Planting Flowers

Yesterday my co-worker and I went to Lowe's to make a new key for our office. The key ended up not working, but the day was not a total loss becuase I got some flowers! They are daisies - my favorite . I have some simple white daisies, and some yellow and pink daisies. I just finished planting them in a pot, they have really brighted up my office! I hope this is an indication of a great summer!

Six Degrees of Separation Game

Connect these two actors in 6 degrees or less:

Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek

This blog post is brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

If you can't save yourself, warn others!

Going to the movies can often end in despare and heartach if the movie is bad enough. Have you ever walked out of a theater becuase a movie was so bad? I have not, although there were two movies that I would have left during the middle of had I not been with other people.
Jurassic Park: Lost World
Mr. Wrong

Both terrible, terrible movies. And both with actors I love: Alessandro Nivola in JP:LW and Ellen in Mr. Wrong. Do not see these movies! I saw them many many years ago, and I'm still not quite over the trauma they caused.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Backpacking

SP and I went backpacking this weekend at Hawn State Park and hiked the 10 mile loop trail. Supposedly easier than the trek we made last month, this trail kicked my ass. The views and cascading creeks made it all worthwhile, however, and this is a hike everyone should take. The trail takes you through pine forests, over boulders and through knee high water. It's pretty much totally awesome.

Our campsite was nestled at the V of two streams, so we were almost completely surrounded by the gurgling of the water as it flowed into a small swimming hole at the tip of the V. It was gorgeous! We saw lots of snakes (big! and fortunately not at our campsite), salamanders, and butterflys as we tromped along the path.

Swamped, yet unmotivated

That's me today. I'm at work all alone. It's gloomy outside. I have a "to do" box instead of a pile, and yet.... I am blogging.

yuck - why is that?

Have you ever noticed that every once and a while you will find yourself writing with a really smelly sharpie? I write with sharpies a lot in my line of work, and usually the smell does not bother me because it rarely lingers. Today, however, I wrote with a sharpie and the page with the markings still has the strong and distinct aroma of yucky permanent marker smell. It's been a half an hour since I wrote with the marker! Why is that?

Magic Eight Ball...

Magic eight ball, magic eight ball, will my friend Poxy ever get to Arizona?

"YES"

Well, it's taken Poxy a few extra days to get loaded up and move herself and her two dogs to the Grand Canyon State, but she called today and thinks today is the day. Magic Eight Ball seems to think so too, so good luck Poxy! And, to help you fit in, here is some usless information about your new home:

state bird

Cactus Wren

state reptile

Arizona Ridgenose Rattlesnake

state amphibian

Arizona Tree Frog

state flower

Saguaro Catus Blossom

Have fun in the Pheonix, Poxy!!!

I'm all kinds of handy

For months now, our shower sprays out what could be described as a trickle of water falling out of our faucet. Tonight I took matters in my own hands, grabbed a wrench, and I changed the shower head. The result: SUCCESS!! We now have normal water pressure in our shower! YAY! I don't think I'll quit my day job to become a plummer just yet, but I'm pretty proud of myself.

It's the small things in life...

I hate finals

The finals I'm referring to are not mine, but the law students'. Here it is, Sunday night and I'm all by my lonesome. SP has been in marathon study sessions for a couple of weeks now. Not only do I not see her, but I don't see anyone else either, and it is a total drag. Alright, I'm done complaining.

I am really happy because my favorite band, They Might Be Giants (also known as the best band ever), will be here in St. Louis on May 6th. I cannot wait! Can.Not.Wait. They come at the perfect time - finals will be over and my 4 events at work will be totally wrapped up.

randomly in my head this afternoon...

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy

Was he?

Good luck on finals!

I know many of my loyal readers are in the middle of finals and to them I offer Lucky Finals Cow:

Good Luck!

My biggest pet peave

"funner" and "funnest"

These are not words, yet so many people say them. Everytime I hear them it is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Just say funner out loud - listen to yourself - hear how ridiculous you sound! ugh!

Examples what you can say:
Work is not fun.
You know what would be more fun than working? Anything.
White water rafting is the most fun!

This blog post brought to you in part by "Wordy Wednesdays"

I've said it before, and I'll say it again

Soap is the best show ever. I'm on season 4 right now, and although this season is not my favorite, it is still hilarious. Joe Mantegna, who I love, just showed up in an episode. Such a good show. I will keep saying this until the day I die.

Thoughtful Thursday poses a question....

An annual event is held, well annually. Volunteers run this event. Sponsors give money to the event. Often sponsors are volunteers. Historically, sponsors who volunteer have had a job of high importance (running a portion of the event). Over the years, some sponsors have sponsored less and volunteered more, and a few to the point of not donating any money, but instead are providing quality volunteers for the portion they are running. Because those who used to raise money don't now, new sponsors are on board giving lots and lots and lots of money. These sponsors also want to volunteer, and want a job of high importance (running the event with new quality volunteers that they bring).

Now, all events are covered. Although there are new sponsors, there are no new events. What do you do?

1. Give the new sponsor a less prominant (though no less important) job? This could result in the new sponsor becoming bored, feling underapreciated, etc and so he may not bring in as much money next year. The new sponsor also can see what other sponsors get to do.
2. Give the new sponsor the ex-sponsor's volunteers job? Though not giving money, the ex-sponsor still volunteers and runs the event well with his group of volunteers.
~~working together is not an option -- this are big-wig important people who like to be in charge~~

Either way, you are going to step on someone's toes. What should you do?

I know what I think, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Six Degrees of Separation Game- TV Style

Going through Television, connect these two actors in Six Degrees or less!

Stockard Channing and Michael J. Fox

The game ends Wednesday at 9 a.m. The person to connect these actors in the fewest turns the fastest using ONLY television credits will recieve bubbles.

IMPORTANT:
Television credits mean T.V. shows or movies made for T.V.
Games Shows/reality shows are not allowed.
One-time guest spots are not allowed, but recurring character guest spots are fine.

Happy Easter!

Farmers' Markets - YUM!

I love going to farmers' markets. You wouldn't necessarily know this by my actions. In truth, I rarely go to farmers' markets for my produce. But I should. And you should too. The reasons seem pretty obvious to me. Here are a few, although no doubt there are more.

• supporting local farmers
• produce is fresher and often tastes better!
• often cheaper than what's sold in the store
• you can support farmers who are transitioning to organic farming

Not to mention it is a fun day outside where you are brought together with your community.

Kirkwood Farmers' Market

There are several great farmers' markets in St. Louis: and therefore no reason for St. Louisians not to go.

Soulard Farmers Market
7th Street and Lafayette Avenue, St. Louis / 314.622.4180
Year round, Wed. to Fri. – 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat. – 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Clayton Farmers’ Market
Corner of Maryland and North Central avenues, Clayton / 314.645.5807
May 22 to Oct. 30, Sat. – 8 a.m. to noon

Kirkwood Farmers’ Market
East Argonne Drive and Taylor Avenue, Kirkwood / 314.822.0084
Thru Sept. 25, Thu. and Fri. – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Many merchants are also open seven days a week.

Maplewood Farmers’ Market
Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave, Maplewood / 314.645.5807
May 19 to Oct. 27, Wed. – 4 to 7 p.m.

Central West End Farmers’ Market
Next to St. Louis Bread Company on Maryland Plaza, St. Louis / 314.361.2850
May 1 to Sept. 25, Sat. – 8 a.m. to noon
(very small - new and just getting started)

This blog post brought to you by "Earth Friendly Fridays"

I am the picture of professionalism

I went to walgreens to purchase some flip-flops to wear, rolled my pants up to my knees and changed from wearing a tank-top with a button down over it to just a tank-top. It is so freaking hot!

I'm begning to think they did turn on the heat. 2 hours to go...

I guess I should just be glad the heat isn't on

Normally I bitch and moan becuase it's so freakin' cold in my office. Not today. No, sir. Today I'm bitching and moaning becuase the air conditionor is broken, there is no breeze coming through the windows, and I'm stuck here for another 4 hours.

Wordy Wednesday

SP and I watched some Veronica Mars season one the other night and in honor of all the TV Tuesdays I've neglected and the Wordy Wenseday that is today, I thought I'd share this quote from the show.

Assistant Principal Clemmons: Logan, can I have a word?
Logan: Anthropomorphic. All yours, big boy.

hee! I wonder if I will find this blatent disrespect towards school officials this funny once I'm a teacher. Probably, as long as its not directed at me.

anthropomorphic: suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things

Philosophy of Special Agent Dale Cooper

Fellas, coincidence and fate figure largely in our lives.

etiquette hats at dinner table origins

Someone got to my blog by googleing "etiquette hats at dinner table origins" I've no doubt they were disappointed when the arrived at a "happy birthday nell" post where warmfuzzies were wearing hats and a post about passing to the right.

Always wanting to please, I thought I'd look up the answer to this web-surfer's question. Unfortunately, I'm only taking a mini-break at work and do not have time to do this. So, on second thought I'm just going guess at who/why this person googled the query.

I imagine he is a smart, but unruly student who refused to take off his hat at during school lunch and one of two things happened:
1. theteacher on duty assigned him the task of writing a paper on ettiquete - specifically: dinner table etiquette and the wearing of hats.
2. the student set out out to show that he was unjustly punished (given detention or mocked in front of his peers) by trying to prove that it is perfectly acceptable etiquette to wear a hat at the dinner table.

Do you have any guesses about this mystery googler?

Spring has Sprung

I just ripped down the last remaining snowflake hanging on my office window. Spring is here - the snowflakes must go.

Today

It is gorgeous outside! A little windy perhaps, but otherwise: gorgeous. Unfortunately I am stuck inside staring at this computer. Who came up with this thing called "work." They were not very smart.

Movie Quote Game!

In what totally awesome movie would you find this quote:

Well, "sorry" doesn't put the Triscuit crackers in my stomach now, does it?

Bonus points* if you can tell me who says it and at least one other movie/show/etc that the actor is in.

*bonus points are cannot be used as tender or to redeam prizes. They are for self-satisfacation only

This blog post, and many others, have been brought to you by "Movie Mondays'

Oh green candy, why do you do this to me?

A couple of weeks ago I bought some gummy bears specifically for the lime candy flavor inside. I quickly unsealed the bag and reached for a green gummy bear. To my horror the gummy bear was not lime flavored! It was crappy green apple. Disgusting!

Still in search for candy lime flavored goodness, I bought a roll of lifesavors . As the roll dropped with a clunk to the bottom of the machine, I eagerly reached in and pulled out my prize. I opened the pack, disgarding the orange, red, and purple lifesavors -- Purple? Wait, since when is there purple? It was then that I looked at the outside of the wrapper "new flavors!" it read. My heart sank, and even as I lifted up the green lifesavor to my lips, I knew. It would not be candy lime flavored. The disgusting flavor of green-apple was poison to my tastebuds. It was then that I decided drastic measures must be taken.

It is time for the Lime Candy Revolution! This crappy green-apple crap is taking over green candy everywhere and it must stop! Oh, the attack on lime flavor was a sneaky one. Slowly, green-apple flavor started to replace lime-flavor - almost so you barely noticed or thought your mind was just playing tricks on you. That was the beauty of the plan. Although Jelly Beans are a candy lime flavor hold out, it is only a matter of time before they, too, are in green-apple's clutches. We cannot have children on Easter morning bite into a green jelly bean and be hit with the revolting taste of candy green-apple. Easter is a day of celebration, not of tears! Action must be taken!

I encourage you to join the Lime Candy Revolution! Refuse to buy candies that have replaced lime with green-apple or write your candy makers! The madness must stop!

Arfanser, where are you?

For the last couple of days, I have not been able to access Arfanser's site. What is going on? Where did your blog go???

Movie Quote Game

okay, this one may be difficult, but I have faith that someone will guess this movie.

In what movie would you find this quote:

you're nothing but a gutless wonder!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Way to go!

Last night my friend Billy took me to a photo exhibit at our University. He is a photographer -quite a good one. Four of his photographs were submitted and four picked to be on display. I am very excited for him. One of the pictures was taken atop my building. All his photographs were beautiful and I think he is going to be more well known than not in years to come. Yay Billy! :)

If you are going to provide service

then provide it!

In the basement of our building we have a coin machine. This comes in handy for doing laundry. Or, more accurately it would if the machine was ever full of change. Tonight I am trying to do laundry - the whole sha-bang: clothes, bedcothes, rugs, etc. An endeaver this ambitious takes many many quarters. So, I make sure I have plenty of ones and fives and I haul my laundry basket down to the basement. I put in a five and quarters spill into the coincup. I feel as though I've won at the slots. I then put in my one - nothing. The machine takes my money and spits it out. I try another. Same result. I guess I should be happy for the $5 in quarters it gave me, and if this was the only time it'd happend I just think "bad luck for me today," but the machine is constantly out of quarters. The apartment building charges 1.75 (in quarters) for their laundry and has a coin machine, so I must assume they realize their tenants need quarters. Why - why! do they not keep it full? It is so frustrating!

Most Awesome Thing Ever!

Last night I saw the most awesome thing ever. A "more you know..." psa with The Office's Rainn Willson about the dangers of Bears. Go to The Office to watch this one and more (there are a bunch). HI-freakin'-larious!

Pet Peeve: The CC Power Trip

If you are going to write someone an accusatory e-mail and "cc" that person’s supervisor, her supervisor, and a third interested party, then you should also "cc" all those people when you write back to that someone to apologize because you were totally wrong in your accusations.

Thanks for the well wishes

Thanks for the well wishes. I am feeling a bit better and my paper is resembling something that could possibly-in-the-near-future be a paper worth turning in.

Nonsensical Ramblings of a Sick Person

Feeling ill last night, I decided to take my temperature, and to my dismay I had a fever. I cannot remember the last time I've had a fever, so this was a bit unnerving and uncomfortable for me. SP showed her nurturing side and gave me some medicine and water to bring down said fever and to help me feel better. It helped the matter, but didn't fix it. This morning I again woke with fever, sore throat and cough. I couldn't get into my doctor, so off to Urgent Care I hurried.

The staff at Urgent Care were extremely friendly, but I was there for four hours! Four hours, and all told I spent only 35 minutes talking to anyone. Still, it was less time than I would have spent at the ER and my insurance covers it (unlike if I have to be rushed to the hospital next door to my house, but that is another boring story).

The people at Urgent care are all very nice, and so I hate to say anything bad about it. I was, afterall, given drugs that promise to make me feel better.

The upside to my 4 hour stint in Urgent Care is that I made great headway in reading Life of Pi. It has really picked up speed, and as SP and fomerSquishy have mentioned, it is a book worth reading.

Being sick has also really put a damper on my ability to finish may paper that I need to mail to my professor ASAP . Procrastination has never gotten the best of me like this before. Time is a formidable foe - I just hope it doesn't win this round!

Standing the Test of Time

I love the oldies and I'm not afraid to say it! In highschool the oldies station was number 1 on my "preset" and I listened to it every day on my way home from school. I just can't get enough of them. Well, with my new iPOD I find that I listen to the radio less and less when I'm in my car, and I miss my oldies. So, the other night I put some of my favorite olidies on Cooper. I got some Peter Paul and Mary, some Hermen's Hermits, and some Turtles. I also put on a few songs by the totally awesome Sam Cooke. All of his songs are great, but a couple of my favorites are Another Saturday Night, Only Sixteen and Cupid. He has alot of other popular songs (Chain Gang, Wonderful World, Twistin' the Night Away....). If you don't have music by him, you are missing out. NPR has had several stories about him, and if you haven't heard them I suggest you check them out. The link takes you to one story, and you can acces the others from there.

What is so great about Wednesdays @ 8:00?

Before this week my Wednesday 8:00 timeslot was already over booked. Lost and Veronica Mars both come on at this time. Veronica Mars reruns on Saturdays, so major scheduling problems were avoided. Now, I find that Gilmore Girls has moved from Tuesdays at 7p.m. to this Wednesday times slot. What the hell? Lost, well lost out. There is no contest between that over hyped show in which nothing happens, often not even a new episode and my G-girls. Now, I find thatoriginal recipe Law & Order is also moving to Wednesdays at 8a.m. Why are the TV gods doing this to me?

The Phrase in Question

The only thing that can get me out of my cold prickly slump is a Wordy Wednesday. Let’s try an installment of "The Phrase in Question" on for size today.

Once in a Blue Moon

Meaning: Happens on rare occasions; not common.
Example: I’ll have a hankering to watch a science fiction movie once in a blue moon.
Provenance: Several - see below

• Most commonly, a blue moon means: the second full moon that fall in the same calendar month. It is very rare for a blue moon to occur – they only happen about once every 2 ½ years, hence the phrase.
  
• Dating back further to the 1800s, the Maine Farmers Almanac, and the Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar, a blue moon can also mean the third moon in a season that has four full moons. Each month has a full moon making a grand total of 12 moons a year, but some years there are thirteen moons causing one season to have an extra (4th) moon. The third moon is called the "blue moon." It was important for the Ecclesiastical calendar that they keep track of the extra moon so they could "skip it" in their worship calendar. Otherwise, everything would get off track.
  
• The trend of calling the moon blue dates back to a 1528 proverb. "If they say the moon is blue,We must believe that it is true." Apparently, it meant that something was absurd because it’s absurd to call the moon blue, or something…This excites me not at all, but it might strike someone’s fancy.
  
• On occasion, the moon has appeared blue to sky gazers because of volcanic eruptions or forest fires. According to the website, The key to a blue moon is having in the air lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micron)--and no other sizes present. This is rare, but can happen (1883 Indonesian volcano Krakatoa eruption). To read more about this phenomenon, go here.

This blog post has been brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

At the end of my rope

We are currently gearing up for our biggest event all year here at work – things are very busy around the office. So why, then, am I blogging? How do I have time to do this? I’ll tell you: I am waiting… waiting for other people to get me information that I need to do the next task on my very long list of tasks. Being an impatient person, this is driving me crazy.

This week, I am waiting for volunteer lists and requests from my committee member to come in so I can finish assigning volunteer jobs to our devoted workers. I then need to make sign-in sheets, instruction cards, mail out specific information about the day, etc. So, do I have volunteer lists? No. Do I have volunteer requests? No. I have sent reminder e-mails, left voice messages, and sent more reminder e-mails and still I wait. Do you know when this information was due to me? The end of February. Yes, that is correct – a month ago! How can people be so inconsiderate? Short of driving to their homes/offices and demanding the information I need at knife-point, I do not know what to do! I am so frustrated!

Although I know it will all come together (it always does), I need to have all this set so I can move on to one of the other umpteen million things we have to do to get ready for this event.

Under the Wire...

It's still Monday, so there is still time for a movie quote. In what movie would you find this quote:

I win! I always win. Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!!

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays."

A Great Book

Some of you may know that I took a creative writing/comp class this term. I enjoy writing and editing work in a writing workshop format, so I looked forward to this class. My group was great to work with and we all grew as writers over the eight week course. My professor, however, left little to be desired. He is the sort of professor that reads his own works aloud to the class so we can “oooh” and “awww” at his genius, who asks a question so that he can to hear himself answer it, and who skims the stories you hand in instead of actually critiquing them. I did not especially care for my professor's teaching style, but I don't think he was a bad guy and he clearly loves the craft of writing; he simply did not live up to my expectations.

Still, I enjoyed the class and spent a great deal more time on it than I have in any other class in my Masters Program to date. On the last day of class, he read to us, not one of his pieces, but a wonderful book by Sharon Creech called Love That Dog. The intended audience is children aged 8-12, but I think it can be appreciated by anyone, certainly by anyone with a love for reading, writing, poetry and/or dogs. If you go to Sharon Creech's website you can read a chapter of the short book or hear an excerpt read. I highly recommend it, or better yet - go to the library/bookstore and read it. Better still, go the library/bookstore and have someone read it to you. It is a short book and one that is meant to be read aloud.

Jeremy Northam

I love Jeremy Northam. After looking at his filmography, I realized that I have not seen very many movies with him in them, and need to add some to my movie que. The following, however, are good movies that I have seen with him and that he is sexy in. I highly recommend checking them out.


Emma - He plays Mr. Knightley. After watching this movie with a bunch of friends in college, my friend Kelly spoke for us all when she said, "Everyone needs a Mr. Knightley for her very own." Although (admittedly) he is no Mr. Darcy, he comes as close a second as anyone has a right to do.

The Winslow Boy - He plays the a lawyer in a movie set in England in the early 20th centery. The Winslow family's youngest son is expelled from boarding school - why I can't remember. Anwya, the trial, etc is the back drop for the story, but the real story is in the family and his falling in love with the daughter. I really like this movie - it is sweet.

The Net- Not the best movie ever made, but it lands Jeremy Northam on the "Sexy Psyco" list.

He's also in Gosford Park. A moive I was not fond of, but many people like.

Where the Truth Lies

Last night Panda and I rented Where the Truth Lies staring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon. The basic story is that Colin and Kevin's character's (Vince and Lenny), an entertainment duo from the 50s – think Martin and Lewis, are on top until a the dead body of a girl is found soaking in their hotel suit's bathtub. Fifteen years later, the mystery is still unsolved, so a young journalist, obsessed with the duo since childhood, gets a book deal and sets out to solve the puzzle.

This movie was a complete and total let down. In the end, we found our selves bored by the uncovered truth. Not only was the movie a crescendo with no real climax, but we felt it was confused about where it was trying to go - making us confused and annoyed in the process. Several times during the movie, parallels were drawn between the young journalist and the woman who was killed in the fifties, but those parallels went nowhere, and in the end seemed pointless.

In the end, we just didn't care and wished we'd gotten Junebug instead.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

So satisfying

Today at work I made my daily "to do" list. Usually I have one or two things left on the list by day's end, but not today! No, today I completed everything on my list. It is a really satisfying feeling!

fuzzy origins

For my class,I have to write a paper about my name: its origins/meaning and how it does or does not fit me.

We are supposed to use our full name, but my last name, Fuzzy, has no origins that I can find. See, when my ancestors came over to this country Fuzzy was not their name, so it is pretty much made up, and although other people have my last name, their not really part of my heritage making me less than motivated to search for the meaning behind the name.

I also can't find much about what our name pre-Fuzzy meant, probably because I'm unsure how it was spelled and it seems to be somewhat uncommon. So, instead, I am either taking the meanings of the first names of either Bridet and Michael (the first of our line of Fuzzy's to come over to the US of A, or I'm going to take the names of my mom, g-mom, great g-mom, all they way up to my great great g-mom Bridget and describe what those names mean and how they do or do not make up me. The wierd thing about that is that I'm following the paternal line, but the wives who married them - I guess that's cool becuase each of those women have added to the Fuzzy line. I don't know... we'll see how it turns out!

Learn something new every day

So, I logged on to iTunes to download the totally awesome song "Travelin' Thru" by the equally awesome Dolly Parton (which is currently a free download), when I clicked on the "beta" recommendations. I thought this was just a list of songs that iTunes spotlights. No - it is a list of songs just for me! I might have been tipped off by the words, "just for you!" next to the "beta" sign, but since I've only just started browsing and purchasing from the iTunes store, tonight was the first I noticed. Anyway, iTunes now has recommendations of songs I might like based on said purchases. And you know what? They are pretty much on-target. Unfortunatly, my last $.99 in my iTunes account was spent on Kansas's song "Dust in the Wind" so I couldn't take them up on any of their suggestions. Not unfortuante is that I did purchase "Dust in the Wind," which is a great song.
Highlander: The Series fans may remember it from when Tess died on the show. Following her death, the song was played often - usually while Duncan was depressed over the death of his love. Since I never loved Tess, I was happy enough to see her go, but even more happy to hear this song. I love Highlander and I love this song.

Classic Movies of My Generation

These are the movies from my childhood that are Classics and should be seen be seen by any self-respecing child of the 80s/early 90s. This not just list of my favorite movies, although I do love all these as I watched them time and time again growing up. In fact some of my favorite childhood movies (Men at Work, The Pirate Movie) did not make the cut because although they are AWEsome with a capital AWE, they are not classics.

Movies on my Classic's List:
Summer School
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
War Games
Clue
Breakfast Club
Adventures in Babysitting
The Princess Bride

I like to vacuum, I like to boogie

The vacuum I purchased shortly after Panda and I moved into our carpet covered apartment kicked the bucket. First the fancy tools stopped sucking up crumbs and cat hair off the couch, and very recently the actual vacuum took to laughing meniacally as I tried in vein to vacuum any speck of dirt or dust, no matter how small. I will not stand for a vacuum that does not work, so last weekend, after reading dozens of epininos and customer ratings (dozens of them!), I decided on the Bissell Lift-off. I've never had a Bissell, but the complaints that people had about it were minor (too heavey - suck it up people, it's not a riding vacuum) and Target was having a sale.

The verdict: It works wonders! I vacuumed our supposedly clean carpet and would have been disgusted by all that the new vacuum sucked up if I had been so impressed. It is awesome, and our carpet has sping to it once again. I love it! love it! love it! love it!

Crap-assed CD players

Today I'm working on the most mundane of my job duties, so I thought I'd pop in the Slater Kinney mix FishFrog so selflessly made for me. Unfortunatley, my crappy CD player will not recognize the CD. I am bummed.

Movie Quote Game

Alright ladies and gents - In what movie would you find this quote:

You were nothing before you met me. You were playing Barbies with Betty Finn. You were a Bluebird. You were a Brownie. You were a Girl Scout Cookie.

Imagine This

I am currently listening to a CD my friend Casey made for me for my birthday. The first track is a version of Imagine. Singing the lyrics? Pres. Bush. Well, he's not singing it exactly. It's a mix of words taken from his speeches to make up the lyrics of the song. Its pretty freaking awesome.

You can go to the Wax Audio website here to read about what they do and to download different stuff.

Sleep. Beautiful sleep.

My cat, though I love her, is a great big pig and she has done the unthinkable - distrubed my precious Saturday morning snooze time. Today, I was once again woken by her insessent meows and headbutts as she insisted that I get up and feed her. Nevermind that she'd only been given her nightly feeding 7 hours earlier! Panda used to give her her morning feedings, but this week started barracading her door so Lucy cannot get in in the morning. Lucy is in for rude awakening becuase I am thinking of doing the same thing. After a week of being woken up early, I have been reduced to a walking zombie. This cannot continue! She's not a baby - she's a cat!

Dear So and So

Last night at our very cool Ladies book club, we discussed A Women of Independent Means. This book tells the story of one woman and the people around her through her outgoing letters to people throughout her life. Among other things, we discussed the art of letter writing and the feelings of joy one can have upon receiving a letter from a loved one – there is nothing like finding a letter in your mailbox amidst all the bills and junk mail. In the growing technological age we live in, more and more letter writing is giving way to e-mail writing. On the whole, I would say e-mails tend to be less personal – less thought out. With a letter, you know the writer intended it for you and no one else; she wrote it by hand to you.

Still, today I was reminded how an e-mail letter (even an e-mail card) can have the same effect. As I browsed through an old e-mail account I no longer use because of massive amounts of spam mail, I noticed a Christmas e-card mixed in with all the junk. It was from an old friend from college. She lives in Malaysia and I lost her phone number, address, and judging from the "return to server" e-mails, her current e-mail address in the last couple of years. One of my best friends, and I had lost complete contact with her. So, when I saw the e-card from her today, I had the same elation I would get if she had sent a big huge care-package straight to my door.

This book and the accompanying event of receiving a newfound link to my friend have inspired me take more care in staying contact with those I love. I am going to try to write more letters – both by e-mail and by hand. Everyone is busy with work, with school, with TV, but at the end of the day it’s the connections we’ve made that will comfort and sustain us through life.

congrats, FishFrog

You have some tastey candy-coated chocolates coming your way!

All good things must end

Over the weekend Panda and I finished watching the totally awesome show Freaks and Geeks. As I watched the last episode, I could hardly enjoy it because the feeling of dread that this was the last episode of Freaks and Geaks I would ever see was unfolding before my eyes. Why do so many great shows go off the air and so many crappy ones (3 and a Half Men) stay on for years and years.

Let's take a look back at some other underapreciated shows that ended too soon:
1. Twin Peaks
2. Homefront
3. Profit
4. Nothing Sacred
5. Sports Night
6. Adventures of Brisco Co. Jr
7. Wonderfalls

Some say that the upswing to being pulled off the air during a shows height of artistic success is that no one ever sees ineveitable crap that is produced when a show overstays its welcome by a season or two. X-Files did this. That 70's show is doing this right now.

Anyother awesome shows that were gone too soon or shows that tarnished their perfect image by staying a season or two too long?

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

"That gum you like is going to come back in style"

For the past two years, two of my best friends from college and I have met in the beautiful Snoqulamie Valley for the Twin Peaks Festival. The festival is just a fun excuse for us to get together, meet some cool people, and rewatch the awesome series. This year, we decided not to do it, opting instead to head for a Missoula renunion this summer. We all felt it was time to take a break from the fest and spend our money elsewhere. Also, we wanted to include our other best friend (who doesn't watch Twin Peaks) in the fun. I've really been looking forward to this trip - I'm already eagerly awaiting a white water rafting trip I'm sure we'll go on. I should be a blast.

***Bird & Heather - I wouldn't read anymore if I were you.***

I am still on the Festival mailing list however, and the send updates about the festival - the activities and the anticipated celebratiy guests. I promised myself that I would not to got to the Festival website in case I saw something that would fill me with regrete at our decision. Well, I broke that promise to myself, and boy, am I paying for it. The celebraties are lining up, and amoung them is Kimmy Robertson; she played one of the main characters - Lucy Moran (the secratary at the T.P.P.D.). Still, we made a decision and will stick by it, but I cannot believe I'm going to miss Lucy. I cannot believe it!

Six Degrees of Seperation

Connect these two actors in Six Degrees or less. Whoever gets it fastest in the fewest degrees (w/o cheating) gets m&m's. The game ends Wednesday at 12p.m.

Dana Carvey and John Travolta

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Songs in my head

Very often I get songs in my head. Lately, I've found I am often singing the following:

"Dre-e-e-e-am. Dream, dream dream dream. Dre-e-e-e-am."
"Forever young. I wanna be forever young. Do you wanna live for ever? Forever? Forever?"

And at work, usually at work events:
"I gotta get out of this place. If its the last thing I ever do. I gotta get out of this place..."

Now, none of these songs are songs I that listen to often or even like (expecially the forever young song - I hate it. Yet, one of them is going through my head most of the time).

Do you get the same songs stuck in you head? If so, what are they?

Welcome to the blogwagon!

Welcome, Anfanser! Sorry for the belated welcome, but I have been a bit bogged down at work.
Anyway, I've been to your blog and have decided others should too because it rocks. So, next bloggers and my loyal readers (all 5 of you), check out Anfanser's blog.

Word of the Week!

So a hectic week at work prevented me from revealing the winner to the word box last Wednesday as promised. We didn't really have any words submitted to the box, but fishfrog did ask what the difference is between these two words:

fornicate - to have sex without being married
copulate - to engage in sexual introcourse.

So, you can copulate without fornicating, but you cannot fornicate with out copulating. A classic case of squares and rectangles.

I've decided it's time to take a vacation from the word box. I still love words, but it's less fun for all of us than it used to be. Maybe we'll see the box in the future, but for now I'm putting it to rest. Thanks to all who've played.

Movie Quote Game

It is time once again for....

The Movie Quote Game!

In what movie would you find this quote:

Person 1: Who we admire most in the world, and why? The person we admire most in the world is make-up artist and creature creator Rick Baker.
Person 2: His wonderfully gruesome slime bladders and slobber tubes in an American Werewolf in London won him a richly deserved Oscar. That is why we admire make-up artist and creature creator Rick Baker very, very, very, very, very, very . . .
Person 1: . . . very, very, very, very, very . . .
Person 2: . . . very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very . . .
Person 1: . . . very, very, very, very, very much. It's 100 words on the nose.
Person 2: You can count it if you want.

Party Games

All in all, I've had a great weekend. My birthday spectacular began on Thursday when I got to sleep in (always good), lunch w/ a friend, and watch Scrubs and About a Boy with Panda. Friday I had a totaly awesome time at the pub and back at the good old a-p-t for delicious cake and hearty laughter with great friends. Last night, I had another group of friends over for a lively game of Apples to Apples and Scruples; it was a super cool night as well. Tonight, I"ll go out to dinner with my fam-damily at a delicous Japanese resturant - I can't wait!

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday spectacular!

Now, a word about Scruples...
In this game each person has 5 questions cards, one answer card, one plead the 5th card, and a challenge coin. The object of the game is to get rid of all your question cards by asking one person a question and getting them to answer they same way as your answer card - the options are: YES, NO, or DEPENDS. If they answer as you want, you get rid of your question card but if they don't, you draw another one. You always draw a new answer card. At any point someone can challenge the answer someone gives and everyone votes to say if that person is lying or telling the truth.

Bored? Yeah, we were too. This is not a fun game. The box makes it sound fun, but in actuality most people are doing nothing during most of the game. There is just too much wait time, and the questions (which are supposed to be moral dilemas) are just not that juicy. If you want a game in the same family that will bring forth giggling and fun, try True Colors. In this game everyone is invovled in every round.

Here's how True Colors works: Everyone picks a color and everyone has cards that have the different colors on them. A question is asked "who's most likly to....." and everyone picks two of their colored cards and puts them in a box thing. So, you are anonymously voting and you can vote for two differnet people or for the same person twice. Get it? Then, the votes are counted. It is fun, but best if played with people who know eachother well and who are good sports about things. It kicks Scruples ass.

Princess Bride Quiz

The Princess Bride is one of my all time favorite movies, and it should be yours too if you have any taste.

Take the quiz to find out what character you are; I am:


Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

The Word Box is Open!

The word box will close around 10a.m. on Wednesday.

Happy Wording!

Congrats Matt

Way to go Matt! He connected Fred Savage to Dustin Hoffman in just three degrees!

1. Fred Savage was in Princess Bride with Billy Crystal
2. Billy was in Analyze This (and That) with Robert DiNero
3. Robert was in Meet the Fookers with Dustin Hoffman

Freshly baked cookies are coming your way this afternoon!

Horay for snow!!

It's snowing! It's snowing. La la la la la! This is a good day!

The Tom Cruise - Mel Gibson Challenge

Panda told me yesterday that everybody was sitting around talking about six degrees of seperation and while you could easily connect Tom Cruise to Mel Gibson in six degrees, you could not do it in two. It is strange that these two actors, who are in so many movies, run in such different circles. I'm suprised there wasn't an aussie connection w/ all the movies Tom Cruise has been in with Nicole Kidman & Mel Gibson having been raised in Australia.

Well, it can be done - I have found a way!

1. Tom Cruise was in Eyes Wide Shut with Fay Masterson
2. Fay was in The Man w/o a Face with Mel Gibson

Six Degrees of Separation Game

You all know the rules.

The prize: home-made ch. chip cookies. I will deliver these cookies directly to the winner, so they don't get eaten by any of the messangers (FishFrog, this is directed at you and a certain Dove bar!).

The contest will officially end on Wednesday @ 10p.m. Cookies will be delivered on Thursday. If any long distance bloggers or "next bloggers" want to play, but are worried you won't get your cookies - don't worry, I'll send them to you!

Let the game begin! Connect these two actors:
Fred Savage and Dustin Hoffman

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Oscar needs some prozac

Some movies make you laugh, cry, scream, get angry, or feel hopeful. Some take you on an experience – let you safely leap out of yourself and your comfort zone to enter a new world. Others make people challenge their assumptions or to bring something horrific to light. Great movies can do a combination of those things.

Sadly, however, it seems more credence is given to a movie that is emotionally powerful yet would never tempt the audience into a second viewing than to a movie that, though perhaps powerful in its own right, conjures up feelings of joy or laughter rather than pain and heart-ache.

I truely believe movies have many purposes and should not all be enjoyable to watch. We should not, however, forget about the enjoyment factor when rating a movie for best picture. For me, this type of movie should be given props for what they often do well - outstanding performances, cinematography or directing credits. Far too often, however they are picked for best picture because of the initial "wow" factor. Meanwhile, comedic or sweeter movies are overlooked. It seems to me that Oscar may have fallen prey to this way of thinking when he nominated this year’s best film picks. What do you think?– comments welcome.

This year’s nominations:
Brookeback Mountain – I thought this was good movie. It was visually pleasing and the music set the mood of the movie perfectly. Still, I cannot imagine ever wanted to see it again.
Crash – as much as I love Don Cheadle, and man do I love him, I could not love this movie. To me, this movie is one that should be made and should be seen, but it is not enjoyable, and it is not a great film. I felt like it was meant to be a call to action piece, but it left my soul drained of all its hope for a better world that I was compelled to do nothing but wallow. Maybe it got to racists and made them realize that racism and prejudice is a vicious cycle, and if so, then that is a good thing, but not enough to make it best picture. Ellen really loves this movie – Ellen, what am I missing?
Capote – I can’t say because I haven’t seen it yet. I really want to see this movie.
Good Night and Good Luck – see Capote, but change "really" to "totally".
Munich – I have absolutely no desire to see this movie. If anyone has seen it, please tell us about it. From what I’ve heard about it, it is extremely powerful and thought-provoking.

Writing about other people is hard

For my class I have to write a 2 page paper on someone other than me. This is hard, and I'll tell you why:

To write about someone you need to know them, but if you know them and are thinking about writing about them, then you probably like them. Therefore, it is difficult to really write about them and not just list all the things about them that are great. Is that interesting? No, obvioulsy not! But as I write, I know my class will read this piece of work, and if I write about say, Panda, while I may see some less than desirable traits in her personality, I don't want the rest of the world to. So, you end up with flat, one-sided characters or run the risk of seriously hurting someone's feelings.

Now we arrive at my paper, and aside from being a bit one-sided, stylistically it is all over the place. While it is only supposed to be a first draft, I am still unhappy with how it has turned out. In short, my paper (not about Panda) is complete and total crapola and I will be embarrassed when my group reads it.

A Warning

Diet Black Cherry Vanillia Coke. It's not good. Too much vanilla flavor.

Word game

I just started reading Dan Brown's book, Digital Fortrus and I had a difficult time putting it down last night - perhaps contributing to my waking up an hour late this morning. Anyway, in the book people have to break codes. Now, it's your turn: Go here to solve my cryptogram. The first one to solve it is, well - the best! Plain and simple.

This blog post brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

why does my stomach feel so pit-y?

I suspect it is because I just realized that when Panda TiVoed the State of the Union for tonight, she must have told the mighty TiVo that it was OK to not record the Gilmore Girls. Sadly, I fear the TiVo could not stop Panda's cruel, cruel abuse of power.

I want my G-girls!

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

The Shallow Truth

Last Thursday I watched the movie Underworld in preparation for seeing Underworld: Evolution with my friend Irene. Its about vampires, werewolves, and kicking ass. I love vampires (a la Buffy and Angel) and I love kicking ass. What I realized while watching this movie, which was a fine enough movie, was that I do not like werewolves. They are ugly and unpleasant which makes for a less than satisfying movie watching experience.

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Fun with Spam Mail

If you get as much spam mail as me, you know tht most subject titles are lame, such as "RE: confirmtation" or "RE: HI! It's me." I'm sorry, but since there's no turnip truck out there missing me, I'm not going to click on these supid messages.

I recieved a spam mail message today at work, however, that must be given props for an original subject line. It read: "How to cast effective spells easily..." I have to admit - pretty tempting...

after a short hiatus

I haven't posted in nearly a week, and that is the longest I can rememeber going with out blogging. Let me tell ya, it's hard to get back in the swing of things. Always the first to admonish my fellow bloggers for not posting regularly, I now realize the pressure that they may have felt in trying to find a blog post worthy of re-entry. Well, I always told them - "It doesn't matter! Just post something." So, that's what I've done. Here is a picture of Lucy for good measure. Enjoy!

If you were the host...

If you were the host of a meeting that lasted from 5p.m.-9p.m. would you serve dinner, or at least hearty snacks? I would. Unfortunately, the host this evening did not.

My Family Tree

Over New Year's Panda and I took a drive through the country with our folks. On that trip we started to piece together our family tree, and now we have branches of our tree written on several different small pieces of paper (the only paper we had in the car at the time). Last night, I found this website that allows you to created your own family tree website. All you have to do is enter in the members of your family and make notes about them. Later, you can add pictures, etc. It's pretty good and I recommend it if you are thinking of making your own family tree. The only snag I've hit is that there is no place for 1. nicknames and 2. maiden names. But, it is free and I can get away with the above mentioned problems with parenthesis. I also like that there is section of notes that will show up on the website, so you can tell your family history.

I also found this page that allows you to print out a family tree chart so you can create your family tree by hand if you are so inclined. You can print out a family tree chart here.

A-B-C. Easy as 1-2-3.

Who knew online courses would be so much busy work? Misguidedly, I thought I could take two internet courses and a face-to-face course each term this semester. This semester that is also the busiest time of year at my work with 10 events and numerous trainings. Yes, I am a fool. I spent all day yesterday ""finishing up my week's assisgments for my online courses, but sadly, I am no where near finished. So today I dropped one of my online courses and picked up another 8 week face-to-facer for next term. My credit hours will stay the same, but they should be more managable. My stress level has dropped tremendously!

Movie Recommendations

Have you seen an awesome movie lately? It can be a new, old, funny, dramatic, great, or a guilty pleasure.
Tells us about it -
** What it is
** What it's about
**Why you like it/ Why one would enjoy it
** Anything else

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Word of the Week!

Thank you to our Word Box contributors! Here are the words in our Word Box:

Ennui – Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom; the feeling of being board by something tedious. My life is filled with ennui.
Tidbit: I was going to relay the history of the word, but in learning about it I became so filled with ennui that I did not continue.
Fecund – Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful. Also: marked by intellectual productivity.
Is – Third person singular present indicative of be. Sometimes it is best to get back to basics.
Paragon – A model of excellence or perfection of a kind; a peerless example.
Priapism – Persistent, usually painful erection of the penis, especially as a consequence of disease and not related to sexual arousal.
Tidbit: The Greek god of gardens and fertility was named Priapus. He was the son of Aphrodite, who disowned him because he had a grotesque little body with a huge penis. He was a member of the retinue (followers, attendants) of the god Dionysus and chased after nymphs.

Great words! Still, there can only be one winner. This week's Word of the Week is:

Ennui

Happy Birthday

Beautiful! Gorgeous! Wish you were here!

Panda and went on a gorgeous hike in Illinois - Piney Creek Nature Reserve. This is the most beautiful mid-western hike I have ever been on. Although the trail head says the trail is difficult, I did not think it was too bad - it was quite nice. There was some elevation, but its a slow climb. The trail itself is pretty short, but there are several side trails that you can explore to make a day of it. The trail was extremely muddy, and during or after rain I am sure it is very slick so a walking stick would be a good idea.

Here are some pictures I took on our trek:

Piney Creek

View of the creek most of the hike follows. There was quite a bit of water, and many small cascades and waterfalls were visiable even with the relatively dry winter we've experienced. I can't wait to go back in the spring after some rain fall.

Prehistoric Petroglyphs and Pictographs
Early on in the hike, you can take a short side trail to see these prehistoric drawings. They are dated from AD500 - 1500 Unfortunately these drawings share the rock wall with graffite from later artists and passersby. Some is dated 1904, others are clearly more recent.

Leafy Pine Trees

After you hike along the creek for awhile (most of the hike), the trail leads you up through forest and views that allow you to see the snaking creek down below. Finally, you find yourself on a path through these leafy pine trees. It was beautiful.

Class Tonight

Today is Week 1 of my eight week class this term - whoo-hoo! I have my trusty uniball, so I am ready to go! All of my classes are held in the same class room at good old UniversityName Hall. I was hoping for a change of senery, but it is not meant to be. The good news is that my classroom is right next to the snack room where the Doctor Pepper is always in stock!

Word Box

It's Wednesday and that can mean only one thing: Word Fun!! So it is time for my favorite Wordy Wednesday activity- the Word Box! Submit words often - the more words you submit, the more chance you have to see your word highlighted in all its glory! I also highly recommend using your word in a sentance. I'm not saying your word is better off for it, but... your word might be better off for it.

This magical world of vocabulary will be open until the evening of Sunday, January 22.
As always I am eager to see what words fill our wonderful box! Happy Wording!

Movie Quote Game

It is time once again for....

The Movie Quote Game!!!

Don't let that scare you. Let that free you!
In what movie would you find this quote?:

"If your going to spew, spew into this."

This blog post is brought to you by Movie Mondays.

I Am Me Again

I consider myself an environmentalist. In college I actively fought for the enviornment, and I am always consious of the effect my choices make on the earth. Lately, however, I've noticed myself slipping back into bad habits - many of them I kicked in the 6th grade when I was first introduced to Earth Day and ecology - and turning in to a big ugly hypocrite. For example, Panda and I have not been recycling for the last few months. I could give excuses as to why we aren't, but really there is no excuse; there is only lazyness. Extreme laziness and apathy for the world around me. It's not cool. Not at all. So, things are going to change around here - step one: we are a recyling household once again! There is a recycling center down the street from me - it's on my way to class, so Wednesdays will be my recycling day for the next 8 weeks (it will switch as my school schedule does). If anyone who lives near me wants to give me their recycling on Tuesday evenings, I will drop it off at the recycling center.

I came upon this website today named Earth 911. If you put in your zip code it will tell you about what recycling is available near you as well as other important information such as when/where to dispose of hazadous waste. The website also offers a ton of infromation about decreasing air & water pollution, preserving energy & water, and much much more. I encourage each of you to check it out.

This blog post brought to you by "Earth Friendly Fridays"

Six Degrees Winner!

Although Squishy is the one to beat in this game, this time FishFrog did it! Kudos to him for connecting Adam Sandler to Dustin Hoffman in only 3 moves faster than anyone else did.

FishFrog's entry:
1. Adam Sandler was in "Little Nicky" with Harvey Keitel
2. Keitel was in "Pulp Fiction" with Samuel L. Jackson
3. Jackson was in "Sphere" (movie sucked but book was good) with Dustin Hoffman

Sphere was indeed a good book.

FishFrog - the next time I see you, you will be the proud owner of a small box of baking soda. Check out my previous posts here and here for ideas on how to use your baking soda effectively. Enjoy!

Idiom Corner

My friend Greg lent me his book Made in America by the totally awesome Bill Bryson. In it, Mr. Bryson tells the history of the US through the language we’ve spoken and how/why many words came into common usage. It is extremely interesting to me because I love history and I love learning about a words, their usages, and their origins.

I also love idioms and learning how certain idioms came to be. And so, here we are at a little segment I like to call "Idiom Corner" - Flashy, no? Feel free to suggest a better name – I am all ears. In this segment, I will highlight an idiom, its definition, and its origins.

Sometimes the provenance of idioms are hard to trace, so feel free to comment if you think I’m wrong or have another explanation. Additionally, feel free to tell me your favorite idioms and I will highlight them in future Idiom posts to the delight of all my readers.

Today’s Idiom (one of my favorites):

A Bubble Off

Meaning – one who is not quite right, odd/wierd, a little slow in thinking, and/or crazy.
Provenance –Levels (for hanging pictures, etc) are liquid filled tubes with an air bubble that movies to the center when the level is, well level. If it is not, it is "a bubble off."

This blog post is brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

A Present to Myself

I just bought a 2006 planner and oh, how I love to plan! I don’t go in for those fancy organizers with a page for each day or even a page for each week. I don’t need beautiful scenery or funny comic strips. I like simple monthly view planners. I color coded important things like work stuff, school stuff, and birthdays. I am not even upset about the fact that I’m working 5 of the next 6 Saturdays. Why don’t I care? Because I’m distracted by how pretty my work commitments look highlighted in purple on the page.

Passion Lives Here!

Today's post comes because yesterday I saw a commercial for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Olympics mean one thing to me - my shows are not on. At least Winter Games, unlike the Summer Games, is somewhat intersting with the hockey, skiing, snowboarding and figure skating. Note that I said figure skating, not ice dancing. Now, I realize that the ice dancers work really hard and are way way way more athletic than me and all of my friends combined, but I want to see some triple axels! Otherwise, it just looks boring to me and I will not watch it.

For all of you who are excited for the 2006 Winter Olympics, you only have 1 more month to go! They'll be here February 10th. I, for the most part, will be entertaining myself with TV on DVD.

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

So, What Should Parents Do?

Part 2 -

Regardless of the CI issue, or if you want to your child to try speech and speech reading, I think all parents who have a child who is deaf should do the following:

• Enroll in an ASL course (if you have a first steps program, they should aid in the cost of this) – if one is not offered, contact a National Association for the Deaf for help.
• Set aside some time each day for "Signing Time" - even if it's just an hour. Just like hearing babies learn spoken language by absorbing what they hear around them; deaf babies learn manual language by absorbing what they see. They will start “babbling” with their hands. Kids are language magnets, so even if you have other children, they can participate too.
• Socialize with the Deaf Community, hire Deaf babysitters, go to Deaf events, etc. There are more than you think!
• If you live in a city large enough and you have the resources, try to start a Deaf play group – make this a Signing Time for everyone- again, the kids will learn more by watching you.
  
  When it comes to deciding on education, there are many different options. From what I have read and observed a bilingual approach works best. A really good book to check out is Raising and Educating a Deaf Child. It is a must read for any parent of a Deaf child before they decide to do anything.

Other things to watch/read/resources:

Documentary - For a Deaf Son
Documentary - Sound and Fury

Book - Train Go Sorry
Book- Pictures in the Air: the Story of the National Theater for the Deaf

Website - Captioned Media Program

Views on Deafness & Cochlears

A lot has been discussed lately on the subject of Deafness in my personal blogosphere. So, I thought I’d join in. You might find it interesting to check out Matt’s post here and FishFrog’s post here if you haven’t already. I think FishFrog's post here could also be considered related. This will be in two posts. First – the issue of Deaf Culture and Cochlear Implants & my vies. Secondly, what I think a good plan of action for parents of deaf children looks like.

I have been fortunate enough to learn American Sign Language from native signers and to learn about Deaf culture through readings, classes, and personal experiences while teaching and socializing with Deaf people. Because of these experiences I have a great respect for the Deaf Culture. Like any culture, there are many differences and differing viewpoints on a variety of subjects within the Deaf Culture. Whenever talking about other cultures we must recognize the existence of these differences and also remember that no culture is wholly good or bad, right or wrong. They just are.

Both my experiences and my knowledge of deaf history have shaped my views on the subject of Cochlear Implants. I see both the positives and the negatives that Implants can offer. I only hope the technology continues to get better so enrich the lives of those who would prefer to hear. CI can be a godsend to those who want them. It is also important to understand that not everyone wants them, and to the validity of their views and the controversy that surrounds Implants.

Many within the Deaf Culture see Implants as a form of cultural genocide. The mainstream society is once again belittling and discrediting their language and way of life. To fully appreciate this view point, I believe you must understand the history of Deaf Education from the last 150 years or so. In the 1850s Deaf schools with Deaf teachers who used a manual language (signing) for instruction were abundant. It was in about the 1880s that the man push for Oralism (speech and speech reading) came about from well-intentioned people who thought that Deaf people would be better off being as close to hearing as possible. Teachers were fired, children were punished for using sign language, and strict oralism was implemented across the country. Although most oral institutions today admit the benefits of signing, only very recently have these oral schools allowed any signing at all. I actually know a teacher who comes from the oral philosophy, but left a prominent oral institution in the area because she was disgusted that the children were reprimanded for trying to sign.
For years, doctors have told parents that any signing at all will hinder a child’s ability to learn English. Although most now acknowledge that this is not the case, many people still believe this. It is funny to me that we teach our hearing babies signs to foster their language development, but we keep sign language away from children who are deaf as long as possible.

For a complete history, I recommend Harlan Lane’s Mask of Benevolence. It is a great book that not only details the manual and oralist movements, but also brings to light different modes of technology over the years used to “cure” deafness, and the proposed practice of not allowing people who were deaf to have children. It is within this context that you can begin to realize why the Deaf Community feels the way they do. You might also check out Journey into a Deaf-World and When the Mind Hears also by Harlen Lane.

My main problems with Implants are twofold. The implants themselves and the mindset (I’m going to continue to call it Oralist b/c to me Implants are simply a tool for the oralist philosophy) that no one would want to be Deaf, that it is child abuse not to implant your child. In my opinion, people who say this, like many, do not know the greatness the Deaf Community has to offer or the risks and inconveniences that Implants offer.

Firstly, the risks/negatives: These risks range from the dangerous (meningitis) to daily annoyances (setting off theft alarms at department stores). The FDA has a list of benefits and risks here. Personally, I am not convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks. Once these “cons” are addressed and fixed, I would change my views on the technology itself.

Secondly, the mindset: In my experience, the mindset that assimilating into the mainstream hearing culture is the only way for Deaf people to have a good quality of life leads well-intentioned doctors, educators, and social workers to push the oralism and CI. Parents all too often are not given all the options. I have interviewed coordinators for First Steps and they admit that they do not give parents information on signing or resources to get in touch with Deaf adults and associations. They do not give information about signing classes for hearing parents of deaf children, deaf baby-sitting information, or anything. They do give them lots of information on Cochlear Implants and information about the many private oral schools here in the area. Throughout history, this disregard for the Deaf culture has been common practice to the detriment of the children these doctors and professionals profess to serve. If you read any of those books I mentioned, you will hear recounts of doctor visits, etc.

This is what people have a hard time understanding: Scores of Deaf people have no desire to ever hear a sound. Many do not use their hearing aids because they find the noise annoying. Many deaf people enjoy music – just not in the same way that most hearing people do.

So this brings us to what you should do if you have a deaf child. Get a cochlear implant? Maybe. Maybe not. Technology is getting better and each parent has to make that decision. I do not believe, however, that parents can make an informed decision if they have no understanding of the Deaf Culture. I believe they must talk to members of the Deaf Community about their experiences and then make the best decision they can for their child. Regardless, I believe all children who are Deaf should be given the chance to learn their natural language – manual language (in the US, American Sign Language).

Six Degrees of Separation Game

You all know the drill, and if you don't just go to this post for a review of the rules.
Rule clarification: please only use actors (not producing, writing, or directing credits)

The one to connect in the fewest turns the fastest will win a small box of baking soda. The game ends on Thursday, January 12, 2006. NO CHEATING!!!!

Connect these actors: Adam Sandler and Dustin Hoffmann

This blog post brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

Philosophy of Special Agent Dale Cooper

When two separate events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object in inquiry we must always pay strict attention.

Tonight's Agenda

Laundry. It must be done.

Word Trivia

What is the only English word has three consecutive double letters in it but doesn't need to use a hyphen to break up the letters?

This leetle blog post brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

Thank you for being a friend

ROSE: I know if he got to know me he'd like me.
SOPHIA: Why? I got to know you and I don't like you.
ROSE: You just say that.
SOPHIA: Repeatedly.

Hee hee. Oh, that Sophia! I got the chance to watch a little of the G-girls this weekend and boy, did I laugh. How could I not?

This blog post has been brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

Back to the Daily Grind

Back to work! Back to work, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to work! Back to work! Back to work!

Lucy and her box

Lucy was not happy that Panda and I were gone all weekend. Her voice is all but gone. Poor Lucy. Poor neighbors who had to listen to her ululating.

Word of the Week!

Only three words were submitted this week, but all are great words.

edentulate - having few if any teeth
fascism -A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
Oppressive, dictatorial control.
ululate - To howl, wail, or lament loudly

And the word of the week is....

ULULATE

This word was submitted once before and I think it deserves recognition.