Belated Christmas Funny

I'm a little late with this, but here's what the 12 Days of Christmas would look like if it were found on eBay.

Happy New Year - almost

I've been remiss about posting this week but I think that is largely because I can't think of anything to say.

I decided to not really use my Palm anymore. I've gone back to analog. I love the Moleskine notebooks I use for dance so much that I bought the 2006 Moleskine daily planner. I like it. It is actually alot easier to use than my Palm.

I could whine about how I got sick overnight but even I don't want to hear that. The only reason I came into work today was because of a lunch our boss is buying for us.

Wesson went to the vet last night. It was the first time he and Smith were parted since I brought them home. They were both out of sorts last night. Wesson is fine for any who might worry. Of course, he was the hit of the evening because he is so sweet, loving and gosh-darn cute. They all raved about his bright gold eyes.

A couple months ago I started working with a nutrionist about the same time I got serious about dancing. I've been the fat-chick most of my life and I am tired of living this way. So I've been watching what I eat and exercising more (as the Dr. who supervises the program said - 'Losing weight is a very simple concept. Eat fewer calories. Exercise more. Actually doing it is the hardest thing you will probably ever do') or something like that. I set a goal for myself over the summer to be down 30 lbs by the end of the year.

I achieved that yesterday. Hooray for me! I noticed last night my neck is actually getting more slender and doesn't look so much like a football player. It all feels good.

I still have a long way to go but the mini-goals are much more doable than saying "I need to lose 100 lbs." Yeah - I know that but looking at it in that way is trying to hike the Applachian Trail in 2 days. It can't be done. Saying "I want to lose 20 lbs over the next 3 months" is much more realistic, safe, and doable.

Here's to 2006. May your New Year be blessed, safe, joyful, and happy.

Love all y'all!

Clucking Along

Chris Wage thinks I am a chicken. Last I checked, I wasn't. But I suppose I'll take chicken over some various other names I could be called.

Res, keep your 9th grade mind out of here. ;)

I am working on a response to his response to my anti-unions post.

It will take some time for me to finish up the research. Scholarly articles take a long time for my poor-little-brain to process.

Meanwhile, Difster (aka Captain Obvious), Res, and Erik have some good points on unions in the comments thread.

Christmas Songs I Love

Per Elena's request (who has said that I've been very Grinch-y this year; yes, I'm being a Grinch), here are the Christmas songs I love. Newton also has a list of his favorite songs.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
This one one of the first songs I learned when I was in chorus in High School. It was in our repertoire for four years. I didn't get it until I became a Christian. Katherine posted the lyrics on her blog a couple of weeks ago, and I cried like a baby.

Just thinking about it makes me weepy. I can still hear the bass section opening the song - so strong and clear.

O Holy Night
I love this song for a lot of the same reasons I love "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." They kinda quickly get to the point of Christmas: celebration of Jesus' birth. I think about the shepherds who were greeted by an angel of the Lord - how terrifying and awesome that must have been.

That may also be part of my Grinch-y behavior this year: I'm sick of the commercialization. I'm sick of the cult-of-shopping. The debate over "happy holidays" versus "Merry Christmas" just annoys me to no end. Shut up already and pick one!


These songs also have not been beaten to death by celebrity Christmas albums.


I am seriously considering returning the gifts I bought and just donating the money in everyone's name to a charity where it will do some good. Truthfully, do we need more stuff?


Carol of the Bells (though I prefer the instrumental versions of this song) It sounds really cool and that's why I like it.

Anything by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They rock.

The Charlie Brown Christmas CD

You dance too much when....

you are at the mall and a song comes on with a cha-cha beat (1-2-'cha-cha-cha').. and your feet automatically start moving.

And you are three patterns in before you even realize you are dancing.

Oh yes, this happened to me. And I was in the middle of a spot turn when I realized what I was doing. I had to just say to myself over and over "NO - NO DANCING IN THE STORE!!!"

So I made it through the cha-cha. The next song was a Middle Eastern piece that was perfect for belly dancing. Again with the hips! There they go! Figure 8's just start without a thought. At that point, I left the store before I made too big a fool of myself.

More on the Power to destroy

"Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected." - Union President Roger Toussaint in announcing the NYC Transit Workers strike.

And you think angering 7 million potential commuters is going to get you more respect and appreciation?

The union said the latest MTA offer included annual raises of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent; the previous proposal included 3 percent raises each year. MTA workers earn between $47,000 and $55,000 annually. The MTA originally had demanded an 8 percent pay raise per year for their members.

Pension issues have been a major sticking point in the talks. The MTA wants to raise the age at which new employees become eligible for full pensions from 55 to 62, which the union says is unfair.

But Toussaint said the union wanted a better offer from the MTA, especially when the agency has a $1 billion surplus this year.

I would like to work in a job where I'm guarenteed a 4% pay increase every year. I will count myself blessed to get a 2% raise. And I would also like to retire with full benefits at 55 - still young enough to get out there and really explore and savor life.

There's a surplus this year. Wouldn't upgrading equipment be useful - more fuel efficent vehicles for example? How about setting some of it aside in case there are years when there isn't a budget surplus? What about using it to lower prices for the riders? Huh?

GEEZ - our entire society is acting like a 5 year old with a buck in his pocket. It's burning and it must be spent - NOW!!!!!

Playing like a broken record

I've said it before and I will say it again: the power to tax is the power to destroy.

And it is the power to use bunker-buster bombs when big government gets into bed with unions. It is a must-read article. Don't hold any illusions that tax payers have any say what-so-ever.

Don't pay your income tax, the IRS will put you in jail.
Don't pay your property tax, the city will confiscate your property.

Nothing is yours anymore. I think I want to find out how to live off the grid.

Overheard at Lunch

Guy: Did he have a gross peter?
Girl: No, he didn't.

PK's thought: Well, I think I'm going to skip the roll portion of my meal and enjoy the non-phallic things on my plate.

They then went on to talk about all the people they knew in the mob. Like her uncle and a friend of a friend of his who is supposed the grandson of the guy who the Godfather is based off of.

From the Ministry of the Obvious

Cell Phones Interfere with Family Life

Because if you talking to someone on the line about what he did to you last night 'Oh no he di-n't!' how can you pay attention to the person right across from you? It is one thing to take a call and be brief about it. But it is quite another to conduct a 20 minute conversation about... uh... what's the strangest cell phone conversation you've heard?

The next time you are subjected to an obnoxious cell phone user, give them one of these cards from the Society for HandHeld Hushing. Free to download and fully customizable for any conversation.

And for the bad drivers of the world, use these Road Rage Cards. (Not safe for work)

Insanity:

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
- Albert Einstein

Need proof? See Congress and the US Treasury Department's latest scheme: New dollar coins to feature dead presidents

Because the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea dollar coins were so popular....

You are mean one, Mr. Grinch

You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel.

(pops to full size)

Christmas Puppy Goodness

It isn't my puppy. Miss O'Hara sent me a link to a Detroit Knottie (that would be a fellow member of theknot.com wedding message board) snapfish account.

But it is too cute not to share:

Smokin'

I don't smoke. In fact, I'm allergic to cigarette smoke. It pretty much gives me an instant headache. It is such that I can smell a cigarette when it has been tossed out of a nearby car. The friends I have who do smoke are very courteous about it. They try to stand down wind or sit further from me at the table.

It's why I don't do the downtown bar/club scene. The thought of coming home and smelling like an ashtray just isn't appealing. I would like to go out but many places aren't smoke free or they don't have a place for non-smokers. The one time I attempted to visit Legend's, I wound up sitting on a bench outside.

Oddly, pipes and cigars don't bother me. When I've gone to Sherlock Holmes Pub, I've been around a number of pipe smokers and haven't been sick at all.

A business aquaintence from Boston told me he was surprised that Nashville didn't have more non-smoking restaurants or areas of restaurants. Boston is smoke-free. All restaurants and bars are smoke free. I've not done the research but it makes sense to me. He said that he and his friends now go out more often because it is smoke free. Restaurants and bars protested initally but the complaining eventually went away because profits didn't decrease (according to his opinion).

Since there are more non-smokers than smokers, it would stand to reason that there are people (like myself) avoiding businesses because of smoke. I believe that they would actually go out more often if they knew they weren't going to get sick from the experience.

All of this to say, the Nashville Scene had a story about it. The good libertarian in me says let the businesses (or at the very least cities) decide for themselves what is/isn't smoke free. But boy, it would be great to visit Legend's and not sit on the street corner the whole night.

What's in Season

I get a little frustrated when I hear the phrase from snooty chefs on Food Network say that I should buy "what's in season."

"What IS in season you dolt?! Not all of us have that information or know where to go get it." I knew eggplants were in season in the summer from the Alton Brown "Good Eats" episode on eggplant.

When I go to the store, the produce looks pretty good. I buy it. I'm not paying too much attention to prices from June to now.

Apparently, Food Network heard me screaming, and they now have a handy-dandy guide to what is in season.

Finally declaring a winner

I've finally gotten around to it. I'm picking a winner in the last caption contest with the Pelosi Pic. Drumroll please.....

Steve with: "OOoooo...so that's how a Republican hangs. Dems are so tiny."

Because size comparison jokes are funny.

Bridal Caption Things

Miss O'Hara is getting married in April and being a bridesmaid, I get to help with all sorts of wedding things. From a distance anyway since we live in different cities.

Miss O'Hara is NOT a bridezilla. She has been fabulous and wonderfully accomodating and gracious. And helpful in pointing out the horrible things in bridal trends.

Like this, for those that can't be bothered to hold a bouquet:



And Elena found this one and sent a caption of "His boutinerre is REALLY happy to see the bride":



Then there are the shoes (not bridal but they deserve to be made fun of anyway. We found these while trying to find some good shoes to go with the dresses):

Miss O'Hara said these were "for the yak solidaritist"


I said these were for the corset fan in your life. They may also work for Pochantas if she needs something dressier for a night on the town:

My Booth Would Be So Much Cooler

Brevity Comic... that's because all the bloggers I know are cool. Except Difster. He's Captain Obvious.

All I want for Christmas

My own personal tank. Except that it needs some kind of gun mounted on it. I mean, what's the point of having a tank if you can't shoot at anything?

Does it scream "Jawa Transport Vehicle" to you? It does to me. With Smith's and Wesson's beady yellow eyes looking Jawa-like.... yeah - I'm ready for Tatooine, baby!

Christmas Songs I Hate

Away in a Manger

I can't stand this song because of the fact that it is so.. so.. Thomas Kincade in its depiction of the Nativity. The whole cattle lowing but the baby isn't crying thing just seems so un-realistic to the point of irritating.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Much like 99 bottles of beer on the wall, this song just keeps going on and on. It launches into the realm of annoying about the time you get to 3 French Hens. Now I know it is supposed to be spiritually significant but honestly, when you were taught the song, did they tell you that 3 French Hens represented "Faith, Hope, and Love?" I went to Church of Christ and Baptist schools. Never mentioned. Maybe it is a Catholic thing.

White Christmas

I am about to commit Christmas blasphemy: I don't care for White Christmas and I can't stand "It's a Wonderful Life." Being from the South, we don't have white Christmases. It's hard to share in that sentimentality (much like the mushy Amy Grant song 'Tennessee Christmas'). I think my problem with this and Grant's song is that it creates an ideal that just can't be met in the real world.

It is as though you are looking through a semi-foggy window at the ULTIMATE Christmas scene. Large family gathered around an expansive table with a turkey the size of a small child. Side dishes to make your eyes pop. Everyone wearing sweaters and other holiday-appropriate gear. Children running around, playing. It's just lovely and peaceful. Everything is ready on time and perfectly cooked. There's no TV playing the background. No one is eating in the den off of TV trays. The house is tastefully decorated with a large live Christmas tree. Did I mention the ribbons?

Yeah. I hate that. If anyone actually experienced a Hallmark-style holiday, I'm not sure I want to hear about it.

The Wonder Twins

Here are a couple of pictures of my boys: Smith and Wesson.

Loaded as a Logan's Baked Potato

Check this out:

Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for the gay rights group Lambda Legal Defence, said the case was the first in the US to allow a gay man or lesbian to sue doctors on allegations that treatment had been denied because of sexual orientation. The case has still to reach trial.

She said the latest ruling would be appealed against at the California supreme court. "We fear this decision is going to worsen the confusion in the minds of the public about whether you can legally discriminate in the name of religion," Ms Pizer, who represents Ms Benitez, told Associated Press. "The bottom line is that you should not be able to treat patients in a discriminatory way."

What treatment was she being denied? Fertility treatment. Now, last I checked, fertility treatment was not a life or death issue. It isn't cardiac care. She isn't going to die if she doesn't have a baby.

The court ruled in favor of the doctors, by the way, who refused to treat her on religious grounds.

Since fertility treatments are optional and one can have a good quality of life without them, I agree with the doctors. Maybe she should try another doctor, hmm? It is a free market economy, you know. She did that anyway, and has a 3 year old.

If they were refusing to, say, go through with a liver transplant even though there was a qualified donor and all because she was a lesbian, then I would agree with Lambda. Denial of critical care based on gender, orientation, intelligence level, income, race, or political persuasion is wrong.

Guest Blogging Stint

This weekend, I will be holding down the fort at NashvilleIsTalking.com.

So, let's head over there, mm-kay?

Caption Contest of the Third Kind

Holy Freakin' Crap... what a screen capture of Nancy Pelosi. Many thanks to the lovely and talented Miss O'Hara for pointing it out to me or else I would have missed it.

Have fun!

Elena has been writing again

Someone finally got around to adding something to her blog. :)

She has a great post on Walk the Line. There are some good observations in there. Go check it out.

Nashville Goes Mod

In two recent videos, we see the revenge of the Mod look, channelling June Carter Cash and Jackie O:

Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago - Lee Ann Womack
- and -
Like We Never Loved At All - Faith Hill with Tim McGraw

Lee Ann and Faith have their full shaga-dellic looks going on. Big hair, bigger eyelashes, funky patterns, neutral lipstick. Yet, Tim still seems to look like a 21st Century Metrosexual Cowboy.

Justifiable Homicide

That's what I told the lovely, talented and somewhat crazed bride (but who has good taste) Miss O'Hara when she IM'd me this... thing....

It's Chucky meets Alien meets a Can-Can Girl. And whoever says "wear this" should be shot for committing unspeakable crimes against fashion. And the designer should be severly beaten for even thinking it was... wearable. Man... I think I'm going to lose my lunch - which is ok because it wasn't that good anyway.

A playset for the Cartman in all of us

Via Elena (who knows exactly how to make me cackle with glee):

This playset has everything......except a hippie. Though the New Age Lady will just have to do. I bet they don't know that hippies have sub-categories: the giggling stoners, the drum-circle hippie, and the college know-it-all hippie.

Yeah - I know. I'm being lazy. I have nothing insightful or all that funny to report. So unless you want to hear my internal monologue of various dance steps "One, Two, side-together........" that has been stuck in there for 4 days now... I didn't think so.

I will eventually get around to saying something neat.

Though I did over-hear one woman at the dance studio report that the only reason why she was dating this guy was "THE SEX IS AMAZING!!!!!" We all needed to know that, thanks sweetheart. If it isn't followed with an offer of his phone number, I don't really want to hear it.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Enjoy the day!

Your Papers, Please.

Y'all might think I'm crazy.. that I'm a hater of the state (well you are right about).. that I have completely gone off the deep end into the world of conspiracy theories.

The Washington Post reports that the CDC wants to make a database of travellers to track the spread of communicable diseases in case of an outbreak.

What is to stop them from switching the health database into a database used to track the movements of the citizens nationally - for security purposes?

"As proposed, passengers could refuse to give personal contact information and still travel."

Just like you can still travel and not enter yourself into the TSA database. Be prepared to stand in line for 2 hours.. because if you are innocent, what do you have to hide? Come on.. enter your name and information into the database. Make it easy on yourself. We are from the government and we are here to help.

Just like you helped after 9/11 and the hurricanes? Yeah. No thanks. I will protect myself thank you very much.

M Is for Movie

M is for Murderer
M is for freakin' creepy.

So that didn't quite work out with the Sesame Street tune, but M is a old horror movie staring Peter Lorre' as a child killer.

What struck me about it was the very "CSI-Berlin"-circa-1931 feel to the beginning of the flick where they are searching for clues. Then a near-police state is created in an effort to find the killer. Because of the increased police presence, the criminal underworld goes on a hunt for the child killer. They are ticked off because the child killer has put a cramp in their day-to-day thieving and whoring. When they catch him first, they put him on "trial." Just as mob justice is about to take over, the police show up.

Just remember that when you exchange freedom for security, you are likely to have neither. Sure, initially you may feel safer, because you trust the police; but it is easy for them to abuse their power. Then you fear the state, as well as the criminals (who will always be out there). And because the state wants to control the populace, they have probably taken away one of the ways that you can defend yourself and family: personal firearms. Lang, the director, said that the message of the movie was for parents to watch over their children themselves---not to depend on others to do it for them.

The killer, Hans Beckert, sees himself as a victim. How can he stop doing what is just a part of him? How can he help himself? Something inside him drives him to kill. Haven't we heard that before? The mobsters don't buy it and say that he is better off dead at their own hands than in a prison where he will be evaluated as crazy and could be out in a few years---back on the streets to prey upon children---when the prison officials say he has been "rehabilitated." Again, the arguments haven't changed in over 70 years.

Lorre's child murderer is scared, small, and animal-like. You hate him the moment he comes on the screen. Compare that to the contemporary standard for a movie serial killer: Anthony Hopkins's Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, who is suave, charming, funny, and---in a twisted way---likable. It isn't that you are rooting for him. No, you hate Dr. Lecter too. You don't really see what he does or what he did, but his nonchalant description of eating liver with a chianti is more chilling than seeing Buffalo Bill shot to death, in my opinion. Both Beckert and Lecter are devoid of a moral center. How can they be human?

If...

You were praying for me yesterday morning, I appreciate it.

All is well. Thanks. Now back to your regularly scheduled snark.

Burn Burn Burn

Burning Ring of Fire...

That should have been the name of the Johnny Cash bio-pic (as one review suggested).

Short review: Double-plus good.

Longer review: I loved it. I will admit to becoming a fan of Mr. Cash late in the game. I started with his American series from the 1990s and 2000s. If you don't own those CDs, you should. They are very good - raw, emotional, and authentic.

Reese Witherspoon should be nominated for an Oscar for her performance. She stole the movie. Joaquin Phoenix was good, but there was something missing...but I'm not sure what. His voice was spot on to Johnny's, and Joaquin did all of the singing. Bonus points for that.

Elena pointed out the way that a lot of Cash's songs' rhythms sound like a train moving. She also loved that the record producer at the beginning said, "If you were about to die and you had a chance to sing just one more song, what would it be? What do you want to be remembered for? Something mediocre that everyone's done before? Or are you going to step out, take a risk, and do what you are passionate about?"

It's a hard question that I definitely want to consider for myself: How do I want to live?

How do you want to live?

Lame, Lame, Lame

It's Friday. Past closing time.. and I'm still here working.

GOOOOSHH!

By the way, I will be out Monday. Just say a prayer for me Monday morning. I'd appreciate it.

Shopping until Dropping

I normally do not go to the stores on the day after Thanksgiving. People, en masse, are stupid and crazy. Parking lots are full... I'm just not about that craziness when I can stay at home with a movie and a bag of popcorn.

But this may have changed my mind.

And the full listing of ads, deals, and sales can be found at bf2005.com. Or here. It is a market, after all. There is competition.

I can't wait to see what Elena is....

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

A purr to Sugarfused.

What a lady needs to know abour social dancing

Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking. ~John Wayne

Girls respond. Period. Women - we do NOT INTITATE ANYTHING IN SOCIAL/BALLROOM DANCING. Ever. Ever. You follow. You respond. This doesn't mean you just stand there like a limp rag, but you are actively following - leaning back just enough so that you can feel where he is moving. And no back leading just because you know the step. You have to stop anticipating and let him lead.

Lemme say it again: let... him... lead.

The lady's responsibility is to stay on beat - no matter what goofy thing he does, even if you step on him.

It's hard for a guy to lead, particularly when the woman is fighting. When I first started ballroom dancing, I fought Zorro (my now former dance instructor) for about 3 weeks. Coming out of belly dance, I'm used to almost everything coming in a sequence of 2s, 3s or 4s. So I would constantly be anticipating a set of moves. "Let me lead," he would remind me. "Strengthen your frame. Push against me like you're trying to keep me from kissing you."

It's a good thing he isn't the Army Guy dance instructor. I wouldn't be fighting too hard... he's hot. He's also very married with a newborn. *mind returns to reality*

OK, so, I finally made the mental connection to how to follow. And my dancing greatly improved. And the guys I dance with seem to have more fun when they don't have to struggle with me as far as where the dance is going on the floor. We can zig-zag across the room. We can stay in one spot.

Oh, yes, your other responsibilty - look fabulous. Much of what the man does is to make the lady look good.

How to Get Out of Iraq

Use a paper clip, a piece of string, 3 buttons, chewing gum, a Swiss Army Knife, and an old copy of any book that happens to be laying around.

Vote Macgyver in 2008

What was really up with Vader's outfit

More cartoons at I :heart: Darth. This comes under the category of "Why didn't I think of that?"

Kelly Clarkson Whines

I watched you die
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry
In the middle of the night
For the same d**n thing

As a child of divorce, I get the point of this verse. My mom leaned on me because she didn't have anyone else to lean on. She would talk to me about things I probably shouldn't have known about because she needed to get them out.. unknowingly coloring my perception of men for years to come.

Not that my dad's walking out hadn't already shaded that to a great extent.

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

I know this song is emotional and heart-wrenching but at a certain point, you have to stop blaming other people and accepting (uh-oh, will she go there???) PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Maureen Dowd says....

"Deep down all men want the same thing: a virgin in a gingham dress..."

1) Who wears gingham? One would think a sophiscated, fashionable woman from NYC should know better. Hello? I want to look like a picnic table? Ick.
2) The "Dorothy meets the hunky Wizard fantasies".... keep them to yourself.

Enough PC-isms that it will make you twitch

By the way, "twitch" is my word for the last 2 weeks. I think I've used it about 3 dozen times since last Sunday.

On to this story found at WND... Seems that some overly zealous vandals scrawled a hateful anti-gay, religiously themed message onto a GLBT office door. If they had made some non-religious statement, there would likely only have been one seminar - not three.

The best response, participants decided, would be a series of free forums in which local clergy and others explore different perspectives on how the Bible should be interpreted in regard to human rights and homosexuality.

At the first forum next week, for example, two ministers and a rabbi will explore such questions as the Bible's social context, whether it was "God-written or God-inspired," and arguments for and against literal interpretation.

"People are using the Bible to dehumanize LGBTQ folks," said Garcia, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. "The purpose of the forums is to bring an inclusive vision of what the Bible is stating."

While I certainly don't condone violence or discrimination, I personally think alot of people are trying to make themselves feel better by having a whopping bag-full-o-forums.

And this could launch us into a whole debate about protected speech vs. non-protected. We know that hate speech isn't protected under the First Amendment but... should it be, for the reason that speech doesn't physically violate your space? As a libertarian, I view the issue as this: the minute your actions involuntarily affect mine, there is a problem. This is why screaming fire in a crowded theater where there is no fire, is illegal. In that case one person's action/speech has impacted us all, and likely to the point where people got hurt physically.

My political science professor (who helped make me into a libertarian) asked why we couldn't see each person as an individual actor - or in his demonstration, a bubble. In that bubble are the things you have direct influence and control over. Your stuff. You have your little bubble and you voluntarily interact with others for the purpose of commerce or having a social life. This causes your bubble to overlap with someone else's bubble.

Why force me to interact with someone I don't want to? But if you move your bubble over to push against mine and take/damage my property (including my person - not just my stuff), then you have violated my bubble. In my world, I would start shooting. Many would say, "We are glad we don't live in PK's world." But in PK's world, everyone knows you run the risk of getting shot at if you attempt to defraud/steal/rape/kill/act like a nuisance.

Since I don't live in just PK's world, I work hard to keep my bubble as intact as I possibly can in a world that is hostile to libertarian thinking.

How all of that reflects on speech--and others would say that speech threatens your bubble--that is the price one lives in for a free society. Do you give up freedom of speech for perceived safety and tolerance? Just because it hurts your feelings doesn't mean it is a legitmate threat. To borrow from the gun "safety" advocates: words don't kill people, actions do.

Would cross burning be protected? If they put it on my lawn and set it on fire? Heck no. If he burned it on his own lawn, in as bad taste as though it may be - yes.

I think they should get the people on vandalism and destruction of private property - the hate speech issue, for me, is beside the point. You mess with my stuff and you are going to get it. Say whatever you want. It is your God-given right to prove to the rest of us that you are a stupid racist, homophobic bigot. But you can be a stupid racist, homophobic bigot over there. You scrawl your message on my door, then we have a problem.

Edited to add: Another topic for discussion is hate crimes. All crime is about power, control, coveting something or wanting to hurt someone. Because someone does it out of a racist POV doesn't mean the crime is any more or less special. Dead is dead - no matter how you got there.

Hate crime laws demean the... non-hate crime victims. What happened to Matthew Shepherd, for example, was heinous. But why does the motive make it worse? What about the random guy murdered in Anycity, USA? Why should his attacker get anything less for what turned out to be the same thing?

Or should you extend hate crimes to cover gang violence too? I mean, those gangs REALLY hate each other.

You know what it says to me: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others - George Orwell, Animal Farm

Lead, Follow, or Don't Dance

Here is an example of where the guy needs to lead clearly. Last night, Elena and I went to the Tango Nashville 2nd Anniversary party (it was free - and I am all about the free stuff). Part of the festivities was a free tango lesson. I jumped up and waded into the crowd to find some single guy to dance with. Turns out the guy next to me didn't have a partner either, so I asked him if he wanted to dance. He said, "Sure," and off we went. The steps were very basic: walking; a side step; and then a cross step for the lady, that can be very sensuous and flirtatious. 'Cept that Omar was having none of that and was, like, not willing to lead.

Argentine tango is quite different from the ballroom-style tango I have been learning, but the idea of lead–follow is the same, regardless. The man directs the movement of the lady through the use of his chest and shoulders and by shifting his body weight.

So I asked Omar 3 times if he would strengthen his lead, because I couldn't tell what foot he was on or what direction he was going. "I can't follow if you don't lead." No response.

I'm a good follower. I can usually pick up on what is going on, even with a bad lead, but this was awful. I kept missing steps. He stepped on my foot 3 times because we were off-synch. He messed up the rock step (the man signals that by bringing his right foot forward to touch the lady's left and then rock back and forth). And he was having none of the cute, sensual, flirtatious side of the tango.

PKs thought during the experience: Dude, so I'm not that little blond hottie you are staring at and who you probably wanted to dance with, ok... but for the moment, could you pay attention to what you are doing here? It would really help. And uh... she's married. Big gold ring. Right there. Easy to see. To that other professional dancer.

Elena observed the whole thing. I'm hoping that she wasn't trying to puff up my ego (because if she was, it worked) by saying that she could see that I was definitely the better dancer. I hope the workshop this weekend goes better. I'm looking forward to it.

Copy Kitties

Seems that once again, I am the inspiration for a post.

Nashville Is Talking: Caption Contest

It's a great photo. Go write something funny.

Thank you Captain Obvious!

In an effort to continue to point out what we mere mortals don't see, the Tennessean has a story today about how teens see first cars as ticket to independence.

In other news, they will tell us that the government collects taxes, smoking is bad for you, Wal-Mart is evil, and and people waste time at work doing anything but work.

Ohhhh what could I do.....

PETA prez sells herself on eBay

The lovely and talented Miss O'Hara and I immediately kicked out the following suggestions of what we would do with the President of PETA if we won the auction (that is if we combined her wedding fund and my dance lesson money):

Make her eat meat, veal in particular. And a nice juicy grilled steak. Mmmmm....
Wear Leather
Kill a chicken
Cook a turkey
Beat a baby seal
Wear Fur
Take her to the circus
Feed the lions
Conduct cosmetic testing that they aren't doing on animals
Spend time with Giselle and the editor of Vogue

I can't make this stuff up, folks.

Overheard in the office just now. A student who is upset because her petition to change her class from graded status to pass/fail said:

"I know there are rules or whatever and that they are trying to make it like the real world. But to me, the real world is about exceptions you know?"

My Own Caption Contest Entry

The Clintons each thought "I'm make-believing like I am kissing you... I'm dreaming about.. uh.. any woman other than you as I do it."

Dancing Backwards in High Heels

That's part of a quote used to imply that Ginger Rogers did more than Fred Astaire in their dance routines. And its a lyric from a Kenny Chesney song, too.

It occurred to me Saturday night at dance class that the quote is wildly inaccurate. Men have WAY more to do in social dancing (that would be your couples dances - waltz, foxtrot, swing, salsa, etc...) than women. I was dancing with a guy who is quite a bit more advanced than myself. So he would test my ability to follow by throwing stuff in there. And for the most part, I did pretty well if he provided a clear lead.

In every dance class I've been in, the instructor has spent more time going over the guy's part than the girls. Usually by the time they get to the girls, we've managed to pick up on our step and only need a moment or two to make sure we are actually doing it correctly.

Guys have to learn to lead. That means the guy has to somehow provide information to the woman through the direction of his body, the pressure of his hands, and the release of a particular handhold to move into a open step or turn.

Guys also have to look out where they are going. This is particularly crucial on a crowded dance floor. I can't tell you how many people I've bumped into because the guy in the other couple wasn't looking where he was going and walked right where we were moving. It doesn't hurt, but it's a bit embarrassing for all parties.

Guys also set the tone of the dance. Sure, the girl can be fun and flirty, but it's the guy who sets it up so that she looks super-great.

Given the amount of information the man is responsible for, it doesn't surprise me that I keep bumping into men who don't want to learn to dance. Such a shame, because I meet SO many women who say, "I love to dance. I wish I had a partner," or something like that. I really think that if a guy wanted to wrap a girl around his finger, he would learn to dance well. But that's just me... and I love to dance.

In my next entry, I will talk about what the ladies are supposed to do... or not do.

And she's pretty too!

Elena has a major big post on language that everyone should go read.

Y'all are quiet...

too quiet.

All Dressed Up...

Res said he wanted to see me in a belly dance costume. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the Dance Club Friday night. The gentlemen with me in the second picture are a couple of the instructors:






I'm not Rachel Brice, but I think I look pretty cute.

Edited to add: It isn't really visible in this pic, but the skirt I was wearing was black with black sequins, so it was really shiny and sparkly with gold and silver over-skirts. When Zorro whipped me around in a spin, the skirt flew up to about my knees - awesome look (which is why I bought the thing - its perfect for spins)! And then when I wore the same costume Saturday night, Guy X spun me around, and all of a sudden I'm wondering if everyone is seeing my naughty bits, because the skirt caught some serious air.

On a scale of 1 to Awesome...

I am Super Great.

Thanks to Katherine and Michael for this... Of course I'm worth more than both of them. What else could one expect from Super-Secret Agent Pink Kitty?

My blog is worth $106,133.52.
How much is your blog worth?

But apparently it isn't worth as much as Mr. Roboto.

Thanks and more blogger outings!

Thanks to Rex Hammock and the wonderful Mr. Roboto for putting together last night's blogger get-together. No fights broke out, though there were some threats made. I didn't make them. I was there to drink beer and eat pizza. I didn't drink beer... *sigh* I had one sip of the one Dana gave me (she got it 2-for-1) and whatever it was, it was awful. After that, I opted for no alcohol. Life was good.

I had a Red Stripe when I got home.

Nashville Bloggers need to keep in mind that Blake and I are working on another outing - at the gun range. What? Shocked you say? Should we actually put firearms in the hands of bloggers?

Just remember - don't point them at anyone and point them down range at the target. There is no goofing around with them at the range. My future brother-in-law-in-law (no I'm not stuttering. It's my brother's fiance's brother in law. Therefore, he's our future brother in law-in law) hopes to come with us to help with new shooters. He takes gun safety very seriously.

Anyway, so, we are trying to find a place to go shoot. Once we have that, we will post it. Email me (pink_kitty_post at yahoo dot com) if you are already interested in going.

Second social event of note, I met a smattering of other edited "Nashville's Private College" folks. We decided we needed to get together for lunch. "Nashville's Private College" bloggers also email me so we can find out who we all are and share love for the employer.

- I'm using that term under protest. There are countless other Private Colleges in Nashville. -

Political Pranks

The Scene talks about a prank at the Metro Council where 3 microphones were disconnected and that it cost $144 to fix.

I believe the TN General Assembly desks are similar. The microphones can also be disconnected there, leaving the cord trapped between panels of wood. When this happened at the TN General Assembly, they just got out a coat hanger that had been stretched out and pulled the plug up.

No recess needed. And it certainly didn't cost $144. Perhaps the Metro Council should look into that.

Having Issues

Oh yes... I have issues. No secret about that, but today, I want to talk about one specific issue: the Iraq war. This is prompted by the war protests that went on around the country the other day. And a post by Brittney at NIT about a soldier's story of working with a paralyzed girl (not the fault of the war - she was paralyzed well before it happened) and the snarky and rude comment made by someone in response.

It is no secret that I was in favor of the war in Iraq. I believed it was a good idea. Saddam was threatening and not abiding by the UN resolutions for inspections and such. He wasn't quite the buffer between Iran and Israel that he used to be (which is why I think we didn't take him out in 1991 - the power vaccum left in his wake would have been more than ripe for Iran... which it now is... and left Israel in a very vulnerable state). I did the Protest Warrior thing (and I still think Kfir is hot.)

I think there are those on the left who try to pretend Iraq was some lovely place full of rainbows and streams of flowers. It wasn't. Hussein is an evil man who tortured and terrified his people. As bad as some think George W. Bush has been, at the very least he has not released gas over his own people to kill them. Think about those innocent Iraqis when speaking of the Iraqis that have died. Here was a government that continually threatened its neighbors and (former) allies to the point of invading them. They also funded terrorism by paying the families of suicide bombers.

I'm also a flag-waving proud-to-be-an American type. I know the words to the various Armed Forces songs and can sing all those patrotic 4th of July stuff. Blah-blah.

Part of the reason I haven't wanted to say anything publically about my dwindling support for the war in Iraq is that I do not want to be lumped in with the left-leaning hippies (as if that mistake could be made. Possibly since the women I meet in my belly dance classes all seem to think I'm a hippy when I haven't given them any reason to think otherwise. We don't talk politics. I'm there to dance.) And as I have said before: I hate hippies. I haven't quite progressed to the Eric Cartman level of hippie hating, though. I'm sure hippies hate me - so it's all mutual.

I've also not wanted to because I am immensly proud of those in the military. With my brother over there (not anymore - he's back in the US as of this morning), I don't want to pull a Cindy Sheehan type move and dishonor their service. The lunatic fringe overshadows the entire debate so that we can't actually discuss it.

Truthfully, I think they should have split Iraq into three countries controlled by their dominant factions: Kurdish, Shiites, and Sunni.

Can one say "I disagree with this" and still honestly support the troops? Am I just buying into the constant negative press? There are good things happening there but at what cost? Christians feel less safe now than they did under Hussein. When does the price get to be too high?

He's Home! He's Home!

Well, almost.

My brother called from Camp Shelby, MS just a little bit ago.

He made it back safe and sound... and he was on his way to Wal-Mart.

Ahhhhh.... God Bless America.

Miers Withdrew From SCOTUS nomination

Miss O'Hara just told me that Harriet Miers has stepped out of the process to be a Justice.

Conservatives everywhere heave a sigh of relief.

Miss O'Hara went on to say "Now watch W name Karl Rove."

What Is Newsworthy?

Perhaps this was overheard at the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament:

Now that I know you choose paper, I clearly cannot choose rock. But since I know that you will now choose paper, I can safely choose scissors to soundly best you. But I see that you are clever. You would know that I would choose scissors, because you knew that I know you have the disposition to choose paper. Therefore I clearly cannot choose scissors, because you would counter with the rock.

/stolen from fark.com/

Things that should never come back - vol. 2

Farrah hair. And Madonna. Girl - you've made your money, go live quietly in the English country-side and let the rest of the planet be. I saw you on Letterman or whatever it was this weekend.. or was it VH1. I dunno. It just seemed so... 5 minutes ago.. listening to them talk about your upcoming doc on your last world tour. I am not planning to go see it. I wouldn't even see it for free.

Overheard at Lunch

Woman at next table: I feel like we are on "Sex and the City!"

PK - nearly chewing on her tongue to keep her mouth shut thinks: "Chick - you are at Pizza Perfect. There is absolutely no reason why you should feel like a fabulously dressed, well-heeled, uber-trendy Manhattanite HERE!"

For non-Nashvillians: Pizza Perfect is this place near campus. It's fast food but instead of burgers, it's pizza.

Miss O'Hara's comment: What? Were they comparing vibrators?
PK: I dunno. I missed that part.

Halloween Stories

from The People's Cube:



Visit their site for the rest.

Proving Idiocy

It isn't hard. Actual conversation, not 10 minutes ago:

Woman in hall: Excuse me?
PK: Yes?
Woman: I was wondering if you could tell me where Human Resources is?
PK: HR moved out of this building 3 years ago. Their offices are now located at -----.
Other Woman: We are looking for ---, the Director of HR.
PK: He's not in this building. He's at ---.
Other Woman: Are you sure?
PK: Yes ma'am.
Other Woman: I was told he had an office in this building.
PK: I am positive he's not in this building. In fact, he's never had an office in this building. It was vacant the year he came to work here. And we moved in last year. (PK's thought: but feel free to go knock on every door in here if you don't believe me.)
Other Woman: Are you sure?
PK: Yes ma'am. Would you like me to go get the phone book and show you?
Other Woman: Yes.
PK (returning with phone book: Here it is. His office is at ------ above the bookstore.
Other Woman *stares at me as though I have conspired against her to move the HR guy's office under her nose... just to confuse her. That I've made up this phone book entry and LIED to her!!! He's really in this building!!!!!! Don't you DARE PROVE TO ME OTHERWISE!!!!!!!*
Woman: Thank you very much.

Caption Contest

Here we go... time for another one... :)

Have fun with Chuck Schumer! Enjoy!

Things That Should NEVER Come Back

After the party Friday night, several of us stood around talking about trends that come back after dying the horrible deaths they deserved.

I related the NIT discussion of gaucho pants (the link for it is now gone).
And then we talked about Tamagotchi pets. You remember those, right? The keychain pets that you have to feed and play with or else they die and you just wasted $15. They are back, too.

Well, I didn't mention it but one person that should go away is Ricky Martin. Yep, Mr. Livin' La Vida Loca is back and has a video on VH1. Ugh. He is so 1999.

Thoughts? Additions?

Edited to add: leg warmers. Why are girls wearing them again? I know I saw them. Eww. Pretty soon tight-rolling your jeans will be back.

I wish I was this funny.....

I read GoFugYourself religiously. This entry is probably one of the funniest things I've ever read.

So unless Michael Stipe woke up one morning and said, "today, I am going out dressed as Jessica's grandfather, if he were an academic obsessed with crossing the Delaware," then this is a MISSTEP.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Saying what we always thought about some movies...

That the postershid the fact that the film stunk. Go farkers!

"Men are very bad for women really"

No Kitty... that's my pot pie!!!!

Actually, that article has little to do with Cartman.. but that quote makes Elena laugh.

See, I knew men were to blame but somehow... like a McDonald's Chicken McNugget... I can't stay away from them.

Walking a very fine line

In this WND story, a group of British Christians want to use the hate crimes law to ban the Quran.

While I agree that the Quran, sunnah, and hadith have statements that encourage radical and violent Islamists, attempting to ban it is a mistake. Let's say they win, the next target could be the fire and brimstone preacher. Then a radical Hindu. Next? A Christian who would dare say in a public forum that such-n-such behavior is a sin.

You don't think they would target Christians more than anyone else? They would. Why? First, Christians tend to be the majority. They also tend to be more outspoken and thus make themselves targets.

Overheard at Lunch

A diner complained about the sandwich brought to him by the waiter.

Waiter: "Yeah. BLT means bacon, lettuce and tomato. Did... you want something else?"
Diner: "Well, I thought it meant burger with lettuce and tomato."

PK's thought: It was on the menu. Hello? Where on this planet does "BLT" mean burger with lettuce and tomato?

Said diner got a burger and then sent it back because it was cooked to medium and apparently he wanted it "burnt." I bet after the meal was over they asked for it for free, too.

Does it say...

"Nooo Kitty. This is my pie!" or
"Respect my athoritha" or
"M'am, I'm here to check your house for parasites ... apparently, you have hippies. " or
"I want Cheesy Poofs!"

Shroud Of Cartman Appears On Sofa

Running Lights

On 3 separate occasions this past week, I saw what appears to be an abuse of police power:

Flicking on their sirens to run red lights.

I saw it twice at the intersection of Blackman Rd and Edmonson Pike.

They turn them on to go through the intersection and then turn them off once they are past. They don't speed up. They just keep cruising at whatever the speed limit is or slightly above it (like all Nashville drivers.)

Maybe, just maybe they on a call where they have been asked to arrive sans sirens and lights but... I dunno. But, if not, yes - it's an abuse. I have to sit there and wait on the light. If I run it and you are sitting there, I get a ticket. You run it and I just have to take it.

I thought several years ago, Metro installed some device to keep track of how often police cars used their lights because several years ago there was a story about abuse of the lights to run red lights.

Belly Dance photos of the week - the Salimpours

This little darling is Isabella Salimpour.



Her mother is Suhaila Salimpour, another of my favorite dancers. Suhaila's mom is Jamilia Salimpour. Jamilia is a pioneer of American belly dance (before her husband forced her away from performing by threatening to break her legs. Nice.) Suhaila's style heavily influenced the American Tribal-Fusion movement that you see with Rachel Brice. All those California dancers sticking together.... *watches as the audiences eyes glaze over*

Here are a couple of pictures of Suhaila.

Things I saw that made me wish I hadn't broken my digital camera

- The "My wife is a b****" bumper sticker. Refreshing, no? Wish I knew who was driving it. It would have really been funny if it was a woman driving the car.

- The tow truck pulling a tow truck.

- The kittens asleep in my lap.

Do Some Good - Shake a Tail feather

The Nashville Belly Dance group is having its second hurricane relief show this Sunday at 6pm in Tucker Theater at MTSU (which is in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building).

Oh yes - the Titans Cheerleaders will be there too.

What? You say you don't know where it is? Here's the map.

PK Impresonating Helen of Troy

Not really but I am the inspiration behind Glen's post on Christian libertarianism.

I'm so honored.

Caution: Government at Work

We all know that cars park themselves and get tickets when we aren't around.

Hat tip: WND.

*speechless*

Via IDontLikeYouInThatWay.com comes an auction that proves you can take the girl out of the country but you can't make her stop putting crappy nasty stuff on eBay.

Come ON! Used flip-flops?! That's just got all kinds of gross written on it. *shudders, spasms violently*

What do you want to bet some Britney fan who has a foot fetish won the auction?

Save yourself some money and get new flip-flops from Target.

Update: The lovely, talented and always fashionable Miss O'Hara informed me that the auctions have since been removed. "Apparently it was too gross even for eBay."

That reminds me of this story a co-worker told me. There was this QVC-"like" show on in Knoxville. It was a local show and was more like a yard sale on TV, taking the hawking of crap to whole new levels. She told me that one time, they brought out a mystery box and when they opened it, it had the contents of stuff one would keep under the sink, including:

1. Half a box of tampons
2. A used curling iron
3. Pink foam rollers

I think I need to go watch the StrongBad email regarding garage sales again. "I mean isn't it a bit suspicious that there is only one letter difference between garage sale and garbage sale?"

It's not really about sex

Some weeks ago, I had a post on some of the questions I had about what does the Bible really have to say about sex. I now have a stack of books, most of them useless, on either side of the issue - secular and Christian.

One side of the aisle says "don't think about it at all! Don't let any sexual thought even cross your mind for that is lust!" The other says it's all good in a comitted relationship. Don't fight your fantasies. Not quite follow your bliss but it's getting there. So, like Aristotle, I sought out the golden mean.

I found it in Richard J. Foster's The Challenge of the Disciplined Life which acknowledged the struggles of sexuality in the modern world without sounding like I'm stuck in a health class in 6th grade with a nervous teacher would rather be talking about anything else... or the other teacher who wants to get into discussing technique. Foster talks about power and money too but I haven't read those chapters yet. Winner's Real Sex that I referenced in my earlier post was also a helpful resource.

Then it occurred to me last night - it isn't about sex.

It's about intimacy.

Foster writes that we have come to equate sex with intimacy when there is more to intimacy than that. We have lost the non-erotic part of intimacy that comes with spending time with one another in genuine fellowship. We have also attempted to make every touch sexual. He states that some older singles will go for MONTHS without the touch of another human - and we are talking just like a pat on the back here.

You don't know your neighbors. You only associate with your co-workers in the office. If you are lucky you may have a lunch buddy. If you go to a gym, it's about working out and not about getting to know anybody. How many of you have watched person after person breeze in and out of your church without stopping to say a word to anyone? How many of you (myself included) have done that very thing?

Note: this is not meant to be a accusatory. It is a hard look on what I think the real problem with sex and singleness is. And loneliness isn't just a single-person's problem.

We are created to be in community. Living in a fallen world, the idea of intimacy has been distorted and perverted to where we equate it only with sex. This leaves generations of single Christians trapped - we want to honor God and live our lives for Him but we are lonely!

How many of you have basically lost a friend after they got married? They slip into a world where they only associate with other couples and if you are around them, you feel like half a set of training wheels on a bicycle. Not much good for anything and really kind of in the way.

Well-meaning church folk talk about having relationship with God. Yes... we are supposed to do that. But God flat out says "it is not good for man to be alone." He KNOWS we need to be with other people.

A whole other discussion is can men and women really be friends or does the cultural imposition of sexuality on those relationships make it impossible?

Free At Last!!!

Free at last! Thank God Almighty - I am free at last!

Friday Frivolity (or Today's Tidbit of Geek Wisdom)

PK dug up this bit of wisdom from To the Hilt, the sword-wielding, swashbuckling gypsy comedy duo beloved by Tennessee Renaissance Festival goers.

"A wise woman once said, 'The Renaissance Festival is to history what the Etch-a-Sketch is to art.'"

Wonder where the Lite Brite fits into the hierarchy of "sorta artsy" toys.......

Sharing the Randomness...

Last night while I was fixing something to eat, the words to a StrongBad email song burst out of my mouth...

No apparent reason... like a twisted version of Tourette's or something.

"Checkin' de email... Checkin' de email. StrongBad email.........."
"Ohhh... the Nathan TX?! That has like 4 more cylinders than the standard Nathan."

Yeah.

Cheats and Swindlers

This is just plain disturbing - what some people try to do to get a buck:

Dear Members and Frist Center Supporters:

It has come to our attention that people in Middle Tennessee are being contacted for the purpose of offering discounted Frist Center memberships purchased with a credit card. They are identifying themselves as representatives of an organization they call Friends of the Frist.

No such Friends of the Frist organization exists. The Frist Center is not soliciting memberships (discounted or otherwise) via telephone.

If you are contacted by telephone or an email you believe is suspect, please do not offer any information. Contact us.

If you have questions about any Frist Center membership mailing or solicitation now or at any time, please contact Frist Center Membership Manager Brooke Reusch at (615) 744-3248 or by email at breusch@fristcenter.org.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous people are attempting to use our institution and the name of the Frist Center for fraudulent purposes.

We have contacted the authorities and would appreciate knowing about any offers you may receive by contacting our Director of Finance and Operations Martin Terrien at (615) 744-3330 or by emailing mterrien@fristcenter.org.

Thank you.

Susan Edwards, Ph.D.
Executive Director and C.E.O.
Frist Center for the Visual Arts

So, say no if the Frist Center calls. But do make sure to go and visit any chance you get. It's a greate museum.

Movie Viewing Follow-up

This has been PK's movie week outside of the Film Festival.

Tuesday night, Duke Diva and I went to the preview screening of "A History of Violence." Jim Ridley's review is spot on. Warning: some NSFW language in the review. It's easier to point to someone else's lengthy review that I agree with than write one myself that would bore the pants off you. The script was incredibly good. The acting was outstanding. And the cinematography... wow. That did an incredible job of setting a creepy tone right at the beginning of the movie. *shiver* I highly recommend seeing this movie. It gets my full-price ticket award (I don't give that lightly).

Wednesday night, Elena and I went to the preview screening of Serenity as a part of our selling out to da man and pimpin' out my blog for a free ticket. First, I am not a Joss Whedon fan. My question about this was "who?"

I had no idea it was tied to a TV show until somebody told me.

I didn't do any reading up on the backstory before hand. Other than the snyopsis posted on my blog, that's all the information I had.

This movie can stand on its own. One does not need to be a rabid fanboy or fangirl to appreciate it. It was very good. Again, the story was well-written. There was just enough humor to keep the overall story from being repressed by the special effects.

It was made better by running into Big Orange Michael and Katherine. It's great to put faces with blogs and to find out people are just as funny face-to-face as they are on their blogs. I thought Brittney of NIT was sitting behind us but that girl said she wasn't. And Pam and I saw plenty of movies together at NFF. It was good to see her too. In fact, if we hadn't seen Pam, we wouldn't have met Katherine or Michael.

Elena said "do you have blog fodder for days?" when seeing the variety of people in attendance.

"Only if I had my camera."

This lead us into a long discussion about how it might be possible to be a sci-fi nut and yet still bathe and dress in something that looked like it had been washed since the turn of the century. Or to get a haircut that doesn't shout "I used to be a roadie for Quiet Riot."

I guess I am supposed to say something about the movie, now.

I liked it. I'm glad I went. I'm glad it was free because that saved me $8 I can use toward gas. I would have paid matinee price if someone I knew had seen it before I saw it.

Mingling with the Commoners

It isn't often that I go to the grocery store since I started using Plumgood. Why should I when I can order (organic) groceries online in a fraction of the time it would take me to wander through a supermarket? They are delivered to my door for a modest fee and I get my time back.

Yes, my life is so hard.

Since I started shopping through Plumgood, I have been to the actual grocery store... like... 5 times since January. I had to do it the other day. Not because I didn't place an order online. I had to cancel my debit card because I lost it (and then found it, but they won't un-cancel it), and Plumgood doesn't take Discover.

So...that means I had to actually go to the store. And it took me an hour to buy what would have taken me 10 minutes or less to buy online. Wandering around the store to get lunch items, poking through the fruit bins to find one apple that isn't bruised all to heck...feeling a little lost. But I made it to the checkout counter.

And in front of me was this family. I saw that they had selected some food but what got me were the 10 2-liter Mountain Dews. 10. Who in the world needs 10 Mountain Dews? And 2 12-packs of Coke? That was enough to make my blood sugar rise just thinking about it! They probably spent more on soft drinks than on food. They also probably will have Mom bring home dinner from McDonald's on her way home from work as opposed to cooking anything.

The only food I clearly recall seeing was a bag of Munch'ems, but I know there was other stuff up there. But I am pretty sure it wasn't bagged salad, fresh meat, or bananas.

It was probably frozen pizza, tater tots, and Pasta-Roni. Mmm... tater tots.

Elena called me a grocery cart snob.

Industrial-strength sodium, people. After we had our last junk food binge, my face broke out with something akin to boils. Makeup couldn't hide these things. I was so embarrassed to meet with students---or anyone for that matter. Thanks to advice from Elena's Grandma T., the scars are minimal.

Yes, I am. (A grocery cart snob.) Is it more expensive to eat healthy? Nominally so. But considering the long-term benefits of healthier eating, I believe it will all work out in the end.

Life Imitating Art

Don't tell me that when you read "Dolphin assassins menace Gulf of Mexico" you didn't see Dr. Evil gushing about wanting sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads but hear "sea bass" instead.

Selling Out

Over at NIT, there was a discussion on those of use who decided to pimp our blogs out to the man in exchange for free movie tickets.

This got me to thinking about a few things (better watch out because it gets messy around here when I actually start to think).

It's definitely a new marketing tactic by Universal to court bloggers to come to a free screening of a movie. I think it's a little brave of them encouraging us to write reviews, particularly if the movie winds up stinking like The Island. Let's invite bloggers who probably reach about 20 people each (though some of the folks attending might reach more. Let's all be realistic about our sitemeter hits, m'kay?) and ask them to see our movie.

Now, I don't expect that y'all would see a movie just because I said it was good or said it was bad, but in my experience, if someone I know personally says, "PK, that movie was fantastic. You should see it," I'm inclined to at least consider seeing it---either in the theater or waiting until it comes out on DVD.

"PK, that movie is awful."---yeah....snowballs have better chances in stoves than that movie has with me.

Though if I say "You should really see [insert random movie title here]," you should see it. :)

So, in an effort to build word-on-the-street, Universal is trying this marketing scheme. I think they are banking A LOT on Joss Whedon's reputation with his successful TV series/fan base. Because I have no idea who's actually starring in it.

And I am not a fan of Buffy/Angel/Firefly. Never watched any of them. I've been told the latter was actually really good. I'm trying to decide if I want to read up on Firefly before seeing the movie Wednesday, or would it be good to go in cold? You can see The Mummy Returns and "get it" without having seen The Mummy. However, The Two Towers makes almost no sense unless you saw The Fellowship of the Ring.

Second, what about pimping out your blog? Mr. Roboto had a field day when he re-designed his blog to poke fun at News2 for the scrolling headlines several local bloggers have on their sites. Is this any different than wearing a radio station's T-shirt or having its bumper sticker on your car? Those with the high and mighty tone about placing the synopsis on a blog might want to consider exactly how and when they got sucked into the great marketing machine.

No one is immune. Resistance is futile.

Saying of the day...

"You can't fight an airbrushed enemy..."
- PK

Let's go to the movies

Let's go to the show... RKO, Universal.... (Remember that from Annie?)

I love action and sci-fi movies. When I saw the trailer for this on TV a couple weeks back, I decided that I definately want to see it (on DVD). Elena, Duke Diva, and I discussed it last night: we are looking forward to it. "Very cool." Elena is a big fan of Firefly, so she's coming with me to the screening. We hope that the Universal folks will be nice enough to let us in. :)



Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

Meet the New Kitties!!!!

As you may remember, Her Royal Highness the Empress Kitty ran away. After a month of PK being with out a kitty, I made a visit to the Humane Association and adopted not one, but two! Brothers to be precise. Aren't they just precious?

Meet Smith and Wesson! Those aren't their original names but you know what - these names are better. Smith has the pink nose and is more adventurous than Wesson. They are 5 and 1/2 months old and just cute as little buttons.

The Apprentice - Martha Stewart Edition

Some very disjointed thoughts on the show last night.

Very nice - Very Martha set. Clean, light, open/airy as opposed to the masculine, heavy wooden feeling of The Donald's set.

OH MY FREAKIN' WORD - could these people whine anymore? "It's Jeff's fault." "Dawn never signed on to the project." "She took a nap while the rest of us were working." Blah blah. It's so shrill I had to hit mute. They argued more than the kids who they were pitching their book to.

"You just don't fit in." What the heck kind of punch is that? How weak. How feminine. "The first to not fully succeed." They show her sending a hand written note to the ejected applicant. It was good to get a more depth explanation of the reasoning behind the firing.

In the preview, she states "No whining. No complaining. Women in business don't cry, my dear." Ahhh... return of Martha Stewart, the Ice Queen.

Adventures in Bureaucracy

A discussion over at Vox's yesterday prompted me to look at my experience at the Metro Clerk's Office in a new way.

The debate is over the trend of women's obtaining advanced degrees but stating that they choose to leave the workforce when they have a family. Fatmammycat said that they would get bored with toddlers. Several parents chimed in, wondering how one could get bored with toddlers, given their energy levels.

Then it was said that women get educations to contribute to society. Spacebunny said that pushing paper is not contributing to society.

Flash forward to my afternoon spent at the Clerk's Office. I was there to pick up the tag for my brother's car. He's still in Iraq, and the tag wasn't available before he left. Since I have power of attorney, that leaves me to go get it. Off I go.

48 minutes later, I get to leave with the tag.

I stood there for 40 of 48 minutes at this woman's desk. She was very nice and tried to be helpful. We can't help it that the bureaucratic MESS currently in place is idiotic, stupid, and inefficent and that the agency probably lost money on this transaction anyway.

First we have to make sure he's on the list. Then she has to put him into the database. Then she says, "You don't happen to have a copy of his orders, do you?"

"What? Nowhere in any of this has anyone ever mentioned I would need a copy of his orders. I have them, but they are at home."

"Well, let me do this..." So she called another office. They faxed over a copy of his orders........20 minutes later.

Also, on her trash can, she had written her name. There was a note tacked on the wall near the trash can that said, "Dear ---, That trash can is state property. My tax dollars paid for that trash can. You shouldn't write your name on government property. Sincerely, Robert the Perfect." Or something like that.

So...back to this discussion at Vox's. There were probably 15 or so women in that Clerk's Office. Most of them probably have college degrees. I bet when they finished school, they didn't dream they would wind up in an city office literally shoving paper from one pile to another. Staple. File. Collate. Staple. File. Repeat. These women are certainly not changing the world.

College education leading to a better job is a farce. (This is coming from a woman who has a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. You can bet my statements like that went over REAL well in class).

Were there skills that I learned in college? Yes. (nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills) And I met Elena there. Certainly the most worthwhile thing I did. But none of the jobs I've had since graduating with my undergraduate degree absolutely needed the skills I learned in college. I became a better employee through experience.

Caption Contest Winner

Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of last week's caption contest are:

Yo ho, yo ho! A looter's life for me! We rob and beat and terorize and fright. Avast, my robbing! Yo ho! We are a very terrible sight. Avast, me looters! Yo ho!
---trembling timberdoodle

and

Last thing heard by these 6 FEMA workers: "Power hasn't been restored yet. See?"---djuggler

Congratulations! You get to wear the Burger King Crown until the next contest. Which will be...whenever I feel like it. Just be sure to share.

On a side note, the Burger King Crown is getting kind of ratty, y'all. What would make a good caption contest award?

Pledge of Allegiance Flapping on a Pole

Previously, this blog beat Michael Newdow senseless for suing over the Pledge of Allegiance. Notice that I really didn't give my own opinion about the Pledge other than to say that Newdow was stupid.

I still think he's nuts, but I will have to say that I agree with whatever court banned the Pledge. Perhaps if Newdown had gone with the 'ban the whole thing' approach, instead of just plucking a couple of words out of it, he might have garnered a little more support. Here's why I agree with the court:

1) It was written by a socialist.
2) The only thing to which Christians should be pledging allegiance is God. Not some piece of fabric and definitely not to the state. The state is not higher than God. This fact seemed to escape the Baptist minister/socialist who wrote the pledge.
3) It was written as a part of a marketing campaign to sell flags. Do you pledge allegiance to Nike? Well, maybe some people do.
4) Did I mention that it was written by a socialist?

Or does Newdow want to remove only those words, because he holds the state up as God? We know Nancy Pelosi is close to thinking that, every time the Supreme Court renders a decision. (Is that like rendering bacon...? Just curious.)

Bellemy, the author of the pledge states:

The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the "republic for which it stands." ... And what does that vast thing, the Republic, mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?

Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, "Liberty, equality, fraternity." No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all ...

What is the point of a republic that exists without the consent of the governed? Truth is, we don't live in much of a republic anymore. We may still elect representatives but they are not beholden to the people. They are beholden to the special interests lobbies that fund their campaigns. Doesn't this sound a bit more like the country we live in today?

A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a Dictatorship.
-- Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, nearly two centuries ago while our thirteen original states were still colonies of Great Britain. At the time he was writing of the decline and fall of the Athenian Republic over two thousand years before.

And if all of that isn't disturbing enough, check out this photo on wikipedia. It was changed in 1942 so that it didn't represent the Hitler salute.

Vandy Football

If the Commodores win one more game, they may replace the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt in front of Kirkland Hall with a statue of Bobby Johnson.

Color me impressed... 3-0. Granted, there is still plenty of time for the typical Vanderbilt way of playing to come out but you know, good for them for having such a strong start to their season.

The Truth

DRUDGE REPORT 2005: "PAPER: Karl Rove's kidney stones may have hurt Bush..."

That's because Karl Rove's kidney stones are working for Halliburton, planned 9/11, sabotaged John Kerry with that whole Swift Vets story, got out before Enron collapsed and are weathy beyond their wildest expectations, are the secret love child of Sadaam Hussein and an unknown person, planted the CBS memo that got Dan Rather ousted, LOVE Green Day (especially that kicky song about Broken Dreams), and gave Karl Rove his love of Darth Vader.. or is that John Bolton his love of Darth Vader? Which ever. It's all the fault of the kidney stones.

They are evil.