This and That

I tried to take pictures of my tattoos this evening since there was interest in seeing them, but my husband is at work and it turns out that taking photos of my ankle and calf are not as easy as I thought. So tomorrow for those. In the mean time there is this news item from the Campaign for Reader Privacy:

Washington, DC, Sept. 13, 2005—Petitions bearing over 200,000 signatures will be delivered today to Congressional leaders in the fight to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA PATRIOT Act, the Campaign for Reader Privacy announced. The petitions will be presented to Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), author of the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), co-author of the Security and Freedom Enhancement Act (S. 737). They will also be given to Senators who have been chosen as conferees on the legislation re-authorizing the expiring sections of the PATRIOT Act. "We are proud to present these petitions to Congress on behalf of the hundred of bookstores and libraries around the country who participated enthusiastically in the reader privacy petition campaign," Avin Mark Domnitz, the chief executive officer of the American Booksellers Association, said.

At first I thought, "Wow! 200,000 signatures!" And then it sank in that even though it sounds like a lot, in a country of over 295 million people it is a sad, sad number. Are we so few weirdos that's all we could muster? If that's not enough to get you down, how about this: the video-game novel. Get your hankie:

That's right: the novel. In the last few years, publishers have taken a cue from the booming world of fan fiction and have begun commissioning novels based on famous games. It's now such a successful cottage industry that when you wander into any Barnes & Noble, there are shelves groaning under the weight of books written from Resident Evil, Halo, Tomb Raider and MechWarrior.

*sigh* It might not cheer you up after the above, but at least it's silly, Palindrome List. You'll find the perfect palindrome for any occasion.