Merry Christmas!

Sculpeys!!!

Well done, everyone! Well done!!

Discover all the Cleaning Possibilities!

Mr. Clean! Mr. Clean!!
















I just bought Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers, and man oh man, I am in love! I'd heard the raves about this product, and I finally purchased it tonight to get rid of some scuff marks. The scuff marks came right off - virtually no elbow grease was needed - just Mr. Clean's Magic! I don't know what these things are made of (not listed on the box), and I'm somewhat scared that I spread toxins all over my walls tonight, but the erased scuff marks* are adequately distracting my fears. I still recommend baking soda as a cleaning agent whenever possible, but the awesome power of Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser cannot be denied!

*in no way does this mean I have cleaned all the scuff marks in our apartment.

Yeah, sometimes I miss it...

I started playing the violin in third grade. I took one year off (7th grade) and missed it so much that I rejoined the orchestra in 8th grade and continued all through h.s. I was not the best violinist ever, but I was pretty good (improving from a 2nd violinist to 4th chair first violinist in a year's time*).

I loved it. I loved how so many different people could come together and create a such spectacular sounds; ensemble pieces really are quite cool. I think you also become close to the people with whom you make music. Perhaps that is because everyone transitions from suck to (hopefully) great with each new piece of music leaving little room for peer judgement, but quite a bit for encouragement and camaraderie.

When I went to college I again stopped playing the violin. I was not nearly good enough to be in college orchestra, and playing the violin solo was just not for me. Piano - that's a solo job. Violins belong in an orchestra. So, I hung up my violin and have rarely looked back.

Occasionally I find myself missing it, however. Like tonight. Tonight I'm sitting here writing a paper on the rise of China's soft power and I'm listening to a CD of my old violin teacher's quartet. The tone from the instruments is just beautiful and right now, at this moment, I miss playing in an orchestra.

Ah well... that is all.

*Having played both, I don't think it's quite fair to assume 2nd violinists aren't as talented as 1st violinist (although that is how we were ranked in my h.s. ). Generally, 1st violinists play more of the melody, and many times that is easier than what the 2nd violinist had to play.

This blog post brought to you by "Thoughtful Thursdays"

Accepted

Watch this movie. It is very funny. It stars Justin Long. Need I say more? I don't think so....

Seriously, it is really entertaining. I don't understand how someone could watch this movie and not love it unless they are a fanatical movie snob. Your run of the mill movie snob will love it.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

A "came from" treat

I must be in the "next blog" rotation or something because I've noticed I've been getting some traffic from unknown blogs on blogspot. One such blog is A Day In Boredom.

The author, a high schooler, uploads his YouTube videos to this handy-dandy blog. I think this dude is pretty entertaining and creative. What's more, he's obviously having a lot of fun. He often sings songs and his "Bunch of Things" segments remind me of Sifle and Olly's "Calls from the Public." I've spent a big chunk of time watching his videos and I liked many of his posts. You may enjoy this one and this one, or (for a song) this one. Aside from his YouTube videos he makes music (some of which can be heard on his blog, but he also links to his MySpace Music Page).

Thing 2

I came across this PC & Mac commercial today. It brighted my day because I love these commercials and I love Justin Long. I am also hoping it means that Matt was wrong, but I do not have time to investigate and I don't want my hopes shattered right now. Anway, enjoy:

Thing 1

I have not forgotten about the word box. I simply have not had adequate time to devote to the words in the word box. Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend, but more likely it will after finals (which is a week from today).

Cute or down right scary?

I went to Cute Overload today because I needed a little pick me up. As well as some really cute photos of adorable pets, I came across "The bears are hogging the playset again" Maybe it's just me, but I find the idea of several bears hanging out at a playground disconcerting. At first I thought it was a zoo and the playground was for the bears, but I don't think so - if you look at the picture I think it's more likely that this is a playground in some picnic area of a national or state park. Can you imagine coming across that scene? I'll bet Panda can...

Alright, break's over...back to work!

what's better than snow?

School closings!! I do not have to go to class tonight! Whoo-hoo!!

Tonight's Forcast from weather.com

...becoming all snow overnight. Windy. Low around 25F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. 5 to 8 inches of snow expected.

Snow!!

mmmm....cookies

My apartment smells so good! Sadly, I do not deserve these cookies. Arfanser and Matt do.

Word Box!!

The word box will be open until Friday, December 1, 2006 @ 12noon.
Happy Wording!

Can People Night!

Last night, some friends and I entered a whole new world. A world of Can People. Basically you take a soda can and decorate it however you want. You could, literally, make a Can Person, or you can have a theme on your can. The possibilities are endless. The only rule: there are no rules! We created these cans last night - they turned out pretty rockin':

bwaha ha!

This makes me laugh everytime I watch it.

Amy & Martha

So, I came across the below clip on U-Tube today. It is of Amy Sedaris on The Martha Stewart Show. It's pretty funny. Funny because Amy Sedaris is hilarious, but also because Martha is funny. Martha really won me over when she was on Ellen (I think it was last season), and I think she has more humor about herself than the amount for which people give her credit.

Own it!

So, I've been on U-Tube a lot lately and I've noticed that often times people will post videos of themselves doing really lame things:

• lip-syncing
• dancing like fools
• reenacting scenes from movies
• making music videos - usually for characters in T.V. shows that had huge "shipper" fan bases.
  

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm all for the above; I don't want to watch real people doing stuff, but I think its probably fun for the friends of the people making the videos. What I am not for, however, is lame descriptions (excuses) that accompany so many of these videos.

For example,

• "I made this video late last night, so it isn't very good, but I'm bored and am going to post it"
• "My girlfriend put me up to this."
• "This is crap, but I'm putting it up anyway."
  

You know what? Don't tell me how good it would have been if only you'd tried at all. Why do I want to watch your video if even you think it sucks? I much prefer the person who says, "This is my first video! I hope you like it!!" Why? 'Cuz that person, while still showing modesty, takes ownership of her project.

Own your silliness.
Own your dorkiness.
Own your skills.
Own your shipper loving self!

Consider my bubble burst, my balloon popped

I was so excited the other day because I found a scanner at my parents' house. Paint Brush just doesn't do it for me, and I wanted some old fashioned drawings. So, I woke up bright and early (okay, so not so much early, but bright with anticipation for putting my scanner to use) and drew a totally awesome picture. Sadly, however, the scanner does not work.

Good Morning, how are you?

This has sound, so don't listen to it in class. That would be awkward...

Call me Stumped!

Well, it's never happened before that I could not connect two actors in 6 degrees or less, but with the movie only restriction set up by Arfanser, this week it happened! So sad for me!

Here is how I connected them through T.V.:
1. Kristen Bell was in Veronica Mars with Allyson Hannigan (recurring)
2. Allyson was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Nathan Fillion (recurring)
3. Nathan was in Firefly/Serenity with Summer Glau.

Sadly, it was not enough to get the job done! I wasted my look up on Summer Glau because I didn't recognize the name - I felt so stupid when I saw her picture! What a waste!!

Likewise, Matt stumped me with his movie quote. I just looked up the quote and it is from Space Camp.

Congratulations to you Arfanser and Matt!! You may happily await your cookies now. I'll bake them sometime this week!

Which Twin Peaks character are you?

You should take this quiz even if you are not a Twin Peaks fan:

Which Twin Peaks character are you?

You're Special Agent Dale Cooper. You're often too brilliant for people to really follow, but your infectious enthusiasm makes up for the fact that you're frequently incomprehensible. You are smart, intuitive, clear-headed, compassionate, and cute as hell -- about your only flaw is your insane coffee consumption.
Take this quiz!

History Museum

The history museum is fun. I went there yesterday to work on a project I have due for tonight's class. I visited three of the exhibits - all were interesting (one was, you guessed it, on the World's Fair). Exhibits also center around Charles Lindbergh, the auto industry, John Caspar Wild's Early Views of the Midwest, and one called American Visions of Liberty and Freedom. I really wanted to go into that last one, but I ran out of time and it was not one of the exhibit review options that my professor gave us, so I want to go back. As with just about anything in our city, there are days when everything is free - that day for the history museum is Tuesday. If anyone would like to take an afternoon or evening trip to the museum some Tuesday, just let me know! I would be happy to go with you.

Stump Fuzzy

I'm turning the tables today, this Movie Monday, and giving you the chance to stump me with movie quotes or 6 degrees. Why? Two reasons: 1. I can't think of a movie quote today, and 2. I feel like it.

If you stump me you will recieve the satisfaction of knowing you stumped the master. You may even get some cookies -the number of cookies depends on how many people stump me & on how much time I have to bake!

My only rule, and this is really for Matt and Y: please do not quote kung fu movies or some other movie that you know damn good and well there is absolutely no chance I have seen because no one has ever heard of it except for you two!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Public Service Announcement

Hey, if any of you are going to my friend's comic, Stuperheroes (under my links), he updates it on Mon/Wed/Fridays now instead of just two times a week.

Making up for a week of not posting!

• Thank you Squishy for letting Panda and me borrow Corner Gas. It is my new favorite show. We watched it on Saturday night and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I couple of times I even had to pause the DVD because I was laughing so much.
  
• I think I get a lot more work done in the computer lab at school than in front of my computer at home. I'm not sure why this is, but I think I'll be testing this theory out by spending more time at school. With my extra time I plan to do the things I love: actually see my friends, blog, crochet, and watch T.V.
• I have a lot of crochet projects to start and finish before Christmas. I'm getting worried.
• After class tonight (yes, tonight - Sunday), I went bowling and bowled a 139 - personal best! Yeah, I rock.
• Subway no longer sells Sour Cream and Onion Baked Lays. As you can imagine, I am extremely upset about this.
  
• If you want someone to find your home or your place of business, then post your freaking address where it can be seen easily from the road! I cannot stress this enough.
  
• I am in love with the song Fidelity by Regina Spektor. It has been on both Veronica Mars and Grey's Anatomy. Those two shows have the best music!
  
• I have the 2nd Grey's Anatomy soundtrack. It is great (as you might expect), but I didn't fall as madly in love with it as I did with the first one. If anyone wants a listen, they are welcome. My favorite song on there is I Hate Everyone by Get Set Go (they also sing Wait, from the first album - this song is so good it makes my heart hurt just a little). A close second is Homebird by Foy Vance followed by I Me You I'm Your by Jim Noir.
  
• I went camping a couple of weekends ago, and I had s'mores that were out of this world!
  

6 Degrees of Separation!

I have to say, I am a little disappointed that no one was able to get last week's movie quote. It was a hard one though, so I'm not too surprised. The answer was: License to Drive. That's done, so let's movie on to 6 Degrees of Separation!!!

Connect these two actors in six degrees or less! For a review of the rules go here and here.

Christian Bale and Pauly Shore

The Prize: a box of baking soda!
To Win: be the first to connect these actors in the fewest steps before Thursday at 10a.m.
Reminder: "anonymous" cannot win the prize - you must show yourself!
NO CHEATING!

Riddle Me This...

I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right, and in the middle. But I still hold water. What am I?

This blog post brought to you by "Thoughtful Thursdays"

No doubt about it

I'm in the mood for ice cream.

Unfortunately, I have no ice cream.

Pinwheel, Pinwheel...

Some of you may remember the show Pinwheel from Nickelodean. My memories of this show are few; I mostly remember the theme song and that the show seemed to go on FOREVER with out end. I would get so mad when each new episode started up (for some reason Nick played the show all morning long!).

I also remember a few of the characters such as Herbert and Lulu (two bugs that would drop down and talk to someone through a window), and Admiral Bird. My strongest memory, after the theme song, is of all these different sized and shaped boxes and that when someone (I don't know his name) would open the boxes he would hear sounds.

Anyway, here is a YouTube clip of the opening credits. Below you will find the lyrics in case you want to sing along. Even though this was far from my favorite show as a child, I still have a soft spot for it & the song.

Pinwheel, pinwheel, spinning around. Look at my Pinwheel and see what I've found.
Pinwheel, pinwheel, where have you been? Hello, how are you, and may I come in?
Pinwheel, pinwheel spinning around. Look at my Pinwheel and see what I found.
Pinwheel, pinwheel, breezy and bright. Spin me good morning, spin me good night.

Theme song music by Jay Lee, lyrics by Janet Gardner

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays: Early Edition"

Movie Quote Game!

In what movie would you find this quote:

Could you take the car out of neutral? We just got passed by a street sweeper.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Monday's"

Free Speech

Hello lovely law students! I am currently working on a unit plan for one of my classes, and I've decided to focus on the First amendment and Free Speech Issues. Along with my unit plan, I have to research my topic extensively and turn in a research paper wowing my prof with all that I have learned through my extensive research. This is where you come in: If you have any suggestions of journals, articles, cases, books, etc that would be beneficial for me on my quest to learn all I can about this subject, I would be much obliged to hear from you!

He-Man!

so, you thought you could fly below the radar?

The name may have changed, but he's back: Media Dump

Yay!!!!!!

Bank Card

Found.

Dammit!

Wow, you watch a lot of T.V.

The other night I was over at the Anti-blogger's house watching a movie with Matt & the Washrambler. After the movie was over, Matt began flipping channels and commented on my ability to name even the most obscure T.V. shows in just a few seconds. At first I was defensive about this - as if my being able to identify Still Standing in a split second is a bad thing.

Then I got to thinking: it's not a bad thing. I'm impressed when someone can name a song after only a few notes, so why not be impressed when someone possesses the same knowledge about T.V.? So to Matt I say, "Thanks."

This blog post is brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

Happy Halloween!

I was going to post a picture of the awesome jack-o-lanterns we carved at FishFrog & Nell's party, but blogger is not letting me. BOO! Boo!, I say!

I hope everyone is having a frightfully awesome Halloween! I will be learning about Classroom Management this All Hallow's Eve. ooohh, scarry!!

setting feminism back 20 years

So, last night Panda noticed a lot of her lights and outlets were not working, so she rightly thought to look at the fuse box. We both looked at it and determined that a fuse had been blown. This afternoon when our friendly handyman came to look at it, he told me that the fuse was not blown, but that we simply need to make sure that we flip the switch totally off before trying to flip it back on. I felt pretty dumb, and trying to explain that we had flipped the switch to no avail seemed pointless & unbelievable.

This reminds me of when I worked in a Wal-mart's tire and lube. Yes, I said tire and lube (and yes, I said Wal-mart). I worked out front - I helped people use the computer that tells them what kind of battery they need, and helped them locate various other car things. I also ran the register for the oil changes, etc.
Each day, without fail, This would happen:

Older Gentleman: I need to speak to one of the men in back.
Me: They are currently busy, is there something I can help you with?
O.G.: I'd rather talk to one of the men, but thanks sweetie.
Me: I can try to answer your question, and if I can't, we'll get one of the guys from the back. What do you need?
O.G.: I need some turtle wax.
Me: Here you go.

I'm not kidding, this happened daily! Unfortunately, it would also sometimes happen that the older gentleman would have a actual question regarding cars that I couldn't answer. The conversation would go much like the one above but instead of asking for turtle wax, he'd ask something about alternators & I would have to get one of the guys from the back. I hated this even more because it was as if I proved that little girls don't know anything about cars, when in fact it was just that THIS girl knows nothing about cars!

I never understood why Big Ed hired me for that job - I told him straight out that the only thing I knew about cars was how to put gas in one, but still he hired me.

Lost and gone forever

Not only is that the name of a guster cd, but it is the fate of my debit card. I just called to cancel my card & it will take about a week before I get my new one. This really sucks. You don't realize how much you use your debit card until you don't have it to use. What is really going to suck is when I find my debit card in the back pocket of some jeans when I do laundry this weekend.

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks for reading!

StuporHeroes!

A friend of mine has a web comic called The StuporHeroes. It is actually quite funny. I suggest you check it out - comics are updated 2 times a week & I suggest you click on "first" and read from the beginning.

Part 2: The Word of the Week!

Wow, great words! Several of the words pop out at me as frontrunners for the word of the week. Still, there can only be one that holds that title!

This week's Word of the Week is:

Insouciance

1. The quality of being insouciant; lack of care or concern; indifference
2. Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance
3. the cheerful feeling you have when nothing is troubling you

Insouciance - it sure is a good feeling! Just be careful not to let it rule your life, because it's important to get hot and bothered about something every once and a while.

I know a lot of people LOVED fishfrog's submission of imitate v. intimate. And, it was a cool submission; I loved it too. There were several words I wanted to pick, but only ONE could be this week's word.

Part 1: The Words

You all outdid yourselves with submissions for the word box and I could not be happier! I apologize for the delay in getting the words and word of the week winner to you. Alright, let’s look at our words!

Encompass
1. To form a circle about; encircle; surround
2. To enclose; envelop
3. To include comprehensively
4. Obsolete. To outwit.

Insouciance
1. The quality of being insouciant; lack of care or concern; indifference
2. Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance
3. the cheerful feeling you have when nothing is troubling you

Protean
1. readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable
2. changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba
3. (of an actor) versatile; aple ot play many kinds of roles
From Classical Mythology: Proteus, a sea god, son of Ocianus and Tethys, noted for his ability to assume different forms and to prophesy.

Samizdat
1. a clandestine publishing system within the Soviet Union, by which forbidden or unublishable literature was reproduced and circulated privately.
2. a work or periodical circulated by this system

Solecism
1. a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage (example: “unflammable” or “they was.”
2. a breach of good manners or etiquette
3. any error, impropriety, or inconsistency
Orgins: Soli was an ancient city in Cilicia (present day Turkey) where a corrupt form of Attic Greek was spoken.

Obloquy (the entry was oblequy, but I couldn’t find anything for that word, so I’m assuming you meant obloquy).
1. Censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, esp by numerous persons or by the general public.
2. discredit, disgrace, or bad repute resulting for public blame, abuse, or denunciation.

Is (alright, arfanser, here you go!)
1. to exist or live
2. to take place, happen, occur
3. to occuby a placy or position
4. to continue or remain as before
5. to belong, attend, befall
6. used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject
7. used as a copula to introduced or form interrogative or imperative sentences
8. used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense
9. used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action
10. used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice
11. used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense

Intimate (the verb) Vs. Imitate & why fishfrog get them confused
Intimate (v)
1. to indicate or make known indirectly; hint; imply; suggest
2. (archaic) to make known, announce

Imitate
1. to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example
2. to mimic; impersonate
3. to make a copy of; reproduce closely
4. to have or assume the appearance of; simulate; resemble

Fishfrog, I suspect you (and many others) confuse these words because they sound & look rather similar. As you can see, the definitions are not similar, so it’s probably best if you stop mixing them up.

Nincompoop
1. A fool or simpleton.

Squirrel
1. any of numerous arboreal bushy-tailed rodents in the genus Sciurus of the family Sciuridae
2. to store or hide (money, valuables, etc), usually for the future

Somersault
1. an acrobatic movement either forward or backward, in wich the body rolls end or end, making a complete rotation
2. such a movement preformed in the air as part of a dive, tumbling routine, etc
3. a complete overturn or reversal, as of opinion
4. to perform a somersault

Thanks Dictonary.com for all your help!

Even 10 more things I love

1. The Bourne Identity
2. Halloween
3. Turning leaves
4. The great words in this week's word box
   
5. Pumpkins
6. Alvin, of Alvin and the Chipmunks
7. Pulp (the band, not the annoying part of orange juice)
8. A clean house
9. Road trips
10. PaRappa The Rapper 2 on PS2
    

Movie Quote Game

In what movie would you find this quote:

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Word Box

The word box is hungry for some words.
It will remain open until Wednesday @ 12noon.
Happy Wording!

Clang, clang!

When I was 10, my parents bought my brother and me Nintendo for Christmas. We played Mario Brothers so much that at the end of the night, when all was quiet and dreams were beckoning me, I would hear the "clang, clang. clang clang" of collecting coins from the game. Now, nearly 20 years later I've been reintroduced to video games (see this post). Instead of the sound of coins ringing in my ears, now when I close my eyes feel as though I am rolling my katamari ball around to pick up the many things on earth. It is very unsettling, much like I image motion sickness to be. Instinct tells me these games are rotting my brain. Panda tells me they are making me smarter, however, so I'm going to continue playing them.

*yet another amusing blogger spell check example: replace "katamari" with "stammer"

Get your folk on!

Ani Difranco concert tonight! Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something I never thought I'd say:

Grand Theft Auto is totally awesome!

Last night Panda and I borrowed PS2 from a friend & he included Grand Theft auto in the bag of games. I was not hip to play this game, what with all the violence and misogyny, but Panda insisted. It turns out, the game is pretty fun. It's totally inappropriate for kids & I'm opposed to it in every way, but damn! if it isn't fun. If you want a car, you just pull a driver out of his and get in! When you shoot at people, they run away screaming and it is really funny. Panda found out that you do not beat up old ladies 'cuz they will beat your ass down until you are dead.

How did this game get made? For all that is holy DO NOT buy this game thereby giving the creaters any money, but DO borrow it from a friend and play it.

Happy Fall!

It is chilly!

I can hear the wind blowing outside and it is quite chilly in my apartment. Poor Lucy is curled up by the heater. She is also kind of annoyed with me because I've been on my computer all week. Mostly, I've been working on a unit plan for my class. I'm actually quite annoyed, not because I had to make a 10 day unit plan, but because our only instruction was: make a 10 day unit plan. Now, I realize I'm in a masters class & it would be easy to assume that everyone in my class is already a teacher, but in fact only 4 of us are. The rest of us have never seen a unit plan before or attempted to put one together. We are all at a loss. I finished my plan yesterday, and it was probably crap, but at least it's done. It is also on a topic I care about - Indian boarding schools and Indian Identity. So, hopefully once I know what I'm doing I'll be able to salvage parts of it and make a new unit plan. It just annoys me that in this program I am in there are no classes on the basics - the thought is we'll learn it during our practicum and student teaching. Well, um...what about all the assignments before then? I guess I'm going to have to learn it on my own because apparently the thousands of dollars I'm shelling out to this school is not enough for them to offer even one workshop on lesson plans! Alright, rant over.

Six Degrees...

Connect these two actors in 6 degrees or less!

Christian Bale and Patrick Dempsy

GOOD LUCK!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Matt's Neat Links & Missoula

If you go to Matt's Blog, and all 5 of my readers do, you probably have visited some of his "neat links." Right now, there is one titled "Bear vs. Tranquelizers vs. Trampoline." I suggest you click on it. This is amusing to me because the clip actually takes place in my favorite town, Missoula, MT. Bears in trees are actually not all that uncommon there. During my sophmore year of school there was a bear stuck in the tree outside of my freshman year dorm. Another time a bear was found sleeping on the quad ouside of the building where I checked my e-mail every day. Luckily for me, the bear was snoozing at the same time I was (early morning) so we did not encounter eachother. Ahh, Missoula....the last best place.

The hell?

I went to the farmer's market on Wednesday. Everything seemed as it should be for a fall visit to the market: fresh vegetables were plentiful, bags of candy corn were on display, toy spiders and scare crows adorned the shelves, and pumpkins littered the ground waiting to be bought and carved. Something was off, however...Something did not seem right. Next to the beautiful orange pumpkins sat ugly white pumpkins.

White pumpkins!?! "The hell?," I say, "What the hell?" The little ones look like cloves of garlic - what's the fall fun in that? The big ones are just unsetteling, and I imagine will look like the bald heads of mad-men when carved into jack-o-lanterns. White pumkpins are weird & I am appropriately vexed.

Yay!

I lost my glasses about a month ago. Thinking I'd merely left them up at the farm, I asked my dad to look around last time he was up there. No luck. I was bummed, not because I particularity like my glasses, but because glasses are expensive.

Jump to tonight: Tonight, I am having trouble sleeping. Since my "retirement" I have reverted back to my natural sleep patterns: stay up late, sleep in late. Well, I'm trying to get back on a normal schedule because I'm going to have to start subbing soon & my current schedule isn't going to fly with that. But I digress... Basically I couldn't sleep, so I started cleaning my room. As I was putting away my duffel bag I heard a noise. "That's odd," I thought, "I cleaned this out weeks ago." (I had just neglected to put the empty bag away). When I looked inside the pocket I found nothing. Then, I noticed a rip in the lining - inside: my glasses!! Also inside: a 50 dollar bill left over from my MT vacation. It is a good night tonight!

TV Trivia!

Answer me this:

Family Matters was a spinoff of what show?

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

Philosophy of Special Agent Dale Cooper

Never drink coffee that has been anywhere near a fish.

The Class

You may have seen the new show on CBS called The Class. All the characters were in the 3rd grade together, but for the most part had grown up never to see each other again. That is until the pilot, when one member of the class (who was dating another) threw a 20 year 3rd grade reunion of sorts. At the party he got dumped, and as you can expect, hilarity ensued. I admit that the show is not that good, but I like it. I think it has potential once they get rid of, or tone down, some of the over the top characters.

There are not enough enjoyable sitcoms out there. Everything is drama, drama, procedural drama, and more drama. Great sitcoms like the Office, My Name is Earl, and Scrubs are too far and few between. While The Class is no Scrubs, or even How I Met Your Mother (yes, I said "How I Met Your Mother" – it's actually very funny) the thing is, I am completelytickledd by this show. I hope it stays on the air long enough to find its stride and work out its kinks.

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

We Have a Winner

Congratulations, Matt! You are correct!

The quote "A naked American Man stole my balloons!" is from the totally awesome movie An American Werewolf in London!

Movie Quote Game

In what totally awesome movie would you find this quote:

A naked American man stole my balloons!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Tetrus best!

I just got to level 36 on tetrus! Level 36!

wow...my last event

I just got home from my last event as a paid member of my organization. I've got to admit: I'm a little sad.

blogger spell check oddities

• If you type "wierd" it suggests "wired" and "weirdo" for you. It does not suggest "weird."
• If you type "agains" it suggests "aging," "Asians," and "agony," but never "against."

Changing Taste Buds...

You know what I did today that I haven't done in a long time? I hit the "next blog" button. I came across mostly blogs in foreign languages - one of them about animals facing extinction. "Next Blog" just doesn't seem as interesting to me anymore -- I've lost my taste for it.

You know what else I've lost my taste for? Regular soda. I don't know how it happened. Believe me when I say it was not deliberate. I have always railed against diet soda and the gross aspertaine taste, but my tune has change as my taste buds have. It began gradually enough. I was drinking a Coke and I thought, "Man, this tastes sweet!" (not "sweet" as in "sawheat!," but in the literal sense). I thought it was a fluke. Apparently it wasn't because I found myself reaching for Panda's diet Cokes over my Dr. Peppers. Now I even order diet sodas in restaurants! I'm still not 100% sold on diet Coke; I really don't know why anyone would choose to drink it when other sodas are out there, but I do seem to be off regular soda. Sure, I'll drink it when I'm craving something sweet, but it is definitely not an everyday beverage anymore. This is a very weird realization for me. Very weird indeed.

It boggles the mind....

Enjoy!

This blog post brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

Life List

Ellen has been talking a lot about her life list, and this has inspired me to write a life list of my own. It is still a work in progress, but here is my life list:

• Visit all the National Parks
• Travel to Malaysia
• Crochet an afghan
• Backpack through Europe
• Get a dog

I encourage all of you to create a life list a la Ellen. It is fun and highlights your priorities. I made sure I have both "big to do's" and "little to do's" on my list, because (as with any To Do list) I want to have some things that are relatively easy to check off. Feel free to share anything on your life list that you would like.

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

Sifl and Olly

Several years ago the most awesome (if not somewhat obsurd) show was on MTV, and it was called The Sifl and Olly Show. It was freaking hilarious, and I just found a website, YouTube, that has a bunch of clips and episodes. Here is a clip from one of my episode segments, Calls from the Public:


For more clips, go here.

Happy Birthday, Scarlet Panda!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday today!!!

Alter Ego

Today I am not warm fuzzy. I am cold prickely.

bee in my bonnet

My co-workers made fun of me the other day because I said I had a "bee in my bonnet" about something or other. This led to a conversation about other sayings we hear each other use...okay, so it was more them spouting out things I say that are (according to them) silly or outdated, most notably: "ducks in a row," "...say 'boo' about," and "...running around like a chicken with its head cut off." When they finished having a good chuckle at my expense, I went back to work.

I like idioms and learning their origins and this got me to thinking: I am not the only one who uses idioms in daily conversation, and I'd like to hear some of your favorite idioms. These could be sayings you find yourself using or that you've noticed in other's speech.

This blog post brough to you by "Wordy Wednesday: Early Edition"

spend some time in the 'lou

Over the last year, several of my friends have selfishly decided to move away to far off states. Sure, they e-mail, call, and invite me to visit them, but I gotta tell ya – I’m sick of people moving. This does not bode well for me since a sizable number of my friends have resolved to flee this fair city come May. I don’t like it. Not one bit! And so, I’m here to list just some of the reasons why they should stay in St. Louis; I encourage them to think about this list as they apply to different lawyer type jobs in the coming months.

1. There is a ton of FREE stuff to do in St. Louis – the Zoo, The Art Museum, The Science Center (and more)
2. You can camp without fear of bears!
3. Provel Cheese!... like no cheese anywhere else!
4. We have a top ranked Children’s Hospital
5. This is home to the Gateway Arch – the tallest American monument. Also, it's the coolest...
6. Face it: moving is expensive, and all your stuff is already here.
7. Ted Drew’s Custard... so delicious, and only available here!
8. Like musicals and plays? We’ve got the Fox, the Muny, The Repertory Theater, and several college theaters.
9. Our Autumn and Spring seasons are beautiful.
10. (perhaps most alluring) I am here.

Please note, this list is not complete; it simply shows some of the few (out of many) reasons to stay in St. Louis.

Best zombie movie ever!

Last night I watched Shaun of the Dead with some friends. Oh my god, this movie is flipping hilarious. I had heard of the movie, but kinda thought it was a "so bad it's funny" kind of movie, but no, it's supposed to be funny. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it.

This blog post brought to you, a head of time, by "Movie Mondays"

Leading authority...that's me!

I was browsing through my stat counter thing to see who was visiting my blog. I rarely see anything of interest; usually I just see a bunch of hits from a certain nearby university. Today, however, I came across this came from. From the page, if you click on "Soulard Farmer's Market" you are sent back to my post about farmers markets. Apparently, I am a great source for information about "fun things to do in St. Louis." Who knew?

There is a difference between mostly dead and all dead

And my blog is just mostly dead. I attribute it to the fact that I quit my job (whoot!). Before, while at work, I could justify taking little blogging breaks, thinking, "I can do x tomorrow." Well, my tomorrows are running out! I have several open projects, and only 3 weeks now to finish them. Additionally, it is a busy time at work, with 3 different sports seasons overlapping, (one of which is our biggest sport) and I need to secure volunteers for all 5 competitions before I leave.

I am so happy to quit my job, but as happy as I am, there is some sadness too. This week, I've begun telling some of my key volunteers that I'm leaving. It's not easy, and I'm beginning to realize there are a lot of people who have been part of my life for the last 4 years that I'm likely never going to see again.

Anyway, my blogging has suffered because of this business of busyness, so sorry, dear readers. I know how much this blog means to you, how it gives you a sense of purpose, how it brightens you day. So, I will try to post more often, and because of that I offer you this Saturday post! Who knows, I may even post a couple more before the day is done!

In other news...I finally figured out how to use spell check on this thing. That is to say I did the same thing I always do (click the spell check icon), but this time it worked. Ironically, the blog spell checker told me that "blog" was misspelled, and suggested "bloc." Also a little ironic: I misspelled "misspelled." heh.

10 Radom things in my office

1. a "stress ball" in the shape of a green car from progressive
2. a picture of tadpole
3. a twin peaks pin
4. a key chain with tinkert toys attached
5. a magic eight ball
6. a wolves calendar
7. a fortune cookie that says, "sing badly, if you must, but sing"
8. a bottle of cream soda
9. a signed napkin from Chrarlie Webber (Ben from Buffy)
10. a nun-chukka bean trading card

nun-chukka bean

The Owls are not what they seem

I watched Eraserhead last night with some friends. Most of them did not like it, but one of them did and a couple of them "appreciated" parts of it. I expected no more - Eraserhead is not user-friendly. Anyway, I have had Twin Peaks on the brain a lot lately, and watching Lynch's Eraserhead with the lovable Jack Nance and the zigmatic floor has only intensified my desire to pop in my Twin Peaks season one. I also came across this video - it is a SNL parody of Twin Peaks. It may not be funny to those who don't know the show, but its worth a chuckle to those who've seen it.

Fall into Butterfinger

It is beautifully gloomy outside! I love this weather! I just love it. Fall is my favorite season: I love the gloom, I love the non-gloomy perfectly cool days, I love the changing colors, and I love Halloween. Fall is also the season I associate most closely with the Butterfinger Candy Bar. In honor of Fall (which, I realize is not here to stay yet), I ate said candy bar. It was delicous.

Word of the Week!

Thanks for all the entries!
The words: (from diconary.com)

Piqueto affect with sharp irritation and resentment, a feeling of irritation or resentment (to be in a pique)
to wound (the pride)
to excite (interest, curiosity)
to arouse emotion

Behooveto be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations
to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage

Zigmatic
this appears not to be a word at all, or at least dictionary dot com does not have a definition for it, I will make one up:Having characteristics of David Lynch's famous black and white floor (featured in Eraserhead and Twin Peaks)

This week's word of the week winner:

Picque!

This blogpost brought to you by last week's "Wordy Wednesday"

I stared death in the face

and it ignored me to look for berries...

Word Box Aug 21-23

know it. love it. fill it.

The word box will close on Wednesday at 12noon.

good class!

I have been (very) slowly taking classes towards my initial certification and masters in teaching. During all this time and all these classes I had yet to have one that offered any instruction on teaching or discussion of practical applications for the classroom. That was...until tonight. I have to tell you, I looked at the clock a lot less in this class than any any of my other classes. Now, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy some of my other classes. My writing class (professor notwithstanding) was awesome, Free Speech was pretty cool, and the ed. phylosophy classes were interesting. Non of them, however, really prepared me for anything in the classroom. Judging by tonight, I think things are going to be different this semester, and I am so very excited!

owed an apology

check it out!

My first crochet project.

An Inconvenient Truth

On vacation I saw the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Run, don't walk to go see this movie. It is fantastic. Not only does it give you an great explination of global warming showing that it is an actual phenomenom not some paranoid theory of environmentalists, but it is a times funny. There is a special treat for all you Futurama fans out there. In the movie, Al Gore brings the facts of excessive CO2 use front and center. Viewers are shown not only what will happen, but what is happening because of our actions. I also liked this movie because unlike other environmental awareness projects, this did not pull at heartstrings as a means to get people to care. Instead, it layed out the facts of the matter, and people who care will hopefully be called into action while people who didn't care before will realize why they should. Go see this movie! Then, sign up for green energy (if you can afford it), change all you light bulbs to compact floresent lightbulbs, and visit the website to learn more.

Now, for all of you are going to say, "it doesn't help if only one person does it." or some other similar crap that really makes me angry, don't. True, it doesn't help enough if only one person does it, but if everyone stopped saying that and did something, then more than just one person would be doing it, wouldn't they? In order for laws and programs to change to make it easy for people to be envirionmentally responsible, people have to change their mindset and demand that programs be made to make environmentally responsilbe choices easy. Its a cycle that has to start somewhere, and once it does has the potentail to spin blissfully out of control until it becomes second nature for people to make the smart choice. So, don't do nothing because you can't do everything - do what you can and complain that you community doesn't make it easier for you do to the rest!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

forced vacation time

This is the second time in the last month that I have had to leave work because of a power outtage. As a result, I am taking vacation time for which I have not planned. What worse is that I actually have a lot of stuff I need to get done in the office. Frankly, this sucks.

feeling better

Its all relative, I guess. I feel a hell of a lot better than I did yesterday, but I'm still not in tip-top condition. Add to that the fact that panda is on a backpacking trip with fishfrog and nell and the result is that I am both bored and jealous. I'm hoping I have enough energy to clean the apartment or crochet so this weekend isn't a whole waste.

New passenger!

There is a new passenger on the blogwagon, folks! My friend Sweet Cactus who recently moved to Arizona has started her own blog, "Arizona or bust." Help me welcome her!

My trip was totally awesome!

Despite the unexpected night's stay in Denver on the way to MT and the missing bag at the St. Louis baggage claim, I had the best time on my trip!

We started out in Glacier, which is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I've been there just twice now, but it is my favorite of all the National Parks. The first day was a bit of a bust because of my stupid airline delaying me overnight, but on the second day we got up and hiked to Avalanch Lake. It was gorgeous - I highly recommend this hike. It starts out as the Trail of the Cedars, which is an easy paved trail, and continutes on a slightly more strenuous hike until it opens up to the beautiful Avalanche Lake. The rocks all around the lake were this weird light blue-green color - very cool.

We drove the Going to the Sun Road and saw lots of wildlife: big horned sheep, mountain goats, etc and on the way back, we saw a bear! It was a black bear meandering down the road. When it saw us it detoured into the forest, but overall seemed completly unconcerned with our presence. Needless to say, this pretty much made my vacation. It was topped only by seeing the look on SP's face when I told her the tale.

Day three, we lounged, and I mean lounged, by Lake MacDonald. The next day (our last day at Glacier), we went white water rafting. The rapids were not that fierce, and we were with a family who had no idea how the hell to paddle, so it was a bit frustrating. Seriously, I do not know what this family's problem was. They did not paddle in sync - I cannot tell you how many tmes I heard paddles clang against each other. At one point, the mom completely lost all reason and started paddeling the opposit direction from everyone else. The young girl, who cold not paddle to save her life, finally decided to stop, but her dad kept yelling at her to paddle. So, clang, clang, clang went the oars once again. Idiots. Still, we were going down a river in the middle of 3 million acres of protected land, so it was pretty freaking awesome.

Then we headed to Missoula and my heart immediately felt at home. We saw a pretty cool band called the Warsaw Poland Brothers. They have a bit of ska to them and we danced some jigs and had a really awesome time. We also saw The Inconvenient Truth. Everyone should see this movie! We also went to an experimental short film fest and the first documentary was by Werner Herzog (unfortunately, I've forgotten the title).

We ate a bunch of good food, climbed the "M," met Steve Frost (one of the writers for Twin Peaks), and walked all over town - many, many times - to take in the cool chillin' atomosphere of my favorite town. Me at the top of the M:

My trip ended in Billings where the unthinkable happened - my friend Brandi beat me at Trivial Pursuit. Neither of us could recall this happening before. I'm pretty sure she cheated.

Can't Sleep

that is all.

For a Smurfing Good Time

When Panda and I were little we used to play Smurfs: Rescue in Garagmel's Castle. This was my favorite collecovision game, and one of my top 10video games ever. Others include: tetrus, super mario (the original), bomberman, donkey kong, and a few others. Still, this one holds a special place in my heart. It's smurf-errific!

The object: save Smurfet from Gargamel! One smurf travels across the land encountering fences he must jump over and bats he must duck to avoid. Finally, he makes his way to Gargmel's and jumps up on this - I think it was huge skull guarded by a spider - to to save Smurfet. If he doesn't jump in just the right spot, he dies. If he is successfull, the song "Tis a Gift to be Simple" plays and all is right with the world.

Anyway, I can't find it to play online, which is a shame, but for I did find a game that's pretty smurfy. Play Greedy's Bakery to help Greedy keep his tasty treats from splattering on the floor.

Several little things...

So, I went up to the farm this weekend with my dad and we brought back so much delicious, delicious sweet corn! Mom and I spent 5 hours canning it so it we will have the tasty goodness all year round. Three cheers for corn!

If you turn your eyes to the heavens, you may have noticed that we are currently under a new moon. This made for spectacular stargazing up at the farm. Last time I was there (also a new moon), my dad and I saw what appeared to be a falling meteorite. We watched it blaze across the dark sky for (I'm not exaggerating) over 3 minutes, but I digress... This past Sunday, so many stars were out and we actually saw the Milky Way. It was pretty awesome.

The power is back on at work! YAY! because the air conditioning is on and because I can get my stuff done before my vacation, but BOO! because I'd planned to leave work today at 11:30 to get errands done before my vacation. Now, I can't use the "it's so hot I might literally die if I stay here" excuse to leave and do my personal stuff.

I watched the Music Man for the first time last night. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before (I love musicals), but the fact remains: I hadn't. I loved it. Loved it. If you haven't seen it you should. I'm kind of on a musical kick right now, and I think tonight I'll watch Singin' in the Rain.

My friend Rachael gave me this CD by Eve Cassidy. I enjoy the whole CD, but I really love the first track, It Doesn't Matter Anymore. The song, written by Paul Anka and originally recorded by Buddy Holly is, is just beautifully sung by Eve Cassidy. I can't get it out of my head.

SUCCESS!!...sort of...

Lucy's claws aren't as short as I would like, but they are shorter than they were! The towel thing didn't work for me, so I just waited until she was napping, then made my attack. She's not very happy with me now, but she'll get over it.

Question:

If you had 10,000 to spend as you like, how would you spend it?

This blog post brought to you by "Thoughtful Thursdays"

Offering Help...I'd think twice about it

If I say I will help you do something, that means I will aid you. I will give assistance. I will add my hands to the mix in the hopes of making light work.

I will not, I repeat NOT, do you work for you.

I have my own (underpaid) work to do, I don't need your project dumped in my lap!

It's going to be a sad day

I am down to only two Angel episodes left. Although, not as good as Buffy, I love this show. The first season was alright, but it had some kinks to work out. And work them out it did. Seasons 2 and 3 were pure joy. Then, it got depressing, and then a different kind of depressing sprinkled with much missed humor. Still, I love it and I will miss it when I'm done.

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

pointy side up

I really need to trim Lucy's nails. I've tried serval times but she won't let me. "won't let you!?" you say, "she's a cat - your cat. Just trim her nails already." Easy for you to say... but take it from me, much blood has been shed already. Now, her otter pose that I normally find so adorable just reminds me of a Get Fuzzy cartoon where Satchel doesn't want to approach Bucky because he's "pointy side up."

tongue tied

Do you ever have one of those days when your brain sends the message to your mouth to utter certain words in a certain order and your mouth jumbles the message? That was me today. All day today on the phone. I must have sounded like such an idiot, and I knew it was happening, but I couldn't stop it. So annoying.

10 Movies Better than Lord of the Rings

So, last night some of my friends were shocked to learn that I think Lord of the Rings was the biggest waste of time I've had the displeasure to sit through. In fact, one or two of them may be loath to call me friend now that they know this. Still, the fact remains: Lord of the Rings stole nine hours of my life from me, and I can't get that back! Technically, the 3 part movie did much right: many critics gave it a thumbs up, the imagery was a thing of art, the actors learned their parts well, and the music set the mood well. Because of this, I'm not going to say "Lord of the Rings is trash," but my pure emotional response was clear: Lord of the Rings is lame. It left me unsatisfied and often a little bored.

In my opinion, these ten movies are infinitely better than the Lord of the Rings movies:

1. Braveheart
2. Gone With the Wind
3. The Godfather
4. Superman 2
5. Bourne Identity
6. An Affair to Remember
   
7. French Kiss
8. Erasurehead
   
9. The Princess Bride
10. Wizzard of Oz
    

My apartment smells like bacon

Why? I do not know. I am not cooking any bacon, in fact, there is no bacon in my apartment to cook. Who is cooking bacon, and will they give me some?

Anonymous: show yourself!

Most of you know I love comments on my blog. I love silly comments, funny comments, serious comments, thoughtful comments, and I even love stupid comments. I just love comments. What I do not love is when people post as anonymous*. Why? Well, I don't know who gets the darn cookies, for one! (fortunately I do this time, but I might not have!).

So, to anonymous I say: Yes, it's your right to stay hidden, and I'd rather you post anonymously than not at all, but why not show yourself?

Now, it occurs to me that anonymous just may not realize that he can choose another name. In case you don't know, here's how you do it: When you post a comment, several choices are presented. If you don't have a blogger ID, all you have to do is pick "other" and then type any any name by which you want to be called. Call yourself scooby-doo for all I care, but call yourself something!

That is all.

*Except for in the word box. The word box is the one safehaven for anonymous posters.

stream of conciousness blog post

Man, oh man, I wish it would just pour down rain already. I can't stand the overcast sky and the spittle that it is sending our way today. Also, I am by myself at work today, which has sent my productivity down the tubes. Fortunately, I have a pile of work that is mindless enough that I can do it in front on the TV, and I will therefore be watching Guiding Light in 35 short minutes. Tonight I plan to bake cookies and watch - you guessed it- an episode of Angel. I also want to rent the first Pirates of the Carribean movie in preparation for seeing the second one, but I know I'll have to watch it while Panda is away, and I'm not sure what she's doing tonight. In other news, I heard the author of this book talking on St. Louis on the Air and now I want to read it. I wonder if the library has it...Hopefully the weather will be nicer tomorrow and I can walk to the library or bookstore and pick it up. I also need to go grocery shopping. Yesterday I went on a pitstop to the store and picked up some peaches. The last time I got peaches, I did not enjoy them, but it was primarily becuase they were not ripe enough. This time, I still did not enjoy them - they were too ripe. Peaches. They are a troublesome fruit. Stawberries, on the otherhand, are almost always good. Man, I love strawberries. Nell served stawberries last night and they were perfectly ripe. I also love watermelon, apples, oranges, pears (which, like peaches have small window of ripy-goodness), pineapple, and cantelope. I hate muss-melon -- no thankyou! Moving from thirst quenching fruit to thirst quenching water... I am supposed to drink 64oz of water a day, as we all are. Since I drink about 24oz of fluid daily (usually in soda form), this is a difficult goal for me. I have my trusty nagine bottle on my desk and I am not yet finished with my first jug. I've a long way to go. As I look at my nalgine bottle I am reminded about my Montana trip at the end of this month (there is a missoula sticker stuck to the side), and I am so very excited! Our reservation to whitewater raft in Glacier Park was just confirmed and we will go on a 1/2 ride down the river. Since it will be August, the rapids might not be as rough as they would have been earlier in the season, but I've no doubt that it's going to kick ass. Even if there were no rapids and were were just drifting down the current, the view of Glacier would be enough to satisfy me. I cannot wait! Well, I seriously doubt anyone is still reading this, and I need to return some calls before working on my pile and watching GL, so this post is over.

My Fortune

"You shouldn't overspend at the moment. Frugality is important."

Now, if that isn't a made-to-order fortune, I don't know what is. This month is sucking my bank account dry.

Christmas in July!

14 Days and Counting until La Femme Nikita Season 4 will be out on DVD!!!

This blog post brought to you by" TV Tuesdays"

Six Degrees of Separation Game

Connect these two actors in six degrees or less!

Johnny Knoxville and Shirley McLaine

The person to connect them first in the fewest degrees gets home-made cookies! Contest ends Wednesday at 10a.m.; cookies will be delivered by Friday evening.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Fresh Air

Listen to this Terry Gross interview with Jane Mayer regarding her New Yorker article about David Addington, called "David Addington and 'Hidden Power'". The amount of power this guy seems to have is more than just a little scary. It's a very interesting interview.

Also, I think Jane Mayer sounds almost exactly like Laura Linney.

Hobbies R Us

There are many hobbies that I feel I would be good at and enjoy if only I would turn off the TV long enough to learn them. Unfortunately, many of my perspective hobbies result in my spending too much money on things that end up collecting dust in my room (kayak, anyone?). I have had some luck, however, bead jewelry-making was good while it lasted, backpacking stuck, and I like to think of movie watching as a hobby.

Recently, I’ve gotten back into biking, and I love it. When I first biked, I did so for transportation, but when I moved back to St. Louis the cars, four-lane roads, and extremely long distances from place to place prompted me to hang up my bike helmet and put on my safety belt. A couple of months ago I went biking with some friends and was reminded by how much biking kicks walking’s ass. I still do not brave the St. Louis roads, but there are a lot of great trails around here that are enjoyable.

A new hobby I would like to get into is photography. I’ve always loved taking pictures. When I went to six grade camp I took an entire role of pictures of gravestones. Did I have an artistic eye that I never fostered? Was I just some freaky kid who liked gravestones a little too much? My camp consoler thought the latter, but I digress… In the hopes of cultivating this hobby, I have taken Panda’s camera (note the open and notorious way in which I possess it). I took the camera up to the farm this weekend, but because I had no manual and don't actually know how to focus, having alway has auto-focusing cameras, I shutter to think what will come back from the developers. I have a couple of friends who are awesome at photography, one of whom is in photography school, so (hint, hint) maybe he will show me some tricks of the trade.

So, those are just a couple of the many hobbies that I would like to develop. I would also like to learn to play a second chord on my guitar, be able to identify birds, and crochet. Now that my summer classes are all but over, maybe I’ll take the time to enjoy some of these hobbies. Sadly, it is much more likely that I will plop in front of the TV and just finish watching Angel on DVD.

One of my favorite Simpsons quotes

This quote is from The Simpson's first Halloween Special/ Tree House of Terror - the Raven. It is, by far, my favorite Halloween Special and one of my top Simpsons' episodes.




Bart: You know what would be scarier than nothing?
Lisa: No, what?
Bart: ANYTHING!!!


It is the delivery that makes it funny. And, boy is it ever! I also love to say "nevermore" the way Bart's raven does.

It's not TV Tuesdays, but what the hell.

New Links! - can ya dig it?

I just wanted to draw your attention to my newly added links:

• Without naming any names, you may remember a blogwagon passenger who fell off said wagon a few months ago - well he's back!
• The Hype Machine - a totally awesome music blog that my friend Casey told me about. This blog "tracks new songs posted on the best blogs about music." This morning, the first song on the list was Nuetral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea. Now, I'm listening to Guster!
• Zach Braff's Blog - I love Zach Braff beyond what would be considered a healthy crush and, I feel that by linking to him, I am closer to him. :) I also like his taste in music and he has a "what I'm listening to now" section on his blog that I enjoy.
• Damn Interesting - This another site that Casey told me about. Here you will find articles on (damn) interesting facts and tidbits. It is awesome.
• Happy Slobs Guide to Housecleaning - I found this site on one of my "next blog" travels. She loves baking soda as much as I do and has a lot of cleaning tips!
• Wolf Sanctuary - I love the wolves and I love the Wolf Sanctuary. We should go there for a visit and learn all about how totally awesome wolves are.
• DESE - This will be of no interest to anyone but me, I imagine. It is a link to the MO Dept. of Elem & Secondary Education.

I hope you enjoy and visit these new links! Also, you should check out the old links I left on there because everything I link to is cool.

It Boggles the Mind...

Need a break from the daily grind?

Play boggle and excersise your mind!

This blog post brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

Will wonders ever cease?!

I was at the bookstore today trying to get a book for my class. I did not find the book I needed, but I did find a whole book devoted to the wonderful world of baking soda! I knew it did a lot, but I did not know that it can remove crayon marks from walls, floors, chairs, etc!! This opens up a whole new world in home decorating!

Word of the Week!

Thanks for all the great words! The entries were:

• Peppercheese - I could not find a denintion of this word, but since Mster says it when she has pizza, I think it is an abbreviation of "peperonie-cheese." Mster was simply saying she wanted some pepperoni and cheese pizza – I hope you listened to her!
• Colloquial – Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal. Relating to conversation; conversational.
• Concomitant - Occurring or existing concurrently.
• Concatenate – To connect of link in a series or chain; (adj) connected or linked in a series.
• Imaginariness – Having existence only in the imagination, unreal. This word can also releate to Mathematics: of, involving, or being an imaginary number.

This week's word of the week is:

Colloquial!!!

In my class we are currently exploring the theories of different learning styles put forth by Dr. Sternberg and Dr. Gardner. Dr. Gardner is the man behind the well known 7 multiple intellegences, but I find his articles and books difficult for the layperson to read. Dr. Sternberg, however, who discusses his theory of "successfull intellegence" through outlining what he calls "analytical, practical, and creative intellegences" writes much more colloquially. Through his writings, he opens a conversation with the reader to foster greater communication and learning.

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Today's Fortune

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Touche, fortune. Touche.