyphers extremely intriguing.

Want to find out just how popular your name is, in America, anyway? Then check out the Office of the Chief Actuary's list. It's quite accurate, as they used Social Security cards to get the names. I checked out the most popular names of the 1980s (I was born in '80), and found that my name, Joanna, is in 137th place. Ricky is my male counterpart in popularity. My brothers' names: Michael, Benjamin, Andrew, and Daniel are all in the top 35 most popular -- they're classic, I guess.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:48 p.m.

Thursday, November 30, 2000
A company has taken out a patent to create a "man-animal hybrid." The wording brings up images of creating a race of monsters, but what the main purpose seems to be is to grow human organs in animals to use as transplants; even so, the idea is scary!

The high cost of babehood, via girlhero.pitas.com

Clinton's health in severe decline? Sure, he looks a bit "under the weather," but I don't see how they can extrapolate severe health problems from some pictures.

This picture is amazing! You can see the lights of the cities all around the world.

From the BBC: World "Smug" At U.S. Voting Fiasco. It's interesting to know that our elections affect the whole world.
Posted by Joanna @ 01:51 p.m.

Monday, November 27, 2000
Ehh, I haven't felt like 'blogging lately. Oh, well, I'll probably pick up in a few days. In the meantime, here are a couple links:

I didn't know scientists were so dirty minded. Heh.

Some people will do anything for money.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:41 p.m.

Friday, November 24, 2000
I hope my American readers had a happy Thanksgiving yesterday; I hope everyone had a great day yesterday! I certainly did: I stuffed myself (not a good thing, I know, but hey, it was Thanksgiving!) got to watch one of my favorite movies -- Good Will Hunting -- hang out with my family, and walk on the beach with my boyfriend. Yes, it was a wonderful day :)

If you're tired of just the straight news, check out the Opinion Pages, a website that indexes for easy search columns,columnists and commentary.

Do you want a free *new* car? Do you want a free new car enough that you are willing to take it even if it has advertizing all over it? If you are, sign up!

If you're new to web design, you might want to check out Free Web Templates, as a starting point; but I urge you to learn HTML yourself. It's much better to know what you're doing and have full control over the look of your site.

Blog2001: They're highschool seniors, and they're chronicling their last year in highschool. Time flies so fast; I can hardly believe I graduated a year-and-a-half ago!

I'm downloading MusicMatch 6.0 -- it looks cool, but I'm keeping my older version of MM, just in case the new version isn't as good.
Posted by Joanna @ 12:47 p.m.

Wednesday, November 22, 2000
I don't have time to 'blog today, but I did add some new links to my "weblogs" link section. Check those out.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:22 p.m.

Tuesday, November 21, 2000
Sean Combs, aka "Puff Daddy," has pledged to buy Thanksgiving dinner for 30,000 homeless people. It's nice to see that he's using some of his money for charity.

Speaking of charity, check out the Philanthropy News Network.

The Fifty Best Science Sites On The Web, from Popular Science.
Posted by Joanna @ 05:11 p.m.

Monday, November 20, 2000
Almost two weeks have past since voting and the election is still not decided.This article is quite scary: It suggests that the U.S. let the United Nations oversee our elections. Yes, our system for voting has it's flaws, but I believe we can work them out without external forces watching -- that's what America has always been about. If we let the U.N. get involved, we'll lose our sovereignty. I do agree with the argument that third party candidates should be allowed to debate with the Democrats and Republicans, though. I just believe that we can achieve that without involving others.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:56 p.m.

Friday, November 17, 2000
I went to Half-Price Books last night, and got two CDs: Hope & Wait, by My Friend Steve, and In Moderation, by 8stops7; plus two books: Piecework, by Pete Hamill, and A Country With No Name, by Sebastian De Grazia -- and I only had to pay 14.50 for all that! I love Half-Price Books ;)
Posted by Joanna @ 01:18 p.m.

Thursday, November 16, 2000
Eclectica is now one year old. I'm not sure of the exact date I began this weblog, but I know that it was in the middle of November last year. Time sure flies, as the cliche goes!

I just archived, but I left the entries from November up -- the page would look too blank otherwise.

The election (seemingly) won't end, and neither will the election humor. Heh, I especially like the Dan Rather Simile Test. I got 6 out of 7 right ;)
Posted by Joanna @ 11:52 a.m.

Tuesday, November 14, 2000
The election is still not final: We may not know the results of the recount in Florida until Saturday. Here is a picture of the Florida ballots. It doesn't look too confusing, to me at least; but I can see how an older person with less than perfect eyesight could make a mistake. Still don't know what the electoral college is? Then you should visit The Electoral College FAQ.

When I first heard "Breathless," by The Corrs, I really didn't like it much, but now it's one of my favorite songs of the moment. If you've never checked them out, you should! They're Irish, that makes them doubly cool! :)

I haven't been surfing much lately, so I don't have a lot to blog. I did fill out one of those "about me" surveys, though. Here it is, if you're interested:

Thursday, November 9, 2000
It's my birthday: I turn 20 today. Hallelujah, I'm no longer a teenager! ;)

The travesty of the election is still going on: The recount in Florida has G.W. winning by only 799 votes. This is quite crazy!

The Gallery of Regrettable Food -- How did they eat that gelatinous goo? Ugh! More disgusting recipes here. [latter link via Quiddity]

More for you to reminisce about: The Institute of Official Cheer. I'm glad I wasn't born 40 years earlier!

Wednesday, November 8, 2000
America is in suspense: Who will be our next President? The rest of the world is wondering, too. Click here for some comic relief :)

According to the Libertarian Party home page, Harry Browne received a little over 381,000 votes. Not bad, but not as much as was expected.

Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Today's the day: Election Day! Four years ago, I was only just about to turn 16. Now here I am, almost 20, getting ready to vote for the very first time. Over the months, I started to feel apathetic about the election, but as the time to vote has drawn closer, I've gained interest again. I'm voting for neither G.W. Bush (even though he is my Governor) or Al Gore. Harry Browne, the Libertarian, gets my vote. I'm actually excited about voting!

"If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you still wind up with evil." -- Michael Moore

If you're registered to vote, go out and do it! There are people in other countries who would give practically anything to have the opportunities that we have to express our opinions!

Saturday, November 4, 2000
The X-Files season premiere is tomorrow night! Scully is pregnant, Mulder has been abducted and Skinner finally believes...what will happen next? Heh, yeah, I'm an X-Phile ;)

I'd always wondered what the difference between English crumpets and American English muffins is. Thanks WorldWideWord.org :)

The site is ugly, but it has many, many useful links: Measure 4 Measure.

From The BBspot: Drunken Night Ends in DeCSS Tattoo, Jail, also Link Whore Arrested. LOL!

Halloween is over, but still, do you believe? I don't.

Friday, November 3, 2000
The 1000 Journal Project: This is one of the most interesting things that I've heard of in a long time. The 1000 Journal Project is going to leave journals all over the United States, in bus stops, train stations, air ports, and other places. The people who find them can add their stories, journal entries, drawings, pictures, etc., and then pass them along. So far, only 100 journals have been dispersed. It would be amazing to actually find one of them! [LINK VIA MOODSWINGS]

I just finished reading Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown. It was an interesting book, filled with things like antimatter and ambigrams.

Ever wonder what the celebs read?

KnowledgeRush.com: Free Books and Other Works. Ah, I love the 'net ;)

I've always been fascinated by how other cultures view America.

It's a girl thing: GirlsAreWeird.com & GirlHero.org

Thursday, November 2, 2000
I just put up the new layout. It's simple, but I like it. Check back soon for some new links. . .

Wednesday, November 1, 2000
It's November -- already! I haven't 'blogged in two weeks. That's forever in web time, I know. My computer had major problems again, plus I got a job. Eclectica will not be languishing much longer, though: I'm working on a new layout and will be updating again more frequently. Check back soon! :)

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eclectica, a weblog © 1999-2001 by Joanna Blackwell. Email me if you want to borrow anything, please.