Italian progrock & more spam

So Parki has me hooked on Italian progressive rock. Or at least I'm hooked on the album he gave me recently: Forse le lucciole non si amano piu by the group Locanda Delle Fate. Apparently `Locanda delle fate' means `Inn of the fairies' or `Fairy Inn' and `Forse le lucciole non si amano piu'' means `Maybe the fireflies don't love each other anymore.' (Luisa, do you agree with this translation?)

Anyway, it's perfect work music. I don't understand the lyrics so they aren't distracting, and the music is interesting but not so interesting to take my attention off my work. Some really nice vocals...because I don't understand what they're saying, they become part of the instrumentals for me. So maybe the truth isn't that I like Italian progressive rock, but more that I like the fact that I don't really understand it. :-)

After a few hectic weeks, I'm gradually catching up on work again. Sent out five queries this week, and I have an article to write on spec (about the Renaissance harp).

What I'm currently reading: "A Beautiful Mind" (the biography upon which the movie is based, rant on this coming soon) and "The Hobbit" (I'm posting reports online as part of ongoing book discussions in the Talking Tolkien community book chats).


Had lunch with Kimberly Stinson yesterday. When Doug and Jeff and I shared the Inkspot office on Mowat Avenue, she worked for the National Book Network in the office next door (she still does). Kim's great, lots of fun to talk to. We ate at Shoeless Joe's and caught up on each other's lives.

Kim gave me the heads-up on the fact that F&W Publications just got sold. I wonder if this is going to affect my Market Watch column? (F&W are the ones who support the column) I've added a link to Market Watch in the left-hand navigation bar, by the way, in case any of you are interested. I update it every day, usually throughout each day.





When I went to meet Kim, I had to stop by and peer into the old Inkspot office (see above photo). It's empty right now; apparently the small publishing company that was supposed to move into the office changed their minds at the last minute.

Very weird to see it empty. And yes, I did feel a little gut-punch of nostalgia re: Inkspot. A shame that I only got to use the office for such a short time, too. I remember being so excited when we first moved in, having fun with the webcam (no, I have no intention of putting up a webcam in my home office :-)), all the storage space, working with Amanda.

But working at home has its advantages. Like the fact that I can work in my pajamas. :-)

Went out for sushi with Allison and Jodi. I was pretty tired on the subway ride to Richmond Hill, though, and fell asleep. A very nice young woman woke me up at the end of the line (which is the subway station where I meet Jodi). If she hadn't, I'm sure I would have kept slumbering away while the train went back downtown again. Embarrassing either way. :-)

Hey, and I ran into my brother-in-law Kaarel when I was hurrying up to the Kiss-n-Ride! He was on his way home from work.





Spam follow-up

Lots of feedback about yesterday's Blathering.

Julie, glad you like the cartoon! The permalink URL is here (same as it is now).

Melissa says she's trying out a shareware program called Spamkiller. "The main drawback for me is that Spamkiller checks my mail (first), then I re-download it with Eudora to actually read it (you can read it in SK, but it's a bit lame there). What I like about it is a little button for spam/suspected spam: "send error" That button sends a message back to the sender "this email account doesn't exist". So far so good (I've been using it for a week or so). Oh, yes: you can also set up new filters pretty easily (for friends, maillists, etc). We'll see how it works during the rest of the 30-day trial period."

Steve Brinich's comment made me laugh out loud: "I recently got a spam with the subject 'WHY ARE YOU STILL LOOKING AT OUTDATED PORN?'. I wasn't aware that there had been a recent breakthrough in that art, much less one so fundamental as to render all previous efforts obsolete...."

Those who don't like reading the word "penis" should probably skip the rest of this Blathering.

Jeff forwarded me a spam which was so ridiculous I have to wonder if anyone would ever take it seriously. Though I guess some must, else why are there so many penis-enlargement ads out there? Are there that many guys who are insecure about the size of their penises or think that size does matter? I don't get it.

Anyway, the subject header was "Enlarge Your Penis Scientifically". As opposed to enlarging one's penis UNscientifically. I don't know which one sounds the most frightening. Inside is the text: "No B.S.!!!! Gain 1-4" REAL Inches! You Will Have A Bigger Penis Using Our System Or We Will Pay You. CLICK HERE to get Penis Power! Because Bigger IS BETTER."

And then comes a bit that confuses me (after I recover from laughing, that is):

"If you join our Big Babes club now, you will be entitled to a bonus 'Busty Big Babes' club membership at a discount price on a trial basis! Make your bigger penis work with bigger boobs - ACT TODAY."

So is this ad geared toward those wanting penis enlargement or breast enlargement? Or both? Is the potential market for the combined services so great that it warrants spam mail?

What a strange world we live in.

---

Today's Blatherpics:

These photos were all taken yesterday.

	Me.
	Kim Stinson.
	Old Inkspot office at Mowat Ave.
	Jodi and Allison at a sushi shop.