I only had time to play along once, but maybe I'll get another chance in November. Click the link for tips and nods to Cindy Sherman and Mappelthorpe for inspiration.

Self Portrait Tuesday - November Challenge - 'exploration of identity':

(Via self portrait tuesday.)

Our cats hate you.

Xtop and I went to the Red Snapper. He took my picture eating a giant bowl of Korean soup.

New car (not new-new, new to us) got broken into while I was in Harveyville. Stereo stolen and they went through my drycleaning.

I am full of rage.

Tom Cruise’s British Boswell: "If Tom Cruise thinks he’s had a rough time with American reporters, just wait until he sees what British unauthorized biographer Andrew Morton has in store for him."

(Via Fresh Intelligence.)

Not pictured (because I forgot, like an idiot): Sacred Heart Rubber stickers. Jennifer is ten kinds of awesome.

My new girl crush, Adrian, and I were talking about the Back Tack at the Harveyville Knit-A-Thon this weekend and I confessed that I read a LOT of craft blogs. Far, far more than I ought to. I have little or no extra time for all the crafts I'd like to do myself, so I live vicariously. Here are just a few of my favorites:

http://birdinthehand.typepad.com/

http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/

http://www.craftlog.org/craftingjapanese/

http://www.craftlog.org/craftlog/

http://www.glampyre.com/blog/

http://liquidpaper.typepad.com/liquid_paper/

http://littlebirds.typepad.com/little_birds/

http://www.loobylu.com/

http://neststudio.typepad.com/moopy_me/

http://redfeltflower.blogspot.com/

http://www.livejournal.com/users/mypapercrane/

http://www.notmartha.org/

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ohsewpretty/

http://openbook.typepad.com/katey/

http://www.rubber-sol.com/rubbersol/

http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/

... There are a zillion others (a lot of these), but posting them all would eat up the rest of my day.

Says Fraction: "In terms of when the what went down-- CASANOVA's the book I've wanted to write forever, I think. It's a superspy book, and that whole genre (sub-genre? I dunno.) is my favorite kind of trash in the whole wide world."

More here.

MattFraction.com on Cass here.

"The challenge for October is to do a self documentary series.

Self documentary - document yourself for a moment, for a day, for a week. Document a specific event or an ordinary day. Be honest, be real, be true, try to be a little gritty, do not gloss over, do not only show the pretty images.

Series - 3 images or more - a sequence of events, tell a story."

Make with the clicky to see the series on Flickr.

Fraction's off to NYC for a ridiculously long time, so I'm allowed to wallow in self pity, I think.

By way of consolation, I spent the day hanging out with Mike Doughty on THE ROCK BUS and eating Thai food. Mike finally got to see the house -- and bond with Captain Applejack, which was fun. His new bandmates seem like good people.

We're going for dinner in a few, then the show at The Grand Emporium at 9, I think. If you're in town, you should come.

Then this weekend, Rebecca and I are going to Nikol's for this.

At some point I'll go visit Fraction -- and I'm still owed a trip to Cali for stripper school -- so all is not gloom and doom...

But still. Ten weeks is a long time, and I have a mosquito bite on MY NECK and I think it's okay to be a little weepy today.

I think I'll eat some ice cream.

Cheap Horror Movies: "Amazon has Asian Horror Movies at up to 66% off."

(Via Cheap Stingy Bastard.)

A tasting menu from Tatsu Nishino of Nishino.

(Thanks, Sarah!)

Nothing like an evening of bill paying to take the wind from your sails, huh?

Gah.

Still looking.

"You chose the healthier-looking male face 100% of the time."

Oh! Oh! Check this out.

I love these. I might start playing along.

Help me out, here: I need a sexy song lyric involving a car. I've got a bit from NIGHT IN MY VEINS, I just need one more.

EDITED TO ADD: You did it; I'm set! Thanks ya'll.

Tom Spurgeon runs the press release.

Happy Birthday, Babies!

3 - Old Aunt Amy
6 - Hillary
8 - Mike Dietsch
10 - Franci
12 - Frecklegirl!
12 - Frank
15 - Nana
23 - Lynne

I just took 20 minutes to write a post about how today sucked and Firefox crashed and I lost it. (Further underlining how today sucked.) I'm not going to re-write the whole thing but in brief:

I overslept and missed the 5k, thought I'd lost my housekey, looked all over my office and the front lawn for it before I found it... in my purse, I drove out to Overland Park to pick up my bike and they'd never put it together, Fraction had to work, so I went to the chocolate festival alone, having promised to pick up something for after dinner at Kelly Porter's tonight, but the lines were insanely long so I stayed about 10 minutes, then gave up and went to Napoleon's and picked up a fruit tart. Then I came home, thinking maybe I'd get some work done before dinner but somehow I've done nothing but ignore the phone and work on this post.

Oh, and I'm cramping like a mother.

Can we just forget today ever happened?

Oh, god. I have so much to do tomorrow. Like, insane amounts. Gah.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Joss Whedon! You stab me in my softest parts.