Are you Yankee or Dixie? (Linguistically-speaking, that is.) I actually came out 58% Dixie. That’s so weird. I would’ve guessed I’d be Yankee all the way. I think I’ve spent too much time overseas. (Link courtesy of Max.)

Updated 23/02/2025: original link is broken, and no copies exist.

You know, I was never a huge fan of Doonesbury before, but I friggin’ love that Gary Trudeau has offered a $10,000 reward to anybody that can definitely prove that Dubya showed up for his National Guard duty in 1972. Somehow I think the money’s safe.

Q: How many hipsters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: What, like, you don’t already know?

That was my favorite joke from this MetaFilter thread. (Warning, many very tasteless jokes in there… but funny too!)

Jewel sucked. I feel vindicated.

It’s well known around the Midwest that practically every old person in Indiana migrates to Florida for the winter (my family included)… but I never knew that the Amish did it too!

The Ultimate 80’s Quiz. That’s actually a really well-done quiz! (Aside from a few spelling mistakes, anyway.) It starts really easy but gets a lot harder. I scored 72 out of 100, which puts me at the “Brat Packian” rank. Sweet.

The Good: Another article in the Australian media about TiVo!
The Bad: They doubt it’ll ever be available here.
The Ugly: The cost of importing one and hacking it to work Down Under.

This waiting-for-my-residency thing is a little nerve-wracking. I was reading this article on mail-order brides today (more on that in a minute) and was surprised to see that only 191 Australian spouse visas were granted to Russian women last year. That places them fifth on the country list and the US is ranked even lower. I know I don’t really have to worry but I was surprised to learn how uncommon my situation is. I figured the number would be in the thousands.

On a related note, The Age has a story today on green card marriages of convenience. Last year almost 10% of applicants got rejected for lack of evidence. We haven’t had to go through the interview process they describe but I know all about trying to prove your relationship is “genuine.” It’s hard enough for legitimate couples; I can’t imagine trying to fake all the necessary documents.

Going back to the Russian bride article… It made my blood boil, all that crap about how Western women have been somehow “ruined” for marriage by feminism. WHATEVER. If our desire to be treated with respect and equality by society and our partners precludes the Neanderthals of the world from proposing to us, LUCKY US. Finding a wife shouldn’t be about choosing a mother-substitute to cook your food and iron your shirts. I just feel sorry for the women in bad circumstances – economic, political, whatever – who are so desperate that they feel the possibility of domestic and sexual violence at the hands of a man they hardly know is a gamble worth taking.