Random Friday #31

Semi-Inspirational Quote
The other day I saw an inspirational quote by William Jennings Bryan: "The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little." And the quote was accompanied by a picture of several pyramids. So I thought to myself, "The greatest things ever done were done little by little, while enslaving those less powerful than ourselves."Afterwards, the quote seemed less inspirational.

Baby LeRoy
The other day I saw a movie that had an old movie in the background. I did not see the title of the movie, but one of the actors in the credits was Baby LeRoy. I don't think I have ever heard of him (I am not a silent movie buff), but I looked him up.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Baby LeRoy (12 May 1932 – 28 July 2001) was a child actor who appeared in films in the 1930s.

Born Ronald Le Roy Overacker in Los Angeles, California, Baby LeRoy's career began when he was less than a year old, co-starring with Maurice Chevalier in A Bedtime Story, and ended with a cameo role as himself in Cinema Circus (1937). He is best known for his appearances in a number of W. C. Fields films, including Tillie and Gus (1933) and It's a Gift (1934).

A starring role in the 1940 film The Biscuit Eater was to have been his comeback, but an accident during filming forced the director to choose between recasting or holding up production until he recovered. The director chose to recast, and the film became one of Billy Lee's best-remembered roles. In 1957, as an adult, he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show To Tell The Truth.

The actor died in Van Nuys, California.

Every once in a while, you get the impression that it is nearly impossible to be a well-rounded individual, exposed to all kinds of art. This is one of those times.

Simple Analysis
I saw a YouTube clip of Bill Maher on Healthcare: Politics Simplified. Basically Bill Maher says the government should be involved in healthcare because they do a good job with the post office. How does the successfully delivery of a letter translate to rationing out healthcare? It makes no sense whatsoever, though it sounds good in sound-bite form.

Farrah
I saw an interview with Farrah (on David Letterman). She seems as if she were on something. And then I found Farrah on The Partridge Family. Let's just say that you will recognize Farrah if you have ever seen her poster. The hair is different, but . . .

A Different Spin
I saw a post the other day, and I was a bit horrified by the post. Then I saw the two comments (one made by the poster, the other by a crazy person, and it really placed a different spin on the whole issue. I don't know why, but I thought it was so funny at the time.

YouTube Copyright Infringements
I missed the president's news conference, and I went to YouTube to get it. Some guy just posted it. This was not from ABC, though there was an ABC logo on the video. I know there is a fair use of copyrighted material, but this does not seem to be part of it. I mean, I got what I wanted and I that was fine. But YouTube gets money from advertisers and this seems like ABC would be a bit pissed. Maybe.

Browsing Blogs
The other day, I read a blog, and one of the comments was, "You are my kind of girl. You should read my blog." So I went over to see why this person was hawking her blog. She is a waitress in Hollywood. She says she has a fairly good chance of being either a writer or an actress. She has black fingernails and rainbow-dyed hair, but she claims that she doesn't prance around, doing things to get noticed. If her writing was better, her blog might be entertaining. And you know, I really don't want to read a blog just to make fun of it. It just does not sound like much fun anymore.

Monsters vs. Aliens
I was looking at a computer this weekend (I won't buy, I had thought I was going to find a deal), and there was a bunch of Monsters vs. Aliens advertisements. One of the main characters is akin to the 50 Foot Woman. I have thought about giants, and most of the more human-looking giants are women. My first thought was, "I would not want an ass that large." But then I wondered if men were a bit scared of a giant man's penis. You know, for comparison purposes.

Man 1: "You think yours is impressive, you should see the 50 foot man's penis. His wood is bigger than your tree out front."

I almost said that the 50 foot man's penis could not go down a manhole. You know, the manhole covers in the street – I mistakingly was going to call it a manhole (is it a sewer hole?). And then I thought of what manhole suggests. And now I am giggling.

I think I should go now.

Oh, and I was going to say that men are perfectly fine with a woman with huge breasts.

Man 1: "Silver dollars. Shoot, the 50 foot woman's breasts are more like the size of dinner plates."

Man 2: "I'd like to eat off of them."\

Okay, I am going now. I wanted to talk about the economy, but ended up talking about huge penises and eating off nipples. Oh, boy, this has been a week.

Random Friday #30

Monsters vs. Aliens
When I first saw the previews for Monsters vs. Aliens, it looked really good. But then they showed previews, a bunch of others, with different clips. I imagine I have seen the whole movie, four minutes at a time. I don't like to see movies if I have already seen the best parts in the previews. Like everything else, you ought to hold a bit back. It applies in resumes/cover letters, in initial conversations, and in the bedroom.

Millionaire's Row
I saw an interesting article in the online Forbes that starts like this:
In today's tough economic climate, Warren Buffett is setting a good example. The world's second richest man lives in the same five-bedroom, gray stucco house he bought in 1958 for $31,500.

That's right. Legendary investor Buffett, 78, still calls his humble digs in Omaha, Neb.'s Happy Hollow suburb home, despite a $37 billion fortune. That famous folksiness is, of course, in keeping with his investment philosophy. "If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years," he once told a reporter, "then don't own it for 10 minutes."

Second richest man in the world and you can own a bigger house than his house if you can get a loan. I looked at the richest zip codes in Georgia and found one near me. Median home price: more than I can afford.

No. 18 Sea Island, Ga.
31561, Glynn County

Median home price: $1.94 million

Once described by Vladimir Nabokov as a "millionaire's colony," Sea Island is an oasis of golf courses, beach clubs and stately homes off the coast of South Georgia, a few hours from Savannah. This north-end property, done in Spanish style, has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, as well as a two-car garage and 3,668 square feet of interior space. It is listed through Hodnett Cooper for $2.7 million.

Getting Eaten
Wednesday, I had sort of a silly post about someone I knew in college with a vestigial tail. Someone asked why I did not ask her about her vestigial tail. Well, I also said in the post that I was a bit scared that she could be a lizard alien. Now think, if you think someone is a lizard alien but they are pretending to be a humanoid, if you go along with the deception you probably have a better chance of not being lunch. Well, that's my thought on the matter.

AIG
Everybody is upset with AIG, and some are upset with the government as well. Think about this: Barney Frank wants all of the names of the AIG execs that have received bonus checks (the bonuses that are part of the $165 million)? So if they have this, what are they going to do? Tell everyone? And if even one gets murdered because of this disclosure, do you think that the family will be the slightest bit litigious?

NCAA Basketball Brackets
We are all bitching about the $165 million that is being wasted by AIG, but we are also spending lots of work time filling out brackets for the NCAA March Madness gambling event. No one is talking about the wasted effort because the NCAA BB people give us the best betting opportunity of the year. Better than the Kentucky Derby. Better than the Superbowl. Just better.

My blog entries have been hit or miss lately. Sorry about that. I have had a few other things on my mind. And I can't figure out how to get some of the AIG money. Have a good Friday.

Random Friday #29

Listening to the Radio
I heard a song on the radio recently, and I loved it. But I don't listen to popular music much, and it took me forever to figure out the artist/title of the song. It sucks growing older. I used to know all the popular songs. Not now.

Funny Headline
I saw a picture and loved it. It was a headline from the News & Observer. I don't know exactly why it was so funny. Guess it is just my morose sense of humor.

Country Song
I heard "Put a Girl in It" the other day; I think someone had an internet station on, and I could hear it.

Too Ambitious
There is a YouTube channel called TheRealNews. Anyway, they did a sixteen minute video entitled, "Why we are in Afghanistan." I am all for hard-hitting news, but this seemed a tad bit ambitious to me.

Blown Talent
Christina Aguilera is one of those singers who has talent. She had a hit video (Genie in a Bottle), and it appeared as if she was going to be a major star. I mean, she was part of that Disney brat pack (Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears; and Academy Award nominated actor Ryan Gosling). She has strong pipes and could dance well. She was cute. And yeah, she is well-known, but she is not a sensation like she could have been. She started slutting it up, calling herself Xtina. And then she went glamorous for a while (e.g., "Hurt", Candyman, other songs). Doing 40s hits. Sure, she sells out venues, but she is nothing like what she could have been. I mean, I guess she had a strong act one, week act two, but the curtain has not closed. She has a strong voice . . . perhaps the decision-making has not been the greatest. She reminds me of a less-talented Madonna.

Talking Back on YouTube
I made a comment on The Resident concerning healthcare, and I got the following response from Luke: "where have you seen examples where socialized medicine doesn't work. take a look at canada and england. both have socialized medicine and both are far better of then the states. know what your talking about before you comment."

I fired back, "The US has made more advances in medicine, and the time to treat for those with insurance (including govt insurance) is much better than in Canada or England. Of the people who are uninsured in the US, about half have turned down insurance subsidized by their employer (because they are young and stupid). Many economists believe that both methods of delivering healthcare are inefficient and need to change. Just because I think differently than you doesn't mean I don't know what is going on."

Luke's response: "Im sorry but you have no idea what your talking baout."

I was going to shoot back something, but you know, his argument is "You don't know what you are talking about." Not heavy on the analysis. So I gave up. I might be talking out of my ass, but you know.

Grantichrist the Superhero
Have you been watching Grant's recent posts. The last four posts have been about super-powers. The posts are long and well-thought-out. And they are cute because I can tell Grant has put a lot of thought into which super-powers are better, this one or that one. As if someone would knock on his door and say, "Grant, we are with this international justice league, and we would like you to join our team. We want to expose you to Gamma radiation so that you can have super strength." Anyway, he is always interesting, but this seems so cute. And this from a guy who could probably kill someone with a Bic pen and some dental floss. Or just the pen.

Dutch Treat
I read that a baseball team from the Neatherlands beat not one but two baseball powerhouses in the World Baseball thingie. I don't know much about international baseball, but I am pretty sure more Dutch don't even follow the sport. The best quote from Jair Jurrjens, who said earlier this spring, "I don’t want to go there for one game and come back." He would have been the best player on the team but passed on the experience. Two or three other professional baseball players have done the same. Weird.

On that note, Happy Friday!

Random Friday #28

xmlchar with an Attitude
When you look up Xmichra on Google, you get one smooth-talking Canadian. Actually, you get a suggestion that you really meant xmlchar, and it drones on about xmlchar stylesheets. But then if you surf to read about stylesheets, you miss Xmichra 's Life List.

Hostess with the Mostess
WIXY invites new people to his blog, and well, I just don't do it. I am not that much of a hostess. I used to be a great hostess. I have had posts in the past that have been clever, and also have given back to those who read my posts (which is essentually what WIXY does). Once, I had a post where I gave "virtual Christmas presents" to some of my frequent commenters. The post went over really well, as I knew a bit about them from their blogs and made the gifts personal. I also made a post for Academy Awards, and which of my blogger buddies would win which award (again, being bother personal and hopefully funny). It may have all started with a post about assumptions I make about the people who frequently comment on my blog.

I have not done a similar post in some time, for two reasons: (1) these posts take a lot of work, and (2) I have a much smaller audience now. For those of you who have a loyal following, this is a way of giving back to your most frequent commenters. Granted, it does not have appeal outside of your group, unless of course, you incorporate a bit of humor into the post. This suggestion will not drive traffic, but may help ensure that your readers stay loyal to your blog.

Funny YouTube Video
I saw this video, or more precisely, someone who had linked to it. It is all about smelling undies, and it is not disgusting at all. It is actually kinda humorous. Which led me to another video. The second video sort of creeped me out a bit. And I sort of wondered if my panties have been sniffed before. I mean, with me out of them.

Walk Scores
I was on Zillow the other day, and they have incorporated "Walk Scores" into their site. Way cool. So now I not only know that my house has lost 12% of its value over the last . . . month (kidding, year), I can also find other faults with the location.

Hyper Hyperlinking
This will be my worse/best hyperlinked blog entry . . . ever.

Recommended Books
I have five or six books, all recommended by others, that I hate. I have thought of saving them for book exchanges, but I am just too kind. I just don't want to unload them and look kind doing it. I will do the world a favor by burning them. You see, if I recycle them, someone may read the books, and I can't take that chance. I know there will be a little more carbon in the air, but that is going to be the deal I make to keep these books away from other people's eyes. I make better decisions just thumbing through a book in a used bookstore and thinking, "I think I want to read this treasure."

Cosmo
I was reading Relationship Underarm Stick last week. This is a blog that is about . . . hating Cosmo. I mean, I am sure there are other subjects. Actually, I am not. But it got me to thinking about Cosmo.

When I was growing up, I would see Cosmo in the newsstands and if I was not reading the words, I would have thought it was a men's magazine. I remember my grandfather ogling over the big-breasted women on the cover (please insert a disgusted "ewwwww" here). I really don't want to know that my grandfather ever thought about women. And the covers have not changed all that much. I read Cosmo in college - but really read other people's mags or when I was waiting for the dentist. I had no cash for magazines or tennis shoes (my father always bought me shoes when I would come home; always). Enough of tennies, back to Cosmo. In Cosmo, I would read about moves to make to make him feel better (and by him, I am talking about the Cosmo guy that we all have to have in our lives or else we are not fulfilled women. The magazine may cast some men in a bad light, but it was normally all finding the right site to put him through the roof, easy ways to look good for the date with him, or how to catch his eye at a party. Jan Brady has a Marsha complex, and Cosmo has a him complex.

Fast Fingers
I was typing so fast an erratic the other day, that the web browser, instead of going to blogger.com, brought me to blogbus.com. I have no idea of the site is work safe. It is written in . . . Chinese (I think). So I have either gone to a blog site or a porn site, and I can't really be sure which. Well, let's hope the Chinese government is still doing something about squashing the Internet for its people. Well, not really.

The Cook, the Thief, the Wife & the Lover (and the Liar)I so like a new television show, Lie to Me. The main character is Tim Roth, and as I was trying to figure out how I know him, I searched IMDB. While looking for something I saw him in, I noticed a film I had seen while in college: The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover. I remember seeing it in a different city because it had a small engagement. It was an extremely controversial film, and Time Roth happened to play Mitchel, a dim-witted goon in the thief's gang. The movie was artistic, powerful, and sick. Anyway, it was an important film, which is indicated by for the movie connections for the film.

Chatting
I occasionally use the Yahoo Chat as sort of a email account, just responding quickly to messages. Never thought I would write this, but to one response, "Sorry. Gave up watching guys blowing their load for Lent." Not sure the Pope would be happy with that one. And, no, I had never chatted with the guy before. Or since.

Random Friday #27

Selective Technophile
The other day, I was looking at my blog (to answer comments), and blogger sort of hiccupped and gave me my blog feed instead. I have not ever seen the feed, and I was a bit surprised. I had heard about feeds for websites that have data that is updated frequently. I am a selective technophile; I understand some technology and don't know much about other things. I can blog and write a few things in HTLM. But I don't do the feed thing. Don't really know about it.

Videos
I have been entertained recently by ~Deb's videos. I mean, she videos Sunday fun, talking about a good porn plot, and my favorite, them just goofing around tp make a music video. Deb is incredibly gifted (has quite an expressive mind). But I sometimes wonder if video editing software is allowing people with smaller budgets and less technology to enter the fray. I would imagine this takes hours and hours to do. I don't have the patience for this, but I am glad that some (~Deb) do. And there are probably a bunch on YouTube that I wish lacked the skill to upload vids, but that is something else.

Academy Awards
I missed the Academy Awards this year, and you know, my life did not change. I did watch omovies summary, and I think I got caught up. I have not been to see an award-nominated movie in quite some time (I did not see Batman because it looked too violent). Don't get me wrong, I like artsy films. But I guess I am more used to a film being in a foreign language to make it artsy.

Blue Juice
I listened to part of Blue Juice, a really bad 1995 movie starring Sean Pertwee as JC, a twenty-something surfer, who is more of a surfer kid than an adult. The best part of the movie is in the first scene, where you see JC with full frontal nudity. Well, there is a strategically placed sock that keeps the movie at an R rating. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Chloe, his girlfriend. Chole's best line, "Are you telling a woman with a pan of burning fat in her hand that she doesn't know what she is doing?" The film is set in Australia, and I wonder if Catherine Zeta-Jones has a good Australian accent. I have no idea, actually, because I have not been down under.

Anyway, I think if a movie is free on the web (and there is no copyright infringement), I can almost guess that it is old or it is crappy. This one is sort of crappy. There are touching points (about the one hour point, where they talk into a "lie detector blow hole"), but it is normally a bit flat. Or does it go from charming to flat, a bit uneven for a film.

Oh, and is it just me, or could you even imagine Catherine Zeta-Jones being Sean Connery's love interest in Entrapment. He is so sexy, but I just don't see the two of them together.

RPI and Basketball
The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. Created in 1981, the RPI is a tool used in selecting and seeding the 65 teams for the NCAA Men's basketball Division I tournament. This sentence is taken directly from its definition. But when I looked at the numbers, Tennessee had a #1 strength of schedule. Tennessee plays in the SEC, and according to everyone, they suck this year. Okay, this is by someone who pulls for Georgia Tech. Anyway, how can Tennessee be #1 in SOS when they play in a conference that sucks? I don't know too much about men's basketball, but this makes no sense to me.

Carpe Diem
"If you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you wanted. Would you capture it, or just let it slip away?" I heard these lines, or similarities to them, recently on a television program. Okay, I admit it, the lines are a bit lame. I think they were written that way on purpose. But you know, for most of us, I think we let these moments slip away. Sort of sad, really.

Flixter
Flixster.com is a new-ish site. I wonder why they are not being sued by Flicker. Or Twitter. Or both.

Movies
Is it just around here, or do the movie theaters seem more crowded? I want to watch A Powerful Noise but there is some stink associated with the phrase "town hall meeting." Whenever I hear that, I think, "A meeting where we all bitch and agree with one another but nothing gets done." March 6 is when Watchmen premiers. Oh, and that is Malin Akerman on the movie poster. Not sure who she is, but I think people will go just to see her in spandex.


Tagged
I don't like doing memes, and tags are just sort of memes. But since I sort of poked at Ian earlier in the week, he tagged me. Instead of just forgetting, I am going to list 10 sites with attitude. Because I have a bit of 'tude myself, I am not going to follow through with the entire request, telling them that they have an award.

Anyway, here are the rules, some of which I will not be following:

Rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs, which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Nominate your favorites and link to this post.

Here are my nominations, in a particular order, the result of an algorithm that involves numerology, metaphysics and Ti Chi:

1. Let Me Go On and On. Okay, my very own lesbian crush.
2. Grantochrist. If you ignore the J-bunnies, a really funny read.
3. Cup 'o Joe. The only HR person you will ever like.
4. SSC. Joe's main squeeze.
5. Heart of a Family. A day in the life of a super Mom with a child with special needs.
6. Xmichra. 'Nuff said. Don't want to make Deb jealous.
7. Dr. Deb. Always engaging.
8. Mal's Mumblings. One smart cookie.
9. Saur. I don't read her often, but a good blog with good 'tude.
10. A Tail of Two Towns. If you get jealous easily, skip this one. He lives in paradise.

Oh, and if I didn't list you? Maybe that is because I like you more. Did I mention I don't like tags and memes?

Random Friday #26 (Half of a Deck of Cards)

Legislative Inefficiencies
We have inefficiencies in a lot of our systems. When many spending bills are passed, there is a certain amount of "pork" attached to it. And senior legislatures think of this as the cost of doing business. I mean, you can see senators and congressmen attaching amendments to bills to fund the building of a road, the additional of a program, whatever. Even in local media, people talk about government grants (based on the passing of some of these bills) as if it were free money. Someone has to pay the bills, or at least print the money.

Healthcare Inefficiencies
We all want health insurance. But if you look at it on the whole, the insurance industry costs us a lot of money. I mean, if you go to the ER, the bill is more than $200 to be seen. Even if the answer is, "Looks like you are not going to die. Schedule an appointment with your PCM to get drugs." I don't know the answer, but I expect when the Chili's waitperson asks me to pay the bill with a Celebrex pen, I am seeing some of the cost of healthcare.

Numerology
I am a big believer that numerology is a bunch of crap, but then I look at how I make decisions. If I go on an elevator, I don't like taking elevator 1 or 4 (if there are many elevators). Completely irrational. When looking at bathroom stalls, I pick an even number from the end, all else being equal. When leaving a tip, I always pay in whole dollars, so a 23.11 becomes 27.11. Why not $27.00 even? Anyway, it seems that so many little decisions are based on completely irrational things, why shouldn't I believe in numerology. I mean, I am half-way there right now.

Being Polite
I have a friend who always says "How are you" as a greeting. The other day, she said this while passing someone. I was with her, and the person did not respond. She said, under her breath but loud enough for me and the offender to hear, "Bitch." If you act polite and then are rude, does that make you a rude person who appears polite on the outside? I think it does.

Boob Jobs
I have known three women at work (over the years) that have had boob jobs. Well, two I knew, and one I suspected. Both women that had them wanted me to feel their boobs. I mean, when I complimented them (more out of social obligation than anything else), both said, "Go ahead, touch them." After an awkward pause, I touched them (more out of social obligation than anything else). I avoided both women for the rest of the day. The third woman – who took a week off for an "elective procedure" I suspected just did not want for us to feel her boobs. Actually, when she came back, my first reaction was to look at her face – I mean, I thought she was having some other work done. After writing this, I think I have revealed too much.

US Post Office
If it will save a bunch of money, I would be okay with having mail delivered 4 days per week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I mean, they are off so many Mondays anyway, and I suspect that they skip a day anyway. I would even endorse them switching it up, the days they deliver, around time zones, if that helps. I mean, when I mail a package, I know there is a 30% chance that it will be lost or damaged anyway, if mailed through the US Post Office. True story: I overnighted something (at the cost of $30 or so), and the US Post Office delivered it one month later. It was a flat envelope that looked like it got caught in some gears or something. It was something like a contract – and when it did not arrive in a day, I had to re-notarize the stuff and re-mail. Not only did I have to pay another $30, but when I found out that the original was delivered a month late, they would not refund the money. Something about them not guaranteeing their service. So now I am a fan of UPS or Fed Ex. Both work so much better.

Market Forces
I am a big believer in market forces. If you make something illegal (drugs), you drive up the price to the point where some will still meet the needs of the people who want illegal drugs. [I am not saying that drugs are good or bad with this example; personally I think most illegal drugs probably do harm to the body.] Anyway, I sort of like The Mentalist. I don't love the show, but I like it. What I did not like was that CBS stopped streaming the show. So then you find sites pop up, just looking for a show or two. I wish CBS would come to its senses and stream the video. In an environment where everyone is scrambling for viewership, this makes little sense.

Being Objectified, or Chickipedia
While looking for an image for a recent post on news and Gnooze, I found a site called Chickipedia. I did not use the pic on the Gnooze blog entry because the pic was a bit too sexy for my blog. I don't buy into objectifying women. Well, I did not until I saw this site. The site boasts near 8,000 women (called chicks), more than 100 thousand images, a bunch of videos and three articles. Okay, there are probably a bunch of articles as well, but they are not featured on the site. Whenever you see an image that lists their approximate bust, waist and hip measurements and then will link to similar chicks, I am thinking "objectifying." And then I think – um, guys, come back to my post. Really. Guys. Please finish my post first.

Caroline Smailes Interview
I just read on SSC's blog where she interviewed Caroline Smailes. I am a tad bit jealous, because I know meeting an author can be a wonderful experience. She even has a contest for a signed book on her site. Not that I want any competition, but I suggest you go over to her site and check out the interview and the contest.

Random Friday #25

Verizon Conversation
I saw this video on YouTube some time ago, and I knew I could write about it. Problem is, I did not want to develop the idea. Guess I should just start a Random Post. Better than developing a post.

Anyway, it is a tape recording of a conversation between two Verizon employees and a customer. And in this case, the customer is right, but neither employee (manager and someone working the phones) can tell the difference between dollars and cents. I think the basic problem is . . . that the employees are idiots. Sorry, it is just that neither employee understand that units of measure are important. Anyone who has ever baked knows units are important - think of adding one tablespoon instead of a teaspoon of salt.

The Watchmen
I just saw a trailer for the movie: The Watchmen. In the trailer, they make the claim, "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time." I have never heard of the graphic novel – just saw some movie posters in movie theaters before reading the above blog entry. I had not a clue what it was about.

I have never read a graphic novel, and I sort of write this with pride. I mean, when I first heard the term, I thought it was an erotic novel. I just did not connect that graphic was in "picture" not expressing the words on the page. I have seen graphic novels in bookstores, but I have not really opened the books. I guess I consider them "comic books" and I am not interested in comics. I am not a 12-year-old boy. Sometimes I think this makes me close-minded. Not giving graphic novels a chance.

Pop Culture: Invading HS Students Lives
I don't do pop culture. I think it is fappid. I found a site that was supposed to teach me about pop culture. Actually, I think it is a guy's top 50 hottest women in all sorts of categories. For instance, in sports, there is a girl by the name of Allison at #3 (her last name is on the site, but she is a GIRL - a high school girl. From the site: "Allison is a pole vaulter for the California high school. She doesn’t have any major sport achievements to date, but she became immensely popular on the Internet after a big website featured her pictures. Well, after I saw the images I became her biggest fan immediately."

She is a high school girl, for gosh sakes. What is wrong with these people?

Reading Comments
I try to read and to respond to comments. And occasionally, very occasionally, I re-read a comment. I have re-read this comment perhaps a dozen times:

Well that's what I mean by text being misconstrued, however I beg to differ re: my extreme creativity, because I certainly cannot transition so beautifully as this: "I believe the ability to create and express yourself in an artistic way is a product of the number of orgasms you can achieve on a given evening."

That my dear, is creative! ;) I love your transitions.

After reading this, I decided to write a few complementary comments of other bloggers. I am not sure my comments had the same effect – probably didn't – but I hope they did. I was on cloud nine.

New Blogs
I was going outside of my comfort zone recently, and I found a New Blog. By new, I don't mean new to me. Well, it is new to me, but it is also a brand new blog. Jasmine is the author, and it is called An Experiment in Poverty. It is always hard to give your heart to a new blog . . . because so many of them don't seem to get off the ground. There are a few good posts, and then nothing. Not sure about this one, though. Perhaps it is the start of a wonderful blog. She posts no pictures of scantily clad Japanese women, she is not a Washington DC insider, and she is not from the refined South (Georgia). But in reading her, I remember what was going on with me right after college. When I was just starting out as an adult.

Vague Random Friday #25

I have not done a Random Friday for a while. I feel a bit of scatterbrained, actually. Because I cannot really hold a thought, I figure I would just write on a mode of blogging that does not rely on having a thought held together through two consecutive paragraphs. Oh, crap, I can't hold a thought together for one paragraph.

Brains and Drugs
Not holding a thought. There are some that think this temporary condition is sad, perhaps a disadvantage. Personally, I think my sometimes scatterbrained moments keep me from trying mind-altering drugs.

More on Drugs
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know Michael Phelps has appeared in a picture with drug paraphernalia. I have several thoughts: how come when he did something in South Carolina, the first news comes from England? Guess they were high bidder.

Still More on Drugs
I was driving in the car the other day, listening to a talk type radio program. One of the callers was saying that Michael Phelps is proof that you can be a recreational drug user and still be a productive member of society. "I mean, look at Phelps. He won 8 gold medals and we now know that the drugs didn't hold him back."

Two things: (1) he has won more than 8 gold medals (14 or so, I think – and if I am wrong, I am not stoned; I am scatterbrained). (2) he had like a bazillion drug tests during training and competition and no drugs (performance enhancement or illegal) was found in his system. As far as I know, there is no cause and effect that shows that marijuana use leads to fast swimming. If fact, I think it makes sperm swim a bit slower. Or is that urban myth?

Google Search Features
The other day, I was googling something, and Google suggested that I might find this "tool" helpful: Search Features Way cool, but I doubt I will remember this in days.

AccuWeather Picture
A picture is worth a thousand words. I was looking at the weather the other day – and it suggested a picture. The picture to the side. At first, I thought it was some sort of alien/UFO-type mocked up picture. But then I read about it: "As the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack approaches, a test of the Tribute in Light Memorial illuminates a passing cloud above lower Manhattan. The twin towers of light, made-up of 44 searchlights near Ground Zero, are meant to represent the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center. Depending on weather conditions, the columns of light can be seen for at least 20 miles around the trade center complex. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Public Affairs 2nd Class Mike Hvozda"

Sexy Dumb
When I was in high school, occasionally I played like I did not know the answers to questions because I wanted guys to like me. In a weird, twisted sort of way, I thought dumb was sexy. I learned way later that guys did not think dumb was necessarily sexy – they just figured it would be easier to sleep with a girl that was a bit slow. Not all guys mind you, but some I know. But in high school, it did not often occur to me that sleeping with girls was a common thought among hormone-rich guys.

Death
I am currently writing two blog entries about . . . death. This disturbs me on so many levels. One I thought about months ago, but never finished it. One I started yesterday – was going to post it today but did not have the energy, brainpower or lucidity to finish it.

Friday makes a better hump day than Wednesday. Have a wonderful Friday. Me, I am going to get paid for inferior intellectual efforts today. All is good.

Scatterbrained

Sorry, but I have been a little scatterbrained lately. I just cannot concentrate on one thing for too many seconds.

The United States of Tara
Dr. Deb wrote a post last week about "The United States of Tara". The main character is Tara, a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (what I learned as Multiple Personality Disorder). Now, I admit it, I don't completely understand Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

I will admit that I have not experienced DID myself – no one I know has suffered from the mental illness. The first episode seemed a little sweet for such a serious mental illness.

Bank of America
Looks like Bank of America just asked for $20 Billion in handouts. Guess they need some cash to give bonuses to their employees in the first quarter of the year. But seriously, it looks like the $800 Billion Congress allocated last year (with no strings attached, might I add) may end up being wasted money. I was listening to NPR last week, and someone on there suggested most of that money went to the Caiman Islands.

Caiman Islands
I wonder how the Caiman Islands got their name. I think there is some alligator-crocodile-type animal called a caiman. I know, if I wanted tourism for a deluxe island, I am not sure I would name it after something that could bite your foot off.

Phonics
Every time I hear the "Hooked on Phonics" ad on the radio, I wonder why they spell their name phonics, not fonics. It is not like the company has to use the normal spelling for their product. I just don't understand.

Blog Suggestion
I was thinking of doing a blog on George W Bush. He was in office for eight years, and I suspect there will be some who want to remember his presidency. Problem with me is that I tune out everything I hear concerning Mr. Bush.

News?
I normally don't listen to the news, but on Thursday evening, someone asked me something about the plane that went down in New York City. Holy cow, I had not heard of that.

Holy Cow
I have a t-shirt with a cow (complete with halo), and the title "Holy Cow."

Day Off
Well, I have the day off today, so I will be just going back to sleep. Have a great day!

Election Day Advice

Today is Election Day. All over the country. And I have heard a lot about how it is our duty to vote. But you know, if you don't know how many Supreme Court justices we have in the US, if you don't understand something about the issues, and if you get your advice from bloggers, I don't want you voting.

You see, ill-informed votes dilute other people's votes. I mean, if you have given it some thought. Even if you looked at the candidates mascots and figured which would beat the other in an ultimate fighting match (Obama went to Columbia, the mascot is a lion; McCain graduated the United States Naval Academy, the mascot is a goat), I am betting on the lion making cabrito out of the goat. The point is that I want people to think before they vote. But not real random thoughts. I don’t want a voter saying, "Well that McCain supporter had nice tits. I think I will vote for McCain."

I want voters to come up with cogent arguments that make sense in your world view. I mean, I don't care if the methodology is bizarre – just that you have some rationale. Let's say you make your living on insider trading. Well, if you thought McCain would be tougher on adding people to police insider trading, vote for Obama. Or if you are a military contractor doing business in Iraq and am afraid Obama would get us out of Iraq (I find this a bit doubtful), then vote for McCain.

But if you have no clue who to vote for, don't practice drunken voting. Just don't vote. And if you want to lie about it, then you will have something in common with most candidates. I don't think a vote for Obama or McCain means the end to civilization as we know it. That was last election.

So if you don't want to vote for president, just pass. And if people want you to go to the voting booth with them (perhaps a candidate entices you with booze or a ride anywhere in the city), then vote. But just vote against all of the ballot initiatives. Most of them are just something about raising taxes (or bonds to build this or that). Sure, occasionally it will be on another issue, but since the initiative is poorly written anyway, you probably won't be able to figure out what it says. And we have survived all this time without the initiative, so what harm does it do for not passing it?

Me, I am going to see what soft drinks each prefers to make my choice. But have a system people. We don't need no more hanging chads.

---

My prediction (made on November 3, 2008): Obama will win 46 of 50 States. It will be an early night for those setting up camp on the couch with a pint of Häagen-Dazs and the remote.

Oh, and this just in. Someone sent it to me - so I don't have a real source - other than the wire itself.

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. (AP) - A nudist community on Florida's west coast wants to establish the first clothing-optional polling site. The Caliente Resorts, located in Pasco County north of Tampa, has approached election officials about the idea.

Nothing in state law would prohibit it, but the supervisor of elections says he is opposed to creating any new precincts before redistricting in 2010.

Gives another meaning to the term "hanging chads."

Random Thursday

Ass Pants
Every girl ,every woman, likes to look good. There's no secret there. But what some men don't know is that all clothes are not created equal. Me, I have a favorite pair of pants. One pair makes my ass look so good. I feel good in the jeans, and in my mind, I always call them my ass pants. Now, I can't wear the pants in the summer, but in the spring and fall, I reach for my ass pants when I want to look good. Pick the pants first, then the top and shoes. Because if your ass looks good, it makes everything else look good.

Tickle Answer: Leesa, you're the Shy Side Of Sexy
When it comes to sex appeal, you've got it — and you know you've got it — you just have trouble flaunting it. Taking that first step can be really hard for you, especially if it's a step into a new lover's arms. And you know you can sometimes come off as a little, shall we say, tame. But look out! When you reach your comfort level, you're in the zone and unstoppable.

Your lovers are the lucky ones because they're the only people who really know what lies beneath your reserved exterior. In public you sometimes blush or shy away, but once you get behind closed doors, you truly unleash your sexual desires. And saving your racy side for those fortunate few bonds them to you that much more. You may be shy, but you know how to hook and reel 'em in.

Where is my Stuff?
A hoax Craigslist advertisement resulted in an Oregon man losing a sizable chunk of his possessions as hoards of bargain-hunters descended upon his home in a free-for-all grab.

A number of ads apparently popped up on Saturday afternoon, claiming that the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to take leave in a hurry. As such, all his belongings, including a horse, were now free for the taking. The problem was that the victim, Robert Salisbury, had no such plans. In fact, if not for a call he received from a concerned do-gooder, he could well have returned to his home to find it totally cleaned out.

Excerpt from Seattle Times:

On his way home he [Robert Salisbury] stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater. “I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back,” Salisbury said. “They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did.” The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings. Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.
According to Salisbury, the trespassers tried to brush him off initially with printouts of the ad. By the time Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrived, several vehicles laden with his possessions had already taken off.

The case is now in the hands of the police who are working with the Craigslist legal team. In the meantime, items can be returned with no questions asked. If caught with Salisbury’s possessions though, prosecution is likely.

How the hell do you steal stuff because of something you found on the Internet? It is like if it is on the web, it is true.

Random Friday #22

The Singing Patient
I got a comment this week from someone called "The Singing Patient". Well, her name is Carla Ulbrich – she is a mucician who is also a blogger. You can see her music here. She has lupus, she is a newlywed, and I love her sense of humor.

Public Television
I read in the paper that the government is thinking of cutting public television again. I remember fondly about public television when I was growing up. Personally, I think they are talking about cutting funding for the same reason that local governments talk about cutting libraries – they want to scare people into accepting higher taxes.

I was looking at public television the other day, and I know it is supposed to be commercial-free. But when the television tells you about a product and gives you a phone number, it sort of feels like a commercial.

Weird Saying
My mom, when talking about her early years of marriage, would say, "We were so poor that we did not have a pot to piss in." You know, I don't think Bill Gates has a pot that he pisses in, either, and, well, he is doing pretty well for himself. And if I were really poor but had a pot, I think I would be making stew and soup, not using it for a restroom. Doesn't seem to make much sense.

Vista
I don't use MS Vista; I still use the last OS: Windows XP Professional. Apparently Vista must suck, because my husband has not mentioned purchasing it. It is sad when I assume that's why we have not installed it on the home machine.

Geek Girl TV
I watch Geek Girl TV on YouTube. I am not much of a computer geek, but I like the intro music by The Daze. Plus, I really like listening to technical stuff, even if it doesn't really make sense.

Iron Man
I saw Iron Man recently, and although I did not really like Robert Downey, Jr., or I should say I haven't until now, I liked him in the movie. I did not know that there was an Iron Man superhero, but apparently he is pretty popular. I looked him up on Google, and Iron Man debuted in 1963. Who would have known? I am not a big comic book person. I think comic books serve a purpose: limiting the genetic success of their readers – but I don't understand the draw. I love to read, and to read sentences that are not surrounded by bubbles. Oh, I meant to say that I actually enjoyed Iron Man, surprising for me and my husband. Yeah, I agreed to see it so I get to pick next time. Perhaps we will see The Edge of Heaven, if we can find some local movie house that is playing it. I really want to see the new Indiana Jones movie, but I am downplaying it with hubbie. I want him to think this is a sacrifice for me. I am sneaky that way.

Bill O'Reily
I don't watch Bill O'Reily (because I don't watch much TV and I am more liberal than conservative). But he had on Marina, one of the YouTube people I watch.



Have a great weekend!

Random #21: Not So Random

Playboy on YouTube
Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video; apparently Playboy is using YouTube to help pick the playmate for their 55th anniversary. Here is the sad thing: the video has been up for a month and there are only a tad less than ten thousand views. Ten people have rated the video, and there was one comment when I saw it on Thursday. I have a feeling that Playboy is a bit past its prime.

The playboy channel on YouTube is getting lots of views. I mean, they talk about Theesomes, the Olive Garden, and . . . well, I sort of got bored. Sorry, Grant, I did not find any Asian women.

Masturbation Month
I got an eCard saying that the month of May is masturbation month. Should that be capitalized? I don't know. There was a link to Tara something-or-other (definitely not work safe), and instead of just the site, it was lined to an MP3 file. I actually clicked on the link, not knowing what it was, and a co-worker overheard, "I am going to sit here and play with myself, and . . ." before I killed Windows Media Player.

At the Gym
A friend emailed the following to me earlier this week: "As I was pulling into the gym parking lot at lunch, I noticed someone waiting from a parking space right out front, next to the disabled parking spaces. I often wonder why people try to get the closest space when going to the gym – I just find the first space I can pull through and park. The extra twenty steps don’t seem to be a big deal. Can’t people pretend their workout starts in the parking lot?"

Okay, I edited it a bit. But I think it is funny.

Leaving Early Today
I may leave work a bit early today, and I can't really think of too many other things to write about. Have a good weekend.

Random Friday #20

Putt Putt Golf
I wrote a piece on the Masters earlier this week. Not a serious piece, but some words. Anyway, I really liked putt putt golf when I was a girl. When I got older and started dating, I had several dates while doing putt putt. Then I did not like the golf as much. Part of me wanted to give a good impression – look cute and bring sparkling conversation to the date. That is hard to do when you are using a putter (that many snot-nosed people used) to hit a golf ball through a clown's mouth. Plus, you have to let the guy win.

Wonderful Songs
The other day, I was watching Samantha Who online while working (ooops, did I type that?), and the show ended with Night Ranger's Sister Christian. The song is a beautiful rock ballad. Little known fact: Kim Cattrall has a small part in the music video. I googled something about rock ballads, and I got a site that listed the top 200 or so. Yeah, this song made the list (#148). Bridge over Troubled Waters is #2, but every time I hear that song, I think of teenaged suicide. Go to a funeral of a teenager who has ended his or her life, and they play this song. When I was a little girl, I would stop what I was doing when I heard "Blowin' in the Wind" on the radio. They did not play it often, but I always stopped for that song.

Searching for Gold
I was googling stuff about gold. I mean, if there is so much on the Internet, maybe there is enough evidence to find evidence of gold.

Earth Day
People celebrate Earth Day – and I am always unclear on the date. I thought Earth Day started around 1970 – April 22, 1970, I believe. As I recall, April 22 was chosen because it is Eddie Albert’s birthday. Funny thing is that April 22, 1970 is also the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin’s birth.

I find it interesting that we consume more to celebrate consuming less because we love the Earth.

Away from the Web
I have not been completely here over the past few weeks, and thus, I have not been thinking that much – well, not random thinking, that is. So I have less random thoughts going through my brain. I wonder if the Internet, television and the like contributes to random thinking.

Not sure, but I wonder.

Digital Age Problems
First, Vanessa Anne Hudgens had some bra and panty pictures (and even a few racier quasi-lesbian pictures) surface in the Internet, and now, Miley Cyrus has a few pictures where you can (gasp) see her bra. I think this is just an artifact of the digital age. When I was growing up, there was no instant access to digital images (pictures were developed by people at Drug Stores, an incentive to not take risqué pics). Both young women associated with Disney, and so far, I think the folks at Disney understand.

Random Friday #19

I keep vacillating from planning on posting five days per week (Monday through Friday) to three days (Monday-Wednesday-Friday). It all boils down to my simple rules concerning blogging. You need to post on a routine basis in order to hold people's attention. The thing is that posting every work day is easy for people to remember. Posting on one day per week also is easy to remember. Posting on Monday-Wednesday-Friday confuses the hell out of me. I wonder if it confuses other people.

Part of my change is that one third of my entries would be random posts. I started posting randomly to get rid of ideas that did not have enough substance to make a regular post.

Target
I have always liked Target. I pronounce it "Tar-shea" and have ever since I was a teenager. I am not sure it is any different than Wal-Mart (they can't squeeze their wholesalers like Wal-Mart), but I have always liked them. What I never understood is why they would want to use a hunting target as their image. Yes, we want our customers to think about shooting arrows into bails of hay decorated with our company logo. Just does not make sense to me. But I like their stores.

Authors
Wanting to publish a book seems to be a common fantasy, but I have thought about authors, and the one's you know about seem to have pretty messed up lives. I mean, if they are not snorting cocaine or being alcoholics, they get hit by cars or shoot themselves with shotguns. Who knows. Several of them have done three or four of those activities.

YouTube Partners
To drive content creation, YouTube has established partnerships with people to encourage them. You notice that Google (same parent company) has not done the same with Blogger? I mean, I don't want any of their money. But I find it interesting – and I guess they don't have to pay writers because so many people want to write. With YouTube, there are tons of other places to post videos and I guess they want to keep them on YouTube.

Captain and Tennille
I was thinking of a song the other day. I don't know the name of the song, but, embarrassingly, the version I have in my head is by Captain and Tennille. One of the lines goes, "once is never enough with a man like you." When I was younger, I really did not know what the song was about. Now that I am older, okay, I still don't know what the song is about. Partly, because I can't remember all of the words.

But the line got me to thinking: is she saying that for some men, once is plenty. I mean, she does not say that, but it is inferred. And I think that thought is hilarious. Captain and Tennille also sang Muscrat Love. I am not sure they could have gotten away with that song now-a-days. Animal love is verboten.

You know, I thought Toni Tennille died, but after Googling her, she has a fan website, a blog (she is also thinking of taking time off), et cetera. I really thought Toni Tennille died of an eating disorder. How could I have gotten her confused with Karen Carpenter? Both are/were a husband and wife team, where they featured the wife.

JargonFish
I got a message from Blog Catalog, touting a new widget called Jargon Fish. My first reaction is that it looks really crappy. I don't like junk on my site. But I like the idea of a tool that would link similar ideas from my site to other sites. For instance, if I was writing a story of cum stains that resembled certain personalities, you would probably want to read other similar articles? True?

New Source of Stem Cells
When I was in college, people made extra money by going to the blood bank. Now, I can imagine a menstrual fluid bank. I can see it now, "Wanted: Kind, courteous support staff to help with harvesting of menstrual stem cells. Must be willing to take abuse from some who have PMS into days one and two." Actually, I did not know any women who sold their blood (or more accurately, platelets). Now college co-eds will have something to sell for beer/pizza money.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Random Friday #18

Connections
I was watching a YouTube video the other day, and although I rarely click their suggested videos, there was one by David Sedaris that looked interesting. Well, that led to one by Amy Sedaris, and then I wanted to see if the two were married, so I went on Google with Amy's name, and came up with an IMDB page for Amy, and the first movie on her list, Puberty: The Movie, where she plays the voice of Paulie the penis. I eventually learned that Amy is the younger sister of David, which was a relief. I mean, can you imagine how David would have felt, being married to a woman who was cast as a penis? This could be the twenty-first century version of the Oedipus complex.

Nena and 99 Luftballons
I saw a comment on a blog I read the other day about "99 Red Balloons." The high schooler said something about blasting this song on their car one day. Anyway, she indicated the festive environment was aided by the song. Of course, the song is about ninety-nine balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalyptic overreaction by military forces. Didn’t know that was party music. And they are red in the American version, not the German version.

Blog Roll Cheating
A week or so ago, I went to one of my favorite blogs (I will not link to him/her because I want everyone to think it is you) and he/she took down her blog roll. I mean who takes down their blog roll? Oh, and I sometimes use her blog roll, and I sort of feel like I am cheating. Weird, huh?

Done with Education
I heard a college senior say that they will graduate in May, and that they are done with their education. That they no longer "will be a slave to their professors." Note to self: don't hire this person. Someone who thinks they are done learning. Isn't that part of life? After college?

Bunny Boiler
I saw this on YouTube. It is a show called Bunny Boiler, I think, in reference to the Fatal Attraction scene. I wanted to write something about it. But I really couldn't think of a whole post for this one. I know women are competitive, but not like the clip. We are a bit more manipulative than that. Oh, and someone sent me the clip on September 9, 2007. Yeah, I deleted another "draft" blog entry by placing the embedded clip on the Friday post. Yea, me!



YouTube Recommendation
On Friday, a long time ago, I would post twice, one for my normal Friday post (it may or may not be a random post), and a second post that included a couple of YouTube recommendations. Generally speaking, people did not like the YouTube recommendations.

So, I decided to plant random recommendations inside of my Friday post. Michael Inouye, otherwise known as minouye, is a YouTube personality who is somewhat popular. I don't know if he is very popular because not a lot of people make fun of him. He has started doing a weekly vlog that is wonderful – it is about politics, but in a humorous way. He did a four or five part series on some sort of computer game (WOW, can't remember what it stands for and am too lazy to Google it; I just know it is all-consuming and there are lots of levels) once that was fascinating. I think he took down those videos, perhaps because the subject of the video may have received unwanted attention.

Anyway, I think he does vlogs that are entertaining an inciteful.



Tired
I am just tired, and I have three days of Church to attend. A freakin' marathon. Yeah, me cursing having to go to Church. Too bad I just visited the priest in Confession earlier this week. I would have liked to hear his reaction.

Random Friday #17

YouTube Christian
For some reason, I got to a new YouTube user named ZenithXLT. She starts out a video response to someone else. Apparently she has a dinosaur video which is much more interesting. After all, dinosaurs trump religion. Just think about Saturday morning: would you rather watch "The Flintstones" or "Davey and Goliath." I really don't watch a lot of videos any more, but I thought she was interesting. So if you like to hear other Christian viewpoints, subscribe to her (I am Subscriber #16). If I did a YouTube review, I would on her. But I got bored with that, and really, most of my readers could care less about YouTube. Plus I keep hearing about dogs on skateboards on YouTube, but I have not seen the video. I would love to see a squirrel on a skateboard.

She started her video with asking what you would rather have: (1) A human woman who may stray but come back to you, or (2) a robot girl. My response was easy: A robot man with multiple attachments. Well, that's how I started my response. I wanted to talk about determinism and Saint Augustine's views, but after talking about a robot's sexual attachments, I thought perhaps my credibility was shot.

Poor Wellesley
I saw a t-shirt the other week which read: "Glass ceilings were made to be broken: Wellesley Students for Hillary". Tuition for the 2006-2007 school year cost $32,384. Their alumni include Hillary Clinton (obviously) and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (Wellesley ‘17). Sorry, but I don't believe Wellesley girls reach glass ceilings.

Behind Every Good Man . . .
I read the other day that Stephen King through away the first four pages of a novel that eventually became Carrie. His wife found it in the trash, said he had something good, and urged him to continue. Throughout history, you can find women who help make their husbands succeed. Dwight D. Eisenhower had Mamie, FDR had Eleanor Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton had . . . . Oh, yeah, we don't know if she is a woman. I want to start a new saying of first ladies. "She's no Dolley Madison." I don't think it will catch on.

Mercury Rising
From a news source: "Compact fluorescent lamps - those spiral, energy-efficient bulbs popular as a device to combat global warming - can pose a small risk of mercury poisoning to infants, young children, and pregnant women if they break, two reports concluded yesterday."

Moldy Bread
Many of you know I have OCD. While I hated when my peas touched my green beans (but I loved eating Chinese food), I used to eat moldy bread. Well, when I was growing up, we were very frugal. Being poor will do that to you. Not poor, but definitely below medium income. I picked mold off some bread today, but it was not because we are still poor. It is really good artesian bread, and I did not want to waste it.

Presents for Children
I have lots of nieces and nephews to purchase presents for throughout the year. I like to get them stuff that their parents would never buy them (they are semi-spoiled anyway), and I get bonus points for purchasing things which annoy the parents. This was easy when they were little: percussion toys did the trick nicely. Or a fluffy toy cat that meows annoyingly for that "dog family." As they get older, it is harder and harder to buy for them, with my somewhat unusual requirements. I got one nephew a farting book. That was not the name of the book, but it was all about toots. And not just human toots. He read it to his parents for weeks. Score one for Leesa. And I bought another book that is in the closet for when he gets a little older. A book on statology. I hope I am not remembered as the poopy aunt. That would sort of backfire on my master plan.

Bush – Clinton
I think the Bushs and the Clintons should intermarry and breed a whole new bunch of leaders of our nation. After all, after Hillary and Jeb, there aren't too many others we can elect and our nation is intent on keeping these two families in power.

Numbering
I have been numbering my random posts. I wonder if I mis-counted, would anybody notice.

Molokai, Hawaii
Father Damien lived in Molokai, where he cared for lepers throughout his life. He gave them Catholic sacraments when no one else would. He caught leprosy and died. How many of us would risk our lives for strangers? Oh, firemen, police, soldiers, sailors, airman and marines.

All Thumbs
I hurt my thumb the other day, and I really did not realize that I needed it to type. I mean, howoftendoyoupressthespacebar?

Banana Splits for My Baby

ysabellabrave is a YouTube star, and she recently sang "Banana Splits for My Baby", a song written by Louie Prima. Louie Prima was a New Orleans (jazz) musician who started out a classical pianist. When someone asked Elvis where he got the wiggle, Elvis responded, "From Louis Prima, of course." I am a bit younger than that, so I remember him as King Louis in Disney's Jungle Book.

Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me
Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me
Dispenser man, if you please, serve my chick a mess of calories
Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me

Random Friday #16

Typepad
I hate typepad. I have commented on several typepad blogs in the last week, and although the comments show up, they give me some sort of error, faking me out and causing me to yell at my computer. And I don't do curse words so I sound like a twelve-year-old girl from the 80s. Current twelve-year-old girls can curse.

Rules
Remember the rule to wait 30 minutes after eating before getting in a pool. I would watch the clock like a hawk when I was younger. I would be shivering in my one-piece, damp enough for the wind to make goose-pimples all over my arms. Well, I have eaten right before entering a pool twice in the last week (indoor pool) and you know what? I did not cramp up and die. I wonder what other rules are for parental amusement.

OCD Behavior in Blogger
I have been cleaning out my "draft" posts in blogger lately. Some of them, I have deleted. I mean, who wants to read why Gore will beat Bush because of Gore's stronghold in Florida, anyway? Or how Britney is really a good mother, and the press just has it all wrong. I am sure her family loves her (and will not involuntarily commit her to an institution). Or how Joe must be gay because he is (1) working in Human Resources, (2) is not married, and (3) writes really well. I had a little crush on Joe a long time ago, but he stopped taking my calls and filed a restraining order. Well, it turns out that Joe is not gay. He just uses the court system to file frivolous restraining orders. Well, I am not clearing out my colon, but I am clearing out my drafts.

Men's Shirts
Why are men's shirts so darned comfortable? I am talking about plaid Oxford-cloth Button Down shirts. I mean, I am sure there is a fettish somewhere about putting one of these bad boys on right out of the dryer, wearing nothing but panties, walking around the house . . . er, I did not type that. I think someone is hacking in my word processor.

Word Processor
Why does the phrase "word processor" sound so old? Does anyone remember WordStar? Oh, to have gone to college in the 80s. I doubt kids today would know the history of the word processor. I still remember putting things in the word processor and either having half of my document underlined or placing everythign in bold text because the ribbon on the machine was fading.

Blog Catalog Rating

I got my first rating at Blog Catalog. I probably joined Blog Catalog over a year ago; not sure why, actually, so it had to be a long time ago. Anyway, I got my first "review":

Great site blog with great contents. Please come and visit my blog too and leave me a comment.

Rated 10 of 10 and a review that looks like spam, I went to see some of his other comments. More than half of the blogs he rated got the following comment:

Your blog is one of my favorites thats why I really made a point of my busy time to post a comment.It is very informative with great contents. Keep on posting. I hope you can visit my blogs and also leave some comments. thanks.

Oh, and I kept his punctuation as well. Who does not include at least one space after a period?

I don't really get the Blog Catalog site. A couple of my blogging buddies are there (~Deb and Mike). But I still don't get it.

Graphic Novels
When I first heard the term "graphic novels", I figured it was a novel filled with violence and/or sex. Not that I hear the term often, but I still get that impression. I am a bibliophile, and so I have tripped on booksellers who specialize in graphic novels. Now, in my head, I insert the replacement words "comic books" when I hear "graphic novels."

Oh, and I looked them up on Wikipedia, and apparently there is no pure definition of graphic novel. Makes my replacement even more warranted. And the pic that was part of the article I places besides this. "It Rhymes with Lust" I wonder what they mean, when they place a buxom redhead on the cover. I am going with "trust."

Dummy Test
Have you seen those Dummy Test ads? The link will open the picture but not the dummy test itself. I think clicking on the dummy test should automatically make you one. I mean, if a test can egg you one to taking the test for dummies, I think that confirms that you are a dummy. Yeah, I took the test. Drats.

Happy Friday!

Random Friday #15

Wonderblog
The other day, I found out that Mr. Whipple, of Charmin fame, died. Well, he died in November, and I found out here. The name of the blog is Wonderful Wonderblog, and when I looked at some of the entries – a lot of them have to do with people who have died recently. He has four February entries, two of which are about people who have died (Steve Gerber and Shell Kepler). Okay, I don't have a clue who these two people are, but I find it strange that someone with wonderful in his blog name has three RIPs that I noticed.

On Children
Every two or three months, I go to the Caring Bridge site and look at people's personal sites. My last link to them was Ethan Hoffman, and I have not been on the sits in a while. Ethan died in October 2007. I did not know the parents, but I followed some of their struggles. They have a slideshow on another site. Don't visit if you don't want to sob. One of the sites I used to visit was for someone who lost her dad. She wrote encouraging things to the parent's families, so I tripped over her URL a lot. Well, she has a lot of haters, because I think, most believe she turned her site into a personal blog. These sites are supposed to be about families going through life-threatening illnesses (mostly cancers). And most of the sites are for children.

I find it interesting that there are haters on a site dedicated to offering comfort. One of the first children I saw on Caring Bridge was Olivia, and I wrote about it a long time ago.

James Blunt
James Blunt has a song called "Your Beautiful", and every time I hear it, I bawl. A couple of years ago, several Caring Bridge sites (including Olivia's) had some video to the song or the song playing in the background.

The other day, someone was bashing James Blunt, and I piped up, saying, "Oh, I like him."

The guy's retort: "All that proves is that you have a uterus."

I felt insulted. I tried to think of a comeback, but I couldn't.

Mad Dog Mengden
Someone sent me a YouTube video, and it is pretty funny. Molly Ivins is a journalist (or humorist), and although the video is professionally edited, it is hard to believe this subject.

I am not from Texas, but I learned two things about Texas law:

1. Owning six dildos is makes one a felon, but owning five dildos makes one a hobbyist.
2. The State of Texas made sodomy a crime. Originally the senators just wanted to make homosexual sodomy a crime, but because it would probably be considered unconstitutional because it was discriminatory, so they made all sodomy illegal.

Oh, and after I watched the video, it suggested this video that is more audio than video (a gag phone call). Funny as heck.



Time Off Together
Grant and ~Deb have been taking time away from blogging at the same time. It is sort of like watching two co-workers leave for lunch at about the same time. First thought is that they are sleeping together. By "first thought" I meant my first thought, not yours.

TV with the Sound Down
The other day I was watching television, and my hubbie called (he was still at work). I turned the television to mute and then answered it. I was watching NCIS, and when talking on the phone to my hubbie, I realized that you could watch NCIS and still get the full impact. Mark Harmon is a hottie. I am not sure what the show is about, but Mark Harmon is a hottie. I have heard from reliable sources (reading the headlines from rags while waiting in line at the grocery store) that Mark Harmon is sort of a difficult guy in real life. Well, guess I should consider the source, because he is a hottie. Did I mention that?

Medical Questions
I posted a long time ago about something related to colon cleansing, and I thought about it the other day. I googled it at work, and I got a lot of hits. I mean, a lot of hits. And it seems like everybody is cleaning out their colons. Makes me wonder if I am alone in not cleaning myself out. Guess I need to work on this.

Word Verification
For Asian Porn, click here.

Okay, now that Grant is gone, I have an idea. I heard Grant say recently that he doesn't get spam and his word verification is turned off. Please, everyone, including lurkers, go to Grant's blog and place some spam. Say something very spammy. Oh, and if you can't think of something spammy, go here.

I wanted to do somethign for this very special day, "Leap Year Day," but I could not think of anything fun to do.

Random Friday #14

Strange Thought of the Dead
I always thought, well, when I was a little girl, at least, that when you die, you can sort of float around on the earth and observe others. Not an original thought, but a thought I have. Well, it just occurred to me that I have not masturbated since my grandparents have died. These events are not causally related. So, if you can view the living after you have died, my grandparents have never seen me masturbate. Of course, now, they have read about it on my frickin' blog. Crap.

Writer's Strike
The Writer's Strike ended on February 13, and I did not find out until the eighteenth. My guess is that this will not affect me too much. Plus I need to listen to the news more often. There are some news stories I just don't want to miss - like when Fidel Castro is going to step down. I have been paying attention since the 80s, and it would be a darned shame if I missed that story. I mean, I remember when he got sick . . . .

A History of Evil
I saw a YouTube video called "A History of Evil", partly because I thought there may have been a cameo by Grant. Not that Grant is really evil. I like the narrator's voice. The credits say the narrator is Brenna Callinan. Not that Brenna Callinan is evil. Not sure what the point of this is.

The Real News
There is a "news" program on YouTube: The Real News. Pretty soon we will all be writing news for others to read. Blogs, I guess, are sort of like this. "Oh, look, Janie got a new nose ring." And she posted a video, showing the experience. Neat. Sure glad Aunt Gladys can view this.

Cursing
Some people think that when people refrain from cursing, it shows weakness. I think those people are just sad. I know what you were thinking – that I would say that it fucking pisses me off. Sorry to disappoint.

Peeing
My hubbie has started a new habit with peeing. He starts to flush the toilet before he finishes peeing. At first, I thought, "What the hey, he pees standing up. Why does he need to save another five seconds with the flushing thing?" Well, sometimes he mis-judges, and has to flush the toilet twice. For pee. I just tell him he is killing fish. It doesn't seem to shame him into giving up this new habit.

Drawing
I have a niece and nephew and both can draw better than me. I can drive a car and they can't, so it is not like they have eclipsed me yet, but it is only a matter of time.

What is Real
There is so much we don't know. For instance, some people say vaccines are harmless. Some people disagree. Some people think cigarette smoking is harmless (okay, that cigarette smoke does not cause cancer), some do not. We get all kinds of information and I can't figure any of it out. I think it is better to just give up. Instead of looking for what is real, I guess we are starting to look for what is reasonable.

A Mortgage By Any Other Name
I hear all these stories about banks tightening up lending, and I don't believe it. I got an offer to refinance my home up to a certain amount. I think the bank bought my information from my mortgage company (yeah, I really think they sell this information), but instead of saying I could borrow up to a certain amount (the junk mail almost always uses the original loan amount), they have a typo, inserting a "1" before the amount. Er, that extra digit represents a million dollars. Darned fineprint probably says something about not borrowing more than the house is worth. I am tempted to contact the company. My husband just wants to frame the junk mail. How pathetic are we?