Meerkat's Den

catching up

2006-09-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

What I'm listening to now:

At War with the Mystics by the Flaming Lips

surprisingly chill and relaxing to listen to at bedtime...

I want to rip it to my i-River, but I can't stop listening!

So in the meantime I'm ripping my other Flaming Lips CDs (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and The Soft Bulletin) .

Have I ever mentioned how much I heart Wayne Coyne???

Wayne's the cute one in the middle. Obviously. Photo courtesy of the Flaming Lips web site.

He's dreeeeeamy.

The other CD I'm listening to obsessively these days...

Modern Times by this guy Bob Dylan
Have you heard of him? He's a-MAZ-ing! ;-)

My shape-noting singing friend NR saw Bob in NY with our mutual singing-friend GM. NR said that, at the end of the show, Bob took off his cowboy hat, reached into it, and sprinkled "Bob-dust" on the audience.

Hmmmm, Bob-dust.

rip steve-o

2006-09-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Promised my co-worker LF at Friday after-work Happy Hour at Heroes that I would update my blog. Knew it had been awhile. June! Hey, I can't help it if I have an active social life! :-)

I wanted to update when I heard the news that Steve Irwin died. :-( But I was too crushed to really write about it. So I will now. But not much to say.

RIP Steve-O.

photo courtesy of Australia Zoo web site

My heart and prayers go out to Terri, Bindi, and Bob. And Wes, and Kelsey, and everyone at Australia Zoo...

fox spirit

2006-06-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

First, apologies for lack of blogging. Since March! Jeez, I suck! Sorry! I got super busy at work. That happens when you fire two people. (Yikes!) Then my Internet connection on my laptop at home was super flaky, but it seems to be back to normal (fingers crossed). So the blogging should be more frequent now. I promise.

Here's a super treat. Mobtown sent me this fox picture he ran across on Flickr, and I looked at this whole set of photos of 2 fox families. It is one of the most amazing and beautiful sets of animal photography I have ever seen. Just breathtaking. Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucky_e/sets/72157594146834271/

I'm convinced that fox is my totem animal. Years ago, the summer that my father died, I had this extremely vivid dream that I was back at the house where I grew up, and I was on the back porch, which is enclosed but has windows out to the backyard. And a fox was on the back porch with me, blocking my way to the door to go out to the backyard. And my dad was in the backyard. I wanted to get to him because I missed him so much, and I called to him through the window. But every time I took a step toward the door, the fox nipped me on my ankle. It was frightening but also spiritual at the same time. I suppose that, in essence, is the heart of shamanism and animal magic. There's that edge of real fright and terror to it. It's like my cat, my beloved one-eyed orange tabby, who can be so happy and content and purring while I pet him one moment, and then in a second, just snap at me out of nowhere. That's the nature of animals.

Anyway, when I woke up, I told Mobtown about my dream. It was a dream that completely stayed with me, so I feel very strongly it was a vision. Mobtown told me he'd read in a study of shamanism or dream interpretation or somewhere, that when an animal bites you in a dream, it means that animal is your protective animal. Without belaboring it, or over-interpreting it, I believe that dream was a message to me that my father had crossed over, that there was now a divide between us, and the fox was telling me I had to stay where I was, that I couldn't get to where my dad is. Because the fox was not trying to attack or kill me, or even harm me, but to give me the kind of nip that parent-animals give to their young'uns when they're about to go somewhere dangerous or do something that will cause them harm. So I will leave it there. Like I said, I don't want to over-interpret.

In the reign of the Emperor Nimmyo
when Ono-no-Komachi the strange girl poet
was seventeen, she set out looking for her father
who had become a Buddhist wanderer. She took ill
on her journey, and sick in bed one night saw

AZURE RADIANCE THUS-COME MEDICINE
MASTER

in a dream. He told her she would find a hotsprings
on the bank of the Azuma river in the Bandai mountains
that would cure her; and she'd meet her father there.
...
(Tim and Kim and Don and I were talking about
what an awful authoritarian garb Doctors
and Nurses wear, really, how spooky it is.
"What should they wear?"

--- "masks and feathers!"

by Gary Snyder
"The Blue Sky"
in Mountains and Rivers Without End
(Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1996)

photo courtesy of lucky e

of course she's a LADY VOL!!!!!

2006-03-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

For the sports-deprived, -impaired, or -clueless...

Check out Candace Parker's historic double slam dunks in the Lady Vols' 102/54 win over Army.

photo courtesy of espn.com

I've been a fan of the Lady Vols ever since I started watching college b-ball in high school, and saw a phenomenal Vols/Huskies game during March Madness. Sad to say, I missed seeing Parker's awesome moves live. When I heard the news, I immediately went searching for the clip. Check it out - it's awesome!

re: Owen Gleiberman's review of V for Vendetta

2006-03-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Saw V for Vendetta last night. Will give the fan-girl review later. But for now, enjoy this missive I just sent off to Entertainment Weekly...

Re: Owen Gleiberman's review of V for Vendetta

Dear EW editors:

I have two comments about Owen Gleiberman's review of V for Vendetta in the March 24, 2006 issue.

First, Gleiberman describes Guy Fawkes as "the 17th-century British anarchist hero." While Fawkes may have later become a hero for anarchists, Guy Fawkes himself was not an anarchist. He was a Roman Catholic who conspired to assassinate King James I by blowing up Parliament while the King was there. Fawkes' goal was not anarchy in the U.K, but an end to Protestant rule in the United Kingdom. I thought the film's writers did a good job of providing a brief historical lesson on Guy Fawkes at the beginning of the movie -- especially for American viewers who may not be familiar with the story of the Gunpowder Plot. Sadly, it seems Mr. Gleiberman conducted no additional research on the Guy Fawkes story -- not even a visit to Wikipedia -- when writing his review.

Secondly, I find Mr. Gleiberman's glib dismissal of the film's political themes as being nothing more than "a rage against the machine by the machine" to be ironic. Considering that Mr. Gleiberman is a paid employee of a mega-media conglomerate like AOL Time Warner, it seems hypocritical to fault the ability of a mass media product to provoke thought, foster political debate and promulgate subversive ideas.

Sincerely,
meerkat

37 on the bottom

2006-03-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

So, I've heard that there is a Sacred Harp tradition to call your age on your birthday...that is, to lead the song on the page number that is your age, on your birthday. Well, nothing against "America" or "Ninety-Fifth", but at this weekend's Northern Shenandoah Valley monthly sing, I decided to call "Liverpool" (37B) in honor of my impending 36th-birthday brouhaha. I had the song in my head after listening to a recording of it on my MP3 player last week. Also, I thought the "Young people all attention give...Remember you are hast'ning on to death's dark gloomy shade" lyrics were apropos.

Image courtesy of Michigan State University Libraries

In other news...I haven't blogged about my current reading in awhile. Seems that a book review is long overdue. I have a good excuse, though. I'm reading a tome. Since January, I've been reading this gi-normous historical novel by Rosalind Miles entitled I, Elizabeth. Six-hundred pages of Elizabethan historical references. Needless to say: my cup runneth over.

Not only is Miles a phenomenal writer, but the book is so meticulously researched. I mean, everything is so spot on. For someone like me, who's read numerous biographies of Elizabeth I, studied Elizabethan history to some degree, and owns a copy of Elizabeth R's Collected Works...it's fun to know what's coming next, and be able to pick out exactly where the non-fiction leaves off and the fiction begins. For instance, the other day, I just finished reading the section about the death of poor Amy Dudley (nee Robsart). Everything Miles includes in the telling has evidence from the historical record...except, of course, "who done it" (that is, IF anyone done it and it wasn't just an accident). I don't want to inlcude any spoilers, but I was really impressed that Miles' take on "who done it" actually has some merit as a theory. It stands up -- it is probable that it happened the way she presents it, even though it is, without a doubt, fiction.

It's just wondrful to read a book that presents such an accurate portrayal of Elizabeth's life, with such exacting detail, without being too stuffy and academic. It's amazing to me that Miles is able to include all the juicy intrigue plus the hot-and-heavy romance, without sacrificing historical accuracy. Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those annoying history geeks who just lurks, waiting to pounce on historical inaccuracies. I'm fine with historical fiction being fiction. It's just so pleasant when I can read historical fiction without huge, glaring, anachronisms jumping out at me. Miles is perhaps the best author of historical fiction I've ever read. Actually, I can take out the "perhaps" -- I can't think of a historical fiction writer I like better.

dude! toby dawson must be stoked!

2006-02-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

Dude! Toby Dawson just medaled in Men's Moguls! His posse must be stoked!

Sorry, I'm just loving the commentary for moguls and snowboarding. Every other word is "stoked". I loved it just now when the commentator mentioned Toby Dawson's "posse".

In all seriousness, Toby's latest run was just freakin' amazing.

I think my man "awesome Dawson" has just overtaken Apolo Anton Ohno as my Olympic Flame. Ooh, baby.

photo courtesy of www.nbcolympics.com

baby boom at the national zoo!

2006-02-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

The National Zoo has another baby! A prehensile-tailed porcupine was born on February 8 at the Small Mammal House!

Ain't it cute?

Photos courtesy of the National Zoo: this is actually not the new baby porcupine, but a porcupine that was born at the zoo last year.

unrivaled pupsmanship!

2006-02-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

So, it's probably not surprising that I'm not a football fan. Sorry for the double negative! Translation: No me gusta futbol. I played both flag and tackle football when I was a kid, with the neighborhood boys and with my cousins, and loved it. I knew all the rules of football, from watching it with my dad. I even read those children's books about playing football. But at some point in my teens I got really bored with American football. I think it may have coincided with my discovery of Australian Rules Football and Rugby, which are both so much better than American football. (Oops, that's probably grounds enough for the Dept. of Homeland Security to start listening in on my phone calls.)

Or maybe I just got sick of American football fans, which really do tend toward the most dumb-headed of the American populace.

In any case, I was delighted when a friend told me about Puppy Bowl II on Animal Planet. Which I watched this evening. It's BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT! It's a few cameras trained on a pen full of rambunctious puppies! The carpeting is painted like a football field! There are waterbowls under the goalposts! There is even a "bowl cam" so you can see the puppies drinking! Kittens are the half-time show! There are even "puppy player stats" on the website! And a referee would come into the pen and issue a "puppy penalty" when one of the puppies pooped! Ha!

photo courtesy of Animal Planet

Oh my god have you ever seen anything so cute? Again, I say, BRILLIANT!

Ta ~ I'm off to vote for Most Valuable Puppy...

tee-hee! i saw the PANDA!!!

2006-01-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

photos courtesy of the National Zoo at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

I SAW THE PANDA! I SAW THE PANDA!

Actually, I saw all THREE pandas at the National Zoo!

As I've blogged about before, I've been obsessed with the National Zoo's Panda Cam ever since little Tai Shan was born this summer. (Of course, he wasn't named until 100 days after his birth, a Chinese tradition for Giant Pandas.) Anyway, way back in December, I reserved tickets to see Tai Shan and today was the day!

I wasn't actually expecting to see Tai, because I know that he is sometimes in his den and away from the public. In fact, the tickets had a note on them, basically saying, this ticket allows you into the Panda Habitat, but you're not guaranteed to actually see the cute, furry little (I mean, BIG) creatures. So I went today expecting to see lots of cute animals (like red pandas and lemurs!) and not-so-cute animals (like naked mole rats, ugh!).* I even thought, Ooh, if I'm really lucky I'll see one of Tai's parents, mama Mei Xiang or papa Tian Tian!

But I was so lucky today, I saw all THREE PANDAS! First I saw Mei sunning herself atop her den of rocks. Then a nice person pointed out to me that Tai Shan could be seen from the other side of the viewing platform. He was tucked behind a rock, in his little plastic tub! (If you read the panda cub updates, like I do, you'll know that Tai LOVES his tub!) He was all curled up in his tub, and then he stretched, rolled over, and splayed out on his back, with his belly showing, and his legs out! Eeeee, how cute! Everyone viewing the pandas let out a collective "Awwwww!" as he rolled over and bared his belly!

After my 5 minutes of viewing Tai shan were nearly up (I actually didn't use all of my allotted 5 mintues, because a little boy was wanting to see the cub, and I was blocking his view, so I let him get in front of me)...I then noticed as we walked away from the panda habitat that Tian Tian was sleeping in his enclosure, also on top of his den of rocks! Lazy pandas!

It really was the BEST ZOO DAY EVER!

And I got a Tai Shan souvenir!

photo courtesy of mobtown blues-see all the zoo photos here!

*side note: if you really want to get grossed out, check out the Naked Mole Rat Cam!

a-dict-ive vid-e-o gamessss...

2006-01-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

So one of my favorite game sites is Minicli p, where I play Tetris obsessively. Then this weekend, at the social after the sing, my friend's twin boys were playing the Monster Truck game on Miniclip, which I tried as soon as I got home. It's very fun. But I think my strategy of just flooring it and going as fast as I can isn't a good strategy. I usually end up with my monster truck flipped over and burning. Which is okay. I enjoy the "eh, eh, it blowed up real good" appeal of that.

Then last night, being sick and playing lots of video games, I was perusing the games on Miniclip, and came across Cow in the Shaft. Oh. my. god. It is SO addictive. You must try it. Oh, and check out the Help page -- it's written by Germans who know English much better than I know German...but still very funny. You can actually hear the German accent as you read it!

Cow...in...the...shaft...so...addicted...must...play...more...

big mouth strikes again...not

2006-01-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

I have a killer case of pharyngitis and laryngitis. So blogging and emailing is my only form of communication. Seriously. I have NO voice. Today at work I kept opening my mouth and nothing at all came out. It's such a weird feeling.

I'll tell you what though. Nothing gets sympathy from people like laryngitis. Like, for once, people don't think you're faking. All of my co-workers have been giving me the "poor thing, you should go home" speech with sad eyes and a pout. Today I went into work just to go to a scheduled meeting. When I got into work and checked my email, the meeting was cancelled. So I turned around and went back home. Mobtown is sick too and came home early as well. Both sick together. So sad!

The laryngitis is worth it, though, for the great singing we enjoyed this weekend at the 7th Annual Keystone Sacred Harp Convention. I was already sick with this chest cold/sore throat combo I've been suffering with since before Christmas (it just won't go away!). But I sucked on enough Hall's Menthol Eucalyptus honey-lemon drops to sing for all weekend. Including a wonderful time singing after attending a service at a primitive baptist church near the convention. My voice held out! Yay! I was hoarse as soon as we left the church.

Singing at the Southampton Primitive Baptist Church, post-convention: After we sing, we sing some more!

Monday morning, I woke up with no voice.

It's quite challenging for a big mouth like me!

But I'm really enjoying being sick & resting...without being as sick as I was around the holidays and 2 weeks ago. I'm at the point where I'm too sick to work and be out and about and all, but I'm well enough to sit up and read and crochet and watch tv. And blog. Lucky you!

So, let me just say a word about my new favorite tee-vee show: ISAAC!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my god, DARLING. It is WONDERFUL. You must watch it. Mobtown HATES it. I mean, HATES it. But I LOVE it. I've realized while watching it that Isaac shares all my conversational mannerisms and sayings.

And I realized.

Underneath it all, at my core, at the true essence of my being.

I am a gay man.

Ha!

So, after you watch the Isaac show, which you will ADORE, you must send out Isaac cards to all your friends. I especially like the "Feeling Chubby?" one.

Ta!

Isaac! Isn't he fabulous?!?!

i love soap operas in any language

2006-01-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

So, the lineup on cable TV this evening was so positively dreadful, so yawn-inducing (c.f., men's figure skating on ESPN number whatever) or stomach-churning (c.f., The 700-lb. Man on Discovery Health Channel), that I found myself watching Univision's newest mini-series soap opera, Alborada. What made me really stop surfing the channels was that I noticed everyone was wearing colonial Mexican dress. Oooh, a period drama! My heart always skips a beat for those. I just loved looking at the pretty costumes and soaking in the melodramatic over-acting. Who cares if I only understand every 5th word? I'm such a sucker for period dramas as well as soap operas. This is both! Besides, some of the guys were hotties, in a kind of cheesy, feathered-hair, Latin heart-throb way. And I somehow realized that the plot had something to do with this chick's son. So I found a plot summary and review from a Florida newspaper online and now I'm all caught up. Basically. I'll be speaking Spanish in no time!

Oh, I forgot to include on yesterday's resolutions -- improving my Spanish skills. Univision to the rescue!

new year's resolutions

2006-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

I apologize to those people who do check my blog now and again (who knew?) and have complained about my lack of updating. Now that my life has calmed down a bit, I think I will be able to update more often. So visit frequently!

Here are meerkat's quite reasonable and attainable new year's resolutions:

update my blog more frequently!
get to work on time, at least 4 days out of 5
pick up the violin again
play the piano more often
do yoga at least once a day, preferably twice -- every morning and evening
join some professional organizations -- SAA and MARAC, most notably
finally get my thesis bound and send out copies to my advisor, school, and local archives, museums, and historical societies who were helpful in my research
learn to knit -- without forgetting how to crochet
take a pottery class
make a budget and stick to it -- for the most part
save up $$$ for a down-payment on a house or condo
join the YMCA and take an African dance class (I took it last winter and loved it - I hope they have it again!)
keep the house (fairly) clean & straightened
spend more time with my niece
spend more time with my friends

Wow, I think that's plenty!

what meerkat's been reading this summer

2005-09-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of posting about books I've read lately. I see that the last book I posted about was that horrible book in which the kitten dies.

Well, actually, I skipped a book in my summer reading list. And I feel that, for the sake of full disclosure & honesty, I must admit that I read a romance novel while I was vacationing at the Rivah House with the incomparable CubicleGirl and The Girl. Yes, I actually bought a book at the 7-11 in Smithfield, VA. No, not even at the Piggly Wiggly or whatever supermarket they had there in town (it wasn't a Piggly Wiggly, but it shoulda been). But I digress. The fact is, I bought actual reading material at the freakin' 7-11. See, I had brought along Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat by Paula Gunn Allen. What a perfect book to read while vacationing in Powhatan country! But 10 pages into it and 16 hours into my vacation, I had determined that, although it was promising to be a good book, and I do want to get back to it, it was not reading that would satisfy me while I drank Stoli vanilla with Diet Coke, smoked cigars, and listened to country music while sunbathing on the banks of the James River.

So I picked up a medieval romance at the convenience store. Another Chance to Dream by Lynn Kurland turned out to be a perfect beach/summer read. The plot kept me interested, and I found the medieval adventure & chivalry aspects enjoyable. It took me back to that time in my life, the pre-teen years, when I loved those romance stories in the original sense of the word "romance": tales of chivalry, honor and courtly love. I did find the heroine a bit annoying at times, and Kurland overdid the 'twases and 'tises a bit. But overall a fine specimen of medieval romance.

Being in that vaguely medieval frame of mind, I decided to pick up a book that I had started last summer, but got bored with 2/3 of the way through and put down. Fortunately, I had left the bookmark in it, so I could pick right back up where I'd left off. It's a testament to C.J. Cherryh's writing that I could dip right back into Fortress in the Eye of Time, having read the first 2/3 one year before, and not have to reread any parts of it to refresh my memory. It's not among the best fantasy books I've read...I mean, it's not anything outstanding that's going to stay with me forever. But I like the way the book just kind of seeped into my bones. It was very dream-like, which really matched the ideas in the story. It's a book you can really settle into and relax and take a long time to read. There were parts where I was kind of lost...where I think Cherryh could have been more articulate with what was happening...but then maybe it would have lost its dream-like trippy quality. Definitely a book for hardcore fantasy fans. I wouldn't at all recommend it as a first book for someone to be introduced to fantasy. But great for a fantasy fix if you're a long-time fantasy fan like me.

Next I read Isabel Allende's new novel ZORRO! I tried all summer to get it at the library and finally scored a copy right at the end of summer. I was anxiously anticipating this book and it did not disappoint at all. It was a wonderful read! Just great. It had EVERYTHING. I don't want to put in any spoilers, but suffice to say, this book has it all: Indian warriors & medicine women, Spanish missions in California (but of course), pirates, gypsies, more pirates, voodoo priestesses...oh, and of course, duels & swordfights. Loved this book. Allende really did justice to the Zorro legend in a way that I feel no other writer today could have. I breezed through this book -- I mean, I would take long lunches just because I couldn't stop reading. Such a delightful read.

After that, I read Ferret Fun, part of the Animal Ark series by Ben Baglio. My excuse for reading this is that I'm thinking about finally pursuing one of my long-time dreams: to write a children's book. This means that I can finally read children's literature as "research" and not feel guilty about it. This book was delightful. I'm happy to report that NO FERRETS WERE HARMED IN THE PLOT OF THIS BOOK, unlike the carnage we saw in Toes. It had a nice plot arc, some suspense, good characters, and I actually did learn some things about ferrets that I didn't know. I can't wait to read another book in the series! Maybe Hedgehogs in the Hall?

Right now I'm reading The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner. I will write a full review when I finish the book. But let me just say two things. First, I started the book last Friday and I'm almost finished (another can't-put-down book). Second, the book had me laughing out loud in bed last night. To the point that Mobtown came in and asked, "Are you giggling maniacally to yourself?" I am loving this book.

salt of the earth & hispanic hollywood

2005-09-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's a Hispanic/Chicano movie night. First, I watched Turner Classic Movie's latest installment in their month of movies about the labor movement: Salt of the Earth (1954). Grandpa Walton did a great job playing a villain. And I loved Rosaura Revueltas, whom I had never even heard of. But the person I became really enamored of while watching this movie was Juan Chacon, who played the union leader Ramon. And what's really amazing is that Chacon, like Clinton Jencks (who played Barnes in the movie) and most of the cast, was a labor leader himself. I'm ashamed and surprised that I had never heard of Chacon, even though I pride myself on knowing American labor history and a little more about Mexican-American history than most anglos. The movie really was pushing the boundaries for the 1950s. I mean, it's really lefty...it's not only about the Chicano labor movement, but it's also feminist.

Now I'm watching Hispanic Hollywood on WETA. It's very interesting...your typical gloss of Hollywood history, but I have learned a lot. Like...Wow. Not surprising to me, actually, that Hispanics won more Congressional Medals of Honor in WWII than any other ethnic group.

Yay! Anthony Quinn! I didn't realize he played Emiliano Zapata's brother, with Zapata played by...Marlon Brando? Wha? I agree with the Chicano groups who protested his Best Actor nomination. Jeez. You can't have Brando playing Zapata.

Awesome, now they're profiling Desi Arnaz. Babalu!

Oh! My hero! Carmen Miranda! When I was kid, I wanted to BE Carmen Miranda when I grew up. No joke. I mean, mainly because of the cool bikini-dresses and tropical fruit headdresses. I had no idea she died as a result of depression and drugs. So sad. And I didn't know she had a sister who was also a performer, Aurora.

Ooh, Ricardo Montalban. Can't leave him out! What a voice! Plus, he was Khan! And Mr. Roarke!

Now they're profiling Salt of the Earth. Smart marketing!

I want to see this movie The Brave One. I'd never even heard of it. Hey, it was written by Dalton Trumbo -- another big lefty! The bull is cute -- I hope it doesn't die at the end!

Cantinflas! Yay! He's a Moreno, you know. ;-)

Here's another Moreno...Rita! First Hispanic woman to win an Oscar...I didn't know that! You know, I've never seen West Side Story? Really. I must be the only one. I mean, I get all the cultural references to it, and I've heard the songs, but I've never seen the movie.

Speaking of me being alone...am I the only one who actually liked The Mambo Kings? I mean, I really enjoyed that movie. Did anyone else like it? I thought it was a fun movie.

Isn't it interesting how Martin Sheen really has transcended typecasting, but is still acknowledged as a Latin role model? I don't know if I said that articulately. But what I mean is that he has not been relegated to playing a variety of "ethnic" roles, like Anthony Quinn was, nor was he forced to play a variety of "spicy" roles like Rita Moreno...but at the same time, he is our first Hispanic president.

Whoa. Omar Sharif as Che and Jack Palance as Castro? What a travesty that movie must have been. I mean, I love both of them, but I'm not seeing that movie anytime soon.

I didn't know Raul Julia died! Where was I when that happened?

Dude, they just blazed through the 70s. What was that about?

Ooh, Milagro Beanfield War...one of my favorite movies. Now they're showing all the movies I saw in my teens and early 20s: La Bamba, El Norte, Born in East L.A.

PANDA CAM! PANDA CAM!

2005-09-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Oh my god, here's my new favorite thing:

Panda Cam!

Check it out. Live coverage of Mei Xiang and her newborn cub at the National Zoo. Watch her eat bamboo! For hours! It's so addictive. I can't stop watching...

Pandas are so kawaii. Mobtown and I were watching Mei Xiang and we were saying that they are just ridiculous animals. It's like Sanrio created a real, live animal.

photo courtesy of National Zoo

help for animal victims of hurricane katrina

2005-09-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

Johnathan Harvey rescuing his pet dog "Cuddles", photo courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States

This evening I was watching Larry King show on CNN on How You Can Help Katrina Victims. Being an animal lover, I noticed how many people were carrying their pets with them in their arms as they escaped the flood waters. There was a man who was giving dog food to a dog -- I wasn't sure if it was his dog or a dog he'd found. I saw a woman deplaning at an evacuation center with her chihuahua in a blanket in her arms.

I've been browsing the various animal rescue websites that CNN scrolled across the bottom of the screen. I read a heartbreaking article on the HSUS website about two people who were forced to leave their beloved pet dogs locked in the second floor of their home with enough food to last 1-2 days. I can't imagine having to make a decision like that. I also read in that article that Maryland's own Days End Farm Horse Rescue has just left with their horse trailers to go to the Gulf Area to rescue horses that are stuck in the flooded areas. (Kazoogrrl used to volunteer at Days End.)

So for those of you who are animal lovers and feel inclined to help animals displaced by the hurricane in the Gulf, here is a list of sites that are accepting donations to help the animals:

ASPCA
Days End Farm Horse Rescue -- appeal for help in pdf forma t
Humane Society of the United States
Noah's Wish
North Shore Animal League

If you know of animal groups that are accepting donations for the relief effort, please leave a comment with the URL and I will put up a link. These are just a few that I saw this evening.

Also, for all you crafters on the net, check out Crafters United and Sewing Charity for crafty ways you can help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to Kazoogrrl for those links.

Dogs being rescued from a rooftop, photo courtesy of HSUS

movie of the damned

2005-09-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm sittin' here watching a rerun of The Dukes of Hazzard on CMT and I start imdb'ing actors from The Dukes (because I was curious where Sorrell Booke, aka Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg hailed from) and I imdb James Best, aka Rosco P. Coltrane...and find out that Rosco's in a movie that's in post-production. Here's the deal: it's co-written by, apparently, his daughter and son-in-law...his son-in-law being former teen heart-throb and Y&R star Michael Damian...and the stars (aside from Rosco) are Randy Spelling (yes, that's right, son of Aaron Spelling and Moose's brother), Carmen Electra, and Jason Priestly. SHUDDER. I mean, seriously. Now I know we're in the end times.

who writes a children's book that ends with 8 dead cats?!

2005-08-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tor Seidler, that's who. I just finished reading his book Toes last night. Oh yeah, sorry. *SPOILER ALERT!* Okay, now that that's out of the way. Seriously. 8 dead cats at the end of that there book. WTF? Go back and check out the little tease about the book at that link I gave you. It's okay, I'll wait. And look at the cute cover art. What in any of that would lead you to believe you're going to read a book in which you are given an image of 8 tiny little cat graves in the last chapter?

I was bereft last night when I finished the book. I mean, positively bereft. Blubbering all over Mobtown's chest as he tried to comfort me.

Why? Why does Toes have to die?

Look, I'm all for kids learning about death. So Toes' mother dying in the first chapter was okay. I mean, it wasn't okay, and it made me sad. Especially since I read it while my own 15-year-old one-eyed orange tabby whom I love was in the cat hospital and I didn't know if he would make it or not. But it was reasonable to put that in a childrens' book.

What I don't understand is why he had to have Toes die. It was completely unnecessary for the plot. It didn't have to happen. It still would have been a powerful, compelling book without Toes dying. But then to have Toes make his way home...barely make his way home...crawling, literally on his last legs...to die on his mama's grave...and then to find the markers for all his siblings, who died the same year. That was just cruel. CRUEL, Mr. Seidler. I'm never reading any of your books ever again. God knows how many other animals you slaughter in your other books.

Mobtown and I went to the library tonight and I checked out a number of children's books, including one called Ferret Fun. I only hope the ferret survives.

I also checked out the first Lemony Snicket book. Now that I'm working in educational publishing (and having a blast, I might add), I no longer need to feel guilty about reading children's literature. In fact, it's "professional research." YAY!

craft corner deathmatch!!!

2005-06-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my god. I found the BEST SHOW EVER! Yes, Craft Corner Deathmatc h. Rock! On tonight's episode, the challenge against the Craft Lady of Steel was to make "Shmarbie" clothes with a certain theme.

Dude! 90% of my childhood was spent making crazy Barbie clothes! We loved using the Darth Vader doll's black cape as a wrap dress a la Diane von Furstenburg. Don't even get me started on the piercings and hair dye jobs our Barbies had! Man, I so missed my calling... In the fashion industry... or the Barbie industry. Whatev.

Okay, so my girls from various B-more craft groups definitely need to get on this show.

Speaking of my crafty cohorts, check out this story in the Washington Post about a very talented crochet artist who used to attend our craft-ons, Ming-yi Sun.
photo courtesy of Ming-yi Sun

You know, people are freakin' morons. They're crocheted dolls, people. Giant crocheted dolls. Yes, how threatening.

But, hey, at least they gave Ming-yi a hell of a lot of publicity! Woo-hoo!

resumes and books, oh my

2005-06-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sent off three resumes today. Yay! I have over 20 job leads, which is great. I've spent a long time re-examining and re-evaluating what I want to do, what are my skills, etc., etc. Here's what I've come up with so far:

I like working in an office, actually.
I'm very organized and I like to organize things.
I'm good with business and management, surprisingly.
I'm a kick-ass editor, and a pretty good writer.
It's important to me to do something that's good, that helps people.
I value education and intellect.
I don't think I want to go back to school.
I want to refine what I do -- I want to have a niche, but a more marketable niche than the one I'm in now.

So I'm applying for a bunch of non-profit jobs, and I'm finding that I'm mostly drawn to jobs in development. So, wish me luck!
________________________________

In other news, I've decided to keep track of the books that I read -- to keep track right in my blog posts, as opposed to in the sidebar. That way, there's a running list of what I've read, and I don't wipe it out every month or so. I got the idea of keeping track of what I've read from Rachel's Last 2000 list.

So. What I'm reading now:

Landing on the Right Side of Your Ass by Michael Laskoff. For obvious reasons. It's seriously the best book for Gen-Xers that lose their job. It's the right blend of sardonic, sarcastic, and flip, with actually good advice throughout.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Laura Ingalls Wilder. Photo courtesy of startribune.com

I've been wanting to re-read these books for awhile. I like re-reading things I read when I was younger. What really prompted me to start re-reading these books now is that I've become completely sucked in to watching Little House re-runs on the Hallmark channel on my weekdays off. Here are my thoughts upon re-reading the book. So far, I've been disturbed by how many animals get slaughtered (I know, I know, that's what people had to do on the frontier) and by Pa's "darkey" song on pp. 99-100. But it's kind of like Huck Finn. There's racist language in it, it makes us uncomfortable, it's a part of our past (and, unfortunately, still part of our present). Other than that, though, I'm enjoying re-reading the Little House book immensely. I can totally understand what I connected with originally. I told Mobtown that it's one of those chicken or egg things. You know, am I the person I am because I read and liked books like Little House, or did I like Little House and books like it because of the person I am?

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Whoa, that's weird. A college I almost went to has a (or is it the?) Jane Austen Collection. I'm going to check that out and get back to you on that later. But anyway, what I was going to say was this. I have to confess that I'd never actually read any of Jane Austen's books. I've just seen those wonderful movies wherein Colin Firth plays the very swoonable object of a Jane Austen heroine's affection.

Colin Firth as the incomparable Mr. Darcy in 1995's Pride and Prejudice. Photo courtesy of amazon.com

I'm ashamed to say that I had even started Pride and Prejudice several times, but couldn't get further than 20 pages into it. But last month when I read Reading Lolita in Tehran, I was intrigued by Azar Nafisi's arguments about the value of fiction vs. non-fiction, and I loved her section on Austen. So it encouraged me to give Austen another try.

Oh. My. God. I love Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey is just a wonderful book. I have the same feeling reading it as I got when I first read E.M. Forster's A Room With a View. I am totally smitten. I used to be a wanna-be Austen fan and now I'm a real honest-to-God Austen fan.

It was bound to happen eventually.

ha ha ha, i quit my stinkin' job!

2005-06-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

So last week, last Wednesday to be precise, I positively made my boss's day by telling him I was going to resign. He was trying to get rid of me, because he's a sexist prick. So I made it easier for him, and was the ... *ahem* ... BIGGER MAN ... and up and quit.

It hasn't been fun since then. I had to work like a fuckin' fool at our grand reopening, all the while not knowing when would be my last day. Or if one of my boss's "honeys" or "babes" would make me mad enough to just walk out then and there. But now I've established my last day (June 30) and my so-called "severance package." That is, he's allowing me to work there for the rest of June and I'm getting all my vacation and comp and personal days I've got coming to me. Which gives me a paycheck until about the end of July.

I found this great book at the library called Landing on the Right Side of Your Ass, by Michael Laskoff, which has been most helpful to me. I highly recommend it for anyone who's been fired, laid off, or like me -- run out of my job with the threat of horrible performance reviews and other badness for no good reason.

Now I am adrift to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. One friend put in a vote (in person) for librarian. What do you think? I'm leaning towards library school, myself, but that's a year out. I have to find bread in between...

my cup runneth ovah!

2005-05-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my god, Rob and Ambah are gettin' married! Awesome!

photo courtesy of http://www.cbs.com/specials/rob_amber/

thoughts on the academy of country music awards

2005-05-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Academy of Country Music Awards...blow by blow, minute by minute. You know you need it.

somewhere between 8-9:30
Yo, when are they gonna let Cowboy Troy actually perform? Instead of, you know, making some self-deprecating joke about how he'll never get a #1 hit on country radio. *sigh*, so far to go...

9:30
Nothing against Gretchen Wilson -- I really love her music -- but she done got her new artist awards last year. When will Josh Turner be recognized? I mean, other than being nominated, that is. He seems to always be a bridesmaid, never a bride.

He is really, really good. He has a tremendous voice. His album is good old-fashioned country. Plus he's cute.

Poor Josh.

9:38
What the fuck did Sara Evans do to her hair? It's all stripey and straight. Eww.

9:44
No disrespect, but I have never heard of Chris LeDoux...wow, his official site is slammed. I can't even connect to it.

9:47
Dude, I need to see yet another pick-up truck commercial. No, really, lay it on me. If Toby Keith's in it, all the better.

9:51
Yay! Brad Paisley! He's the Hank Sr. of our generation. Or, rather of my niece's generation, that is. Ahem. Yep, Hank Sr. of the 21st century. Only without all the drankin' and womanizin'. And this borders on heresy, but Brad's cuter than ol' Hank. Sorry.

Ha! Brad's got paisleys on his gee-tar! Ha ha! How cute!

9:57
Wow. Rob Schneider. Really?

Ooh, Alison Kraus. As Mobtown said before I had a chance to...God, she's HOT.

9:58
Um, Rascal Flatts beat out Alison Kraus? WTF?!

That's perfect. Rascal Flatts started out thanking Jesus Christ, and ended thanking Coors Light. Now that's a statement about today's country music scene.

10:03
I think I'm gonna go to bed. I've seen Josh Turner and Brad Paisley. Alison Kraus isn't even there. None of my faves are gonna win anything. Freakin' commercial country music.

10:05
Brooks and Dunn just took the stage. That's it. I'm outta here. Wow, their new song REALLY sucks. G'night y'all.

survey says...

2005-05-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tell me what I should be when I grow up!

Here's your chance to make a difference in someone's life. Really. Tell me what I should do next with my life. Your vote may have an impact. Here if nowhere else! ;-)

Vote now!

1. Get my Ph.D. in history
2. Continue working in historical museums as a curator
3. Get a teaching certificate to teach those little hellions in middle and high school
4. Get an MLS and become a librarian
5. Oh, what the hell. Go to a law school and make a butt-load of $$$

Vote now! Vote for one of those 5, or do a write-in.

when propositioning someone, best to not be DRUNK!

2005-05-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well, Baltimore was showing its best face today. I went to meet Mobtown for lunch today and, as I had arrived a little early, I decided to take a spin through a downtown jewelry shop. Mainly because I wanted to be able to give Mobtown a hard time for not bringing home a giant silver pendant of a bud for me.

So while I'm looking in the cases, this brother with a do-rag comes up to me and asks what strikes my fancy. Assuming he worked there, I said, "Oh, I'm just browsing."

Then he goes, "Well, whatever you like, what say I buy it for you, we go back to my place, have a little candlelight dinner..."

I cracked up right in his face. Because the whole time he was delivering his proposition, I was trying to not pass out from the overwhelming booze smelling emanating from his body.

Bwahaha!

After that, I met Mobtown, and while walking to and from lunch, we saw:

1. A woman hocking up mucus repeated times and spitting those big globs on the sidewalk.
2. A man smoking while leaning on a mailbox, who blew his nose all over his hand (and the mailbox), then proceeded to wipe his hand all over his shirt and pants.
3. A shirtless man who had draped his white Philadelphia Eagles shirt Superman-cape-style over his shoulders.

Ahhhh, springtime in Baltimore.

like the world needs more starlings

2005-05-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

The baby starlings are cheeping! The baby starlings are cheeping!

Yes, the Starling Family that has a spring-time home in our living room's heating duct have returned. It's not the swallows-to-Capistrano, but whaddaya want?

Man, those starling parents are a busy pair, constantly flying back and forth, swooping under our roof eaves and skittering into our heating duct, then immediately flying back out again. Mobtown and I figure it doesn't take too long to regurgitate up some half-eaten bugs, because they are only in the duct with the young'uns for a millisecond before they take off to get more yum-yum for the babies. All freakin' day long they do this. And the whole time the babies are cheep-cheeping.

Earlier tonight, the starling babies were doing this eerie thing where they were cheeping in unison, with this kind of regular throbbing hum. It was so weird. They are ONE. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

What kills me is that our stoopid cats are completely oblivious to the fact that PREY are living just a few feet above them. And making quite a racket, may I add.

I just love urban wildlife. Next time I will post about the morning doves (or is it mourning doves, does anyone know?) who are trying to build a nest on the ledge outside my office window.

Oh, there they go again. As I was typing these, the starling babies calmed down, got completely quiet, and presumably fell asleep. They just woke up and started screeling and screeching and cheeping again.

Meanwhile, my kitties are fast asleep right next to me. Who's dumber, the cats or the starlings? Or me, for blogging about them?

Here's a picture of a baby starling. Not my heating duct baby starlings, but a random baby starling.

boo hissssssss

2005-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

All righty then. First pope from Germany since the 11th century.

And so fitting. Because that's where he wants to take the Catholic Church.

Back to the 11th century.

Yippee-aii-kai-yay. Glad I'm a (pseudo?) Episcopalian. Going to a church with an openly gay assistant rector. So there. Hey, progressive Catholics! Come on in! The water's fine!

no surprises here!

2005-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

You Are 24 Years Old

24

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

an animal rescue org that will NOT get my $$$

2005-02-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

I support several SPCA, humane society and animal rescue organizations, but here's one that will not get any of my money:

Humane Society of Southern Maryland and York Pennsylvania -- 5705 Holton Lane, Temple Hills, MD 20748, (717) 845-3797.

My friend is moving and can't take his cats with him, so his mom (also my good friend) has been contacting various animal rescue organizations to try to find homes for the kitties. When she contacted the aforementioned Humane Society of Southern Maryland and York Pennsylvania, she received an email that cussed her out and called her son "irresponsible." I emailed the volunteer who wrote the email, telling her that I was appalled at her PR skills and that her organization would not get any of my money...unless it went to training for her on how to deal with the public professionally and courteously. She emailed me back cussing me out and calling me "stupid." Wow.

As long as this particular volunteer works for them, that organization will not get any of my money. I urge all animal lovers to donate to any other animal rescue organizations, but not to the Humane Society of Southern Maryland and York Pennsylvania. This may sound crazy, but I think that you should be kind to people as well as animals. I know. Insane.

Anyone who would like to adopt two beautiful cat brothers who are neutered, very sweet, and good pets, please contact me and I'll put you in touch with my friend. I have to cast the net wide, because I just facilitated one cat adoption a couple of weeks ago.

survivor random-ness

2005-02-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, two Survivor-related items for today.

First, Best Random Survivor Quote of the Week...

Jolanda, who got voted off in Tribal Council in Episode 1, explaining why she was voted off:

"Because they all were afraid of me," she says. "I knew I was in trouble, like, on Day One when the young girls were in the water, and they were talking about how perfect my rear was."*

What?! Seriously, what does that even mean?

Secondly, Good Gawd is Angie HOT. He-lloo!

There's a little mini-shrine to her on Survivor Fever. Let's hope she stays on Palau as long as Ami did on Vanuatu...or longer. *Sigh*. I miss Ami.

Note to CBS: My interest in Survivor tends to last only as long as there are serious hotties to watch.

I suppose they already know that though, huh?

*Quote from CBS News

jack and loretta -- just look how cute!

2005-02-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

See, what I'm saying. Did you see the picture of Jack White and Loretta Lynn at the Grammys that CubeGirl posted?

They were just so cute! I love Jack White. Seriously love him.

It really was a perfect Lo-retta week for me, too. Because we just got cable TV the other week. FINALLY. Don't get me started. And, anyway, one of those classic movie stations (forget which one) played Coal Miner's Daughter. On a night when I had a really bad cold. And it just made me so damn happy. I've been wanting to put it in my Netflix list and just not getting around to it, and then I got to see it on the tee-vee. You know, I saw that in the theater when it first came out...with my mom, dad and grand-mom. My grandmom was just appalled that they had a scene actually set in the bathroom and that they used the word "horny." I'll never forget walking out of the theater and her saying, "That would have been a really good movie, if only they hadn't used so many swear words!"

I've been checking out Loretta's online store. And dude. I so need the Conway Twitty and Loretta collector plate.

You know, this is embarrassing to admit. But what else are blogs for, huh? When I was a girl, I had the biggest crush on Conway.

But Jack White has definitely replaced him.

Um, Jack? Hello darlin'...

do i look like a yuppie?

2005-02-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, I was at my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday, and these women in their 50s were talking before the meeting started. And one of them said something like, "Well, I like going to Whole Foods, but it's always crawling with yuppies." And then she looked di-rectly at me, and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, then turned to her cohorts and said, "I guess I should be more careful what I say." Then they all giggled.

What the fuck? So, like, what? I look like yuppie scum to the Red Hat Society set? Seriously? Wearing my L.L. Bean khakis and railroad museum staff sweater? Okay, so maybe it was the L.L. Bean.

well portland oregon and sloe gin fizz...

2005-02-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

...country music radio won't play Loretta Lynn, what up wit 'dat shit?

That's all right, 'cuz Miss Loretta just won a damn Grammy. And she pulled Jack White up onstage with her. He was so cute, with his constant "I'm not worthy" bowing while she insisted that he thank the people for the award. Seriously, when will country radio wake the hell up? I can only listen to Keith Urban but so many times a day, much as his songs may be singable. And G-d knows I can do without ever hearing effin' Daryl Worley ever, ever again.

You know, when Johnny Cash posthumously won 3 CMA awards for The Man Comes Around and "Hurt," several listeners called into Laurie DeYoung's morning show on WPOC asking why they hadn't heard that song on the radio. And I remember Laurie saying, "Well, if others request it, I'm sure we'll play it." Yeah, right. Never heard it.

It's just so frustrating being a country music fan sometimes.

But not when Loretta Lynn wins 2 Grammys in 2005. That's vin-di-ca-tion, baby.

ash wednesday

2005-02-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

I did the Ash Wednesday thing for the first time in my life. In my spiritual autobiography entitled "please don't ask me what religion I am," I seem to be starting an Episcopalian chapter. Right before Christmas, one of my Sacred Harp friends invited Mobtown and me to her church in Bolton Hill. I loved the Christmas Eve candlelight service I attended. Then Mobtown and I started going to the 8:30 "Contemporary Eucharist" service. Now, normally I wouldn't be caught dead at any service called "contemporary." But Mobtown checked this one out before getting me to go there. What's amazing is that I really loved the contemporary eucharist service. So I've been going ever since. And it works out perfectly, because when I work on Sundays (which I'm doing this month)...I can go to the 8:30 service and then right to work from there.

The part of the contemporary eucharist that I think I connect with most is that we all stand in a circle around the altar during communion. And after communion, we hold hands while this very nice gentleman plays lovely classical pieces on the piano. I'm completely hooked.

Oh, and I failed to mention that the church is inclusive, with an openly gay assistant rector (whom I love, he is so nice). So that's where I am right now in my spiritual life. Meanwhile, Mobtown is feeling more at home with the Quakers. Which is really funny, because now the partner of my Sacred Harp friend who got me to go to Memorial is now going to Stony Run with Mobtown. Sometimes it's best to just go with the flow and see what happens. So I'm not too stressed about having to answer the question, "So are you Quaker, or Buddhist, or what?" My answer is something akin to Marc Cohn's lyrics in the last verse of "Walking in Memphis:"

Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would --
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
And she said --
"Tell me are you a Christian child?"
And I said "Ma`am I am tonight"

i am a railroad woman

2005-02-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

I know that one of the cardinal rules of blogs is to not give away details about your life, like where you work. But then I wouldn't be able to tell you cool stuff like this...

Yesterday, I turned the turntable in the roundhouse. It was so much fun! I did it all by myself -- it only takes one person to turn the turntable, with others watching if the tracks line up, and telling you "whoa" when it's time to stop. I absolutely loved it! I turned it when it was empty, then helped to push a rail car onto the center of the turntable, then turned it again with the car on it. Then we pushed the car off the turntable to its new bay. And then I turned the turntable back to its original position and helped the guys put all the trap doors back on the turntable.

How cool is that?

crochet is the new knitting

2005-02-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

So tonight I went to Atomic Knit Night at the Golden West. I'm now approaching the point where I have 3 knitting circles I attend. And I don't even knit, I crochet. Go figure. As I keep saying at Knit Night, "Crocheting is the new knitting." It was a lot of fun. I just love looking up from my crocheting and seeing upwards of 10 women (and one guy -- hi Justin!) crafting together. This really cool chick came to Knit Night for the first time and we had some really funny conversations about goofy 70s children's tv shows we watched. And, of course, we got into Simpsons references.

Speaking of The Simpsons...who do you think the "outed" gay character will be? I mean, besides Smithers, Patty, Karl, and Lenny? Oh, and let's not forget the homo tendencies that have been exhibited by Homer and Bart in past episodes. As Justin reminded me tonight...remember the episode where Homer sees Ned Flanders on the ski slopes, and all Homer remembers is Ned's ass in the tight ski pants, saying, "It's like I'm wearing nothing at all...nothing at all...nothing at all!"

Some of the Internet odds-makers have Flanders up there for the outed character, but Sarah at Knit Night said, "Oh, Flanders is all man!"

..."nothin' at all! Nothin' at all!"

So, let's try this again...

2005-02-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here's the deal. I forgot my password to my old blog, and I changed email accounts, so I couldn't get back in to update it. So I decided to just go for a whole new blog.

Here it is! Yay!

I swear-to-G*d I will update it. Because I am now groovin' to my new cable wireless connection and I can sit on my lazy ass on the couch and blog while watchin' the tube.

What could be better? GOD BLESS AMERICA.