The Chronicles of Lady Brianna the Oblivious

Miss me?

2009-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

When social sites enabled blogging, I didn't feel like going back & forth to more than one site. Who knew I'd end up on so many, trying to keep up with my friends, since email is apparently "old school" now? Hell, if not for Hot Chicks Dig Smart Guys, I'd have forgotten this completely!

Here's where I am now:

Live Journal: BeeyochKitty
http://beeyochkitty.livejournal.com/

Facebook: Shirley NotListed
http://www.facebook.com/mobile/?account#/profile.php?id=837169169&ref=name

Twitter: @BooMeringue
http://twitter.com/BooMeringue

I also have accounts at MySpace, Tribe.net, Arizona Corsairs, and a few others, but I'm very rarely on them anymore.

2006-06-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

Haiku Under Duress

OK! I finally got the video of my Alwun House haike performance online! Joe gave me a DVD copy of it aaaages ago, but you know how quickly I get around to things, lol.

The Nyquil and Yogurt Diet

2006-06-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm back from Atlanta with a runny nose & hacking cough. At first I think it's a cold, but then I read that pollen counts are record-high all over the country. Doesn't matter; I just Nyquil myself into unconciousness, waking only to suck down some yogurt & go back to sleep. Now, if only someone would pay me for it, my life would be complete.

Video madness sent to me from Alex:

You know old Walt was a freak...

You may or may not know how I feel about statistics, but someone is forwarding an email that pretty much sums it up for me (and is funny as hell, which is even better):

Bread Statistics

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.

2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.

3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.

5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!

6. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.

7. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.

8. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.

9. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.

10. Newborn babies can choke on bread.

11. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.

12. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.

Mmmmm .... time for a sammich.

Training the NeuroTypical

2006-05-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, another “why people suck” rant. Hey, it’s not MY fault that there are so many reasons!

Tom & I are going to a business conference in Atlanta this week, so Vincent will have to take the bus to school for his last day. Since I usually drive him in the morning, we went to the office to find out what time he’ll need to be at the bus stop. The lady is very helpful to me; she didn’t have the info, but did give me the number for Transportation so I could find out. Then, she turns to Vincent & asks, “Who’s your teacher?” Huh? Vincent, confused, asked, “What?” The office lady, assuming it was a simple question just stood there & waited for an answer.

I wasn’t sure what she wanted, either, but I took a stab at it and said, “Your homeroom teacher?” “OH! Mrs. Grimsley”. So then, she told Vincent to let his teacher know that he would be taking the bus on Thursday. But not why he should.

I walked out thinking, “Why didn’t she just say, ‘Make sure you let your teacher know that you’ll be taking the bus on the last day of school, in case it’s late”? It seems that would be more efficient than asking a vague question totally unrelated to bus schedules.

Instead of training us autistics to figure out what “code” syllables people can be bothered to grunt out, perhaps Effective Communications classes should be mandatory. I’ve never in my adult life needed to write an effective essay – I have, however, needed to logically and clearly present ideas to other people. Tech schools like Collins College DID require me to take a public speaking class, and it was awesome; it’s time the universities caught up.

On a personal note, let me explain the difference between “infatuation” and “like/love”.

Yes, there is someone I think about a lot, someone sweet and sexy and good with his hands. However, his main purpose in my life right now is to inspire me to ask myself, “Just how many years am I going to try to make this thing with Tom work before I give it up as the lost cause that it’s been for a long time?” (you know how hard it is for me to let go, lol) So – maybe, after he’s gone through all the cute young women throwing themselves at him online, he’ll get around to asking me out. If not, that’s ok, too. Disappointing, but ok. It’s so nice to have a guy friend that I can talk to that openly; I’m not going to let poutiness get in the way.

When I get passionate, people always think I’m way more serious than I am. I love you all for your concern, it’s very sweet! It’s not fair, though, that at least one of you is still mad at Kevin for “the way he treated me”. C’mon; I know you’ve heard the phrase Mr. Right Now…

NOW – a cute thing Kathy posted on MySpace that I thought I’d post here instead of forwarding in an email. You’re welcome!

Helpful Hints for all my Guy Friends

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, or significant other!

DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?

SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?

SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?

ULTRA SAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Are you wearing that?

SAFER: Wow, you sure look good in brown!

SAFEST: WOW! Look at you!

ULTRA SAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?

SAFER: Could we be overreacting?

SAFEST: Here's my paycheck.

ULTRA SAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?

SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.

SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?

ULTRA SAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: What did you DO all day?

SAFER: I hope you didn't over-do it today.

SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe!

ULTRA SAFE: Here, have some more chocolate.

Giving White People a Bad Name

2006-05-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

So ok, I was at the premeire for "Over the Hedge" last night. I liked it! Not the best movie you'll see this year, but a good time none the less. I love Hammy.

Now, the area the theater was in is predominantly Hispanic, and the premier was sponsered by a Spanish-language radio station, so when the giveaways started, I wasn't surprised that the lady was conducting it in Spanish. This didn't stop other rude fucks in the audience from yelling self-righteously, "SPEAK ENGLISH!". After 3 or 4 different shouts, the poor lady was looking uncomfortable and glancing sideways at her boss, who was starting to look pissed (he was a white guy, too) -- so I yelled, "SPEAK FRENCH!" To my utter shock, the stupid shouts stopped.

The things that were given away in Spanish were books, magazines, posters ... printed in Spanish. After those were gone, they gave away the printed-in-English stuff away in English. I hope the O'Reilly fans felt stupid. Probably not, but I can dream.

This made me feel a lot better; when I first got there, I didn't feel so good. My ex, Jeff (aka "Snake") was there. That's not the bad part ... the screwy thing was seeing who his new wife is. He's now marryed to Beth -- the same Beth that Vincent's dad, Mark, was married to!! At first it was funny; I told my friend, "We have to warn Tom that he's next!" But then I thought about it ... she's marryin' all the guys that wouldn't marry me! Bitch! I've often wondered what makes me inherently un-marriable, but my sadness can morph into anger, now that it has a focus. Unfair? Yes. I don't care. "Well, that's not very Libra of you, Shirley." Perhaps you're forgetting my Scorpio Ascendent.

I once read that your Sun sign was the self that you show to people, and your Ascendent was who you are on the inside. That fits here; I would never go around talking shit about Beth for her man choices, but I have no problem thinking nasty, petty things in my own mind.

However, as penance, I make myself watch this:

The Attention-whore strikes again!

2006-05-13T17:17:00.001-07:00

Yay! After several frustrating reschedulings, Joe & I finally got the black-light photo shoot done! I think it turned out wonderfully; you can check it out for yourself at my Flickr page.

I've also been busy at eBay, even though it doesn't look like it at the moment, lol.

On a personal note, my fibromyalgia is feeling MUCH better. My pain is mostly triggered by stress, and most of my stress, apparently, is due to trying to make a relationship work that's been broke since 2002. Well, I've given up now, and I'm not bitchy all the time anymore! Tom & I still have seperate rooms from the last time we were broken up, so I'm going to stay living here for as long as that's possible. I'm finding myself mentally reviewing options, though, so we'll see, lol.

Bye for now ... I'll try to remember to posy more often! (yeah, Shirley, we've heard THAT before....)

This is Only a Test...

2006-04-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'm practicing vidcasting ... video podcasting! Cross your fingers ... then enjoy this clip of Dilbert with his Seven of Nine alarm clock.

OMG - has it really been almost a year?

2006-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, you know, I've been busy, lol. STILL busy, but less so.

Opened a bellydance studio, closd a dance studio, started performing again, making costumes, contemplating starting a video podcast ... Or maybe I'll just take a nap.

I'll let you know!

I'm into astrology, but REALLY ....

2005-07-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

(BTW - when you see commercials for "irritable bowel syndrome with pain", they mena PAAAIIIINNNN!!!! Trust me to have my body parts all turn into "crabby bitch" at different times)

Astrologist sues NASA over comet crash
Reuters
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian astrologist who says NASA has altered her horoscope by crashing a spacecraft into a comet is suing the U.S. space agency for damages of $300 million, local media reported Monday.

NASA deliberately crashed its probe, named Deep Impact, into the Tempel 1 comet to unleash a spray of material formed billions of years ago which scientists hope will shed new light on the composition of the solar system.

"It is obvious that elements of the comet's orbit, and correspondingly the ephemeris, will change after the explosion, which interferes with my astrology work and distorts my horoscope," Izvestia daily quoted astrologist Marina Bai as saying in legal documents submitted before Monday's collision.

A spokeswoman for a Moscow district court said initial preparations for the case were underway but could not say when the hearing would begin. NASA representatives in Moscow were unavailable for comment.

*rant*
Now, I was always fine with the Ascendant, and I was ok with nodes; I was a little leary when people started adding asteroids to their charts - and I dowright do NOT think that comets count!!! C'mon people!!! Oh yeah, and what the hell was ever wrong with the Equal House sytem, anyway?!?!
*/rant*

Wow, I feel better now - the doc was right, I need to get all this out of my system more often!

2005-06-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Ok. I've been busy openinf a store. Just look at all the hard work I've done! www.shirleysdelhi.com

Also been posting a lot at Tribe.net. Here's me: http://people.tribe.net/gael_force?r=10492

And today I am very, very ill. The kind of sick where you think longingly of death. And the bitch boss won't let me go home.

Well, ok, I own the place, which does make me the bitch boss.

I had the thought of changing my name to Crabby Bitch, so when people called me a bitch, I could go all Austin Powers-y and say, "No baby, Bitch is my ... MIDDLE name."

There is a God! Part Deux

2005-05-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

"Earth 2" on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3321

PS - I spoke to a few girls who've tried Diet Coke w/Splenda & were disappointed. They said, "I thought it would taste more like Coke than Diet Coke!" Oh nonononono ... Splenda is a WONDERFUL diet sweetner, but it's still diet. The package says "Tastes like sugar 'cause it's made from sugar". Well, on cereal & stuff it tastes very much like sugar, but there IS a difference! It doesn't have a "chemically" taste at all, which is a blessing in itself.

WOO! Earth 2!!! Life is good! Marathon at my house!!!

There is a God!

2005-05-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Diet Coke with Splenda instead of aspartame ... ::long sigh of pleasure::

However, She isn't looking everywhere at once:
Comedian "Larry the Cable Guy" peppers his act with 'harelip' and 'retard' jokes; now, you can get "Git-R-Done" (his catch phrase) camo-colored bracelets to benefit diabetes research.

::shakes head::

But, back on the coolness scale - Comics from the Middle East!
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/02.02.05/ak-0505.html
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/726/cu8.htm

Jesus!

2005-04-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Reading about the image of the Virgin Mary on the underpass in Chicago reminded me of how I used to see Jesus on the side of the road while driving home from work.

I know; "Um - WHAT?!?" Yeah! That's what *I* said!!!

So, here it is; I was working nights in Tempe, I lived in Phoenix. This was on the old freeway system, before the 202 was built. I'd get off work at midnight, and wasn't really paying attention to the scenery on the drive home, 'cause it was dark.

There was a curve just before the airport exit, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone on the side of the road. I looked over - and saw Jesus! He had his arms out, but didn't look like he was hitchiking or anything. More like he was a greeter or something. But on a freeway?

Well, of course I knew it was an optical illusion or something, so I didn't think much about it; by the next day, I'd forgotten about it. But on the way home, I saw someone again, looked over - hey! it's Jesus!

It went on like that for WEEKS; forgetting by day, passing the smiling religious icon by night.

One night, as I was getting into my car, I remembered Jesus, and decided to look closely at the spot as I approached. What I noticed was a confluence of a light pole, a security spotlight, and another tall skinny structure. Mystery solved!

Unfortunately, a little bit of "magic" had left my life. I never really believed that Jesus would have nothing better to do than waving at night-workers, but until the phenomena was actually observed, it was, well ... like Shakespeare said in Hamlet, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy."

I'm such a nut. I also never, ever watch "magician's secrets revealed" shows.

Grand Opening!

2005-04-17T03:52:00.000-07:00

Shirley's Delhi Bellydance Store opens Saturday, May 21st!!! Open Dance at 7 PM, $5 admission! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

www.shirleysdelhi.com
602-84-DANCE (s'posed to be turned on Friday)

Back to work ... take this Tickle.com test (they'll want you to register, but you like these things, right? lol)

Who Would Play You in the Movies?

Me: Reese Witherspoon. After seeing "Election", I'm inclined to agree...

Busy busy

2005-04-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ok - no time to post; we signed the lease for the store & I need to go set up the online-store site. So, some links for you to so you don't feel neglected:

AOL News: World's Only Known Wholphin Gives Birth at Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery

An article written by Douglas Adams: My Vision for h2g2, by Douglas Adams

Speaking of, my first article got picked for the Guide! Icelandic Cuisine: Myths Revealed

In addition to informational articles, there's also all kinds of ... stuff: ZAPPA_THE FIRST CHURCH OF APPLIANTOLOGY

See ya later!

Doing the business plan for my store...

2005-04-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

...so here's something to amuse you:

Link: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test

Me:

The Monk
You scored 34% Cardinal, 51% Monk, 38% Lady, and 37% Knight!

You live a peaceful, quiet life. Very little danger comes you way and you live a long time. You are wise and modest, but also stagnant. You have little comfort, little food and have taken a vow of silence. But who needs chatter when just sitting in the cloister of your abbey with The Good Book makes you perfectly content.

Update

2005-04-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

Updated the Delhi (belly dance store) website.
http://www.geocities.com/lady_brianna_the_oblivious/DelhiWeb.htm

Now go away, I'm PMSing.

How To Make An Emerald Star Cocktail

2005-04-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

OK, Jan - a non-disgusting drink name. From the h2g2 site.

How To Make An Emerald Star Cocktail

Origins
When moving house from one country to another, one of the processes that may be undertaken is to clear out the drinks cupboard of all those strange bottles which seem to accumulate there. One of the time-honoured ways of doing this is to hold a "cocktail evening" whereby new combinations of alcohol are tried and tested. These usually turn out to taste disgusting. However, on such a recent occasion, this researcher came up with the following concoction, which tasted more than acceptable.

Why Emerald Star?This name was conferred upon the cocktail as the combination of ingredients give it a deep green colour; one of the researchers who tested the cocktail is from Ireland; and the word "Star" occurs in that researcher's nickname.

The Emerald Star Cocktail
1 measure Gin
1 measure Blue Curacao
1 measure Cointreau
1/2 measure lemon juice

Dash of Angostura BittersCombine the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker, and shake together. Serve in Martini glasses, with a plastic monkey hanging on the side.

Contrary to what it may seem, I actually drink vey little. Really!

What I'm doing nowadays (while waiting for the money for my store to arive) is planting a flower border all around the from yard. I sprouted them from seeds, which went well. I'm using a power auger (a big piece of metal that fits into the drill), and I can STILL only plant about six before I'm exhausted!!!! I hate fibromyalgia. Seriously, this sucks. I hop on anything that's ever helped anyone; right now it's Noni juice. Which has, at least, got me of the couch and into the yard, however briefly!

Yet Another Reason to Hate Steven Seagal

2005-03-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

And there are so many!

From the bio on Sean Connery on IMDb.com:

Said in an interview that during the filming of Never Say Never Again (1983), he was taking martial arts lessons and in the process angered the instructor, who in turn broke his wrist. Connery stayed with the wrist broken for a number of years thinking it was only a minor pain... the instructor was Steven Seagal

This still doesn't piss me off as much as him thinking he has the right to comment on any aspect of "The Crow", let alone Brandon Lee's death -- but it's up there.

New Drink

2005-03-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

Moose Piss

Base = Sprite for those fizzing bubbles to speed the drink to your system.

2 kinds of clear rum, because 1 is never enough.

Absolute vodka - for a absolute good time!

Everclear, to really waste you (opitonal, in case you live in one of the 48 states where it's illegal).

And the finale special ingredient....
Peach schnapps....gives it a very special yellow colour and smell.

Drink and enjoy!

Busy, busy

2005-03-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Doing what? Lots!

Planting stuff; trying to get it all in during that short period of time between "rain" and "hellishly hot".

Discovering Life, the Universe, and Everything!! Douglas Adams looooved the Internet, and helped create a site for people to write & share article on, well, life, the universe, and everything! Most people there refer to it as h2g2, or "Hootoo". Being as writing is very much what I'd like to DO, I'm hooked!

I found it when Jan & I were searching for Latin dictionaries online. I came across the Handy Latin Phrases page, which includes gems like "Beam me up, Scotty!" and "No, I don't want to join your dopey religious cult." I'm **SO** making the bumper sticker "Sic hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades ", which means "If you can read this bumper sticker, you are both very well educated, and much too close."

There's also a funny-yet-informative article on Hell, Michigan that's in peer review, awaiting the official okie-dokie for inclusion as a permanent entry.

That's all for now. Nap time!

Bits & Pieces

2005-03-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

What the ex-Kyran O Conchubhar abandoned the SCA for: The 501st Legion. I looked him up after the group ended up in a Yahoo! News piece about the new Mr. Potato Head, Darth Tater.

~*~

Does anyone else watch "Primetime Glick"? Does Adrien Van Voorhees scare the hell out of anyone else? Does anyone remember that the kid in the movie "Friday the 13th" is named Jason Voorhees?

~*~

Who knew that the Irish were so concerned about pepperoni? http://www.teagasc.ie/research/reports/foodprocessing/4368/eopr-4368.htm

~*~

New scam!
Here's an email I just got:

FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF: ZAR/23457677/2004
BATCH: 11/576809/KC/MFP
RE/AWARD NOTIFICATION; FINAL NOTICE

We wish to inform you of the lottery draws held on 19th March,2005, to declare the winners of the FREEDOM LOTTO SOUTH AFRICA/INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS. Your company, attached to ticket number 356-00098-3211-222, with serialnumber 818-09 drew the lucky numbers 14-41-25-19-49-37, and consequently won the lottery. You have therefore
been approved for a lump sum pay out of $500,000 in cash credited to file ref number: ZAR/23457677/2004 and batch number: 11/576809/KC/MFP.
You are among the six international winners in this category. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 17,000 names from Australia, New
Zealand, America, Europe and Middle East and Asia as part of our International Promotions Program, which is carried out quarterly.

Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your prize money remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of this promotion. We hope with a part of your prize, you will participate in
our end of year high stakes.

We have deposited your prize money of $USD500,000(Five hundred thousand united states dollars) with the paying finance/security company and is now available for claim.

To begin your claim,please contact:
MR.THEMBA NDLOVU
(FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER)
PERAGO FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LTD.,
PHONE:+27-838 662 054
EMAIL:peragoltd@zwallet.com
You are expected to provide the following details below to your claims
agent:
1) BATCH AND REFFERENCE NUMBERS
2) FULL NAMES
3) AGE
4) MAILING ADDRESS
5) PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS

Note: All prize money must be claimed not later than 31st March,2005. After this date,all funds will be returned as unclaimed.
Congratulations once again,from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.

Sincerely,
Susan Cotze.
Promotions Manager

I hate Modest Mouse more every day

2005-03-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

I never hate a band for doing music I don't like ... you have to be a real asshole, too. MM has now acheived it!

AOL News has an article searching for the origins of yelling "Freebird!" at concerts; a fun fluffy little piece. In it, there are reactions from three different bands on how they handle it.

1) On a recent live album, Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock was defiant: "If this were the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and you were going to die in 20 minutes -- just long enough to play 'Freebird' -- we still wouldn't play it."
2) Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty suggests musicians play the entire song every single time it's requested. "That would put a stop to 'Freebird,' I think. It would be a bad couple of years, but it might be worth it."
3) Lynyrd Skynyrd's Johnny Van Zant went to a Cher concert a couple years ago, and couldn't resist yelling it himself. "My wife is going, 'Stop! Stop!' I embarrassed the hell out of her."

I was a bit puzzled by MM's mildly violent reaction before it started to piss me off, but later in the article, Chicago radio personality Kevin Matthews put it best: "The people who are conceited, the so-called artists who get really offended by it, they deserve it," he says.

Robert Blake is free! So FINALLY, the news mentions where their baby, Rosie, is now; being raised by Blake's adult daughter. I'm SO glad she's not with the wife's family ... if they can go on TV and say, with a straight face, how sweet & innocent their daughter was, they're either very stupid, very oblivious, or massive liars. For those of you that don't follow these things, when she & Blake got married (because she was pregnant), she was wearing an electronic monitoring device after being convicted of dating & defrauding a series of men. And these people are filing a multi-million dollar civil suit against Blake! I'm sorry for their loss, but I'm thinking they could have done a better job instilling a sense of right & wrong in her. IMHO.

Something Jenna has on her journal: "Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Osama Bin Laden too, but they take the one woman in America willing to cook, clean and work in the yard, and haul her ass off to jail." ~George Carlin about Martha Stewart

heehee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok -- I *know* there's a way to get blogs downloaded into a newsreader, so you don't have to go to each link individually and be constantly disappointed by the lack of posting. It's called an "RSS feed", and I finally figured out my problem ... I was trying to get my Outlook newsreader to read non-MSN info!!!

So, I found a great FREE RSS reader here: http://rssreader.net/ Party/bonus -- EASY to use! Click the plus sign, insert URL! (you need .NET installed; if you don't have it, go to Windows Update. If you're not sure, go to Windows Update!). I game with a guy who keeps up with over a hundred blogs this way.

Here's my feed URL: http://lady-brianna-chronicles.blogspot.com/atom.xml
and http://natural-health-solutions.blogspot.com/atom.xml

All Blogger blogs (unless they're hosting it on their own server) is like that: the web URL plus "atom.xml". All other blog sites have feeds; see "help" or email the person.

So, guess what, Tom - here's your feed URL!
http://ttuerff.blogspot.com/atom.xml
And Nancy! http://nimuejohn.blogspot.com/atom.xml
(I know these work, 'cause I've got them in my reader now! And I read them! Go fig!) S

peaking of Macs, Tom, the Safari browser has it's own newsreader that's AtomEnabled; go here to check it out: http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/safari.html

Check out the rss at Yahoo! and BBC! WOO! And a program for mobile blogging!

Download it, and save me from the guilt of not posting....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... did I REALLY forget it's St. Patrick's Day?

No way! Tom brought home Guiness, and I made Dirty Girl Scouts! Erin Go Brah! (means "Ireland Forever", btw).

A joke from the comments on Fafblog (see links -->)

The Coors rep, the Budweiser rep and the Guinness rep go into a bar. The first orders a Coors Lite, the next orders a Bud Light, the Guinness rep says "Well then, bring me a glass of ice water, too."bodiciah t rentlord III 03.18.05 - 12:03 am

In addition, it's Kurt Russell's and Gary Siese's birthday!! Even more reason to celebrate!

Huzzah! And even more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I'm sorry

2005-03-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

I've ignored you all horribly, but there's a good reason ... I'm opening a belly dance studio! Well, re-opening the one that I used to go to that failed. Jan's Tom (no, we haven't given them numbers yet. We gave the Bills nicknames, but Toms fail us for some reason) said that there's two reasons it went under: Harold & Linda. Hopefully, without an alcoholic alienating all the teachers, it'll do better. I have an "update" website for it: http://www.geocities.com/lady_brianna_the_oblivious/DelhiWeb.htm

I won't be back 'til at least Tues; bringing Basil the dog back to Bil's place in CA. I'll post something then, I promise!

Now, for today's rant.

I found out yesterday why Robert Blake was carrying a gun. His wife was certain that SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER AND TRYING TO KILL HER. And she wanted her husband to protect her.

Someone. Wanted. To. Kill. Her.

Did you hear last week when it was brought up in court that the gunpowder on Mrs Blake did not match the gun that Blake was carrying that night? I've always agreed with his first lawyer; one of the first statements he made was, "If Mr. Blake did shoot his wife, I'm sure he could have come up with a better alibi than 'I went back into the restaurant to get my gun.' " You want to know why I think the jury is deliberating for so long? I think that they don't want to put up with the same crap that OJ's jury put up with afterward, but don't want to sentence a man to death without being really, really sure (yes, they've managed to come up with "special circumstances" in this case, too).

::sigh:: See ya next week.

Quickie

2005-02-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Still finishing off goodies brought to Harry Potter movie marathon! Yum! Spotted dick is goooooood!!!!

Got my tax return today! Yay!

Going to check out the belly-dance store & talk "lease" Monday at 9 am. If you're local and interested (Jan), show up! I'm going to try to remember to call Melissa....

Cory Feldman didn't think that the naked pics Michael Jackson showed him when he was 12 was "any big deal" at the time, but he's cooperating with the subpeona to appear at the trial. out of concern for the current allrgations. Yeesh - having a father who beat you for bombing at an audition wasn't bad ENOUGH? No *wonder* he spent years in a herion haze! (I still adore Marty Feldman's professional work, btw, but I AM glad I never lived with him!)

This isn't turning out to be as short as I thought! LOL!

Vince Mirada of the 103.9 Morning Ritual is getting married Saturday. Luckily, it's Chuck Powell I lust after!

Estrella War coming up. NO, I'm not ready! I'll probably only end up going Sat, maybe Sunday, even though I pre-registered for the whole week ::sigh:: And I *worked* at being a tax pro!

Later!

The Importance of Being Politically Astute

2005-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

A man in his late 20's was arrested (along with the chick that was unfortuantely with him) for identity theft. The name on his fake ID? John McCain!

The Morning Ritual said it best:
"I can just see it: 'He's a SENATOR? I mean, I'M a senator?!?'"
"Yeah; if you're going to steal an identity, TRY not to make it the most recognizible face in Arizona."

You know, people who AREN'T too stupid to live don't NEED to resort to crime to get what they want. People seem to have gotten the impression that criminals are smart. Ha. Funny. Growing up in "da hood" and dating Jeff, I have an unfortunate amount of knowledge concerning the seemy side of life. If you're curious, don't rent Goodfellas or other cool mob/crime movies - the most acurate, by far, criminal movie I've EVER seen is "Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead." (named after the Warren Zevon song) 99% of the reviews hated it because "criminals would never do stupid things like that." I assure you, this is EXACTLY how they would react. Hell, I was putting names of people I've met to faces in the movie! I liked it, though ... there's a sweet love story in between stuff blowing up. My favorite combination!

Ever wonder who runs Blogger? Here they are!

Jason Goldman : http://www.goldtoe.net
Steve Jenson : http://www.saladwithsteve.com
Jason Shellen : http://www.shellen.com
Evan Wiliams : http://www.evhead.com

Work beckons; later!

The 2005 Trilogy of Death is Complete

2005-02-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

We all know about Johnny Carson ... the more cynical among us might even say, "ENOUGH already!!!" Not that that would be ME or anything.

Now, we add John "Dean Wormer" Vernon and actor/activist Ossie Davis.

Sports figures aren't usually included, but when a legend passes, it's news:
BERLIN (AP) - German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling, whose bouts against American Joe Louis set off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the United States on the eve of World War II, has died at age 99.

GTG now - it's scone-makin' time! Harry Potter Movie Marathon tomorrow, don'cha'know...

Party Time!

2005-02-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

Tom's home ... JUST a tiny burst blood vessel in the brain (yes, that's sarcasm). He walks with just a slight limp, so thing'll be fine. Pretty minor as strokes go - it was basically the Universe's Wake-Up-&-Take-Care-Of-Yourself Call.

So, how do you celebrate? With the new Drink of the Year .... THE DIRTY GIRL SCOUT!!
(well, ok, I'M drinking them; Tom had a sip). They taste like Thin Mints! (Thank you Lady Iona Putnika). From her Estrella Drinking Schedule:

Friday-----Dirty Girlscouts
Okay this will happen either before or after Drunken Croquet. It depends....and we normally play it by ear. What's a Dirty Girlscout---you ask???? It's one bottle of Creme de Cacoa (clear), one bottle of Creme de Menthe (green), and one bottle of Bailey's or some sort of Irish Creme (poop color). You mix these 3 ingredients together, pour over ice, and serve with a Bendy Straw......and there you have it----Dirty Girlscouts. (Donngals obseravation- bendy straws are one of the most important ingredients apparently and they make a statement, one that may say "hey I have a bendy straw;" I'm not real sure. For the fashion concious designer bendys are at Ikea for .50 a box).

You can subsitute "shot" for "bottle" if you're not at Estrella! (Bil's observation - "Estrella [eh-STRAY-a] is Spanish for 'star' - so Estrella Wars are STAR WARS!!!!!" Hey, I thought it was funny ... especially since the War was named after the park it's held in, so it was completely unintentional.)

PS - Had another Siegfried & Roy dream last night, but I understand them, now. What made Roy collapse on stage was a series of small strokes; the tiger was trying to grab him by the scruff of the neck & carry him back to the "lair". In reality, their Vegas show is cancelled indefinitely, in my dream, Roy was up & walking & all better & they were announcing a new TV special. Well, I've got my fingers crossed for him.

Sentimental Irish Maudlin Crap

2005-01-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

When I was 15, I read a "Dear Abby" about leaving a guy because he wouldn't get married. This was in the "marriage is just a piece of paper" late 70's-early 80's ... I thought, "How could you leave someone you love over THAT?!?" I thought it was the stupidest thing I ever heard. It's an attitude I carried with me until a couple of days ago. I had to make up reasons last year for the fights Tom & I were having; I refused to believe that that could be the only reason that I felt so hurt & angry. I had NEVER felt that way before!

Who knew that I never actually wanted to marry anyone 'til I met him?

We talked about this last week. I finally came to grips with the fact that I WAS actually jealous that he was dating now. Not hugely, but little twinges, to be sure. So we had lunch & talked, and I got teary as I explained that I still loved him, but the marriage thing would always be an issue (as important as a commitment ceremony is, it's still not marriage, is it? I hoped it would be, but I was wrong). Being a Sagitarrius, he blurted out, "I still love you, too, and if it weren't for the marriage thing, I think we'd still be together, too." ACK! Not what I wanted to hear! LOL!

Tonight, Tom is in the hospital. He felt numbness in his right side, and had trouble walking and typing. They've checked him out for a stroke or brain-clot & found nothing, but his blood pressure was "you're still alive with that?" high.

The bastard drove HIMSELF to the hospital! I was at work, and he didn't call!! Then, when I brought him his toothbrush & robe & stuff (and a "lucky" bamboo plant), I found out he had been feeling that way since Sat night! I had worked 12 hours that day, and he was getting up and getting ME a Mike's Hard Lemonade & stuff. JEEEEZ!!!!!!!!! I said, "You KNOW it would be easy for me to kick your ass right now, right?"

The amount of stupid blustery jokes I make is in direct proportion to how worried & scared I am.

Poor thing ... he's got one of those annoying oxygen thingies in his nose. I snuggled into his bed with him for awhile & kissed him goodnight. We both even managed to admit how scared we were. I need to work on being a girl - it was as hard for me as it was for him!

He's at the West Valley hospital in Avondale; he's hoping to be home tomorrow, but we don't know yet. He could use all the good thoughts, prayers, candles & anything else you can think of for now.

Dammit

2005-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

I posted a NICE long entry the other day.

You didn't see it?

Of COURSE not!

I got a damn "time out" error, and when I hit the "back" button it was all gone. Gone. All of it. Many, many links. Even Siegfied & Roy (why? It's not important now. Not that it was then, either.)

So what? Didn't I type it in a text editor first, then paste to the blog? Those of you who know me are laughing hysterically now.

So, I started a NEW blog!

This one isn't for entertainment, it's for enlightenment. No, really! Being ill & detoxing myself, I've discovered a LOT of info on all-natural health, beauty, & cleaning stuff. I'm also raising money for a trust fund for Vincent ... I *plan* on being around forever, but you never know, do you?

I'm going to be selling these tidbits on eBay, also - but you can read them for free! I'll post one every Friday, unless I post differently.
Natural Solutions (http://natural-health-solutions.blogspot.com/)

"Peak" tax season is here ... do I HAVE to work today? ::sigh:: I could be watching Tom & Jan perform tonight!!! (check out his blog; link over there --> )
People are bringing in their printed pages from TurboTax that they're very proud of. Warning ... it's STILL possible to screw up when you use it! It gave this one girl both the Tuition Deduction and the Hope Education Credit -- this is an "either/or" thing!!!! The IRS would have let her know that; but it sucks expecting one amount & getting another. Mostly, TurboTax is pretty good, but I've gotten everyone who's compared at least a couple of hundred more on their refund.

eHarmony update: I definitely scared off Steve in NC. Over politics! *Whew* - it's best I know now! Local guy Kerry wrote back, after weeks of no contact. Fingers crossed! He also doesn't look like anyone I know, which is less disconcerting (Steve looked like my Holt buddy Marty).

Later!

SpongeBob SquarePants is Gay

2005-01-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

..or, at least, that's the new controversy. Sigh. Apparently, they've confused "We Are Family", a gay support organization, with the "We Are Family Foundation", started as a post 9/11 call to solidarity & tolerance that has a new video starring actors and cartoon characters. Ye ghods, people!!!!!!!

Harry Potter fanfic, for those interested: http://www.livejournal.com/community/triofqf/4851.html
My favorite line: Challenge: Hermione goes out of town on business and leaves Harry and Ron alone with their child for the first time. Harry and Ron have a child?!?

eHarmony update: Steve in Phoenix stayed boring, so I closed him out, and gave Steve in NC my email address. I got a bunch of new matches this morning ... I wrote to some of them, mostly local, and one VERY interesting guy in Vegas! Fingers crossed!

I've been busy!

2005-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yep - I graduated tax school, and the season is upon us. I've done half a dozen returns for other people already; yet haven't gotten ANY of my own W2's yet! Dang it!

I've updated the links over there -->
yes, Bev, you TOLD me about Chris, I'm just lazy. But I had to add my friend Jean, and don't feel like getting off the computer & going to the store. Soup for dinner tonight!

I've also spent a goodly amount of time picking out questions for guys to answer on eHarmony.com. I did go through another phase of "I'm never dating again" for awhile; but during my last trip to CA to see my friend Bil, it came to me that I was supressing a LOT of anger & disappointment ... realizing it and dealing with it has helped a lot.

I'm still leery of dating, though ... I'm soooooooo tired. It always starts out so fun, right?!? The last time was perfect, too. ::sigh:: Til we moved in together. I think I'll avoid that from now on! LOL!

Anyway, on eHarmony, you can't just scroll through pages of people's pictures. You fill out a LONG questionairre, then they tell you your profile, and then a couple of matches. You have to subscribe to contact them, though! You pick out questions for them to answer, then they answer them & pick out some questions for you. There's 4 steps before you hit "Open Communication". At ANY point, if you don't like the answers, you hit "Close Match" and poof - they can't contact YOU anymore, either. It's seriously geared toward people who are looking for relationships; on other sites it's been shown that 35% of the members are already married.

Most of my matches I either closed right away or they closed me; 3 guys I sent the first contact, and they haven't bothered answering yet. I've gotten to "Open Communication" with one guy in North Carolina ... he asked about my taste in music, and I haven't heard back from him yet! LOL! I didn't expect to hear back from local Phoenix guy Steve .... when we exchanged "Must Haves/Can't Stands", one of his was "I can't stand people who are overweight". Well as you know, ever since cancer took my freakin thyroid, I've been a lot bigger! So instead of asking a question the next time, I explained the situation, and that even though the weight's coming off (I've been told by several male friends that I'm looking pretty good) I still have a lot of working out to do, and asked if that was a problem. He wrote back and said, "No problem!" So, either he's a great understanding guy, or a complete jerk no one else wants!!! Well, that the adventure of it all, isn't it, the finding out. Wish me luck!

Good news from Detroit

2005-01-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Never thought you'd here THAT, didja?!? From the Detriot Auto Show:

"Even as the popularity of hybrids grows, automakers have said gas-electric engines are a transitional technology that eventually will be replaced by hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Experts say that is still at least a decade away, though.

GM said it hopes to start using fuel cells in marketable cars by 2010. Its Sequel concept - roughly the size of the Cadillac SRX - can travel up to 300 miles on its hydrogen supply and accelerate to 60 mph in 10 seconds.

Ford said eight of its hydrogen-powered E-450 buses will debut in Florida in 2006"

That just MIGHT give me enough time to save UP for one!!! =D

Happy This-Current-Civiliaztion's New Year!

2004-12-31T13:08:00.000-08:00

My New Year was Oct 31st, but I'm perfectly willing to take the day off. Tonight is mine & my friends gift-giving party; just about every one of us is a different religion (sprinkled with the odd athiest/agnostic. And one or two not so odd ones). Yay!

I know YOU people have lives, and no time to watch Comedy Central, so here's the Last Laugh highlights.

Colin Quinn: Nice try. Memorize your lines, but give up making them rhyme. Ugh.

DL Hughley on the Presidential election: "Since when did the entire country turn into Crips & Bloods?"

Bill Engavall: "If we had to have a wardrobe malfunction on TV, why couldn't it have been during the Olympics - say, in beach volleyball?"

David Cross: "...like in that show 'The Swan', where they inject people with bad ethics & morals..."

Jesus: "Get ready this summer for 'Passion 2 - Judgement Day'. ::pause:: Not the movie."

Kathy Griffin: Have you EVER heard Avril Lavigne refer to herself or her music as "punk"? Have you ever heard a RADIO DJ ever introduce one of her songs as "the new punk hit"? No? THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT! You, Colin Quinn & Triumph the Comic Insult Dog all need to get out more and listen to other comidians less ... I can forgive that crappy Avril Lavigne impression on Saturday Night Live - they're under a LOT more pressure to put that show together every week than you, and don't get to tour with the material to "field test" it first (and once you forgive Jon Lovitz his terrible 'Harvey Fierstein', it's easy). Ever see her during an interivew, where she's speaking politely like the nice, middle class white chick she is? I have. More morning news show, Kathy, and maybe a bit less Entertainment Tonight.

The lead singer of Modest Mouse is sooooooo ugly, I think. Isn't that terrible? They started performing, and I said, "OMG-you EXPECT rock singers to be ugly, but I feel SORRY for this guy! I'd rather do Snoop Dog!" Oddly enough, though, I'm attracted to Penn Jillette. Hmmmmm.

Speaking off, comedian Ron White is coming to town! Yum! And as much as I love eBay, I'm NOT bidding over $250 for 2nd row tickets, when you can go to his website & buy "Ron's Mom's VIP Package" for $150, which includes 2 front row tickets & goes to his mom's retirement fund. ( I *could*, but in reality my tickets are second section back, 4th row, just left of center, which is not too bad at the Dodge Theater). People are retards. Seriously.

Ever wonder "What the hell's wrong with this website?", then realize your mouse is on the "Enter" button? I just did. Time to refill that prescription, I guess.

On Lewis Black's website, they have an "Ask Lew" section, where you can submit a question. I asked for tips on getting myself covered in chocolate and sent to his dressing room when he performs here in Phoenix on 1/16. I hope he answers - fingers crossed!

Happy Flipping of the Calander!

'Tis the season...

2004-12-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

Weird how, even if you don't really spend a lot of time celebrating Christmas, the stress of the time of year can still get to you. Yes, that's my excuse for not updating! ::sigh:: I suck.

You've checked out my friend Bil on Internet Movie Database, right? Especially if you're a "Matrix" fan, yes? Well, DO so! He refuses to add a picture to his entry 'cause he's not a "celebrity" - like that MATTERS! Yeesh!

So check him out here - and rate him a "10" while you're there! His rating started out at a 9.2; but (in my opinion) jealous guys are rating him down. I think he deserves a "10", don't you? He's as tasty as he looks, too ....

Some other cool blogs to check out:
Mythville
SciFi Daily
Na-No-Blog-Mo
Cool non-blog site:
Spamusement - Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!

Happy Whatever!
www.chrismahanukwanzakah.com

Profile of the Artist through her Young Yahoo! Groups

2004-11-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

OK, that makes no sense, but I have FINALS Wed, and Orientation Thurs, and need to finish the trim on my coathardie for Atenveldt Yule for Fri, so you WILL be cutting me some slack! LO!

So, I had advised some people on cutting down on spam messages, and was giving hints on "getting the word out" ... then smacked my head repeatedly on the table. HOW could I not inflict this aspect of my life on you, my faithful and willing victims?!? Oh, how I have slacked! HERE!!!!!:

Yahoo! Groups Homepage:
Find people as crazy as yourself; whatever you're into, trust me, you're not alone.
http://groups.yahoo.com/

Needlework:
I like hobbies where you're at risk of actually driving yourself insane. Did you know you can do counted cross stitch on a fabric with 22 squares per inch (22 up, 22 down, 484 total)? Been there, done that, might finish someday...
CrochetLace
NeedleLacersWorld

Tracy Bonham:
You've not lived 'til you've heard "Black Dog" on the violin (or "fiddle", depending on where you're from), nor 'til you've heard her bandmate's spoon solo. Yes --- SPOON SOLO. Hot damn.
tracybonhamnews

TV-movies-of-the-week:
From da man: "This group is to discuss and explore movies made for television that have aired from the late 1960's to today. Big examples of these are Brian's Song, The Burning Bed, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Trilogy of Terror, Kate's Secret, Dying Room Only, Bad Ronald, Evil Roy Slade, For the Love of Nancy, and the group can also focus on miniseries like The Thorn Birds, Roots, Rich Man Poor Man, North & South. One of the most popular genres of TV-movies is the thrillers of the 1970's that were mentioned above like Trilogy of Terror & Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. I'd like for this forum to be about discussing and potentially trading for these rare films."
I'm one of the biggest "Bad Ronald" fans ever, for which I'm teased unmercifully! ::cackle::
TV-movies-of-the-w...

Harry Potter:
Yes, adults read, watch & live HP, too. Somewhere here is a link to the site where they actually hold cyber-classes & junk; kinda RPG-like. I don't have to, I'm the Ravenclaw ghost Nearly Clueless Brianna.
hpfgu-mountainwest

These are local SCA groups, "local" being the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Find a group near you at www.sca.org, then check to see if they have any mailing lists/groups ... or start your own!

The Barony I grew up in, Atenveldt (yes, in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. Leave me alone.)
Barony_Atenveldt

The Cooks and Assasins Guild in my current Barony, Sun Dragon (I also frequent events in the Far East of the Phoenix Metro Valley, the Barony of Twin Moons). As the Guild states: "If you ate something that doesn't agree with you, it was made by an assassin, not a cook."
SunDragonCooksAssassinsSociety

Go! Enioy! I need to flip a coin to see if I sleep, study, sew ... DAMN IT! I need more sides on this coin!!!!!!!

The Last Good Movie A DeLaurentis Ever Made

2004-11-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well, "good" is a relative concept, and if you know me, you know it's especially true in my case. I am, of course, referring to "Flash Gordon" - A-Ahhhh; Saviour of the Universe! (I might have like 'Sky Captain' a lot more if not for the perky-chick-reporter-willing-to-get-everyone-killed-for-The-Story char. This does not represent "Strong Woman", this represents "Stupid Woman Who Gives Strong Women a Bad Name")

This is especially good news for me ... I just recognized Brian "Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen" Blessed as 'Pedro' in "Man of La Mancha" yesterday, and was in the mood for more of this very hot man ... and he wears entirely too many clothes as the King in BlackAdder I.

Of course you can also thrill to Timothy Dalton (or not, in my case), Richard "Riff Raff" O'Brien in tights (NOT smuggling bananas, trust me on this), and Ornella Muti, who also plays Marissa Tomeli's mother in the (to me) very funny Sylvester Stallone flick "Oscar". Watching Max Von Sydow, of course, is never EVER a bad thing, but I don't have to tell you that. (we covered the surprisingly delightful Sam J. Jones in my as-yet-not-finished convention coverage; see the archives links over to the right).

I also find that I can listen to a whole Queen soundtrack, now, without getting too mistly-eyed, missing Freddy Mercury. The sole exception now is "Highlander": "Who wants to live forever, who wants to live for ever ... I do ..." ::sniff:: We wanted you to, also.

On a happier note, today is my son Vincent's 15th birthday, and he's currently ignoring his cake completely to play "Kirby & The Amazing Mirror" on his GameBoy while Tom figures out why a) his virus software does run in the background and b) why it won't quarentine/delete the 131 files it found ::sigh:: If I have to search/delete by hand, I'm driving to Symantic HQ & bitch-slap someone. Promise.

"I Rode the Hasslehoff!"

2004-11-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, Vincent dragged me to see the SpongeBob movie ... not that I hate the show so much, just SpongeBob's voice. A lot.

But, the fact that Clancey Brown does Mr. Krabs intrigues the HELL out of me -- it's the ONLY time, ever, I did not recognize him in a cartoon or video game (remember his Buffalo Bill on "Histeria"? Of course not, why would you?). It's as disturbing as not being able to hear Mark Hamill in The Joker in the Batman cartoons - I mean, I'm the Queen of All Useless Trivia! I can spot a Baldwin - even William - a mile away! (Remember when Katie Couric got drunk on a red-carpet gig and gushed that the only way she could tell the Baldwin boys apart was by the tops of their heads? I fell in love with her that day...)

David Hasslehoff does not appear until toward the end of the film ... but that little scene makes the WHOLE trip worth it. And it matters not whether you like him, or no. Seriously. And Vincent may not speak to me until I stop calling him "Vinnie McSpazitron". Quoting the film: "Hooray!" ::evil giggle::

So, for Xmas, I will be needing a hairy-pec t-shirt proclaiming. "I Rode the Hasslehoff!" XL. Thank you.
(or anything from www.burtsbees.com)

Quote of the Day

2004-11-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

"Since when did a good education and an extensive vocabulary become handicaps?"
-Magneto, New X-Men "Planet X"
(writer: Grant Morrison)

... on discovering that people, in general, suck; whether they have the Mutant X gene or not .

Better

2004-11-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

So, you get to read what I'm fwd-ing to those of you I actually know...

Welcome to the next edition of getting to know your friends. What you're supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire email and paste it onto a new email that you'll send. Change all of the answers so that they apply to you. Then, send this to a whole bunch of people you know "INCLUDING" the person that sent it to you. The theory is that you'll learn a lot of little known facts about your friends. It's fun and easy. You might be surprised with some of the things you learn about people you think you know!

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
www.privateislandsonline.com

2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
Corsets. I'm not sure if it's because it's like "swaddling" or what, but I like the "held in close" feeling.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
Guy Pearce "Music From the Film 'A Slipping Down Life'". Very sexy voice, very boring song selection

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
[Waking up is one thing, I get up around 7:30 to get my son ready for school.]
I like this answer, I'm going with "Ditto, only 6:30"

5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?
The Dirty Dozen, Labrynth or The Wicker Man. depending on my mood

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I took flute, but didn't like it; currently learning Middle East (bellydance) drumming

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
Can't decide right now ... my favorite color combos are red & black, pink & black, and pink & grey, though...

8. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
Sports car. My little red Neon isn't technically a "sports" car, but it's the best car ever ... and the trunk holds more than Tom's Caddy's trunk does! Nyah!

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN AFTERLIFE?
Yes, and more lives after that!

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
In Phoenix we have "Hot", "Not-so-hot", "All the rain we're going to get this year all at once" and "This is when we remember why we live here". All but the first are nice ;)

12. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Magneto's ability to manipulate magnetic fields, since EVERYTHING has is own field. He even used it to save Rogue's life once, during one of the many periods when Marvel decided he'd make a better good guy than bad guy.

13. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
No tattoo; I can never decide what I want, and I know I'd change my mind right after, anyway

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
No; I have so many other things to do, that I never took it up

15. THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO.
Hmmm. I don't really ever pass up the opportunity to talk. My regrets usually run towards, "I wish I knew that he and his wife had split up when we ran into each other at that tournamnet...." Does that count?

16. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Friday. So much anticipation...

17. WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
My gimp-mobile (electric scooter)! I don't actually need it much anymore - now that we've found that it was my Synthroid causing my muscle pain - but it's still there just in case. And Vincent uses it for quick trips Walgreens' toy aisle.

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Oh please ..... I HAAAAAAAATE that icky black seaweed!!!! Burgers rock. And if you can find grain-fed, free-range beef, it actually tastes like real meat!

19. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL EMAIL THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
The WOO! 'tang Clan Twins; we're all a bunch of attention-sluts. But in a GOOD way!

21. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM?
A dear cousin who writes to me even though my powers of communication borders on the criminally negligent (hey, yahoo groups I belong to: CrochetLace, NeedleLacersWorld, TV-movies-of-the-week [ mostly stuff from the 70's starring people like Elizabeth Montgomery. Yes, and "Bad Ronald" ::giggle:: ] )

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
French glass beaded roses

23. DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?
Absolutely; it's never happened to me any other way. Right now I'm having fun with (as they put it on TV's Boston Legal) "20 years of unrequited foreplay". YES, fun. Did I mention anticipation...?

24. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM JOB?
[Massage Therapy! Okay, it took me over 20 years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up......]
I like this answer, too, although I'm still deciding. I think I'll give computer programming & animation another go one day, although every time I step foot into an institute of higher learning, tragedy strikes -- but, I mean, it can't happen EVERY time, right? Right?!?

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Oh man ... I made this excellent concoction the other day ... brown rice, stir-fried with avocado oil, diced chicken, peas & sliced mushrooms, then a scrambled egg drizzled in & fried a bit more. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(if you can't find avocado oil, you can order it from New Zealand at www.olivado.com. I also mix it with 80% grapeseed oil to use as a hot-oil treatment for my face & hair, and as a massage oil)

Very. Very. Sick.

2004-11-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

Well, the Southern Crusades went on without me this weekend ... as did everything else. Managing to keep up with homework. Managing not to whine, but just barely. If this goes on much longer, I'll have to ... um ... well ... ::shrugs:: ... whine. I guess.

Meanwhile, if anyone has a clue as to why Bono Vox yells (in Spanish), "One! Two! Three! Fourteen!" at the beginning of the song "Vertigo", PLEEEEEEEEZE comment!

God Bless John Kerry

2004-11-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

As much as I wanted him to win, conceding the election (after careful study of his chances), makes him a hero in my eyes. It's like the people running the voting WANTED big loads of protracted bullshit! Well, most of us didn't, and we were spared.

Do you know that many people I know (not friends, I just know them), didn't vote for Kerry because they don't like his WIFE?!? Ugh. People make me tired.

We should all move here:
Card Draw Settles Nev. Commission Election
ELY, Nev. (AP) - A county commission race in this gambling state was decided in true Nevada fashion - by the luck of the draw. After finishing Tuesday's election tied with 1,847 votes each, Robert Swetich and Raymond Urrizaga agreed to draw cards to resolve the deadlocked White Pine County commission race. Urrizaga drew first, choosing a queen of clubs. His opponent pulled the seven of diamonds, then congratulated the winner. Nevada law provides for drawing lots to break a tie, giving the candidates the option of tossing a coin, drawing straws or picking a card.

And on a happy note: independant, non-corporate radio has come to the Internet! Happy streaming! Take THAT, Clear Channel :PPPPPPP
http://www.theedge1039.com/

Happy Birthday, Corin Nemic!

Happy Dolph Lundgren's Birthday!

2004-11-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

He's 45! Milk does a body good...

Ok, not much time before class; now that the election's over we can look back at it and laugh. Got this yesterday from Bil's sister Jenna:

"Are you over 16? Then it's your right as an individual to drive a car. Don't worry if you're unsure on the rules of the road, it's your participation in the driving process that's important"

Test day! Wish me luck!

Another Kid in a Well

2004-11-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

What IS it with these old wells?!? After a 16 month old was pulled out in Frisco City (didn't catch which state that's in), the news said. "The well has now been filled in to keep this from happening again." Um - so why not fill it it when it was decided not to use it anymore in the FIRST place! Agh!

Anyone need some extra Halloween candy? Please?

Yeah, Whatever

2004-10-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been neglecting you. I'll add it to the list of things I'll rot in hell for. Nyah.

Sleeping lots; trying to get better, and it's WORKING for once.

Ok, nap time. Enjoy the pics.

2004-10-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Eleven of pi

2004-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Tom of Borg

Now I get it

2004-10-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, Theo .. can you send me the link on "Attention Deficit Hypertext Markup disorder" that I couldn't click on 'cause I'm not a Livejournal member? Would have posted a comment, but "non-Livejournal member" (Anonymous) is disabled.

I've joined SO many things I could never recite all my passwords under threat of Nazi torture!

Online Journals - Entertainment or Info?

2004-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

So, I get an email from my brother asking for details on my upcoming ceremony, with a PS: "You could get a Livejournal, too" LOL! So, I thought about one of the many differnces between myself & the rest of the world. "Journal" means keeping track of your thoughts. For me, "blog" is a way to entertain the world 'til my talk show comes through!

We're signing a new contract for the new date (April 2nd, 2005) ... I'll post the details when it's signed.

Speaking of Vegas ... I'm going to do a piture blog for the rest of the ST convention ... so let me finish up the trip through the dealer's room Fri afternoon, where no pics were taken.

The last person we came across was Arlene Martel -T'Pring! Who was ALSO on a very spooky epsidode of "The Twilight Zone", one of my favorites! In 1959, she did an epsodod of "The Rebel" with Leonard Nimoy. Tre cool, non? After that I stopped being impressed; Tom drooled for awhile, and she was nice to him; but otherwise didn't seem to want to be there (not that I blame her ... I've sat at a dealer's table all day, and it SUX!). She pops up again on Sunday, though, which was very cool.

Now get back to work!

Happy Birthday To Me!

2004-10-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

Of course, I'm suffering from one of those annoying "change of season" colds I get! LOL! Luckily the Unity in Motion show at Shangri La Ranch was cancelled ... I was going to go to the big SCA event at Estrella Park this weekend, but I got sick. Everyone wants to be me!!!!!!

I woke up this morning to cute stuffed animals on my bed from Tom. Even more amazingly, I got a birthday email from Mr. Krabs, my favorite Spongebob char (weirdly, though, it came from my son's email account). It's also the only cartoon role Clancy Brown has ever done that I did NOT recognize as him immediately! Anyway, here's the cute email:

"Dear Missis Shirley,
It's me Mr. Krabs. I sent ya this to wish ye a .....Spongebob your burning me money!!!!! oh sorry. Anyway, I wish ye a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Yours truely,
Mr. Krabs"

I told Vincent he was GOING to get hugged after I read it, but he didn't seem to mind so much ::giggle::

I've also been researching Louisiana history pertaining to the Irish & the Free People of Color in the mid-1800's. I found a funny message board thread following a discussion on whether the term "coonass" is affecionate or derogatory (as with the "n-word", it seems to depend on who's using it). Anyway, I cracked the hell up at this post:

"I spend all 'dat money to send you to LSU and you tell me pie are square when everybody know 'dat pie are round!"
45 Posted on 07/17/2001 07:10:07 PDT

Busy Mailing Those 5000 Flyers

2004-09-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

I heard The Artist Formerly Known as Cat Stevens whining on the radio today about being the victim of an unjust system. Here's a hint for ya, buddy: Next time someone asks you if you support the call to have Salman Rushdie killed for a frikkin novel, DON'T say, "Yes, of course he should die." Bad move, there, I'm thinkin'.

She shoots - she scores!!!!!

2004-09-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Finally - I find a review of the pilot episode of "Enterprise" that sums up why I can't watch it, no matter HOW many times Connor "Trip" Trinneer takes of his shirt. (If Paramount wants to put out a sexy Trip picture book, though, I'm THERE!)

A quick funny bit from the review first: "In fact, Enterprise reminds me far too much of 'Galaxy Quest', without the sense of humor about itself. "

But in summing up her review of "Broken Bow", Michelle Erica Green of The Trek Nation sums up the feeling I have for the whole show: I'm not convinced that the retro sexism and xenophobia strongly in evidence in this pilot won't become too much a focus of the show, giving the crew a few too many flaws to triumph over, missing the optimistic inevitability built into the Treks that have gone before.

OPTIMISM! Yes!!!!!!!! The feeling of looking FORWARD to the future, no matter how much the present sucks. Whoopi Goldberg has said that Uhura's presence reassured her that black people will thrive in the future; I remember watching as a kid and saying to myself, "Yay! Women get to explore too, in the future!" Remember, these were the days when my friends and I were told we were not allowed to take shop class, even though we found boys who'd rather take home ec to switch with.

Do we want to live in this new Alternate Universe that "Enterprise has created? (Or perhaps it's the same one ... we'll know if Spock ever turns up from the future, and he has a beard.) Not me. Doesn't look fun at ALL.

My Tom and my friend Bil both like the show, which I think shows appallingly bad taste, but I still speak to them. Hell, I watched "Homeboys in Outer Space" and "Shasta McNasty". They were FUN. That's all I ask from entertainment. Be fun. Scary fun, exciting fun, sappy romantic fun, tragic-tear-jerker fun, stupid karate fun ... whatever. Fun.

These People Need To Be Put Out of My Misery

2004-09-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

I usually enjoy "Good Morning Arizona", but today, Tara hitchcock was gone, and a chick named Marty was in her place (not a typo; obviously her parents were expecting someone else). I listened intenly, however, when the "teaser" said something about "one of the godfathers of punk was dead)". Dammit! Not another one!

Well, the sad news is that Johnny (Cummings) Ramone is no longer with us; oh he of the boneless strumming wrist - seriously, his hand's a BLUR most of the time!!!!!!!

Sadder still was the announcenment that "... the only surviving member of the band is Dee Dee Ramone."

Que?!?!?

Dee Dee (Douglas Glenn Colvin) died on June 5th, 2002. And what of Tommy, Marky, Richie (who filled in when Marky went on haitus for 2 yrs), and CJ, who replaced Dee Dee when he quit to be a rap star?!?

Fortunately, Tommy (Thomas Erdely) is still around, as is Marky (Mark Bell) and CJ (Christopher Ward). I couldn't find word of Richie in the 20 minutes I had to whip this out at work!!!!!!!!

Ramones.com already has a tribute up for Johnny! Go Webmaster Guy!

Also, the TV announcer informed us that 2 of their biggest hits were "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Blitzkrieg POP" ::groan:: WE MISS YOU, TARA!!!!!!!!

Busy busy busy!

2004-09-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Whew - signed up for tax-preparing classes at H&R Block, as well as my dance class, drum class - oh yeah, and work. Wheee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try to get the next Vegas installment done at lunch ... meanwhile, go here (thanks Tom):

Can you pick out who are the Computer Programmers and who are the Serial Killers?
http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/

Ugh

2004-09-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Been sick. Whee. You KNEW it would happen - it was a holiday weekend! I *did* get some sewing done ... it's mostly the joints from the waist down that hurt me, although my shoulder will protest if I do too many hours of Irish crochet at once.

My friend Bil Van Ness might be working in New Zealand soon! Those of you who know me IRL know him, too, but for the rest of you that are reading this (bless you - I'm SUCH and attention whore!), here's the rundown: He moved here to work at the Fox Animation Studios, and cosequently, his name can be found in the credits for "Anastasia" & "Titan AE". When they closed the studio (Fox sux, btw, but we already knew that), he worked on some other coolass stuff, and "Evolutions", which was not his fault. He was most recently in London working on Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm".

So, the company that did "LOTR" & other stuff is set to do "King Kong" (hopefully a non-sucky one, this time), and is hiring talented people. So it looks like my New Zealand vacation is assured! LO!

Finally!

2004-08-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Convention hint: When walking past Lawrence Montaigne, don’t say, “It is not logical that you would prefer Stonn to me.” He’s heard it.

Right past him on the autographs-for-pay line was every single Space Hippie from the episode The Way to Eden! Normally I wouldn’t care, since the episode sucks, but ONE of them happened to be one of my favorite actors of all time … Charles Napier! I started my “OMG – it’s…” and he said, “Star of a million bad movies.” I gasped, “And I’ll bet I’ve seen them ALL!” As it turns out, after pursuing the list of movies on his site, it’s true; I’ve seen all of the ones with titles in English, anyway. Some of my favorites: Melvin and Howard, The Blues Brothers, The Blue and the Gray, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Something Wild, The Grifters, Philadelphia, and the first 2 Austin Powers movies. He’s done some EXCELLENT TV work, too - Mission: Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, Starsky and Hutch, The Rockford Files, Knight Rider, ChiPs, Night Court, Lois & Clark, "Star Trek: DS9" ("Denning" in "Little ...Green Men") & Party of Five … and incredible voice work such as “Duke” in The Critic, and “Zed” in Men in Black: The Series. Check out details of his first novel on his website. YES, I’m buying it!

I did it! I did it! Woo hoo! I finally re-did the damn post that I lost a bazillion times!! Yay!

Next – “T’Pring” will laugh when you say, “It is not logical that you would prefer Stonn to me” if you’re a drooling male who will buy your autograph. Ask Tom!

Gay Trekkies!

2004-08-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

There are a lot more than people realize! And why not - science fiction is all ABOUT acceptance and equality ... someday.

This is better than space hippies, right? ::giggle:: They were all boring anyway, except one, who I'll post on tomorrow. "End of the month" is a baaaaad time for us accounting admin grunts, and that's my excuse for today.

PIC!:

The teddy bear in the middle is my sweetie Tom; and is -so far- not gay.

Did you know that the lead space hippie in "The Way to Eden" went on to do "The Blues Brothers" and "Silence of the Lambs"? You did? GEEK CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!

New Bad Haiku Page!

2004-08-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

ThinkGeek.com has a techie Haiku contest! See my entries!

Welcome to New Bad Haiku

Ok, it’s not Space Hippies. Bite me. I **WORK** yanno!

OMG – Do I have the brain cells LEFT to remember Vegas?!?

2004-08-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, yes ::cackle:: I’ve never been good at blacking out.

Ok - a short one today, just for Bev (drumroll) – “Chekov’s Woman”!!!!!

You’re probably thinking, as I was, “Hey, I love ST, but I don’t remember any episode where it was CHEKOV who got the girl, and not Kirk!” I know! But it happened, briefly, in “The Apple”. Of course, like Harry Kim after him, Chekov’s romance put the entire ship in danger. The love interest was played by the amazing Celeste Yarnall.

Most “where are they now” stories are sad and pathetic, but Celeste has such a wide variety of interests that she kept herself VERY busy between acting gigs. She studied for and received her Ph. D in nutrition in 1998 and now serves as adjunct professor of nutrition at the Pacific Western University. In addition, Celeste has written two best selling books on natural, holistic health care for cats & dogs. In addition, she has also managed several talented screenwriters, segued into the commercial real estate business, become a championship Tonkinese cat breeder, run her own successful company, hosted a radio show, produced a "How to" video and regularly appears as a speaker/lecturer (thanks, IMDb!)

She’s SOOOOOOOOO nice, too. We stood there talking to her for ages; it was Friday, and not too crowded, so we could. MOSTLY so Tom could drool, which was so cute it was funny. She had pics from her movie role, “Land of the Giants”, and all kinds of stuff, including a more recent photo of her and Walter Koenig – and they STILL make a cute couple! We talked about her books, bought a bunch of pics, and generally had a good time. Twice, she said, “You guys are SO cool…” and pulled postcards out from under the table, signing them for us for free. They featured cartoons of her ST role, with Kirk sniffling wetly in the background (as it SHOULD be!).

So, now it’s almost lunchtime on Friday, and we’ve just BEGUN this circuit of the Dealer’s Room! Stay tuned for the Space Hippies!

Folding 5000 Flyers

2004-08-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

That's for those of you who were wondering how my business was doing.

Yay! I can log in again! Now, to remember what the hell I did in Vegas!

Got this email from Lin today; enjoy while I ponder:

Bear Drinks 36 Cans of Beer in Campground Raid
Shows Definite Brand Preference

BAKER LAKE, Wash. (Aug. 17) - Rain-eeeeer .... Bear? When state Fish and Wildlife agents recently found a black bear passed out on the lawn of Baker Lake Resort, there were some clues scattered nearby - dozens of empty cans of Rainier Beer.

The bear apparently got into campers' coolers and used his claws and teeth to puncture the cans. And not just any cans.

"He drank the Rainier and wouldn't drink the Busch beer," said Lisa Broxson, bookkeeper at the campground and cabins resort east of Mount Baker. Fish and Wildlife enforcement Sgt. Bill Heinck said the bear did try one can of Busch, but ignored the rest.

"He didn't like that (Busch) and consumed, as near as we can tell, about 36 cans of Rainier."
A wildlife agent tried to chase the bear from the campground but the animal just climbed a tree to sleep it off for another four hours. Agents finally herded the bear away, but it returned the next morning.

Agents then used a large, humane trap to capture it for relocation, baiting the trap with the usual: doughnuts, honey and, in this case, two open cans of Rainier. That did the trick.
"This is a new one on me," Heinck said. "I've known them to get into cans, but nothing like this. And it definitely had a preference."

Damn Microsoft

2004-08-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ok .... I haven't been able to log in to blog lately. My friend Nancy has had the same problem but Tom, who has a Mac, did not.

So I downloaded Netscape ... and here I am! Internet Explorer 6.0 gives my bank & credit cards websites fits, too.

You *know* what this means, don't you? I CAN ACCESS BLOGSPOT THROUGH MY AOL, TOO, and my computer-geek friends can't! LOL!

OK, yes, I have AOL, even though I don't *need* it since I have a cable modem; I LIKE AOL, ok? And I'm not sorry!!!!!!!

Dammit. DAMdamdamdamdaaaaaammmit

2004-08-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

::sigh:: I've done the "women of ST" post 3 times now, and just lost it again. I'm too heartbroken to continue. I'm gonna stop typing & finish watching "The Caine Mutiny".

For your reading enjoyment, here's a little piece of (unfortunately) non-fiction I wrote some weeks back - I'm at the "enough time has passed so that we can look back & laugh, now" point:

You know, most of us get to this point in the summer thinking, "THIS isn't so bad! What a mild summer we're having! I hope next year's the same."

Then, a day like today hits. It's 106° in the shade, expected to be 111°. Monsoon season is here, so the humidity's up; the heat's not so DRY anymore. You slide into your car; immediately your breath shallows - you're breathing quickly, mouth open, like a panting dog. The metal of your keys is heating up in your hand. You start your car quickly, praying to the air-conditioning ghods. The shift knob sears your palm.

Your prayers are denied. With a squeal and smell that's half rubber, half brimstone, your air conditioning dies. You roll down the window, and let the hot wind blast the sweat from your face.

You don't fear Hell. You're from Phoenix.

-Shirley Runyon
7/20/2004

THERE, Keith. Happy?!?

2004-08-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

So where the hell have I been? Vegas, baby!

Although I've been going to general SF conventions for decades, I've never been to a Star Trek convention. Until now. And it was FUN!!!!!!!!!!!

Most people I know hate Creation cons, 'cause they're expensive, and since they actually pay the guests to be there, celebs don't want to do the small ones anymore. They're the Wal*Mart of cons. But Creation Entertainment was started in 1971 by two 14-yr-old fanboys, and is still run by them. They've even started a Sally Malin Teacher's Award after finding out how many fans are teachers (it was named for one of the co-founder's mom). Kate Mulgrew presented the award, and she looks damn GOOD as a blonde, too!

I'll have to take one event at a time, so you'll have to wait to hear how I was hanging all over Jeffery Combs in Quark's bar. First, Jaws.

Never having been to a Creation con, I didn't realize that there would be people in the dealer's room signing autographs!! So, Tom's wheeling me towards the rest room, when suddenly I clutch his arm to stop. I don't say anything (I'm speechless! Final sign of the Apocalypse!). He says, "WHAT?" I gasp, "Richard Kiel!" Tom, who is not a compulsive credits reader, says, "Who?" I go, "Fucking Richard Kiel!" Which doesn't help poor Tom any, so I stare up and him and say, "Jaws!" It's all I can get out, so after a few seconds he realizes that I'm NOT talking about sharks, and looks to where I'm pointing. We head over to his table, finally!

I'm gushing, of course. I've turned into David Foley on Celebrity Poker when Angie Dickinson was on. It was disgusting, but I didn't care. He had pics from all over, including one of my favorite shows, "Wild Wild West" (NOT the movie). We got it autographed, and shook his hand. His HUUUuuuuuuuge hand! I mean, between that deep gravelly voice and being engulfed in his hand, I almost needed to go out & have a cigarette! Lucky for me, I don't smoke anymore!

So, we round the corner, and - SAM JONES! Flash Gordon! The cool mercenary alien guy 'Aris Boch' on Stargate! And DAMN was he nice! And still lookin pretty good, too. He's starting a 25th anniversary tour for "Flash Gordon". I said "25 YEARS! It can't be that long - I'm not that old!" He said, "Of course not! 'Cause then I'd be, too!" We got an autographed pic of him in Stargate, but Tom got it made out to him. Yeesh! More hand-shaking & junk, and we had gone through all the cash we had gotten from the ATM an hour before (Autographs are $20 in the dealers room; more i fyou buy autograph tickets for the actual guests. But then, what do actores HAVE to sell, except their faces? LOL! Pics were free, except at Chase "Dabo Girl 'Leeta' on DS9" Masterson, where they were $5 extra).

Enough beefcake stories for now - next time: Spock's & Chekov's women have held up nicely! Really!

A Workplace Ruled by Quantum Physics

2004-07-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Bloggin' from work! Woo!

Ok - I don't know if anyone else reads about quantum physics for fun, but I do. Now, in some experiments, they found out that the results were happening BEFORE whatever it is they were doing to GET results was actually DONE.

Well, this worked as long as they actually went through with it. If they set it all up and just waited for the results, then it wouldn't happen. They had to INTEND to do the action before the result would happen. Before the action. I'm not making this up.

Well, I experience this at work every day. I'm in Phoenix, AZ, but our computer servers are in San Diego, CA. So, I have a daily report that prints to email. It takes FOREVER! I have my Outlook set up to notify me when new mail arrives. You guessed it ... the mail arrives before it's done processing in SD. I can open it, cut & paste the info into our spreadsheet, and delete it while the server window is still saying "Printing Pg. 1"

One, day, I tell myself, I will hit "Cancel" after I get the email. But being a science-fiction fan with an over-active imagination (a redundant statement if there ever was one), I picture the email being sucked back through the time-vortex, creating a black hole in my cubicle. and that would SUCK!

The Autistic Kid Makes a Joke

2004-07-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Most of you know this, but my son Vincent has Asberger's Syndrome, which is high-functioning autism. He's very smart, but has a HUGE problem understaning the world as we know it. Especially humor. Seriously, it's like watching Data learning to be human. And you know how cute THAT was!

Anyway, we finally saw "Shrek 2" today. FUNNY as hell, of course. I'd pet Antonio Banderas any day! Speaking of, there's one seen where Puss in Boots uses his BIG, adorable eyes to distract the guards. Vincent leans over to me and says, "The Cute is strong in this one." http://www.forceacademy.com/

OM~F~G!!! I almost choked! That was ... FUNNY! Not only was it funny - it was VINCENT! LOL!

Anyway, the was the only good thing that happened this weekend, so that's all I'll say. On the upside -- 11 days to Vegas, baby!!!!!!!

Still Haven't Seen LOTR "Return of the King"

2004-07-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Work sucks. Somebody needs to abolish it. Unfortunately, that's the only way Lin & I will be able to afford the island that we're gonna buy, to get away from people. Who also suck. YOU'RE all invited, though, 'cause if you're reading this, you're obviously among the best & brightest.

"King Arthur"'s not a bad movie, if you're in the mood for much ass-kicking. The blurb at the beginning gives you the impression that this the THE man who historians believe is the basis for the Arthurian legend, instead of ONE of the men ... but it does look as if they did some research into the period. So, as a movie, and not a documentary, I say "go see", especially if you like scruffy men in armor. And you know I do!

Scrolling down, I see that I promised you "Lord of the OS" or "The One OS"or whatever I called it. written my my brother & friends (see Ïnvisible Man/Visible Voice"over in my links). So - here!

Three tools for the Linux users under the sky,
Nine tools for companies doomed to die,
Five tools for the mainframers in their halls of stone,
One tool for the dark lord on his dark throne,
One tool to rule them all.
One tool to find them,
One tool to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them
In the land of Redmond where the shadows lie.

Sucks to be me

2004-07-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

So, my first convention in 10 yrs, a WesterCon no less, and I miss most of it. Everyone wants to be me!! Woo!!!

I did see some cool panels, though; even if I did miss the Masquerade. A bunch of writers did a panel on "Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About This Writing Gig Before I Took It." THAT was funny. I thought I didn't recognize any of the panelists, but it turns out that Lee Hogan is my ex-roommate Emily Devenport's (click & scroll down) alais! One of them, anyway. I talked to her a bit afterward, and she gave me one of the "Lee" books, Belarus. I liked it! It's always better when that happens; you don't have to think up something real quick when they ask, "How did you like it?"

One of the other panels was an interactive one, "Superheroes We'd Rather Not See." I'll post the pic & backstory as soon as I get around to scanning it.

Well, back to work tomorrow ::SIIIIIIIGH:: I need to be rich & pampered. I should buy a lottery ticket once & awhile. 'Course, that would cut into my Diet Coke fundage, so we can't have that.

You've Got Links

2004-07-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to telling everyone I know that my blog exists. Go me! Their links are off to the side there. Chris "we can be heros" is into Leonard Cohen -- we LIKE him!!!

I was at Pick-up Sticks yesterday, and the Mexican guy at the counter asked for my name, which they do. Usually, "Shirley" filtered through a think Spanish accent comes out "Julie," which I'm ok with, since I hate Shirley so much. Well, he pronounced it right when my order came, but it was spelled "Cherli" on the ticket! And ya know what -- I LIKE IT! I'm going to change my name to that!

So after mine & Tom's ceremony at The Star Trek Experience, my name will be Cherli Andrea Pettijohn-St. Germaine. And my FULL name will be on everything ... checks, credit cards, etc; and everyone must use it at all times! LO!

I'll be busy at WesterCon 'til Monday - see ya then!

How the Mighty Have ... Not Blogged. I Guess.

2004-06-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I suck. To create such a fine blog, and to deny my readers (both of you) the entertainment value of my "thoughts."

I have MANY excuses, none of them very interesting, so I won't list them here. I'm getting tired of listening to it, myself.

Some good news! I've stopped the painkillers my "real" doctor gave me, and let my chiropractor - who's also a naturopathic physician (NMD) - put me on a bunch of enzymes, nutrients, & detoxifiers. ("The Aspirin Alternative") Not only do I feel a lot better, I've lost 7 pounds! Yay me! Yay Dr. Gear!

Healing so fast makes me want to sleep all the time, but I'm making myself get up & go places once & awhile (besides work; can't get out of that). I'm taking belly dance classes again, and drumming classes, too.
The Belly Dance Boutique

Today, we go to Pete & Donna's for BBQ and pool. This being Phoenix, it's 1000 degrees outside, but we're going anyway. They've driven way out here a bunch of times to see our new bigass TV and to deliver a drafting table, so it's our turn. Plus, we have to give them back the "Invader Zim" DVD they let us borrow.

Next weekend is WesterCon, the Western Regional SF convention! I'm so excited ... and wondering if I have the energy to throw together a reprise of the "HellRaisin" costume I wore to the last Phoenix WesterCon!!!!

I promise to tell you all about it when I get back. Really! Would I lie to you? NEVER!

Damn it!!!

2004-03-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Still sick, and disappointed now, too!!!!!!

Click here for stop-motion Barbi & Ken porn:
http://www.robrob8.com/movies/play_barbie.htm

Not as graphic as I would have done it -- but done first, nevertheless. Oh well, I didn't have time for it, anyway!

Guess what I'm missing tonight? The closing of the Alwun House Annual Erotic/Exotic Art Show; the 21st or 22nd, I forget. Tom's there with his friend David ........ I missed the opening, too, damn it - and Jan was dancing! She's with Maryanna's Unity in Motion group now. Am I jealous? Yes! But I'm over it now. I haven't been able to dance since the thyriod cancer surgery ... but I'm not saying "never" just yet!!!! They don't have a website, but they're listed on Yasmina's wicked cool site.

Ok, back to bed now, ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

Ugh.

2004-03-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Recovering from food poisoning. You DON'T want to know. To make up for it, let me post this giggle from a Netscape Usenet group (which yes, includes me):

why you shouldn't use IE

The evil empire's plan:
1. Get everyone to use IE no matter what unethical practices you have to
use to achieve that. (done)

2. Corrupt standards & make sites that can only be viewed by IE (done)

3. Make IE incapable of viewing sites that use standard w3c approved
code or anything that wasn't created/corrupted by ms (to do)

4. Now that everyone is forced to use ms non standards compliant
"proprietary" code, start charging people to use it. So even when you
make a little personal homepage just for fun you have to pay ms a
royalty fee. (to do but coming soon)

Next time: "The One OS" by my brother and his equally obnoxious college friends, who live WAY too close to MS HQ.

PS - still have't seen LOTR. "Starskey & Hutch," first...

Ahhhhhhh....

2004-03-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

SLEEP! What an awesome thing! Who knew!

As some of you may know, I volunteered for some 12-hr shifts last week, AND put together a going-away pizza & cake party for my supervisor Keith, who managed to get a "real" job (the rest of us are gearing up to send our jobs to Nogales. We even get to train the Mexican Nationals who will be taking our place! Go us!). I keep forgetting that fibromyalgia is not CURED, it's MANAGED .... and as soon as I start feeling better, I over-do it and put myself in bed again! 'Cause I'm an idiot! But it's cute on me, I'm told....

My son Vincent is on spring break, so I didn't have to get up & make sure his autistic little ass remembered to take his medicine, brush his hair, put pants on, etc.

So - UNINTERUPTED SLEEP FOR MOM! Yay! It really DOES get better once they get older! (he's 14 now. Whew. I'm old. When did THAT happpen?!?)

Well, the weekend was nice, anyway. We had a "music night" Saturday, which we haven't done in AGES! I managed to sing "Red Plum" & "Amazing Gilligan" (the theme from 'Gilligan's Island" sung to the tune of Amazing Grace") without getting too out of breath, and got to use Carrie's Japanese castanets. Wicked cool! Nancy Freeman & Tom Tuerff, who you might have heard of, was there, along with Pete & Donna, who, if you don't know them, are that much worse off for it. Of course Cody, who actually LIVES way out here, couldn't make it again! LOL! We're gonna hafta have "Cody Night" at some point!

Oops - forgot to watch the clock; I'm off to my nice, normal 8 hr shift now!

-Lady Brianna Ui Ruiarc, the Oblivious, Atenvelt

Welcome!!!!!!!

2004-03-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm new to this blogger thing, though there are some I've followed avidly, like drew . I found him through his "Lego Porn" page, which no longer exists, probably at the request of Lego and millions of parents who's kids do web searches for Lego. It was DAMN funny, though, and has inspired me to try my hand at stop-motion Barbie porn. As soon as I can get a penis on Ken.

Who is Lady Brianna? Depends on who you ask! I was a member of the SCA (Soceity for Creative Anachronism ) for ages, and she was my persona. It's also my eBay ID, where I do all my Xmas shopping (and occaisionally offer up for sale my crafts which people look at & say, "You could make a lot of money selling that!" So far, I've made NO money! LOL!)

I do have a business site though, where I sell cheap imports,St. Germaine's Gifts & More . Don't feel compelled to buy anything, but do stop by to "ooh" & "ahh."

Since Internettrash.com is not letting me log on to edit my sites, I may have to publish them somewhere else ... but until then, you can check out my homepage at http://www.internettrash.com/users/ladybrianna/heykids.html. It's got links to my other sites, such as my Bad Haiku site. The submission for there isn't working, so you can submit your INTENTIONALLY Bad Haikus to me at Lbrianna@yahoo.com.

OK - I think that's it for now! Check back often for more rants & ramblings from the only person on earth who has yet to see LOTR "Return of the King"!