PulpLit.net

gmail's down and i've got nothing to do

After turning on my computer this morning, I patiently waited for Thunderbird to gather up emails off my Gmail account, and what? Horror of horrors! Not a single new message! No requests for my bank account number? No MoveOn calls to action? Fortunately, it appears the problem is not with my sudden lack of popularity but with Gmail itself. So my fingers are crossed, as they have explicitly directed, and I am patiently waiting for what shall undoubtedly be a flood of emails from friends and family.

Today, I have to bust to the Vietnamese embassy to apply for visas and go to STA travel to pick up tickets for Hanoi. Ajarn Steve and I are off to Barcelona Friday night at midnight ... then busting to Geneva after five days in Spain ... then back here for a couple of days before heading off to the gloriousness that is Hanoi (hence the visas). Then we're here for the month of August. Anyway, this all means that I shall have many a story to tell. Until then, I thought I would share my procrastination modes with several lovely new links (not to include standbys like Salon, Biggerboat, Wonkette or Democratic Underground:

• Defamer. This classic blog-style webzine describes itself as the gossip rag that LA deserves. It's good times.
• Gawker. A sister site to Defamer (I do believe), this is perfect for when I want to pretend I belong in NYC, as it provides regularly updated gossip about the (proclaimed) Center of the Universe. It has a particularly hilarious photo of Mariah Carey's painted-on abs.
• Bookslut. This is a very much smarter than its name would suggest book-related webzine. It's got excellent reviews, interviews and less-than-mainstream recommendations.
• 2Bangkok. This is an excellent source for daily local news, translated from the Thai (rather than just lifted from the Nation or the Bangkok Post). It gives great local coverage and makes me feel like I actually know what 0.1% of the acronyms they throw around mean.
• Fungible Convictions. This was a link from Jasonian's biggerboat, and I do indeed love to read the musings, thoughts and pontifications that are remarkably pretensions-free. And it has a great, great name.
• Deathball not prOn. This is for the days when I really cannot concentrate. It's the self-proclaimed hardest riddle on the internet, and I would never dare to argue with that.

Is it any wonder I get no work done? Gmail is still down. Better go find some more.