My Excellent Curling Adventure
(originally Posted on Blogcritics)


The family and I probably attend about five professional sporting events each year. We usually make it to three or so Lowell Spinners games (local Class A minor league baseball team), perhaps a college or minor league (Lowell Lock Monsters) hockey game, and the odd Red Sox or New England Patriots game.

Last weekend, we delved into the exotic, a professional curling tournament.

Not just any tournament or bonspiel, this was the Men’s World Curling Championship. Now, ordinarily I don’t think I’d travel all over the place for a sport I have barely no knowledge of – but this event was staged right next door at the Paul E. Tsongas Arena (Lowell, MA). We opted for tickets during the first weekend of the round-robin style matches, and now I wish our calendar conflict would allow for our going this coming weekend, it was that cool.

There was not a huge crowd at the 7,800-seat arena. The empty seats were a bit obvious – but once the action got going, the enthusiasm of both fans and players made up for it.

I knew this was going to be a special event, – there were cowbells. To me, the cowbells added a bit of sporting chic. After all, I only hear them when watching some sort of Wide World of Sports televised event. Oh yeah, this was the big-time baby. I swore that Amanda Peet was sitting in the row in front of us. I thought about getting an autograph, but I eventually realized it was just a doppelganger. Still – you never know who could have shown up. No, I didn’t crane my neck for a glimpse of Jack in his ever-present shades, but I felt that celebrity vibe for sure.

I noticed that seeing this sort of event live was quite different from the few times I’d seen curling during Olympic coverage. As a matter of fact, it strangely reminded me when I went to see a WWE live event, Backlash, last June. When my sons force me to sit and watch the televised wrestling antics of JBL, Triple H, or John Cena – a huge part of the show is the back and forth of the commentators. It was very strange, almost disconcerting to be at the live event, and to think how quiet it was. Oh, the audience was wild and strange - and loud, but the action in the ring was very quiet. And no commentary! Or, rather commentary that was intended for the Pay-Per-View home audience, not us in the Verizon Wireless Arena.

And so, this curling thing was not quiet by way of passionate fans, but missing was any Curt Gowdy (RIP) type broadcasting that a TV viewer like me is spoiled by. I had to rely on my in-laws knowledge of the sport. Not that they were huge curling aficionados, but they had at least watched just about all the coverage from Torino, and knew which ‘end’ was up.

I needed the help too. First of all, I thought I was just going to see Ireland vs. USA, but there were there were four busy sheets in the arena. Sheets are the ice ‘fields’ that the matches are played on. So, even though it was somewhat distracting, it was also pretty cool to see these fine gents in the additional and simultaneous contests: Finland vs. Norway, Denmark vs. Japan and Germany vs. Switzerland.

Right after the Star Spangled Banner ended, the players took to the ice to stretch out. That alone was an interesting scene. Seeing the all the curlers gliding across the sheet in that funky low down - parallel to the ice – throwing stance was kind of amazing. It almost had the feel of synchronized swimming; there was a certain grace exhibited, to be sure.

Also, there was something about that clunk of one rock hitting another one. I love that sound! It’s a bit like the smack of billiard balls hitting one another. Fittingly, because curling has been likened to both billiards, and chess. It’s a simple game in design, but very difficult in execution. Also, each play is different from the one before, in tempo and temperament.

In basket ball, or hockey for example, you see variations of the same thing, not that these sports aren’t exciting to watch, but pretty much the speed will remain the same, fast.

In one respect, curling could be compared to baseball, some plays are slow, a player might walk on base – or even if someone hits a home run, he’ll take his bases slow and leisurely. Other times, speed is crucial to a win or loss. In curling, you could have a fast hard throw of the rock down the sheet, in hopes to either knock the opponent’s rock out of the way, or to place yours exactly in the button. Other times, the rock will get a softer throw, and the sweepers simply act as escorts, keeping the same pace as the rock, not too fast, not too slow, when suddenly the skip will start yelling, and the sweepers start brushing…”Hard, hard, hard!” Then they slow down, watching the rock, then speed up again until they manage to get the rock exactly in the right spot. Incredible.

Though we were able to watch all four games at the same time, USA and Ireland was the match-up we were all most interested in. Wouldn’t you know they wound up tied at the 10th end. When the teams went into the 11th overtime end, USA had the hammer, which means the advantage of throwing the last rock. They deftly used this to their advantage, winning the end, and the game.

Currently USA is in 2nd place, right behind Scotland.

What’s even better is that BOTH my sons enjoyed it as well. The 17 year old had complained quite vigorously all the way leading up to the 4:00 start time, but when it was all said and done, he was the last one who wanted to leave. He, and the rest of us, had a great time.

Adam is leaving us. I feel like I've been kicked in the gut. No pun intended. Adam V. has been my man since... forever.

Foxboro Stadium - 1996, Bill Parcells was head coach, Drew Bledsoe was first string QB. One of those newbie expansion teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars, were playing at New England.This was my first Pats game in about eight years; I was excited, and having a great time. I didn't care so much who won, I was just having fun out with adults. It became quite cloudy and started to drizzle during the game. By the 4th quarter it was pouring rain. I wasn't having so much fun anymore. Even the close score didn't matter to me. I wanted to go home - wah!

Yes, I'm a bit of a wuss. Anyway, the score was so close, the game went into overtime. I didn't care WHO was winning, I was soaked! Next thing I knew, Adam was lining up for a field goal, kicked it - and wham - Game over N.E. 28, Jacksonville 25. Done. Thank YOU Adam!

As the years passed, I began to pay more attention to the game and the team and saw that Adam was actually an incredible player! Soon I was at the pro shop buying my #4. Cool. He's saved our collective asses on more than one occasion and I wore my jersey proudly.

And now, he's off to be a Colt. Drats. 'Course, that's not what I said last night when I heard this. But even so, not much we can do about it except wish him well and thank him for all he's done for New England.

Thank You Adam!

The March issue of Hot Psychology is up! Lot of cool stuff - interviews with Olympians, thoughts on privacy vs safety, same sex rights to marry, and the business of torture. Go see. Go now.

Here's the latest stuff - BlogCritics Radio - I am one of the guests on this weeks Podcast. It was a lot of fun, and sounds like everyone else had a good time doing their segments as well. Go give it a listen!

Well - I've been a busy gurl and have not been here to update much at all. A kind of cool thing that happened a couple weeks ago was that I was named Blogcritic of the Day. I don't remember exactly what day that was, I think the weekend of February 18th. Every couple of days a new Blogcritic is named, and we are urged to visit their home blogs and "pay homage". Kind of funny, yes? Funny but a nice honor.

The current Blogcritic of the Day is Jeff Kouba, he also happens to blog on the Fox show 24, just like I do. Our Blogcritics postings are linked together, along with any other BCers that wax so eloquently on the doings of Jack Bauer and Friends. There. I was going to throw my last two 24 posts here on All About Us - but now I don't have to! Just click the above! Easy!

Hey, speaking of easy, has anyone seen that Staples commercial - part of the Easy Button series? Invading soldiers rapidly approach a very small group of Chinese nobles - and well...just go click on the above. They can 'splain better than I. Anyway, it was pretty clever. You know, they sell those Easy Buttons. We used one at church, for a family game night. I'm trying to remember what it says, I think something like, "Now that was easy". Hey, it makes me laugh. What can I say.

An interesting piece by Blogcritc's John Spivey, about education. Check it out!

VALENTINES DAY – FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN LOVE
(reprinted from my first piece for Hot Psychology, February 2005)


Can You Hide in the Hype?

So, it seems as if we’ve just put Christmas to bed, and are now taking a breather. I have a lot of thoughts on Christmas, pleasant memories, over-commercialization rants, shopping frustrations, and all those ads! What hopes they conjure. I now know that if my husband brings me to a beautiful woodland setting, and the snow is lightly falling, the sun’s already slipped past the horizon – that the huge elm tree in front of us will magically light up – just – about --- now – AND, I will be presented with a fine piece of diamond jewelry. It’s true!

And what wonderful trinket might come my way on February 14th? I am holding my breath in anticipation.

But what about someone who is not attached, married, coupled up, or in love? What will they do for Valentine’s Day? Should a single person feel deprived, or left out? I had been that person in the past. Oh, not despairingly so. Mostly during high school and college, when the dating was intermittent. Luckily, for me, I was not alone in my ‘aloneness’. Being single on Valentine’s Day was not a huge issue as a teen and young adult. Dating life improved as I got older, and before I knew it, I was married so any angst over ‘V-Day’ was banished.

It has been well documented that the holidays, especially Christmas can bring about this angst, stress and depression, particularly if one is alone. But, if so inclined, there are lots of things to be involved with, at least at Christmas time. Everyone has someone to shop for, even if it’s your landlord. There are charities for donating and cookies for baking. You could gild everything in sight and craft cool swags out of evergreens and household items. Point is - Christmas has come to mean many things to many people. A single person can blend in, diffusing attention away from their solo status. Romance to be sure, is just one part of Christmas, but it’s the whole bloody reason for the holiday we know as Valentine’s Day. Of course, it all began quite differently.

Who Was Saint Valentine?

Way back in about the 3rd century the Romans were having a swell time celebrating a pagan festival called Lupercalia. This partying and carrying on was typically during mid February, and there would be goats and or dogs sacrificed to honor Juno, Goddess of Fertility. (Supposedly, also being honored was Fannus, Roman God of Agriculture, and Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.)

Anyway, with the sacrificing and all, the young men would run around chasing the young women, whipping them with strips of goat hide that had been dipped into the sacrificial blood. Strangely, this was desirable for the women, the more blood, the more promised fertility. The women would then write their own names (presumably in blood) and place the names into an urn or something, hoping for the hottest of young Roman hotties to pick their name. Once the names were picked, and the girls and boys would be coupled up for the rest of the festival. Sometimes these matches would last for the next year, and then result in marriage.

Obviously all the young hormonal coupling and marrying was generally thought to be a good thing. Except to the Emperor, Claudius II. You could call him the Grinch of Valentine’s Day. Except there wasn’t any Valentine’s Day – yet. Actually, ‘ole Claudius’s nickname was Claudius the Cruel, which, when you think about it, is rather Grinch-like.
In those days, Claudius II was having the devil of a time with all the wars and such, and military enlistment was (so I’m told) at an all time low. He assumed the reason was that the men didn’t want to leave their wives and girlfriends. (Suppose any underlings dared to ask him “Hey Claude, you know what happens when you ‘ass’ume”?) Actually it does make sense that the dudes wouldn’t want to join up to fight Charlie or whoever the enemy of the time was. I suppose what we know as the draft, wasn’t yet invented, so Claudius banished marriage. Gasp. Pretty cheeky I’d say. You can see why he earned his nickname.

Somewhere around the same time, give or take a bunch of years, there was a kindly (some say epileptic) priest by the name of Valentine. Actually history has blended fact with legend, and it’s quite foggy, but there were at least two, if not three priests and or holy men all named Valentine. (Curiously, they are all reported to have been martyred on February 14th.)

Now, from what I can gather, the kindly (and possibly epileptic) priest was secretly marrying the Young Lovers. Obviously, once Claudius found out, he ordered Valentine to be put to death. It’s either this same Valentine or a subsequent Valentine who was helping Christians with whatever Christians needed help with at the time. Like staying alive, for example. This aid to Christians was quite the faux pas of the time, and naturally Valentine was jailed. In jail he fell in love with the jail keepers daughter, named Julia. Julia was blind, but the love of a good Valentine cured her. Amazing! Anyway, This blindness-curing, Christian-aiding Valentine was put to death, but not before he had a chance to send Julia a little love note, signed “From your Valentine”. I’m guessing priestly vows of Celibacy weren’t the fashion of the times. In any case, there was turmoil, lust and bloodshed surrounding the origins of Valentine’s Day. Luckily things have changed.

But Wait – What about the Singles?

Or have they? Well, there is still lust. Lust is always in fashion. Bloodshed? Not so much. Wait, I’m forgetting the Valentine’s Day Massacre. OK Chicago mobsters aside, what’s left? Turmoil. Oh boy, is there turmoil. Like I said, I am married, so I have not thought about Valentine’s Day as a single person in quite a while. But this is a day targeted for love, so what does it all mean for the unattached?

For those whose relationships have failed this last year, Valentine’s Day has not been observed, with feeling anyway, for a while. Even for those who are married or part of a couple, this day can cause anxiety. In troubled unions, nothing forces the couple to face the reality of their relationship like shopping for an anniversary or Valentine’s card. For the newly single person, they might be in too much pain to even acknowledge that such a hearts and flowers time is on hand. The holiday goes right under the emotional radar.

And for those who have been single all along? Do they cringe and mope every February? Yes. And no. I have known my share of Lonely Hearts, and they honestly do bitch and moan about their single state. And I know other singles, they take it all in stride.

Love, Actually

Simply put, it’s all relative. It really is. In the previous talk of Christmas, I skimmed over the ‘wrong’ parts of the holiday. Things that, if I let them, really get to me. I’m quite horrified to see garlands and candy canes on retail display BEFORE HALLOWEEN. Each year, I practically resent family members asking me what’s on my wish list. I whine that anyone who really knows me should not need to ask. PS2 becomes a dirty phrase. And so on. But what is key here - is that these things bother me, if I let them. It seems so cliché, but we really do have choices. We can celebrate all kinds of holidays whether they pertain to us or not. We can celebrate love in all its forms, not just romantic. We can continually work to become better people and love ourselves in the process.

In the opening narration of the film Love Actually, Hugh Grant muses about love. While voicing over everyday reunion scenes at Heathrow Airport, he tells us that despite the despicable acts of 9/11, the numerous phone calls made that morning weren’t filled with talk of hatred or vengeance. The calls were all about perhaps saying goodbye, but mostly “I love yous". Expressions of love made to spouses, lovers, families and friends. Grant advises us that all you have to do is look and see that Love, actually is all around.

Something very special for Valentine's Day.

Grey’s Anatomy


So, ya, you knew George was going to find his balls again and get Bailey all pumped and ready to deliver her possibly fatherless child. I really thought Tucker was checking out there. I really did. Speaking of dying, I thought Meredith was going to check out as well. Actually, no. I didn’t think that she was going to get killed off – up until I saw her lying on the ground, covered with ash and debris. For a moment I thought she was gone. But the Bomb Guy(s)? Did they turn into the ‘Pink Mist’ that chicken-shit Dr. Milton spoke of? Maybe the Mist would take Dr. Milton too?

Shame that Kyle Chandler seemingly bought it. I thought Meredith and he were going to start something. Why would they bring him? It was good to see him being a little disagreeable. The role he had in Early Edition (from what I remember) he was a little too nice. Oh, it’s not that I don’t like nice guys. They rule. But it was nice to see him a little less ‘nice’. Too bad he didn’t have that newspaper with him at the Bomb Squad headquarters. Maybe he and the squad could have stopped by the WW reenactment site before the damn bazooka was fired.

I love Yang, but why oh why the fuck did she have to open her mouth to Shepherd about Meredith holding the bomb? Why??? She seems smarter and less emo than that. But, sigh; guess it had to be part of the story. A bit corny that Tucker starts to flat-line at that instant by the way.

And the music, oohh the music has got to be the best soundtrack-y stuff out there. I have no clue what it is most of the time, but its perfect.

Well, tonight is another 24 episode, so I’ll be needing to get all psyched up for that.
Ta!

Snow!

You know when you see those artistic images, perhaps on Christmas cards, or some such rendering of wintertime? You see maybe a window, outlined in frost and snow? The window I look out of now, has that white wave of snow at the bottom. This occurs though, because the wind fiercely whips snow about, creating those smudges on the panes. The wind outside is wild right now. You can hear it against the house, you can see the white whirls creating the drifts that might block our front door if we let it.

I'm lucky I don't have to be out in that right now, but will probably do some shoveling assitance later on. I'll maybe make some cookies too. I don't know why, but I always seem to make cookies when we have a snow storm. I guess I want the kids to have that 'fresh baked' smell to come back to after being out in the snow.

That's it for now -

I was recently reminded that I had never posted the results of a previous Movie Quiz - So, I'll get right to it!

1. "...the soft glow of electric sex" - From A Christmas Story referring to the 'Major Award' leg lamp

2. "I've got a bad feeling about this" - taken from numerous Star Wars films, spoken by actors such as Harrison Ford, or Ewan McGregor

3. "...and the schnozberries taste like schnozberries!" What else could this be but Willie Wonka

4. "Sometimes you just gotta say, 'what the fuck' " Spoken by newcomer Tom Cruise, in the 1983 classic Risky Business

5. "At my signal - unleash Hell" My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius - aka Spaniard, aka General, aka Slave, aka Gladiator.

6. "Quid pro quo!" Eww, this still gives me the creeps, when I imagine the words spoken by a creepy Anthony Hopkins' 'Hannibal Lector' to Jodie Foster's 'Clarice' in Silence of the Lambs

7. "Are you stalking me? Because that would be super" In the 2002 flick, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, a very funny Ryan Reynolds asks this of Tara Reid, fellow student and journalist.

8. "I'm gonna give you to the count of 10 to get your ugly, yellow, no-good keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead! One, two, ten!" - Home Alone! Love that movie!

9. "Fuck Grandma" This is 'Gramps' response whenever family members would ask him if he missed his deceased wife, Grandma - in 2002's The Sweetest Thing. This movie didn't really go places, even with a cast including: Thomas Jane, Christina Applegate, Cameron Diaz, Parker Posey and Selma Blair. Oh well, I still liked it.

10. "Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." A little nothing of a film made in 1975, created by and starring some blokes in England - Oh I don't know...something to do with a Holy Grail - or some such nonsense - Monty---something?

: )~

24 - Hour Seven: The Art of the Bitch Slap


[Previously Posted on Blogcritics.org]

Interrogation in Logan’s office, Walt sweats and trots out his “Patriots” line again. No Honey, sadly they were not in the Super Bowl this year. Déjà vu as Logan asks Pierce to get Walt out of his office again. Jack thinks Logan was talking to him, he heads out as well. “Jack – wait, we can work this out, I still love you!” No, Logan didn’t actually say that. But I giggled, cuz that’s what it reminded me of, when Prez pleaded with Jack to stay on the case. When love doesn’t work, Prez tries another tack, “Jack, please, we have to do it this way, so we can introduce your daughters’s story arc!” Jack considers briefly, “Yes, Kim is rather hot, sure, I’ll stick around and search for that…” (scratches 5:00 shadow)…”nerve gas – right, sure, let’s get that nerve gas, maybe Hot Kim can help”.

Logan sighs in relief, not that Jack will help, not that Hot Kim might swing by, but relieved that he can stop making so many faces.

The Russians realize that they cannot work the canisters. Sucks to be Russian! YellowTieKeyCardMan, who thankfully now actually has a name, Earwig? Airwick? knocks his buddy to the ground with a swell elbow strike, an elbow bitch slap – if you will. Airwick growls and reminds stricken Ruskie to stop messing around and improve his accent. Just in time, Airwick gets a call from a secret admirer – “I saw your name on MySpace.com, liked your profile, say – need help with those pesky canisters?” Secret Admirer has one of those great voices you never forget – is that Sydney from The Pretender? Yay!

Eventually CTU traces phone call ‘tween Sydney and Airwick, pin points where Sydney is – and who he is. Dude is named Rossler, in some high-rise, conveniently close enough for Jack and Curtis to rendevous there.

Another interesting phone call, is the one Samwise McGill gets from his sister Jen. Who is that girl? She looks a little like Amanda Plummer, most famous for her role in Pulp Fiction, and this Jenny person definitely seems as nervous and strung out as Honey Bunny was.

Chloe asks Bill to let Spenser help by hacking into the convenient high-rise, Edgar blusters, Chloe kicks him under the table, and Bill gives in. Spenser tries to make nice-nice with Chloe, she just makes one of her faces and tells him to shut up and work faster. Or something like that.

Logan still scrambles to apologize to Martha for nearly shipping her off to Vermont. She talk about the good old days, when they used to be a team, he looks at her with affection, and suddenly, wham – she totally bitch slaps the Prez! Just then, Mike knocks at the door, “Mike, PLEASE come in”. Prez is feeling so wussed out he apologizes to Mike as well, and when Mike suggests yet another cover-up to explain Walt and his ‘Patriotic’ ways, Martha disagrees, saying ‘let’s be honest’. Mike and Prez snicker for just a second, but Prez is still wussed and agrees with Martha. Martha sticks her tongue out at Mike, Mike looks dejected. Poor Mike.

At the convenient high-rise penthouse, Curtis, Jack and CTU folk storm the building. Wee! Such excitement, shots fired, guards down, Curtis down! Oh no! Whew, just got his vest. God bless Kevlar! They shoot Sydney/Rossler (but not enough to kill him – of course) and find Michelle Trachtenberg’s clone in the bedroom, all banged up and scared. “I was left behind on that Eurotrip. And that bad man with the cool voice hit me!”

(Red Alert - Senator John McCain is working at CTU, hiding out after bitchslapping [verbally] Illinois Senator Barack Obama.!)

Meanwhile, nerve gas toting Russian bad guys Airwick and friends get help from friendly Orange Country Chopper dude. The fact that there are weapons involved had nothing do to do with it OCC dude helping out with his precision cutting tools. Swell!

At the ugly convenient high-rise penthouse, Jack and Curtis interrogate Syndey/Rossler. His voice doesn’t sound so nice now, a little scratchy. Still he has chutzpah. Even tells Jack to “go to hell!” Wow! Sydney must have balls of steel. Doesn’t he know Jack will bitch slap him? Or at least cut his eye out? Jack does not disappoint, wham – slap. Nice backhand slap. Love it.

At CTU Spenser has outlived his usefulness, Chloe offs him. Not really, just fires his ass, Edgar gloats. Senator McCain nods approvingly.

Orange Country Chopper dude finishes cutting all 20 canisters. Airwick bitchslaps him with a bullet. Saw that coming a mile off, right?

Sam/Lynn goes to meet with sister Jenny, it was supposed to be ’20 minutes’ later – but in the weird space/time thing that is 24, it’s more like 30 minutes later. Honey Bunny sure looks like she’s using. Sam/Lynn wants her to go see the White Wizard, and offers to pay for everything, but that’s not good enough for Honey Bunny or Pumpkin, who comes from behind and mugs Sam/Lynn. Wham! Bam! Ker-Plooey! Pumpkin takes some cash, and a curious card. Now, you know that’s going to be of importance later on, either it was a Yu-Gi Oh! “Blue-Eyes White Dragon”, or Sam’s CTU ID card. Both very important.

At ugly Penthouse, Jack has arranged for Sydney/Rossler to get some perks, such as a signed certificate of authenticity that he can go anywhere he wants, and get the keys to the City of Los Angeles. Also in the package is Eurotrip Inessa, who balks at the plan. “Bad man hit me, no wanna go – you can’t make me” Jack tells her to go get dressed. No Jack, don’t’ be stupid! Remember what happened when Martha went to get dressed? She fuckin’ ran! OK so Inessa IS in high-rise, the chance of her escaping out the window is nil, but seriously Jack. Never let a woman get dressed alone!

Martha and Prez finish speech, good vibes all around. But wait, Mike calls. Is this a little one-up-man-ship? Mike says, “Sure, you and the wifey made nice-nice, wrote a little speech, but come lookey at what I got!

At Penthouse, Jack and CTU folk get ready to ‘move’ Sydney, someone orders, “Bring the girl out”. Out comes Eurotrip Inessa, but wait – she has a gun! She knows how to handle it too. Nice! Sydney is dead, Curtis verifies, checking his watch, “time of death, about 20 minutestoofucking soon!”

Prez and Martha meet Mike – oh no! It’s Walt! He’s hung himself! Ouch! I guess he and the Secret Service were playing hangman to pass the time, and they suggested playing by White House rules. Ooohh, now that’s some bitch slap.

Quiz Hint: For #2, the 'sexy' one in question, also played the role of 'Hannah' in last night's Grey's Anatomy. (February 5th, 2006)

ANOTHER QUIZ!



1. “Run Shadowfax. Show us the meaning of haste”



2. "She's so sexy. Look at her body language. All verbs!"


3. "You know, one of these days, you might want to consider sitting down with someone. You know, have a little share time? Get in touch with your inner child? Also, you just might want to consider blinking once in a while."


4. "Franks and Beans! Franks and Beans!"


5. "Oh, no no no no. Dead broad OFF the table!"


6. "Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"


7. "Welcome to Earth!"


8. "They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"


9. "And that's what she is, the Queen of Refuse. So bow down to her if you want, bow to her. Bow to the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, the Queen of Putrescence. Boo. Boo. Rubbish. Filth. Slime. Muck. Boo. Boo. Boo."


10. "If I'm curt with you, it's because time is a factor here. I think fast, I talk fast, and I need you guys to act fast if you want to get out of this. So, pretty please, with sugar on top, clean the fucking car."

CD Review: Sarah Brightman – Love Changes Everything
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection: Volume Two

First posted on Blogcritics.org

Of course I’d heard of Sarah Brightman, I knew she sung, mostly in musicals or opera. I knew that she had been married to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the amazing genius behind Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita and much more. I also knew she had a pretty face and a prettier voice. A few years back, I channel surfed into a PBS show, nearly at the end – as is my luck. Sarah was singing something – I didn’t know what it was – but it took my breath away. I’ve since tried to remember what the song was, and I still don’t know because now I have been hearing so many beautiful songs on this CD.

Sarah Brightman – Love Changes Everything is full of familiar Webber tunes, a couple from Jesus Christ Superstar, a couple more from Phantom of the Opera, and a few that I was not familiar with, but are now becoming new favorites. I can’t get enough of the anthem-like title track, “Love Changes Everything” from 1989’s Aspects of Love. I’m looking forward to when I get my car CD player fixed so I can do the sing-along on road trips. Also from the same show, is the duet “Seeing is Believing”, sung with Michael Ball. Simply gorgeous. Another unknown tune was “Whistle Down the Wind” from the 1989 show of the same name. I only had to hear it once though to consider it a favorite.

Of the more familiar tunes, I especially like “Think of Me”, from Phantom of the Opera. I had been listening to the Phantom soundtrack beforehand -- I have a serious theatre lover in the house – so I recognized the song. Sara soars on this one. She should, her future husband Andrew Lloyd Webber created not just the song – but also the role of Christine Daae expressly for her. And damn if it doesn’t fit like a lyrical glove!

Also familiar, sort of, was the song, “No Liores Por Mi Argentina”. You’d probably recognize it as, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, from Evita. Familiar yes, but delightfully new to hear it in Spanish. At first I was mildly frustrated that I couldn’t sing along – four years of high school Spanish and one year of college Italian still wasn’t enough for me to translate instantly. But without the distraction of the English lyrics, I actually could appreciate the intended beauty of the song. Maybe that’s why I’m so addicted to Andrea Bocelli’s, “Sogno”, sung in his native Italian. If I heard it in English, would I like it as much?

A minor complaint is Sarah’s rendition of “Any Dream Will Do”, from the 1968 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Oh, she sings it beautifully, but to me, that’s a song to be sung by Jason Donovan, Michael Damian, or Donny Osmond, who all portrayed Joseph in various productions of the show. Brightman’s wonderful 4-octave range could easily handle any of the female Narrator’s pieces and I wonder why those weren’t chosen instead. But who am I to quibble of minor points? Sarah Brightman has the vocal chops to perform darn near anything, and Love Changes Everything surely proves it.

As many of you know, I've been affiliated with Hot Psychology Magazine for a year now, first as a writer and now as Features Editor. We’ve been growing and looking better and better, and it has been pretty exciting!

This is just a heads up on Hot Psychology’s ‘appearance’ on the web radio program “Stars of PR”. This show, web-cast at business.voiceamerica, is part of the Voice America group.

PR specialist and "Stars of PR" host Cindy Rakowitz will interview our Editor-in-Chief Jim Idema and our Culture Editor Kimberly Berg tomorrow, January 19, 2006 at 7:00AM PT (10:00AM ET) Please tune in!

UPDATE!
Check out my post on Blogcritics.org, and while you're there, look for other posts on 24. Pretty funny!


In case you were too lazy to click on that link - and you know who you are - I was borrowing just a lil teeny bit from Dave Barry's hilarious commentary on 24.

It's almost time for 24 to start up again! Yeehaw! Or as Bruce Willis would put it...

"Yippeekaiyai^*$%&@*" Or something Like That.

I bet Chloe is now sporting a blackbelt in whoop-ass, and Edgar will have conquered numerous battles on G4's "Arena", and after each victory he declared with his sour stone face, "I'm dedicating this to my Mom, may she rest in Peace". Then after adjusting his Comm headset, he'd snap his fingers, give a quick gangsta style head bobble, and mutter, "That's how I roll - bitch"

Also, following a CTU directive, all Home Depots now maintain a "No-Shop List". Jack Bauer's name is right at the top.

Tony and Michelle are still together, but Michelle is now the drunk in the family. Tony likes it though.

For more 24 mania, or to at least understand a wee bit of the pop references I oh-so-coolly sprinkled throughout this post, check out the link. Yes, that link in the previous sentence. YES - THAT ONE. Sheesh!

OH Me Aching Blog!

Yeah, my poor lil' blog has been used and abused. Or actually more like neglected. I'm lucky there is no DYS or DSS for Bloggers, or else I'd have me arse hauled off to Bloggie Jail. So, its high time I get something down in print. I suppose it should be about quality not quantity, but maybe I'm still feeling the effects of NaNo (NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month) - which is all about quantity. Sadly I could not produce the necessary word count to 'win' NaNo, I was about 47,000 words short. HA! Yeah, that's a laugh. Couldn't produce much quality either, but it was fun going for a week or so.

And so here I sit. With bruised knuckle no less, courtesy of Eowyn. Now, Eowyn honey, don't feel bad, it's not like its the first time you bruised me. You know I don't hold a grudge. I'm sure by the time you go up for your black belt rank - and I'm on the panel - I'll have forgotten ALL about it.

Seriously.

Anyway, we did have a blast doing the rolling stick drills, DAMN that is so much fun. Maybe next time I'll bring the lightsabers.

Speaking of sticks, when I have time I will try to write about Guro Carlito Bonjoc, an Escrima Master. Way, way cool.

Off to basketball practice!

Something cute - sent to me by Rose. Thanks Rose!! Merry Christmas!

Greed.


What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

One of the things that continually confounds me is the greed that keeps popping up in the world like a rabid gopher.

Quite to the contrary of the famous line quoted by Michael Douglas's character Gordon Gekko, "Greed is good", (Wall Street, 1987). No Mr. Gekko, greed is not so good.

On Tuesday, December 20, the Transport Workers Union began a labor strike in New York City. During contract negotiations, the TWU rejected raise offers made by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Those offers were reported to be annual raises of 3, 4, and 3.5 percent. Another troublesome issue was the raising of eligibility age for a full pension, from 55 to 62.

Are these proposals made by the MTA fair? I don't know. I'm not up on labor practices, appropriate wages and so on. The point is, someone is being greedy. Either the labor union is asking for too much, or the Transit Authority is not offering enough. It's a very simple concept.

Greed.

Two more contract offers were made this week. One was for 40 million dollars, paid out over four years. I'd say that's bloody awesome!

Johnny Damon didn't think so. He rejected that Red Sox offer.

He preferred the offer made by the (spitting sound) New York Yankees, 52 millionfluckingdollars over four years.

Get this though, Johnny's agent, Scott Boras was asking for 84! Million. 84 millionbloodyflucking dollars for a seven year deal!

Greed.

Bloodyflucking greed.

Oh - by the way - Mr. Steinbrenner, you might want to give the MTA a phone call, I think they're a little short on cash.

Wash Your Hands!

I have a great imagination, and this is part of what fuels me as a writer. What else fuels me is my concern for the world, for the direction it’s going in. You put the two of those together, and there’s a good chance for my inner conspiracy theorist to emerge, thrusting me up on a soapbox to yell about the sky falling or something.

What concerns me today, is not caused by imagination, nor is it a conspiracy theory, but some scary facts.

A conference was held this week in Lowell, MA to discuss the very real possibility of an avian flu pandemic. So far this virus is not spreading human to human, but medical experts state that there is likelihood that it could do just that. The CDC goes into detail here.

Now, I’ve never received a flu shot; never saw the need. I’m still not crazy about the idea; it seems sort of, strange, to me. Yet for the last two years, in late winter/early spring – I’ve become sick with something that took hold, and didn’t let go for a long, long time. Its not like I was sick for months, more like 2 or 3 weeks, but no one needs that aggravation.

The article that I referenced above (Lowell Sun, December 7, 2005) described how the state needs to prepare -- logistically speaking – in the event that this virus did hit Massachusetts. As a matter of fact, this article began with statements from a local Health Department director, voicing his concerns about how to deal with the deceased. As in storage, as in filled to capacity morgues.

If this sounds too much like a “Movie of the Week”, just remember that a massive weather system that could demolish a major US city sort of sounded like a piece of fiction as well.

Wash your hands. Please.

I knew this would happen, its always the same way. Soon after (or even before) Thanksgiving is done, then on go the Christmas decorations here and far. Oh, but this has a way of being depressing. "Its too rushed" , I say. "It ruins the mood", I also say. I go through these complaints and whining every year, I moan about the over commercialism this, and the frantic schedule that -- and it could have a way of really wearing a person down. And I don't' mean the person on the other end of all my bitching and venting! But yeah, them too!

I'm wrapping up an article on Christmas, so I've had all these things on my mind even earlier than usual. But what the crux of my article is about - finding what really is significant behind our holidays -- buzzes in my mind like a cheerful but persistent goody-two-shoes. Remember the movie Animal House? When Pinto has the girl in his room, and is getting advice from his conscience? The Devil saying...."F#*k her! And the angel ...Well, saying not to.

I keep hearing the angel (how fitting) telling me.."Remember the good!" The angel also says, "remember the Alamo", but that I don't' quite get. But really, I have this voice in my head, reminding me that there is something wonderful coming. OK VOICE --You got a good point there! I get it! I'll try to be of good Cheer!

So, voice not withstanding, I continue bravely into the fray of the holiday season. (cripes, my wording isn't exactly sweetness and light is it? 'bravely'? 'into the fray'? Could I be any more, pessimistic?

Anyway, today I wasn't in the best mood when I was out on errands, but I swear this did NOT color my reactions to what I saw.

There's a new decoration in town kids. Yep, right here in River City. You probably have seen these fancy huge blow up type things that have been popular the last few years. They have pumpkins, witches, turkeys, Snowmen, elves, the works. Sadly they don't work so well for the condo set. Anyway...

There's this twist on the blow up decoration. One word: SnowGlobe. OK maybe that's two words, sorta. But really, there are now these big blow up snowglobe thingies. Yeah, exactly! It's some sort of holiday figure, with a HUGE (plastic I guess) sphere, and real stuff blowing around inside. I'm pretty sure it's not real snow.

Today I saw three of them.

It's really pretty amazing, but immediately I knew I would never EVER get one.

Too expensive? I don't know. Too gaudy? Ah, maybe, but it IS pretty cute.

Perhaps, toooooo trendy?

Bingo!

Yeah, I'm weird like that. If everyone else has one, I develop an immediate distaste for it. Maybe I'm just jealous because I didn't think of it first. Could be. I'm not sure. All I know is that why do I want to copy someone else? Why do I want to do the cookie cutter thing? ::Shiver:::. Remember those outdoor Christmas lights that give a sort of icicle effect? You affix them so they hang off the edge of the roof. Sort of neat looking, but once I saw more than one display, I made the mental note to not include it in any sort of holiday decorating theme EVER in my lifetime. EVER.

Kind of funny, especially if you know me and have been to my house. Yeah, I do follow fashion somewhat. I have hung on the coattails of some sort of decorating trend or another. My clothes are not terribly outdated. I have a DVD, MP3, GPS... I buy brand names. I wear Eddie Bauer and Victoria's Secret. I have not yet uttered, "that's how I roll", and now that I typed it, it's just too silly, but I try like heck to keep up.

Just not with the Joneses.

HOLY TURKEY LERKY BATMAN - It's Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Film Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

(First posted on Blogcritics.org)

The morning started out tense – trying to get the four of us out the door for a 9:00AM showing of the long-awaited Harry Potter flick. I know, Nine O’clock A-bloody-M. It was a school deal you see. My fifth grade son came home with the news a few weeks ago, that his school had a deal going with a local theater to get all us ‘muggles’ tickets for this special showing. It seemed worth it, despite the early show time. Of course, when this morning actually dawned, it was a little bit harder to be excited about seeing the show, especially for my high school son. “Why do we have to go so early…grumble, grumble.”?

So, we actually leave somewhat on time – rare for us – and we’re on our way. A slight snag in the travel as there is a blocked entrance ramp to the high way. So we find a roundabout way to get onto the highway only to find that the lane we want is blocked off by cones. Shortly before the exit, we slip through the cones, and right into a police roadblock. Yikes!

An officer motions us to pull over, and then proceeds to practically interrogate my husband as to why he thought he was special enough to ignore the cones and do what he wanted. “What if there was a road crew working here, and you didn’t see until too late, and you killed someone. Yeah, he said exactly that. Then we couldn’t find the vehicle registration, and I was ready to cry, when the officer – referring to my youngest in the back seat – “Look, you’ve got a young kid – do the right thing from now on.” Yes, he let us just go, but made us feel like we were just a beat away from a violent criminal career.

About two minutes later we’re pulling into the parking lot, and I suddenly remember where our special ‘muggle’ tickets were. At home. On top of the refrigerator – Not With US.

Now I really started to cry. “I’m sorry, I left the tickets at home, I forgot them!” For a second no one spoke, and then I ask my husband to drive me to the front door so I can run inside and see what I can do. Luckily everything worked out and we were let in without having to purchase new tickets.

The movie started right away, without the usual ‘coming attractions’, and the first scene happened to be a very dark one. Dark in plot, dialogue and just plain dimly lit. So it was hard to see what seats were left available, and we ended up sitting in the second row in front. I’ve done this before, sat in the very front of the huge screen, and not just for any movie – but for something guaranteed to be metaphorically huge as well. Like this summer’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Anyway, into the ‘Fire’. I’d read the book last year, and managed to remember most of the crucial plot points. I thought I was prepared for the experience, but the movie was still overwhelming. I had not paid strict attention to any write-ups or reviews of GOF, because I knew the family and I would be going regardless. As I sat watching some horrifying scenes unfold, I started to remember comments I’d heard about GOF. “Dark”…”definitely deserves its PG-13 rating”…”not for younger viewers”. Also, this was the part of the Potter series that was to have the big “D”--The death of a Hogwarts character. And when that part came, the reaction was audible. There were real sniffles and tears in the rows behind me.

Over all, the movie was very good, and quite long at 157 minutes. The Rowling book was over 700 pages, so there was a lot to incorporate onto film. Certain areas were going to have to be glossed over, or eliminated all together. I was disappointed that there wasn’t a real explanation of the Veela, the entrancing and exceptionally beautiful creatures that had the ability to captivate males. They first appeared as some sort of performing mascots during the Quidditch World Cup games in the earlier part of the book. I would have liked to have seen where one of the boys, can’t remember if it was Harry or Ron, was practically climbing out of their seat (in the nosebleed section no less) because they felt the effects of the Veela.

Speaking of male-female attractions, much – and I mean MUCH -- has been said about this being the movie where all the hormones start to zing and zip and zoom. It’s pretty much true. Though the story moved right along, I couldn’t help but be aware of how all the ‘kids’ have grown. Even Ron Weasley’s older brothers Fred and George looked cuter than I remembered. I noticed the hormonal thing especially with Ron and Hermoine. They both seemed mighty uncomfortable with themselves and with each other. Seeing how the characters were supposed to be 14 years old, that’s about right.

The twist to this installment in the Potter stories was that a long dormant event, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, was to be re-established and this year, be held at Hogwart’s School. Two visiting schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were to have representatives as well as Hogwarts participating in the dangerous tourney. Because of the impending risk of the three tasks, an age limit of 17 is imposed. Of course Harry Potter (remember, he’s only 14) ends up in the game (you know he would), along with the other Hogwarts entry Cedric Diggory, and Victor Krum (who is also a legendary Quidditch seeker) from Durmstrang and attractive Fleur Delacour, from Beauxbatons. Interesting note about Fleur, she’s part Veela, and Kate Winslet was rumored to be have been originally cast in the role. Instead the part went to Clémence Poésy who kept reminding me of a slighty younger Clare Danes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. She did fine.

Even with a yet another director at the helm, Mike Newell, who turns out to be the first British director in the Harry Potter franchise, the movie works well. (Trivia Note: Newell actually ‘passed’ on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.) Several key scenes were exactly how I imagined them from the book. The attack on the camp after the Quidditch cup, including the appearance of the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark. Also the opening ceremonies at the Cup games, the stadium, the whole vibe, was just immense. The Yule Ball, and all the angst leading up to it were done perfectly, and also a great chance for Emma Watson as Hermoine to play ‘dress up’.

The scene near the end, as Harry squares off against flat-faced Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), again follows the book nicely, but the Priori Incantatem spell that occurs when their two wands intersect isn’t really explained.

To say much more would probably give away too much, especially if you've not read the book, but what I can say, is that Moaning Myrtle makes another appearance in GOF. Poor girl though, I really don’t remember her being that horny in the book.


So, it was quite the emotional day, between the rushing, the police standoff, the lost tickets, and the movie itself. I recommend The Goblet of Fire, just take your time getting there.

(Originally posted on Blogcritics.org)

CD Review: Pink Floyd Tribute, Back Against the Wall.
(The Purple Pyramid, a division of Cleopatra Records, 2005)



What do Ian Anderson, Ronnie Montrose, Tommy Shaw, Billy Sherwood and Malcolm McDowell have in common? They and others well known artists performed on the September, 2005 release of Back Against The Wall, the tribute CD that celebrates the mystery and wonderful weirdness of Pink Floyd’s 1979 concept album, The Wall.

The main producer behind this effort is Billy Sherwood of “Yes” fame. In an interview with Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited, he said, “I knew The Wall like the back of my hand because it was basically the soundtrack to my childhood…The idea was to stick to the script because it is such a great piece of work in terms of it’s writing and content. The challenge was to figure out how we could stick close enough to the script that we don’t change what we all know and love about The Wall but at the same time let the personalities of those we bring in shine.” He’s also been at the helm of other tributes. The Songs of Pink Floyd was released in 2002, and he was also involved on Dragon Attack, a Queen tribute, A Salute to AC/DC, and Crossfire to honor Stevie Ray Vaughn.

The first time that I heard Back Against the Wall, I was a little taken aback...I noticed it first when I did not hear the trademark ‘sigh’ that marks the end of “Another Brick in the Wall” pt. 2 and the beginning of “Mother”. As I played tracks over, between TW, and BATW, I finally did hear the ‘sigh’, but it was different! I really sensed this disparity with the vocals on “Young Lust”. Something was wrong. It wasn’t exactly like Pink Floyd. I know, I know, “No Shite Sherlock”, is what you’re thinking. I might reply, “Of course it’s not bloody Pink Floyd, it’s someone covering Floyd.” And you’d then say, “Oh for crying out LOUD”. This isn’t just a:snivel:::cover. This is a tribute. And you would then proceed to lightly box me about the ears and knock my head and mutter, “Hellooo, McFly? McFly?” And I would nod my head, nothing left to do but check my expectations at the door and let go.

And this is what I find:

Overall, I think the there is more concentration on the instrumentals on BATW. They also sound cleaner, which is probably due to over 20 years improvement in recording technology. Here are a few observations and comparisons between the original and Back Against the Wall, in no particular order:

I like the original vocals slightly better on “Nobody Home”, but the piano on BATW is - well, it’s nectar. By that I mean beautiful.

“Empty Spaces” has still has that great menacing sound in the opening chords.

“In the Flesh”, still communicates the same bigotry, but the vocal delivery is more gleeful on BATW, which makes it that much more malicious sounding.

Good instrumentals on “Waiting for the Worms” Vinnie Caliauta on drums, and a wonderful organ solo by Keith Emerson.

“Run Like Hell” What can I say. My disappointment is purely a personal gut reaction. It’s technically fine, but this is one of those songs that for me needs to be the original. Actually, the original “Run Like Hell” is one of my favorite songs, period – not just within the realm of Pink Floyd. And it was altered. But this is my own personal burden to bear.

“One of My Turns”, is different, but yet so familiar. The inane prattling of the female groupie in the background, though done by a different actress, is the perfect foil to Pink’s melancholy channeled by Tommy Shaw’s voice.

“Is There Anybody Out There?” – Nice beginning, more of that menacing stuff – but what sets this one apart is Ian Anderson’s flute -- it evokes such sadness.

For those that especially loved the tracks that got the big radio play from The Wall, such as “Comfortably Numb”, and “Another Brick in the Wall”, pts 1, 2 and 3 – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Close enough to the original, but with a few extra goodies, like Steve Howe’s guitar solo on “Another Brick in the Wall”, pt. 1.

I was in college when The Wall was released. Back in 1979, the music was astounding. 25 years later, it is still astounding. The thing about Pink Floyd, and others of the progressive/space rock genre, is that the music was always held up to be some sort of prophetic message. The significance of The Wall took hours of wonderful analysis; between the music, lyrics and of course, Gerald Scarfe’s album cover art. This reworking of the original on Back Against the Wall will send the listener into yet more contemplative study of what Roger Waters really was trying to say.

Eddie Guerrero

RIP

1967 - 2005

Minneapolis, MN

Eddie Guerrero, the "Latino Heat" pro wrestler was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday morning November 13, 2005. He was found by his nephew Chavo and hotel security, after Eddie failed to respond to his wake up call. Early autopsy results show massive heart failure, most likely due to Eddie's past life style of hard partying. He had recently celebrated four years of sobriety, but the past claimed him regardless. His widow Vickie said this:

"It was from his past – the drinking and the drug abuse. They found signs of heart disease. She (the examiner) said that the blood vessels were very worn and narrow, and that just showed all the abuse from the scheduling of work and his past. And Eddie just worked out like crazy all the time. It made his heart grow bigger and work harder and the vessels were getting smaller, and that’s what caused the heart failure. He went into a deep sleep.
As soon as they saw his heart, they saw the lining of his heart already had the heart disease. There was no trauma, and Eddie hadn’t hurt himself in any way. It answered a lot of questions. I knew Eddie wasn’t feeling very good for the last week. He was home and kept saying he wasn’t feeling good and we thought it was just “road tired.” So we thought he just had to rest. It answered a lot of my questions, too, because he was just so exhausted. She said it was normal because the heart was working so hard..."

WWE's site has more of the story.

I havn't followed pro wrestling much at all, except more recently when my two sons started watching WWE's Raw and Smackdown. Now I can name many of the faces, and it's such a lousy feeling to know that one of the most vibrant and exciting (and somewhat annoying) stars will be gone forever.

Vaya con Dios Eddie

Listen.

Read.

Think.

Communicate





Check this out. I've been doing background reading for a Pink Floyd tribute CD. But that's not important right now.

Once upon a time, an intrepid little Usenet alt.music.pink-Floyd group was entrenched in the mysterious puzzle presented by the Publius Enigma. I've read emails and original Usenet postings scattered over various Pink Floyd websites. These cats were into it. That's pretty cool, but it makes me wonder, when all that concern and brainpower and dedication is channeled in one conundrum -- what can't they accomplish, what can't they win? Yeah, they are workin' it.

Imagine -- if you will -- that that braintrust is handling your spleen, your tax deferments, replacing your rotting foundation or coddling your transmission, then it's good to be you, yes?

If you could harness all the energy fired in those alt.music.whateverbandyouplease little synapses, then...Wow!

We need to send them to G8, We need them on the Beltway, in our schools - we need them in every tech support call we make, damnit.

Musicologists? Detectives? Whatever you call them, we need them.

Until then:

Listen.

Read.

Think.

Communicate

The Haunting of Me.


I suppose there is the standard definition of the word 'haunting' or 'haunted'. No, I'm not going to go look them up. Typically though, haunting connotes something scary, or at the least something to make you a bit anxious.

I am haunted by music. I am struck to the core, when I hear certain tunes. It doesn't have to be scary, or even anxious rending.

Certain songs though, just make you feel --- what? Ah, I guess it doesn't matter what it makes you feel, just as long as you ARE feeling.

Yes, it's the feeling, isn't it?
Plenty of music makes us feeling nauseous, or a step closer to epilepsy even. Much of it is wonderous though.

"Amazing Grace". Yeah, that IS amazing. The song is beautiful in its simplicity. In the same Christian vein is "Thy Word" Amy Grant does a good turn at this. Even better is to hear a room full of 13 - 17 year olds singing right along with her. The same kids that just raved on about My Chemical Romance, or their plans to see Aerosmith. The same kids that pelted you with snowballs on the last retreat. Those kids, singing their hearts out to "Thy Word".

Wondeous indeed.

Speaking of Aerosmith - and there's alot of great tunes there - but let's get into "Walk This Way". It's all of what Aerosmith was and is meant to be. Rockers at the first, last and in between. Sassy, loud, confident rockers. Sung by themselves, or with Run DMC. Sung in an arena, or lip-sync-ed in someone's bedroom. An invitation to a party -- to walk this way.

So cool.

This would be cheating - but there's a ton of stuff I just love on the Love Actually sound track. What haunted me though? That Dido song, of all things. "Here with Me". The song had plenty of airplay, and it was 'ok'. After seeing the movie though, now I freakin' love it! That's the thing though, after seeing certain songs connected with a fresh story - it makes a difference.

Just like one of my favorite U2 songs, "Streets Have no Names". The music video that accompanied this song depicted of a brazen act of just saying, "What the F(*k". The band was taped playing on a rooftop, the setting was downtown L.A., and the mood was defiant fun. As a friend of mine says, "Don't ask for Permission - ask for Forgiveness" - and U2 was playing without permission and eventually got silenced.

It's gotten too late to be coherent here, but the music is still there; doing its haunting thing.

Some Good News!

A while back I had posted a request from a musician (and personal friend). He was asking for CD buyers to be mindful of how the purchase of Cosmic Orgasm would be linked to Red Cross donations.

Here are the results of that fundraising effort.


"Last night the donation program came to a close andthe funds raised were sent directly to the Red CrossDisaster Relief Fund thru their local Portland Oregonbranch. In the end, it raised a total of $165,060 overthe last seven weeks! Cd Baby also donated $40,000 oftheir own! For a Grand Total of $205,060!!! Thank Youto the customers, artists, and Cd Baby! Peace, Aaron"Spaceman Spliff" "


Good Stuff, eh?

So so so, yes I know. It's been too long and time has gone on ...and on.
It's with heavy heart that I must confess -
Life has been a bit of a mess.

Nothing drastic, nothing vile -
Just the usual stuff that happens to most
Kind of consumes us for a while.

Then please continue, go on about your life
See, I'm here! Despite the strife.
And just in case you wondered, or cared

Poetry ain't my strong suit
Really just did it -- on a dare.

Something I realize I need to address before too much more time passes. When I ran my lil' movie quiz of September 7th though I did supply the answers; I never mentioned who the top winners were.

So, now with a flourish and drumroll, yaddah yaddah yaddah --

Eowyn and The Duke both got top honors.

For the most recent quiz of September 28th, Eowyn is in the lead. But it's not too late to enter!


And for my teaser question of Sept. 24th,

" What do Ian Anderson, Ronnie Montrose, Tommy Shaw, Billy Sherwood and Malcolm McDowell have in common?"

These gents join other music greats on the Back Against the Wall tribute CD that revisits the work of Pink Floyd's The Wall. CD review forthcoming.

That's it for now.

Quiz Time Again!

These shouldn't be too hard : )~


1. "...the soft glow of electric sex"

2. "I've got a bad feeling about this"

3. "...and the schnozberries taste like schnozberries!"

4. "Sometimes you just gotta say, 'what the fuck' "

5. "At my signal - unleash Hell"

6. "Quid pro quo!"

7. "Are you stalking me? Because that would be super"

8. "I'm gonna give you to the count of 10 to get your ugly, yellow, no-good keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead! One, two, ten!"

9. "Fuck Grandma"

10. "Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

Fun with Words.


Jambalaya. This is a fun word. It's exotic enough to be interesting, yet not foreign enough to be scary. It sounds like what it is, something fun and filled with good spicy stuff. Say it with me... "Jambalaya" It is reminiscent (and some say derived from) of the word, paella. Of course, I can't think of paella without thinking of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer is invited eat paella with Mr. and Mrs. Costanza. Another explanation is that the word comes from the french "jambon" (hambone) and the West African word "Ya-ya" (rice). Works for me.

What do Ian Anderson, Ronnie Montrose, Tommy Shaw, Billy Sherwood and Malcolm McDowell have in common? "Stand still Laddie!" We'll take questions at the end. You know what I mean.

Next.

Am I getting too old? No, I don't think so. No. But - I need to wear my glasses more and more. For the close work, reading. OK that's normal. But - it's hard to read a menu in a restaurant. The lighting is a little low. So, what's the big deal?

Its these websites. Some are a pain to read? Does no one else see this? Seems to be mostly bands' websites. Of all the websites I tend to visit, the rockers seem to be the hardest to read. A tiny font size, and the text and background colors don't contrast enough, and I'm like blind by then.

Speaking of bands, same thing with the CD covers, lyrics, production notes. Too small! Too hard to read. Change the colors. Hey you groovy young musicians, psst...Some of your listening demographic is a bit -- more mature. Actually we probably take up more of your pie chart than you realize. Bigger font please!

Other than that it's all fine. It's good. I guess.

An excerpt from my forthcoming CD review of The Dropkick Murphys' The Warrior Code.

" “Your Spirit’s Alive”, the first track, is a bit of a tease. It starts out sweet and slow, just pipes and piano. Someone like me, who loves all that folk Celtic stuff will smile and say, “Ahh.” After 20 seconds though, the rest of the instruments come in and the beat just about triples, with the Murphys shouting the lyrics, “We are the ones who will never be broken, we are the ones who survive…” And someone like me, who loves the punk likes of Green Day, Quiet Riot metal, or Sublime ska will smile and say, “Ahh”, again."

I sure wish I could get the whole damn thing done. But life is interrupting. : )

Something to consider:

Here is another article by Annie Jacobsen; following up on her Terror in the Skies series. I've not read every part of the series, but I have read enough to know that the public (and no, not just the American public) needs to be more aware of what is going on around them.

Awareness, not just of fellow flight passengers, but of our political leaders' actions as well.

Can we be aware without profiling? Probably not. It stinks, but I think we need to be a little less politically correct.

Can we be aware without questioning what the government does? NO. Iraq, oil, FEMA, 9/11, WMD's, contrails/chemtrails -- look around, read, research, ask questions. Some things are whack, some are real, it won't be easy to gauge the truth, but asking questions is the start.

Is this all exhausting? Yes.

Should that stop us? No.

Is it me? Or is Man on Fire really kind of sucky? I actually tried to change the channel, and I think the batteries are worn down in the remote - so now I'm looking for new batteries.

Anyway, I have only seen parts of it, I can't really sit down yet and give undivided attention to it - so, to be fair, maybe it's OK. I don't know though, so far, it's just not that great. So, someone tell me, should I bother trying to see the whole thing?

Something that my writing group and I will be investing in, or better yet, starting a grown up version of these. For when those good ideas strike!

OK - I know y'all waiting for answers, here you go.


"I get compliments on the hyphen." Unlce Buck

"Because we are still alive." The Matrix Reloaded

"It was a good death." The Last Samurai

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't slow down
and look once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"Dooodie!" Caddyshack

"I'm sorry John, but you're going to have to run
again...Ruuuuuuuuuuuun!" The Minority Report

In Good Company: A Review of Company Man.
By Mary K. Williams

(cross posted to www.blogcritics.org)

Company Man by Joseph Finder: New York, St. Martin’s Press. 2005. 215 pgs.


You know a book is good when it gets inside you. When you think about what is going on with the characters when the pages are closed and wonder how any one of them might handle a certain situation. In Company Man, Joseph Finder has created such characters. He's also created a tensely paced believable thriller.

Nick Conover is a recently widowed CEO of a large office-furniture plant in Fenwick, MI. When we meet Nick, he’s trying to deal with his two children, 16 year old Lucas and 10-year-old Julia in the aftermath of losing their mother, Laura. Aside from family sorrows, Nick has to continually please the corporate owners.

Because of pressure from the home office in Boston, he’s had to lay off about five thousand employees resulting in nearly the whole town hating him. On top of everything else, a shadowy stalker has been breaking into his family’s home to vandalize it with frightening graffiti. Before long, his worlds collide and in uncontrollable circumstances, there’s also now a dead body and a cover-up to contend with. Business deals begin to collapse, and Nick’s life becomes even more strained as homicide detectives begin to investigate the case.

Joseph Finder isn’t a stranger to the corporate thriller. His 2004 novel, Paranoia, was on the New York Times Bestseller list, as well as High Crimes, the 1998 legal thriller turned major film (Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Jim Caviezel).

A former Yale Russian Studies student and Harvard instructor, Finder started his literary career with a book called, Red Carpet: The Connection Between the Kremlin and America’s Most Powerful Businessmen. This book, an account of Dr. Armand Hammer’s connections to Soviet intelligence, nearly led to a libel suit by Dr. Hammer against Finder. Soon enough though, the facts against Hammer were verified when the walls of the Soviet Union began to crumble and archived intelligence surfaced.

Because perhaps of Finder’s connections in the intelligence world (he’s a member of the AFIO, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers), he seems to have excellent instincts and timing regarding his espionage subject matter. In his first fiction novel, The Moscow Club, he told the story of a KGB driven coup against leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. The book was published in 1991, six months before the real event.

In 1994, Finder published his second novel, Extraordinary Powers, about the discovery of a Soviet mole positioned in the upper echelon of the CIA. Just days after this book came out; Aldrich Ames was named as one of the most notorious CIA moles in history.

When the subject matter is the corporate world, Joseph Finder still on top of his game. Company Man gives us all the shades of big business life, from cube farms to outsourcing to a Warren Buffet / Berkshire Hathaway type ownership. Finder does thorough research for his stories, and it shows in Nick Conover’s on target interactions with his teenage son, as well as his thoughts about his dead wife, Laura. Finder shows us the human failings in Nick, guiltily finding fault with Laura’s decorating choices --

“The first graffiti had appeared on the heavy, ornate ash-wood front door, which Laura had deliberated over for weeks with the architect, a door that had cost a ridiculous three thousand dollars, a fucking door, for God’s sake”

-- instead of simply elevating her to sainthood, just because she’s deceased.

The author still keeps things real, as homicide detective Audrey Rhimes enters the scene. Company Man’s book jacket and other PR blurbs mention this character as having “her own, very personal, reason for pursuing Nick Conover.” However, as the story unfolds, I didn’t view Rhimes this way. It’s no secret that her husband has been laid off from Stratton, and his subsequent drinking and general surliness provide tension and a nice secondary plot line. But Finder’s depiction of this woman is not of someone who is itching to get the guy who soured her marriage, instead she almost reminds you of Tommy Lee Jones’s “Sam Gerard”, the U.S. Marshall in The Fugitive. Gerard just wanted to do his job, and get the bad guy. The Rhimes character is just as single minded as Gerard. And in both cases, as the investigation process widens to include other possibilities, Finder makes Audrey Rhimes is smart enough to follow every lead.

The bottom line on Company Man? A very enjoyable read.

I came across this report today, and found it very interesting. The author, Annie Jacobsen, has been also doing an ongoing investigative series related to airline safety post 9-11. She found enough information to publish a book, Terror in the Skies: Why 9-11 Could Happen Again.

However, this particular news report is about the work that a group of Federal Air Marshalls performed in the most dreadful of situations during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This is just one report of one group of heroes. There are many many more who have been doing necessary work in the Gulf States. One is a young man from my town, and dojo.
Will Minior was to start his freshman year at Loyola University, and instead he learned how to run a shelter. Minior has since returned to Massachusetts to attend Stonehill College, but no book learning will compare to some of the tough lessons he learned those days in New Orleans.

(cross posted to www.blogcritics.org)

Something I should have done last week, when my musician friend sent me this, another good cause...


"Greetings,

This morning I signed a deal with my distribution company that all proceeds from album sales will go directly to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. So, please Buy My Album and support the victims of Hurricane Katrina!My album can be purchased from the following link"


By the way, this is a good CD.

Another Quote I love -


“He's gonna marry the first girl he lays. And she's gonna treat him like shit." “She won't respect him. 'Cause you can't respect somebody who kisses your ass.”

And One More, I can't believe I forgot this one, I've been saying it lately...

"There's always a bigger fish"

QUIZ: What Movie?


"I get compliments on the hyphen."


"Because we are still alive."


"It was a good death."


"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't slow down and look once in a while, you could miss it."


"Dooodie!"


"I'm sorry John, but you're going to have to run again...Ruuuuuuuuuuuun!"

For your consideration: Two good causes.

Another charity ride for my husband, takes place this Saturday, September 10th.

Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Waiting for Katrina.

(cross posted to Blogcritics.org)


It wasn't meant to put me to sleep. The Duke's saga of his Dublin trip is anything but numbing. His (and Sir Fleming's) quest for jazz, love, and God knows what else is a ride through a talent I am astounded to witness, yet I got sleepy, and it was good. Maybe I was hypnotized, and awoke groggy. I don't know. But I knew I needed the sleep.

I had been watching TV earlier, vacillating between Ron White's, They Call me Tater Salad on Comedy Central, Foxy Brown on Sundance, and Meet Joe Black. I started analyzing the acting of Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani, and wondered if it was their best work. I would still be ruminating about that if I hadn't remembered my son's request for me to monitor the Weather Channel's coverage of Hurricane Katrina while he slept.

Shit that's right, I had managed to forget for a little while. In the late afternoon/early evening I was glued to the Weather Channel, and thought I was doing my son a favor by pointing out how extrodinary this was going to be, this massive storm about to hit the South. As we both watched, I stopped playing instructor and was open-mouthed -- listening, watching.

Holy crap! This wasn't going to be good. Gulping and squirming in my chair, I thought that perhaps I was really watching a documentary on the filming of The Day After Tomorrow, a movie that I have been addicted to lately. The whole scenario seemed too improbable.

I go online and watch the ABC coverage for a while, then go back to watch The Weather Channel. Finally I take a break for The Duke's posts. A few weeks ago, we were sharing weekend plans, his weekend in Dublin was probably going to be a little more lively than mine in Old Orchard Beach, ME. (Though mine was lovely, thankyou), though both were intended to be for resting and recharging. I think I did more resting and The Duke did more recharging. So, I am all relaxed, after my visit to Dublin, via his Dukeness, and I get ready for bed.

I wake up about an hour later, and in pain. Somehow I blew out my knee during this past weekend. (Family camping reunion - great, great stuff) I don't know if it was the relay, or the three-legged race, but I've been limping since this morning. Then it dawns on me as I go downstairs for Advil, "What the heck is your problem, girl? You saw those people in the shelter, in the Superdome, for God's sake. Will they sleep at all tonight? Will they have a house to come home to? Will they have a city?"

So, Advil is working, and I am grateful.

I have electricity to type this -- and I am grateful.

The family is home, all asleep, all safe.

Yup, you got it.

Grateful.

I survived Summer Slam.

I survived the volume, the boys' yelling, and the late hour. Honestly it wasn't all that hard, hiding in the other room watching the Sin City DVD. I was looking forward to watching the Six Feet Under series finale, but wrestling pinned my choice. Ha Ha. Anyway I can catch SFU anytime.

Evidently Hulk Hogan won his match against Shawn Michaels, though when I saw him, he looked awful bloodied.

Eddie Guerrero lost his chance for legal custody of Dominick, his supposed son. Dom really is the son of Rey Mysterio, but to make things more exciting, the WWE concocted this 'lil story to keep everyone enthralled. At least that's my take on it. I don't have the DNA reports. I'm just guessing. Go check the link and read up on it.

That's it for now.

It's not red, but I love my Swingline Stapler. It's there whenever I need it. Actually, I don't think I'd like red anyway, prefer the black.

So, there's that.

In other news, you can't, never ever, not even a hint of it -- fraternize with a co-worker, outside of work. Well you can unless your boss could legally tell you not to. Dumb.

Is it the mining industry in general? Or is it just China - having a bad run of luck in that area.

Watched part of The Matrix tonight on TNT. It was good on the HD channel, and it was good with the surround sound, but, something was not good with the color. The wonderful "matrix green" that is part of the film's flavor was messed up. Sheesh, talk about a green screen; Agent Smith had green teeth, Tank had green skin tones, oh it was bad. It could have ruined my night if I let it. But then afterwards, TNT ran "Last Flight of the Osiris", from The Animatrix. That more than made up for the color situation. I hadn't seen it in maybe two years, and forgot how good it was. Very good.

Must be a Keanu night, cuz now Johnny Mnemonic has been on. I bought that a few years ago, and it's a nutty film. It is fun though. No, not nutty like say, Austin Powers. Just, weird. Like most of the stuff I like.

Did I say that the reason why "Osiris" reminded me of Final Fanasy: Spirits Within? Because Andy Jones directed both. Now I can sleep.

Not quite yet.

"...Call me sometime when you have no class". I love that line, You can be the first one to write in and tell me where it comes from! "Johnny Mnemonic, what will they win?"

Door #1 - A big 'ole Hummer H20 - no redeeming value nor parking space included
Door #2 - A baby's arm, holding an apple
Door #3 - A date with Tad Hamilton

Call before midnight -- oops too late. No Ginsu knives for you. Two weeks!

I love Bob. Bob the Enzyte guy. He doth crack me up. Just think of his smile. Is that not funny, or what?



Done.

Playboy Logo in the Wrong Places



A story from The Guardian , focuses on marketing an adult brand to children. The brand is the Playboy Logo, the famous bunny ears that have been around as long as, well -- Heff -- just about.

WHSmith, the retailer that was targeted for protest by some London schoolgirls this summer, has been selling stationary supplies with the Playboy logo. Not that the Playboy brand is a bad thing, the bunny ears are not offensive, on their own. But to sell this brand to pre-teens, is ridiculous. This isn't a question of some young thing, giving a nod and knowing glance to a clerk, asking for a condom or pack of cigarettes (or a magazine in a brown wrapper). This is merchandising a whole line right along with the Poohs, Bratz, or Hello Kittys. WHSmith or the other retailers who have similar practices know damn well what they are doing. There's a world of difference between bunny ears on Dodge Ram's mudflaps, and those same ears on a glittery pink pencil case.

I suppose the whole logo thing has been diluted somewhat. To me personally, Playboy (and the bunny ears) represent more or less, a non-stop party. I don't automatically think 'porn'. Obviously the magazine at the heart of Heffner's empire is exactly that, though I've heard there are some good articles? Anyway, I'd be the last to criticize a non-stop party, maybe I'm jealous. But porn, partying, whatever Playboy means to us, it is intended for adults and those cute little ears have absolutely no place in children's lives.

Sometimes we're better off not knowing ---


Take hot dogs for example. Or frankfurters, not sure what the diff is anyway, but here's the point. We've all head the murmurings, urban myths if you will, that hot dogs are filled with rats toenails or puppydog tails, or other icky things. (Never sugar and spice and everything nice). But unless we're very squeamish, we keep eating our dogs with relish, no pun intended. Unless we get violently ill or turn colors, we keep buying our BallParks, Nathan's, Pearls, or Kayems, and cooking 'em up. Yum! Don't Ask - Don't Tell.

Now, consider the VERY BIG number of bugs that live in our yards, houses and, well -- face it -- our innards, and for the most part, we co-exist in blissful ignorance (or denial). Lately though, I have been dealing with spiders, especially with the rennovations in our basement.

We vacuumed up as many as we could, and used a *bomb* for the rest. All good. Then the workers did their magic. New laundry closet, game area, entertainment area, and still some decent storage space. Just as good as Ty Pennington, but with less hair product.

Anyway, in the last month or so, we've noticed a few more spiders setting up shop in our new rooms. This weekend, we've been trying to organize all of our stuff, the stuff that's been in storage for a couple months, to fit it into the new areas. Today, as I'm vacuuming up more spiders, I'm feeling rather brave, patting myself on the back for not freaking out that I could even have a spider in my hair, and just as long as it left within a reasonable amount of time, I could care less. Of course, that amount of time could really not exceed, like two or three seconds. (Not that brave) Anyway, with all the back patting, it took me a minute or two longer to register that something wispy and alien was on my person. But when I did feel it, I ran upstairs, stripping off my shirt as I went, yelling for my husband to check me for bugs. Nothing. I beg him to brush me off anyway, and finally I was satisfied and got dressed and returned to my chore.

I still looked out for the critters but tried to resume the brave act again. Worked ok until I accidentally knocked over a fluorescent light tube and when it popped, I freaked! Now I'm on a self-imposed *break* from work, but here's the weird thing. My writing work area has just become invaded with yellow jackets. We're not sure how they got in, perhaps through the AC? It looks like the cold is killing them though, but there are still a good dozen hearty souls left to organize fly-bys around me as I type. Crazy.

For another insight into the whole bug thing, check out what a blogging associate writes. You'll be glad you did.

The Number Shall be Ten: The Last Ten Years of Growth on the 'Net


What was that line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "...Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three..." well, right now, maybe for those in Techno World (and our own Blogcritics), the number could be Ten. Besides, those other numbers are a little busy; One is the Loneliest number; Seven is the Perfect number, not going to even touch Triple Six, so how about Ten? It works well in Techno World, a one and a zero, all binary code-ish and cute.

Well on August 3rd, 2005 Blogcritics.org celebrated TEN million site visits. In just three short years. Oh yes, you read right. That's unique visitors. Actually the celebrating started on the 3rd, and I believe there is still some dancing in the streets, if not the Internet, going on. It's amazing what can happen in three years. Or in Ten.

Oh, and speaking of that 'ole Internet, here's the latest thing, Ten years ago this week, Netscape made their IPO, and what a ride it's been ever since. Suddenly, the Internet was more than a tool for scientists; it was a breeding ground for one of the biggest cash "eCows" in history. The Belfast Telegraph has a nice timeline depicting what's changed since then and now.

I know many out there still get kind of get confused with the Internet, the World Wide Web, and so forth. The Web, which made it's first appearance in 1991, was conceived and developed by Tim Berners-Lee while he was working for CERN in Geneva. Sure, it feels like it's been here forever, but remember the early days? There was no online shopping to speak of, and a search engine was almost as unwieldy as it sounded.

Now the Internet on the other hand, has been around for ages:

"A long time ago, somewhere between when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the emergence of the cell phone, the Internet came into existence. As the 1950's were coming to a close, the United States was becoming quite concerned about the technology possessed by the Soviet Union. The launch of Sputnik and the fear of atomic war sparked the need for the U.S. to be sure they were as technically advanced as the Soviets. Fallout shelters were built, but we needed to be more proactive. In case of some disaster, how would different parts of the country communicate? A Department of Defense organization; the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) set to work on this issue. In the next 10 years or so, with key research being done at MIT, UCLA, and Stanford, something called the ARPANET was developed. Communication technology was moving from circuit to packet switching. Networks sprang from the 1969 original four-host configuration (UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UC-Santa Barbara, and University of Utah), to a group of 62 hosts in 1974. In another five years that number had jumped to 188, and by 1989 - 80,000 hosts were in place in what had become, the Internet." *

I wrote those words for a publication that might now never see the light of day, and that's another story entirely, but the point is valid. The ideas and even the technology have been around for so long, but the actual revolutionary changes that have only been wrought in just the last ten or so years, are astounding.

For me, a stay-at-home Mom, my use of the Internet, or rather the World Wide Web (which is only one portion of the Internet) is almost non-stop. It's enabled me to pursue a real career in freelance writing, but even if that weren't the case, it's very hard to conceive of life without Moviefone, the RMV online WebMD, Google, and on and on. This kind of dependence on anything is a little nerve-wracking (like foreign oil), because when you suddenly don't have the product, well - it gets ugly.

The Internet is fire, it is the wheel, it is the turbine engine, it is penicillin. But fire burns, wheels run you down, and penicillin can close your throat. We don't take away the tools, just because we might get hurt. We proceed with caution. Again, I'll borrow from the same writings:

"...The accessibility of the Internet is both appealing and appalling. There are a myriad of websites devoted to the silly, the macabre, the spiritual, the mind-boggling, and the just plain scary. The fact that terrorists use the Internet so skillfully is horrifying - yet like anything else we must balance that horror with knowledge that we can stand up to terror by uniting, and the Internet is a great medium for that kind of unity." *




*How to Use the Internet to Your Advantage - Mary K. Williams, 2004

Discovery Lands Safely


At a little after 8:00 AM (Eastern) The Discovery Shuttle landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in the Californian Mojave desert

Thank You God.

Arabic anyone?


Something scary/interesting from the Washington Post, via Blogcritics.org.

A little Saturday Night Magic

I was standing in Romano's Pizza waiting for my sub when I saw this cool thing on the TV. I have to give a "God Bless" to the Minnesota Twins for this bit of sports magic they performed Sat night at Fenway. It was a near double play, and it was so cool! Yes, I know...of course, I'm rooting for Boston, but C'mon...a good play is a good play. I don't know the inning, nor the Twins players' names, but the shortstop dove down, catching the ball, flipped it to his teammate who hurled it to (I forget which base?) Our Sox guy, (I forget that too) was safe, but what a moment.

This news came to my attention thanks to Aaman from Blogcritics.org.

Spammer killed in Russia

Let this be a lesson to all ye spamming whippersnappers out there!

Vacation Yay's and Nay's


Yay to -- Suntan.

Nay to -- Sunburn : (

Nay to -- Packrat tendencies. So much stuff, so little time. (this for my new basement, where to put all the stuff?)

Nay to -- Spiderwebs. Oh, and the spiders too.

Yay to -- The Cape Playhouse's, (in beautiful Dennis, MA) production of No, No, Nannette.

Yay to -- The talented, and very gracious cast of No, No, Nannette, including Mr. Fred Willard (Anchorman, American Wedding, A Mighty Wind, Everyboyd Loves Raymond, Roseanne, Fernwood 2Night) who took the time to talk with my son, and autograph his playbill.

Nay to -- Feeling 'thick'

Nay to -- PS2

Yay to -- the local liquor store that seems to be always having 'tasting' nights.

Yay to -- a cute little black convertible. Which brings us back to the whole, 'being in the sun' thing. Good time to end.

Today I am reminded of our lasting search for the Good. If it's the same search for Humanity, I do not know. We need some good guys. We crave either an idol or a leader, or just a touchstone for good karma.

We might find the Good in Randall Raines, hopefully retired car thief. In Gone in 60 Seconds, Nicholas Cage plays an endearing crook, a baddie, but only on the outside. Inside is the protective older brother, making a deal with the devil to save his little brother Kip's (the excellent Giovanni Ribisi) ass. (Kip's soul is intact, but his brain took a vacay).

Anyway, Randall 'Memphis' Raines decided to quit 'the life'. And live on this side of the law for a change. Lil bro Kip keeps up the family name, and then goes too far by making deals with a super baddie, un uber-baddie, a Sith Lord of car thievery - Raymond Vincent Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). Kip screws something or another up, and Calitri is incensed and well, next thing ya know, Memphis and friends have to come up with 50 special stolen cars by Friday. Yes, this Friday. Yes, real nice fancy cars. Real tough stuff to find. So, rent the movie, and enjoy, but note how Memphis keeps sight of what's important, and even makes nice with the detective (Delroy Lindo) who's been on his tail, for like...forever.

More to come on this Search for the Good.

MS Bike Tours - Something my husband is doing this weekend. Two day ride, 75 miles each day. He has done the Pan-Mass Challenge for the last 3 years, but decided to switch organizations this year. He's now into his second day, and will end the ride in Provincetown, MA. If anyone is interested in sponsoring, let me know

Some news to report. An organization called the Always On Network (AO) has listed Blogcritics.org in it's Open Media 100. This is a pretty big honor in the techy world. Check it out.

And now for something completely different:


What follows is definitely adult content. For whatever reason, I was doing a little research on a particular four letter word, and was amazed at the abundance of information on one little (or not so little) website.
Anyway, take a look and learn something new! And please, if you are inclined to comment, please do not use the 'word' in your text. You may certainly use a polite substitute. I am not opposed to the 'word', I tend to use it quite frequently myself, but over all this Blog should be more PG than R.
Have fun!