Erica

The Pegasus Final Ballot is live now!

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Just a quick reminder that tomorrow (Saturday) is the last day to nominate for the Pegasus awards; we had to move the deadline due to unforeseen circumstances. So if you haven't nominated and plan to, it better be soon!

I have had profound itching for the past 2 months and dermatologists are scarce here; I had to make an appointment 5 weeks in advance, and I'm still 2 weeks away from it. It finally got unbearable tonight and I went to the ER where I was diagnosed as likely having scabies.

Scabies spreads by skin-to-skin contact, which means anyone I've touched in the last 3 months theoretically could have it. If you were at OVFF and either Steve or I hugged you, I'm sorry but that means you are at risk; you might want to check with a doctor, particularly since it doesn't show symptoms for awhile. (Although my guess is by now you'd probably itch - I'm just being safe.)

My deepest apologies. I worked out the timetable and I probably picked this up at one of the conference hotels I was at in July. Worst souvenir ever.

Happy birthday from me (and Steve too)! I can't wait to see you in a couple of days!

Just a reminder that Pegasus Awards pre-con voting closes Monday night (well, technically, very early Tuesday morning.) If you're a member of the filk community, wish to vote, and have not done so, you're running out of time to vote pre-con. After the electronic ballot closes, you'll have to vote at OVFF!

So someone on my Friends list (legoline?) posted a link to this Kickstarter. They still need about $20,000 in the next two days, so I don't know if it'll get made. But this is the coolest looking kids movie project I've seen go past in a long time. I wish I'd won the lottery and could fund it for them.

(I recommend at least looking to see the cool illustrations of famous paintings with the characters in those paintings...they do an amazing job of matching the style of the art: Art Story)

And if any of you have won the lottery and want to fund it...awesome.

They acquitted Zimmerman. Fucking travesty.

Just got back from a weekend in Indianapolis to see the Ai Weiwei Exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It was fascinating. I'm not usually a big fan of modern art, but I'd read a number of news stories about him and was curious; happily, S. was up for a trip. His work Straight is particularly moving in person.

Thank you so much for all your help on the last round! Here's one more round of making-sure-Erica-doesn't-get-it-wrong (or at least, upping the odds.) I know that the various foods in the Pesach Seder have symbolic meanings. I have read a few places online that the bitter herbs (maror) represent...something like the bitterness of being enslaved. Is that right? I trust my friends more than I trust random people on the internet.

Oh, in case anyone is worried, I'm not pretending to expertise about Jewish culture or tradition, of course. I'm writing a paper that contains a section on various functions of food besides health/nutrition, such as comfort food, the aesthetic appreciation of food, and the ceremonial or ritual use of food. In addition to Thanksgiving, Pesach sprang to mind as another really nice (and non-US-centric) example for the last category.

Thanks again!

I'm writing a paper on food, and I want to discuss the ritual use of food in one portion of it. So I'm hoping I can get answers to a few questions so as not to screw things up.

One of my examples involves ritual foods used during a Passover (Pesach?) seder. So I'm trying to find out the following:

1. Is it "seder" or "Seder"? (i.e., am I supposed to capitalize it or not?)
2. Is "Pesach" the correct term? (I think "Passover" is the English word for it, but I'm not sure.)
3. What is the preferred transliteration for "matzah"? (As in the unleavened bread on the table during the Passover seder.) I've seen it as matzo, matza, matzah...help!

Enquiring philosophers want to know.