My sense of humor should be revoked.

I liked today's Crock.




My plans? A Law and Order marathon starts at 11am tomorrow morning and is 32 hours long.

Bookmark swapping would be a social step up.

ETA at 4:30 - I said I liked it, I didn't say I laughed at it.

Yet another attack on Christmas!

From Jeff Foxworthy, no less!




"Happy Holidays"??

Sad, sad, sad.

Wickett's famous!

Stuff On My Mutt: Yup, must be snowing outside.

The endorsement deals should be rolling in any day now.

Meet my son, Friday.

Here's the story.

An Italian family named their son Friday. The parents registered him as Friday, and he was baptized as Friday. However, a clerk brought the name to the attention of a tribunal. So now the kid's legal name is Gregory, because he was born on that saint's feast day. The officials changed it to protect him from teasing later on and because Friday is a bad luck day in Italy.

I only checked this out because of the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde.

The main character is Thursday.

Her mom is Wednesday.

Thursday's son is Friday and her daughter is Tuesday.

I think those are nice, interesting names.

However, since the family is Italian, you'd think they'd name their kid "Venerdì".

Friday's an English word with Norse roots, I believe.

One more note - I'd love to have a boy dog named Loki and a girl dog named Thursday. Hopefully they won't fight too much.

Latest Attack on Christmas!

Where: the comic "Mutts"

When: Monday, December 17, 2007

What:



Sad.


Funny placement of "Happy Holidays" - a commercial for Henco furniture in Selmer. The commercials are definitely local, and everyone's got a southern accent. So their use of "Happy Holidays" really stuck out. But I like it.

What I don't like? This story about a store in downtown Collierville. I saw it on the news last week. The Arkansas Matters article is better because they open with "The so-called war on Christmas...", while WMC opened with," When Christmas rolls around stores in downtown Collierville are decked out with decorations. The local banners say Happy Holidays."

The quote in the article is exactly what the owner said on TV.

"We got tired of everyone saying happy holidays when Merry Christmas is what its all about, its about Christ and we wanted to make a stand," Donna Buckner said.

Oh, gag me.

What is about Christ? Christmas? Christmas is next Tuesday! (Not to mention the historical quibbling over when he was actually born.) She doesn't even say what she's referring to - what "it" is all about. You generally say what the pronoun replaces, you don't just assume everyone knows.

"Make a stand"? I thought you made statements or took stands. And you're in America, Tennessee to be exact. You're not going to lose business by saying "Merry Christmas". You're more likely to lose it if you don't.


The whole "War on Christmas" idea is stupid. Christianity is the most popular religion in the US. And they can't handle acknowledging that some people practice other religions with holidays in December. The fact that it's called the "War on Christmas" and not the "War on Religion" (same enemy - secular humanism and atheists) illustrates the dominance of Christianity and Christmas here.

"Happy Holidays" does not name any religious holiday, but the absence of Christ is the only problem. There is a war on Chanukah, you know.

The second link mentions this story. More Christians making a stand!

Funny USA promo from 2006

I love love love love the shows Monk and Psych. I adore them. Psych reruns are on at midnight Sunday nights, and I try to watch them at that time.

I would make a lousy critic, because I can only pinpoint elements that I dislike - when I like a show (or book or movie or whatever), I just do. I can't explain it.

They're both hilarious?

And they are way too short - I can't wait to get all the DVDs for Monk and the one season on DVD for Psych. When I got my Arrested Development DVDs, I would watch them for as long as possible - they told a story over 3 seasons and 53 episodes, so the end of the episode is not the end of the story. Plus the show is bust-a-gut funny.

I just started watching Monk and Psych this summer. It was by accident - Mom wanted to be up when Becky came home from her job, and since it was summer and the weekend, well, it could take some time, and Mom likes to sleep. So I would stay up with her. Well, one Friday night, we watched Law and Order SVU on USA, Mom fell asleep, and I kept it on USA. I fell in love with the shows and I haven't looked back. I discovered the joy of the X-files one summer weekend as well.

Anyways - new episodes start Friday, January 11th! Can't wait!

Why did I finally talk about my two new favorite shows?

Well, I found this commercial on youtube, and I knew I had to have it on my blog. A link? Nah, embed that sucker.

So here it is:



And I don't watch the Dead Zone - I think I've tried, but it seems too serious. Plus, Christopher Walken is Johnny Smith. End of story!

Rest In Peace, Al Scaduto 1928-2007

They'll Do It Every Time is a gloriously anachronistic celebration of the petty gripes and ironies of everyday life.

It is run on reader submissions, and for the last 18 years, Al Scaduto has been the writer and illustrator. It seems like longer with his fashion sense and slang.

At first, the comics irritated me, as they did countless others.

But we grew to love them. The comic never made me laugh out loud, I never wanted to save it, but it was good.

And what made it good was Al Scaduto. He wrote back to people who sent him ideas, even if he couldn't run them. From everything I have read, he was the ultimate gentleman, and the world is a little less brighter without him.

I can't create a tribute song out of the thin air, so I'll leave with this:

One funny quote:

"The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books," said president William Donohue.

From an article about 'The Golden Compass'.

Heavens to Betsy! We can't have our kids reading!

Do these people not have real problems to deal with?

I don't know if the Golden Compass series is as popular as Harry Potter, but HP, despite its flaws, got kids (and adults) reading. And some kept reading.

The leaders claiming this movie and other things are threats to their kids' faith must have no faith in their children or their religion. I mean, if a positive story about witches is enough to turn your kid into a Satanist, or a story with a corrupt church makes your kid join a cult, there were some issues already. Though if they're that easily influenced, they should already be protesting the books.

Yes, I know someone who's protesting the film with her church group. No, she hasn't seen it, no she hasn't read it, she just knows it's bad. And apparently they've toned it down.

Whatever, I just loved that quote. How ignorant!


Edit - I have not actually read any of Pullman's books, and I don't want to. I read about half or 3/4 of the first one, and I just couldn't get into it. Oh well, some people like different books. Becky likes the Gossip Girl series, I don't. And yet, the world goes on.

UNHP 1101

"University Honors Program" - I think that's what the letters mean. UNHP 1101 and UNHP 1102 are required for every Honors student here before you start your 5th semester. (I think.)

I took UNHP 1101 this semester and loved it. Everyone else I talked to hated it. Except those in my section (we had a big lecture on Tuesday and then broke up into sections on Thursday). Whatever.

Our last reading assignment was The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer. I read most of it Friday night. It was very hard to get into. I liked the bits about nature - the starkness of the desert, the lush decadence of the rice fields - but if I never read it again, that would be fine.

I'm going to reveal the ending - or part of it.

I know that's mean to all of you waiting on pins on needles to see if Ibrahim gets to leave.

Anyways, Ibrahim gets to go to America. Now in our last UNHP class yesterday, the professors asked us what we thought he'd do - would he live in a Muslim enclave and never get above lower-middle class, would he be a huge success - what?

This guy sitting next to me leaned over and said that he'd probably fly a plane into the towers.

Clearly, he got nothing out of this course. I was accused of being close-minded in English, but sheesh.

A little common sense would show how stupid a thought that is - or a comprehensive reading of the book.

Ibrahim went to informal meetings with other men his age in his own country, and they griped about their government, their country. No anti-American rhetoric there.

Plus, there's why Ibrahim wanted to leave his home country - he wanted to be successful, he wanted to be rich, why would he want to hurt the country he wants to call home?

Jackass. I should have said all this to the guy in class, but I just ignored him.

Idiot.

I saw this in the school paper today.

They had a shot of Obama on the Daily Show accompanying it. (BTW - I saw a bit of last night's rerun - still hilarious.)

"Clinton Mocks Obama on Experience"

I'm sure she has a point about his experience in the Senate, compared to hers, blah blah blah.

But what made me say, "Bullshit! I must write about this! The masses must know my opinion!" was what she was mocking.

His childhood overseas.

He was there at the age of 10, so he has me beat by 4 years. *humph*

I think he is right - a childhood, part of childhood, spent overseas does give you a different view of the world than your classmates who've never left Tennessee.

This is based on my experience. Even though I left Iceland at 6 and a half, I'd already gone to school there.

And that makes me look at the world differently, I can't pinpoint how - exposure to other cultures in their land - I'm the visitor? It makes you more open-minded, the earlier the better.

So it is a good thing for Obama, in my opinion.

Dumbledore's gay. BFD.

Actually, JK Rowling thinks so.

I haven't seen anything in the books to support it, and according to this article, he loved a guy, guy died, Dumbledore never loved again. So sad.

But it doesn't matter.

Not to me.

I'm rereading the 6th before finally reading the last one, and I got to thinking about the 'news'.

This does not affect how I read the books, I won't look for clues or hints, because it doesn't matter.

The only romances that matter in the book are the students', since the action primarily focuses on their lives.

Besides, teachers are asexual. And live at school.

Once you figure out what sex is, you realize that everyone with kids (even your parents!! ew!!!!) did it.

But not teachers, come on, that's just weird.

So that's why it doesn't matter to me - Dumbledore's love life isn't important to the story - it may have been in her head, but she didn't put it in the books.

So.

BFD.

Also, I'm sure the people who had conniptions over the devil-worship just love this, since all homosexual men are pedophiles and Dumbledore worked with children, OMG.

If it becomes a big controversy, more books will sell. Perhaps it's a ploy by Rowling to keep sales up, not that she needs it.

So far, everyone I've run into has said, "Oh, I love Harry Potter."

One of my relatives teaches at Stanford and (in June 2003) had at least 3 hardback sets - including the new 5th one.

The books are appealing to people from all walks of life.

Before the first movie came out, I was all, "I don't care, it's popular, I hate it." Then I read the 4 that were out, and loved each one.

The BEST Veteran's Day Comic

Arlo & Janis




Anyone with family in more than one branch will understand.

My paternal grandfather was in the Marines, and my parents were in the Navy. Every time we went to Grandpa's, the rivalry was insane! Even the second-to-last visit.

Yeah.

I miss him.

I still think that Daniel shouldn't have joined the military...

It's Veteran's Day.

And my SEVENTEEN year old cousin joined the military this week.


DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN

There are no words.

Just laughter.

http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics115.html

I can't describe it properly, but oh man, I wish I could see the whole comic. Not that Mr. Kitty's excerpts aren't enough...

Let's see - An African Prince - Zwanna son of Zulu - must enroll in an American college to get his 'royal education'. Along the way, he fights skinheads who like to beat up black people. Then, he kills 3 transvestites who, while not looking for sex, like to 'strip countries of their wealth, then kill or remove the protesting leaders'.

You have to see this.

Education time.

Proof that higher education is not a waste.



I now know that 'moo' starts with an 'M'.


Wow, learning head rush.


I absolutely love Munch in any form, on any show.

And Briscoe, of course.

I love October.

Halloween candy and scary movies are a part of it, of course, but that's not all.

This week, the weather started its yearly turn from "late summer" to full-fledged fall. Went to bed Wednesday night overheated (11 pm - I am a wild child) and woke up Thursday morning at 7 something (8 am class, ech), turned on the weather channel (the window tells me if the sun is up), and while waiting for my local on the 8s, saw the temperature by the time. 52 degrees.

In the fifties!

Scrap those plans for shorts, eh?

Thursday and Friday, I wore pants and flip-flops (I swear I have tan lines from my school pair) and sweated a bit in the 70s afternoons.

Today? Shorts all the way for walking. I wasn't overheated, but I wasn't shivering.

Memphis loves summer, whether the people like it or not, and fall/winter do not come easily. They have to fight. There will be some nights over the next few weeks when no one gets sleep because of tornado watches which may go to warnings at any moment.

That sounds melodramatic, but it's a fact of life.

So the weather will bounce around - sometimes on a daily basis - pants and a coat for the 8 am class, shorts and a tank top for the 11:20.

Thursday night, I was outside, and the cool/cold air and the dark just brought back so many memories. Not of Halloween, surprisingly enough. Halloween's always been a tossup, it's never been consistent - some years you're in heavy winter coats, other times you're barefoot. No clear memory.

But the later holidays... ah... Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's in Tipton County with fireworks.

I love cold weather, and we're fixing to get nice and cold... after Halloween.

St. Patrick's Day will probably be the end of it, sadly.

The other part of October?

The World Series!

The Evil Empire's been defeated, we've gone to extra innings, the Sox have scored in the double digits, and on and on.

Thursday night I also remembered the last fall games of the season - the bright neighborhood, lit up oddly by the stadium lights, and that tink! of bat and ball.

That is baseball to me - that one noise.

I love me some World Series, don't get me wrong, but I remember these gut busting hilarious games this summer in Florida between the Marlins and the Cards.

The stands were pretty empty, and you could hear this little group of hecklers, it was awesome.

And of course, that tink!

During the World Series and the Division Series and the Championship Series the stadiums are packed and the announcers love to talk.

I love baseball.



Also - on my October walk today I got my Memphis library card! The library is awesomely close to the dorm, and well, Jasper Fforde has a new book! (2 actually, I missed the sequel to the first Nursery Crimes)

And I own Stephen Colbert's book! It was only $18.99 because of an automatic 30% discount. Go figure. He made me break my hardback rule - I generally wait for new books to come out in paperback (I try) before buying (library reading is fine), but hey, the glory that is Colbert deserves hardback.

But not at $26.99.

Bottom of the 9th, Game 2 of the ALCS, tied 6-6 - the Sox will win.

As a Red Sox fan,

and a decent human being, I must hate the Yankees.

And a few other teams for the sake of hating other teams.

I'm also a major baseball junkie.

I love to watch on tv, watch in person, play properly, play with 2 other people, whatever.

Plus, the baseball uniform is just so...

the hottest uniform in sports, says I.

Anyways, the Cubs won 4-0 over the Reds yesterday, and this song started playing.



I love it!

Go Cubs Go!

I have plenty of time to post.

On both my blogs.

And I don't mean a couple sentences, I mean, long rambling outpourings of my soul.

But I haven't felt like it this week - right now, I can't sleep. I have English at 9:10 and French at 11:20, then a bike ride to the nearest pharmacy and then Law & Order, homework, laundry, nothing until Tuesday.

Maybe this weekend I'll catch up with Pluggers. ::shudder::

Let me just say this - I love college, I truly do.

I love being around people my own age, people who want to learn, I'm not even that homesick - I think the times I cried or almost cried were from fear of the unknown and frustration.

By Wednesday, I'd gone to all my classes, so that was pretty much gone.

I've made a big decision - at least for this semester. I applied for a job earlier this month upon seeing that my predicted money included $700 from work-study, but I couldn't figure out if I am indeed, work-study. I don't need the money - my books, classes, meal plan, and dorm are paid off for this semester. And I'll get the other half of my scholarships, grants, and financial aid in January.

Now, next year, when I've been kicked off the honors program and lost my juicy scholarship, then I'll need a job.

I know I can do the job, and I also know I have the time to do it, but, as I told my ACAD professor, I don't have the emotional time. He understood, and I'm not even sure what I mean.

You have to take a test over the training and paper accompanying the training. I studied Monday, cried a bit, called my Mom, studied some more, stopped crying and felt better, got the test, and blanked. I probably would have passed, especially since, according to the guy next to me who took it Sunday, they make you redo it until you get the 70% needed to pass - they're desperate.

I filled out what I could, then spoke to my (future former) boss. I'd been on the payroll since Thursday, but hadn't worked any hours. (He called me at 4 something last Thursday after moving in and said I could come in then and get started. I said no, then worried this would be an absence I'd have to make up! It wasn't. I couldn't, even if I'd wanted - no sleep Wednesday night, I was going on adrenaline and nerves.)


I told him I'd been out of circulation for more than a year and that I'd taken too much on, and couldn't do it now.He understood and was very nice about it. He said it was better to leave the job now, before my grades can be affected, rather than at midterms or something.

He also said that he knew I could do this job, or I wouldn't have applied. He wants me to call him next week after I'm settled, and let him know for sure then. I'll have a job waiting for me.

When I applied, I got the feeling I wouldn't get it because it was so late, and so many people had already applied, I had a snowball's chance in hell, etc. That's not entirely true. Sure, those of us called back for training were not guaranteed the job until we passed the test, but why was I on the payroll before taking the tests, hmm? They are desperate. The more people calling, the more chances for money to come in. I mean, last year they had a 500% turnover!

I may apply for it in January or next summer, who knows? But now is not the right time.

I've never had a job before, and I haven't been in school consistently since August? September? of 2005. Sure, I was still getting my Shelby County education, but I was in my pjs, in pain, and merrily isolated.

I called Becky Monday to say I was thinking about quitting. (The job was the one thing to push me past "almost crying" into red eyed leaking.) She said I couldn't, because she'd cried the first 2 weeks of her job, and mom wouldn't let her quit, so why should I?

But Becky and I aren't identical, and we haven't had identical lives. (She got on yearbook her junior year, I didn't get on it, even after applying...) She started her job this April, during the school year. When she started school the 13th, the job was not new. And neither was school. The classes, work, and teachers were, but still.

So that's it.

Also, we were freezing during orientation and move-in, but yesterday, I was soaked in sweat during class, and the teacher said it's normally cold enough for a blanket!

I love school, but I haven't had a full week of it. Check back in a week to see if I've run away to Canada or Iceland or Tierra del Fuego. Kidding! I'm doing well in French and Math, as soon as the facts come in, I know them, and the other 3 involve a lot of writing and thinking, and despite what this blog may lead you to believe, I'm a damn good writer. And thinker.

"Cut Coupons to cut Costs"

So sez a Mister Sean Bixler of New York, New York.

He won one hundred dollars for his profound, perfect money saving idea.

I don't think it's that good, frankly. No, I did not submit a tip of my own, I only found this site through a blurb on yahoo's front page - I was bored and I like stories about spending and saving money at times.


I think he won because he's a guy, and guys don't cook, guys don't clip coupons, they just make the money and dole out a few bucks a month to the little wifey-poo because she can't make good money on her own. (That's what bugged me the most about The Jetsons - in the opening sequence, George Jetson is dropping his family off at school and the store (the wifey). He holds out one bill, and takes the money still in the wallet. This applies to many futuristic books, movies, comics, and TV shows from almost every time, but it's most glaring in ones from the '50s and '60s. Technology changes, with no social changes. Pisses me off, but makes me happy to live now.)

My problem with his tip and interview is the fact that he doesn't mention store brand food - he says you can save up to $20 every time you go shopping! Wow! He also says, in his tip, that "you may have to buy different brands each time you shop". Oh, the humanity! And it takes time to compare your list with the store flier and your coupons... make it stop!

We cut coupons from time to time - I have done it the most over the summer - it's a good way to eat up a summer Sunday, especially if there's baseball on.

But we don't usually use most of the food ones - except for candy and some desserts or things that don't have a store brand counterpart.

But most of the staples are available as store brands. I've never seen a coupon for a Great Value loaf of bread. And it is my belief that most brand name items with the coupon's discount cost at or even above their store brand counterpart. Which is why it sucks to cut coupons in this house.

I guess, if you shop at expensive stores and have never bought store brands, then you would save money on brand name items with coupons if you can't bring yourself to touch a store brand with a ten foot pole.

But I still love cutting coupons! Very soothing.

Dixie and her Haircut.

You're boring her.

This is the most disturbing commercial on TV.

I wish I could scrub my brain out after hearing that.


I also loathe the Geico commercials - the Cavemen thing, especially this. Does anybody actually love these corporate creations?

I do actually like the Rozerem commercials - the dream part, I love it.

I have a job!

Almost.

I have to pass the test next week - get at least 70 questions right out of 100. It will be a review of what I learned this week.

My first paying job - house/dog sitting doesn't count for the IRS or resume purposes.

I'm so excited and so damn nervous and terrified.

I'll be working to the Phonathon.

My job is calling alumni and asking for pledges and updating their contact information - address, job, phone number, living status. Most of the people I'll talk to won't be able to give more than 3 figures, but that's okay.

Every pledge does matter, and that's something I now believe, not just what I must repeat to keep my job.

The hours are 5:30pm to 9pm - aren't they great? 3 hours after my latest class, and early enough for sleep (Daily Show and Colbert Report).

I must work 3 nights - and I've picked Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We're only work Sunday through Thursday - less chance of grown-up alumni being out partying.

My first training session was tonight from 5:30 to 9pm, officially. I got there around 5 and left at 9:15.

I was nauseous all day, and my upper back has been hurting for the last couple days, probably because of nerves, since I'm not doing anything different.

I was terrified at first, with all the responsibility laid out. But then I realized I don't have to do this, even though I said I'd do work-study, I don't need the money now because of all my scholarship and financial aid. Also, since we were there more than 3 hours, we had time to get comfortable with the idea, at least I did. Unlike my classes in a week, this was and will be much longer, and part of the eek of the first day/week of school is the fact that it's about an hour spent in the class - with everything thrown at you at once, and no time that day to adjust to it - with the teacher.

I had so much fun.

I told my boss (Assistant Director) that I was an evil robot who wanted to take over the world, not that I'd tell him if I was in the first place. (One of the rules of calling people - don't be a robot on the phone.)

My ideas for why people would give were all sinister - I blame Law & Order reruns all summer. I said to hide money, like say to pay for killing a guy. He said that wasn't realistic, he wouldn't think of that after killing a man for money. I also said people wouldn't give us money because the Grizzlies didn't make it... Oh, we're the Tigers. Whoops. (What reasons could there be not to donate? The number one reason, that nobody guessed, is death. Of the alumni.)

He mentioned the Red Sox, and I said, "You're supposed to be a Mariners fan." (Earlier, he'd said he was raised in Seattle. That's part of the job, too, at world series time. Unless I'm calling a New Yorker, who knows if they like the Mets or the Yankees? They're Tigers, they're decent people, they like the Mets.)

He said he liked the Cubs, and I said, "Oh, I'm so sorry."

That got a laugh.

I had a lot of fun.

I can't wait.

And I'm moving in Thursday and meeting my roommate. (We've e-mailed and talked on the phone.)

And classes start in less than a week.

How did I get to this place? I don't recall summer asking my permission to end!



I know how I got to the training session point - only half of the applicants make it this far, and over 75 have applied for the fall semester. They need to know that you can do this job and do it well.

Anyways, we sent in paper application, then had to phone interview. The genius that I am, I set my appointment for last Monday the same day I got called by the people for the first time - my logic was, get it out of the way as soon as possible. I mispronounced some words, and even though I tried to make it my own, I followed the script in some places, and I felt myself screw up the pacing and inflection of my voice in regards to a sentence thanks to a misplaced comma.

But I've still almost got the job.

The interviewer (the AD that's training us) wouldn't confirm or deny it, but I know.

One of the reasons listed to give money included research - giving us money to continue old research and start new projects. Well, I know we have an earthquake research facility - I've seen the building, and there was a book about an earthquake here that mentioned it. So, I told the "prospect" that if he didn't give me $50 or $25 (forgot most of it after I did it) Memphis and the University would end up in the Mississippi because we'd have to close our research center.

When I did the interview, I said that I knew I couldn't do that during an actual call.

And when I called again about directions to the training, I said,"Did the earthquake play a part?" He laughed and said he couldn't say.

Then at the training session, he said don't threaten the alumni with acts of God. And he didn't know it was me that did the earthquake, since he handled 60+ interviews in a 2 week period, but he did remember some odd interviews, including the threat.

As to its effectiveness, I said I wanted to be remembered. Again, he didn't know it was me. "But I'm here tonight, aren't I?"

This is SO not fair.

Or right.

School doesn't start til the 27th, I can still transfer to the University of New Mexico. I've got family in Albuquerque. Classes start at UNM tomorrow, which could be a problem.

What's not fair? All UNM students can ride all city buses for free! Thanks to the Lobo Ride Pass.


I have to pay $28 for 21 rides! As a college student!


And the regular adult fare is "I'll-Be-Quirky" is only one dollar, fifty cents less than here.

Like I've said before, MATA couldn't suck more if the buses were replaced with vacuums.

Most cities with buses have monthly passes for regular commuters, including Albuquerque.

Saturday's They'll Do It Every Time

I definitely identify with the person doing it every time, since I do it every time.



So do a lot of people, to my understanding. I realize Dean Booth is not a normal crank, though he's not normal, he's a Comics Curmudgeon regular!

But his thermostats must be set at a different place than his wife's - he's comfortable in the summer in a sweater vest with the house at 72 degrees.

Some people may not believe this, but the temperature outside the house definitely affects how you feel inside the house and what you want the temperature in the house to be.

I wish we could set it to 68 in the summer, but we're not rich enough. 72 will have to do, unless it cools off outside, and the house then feels cold and the temperature should be bumped up. (Mom and Beck last week in the morning, they wanted it at 72, fans flying when they came home at 2pm! They'll Do It Every Time!)

Actually, I don't normally do that in the winter - I'm a fan of extra blankets and shirts. My motto is "It's easy to warm up, it's damn hard to cool down, so here's a blanket." I believe that being overheated trumps being cold - I can drink ice cold water and chew on ice cubes and still not be as cooled off as I'd like. All you need when you're cold is a blanket or two or three. In the summer, at night, even if I don't need it, I throw the blankets on and turn on my bedside fan. So nice.

Wickett and Mikey's Puppet

Mikey took it back soon after, because he was done eating and nobody was playing with him.


Wickett just ran and grabbed that puppet. He is ready to play.

Mikey's ready to kill to get the puppet and to keep the puppet. Or whatever he wants. Such a snot.

Mikey just tried to take it, and they'd been very angry, growling and growling, and when Mikey tried to take the puppet from Wickett, Mikey ended up growling louder and angrier, and pinning Wickett! He is such a mean little brat. I think he spent time in a house before he came to us where he wasn't the only dog, perhaps he was also the smallest, or hey, even little kids can take dog toys, so that's why he's so crazy about them. He gets the toy of the moment (his rope, puppet, or octopus) or whatever anybody else has (including humans) and he wants to play, but he won't. if it's something purloined, he won't even move, he'll just sit next to the person/dog he stole it from or wants attention from and growl and rip it apart. If it's his toy, however, he'll hit us with it until we make a grab for it. Then he gets angry and darts away and comes back. That's how he plays with toys. That's how he shares.

Let's do some cheering up.

I called Dixie out without awaking Mikey, and she was quite unsympathetic.

Dogs!



Ah, was Eric Idle cute or what.

I am such a crybaby...

Though who wouldn't be, listening to this song and watching this video?

One Tin Soldier
Coven

Listen children to a story that was written long ago
'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone,
and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill
asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom: "With our brothers we will share
all the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger; mount your horses, draw your sword,
and they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure on the mountain, dark and red,
turned the stone and looked beneath it. "Peace on earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.

Watching the Lennon documentary on Vh1 tonight probably didn't make me too happy - it was the last 5 minutes. I knew it was coming, but damn, did it have to?


Something else that always has me crying:




God, I'm going to bed. I can't kiss Dixie good night because she's in mom's room with Mikey, and he gets yelly and that bugs mom and she'd tell me to the smart thing and not watch it.

She's probably right.

I blame my sister!

She's watching High School Musical on Disney Channel and there are these commercials and this one had this video from High School Musical 2 and it has baseball players - real ones! Saying the title of the song!

I couldn't resist.

But this movie still sucks sucks sucks. Most high school movies are nothing like the high school I remember. I talked to cheerleaders, slackers, sports people, ROTC robots (love you Kara!), and everybody. I was nice to everybody.

I wasn't popular in the way that everybody knew my name, I never got mentioned in the yearbook, but I felt popular in that people knew me by sight and felt comfortable talking to me.

Very boring movie that would be, I wouldn't see it.

Here's the evil video. What's worse - I like the song as well as the video - I love baseball too much.




I still hate the movie.

I agree with this reviewer - at least about this song. I know it says New York Times, but anyone can look at it without paying.

I love this video!

I found it at Pandagon, a site I've abandoned for too long.

It's a video of anti-abortion people who want abortion to be illegal, but don't know what, if any punishment there should be.

One believes it's murder, but doesn't think that women who get illegal abortions should be punished as other murderers.

And another believes that it depends on if the woman knew she was killing her baby or not. Yeah, that makes little sense to me too.

I stand by what I've said before - I'd get an abortion if I got pregnant in the next few years, as soon as possible. Mentally, I can't do it. Physically, I think my doctors would kill me. And I don't want to get pregnant, I don't want to have kids right now. What's worse - an abortion as soon as I realize I'm pregnant, or having a kid that I'm not ready for?

As for my family, my mother doesn't think abortion is right, but doesn't think she has the right to tell any woman what to do with her body, so she's on the same page I am - pro-choice. I may not like it, but I'm not denying others the right to do it.

I just like that they want it illegal, but don't want to punish the women who have abortions. The state's sanctioning murder, according to one.

This reminds me of a bit of immigration debate - deport all illegal immigrants or lock them all up here.

How? There are millions of illegal immigrants, right? And they're undocumented, so they're not too easy to find, right?

How are you going to deport millions of people? And what about the children of illegal immigrants, who are American citizens, if I remember correctly? Deport their parents, and put them in foster care? What?

Everybody wants to stop illegal immigration.

They can't even agree on how to do that.

I don't know how I feel about illegal immigration, but I'm not making big statements on tv about it, or acting like I do. That's my only contribution to the debate - how?

And now I have a way to do the same to people I actually disagree with!

I think abortion should be legal because, until you are in that position, you have no idea what you'd do.

Plus, there was this Law and Order where this underage girl got an abortion without her parent's consent. The detectives found a baby, thought it was a college kid, and found this dead end - the college girl's sister got pregnant, and used her ID for the test, and then got an abortion. Her dad called her a slut and was furious at the thought of her pregnant.

But an abortion is worse! That was a great, albeit fictional, example of why teenage girls should be able to have an abortion without parental consent.

Of course Law and Order's touched on illegal immigration, but nothing concrete because this isn't an easy issue.

The Cult of the Amateur:

"How today's Internet is killing our culture" By Andrew Keen, a man with a look of revulsion on his face and a snooty accent (that I do not find cute).

Look, Mr. Keen, I'm blogging! I'm taking money from you, a published writer. What are you going to do about it?

Are you getting paid for this mention? No, any money I have or will have is tied up in college, so maybe I won't be an amateur writer for ever.

I'll link to your book at Amazon, of course, only so I don't look like I'm making up your book's existence. Or your loathsome expression - I watched the Colbert Report last night - on TV, but the video of the interview is online. You ain't making money from that, either.

Okay, some blog was able to put the Comedy central video in a blog post, but I can't find that section at Comedy Central, hell I can't even find the blog post! So here's a link.

Anyways, I saw a review of your book in the newspaper a while back, and I didn't save it because your book didn't interest me - at all.

And the review wasn't very friendly. I remember that it accused you of sour grapes, and that by saying the internet is robbing us of the Beatles of today, your reality doesn't match up. I've seen and the reviewer has seen mainstream music of today, the kind that makes money, videos, cds, and dvds of concerts, crappy tv shows, and on and on. There are no Beatles today besides Paul and Ringo.

I still read, sir.

I hope to be a published writer one day (under a pseudonym, and if I have to go on TV shows, I'm hiring someone who looks nothing like me, in case it sucks).

But cries that the internet is bad and killing culture are pointless, unless you make some good money off it.

It won't change a damn thing.

When I saw you on The Report, I was reminded of Nebraskans, like my aunt and uncle, lamenting the Mexicans that had moved in, or opened Mexican restaurants and were becoming active in the small communities. The Mexican-American culture found there is better than what the white people are doing now. No small family farms anymore. The biggest industry outside the cities seems to be nursing homes. Young people run like their feet are on fire most of the time.

So if Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans want to live there, and have a community, so what?

There needs to be something there, and it's better than what's there now, and at least equal to what was there before.

That applies to the internet as well, Mr. Keen.

So...

bite me.

You have a blog! Making money off it? Are you contributing anything worthwhile, hmm?

As for your book and me buying it - no. I'm 19, I'm part of this generation, and we're the worst ever, according to your generation, which was the worst ever around the time you guys were 20, and so on.

And I wouldn't buy a hardback book if I had the brains. (Easier to transport paperbacks and they're cheaper.)

So it would be library or nothing, and I doubt I'd be bored enough to do check it out when I have almost 80 pages of books I'd rather read.

Elvis fans are bizarrely stupid.

No, not because some believe he's not dead (I swear I saw him on channel 48!), or because I don't like gospel music (I've never really listened.), or I'm ashamed of all people who make it big and make a presence in the area afterwards (Justin Timberlake does a couple of concerts here - whatever.).

No, what I can't fathom is Elvis Week.

I get memorials, I get a pilgrimage, a gathering.

What I don't get is why.

Not why they do it, but why they do it now.

In August.

In Memphis.

Especially this year!

He was born in January, less people die from the cold here than the heat!

And when I was about to say this to my mom, she told me that an Elvis fan had died from the heat. I'm so sorry for her and everyone who's been touched by the heat (not your yard), but come on!

Why come to Memphis in August? It doesn't make sense to Memphians.

Especially compared to the media coverage of his birthday - not much. The King would be blah blah.

That's when this thought usually occurs to me.

I don't like the cult of Elvis, period.

I love some of his songs, I may even buy a few CDs, but I won't go to Graceland. Maybe it's because I live here? I don't know.

Again, my deepest sympathies to anyone who's been hurt by the heat.

Something else Elvis related - there's not a station in town that plays his music on a regular, day-to-day basis.

There is one station that plays oldies going as far back as the early 60s, but it's out of Mississippi, and it's hard to get, even in Memphis! Sad, that there is no station that plays music from Elvis or when he was a big star. (My music list may not entirely show my love for music older than myself.)

I saw the Simpsons movie.

It was awesome!

And the theater was pretty good - we went on a weeknight, before the matinée prices stop.

It's always emptier at that time, which is great.

The popcorn was terrible.


Back to the movie - amazing! It deserves all the accolades it is getting.

I can think of 3 instances in the movie that deserved the PG-13 rather than "irreverent humor throughout". They were things that you can't do on network TV, and I'm not telling you what.

It was far too short.

And just really funny, and even some of the recent episodes (I realize it is August and there have been no episodes since May) that I've seen are still pretty good.

I can't help it - I love the Simpsons. And when I like something, I don't have much to say about it!


I don't quite like their Burger King deal, only because I don't quite like Burger King. Their food is gross, and I've never eaten good food there. There's one commercial starring Krusty, and his Krusty Burger is more in line with what I've eaten at Burger King, if a bit tastier looking.

Wickett and his Chicken Pillow

That I made for mom and now really want back, but it's not very good as a support - it was the only pillow against the armrest, and I flopped back and went through the squishiness, banging my head on the wooden side of the armrest (side not cushioned).

Mikey kicked this pillow off the couch twice yesterday, and the second time, I didn't put it back on the couch. He eventually sat on it, on the ground.

It is so soft.




I'm sorry about the picture.

Becky's great with this camera, and she broke the old one that I knew how to use!

A great song and a great video.

Ah, the '80s. Peter Wolf is so cute.

Centerfold
J. Geils Band

Does she walk
Does she talk
Does she come complete
My homeroom, homeroom angel
Always pulled me from my seat

She was pure like snowflakes
No one could ever stain
The memory of my angel
Could never cause me pain

Years go by
I'm lookin' through a girly magazine
And there's my homeroom angel
On the pages in-between

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
Angel is the centerfold

Slipped me notes under the desk
While I was thinkin' about her dress
I was shy I turned away
Before she caught my eye

I was shakin' in my shoes
Whenever she flashed those baby-blues
Something had a hold on me
When angel passed close by

Those soft and fuzzy sweaters
Too magical to touch
Too see her in that negligee
Is really just too much

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
Oh, yeah
Angel is the centerfold

It's okay I understand
This ain't no never-never land
I hope that when this issue's gone
I'll see you when your clothes are on

Take you car
Yes we will
We'll take your car and drive it
We'll take it to a motel room
And take 'em off in private

A part of me has just been ripped
The pages from my mind are stripped
Oh no, I can't deny it
Oh yeah, I guess I gotta buy it

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold

My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My Angel is the centerfold

I may not get LOGO,

but I do get Comedy Central.

So I did not get to see the Democratic candidates on LOGO, only the Daily Show's coverage, which I saw this morning at 9 because I went to bed at 10:15 last night.

And what they covered bothered me.

Only 2 candidates said they support gay marriage.

The rest were just stupid, because, like Jon said, they had to tell the gay voters they supported them while not acting like they really supported them for the other voters.

Dammit.

That's not right - normally, a strong position on an issue will kill any candidate's national campaign - they can't really be for or against anything.

But they can with gay marriage - only against.

Republicans can say they hate gays and get elected, and democrats can't say the opposite or even that they deserve the same rights as heterosexuals and come close to winning.

Let me go watch the Colbert Report and be glad I chose to be straight.

Following in Mississippi's footsteps,

Shelby County School Superintendent Bobby Webb shows that he is smart.

No student of his can be outside for sports before 6 or 7 pm (probably 6:30) until the heat lets up. There were announcements in the schools yesterday to that effect.

And he'll make sure transportation won't be a problem, since many try-outs and practice are normally right after school.

The worst of the day's heat hits between 2 and 6pm, when school lets out.

5 people have died from the heat already.

Superintendent Webb wasn't going to wait for any judge to tell him what to do. Good for him - coaches can't get it overturned by a higher official, I hope.

The coaches still piss me off. If their kids can't practice in 105 degree weather (110+ heat index, thanks humidity), they will lose all their games! We can't expect them to wait until it cools down!

Bullshit.

Sorry, I've said that already.

U of M football practice starts at 5:30am, good for them.

Speaking of football practice, there was a bit in the amazing book Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Only it dealt with lightning strikes. One player was killed by lightning, and the parents demanded that practice not be held in the afternoon, when the lightning was at its worst. (This was in Florida, no rain or thunder came with the lightning, it was by itself to my memory.)

They wanted practice before school started. The coach(es? I need to read that book again) said no, after school was best, some boys can't get here early, blah blah. The parents said no, we'll set up a carpool.

Anyways, I'm glad SCS did something before a kid died.

We always joke about a "Shelby County Education" when we say or do something stupid, but right now, I'm proud to be a SCS graduate, to be associated with a leader with the brains to come in from the killer heat.

Mississippi did something smart!

Didn't last long.

A high school football player died from heatstroke during practice, and there was and probably still is a heat advisory in place for most of the state.

Along with the triple digit heat.

The day after the student's death, a judge ordered that there be no school-sponsored activities outside between the hours of 9am and 7pm.

People were pissed, because the schools affected would be at a disadvantage because their players couldn't play as much as the others, and they take care of the students and blah blah blah. I thought it was smart, everyone else I know thought it was smart, but we don't play football in Mississippi.

Or anywhere else. It is so hot, Becky's friends don't play basketball when they come over, and they've done that all summer, even when it edged towards 100.

These last few days have been too hot.

Every time I've gone outside, I get dizzy, nauseous, and soaked in sweat. And that's just walking to the mailbox. I'm not in perfect shape, but I rode my bike all summer - one time, a temperature display said it was 100, and it was not that bad.

Let's go back south, shall we?

A higher court overturned the judge's ruling.


And the coaches who were pissed off are saying that their position is "common sense", not the judge's. He doesn't have the authority.

His team practiced at 6:30am on Friday, but they're back to normal now.

What is wrong with practicing early in the morning and late in the evening?

I can't think of a single reason!

And someone I know died of heatstroke 2 years ago. He was at boot camp in Missouri.

These coaches have been in the sun too long.

Irony on B1

There's a sidebar article about the heat.

It's not a pointless heat article, we really are breaking records. The expected high today is 104 - plus humidity.

The triple digits started Friday and are expected to stop Thursday, however, the humidity is here to stay, which pushes the heat index above 100, so it will feel just as bad.

One thing I haven't understood about this heat is the low temperature of the day. It was 66 degrees this morning right around sunrise.

I thought that much difference between temperatures in one day would lead to rain, but it hasn't.

When it started, it wouldn't go below 80 all night.

The irony comes in the description of today.

Not the temperature, but what today is.

It's the first day of school for Shelby County and Memphis.

The sentence says that it will be 104 today, "as schools reopen for the fall."

Mike Huckabee is an idiot.

“A Republican in my state feels about as out of place as Michael Vick at the Westminster dog show."

This was said in Ames, Iowa for the Iowa Republican Party's straw poll. He started his speech with this "joke".

It's in horrible taste, of course.

But something else bugs me.

He's the former governor of Arkansas.

Arkansas!

I was never aware of the fact that my neighbor to the west is a liberal haven.

Mitt Romney saying that would make sense - he's from Massachusetts! It would still have been in horrible taste, but it would have been logical.

So, Mike Huckabee doesn't even know his own state.

Found the quote in the newspaper, and the expanded article here.

The Weekly World News staff was killed by batboy.

That's the only logical reason for it to fold.

Not what the so-called serious media claims. (Circulation dropping.)

I hope the website stays up.

I've only read a couple issues, and I loved them!

One was in 7th grade, in first period, my friend had one and we passed it back and forth most of the class.

I've managed to buy one myself.

I still have it under the bed.

I know it's considered the most reliable news source out there, but I swear there is a disclaimer in the magazine that says it is satirical and not real.

Doesn't make its passing less sad.

My biggest, best birthday present.

A laptop!

I got it Wednesday and tried it out Thursday.

Wednesday, I had to go out with Mom and Beck. We were going to craft stores to look for dorm stuff.

We went to the strip mall that contains Circuit City and a craft store.

Becky begged me to go into Circuit City with her, or she wouldn't stop singing.

Mom went into the craft store.

When we got in, Becky told me that we were there to look at laptops, because she and mom were going to go 50/50 on one for a Christmas present, and they wanted me to pick one out.

We looked at them, they looked like laptops, and then we got a salesman to help us, since we're really no good with computers.

He was a good salesman - he didn't tell me I'd fail all my classes if I didn't get the most expensive one there.

We picked a six hundred dollar one, and this is when the surprise kicked in.

I naturally almost ruined it.

Becky told me to go tell Mom we found the computer. I interpreted that as bring Mom over here.

No, I wasn't supposed to.

Then Mom and I went over to Office Depot (or Max) to look for a smaller computer desk, and other school things. Mom told me Becky was in Circuit City, driving everyone crazy by looking for CDs nobody else had ever heard of. That is very plausible and happens a lot. Last time I had a big surprise, it was a post-graduation party. They weren't ready after graduation ended, so Mom and I went to my favorite antique store and I got many, many MAD magazines. (They no longer have so many MADs, probably because of me.) Why? Mom was pissed at Becky because she didn't know where Covington Pike was and since she was the navigator for 2 cars of out-of-town family, they got very lost. Again, plausible.

Back to this week.

So we drove to the office store. (It is so damn hot - triple digits all week, no end in sight.)

Mom didn't lock the door, because Becky was going to put the laptop in my seat and join us in the store.

I locked the door.

So she had to beg for the keys. She put the box in a cart in the store and yelled across the store.

I suspected I may get a laptop, but I didn't know Becky would pay for the whole thing!

Got to love her.

Thank you, Becky!

For my birthday, another favorite song and video.

No lyrics this time.

He was so cute, and this video is so wonderful.

Wickett and his Chair

He went under there butt first.

I saw a shadow without the flash of a camera.

I love this dog.




My birthday is today, I'm 19!

The new hate crime bill is bad for God.

At least for Memphis pastors.

If it passes, they can't preach against homosexuality, the worst sin there was and ever will be.

The first time I saw this in the Commercial Appeal, one pastor said that homosexuals shouldn't get special rights, and this gives them that. Homosexuals shouldn't have the right to adopt, get married, or not get killed or attacked for their sexuality.

I call bullshit.

Race and religion based attacks fall under hate crime, yet bigots can still freely speak.

I mean, duh.

And, come to find out, it's in the writing of the bill that sermons about homosexuality are protected as free speech.

So where's the problem?

I love this song.

And this video is pretty awesome, too.

Karma Chameleon
Culture Club

Desert loving in your eyes all the way.
If I listen to your lies would you say
I'm a man without conviction,
I'm a man who doesn't know
how to sell a contradiction.
You come and go, you come and go.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Don't hear your wicked words every day
and you used to be so sweet, I heard you say
that my love was an addiction.
When we cling our love is strong.
When you go you're gone forever.
You string along, you string along.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Every day is like survival,
you're my lover, not my rival.
Every day is like survival,
you're my lover, not my rival.

I'm a man without conviction,
I'm a man who doesn't know
how to sell a contradiction.
You come and go, you come and go.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dream,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

MATA

The Memphis Area Transit Authority is messed up.

They control the trolleys and buses in the area, and the buses are supposedly pretty regular and stick to their schedule, and there are 3 stops around the U of M campus.

And the website features a trip planner - telling you which buses to take to get from here to there. That's awesome. There is a stop about 5 miles from my home (closest one) and there are definitely stops by my doctors' offices.

However, they offer no monthly or yearly or any kind of passes based on time, not rides. The best is a 21 ride pass that costs $28! And an adult fare is $1.50!

That's it, it bugs me, and as of right now, I have no way to change that. I need to use the bus to get to the doctor, and I like riding in a bus.

I loved the bus system in Vancouver, Washington. I only paid $18 for a monthly pass, because of my age. But for adults, they're only $44. The adult fare per ride is $1.25, not better than Memphis, but there are passes.

I really have no way to wrap this up. MATA is hurting itself by not selling monthly passes, that's all there is to it.

My favorite Madonna song

Okay, the only one I really like.

I can easily see myself doing homework while listening to this song. Over and over and over again, until I'm done. Thank god for headphones!

I do it every time I have long homework to do (a paper). The bouncier, faster the pop song, the more energized and creative I feel. I wrote my 9 page paper in 11th grade to Beatles songs and Prince's 1984 album ruined my bedrest.

As for the video - this is my favorite Madonna look. I have no idea how long it lasted, and don't really care. I listened to Like a Virgin for a few seconds, and realized that it's also her voice in this song.

As for the meaning...

I like the song... I don't care.

Like A Prayer
Madonna

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes, Oh God I think I'm falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

Like a child you whisper softly to me
You're in control just like a child
Now I'm dancing
It's like a dream, no end and no beginning
You're here with me, it's like a dream
Let the choir sing

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery
Just like a dream, you are not what you seem
Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer, I'll take you there
It's like a dream to me

Something confusing about the RSOs at school.

RSOs are registered student organizations and there are many of them. There will be a RSO fair early on in the year, which reminds me of club day at high school, only it will probably be cooler.

One of our sessions at frosh camp was about RSOs and getting involved on campus in general.

Showing my new boldness, I didn't volunteer to speak about one subject until the other guy looked a bit confused. So I jumped in. The ones I had to speak about were the minority organizations - 3 in particular, the African-American one, the Hispanic one, and Stonewall, the gay and lesbian group, which is relatively new. (Nobody knew the reason behind the name.)

I was surprised and pleased that we had a gay student organization.

But that's not the confusing part...

The religious organizations confused me and still does, but thinking about it now, it makes some sense.

Lumped with the religious groups? The atheist organization. (Again, truly surprised and pleased to see one exists here.)

When I asked why, nobody had a good answer.

Atheism is not a religion, it is the absence of one, there is no belief system, no uniform anything, besides the whole no god or gods thing.

But it's a religious affiliation (it was on the two surveys I did my senior year - not many atheists, of course), so it goes with the religious clubs.

I think it just shows ignorance of what atheism is.

Big surprise.

But hey, it's here! And I'll be there.

I must apologize for the long links list.

The 'Interesting Websites' one in particular.

Blogs are personal websites, and mine is a particularly dull one that has few visitors.

So it's mostly here for my enjoyment.

It's also useful.

With the high speed internet, we got rid of Compuserve, which meant I lost every favorite I had there. I don't want to have another favorites list here, I'm not sure why really, it doesn't matter.

So the links lists act as my favorites - especially since I'll be switching computers in less than a month. It's nice to have them saved online, where I can always find them.

I started before we got rid of Compuserve, because Compuserve got a little weird, and had to be reinstalled or something, so we lost all our favorites and Becky lost her the user account she was using at the time, though it still existed - she had to log on as a guest to get it.

Becky's favorites are saved to her desktop - she can just click on an icon and instantly be at MySpace! She's too worried about what her idiot friends might do, though, so she's not always logged in. It's usually one guy who's not really her friend, he just hangs out with everyone. he got a number from her cell and harassed this girl, one of Becky's coworkers. So she's keeping herself logged out.

That's it.

I think the links provide a short picture of my interests, but then, so does everybody's.

The TV show "Murder"

It's a new original Spike TV reality show.

Very little is on TV on the weekends, besides movies and baseball.

And lots of CSI on one particular channel.

So I've seen the commercials for the show "Murder" too many times to count.

When I first saw these, I was horrified and disgusted. They didn't reveal much information in the commercials, besides that it's real people solving real crimes - in a competition, no less!

I couldn't believe it was legal, letting ordinary people solve homicides, or work at it anyway.

When I started seeing the commercials, I didn't have internet access (or a computer), and I just now got around to looking it up online.

There aren't many reviews, just basic articles from TV websites, like this one or this one.

Seeing that was such a relief - I hoped they were recreated crimes that the contestants would be working on, not real, unsolved ones.

The commercial made it sound like the contestants were not only competing with each other, but with actual detectives.

They're not, at least not that I can tell. The detectives already solved the case, or another one did. These cases were all solved through forensics, just like CSI.

In this article, the executive producer said they looked through archives to find cases solved through forensics, not confessions and eyewitnesses, like most actually are.

Yeah crime shows are fictional, they make it seem like every case can be solved in an hour or two, but another bit, one I've known for a long time, is that most murders aren't that complex. Though you have to give kudos to Law and Order for giving a date at most scenes, showing that the "order" part takes a long time.

Not so for CSI, of course. The worst about CSI? Jerry Bruckheimer. He also does the Pirates movies! And Johnny Depp hasn't been in any CSI. For shame.

But still.

The show Murder turns my stomach.

But people will watch - everyone loves a good mystery.

I still have no idea how to use the new camera.

But hey - Becky washed her cell phone!

Seriously - it was in her Sonic apron, and that thing should be washed hourly, however, when it is, most of us are ready for bed, especially the worker bee herself.

She's got a new one, it's all cool and stuff, but it's not, not really.

Mine's so old it's not for sale at any store anymore.

And speaking of cell phones, every company is lying about its coverage. I just spent four days at NaCoMe, in Pleasantville, Tennessee, near Centerville. I've looked at the directions, I stayed awake the whole bus ride home, but I still don't know where we were.

Nobody got cell service. I think once girl got a call through to her mom on Monday while on the seesaw (at the top, of course), but that was it.

Why go to a place when I don't know where it is?


Frosh Camp!

I went to the first session, which was Monday the 23rd to Thursday the 26th. It was so short, but so long, in a good way.

It was awesome - nobody really fought, despite the cabin rivalries (ours was invaded Tuesday evening - our theme was America, "war were declared").

I don't think we've ever felt that comfortable around strangers - any of us.

I know I haven't.

I can't explain it.

But hey - if your school offers anything like this, do it. It is so worth it.

Ours really was - only 40 bucks, and we got transportation from the university to the camp, food three times a day, and a t-shirt on Thursday morning. There was a canteen open Tuesday and Wednesday during free time, operated by people who worked and lived out there, and the prices weren't too insane, according to those who stood in line.

When I went Wednesday, I didn't see anything I needed, and the line was too long.

However, there was no line in front of a cooler... filled with watermelon slices! Free watermelon on a summer day in Tennessee in July.

So cool.

We had counselors who were our parents and aunts and uncles. "Uncle Dad!" was not unusual. So we had a family. We competed for breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I only got cold cereal, so the wait never bothered me.

We were dead last Monday night in the dinner competition. Each one involved us singing for food, then yelling while the exec board deliberated. There were 12 cabins. The yelling made no difference.

And we didn't win the family Olympics, the boat race, and our flag... was not there at the judging, because somebody told me it was okay to leave it behind! There was thunder and lightning, hello!

Not that it would have mattered, we lost the thing on the top that would hold the damn thing up, so...

However, a lot of fun all around.

Our counselors all did superlatives Wednesday night. I got "most interesting stories" and when I asked when I told a story, Alexis (one of my moms) told me there was nothing specific, just that I always had something interesting to say, every time I talked.

That's awesome.

The weather refused to cooperate with us.

Tuesday afternoon, around 3pm, swimming was scheduled in the lake for those who wanted to swim in an icky lake. (Me, me, me, me!) Tuesday was the 3rd day of my patch, so I ripped it off before the Olympics and put on my swimsuit (another thing - short shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, no worries about how fat I looked or what others thought - that was amazing), because we could swim after the Olympics.

Which was very good. We were up on this clearing that was a plateau of sorts, and the sun beat down. I wasn't doing any of the games, so I ran for the shade. I had on my black Rolling Stone flip-flops (most of the week, I wore my tennies until lunch on Wednesday, but it was too hot by then, and too uncomfortable) and the soles were as hot as asphalt!

So, we're all hot, and let's swim!

Clouds rolled in. And rolled out.

Then more came. With thunder, lightning, and rain.

So no swimming.

Wednesday afternoon, it happened again. During the boat race! (Cardboard and duct tape - we came in first the first time, and never sank)

And when we got into Memphis around 1pm Thursday, it was raining again.

I have a doctor appointment today, and we're going to cut the dose of the patch. I'm not sure by how much, but it's time.

Except for the pain right now, I don't know where it's from.

Dixie and Mikey got their haircuts. They look awesome. Poor Mikers has a bald spot on his shoulder, the vet says from constant scratching, but hair is growing back on the spot.

A couple days ago, 3 of Becky's guy friends showed up while mom was taking her to work, to bother Becky and play basketball. (They left to go bother Robert within 15 minutes.)

I told Dixie to kill, and she didn't. She never does. She walked up to all 3, wagging her tail, ready to be pet. Even the one I didn't recognize.

Last Wednesday, we got DSL. The DSL guy brought more than new gadgets and whatchamacallits, he brought bad news - we had a virus.

We got the computer fixed at a local business place for one hundred bucks. It was supposed to be back by Friday, but wasn't. It was back Thursday, though, and it's so cool.

Videos load like that!

And nothing crashes, except sometimes yahoo won't respond. Whatever.

Not anymore.

We've got security software and high speed internet, and we are cool.

School starts next month!

I'm nervous as hell of course, I don't know my roommate, she doesn't know me, but sometimes that's better, because as long as she's not a sociopath, she's as worried about offending me as I am her, unlike if we knew each other for years. I plan on saying on the first day (Wednesday the 22nd! Honors students and others move in early) that I have hang ups about this, this, and that, rather than biting her head off when I didn't tell her.

That makes sense, right?

And hey, I'll have friends on campus. I don't feel I made any specific friends, just that I was comfortable and friendly with so many people that will be at school with me next month.

I relaxed enough to leave my purse at the cabin more and more, and to get up at all 3 sessions on Wednesday, and really come out of my shell.

The mixers weren't even bad! We had to go, but I slept through Wednesday night's - dinner really disagreed with me - cold school pizza. Stomach was so upset, I was too much pain, I had to lay down. I woke up just a few minutes before the party ended. I told Alexis what was wrong, and she said she'd tell somebody else (whoever was in charge of her) and I fell asleep.

But the first 2 were a lot of fun. There tables, chairs, games, and balls outside the hall, so those of us that didn't want to dance had a cool alternative. (Seriously - no humidity, few bugs once the sun went down.)

I spent more time inside Tuesday night, dancing as best I could to this (you're in Tennessee, you have to!) and just shouting along with familiar favorites.

There was no AC, just a huge fan and every window open. And some people complained about the heat, but nobody danced outside. And you could definitely hear the music outside, so whatever.

We were told to bring shower shoes, I think my flip-flops count as shower shoes, but I never wore them in the shower. I've never worn shower shoes in any shower at camp or the Y or any pool, and I've never had problems because of it. I got athlete's foot one time, and I don't know how, but it was not because of shared showers.

Plus, my feet would probably put a pedicurist's grandkids through college.

That's it.

High-speed internet rules, Memphis is too damn hot, and cable's pretty cool too.

And the dogs rule. Dixie killed a cockroach last night - I saw one crawling on the hall wall across from the laundry room alcove. She didn't see it, so I knocked it down with a fly swatter. It ran under the dryer.

Mom opened the alcove's doors, and Mikey growled at those.

Then Dixie moved the stool in front of the dryer after trying to fit underneath it.

She gave up on that avenue after pawing at the dryer for a bit. Mikey got a trophy, though, an old-fashioned feather duster. So dumb looking, but it was his dammit!

Naturally, he started destroying it, and he still wants it.

Dixie's cockroach came out later by the vent from the dryer, next to the pantry, and part of the wall that makes up the laundry alcove.

After she killed it, Mikey took it.

And refused to give it up.

I threw it out around 9 this morning.

I wanted to go upstairs and sleep, but I couldn't leave dummy and his kill.

He kept pawing at it and jumping away from it, he's too funny.

I hope to make more posts, but I'd have to have something to talk about, wouldn't I?

I will try to get new pictures of the dogs.

Especially after Dixie's haircut!

Becky broke our old one while taking pictures, and our new one has lots of fiddly settings, especially for what kind of light the picture is in, and I don't understand it at all.

I just want bright flash, or no flash.

I hope to get it sorted out, I mean, I'm from the computer generation! I'm supposed to know how to build one of those things.

I swear, they think because you don't hunt and peck to type and you can find the close button on a window, you're an expert!

I'm not!

Wickett has lost 20 pounds - in one day!

I'll sell you the secret if you want.

Haircut.

He went from a dust mop to a naked little elf dog, so cute.

However, he didn't get a bandanna this time.

No pictures, he looks the same every time.

The offer free boarding, and the grooming drop off time is always 7:30 in the morning, so we dropped him off at 2pm Monday and picked him up at 4 Tuesday. I paid, and he doesn't care.

He was too funny.

Monday, there was another small dog there, sitting with a mother and daughter on the bench. I held onto my shadow puppy and stood.

He was shaking most of the time, and he didn't even bark back when the other dog barked at him!

I waited a while, and then took his leash and collar out to the car.

Leaving the building, of course, brought out the groomer. She adores him, but he hates her, at least in front of us and the general public. He's putty in the backroom. His first groomer was her son, but he moved to another vet way out of our way, so he's stuck with the evil lady for now.

When we came back in, the claws came out, and he climbed higher up my shoulder, like he was going to escape or something.

She wanted to touch him, and then he growled. She laughed and left.

Then a male ... intern... guy... not a vet, not a person at the desk, just someone who takes the dogs to the back grooming/boarding area and brings them back.

Normally, he loves men, especially strange men.

Not last Monday. Mom told me how to hand him over, and I did. She said butt first - so I pried him off my shoulder and thrust him at the man, back first, so he was facing me. The guy thought Wickett needed a strange woman to dognap him, but I said no, he really does like guys better.

Once he was out of my arms, I was gone.

Tuesday afternoon, after Jeopardy (I won. No Jeopardy on Wednesday because there was breaking news that had to break at 3:30! The news starts on Jeopardy's channel at 4, couldn't they have waited?), we went back to get him.

I went in, just like before.

First I paid, after waiting a while.

Then I relaized I needed a receipt.

Then they relaized that I was dogless.

Then nothing happened.

Then one of the desk ladies went back to get him.

My guess - he looked so different, they didn't think Wickett Trumpets was the same Wickett Trumpets I wanted.

People who saw him the day before did not believe it was him, I didn't until we got home and I had a bad hold on him getting him out of the car, then I knew for sure.

Same old crab, just too darling for words!

Dixie is finally getting her summer cut Thursday. Daily, she sheds more hair than on Wickett and Mikey's body - without being brushed. She shakes, wintercoat flies. She gets up, clumps of blonde gray hair on the ground.

I'm paying for Dixie's - I was quoted $45, so I'm expecting $50. I paid $38 for Wickett's, 3 or 8 bucks more than the quote, but they make miracles happen, so it's worth it.

Mikey is a knotty mess. His ears in particular. Wickett's ears were knotted as well, but you couldn't see them, because he's the shadow puppy.

You can see Mike's. Becky's paying for his. He'll come home a naked elf dog. His mixed-up curls will be gone for now, but the texture still changes at the spots.

Wickett and Mikey have to be groomed about ever 3 months. I just looked at the date for my post about the microchips, and those were done when the boys were groomed. In late February or early March!

Dixie, on the other hand, only needs it once a year. She does not become a different dog with her long hair.

I can't wait to see Dixie all summered up!