I heat up. I CAN'T COOL DOWN...

. . .. when I hear "Abracadabra". I know many music snobs consider it The Steve Miller Band's weakest song (a "sell out" song). But I LOOOVE it. It came on Accuradio this afternoon and I had to replay it 4 times to sufficiently get my fix.



Perhaps I just have an affinity for "sell out " songs. I love KISS 's foray into disco "I Was Made For Lovin' You" a song which is none too popular amongst the legions of the KISS army. On the other hand, I DETEST the song "Oh What A Night" and I happen to consider that a huge sell out for Frankie Valli & co. Well, I guess the original 1975 version wouldn't irk me too badly if it weren't for the utterly insipid 1994 remix (which sounds to me like they played the song over a backbeat from a circa 1986 Casio toy keyboard ) that remix makes me just hate the song in any incarnation. And I otherwise adore Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons ("Who Loves You?" being their absolute best in my estimation..with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a close 2nd & "Sherry" rounding out the top 3)
So maybe I like all forays into disco in general (and not just "sell out" songs) For instance "Shakedown Street" is my #1 favorite Grateful Dead song (remind me to download that one by the way). I love me some disco anyways. I don't why the whole genre is so sneered at. Disco is the Rodney Dangerfield of popular music. In fact, if Dangerfield had timed his foray into pop music just 4 or 5 yrs earlier then he could have had a very apropos disco single.

Defenestration

I thought for sure I'd posted before on how much I adore the word Defenestration. But, I searched my blog and that word is nowhere to be found. I know that I've jabbered on about it before (musta been aloud...to any officemates who'd listen to me. )

Anyways my prior omission of this word was a giant oversight. I love DEFENESTRATION. I shall leave the defining to Merriam Webster. . .

It's really definition #1 that I'm smitten with. I love that there's a word--and such a formal-sounding word-- for throwing something/body out the window. If someone were to really frustrate you, you could simply say "Uuuugh, I could just DEFENESTRATE that bastard!" and those listeners clever enough to have the 411 on defenestration will know just what you mean, and even better, to those who have never heard the word it sounds HARSH, and kinda implies all the nasty means of retribution you would've come up with...were you not so frustrated in the 1st place.

In Europe , it seems that defenestration is not only "a throwing of a person or a thing out a window" but it also seems to be an established form of political protest. I had read before about The Defenestrations of Prague and then today, when reviewing my July 30th famous b-days & historical events I read that July 30 ,1419 was the date of the First Defenestration of Prague (hence this post).

Holy Pierogi!!

Interesting...

If my French-Canadian ancestors came to me in a dream and said "Sandra, you are to cook the WORLD'S BIGGEST CREPE!!" Dream Sandra would be all "You want me to whaaa? For real? Do you mean an actual real crepe? This is not a symbolic crepe? "Crepe " is not being used euphemistically here?? WTF great great Pepere? A giant crepe??" Dream Sandra does not take directions very well.

more fuzzy memories

I had this album when I was a wee moppet...


One of the Lolliwinks had this ballad "If There Were No Colors" that was a real weeper.

Oh, and here are the Lolliwinks' arses...ch-ch-check it out--

fuzzy far-off distant memories

Robin was just remarking about some caller she had....name was Jaimie pronounced HIMEY. It made me chortle. I vaaaaaguely recall, back in grade school, we watched some documentary (on vid, it was not a filmstrip, though we did watch some of those) about a teacher--I think specifically a MATH teacher--and he had the name Jaimie (pronounced that same way) And it back then the name just amused me to no end. Well, presumably to no end, because it still amuses me at present. Let us just say that I see no end, in the immediate future, to my being amused by Jaimie prononunced HIMEY (you gotta put your throat into that H sound though). I shall be amused indefinitely.

When I try to think of this teacher that may or may not have ever existed (it's one of those memories so fuzzy it seems I mighta dreamed it--though why on Earth would I ever dream about a documentary on a math teacher??) the last name "Esperanto" springs to mind. But I know that's not his last name, it couldn't be his last name , Esperanto is a made up language, dreamt up in a fog of pot smoke in 1887 by some yahoo named Ludwik Zamenhoff. Ok , I don't know much about Esperanto (isn't that a line in some old song?? Hmm?) so I shouldn't knock it. As I often preach-- don't knock it 'til ya try it. I bet you ol' Zamenhoff would be down with that. And it would be cool to learn Esperanto, I mean I could think of 50 or so languages that would be more useful to know, but yeah Esperanto would be cool. I think I'm just going to add that to my resume "fluent in Esperanto". Because it may impress & intrigue potential employers and what are the chances any of them are gonna be truly fluent in Esperanto (& thereby able to uncover my lie)?? Yep, definitely adding that on there. And if a job interviewer says "Oh really?? Say something in Esperanto!!" I intend to just bust out my Jodi Foster as Nell impersonation.

Anyways, probably HIMEY'S last name sounds kinda like the word "Esperanto". I will probably never know...

Eric Roberts Update...

In my last post, I posited the question "What will Eric Roberts do now??" At the time, I was just sorta lamenting his exit from Heroes, but a while later , I seriously began to wonder about it. What will he do?? Is he just going to hope the whole Nancy Drew dealie blossoms into a lucrative franchise so he can retire and sponge off his daughter for the rest of his days?? I wouldn't think Er would go that route either, but even if he wanted to his lousy li'l sister would probably butt in and prevent it. Just WHAT is the story behind that rift anyways?? Does ANYONE know??

But I digress... I went to the mighty IMDB for answers& was NOT disappointed. That's goes without saying (even though I said it) 'cause it's IMDB , right?? Absolutely indispensible...
Anyways, seems I need not be worried about Er's career proverbially shitting the proverbial bed post- Heroes . He has got himself a role in the next Batman flick (The Dark Knight ...due out next summer) If that's not a primo project, I dunno what is. He'll be playing some character named Salvatore Maroni and I feel if I were a true comics nerd (and not merely a comics nerd dabbler-poser) then I would know just who that was. But anyways...great
job E-Rob.

I wonder what kind of a Joker Heath Ledger will make??? I believe that casting decision was pretty widely praised, but I'm a smidge skeptical. The most interesting thing I dug up about this movie was that Anthony Michael Hall is going to be in it. So yeah, guess he's been toiling away for 5 or 6 or I dunno how many seasons on some USA show that nobody watches, except that sporadically I will catch a snippet of it (the DEAD ZONE... woooh) while flipping through the channels and it will make me pause for a half-sec and think "Hmm. I do like that Tony Mikey Hall fellah" and then keep on a-flippin'. So I'm pleased he'll finally be in something I want to watch. I don't know why that excites me but it does.

ODD

The other day I was visiting the NBC website (checking for the 900th time to see if they'd posted up part I of the Last Comic Standing semis for viewing yet) I noticed they had a banner ad for PRIMATECH PAPER that proclaimed: " Management Position Now Available!" Hey-- why don't I do one better and show you the very banner...

Hardy, har, har...I watch Heroes , I get the joke. But I was curious as to what exactly I'd find if I visited http://www.primatechpaper.com/ I thought maybe there would be some "Easter Egg" type goodies (maybe an exclusive Season 2 preview where 'tis revealed that Eric Roberts wasn't killed after all!! As much as I applaud HRG's heroics, I love me some Eric Roberts!! What is he going to do now anyways?? God help him if he goes from Heroes to cameos in more Mariah Carey videos!) But when I got on the site it was very generic, straight forward...asks for your name, email address, DOB, etc . After that there were a few questions that totally reminded me of the replicant test from Blade Runner. I filled out the thing, I used a fake address & phone # but I did use one of my actual email addresses. So I was expecting, since there was really no goodies to be had on the site, maybe I would get some novelty email or something. Nope...doesn't seem to be the case. Nothing in my inbox thus far. So, I suppose the site is just mirroring Primatech Paper on the show...sphinxlike in a generic & blah way. I comprende. It's just kinda disappointing. Maybe they started up that site to play to the legions of boob tube conspiracy theorists out there....you know the type...them that think Lost is some kinda reenactment of actual events. THOSE nutjobs....

I know I'm a total bourgeois cliche but...

...after shopping at Target on Sunday I ate at the Olive Garden.

If you ever deign to dine at the OG, I recommend ordering the Chicken Gnocchi Veronese. It's a new menu item and it is MAGNIFICO.

Oh, in other artist birthday news... Alphonse Mucha's birthday was yesterday. And I nearly posted something yesterday but then remembered that I wrote a big schpiel on it last year.

But in the interest of a be-yooooo-tiful blog (since I have nothin' much to say these days) I will belatedly throw a Mucha pic in here too. . .

Maxfield Parrish

would turn 137 years old today . . . had he not died in 1966. Happy Birthday Max!!

I've long loved his work, although I think I'm probably predisposed to like him, being from Windsor, VT. Parrish and others of his posse established an artist's colony in Cornish NH and consequently "put Cornish on the map" as they say. Well, Windsor VT is sort of a sister town to Cornish NH...more than just a sister town really, because of the famed Windsor-Cornish covered bridge we are like conjoined twin towns (even though many Cornish folk would likely be fine with disowning Windsor) The whole area has been proud of Parrish..long as I can recall...Windsor even has this museum.

Stranded at the drive-in....branded a fooooool

I cleaned out my car on Sat afternoon-- a looooong overdue chore. I did a total half-ass job of it, crammed the trunk to capacity, didn't vacuum, but that said, my car is still in 100X better shape than it was.
I had to take it easy, laboring on a Saturday. It's rather a foreign practice to me, and coulda been a tremendous shock to my system had I not paced myself so carefully. I would clean out 1/4 of the car, then read 2 chapters of The Gun Seller , clean out another 1/4 of the car , have a beer and read another chapter...you see the pattern. Though I went about it pretty damn leisurely-like, I did finish up.

So I was so pleased with my work that I decided to go out on a congratulatory date, just my tidy Taurus and me. So we went to the drive-in, my car and I. Ok, if you want the absolute truth, I had been wanting to go to the drive-in already, but wound up unable to russle up anybody to go with. So I am a smidge peeved at my local pool of friends re: their lackadaisacalness to cater to my whims. I mean, it should be of such tremendous importance to them to make ME happy that I should just straight propose the plan and--BLAMMO-- they're on board. I shouldn't have to do any cajoling, knowwhatimeanvern? This failure might also be contributed to bad karma I racked up this weekend. No, I didn't do anything NAUGHTY.....rather, 'tis something I didn't do. Come to think of it, that's how I rack up ALL my bad karma. Pisser, that. Anyways, my sin was skipping my great Aunt Rose's 90th b-day that afternoon. It was way down in Framingham, MA and Friday evening I was feeling ucky and crampish and I made a snap decision and told my Dad that if he didn't need me to go then I was gonna pass. And when I do, on occasion, make an actual decision, I like to stick with 'em, and so I did NOT go on Saturday. Which was pretty crummy & selfish of me, 'cause you only get one 90th b-day (if you're lucky) and 90 is a BIG DEAL and I really have got to pick up a b-day card to mail her.

Anyways, serves me right that I couldn't round up any pals to hit the drive-in on Sat night. And I almost didn't go. But then I reflected. . . . the real pathetic people are those that DON'T go to the drive-in alone, who refrain from doing what they had their little heart set on, simply because it would require "flying solo". We ("we"=society...the societal "we") are more apt to scorn people all alone at the drive-in because (for obvious reasons) it can be tricky to spot the people who chickened out of attending. So anyways-- I went. And nobody scorned me (that I could tell). And I actually had a good time. Quit your sniggering--- I did!! The first feature was Evan Almighty, followed by Knocked Up. Both were very good. Seth Rogen is just as adorable as one suspects he might be. In fact, I think it would behoove Katherine Heigl to dump her real-life fiance for Seth Rogen and make real-life babies with him. I mean, I've seen pictures of her & said fiance and they just don't have the Awwww factor that she & Seth do. And he (the fiance) is some musician guy--they met shooting his music video (bleccch! Sooo NOT a "meet-cute"). So, yeeaah, just a suggestion...seemed to have worked out well for Brangelina, right???

You know what I love about the drive-in? EVERYTHING. Ok, but I especially love the intermission cartoon. The drive-in I go to plays this one----


And I was delighted, this past weekend, to learn that others appreciate this ol' gem as much as I do. Y'see there's this part --twice in the cartoon, actually-- where a hot dog bun has got a hot dog doing flips on a pedestal (like a trained circus DOG--get it? See, the whole cartoon has this circus motif...just watch it NOW if you've not already, 'kay??) and then at the end of the "act" the bun does odd torso spread-apart and the doggie obligingly jumps in. I dig the whole cartoon (sucker for all things retro that I am) but that part in particular always gave me a sort of sophomoric chortle. Saturday night during intermission, a slew of cars honked their horns and all these moviegoers started hooting and cat-calling when the dog-bun union transpired. I thought it was just yours truly that liked that part!! So I was amused and also... sort of validated, I guess.

And Sunday was just a big consumerist orgy-porgy. Not too eventful. Although perhaps, if I'm lacking for crap to write about tomorrow, I will itemize my purchases. Ta-ta till then, all....

boob tubage

I am seriously miffed about missing this week's Last Comic Standing. I've been tuning in religiously and this week, at long last, was part 1 of the semi-finals. Now, I know last week's episode was at 10pm...I clearly recall the 2 hrs of aimless channel surfing before LCS came on. So this week I was planning on tuning in at the same time. But NOOOOO. No siree Bob!! They'd bumped it up to 9pm so they could run the 700th installment of "Dateline: To Catch a Cyberperv" ( We GET IT already--ewww!). And even though NBC very niftily features full episodes of LCS online, they take for-freaking-ever to post 'em. I reiterate that I am seriously miffed. And vexed as well. Grrr.

So I have been watching some of the summer TV flotsam. . . .


There's no way to determine for sure, but I suspect that the geniuses behind "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" stole the idea from "The Singing Bee" crew and not vice versa. It's sort of your classic "which came first--the chicken or the egg?" puzzler (except with cheezy karaoke game shows). But it seems like "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" is the duplicate. First off, I feel that if they had worked to cultivate a fresh idea, (rather than half-assed a carbon copy of another network's offering) then surely they would have put a little more effort into the show name. And then they have tacked on all these Who Wants to be a Millionaire-esque lifeliney gewgaws to their version--seemingly in an effort to differentiate themselves?? Also the facial hair Wayne Brady (host of Don't Forget the Lyrics) is sportin' these days makes me think of Schneider from One Day at a Time. That last fact is not really evidence of any idea theft but I just wanted it to be duly noted.



Speaking of Wayne Brady... I woulda liked to see him back on my telly hosting a second season of Celebrity Duets. I suppose I understand why that's not possible though. Any champ of subsequent Celeb Duets seasons is going to be a feeble follow up act to the Season 1 champ...the fabulous Mr Alfonso Ribiero. So perhaps they sabotaged themselves by showcasing their bestest contenders the first season on air. But still...it was a damned entertaining show...I probably woulda watched a season 2 even if it was a sadly Alfonso-free season 2.



One thing I am NOT watching this summer (or next summer, or any season of any year) is anything on TLC after 5pm. I think the whole aim of their primetime programming is to give ME bad cartoons ("bad cartoons"= nightmares....in case you did not know. It's what I used to call them as a wee moppet and I've always found that to be SOOO adorable that I never quit the phrase) The other night I spied on the TV Guide channel that, at that moment, TLC was airing "The Boy with the New Head" and during later channel surfing I sort of sped by Ch 49( TLC ) thinking "If I linger there, I surely will see something that will spook me and/or cause me to wet my pants" But then I scolded meself for being such a big wuss, and on my next run through the channels, I did linger on Ch 49. Yyyyikes. I did not piss myself but BLLLLAAARGH!!! I saw a dude that looked quite similar to (& only marginally better than)

the fellow below---



Uhhhh, not Beetlejuice either. The dude on the right.
And then last night, they had on "World's Fattest Man" and I think they have a show on the world's tallest man too1 (I've successfully abstained from viewing either...while not as overtly BOOGLA-BOOGLA scary as Beetlej's amigo there, both are still definite bad cartoon fodder)
Now I realize that it is both wuss-ish and juvenile of me to make such a big to do of a boy who has a legitimate head issue. And I'm not saying his story ought not be told. I am only saying that I am decidedly NOT a fan of the TLC network. In fact, if I had fancy satellite service (rather than old school cable) then I would actually have that channel BLOCKED just to protect my delicate sensibilities.

1. I am also blaming these people for an awful sounding show called "When Surgical Tools Get Left Behind". I've been astounded & horrified to read such a show title on the perpetual TV Guide Channel scroll, and I'd thought it was on TLC. I've since learned that that was a Discovery Health show, but both channels are part of the same co./run by the same brain trust

Purveyors of the Practical & Hard to Find...

I had to pay for my Taco Bell lunch with my debit card today. Which strikes me as lame...not having $5.62 in cash on my person. But I suppose the lamer payment possibility would be 5 rolls of pennies, a quarter, 3dimes, a nickel and 2 pennies. On their part, it was lame that I had to sign for it. You don't have to sign anything using your debit at the McDonald's drivethru. WTF?? And then, when trying to hand the signed slip, pen & mini clipboard back to her, I sorta stabbed her in the hand with the pen a li'l bit, in my haste to get my elegant signature out of the rain. It was the cap end of the pen, and I didn't wound her, so I am NOT banned from Taco Bell. Although that might not be such a bad thing...


I watched 2 1/2 hrs of Kathy Griffin on Bravo last night. I adore her. I like how she's single this season and she can just command her people ("Team Kathy") to arrange dates for her. That's probably pretty run-of-the-mill in that town, but it rather amuses a regular schmoe like yours truly.I was thinking she should’ve pounced on that good-looking QVC director guy. As far as I could ascertain, he was single.



While watching the UK visit episode of D-List , I noticed again this icky new practice of referring to the paparazzi as the "paps". I'd read that before on a coupla gossip blogs. This bit o' slang is just NOT ok by me. "Paps" puts me in the mind of a whole other stirrupy experience. And while I realize that the paparazzi can be a nuisance to celebs, I can't imagine that they're truly *THAT* unpleasant.



I went to the VT Country Store in Rockingham recently and lemme tell you, it was a MAGNIFICO shopping experience!! I realize that my native cred plummets by my liking it so much, but I cannot lie. It was awesome. I managed to spend just short of $100. which is more than I shoulda but waaay less than I coulda. I went with the folks, and they mostly liked the food section of the store where practically every item was proferred as a free sample. So while I tore around the premises in a shopping frenzy, they pretty much stuck to that area, grazing leisurely. I did very much like the "candy counter" in the food section. They had all sorts of old timey confections. (I really wanted to somehow use the word "sundry" in that sentence, but I couldn't make it work!!) I bought myself a variety of these ... about a 1/3 of a paper sack full. I love licorice & clove. And HOREHOUND. I like saying it more than I like the actual flavor, but they really ain't bad, so I got a 1/2 scooper of HOREHOUND in there too. Horehound (huh huh huh huh huh). Did I mention HOREHOUND? Ok, ok, I'm over it, it's passed...
Also, I bought my Aunt 'Rainey a SkyBar (I recalled that she had been griping that you can't find 'em anywhere). Ain't I so nice??

Lemme see, what else...

I bought myself an old fashioned half-face paper mask. It's this flapper girl w/ a peuce feathered turban, and the other day Lisa got the funniest pic on her camera phone of this jerk Mark wearing it. I bought another mask for my niece Chloe..it's a different flapper (darker hair, more vampy)

So of course, I bought a li'l something for all the kiddos. In addition to the mask I got Chloe a vintage style Nancy Drew book (The Hidden Staircase). I got Sadie a book of jump rope rhymes. I could never jump rope worth a damn, maybe a good rhyme (and resultant rhythm) is key to becoming a double Dutch superstar. Although, I knew "Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around/ teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.." down cold and it didn't help my case. Anyways..I got Seth one of those fake switchblade combs. Nothing he'd asked for but it amused me to buy him that...I always thought those were the coolest. I later thought that maybe it wasn't the most well thought out gift. I mean, nowadays, if he were to bring that into school, he'd likely be suspended (at least). I forget how times have changed...plus, I went to kind of a rough grade school. An actual switchblade might've gotten you suspended, but you woulda had to have been caught holding it to someone's throat. For li'l Lucy-booey, I got a tin kaleidoscope, which she seemed to dig very much.

Oh and I got some b-day gifts for my Aunt Deb and a grill thingy and this perfume (I got the Sandalwood-Amberwood-Patchouli scent combo...what they call "wood scents"...it's really the hippy compact).

I wanted to post a more substantial post, but it seems I've gone from image-heavy posting (yesterday) to link overkill today. I can't win for losing, I guess (ya ever hear people say that? How ASININE is that expression??) So fuck it, I'm gonna post a picture. It's quite possible the most adorable thing in the billion year history of adorability...check it homeys...

ZZzzzzz

Kind of a dullsville Tuesday, I gotsta say. Although I post the fact half-reluctantly.... I feel like complaining of boredom, quietude, and/or uneventfulness may have the power to invoke calamity through jinx-magic. I don't want that. Let the record show that I DO NOT want calamity.

I am trying to come up with a new desktop scheme. I am really stuck on this new opera CD I just got and I want something with that sort of vibe. So, I have been poring over Pre-Raphaelite paintings & literary illustrations...I'm looking for something beautiful & dramatic, y'know??

I'm digging the works of Emma Florence Harrison , but am having a tough time finding a large, hi-res image to snag. Here are two that I think are neat-o...(just two of MANY)



generally I much prefer stuff in color, but some of her B&W illustrations of Rosetti poems are terrific. This one, for example--



Yeah, that's kind of SEVERELY BLEAK but I like it anyways.


Also neat is the work of Katherine Cameron but I can find next to nothing on her... She has a rather sizable section on nocloo (where I stole the below pic from) but she seems to be utterly obscure otherwise..






And I just today stumbled onto the work of Heinrich Lefler, whose stuff is amazing. I'll toss one of his pics here, but I also recommend checking out his stuff on allposters (and I further recommend you buy me some, 'kay??)

Derek Collard was an interesting new discovery too.

Sorry for this posting being so pic-filled and lacking in any info/ news/ wit/wisdom etc. etc. Please forgive me!! If I conjured up calamity earlier with my "What a DULL Tuesday" whining, then surely I will have stuff to post about tomorrow!! But let's hope not... anyways, I shall post tomorrow--calamity or no, and will try to come up with something substantial-ish to say!!

Laugh Factory brawlin'

What a BIZARRO news item....

While, I don't imagine it takes much fighting skill to wreck Andy Dick, it's still weird to imagine Jon Lovitz as such a bad-ass bruiser. Really weird.

I want to try. . .

this...

Bubble Tea!!!

but I've no idea where I'd find it 'round these parts...

THIS is my meticulous note taking from this morning's ISO 9000 training..

Ahhhh, what can I say?? I get a real kick out of scanning things....

Dunkin' Donuts is giving out some very sexy straws with their iced coffee nowadays. I got a tub of coconut flavored iced coffee (which sounds a little too oddball to be good, but I rather liked it) and once I'd polished that off, I just could not bear to toss out the orange & pink stripey straw. I used it all day today (in consumption of subsequent bevvies)

I love orange and pink together.

I totally feel like I've read this book when I see this cover. I can't call to my mind's eye any images from the inner pages, nor can I recollect any of the general plot points so... perhaps I've not read it. And yet....the cover really does give me beaucoup deja vous, knowwhatimean??
I added the book to my Amazon wish list (which is a rather interesting place, though I suspect it's not 1/2 as long as it could be....I mean, I must want for waaaay more than a mere 29 items!! I'm a very covetous sorta chick...)

Breaking my own blog-laws

You remember, back when I mastered video embedding, how I set a one video per week limit. Well, that was aaaalll the way back on June 29 and I'm a-breakin' the law already!! But I only made that rule so that I wouldn't get gratuitous about it and just offer up some worthless video in lieu of a post when I can't think of anything. So because sharing this vid is absolutely NECESSARY (therefore not gratuitous) I think this particular transgression should be ruled allowable. So yeah, I heard of these "Flight of the Conchord" fellahs...was curious about their current HBO show (a curiosity I cannot satisfy --being unwilling to upgrade from my current $0. per month cable package) and I just barely did some net research on the duo. I found this on YouTube and...well, is it dweeby of me to say I was insta-smitten?? Adorable!!! Hilarious!! Bravissimo!!! How could I not share this ???

I wish all criminals were like this...

...won over by fine wine and a bit o' hospitality (like this DC "criminal")

Am posting this because I haven't used my fancy new vid embedding skills for some time. If ya don't use it ya lose it, ya know...

Ok, this I picked, because it elicited an out-loud "WTF???" from me, and I had to watch it 3X to confirm that yes, I did see what I thought I saw. I may have to watch it once or twice more to determine whether the case here is that--

a) Simple case of drunken violent scumbag...has imbibed enough booze to free him up to exhibit his bastardly behind-closed-doors behavior to friends, family, the general public

b) Driven mad by this kooky music

c) Fanatically committed to excellence on the dance floor

d) Little bit of all of the above...

Yaaaay for VT !!! I was very startled but thrilled to discover that nearby Springfield VT won the contest to host the "Simpsons" movie premiere. Now really, truly , I don't give a rat's arse about the Simpsons movie, nor do I even like the Simpsons in general (I am decidedly a FAMILY GUY fan...you can only be one or the other, y'know...) But it is a victory of sorts for my home state and it makes me very glad. This is how the votes stacked up --

I have no idea what kinda margin we won by, as I am utter crap at mathematics of any kind, but I am impressed at the number of votes we racked up , wee li'l state that we are. The win was a pretty widely reported news item, but I checked it out HERE on the USA Today site (where I stole that graph from..and where I'd voted late yesterday...for VT.... you're welcome!!) where I was rather vexed by all the nasty message board posts...really taking sour grapes to a whole 'notha level. I mean, most of these posters were excessively RABID about this contest...and lots were saying really rotten things about MY lovely state! Grrr!! That makes me doubly, triply, glad we won this thing. Suck on that, you crude, grammatically-challenged miscreants!!

OUCHIE

This anonymous bus boy dude has a CRAAAAAZY conscientious work ethic!! He had better get employee-of-the-month after this or I shall write his bosses a scathing missive of reproach.

And what about that stabber?? Was he aiming there?? If he was...yyyyikesies!! What a whacko!!

damn dirty Wookies

Forgive me nameless Marilyn Monroe impersonator wherever/whoever you are, but I found this news item to be IMMENSELY amusing...

fried frog

This is what I did during our regular Mon morning meeting this a.m. I was still too enshrouded by brain fog to be able to make any verbal contribution and so my reactions & feelings manifested themselves via idle doodling. I can't take FULL credit, though. Lisa was sitting next to me and took the liberty of adding on the cartoony chalk outline (replete w/ police tape) on the ground and the bunny tears. The bunny tears were a nice touch but the other is STOOOOPID. So I reiterate--those were not my doing. If I had the capability of doing color scans, I would, and you would be able to see how the bulk of the doodle is in blue ballpoint ink and those 2 details are rendered in black ballpoint ink.

Wow it is raining like a sonnofabitch right now!!!

now residing in my purse...

The other night, when out shopping, my sister bought me one of these. This company totally undersells their product by calling it a "spork". A spork = FORK + SPOON. But what of the cutting edge on this utensil?? We totally overlooking that?? Why not name it a sporkive or a knispork?? Too silly?? But it would at least acknowledge all functions of the thing. I would've called it a RUNCIBLE SPOON. A popular explanation of what a "runcible spoon" is claims it's a sort of a small spork of yore with a cutting edge on it. Popular or no, said explanation seems to have been totally pulled outta someone's arse, since other works of Edward Lears' mention "a runcible goose" "a runcible hat" a "runcible wall", consequently it seems that the word "runcible" is just some nonsense gobbledygook that Lear pulled outta his arse. Apparently, Lewis Carroll doesn't have a monopoly on that trick. Still, I woulda named this a runcible spoon, rather than the much less whimsical "SPORK"



But anyhow...the copy on the packaging states (and I quote..AHEM...) "The Spork is perfect for your backpack, boat, picnic basket, lunchbox, purse or briefcase". So, being rather susceptible to suggestion, I've been carrying the thang in my (already chockablock) purse. In this regard at least, I'm showing a bit of that perpetual readyness that being in Girl Scouts instilled in me. No matter what comestable I encounter, be it steak or pudding, ham or Spaghetti-Os, I am prepared to annihilate it. Super.

you gotsta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

know when to walk away, know when to run, etc etc yadda yadda...

Just piping up again in order to share w/ youse guys THIS SITE which my new deck of cards advertised and I checked out in the hopes of finding the rules of 31. I used to play 31 with my Dad and liked it, but I can't really recall how it was played. I think you get 3 cards dealt to you?? It's awful-- the only card game rules I have firmly committed to memory are the rules for Go Fish, Rummy, War, Solataire, and Uno.

No luck tracking down rules for 31 as yet, but I continue to search . . .

interstate critters...

Saturday I was zipping up I-91 and I was startled as I noticed a fluffy white tailed ass trouncing through the tall grass of the median at my left. The good news is that this fluffy white tailed ass was attached to a deer. I mean, if I had just seen some floating, disembodied ass on the side of the road, probably my startlement would have grown into confusion, and fear and my careening into a guard rail or something. But the bad news is...that fluffy white tailed ass belonged to a deer...and if that or any deer decided to leave off its leisurely median grazing and traipse across the road..and commence its traipsing at just the right moment..then...BLAMMMO! There would be no avoiding my mowing the crazy bastard down. I've collided with a deer in the past, it was on Rt5 , not the interstate. I did all sorts of swerving and braking and I still hit the f*cker. But y'know, if I'd been on the interstate, if I'd have had much less response time (travelling at my usual 67-70 mph) to even try any evasive maneuvers and even if I did have the chance to brake and /or swerve, it would've likely caused a pile-up.
So that freaked me out a bit. I even took the long way home (avoiding the interstate) later that afternoon.

Today I saw a woodchuck on the hill beside the Exit 9 exit ramp. This charmed rather than alarmed me. I know woodchucks are not stupid or spazzy enough to bolt in front of a moving vehicle. I stuck my arm out the window and pointed at it emphatically, in the hopes that the dude in the pickup who took Exit 9 after me would take note of Mr Woodchuck and be likewise delighted.

once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart...

The other night, on my way home from work, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" came on the radio. And it happened to come on at the point in the commute where I'm driving slllllooowwwly through town (abiding by the 25mph speed limit, y'know. I sure as hell cannot afford a speeding ticket!!) but I had to sing along (and give that sing-along my ALL) nonetheless. That song is just too fun to belt out. Of course, I have no delusions that I sing well . I suppose my "Turn around, bright eyes!" parts were serviceable but I totally butchered the whole rest of the song.

As I was singing, I was thinking of this impending show The Singing Bee. I don't think I can bring myself to watch that. I have this problem of hyper-empathy when I watch tv... I can't watch people embarrass themselves. Oh, I can watch all manner of gore and violence, but when someone ever so slightly makes an ass out of themselves, I cringe and change channels. Like the prelim try-outs on American Idol ( all the lousy singers who think they're talented) I just can't watch that. Well, actually, I don't watch Idol at all, but I find the train wreck try-outs EXTRA offputting. But those episodes have proven to be a BIG draw w/ US viewers...so apparently there is a large contingent of TV viewers out there whose attitude is totally contrary to mine (crazy..but it's true!)

Vermonty Python

This is the Ben & Jerry's flavor that I picked up tonight at Price Chopper. It is RIDICULOUSLY yummy. Coffee Liqueur ice cream with swirls of chocolate cookie crumblies and fudge cows. SO good. It seems to me that Ben&Jerry flavors are a bit like TV shows nowadays. Networks will put out new shows and viewers just cannot accept these in their own time, they have to latch on to them voraciously from the start or the fledgelings will never prosper. It's long been that-a-way with new B&J ice cream flavors. You can't just like such & such a flavor, you must really advocate it (or it will be soon yanked from your grocer's freezer case and discontinued FOREVER)

So not that I don't buy enough Ben & Jerry's (especially in the summer) to singlehandedly keep my fave flave (flaves really, I WISH I could honestly attest to have one singular favorite) afloat, but this is my official advocacy of Vermonty Python Ben & Jerry's. This is me generating word-of-mouth buzz. Buzz buzzz buzzzzz....go out and buy you some!!

fireworks!!!!

I loooove fireworks. I'm getting excited to see some. Today I tracked down this article and emailed it to a bunch of my amigos. I particularly enjoy the "Fireworks Field Guide" at the bottom of the article's 1st page.
^^Pictured here is a "Palm" type of fireworks

shell...check out the article and learn the 8 other types!


I had this funny notion in my head of watching this year's 4th of July fireworks display with a real air of erudition. As everyone around me is brainlessly "OOooohing" and "Aaaaahing" in awe, I would do a prissy golf clap (or is it a theater clap?? I'm not sure, but y'all know what I mean-- a real aristocratic fancy clap w/ right hand immobile) and shout things like: "I say! Exquisite roundel, my good man!!" "Ahh yess- inspired juxtaposition of chrysanthemum and serpentine!"

That would also be a good opportunity to wear a monocle and/or excuse to buy those opera glasses I've been coveting....

tweet tweet

As much as I dislike actual birds, it's odd how I enjoy birds as decorative touches (to clothes, furnishings, etc)





I am especially enthralled with this knife rest I found on the Victorian Trading Co website.





Yes, a knife rest. I'm drawn to the notion of a knife rest. Such specificity of purpose. I like antiquated gadgetry, with such narrow and obsure niches...like rotary phone dialers &things of that nature...

The birdies are sweet though. Also I like cartoon owls... they are sooo much more delightful than REAL owls, which are damn creepy.

odd news...

I feel bad for this woman ... it sounds like her local Mickey D's crew is a congregate of tactless degenerates. I won't lie... I would certainly be a bit "taken aback" if I encountered this woman, but I would try to exercise a bit of poise and not be a total insensitive jackass.
Though I am rather curious as to how exactly she drives a car...

I have sort of a indifference/hatred relationship with birds. There are no birds I actually like, at best there are birds I find tolerable. We were discussing this this a.m. and I said that the only birds I actually liked were like, Big Bird or Woodsy Owl... but then Lisa very callously informed me that neither were real birds. So consequently, I don't like any birds (there are some I even HATE...yeah I'm talking to you filthy seagull bastards) Anyways, due to my strained relationship with the entire avian class, this news item didn't really trouble me much. In fact, I sort of blame the "charmed customers" who were feeding it bread. This results in a peacock that is not only lacking the natural reticence that birds should have, but may even be overly solicitous of restaurant patrons. And then you get this dude, he may or may not have a preexisting aversion to birdies, he's quite possibly a bit barmy and /or abusing mind-altering substances. Now this bird (a peacock, no less, not quite what you expect to see in the BK parking lot) gets all up in his grill...jonesin' for his onion rings . The ensuing man-peacock violence seems unavoidable.