So have any of you guys seen My Pet Fat yet? You can buy a 1 lb. replica of human body fat for a mere $29.95 and put it in your fridge, on your table at dinner, or wherever else you might need a reminder of what all that lard in your thighs looks like.
I think the intent is to keep your mind on the grosser side of gaining weight. Seems kind of socially retarded to me...
Ironic that this came from my friend Sherri. Girl makes designer wedding cakes and is running in the next New York City marathon.
June 30, 2004
Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?
Those of you who are blog-rolled over yonder: I need more buttons. I really like putting buttons up for my linkees. I hear buttons are really easy to make (not actually a true statement--Dee made mine.) But I'm just sayin'...
June 29, 2004
Got Gmail?
For those of you who already have Gmail and have all those Gmail account invitations and no one to give them to, I call your attention to Gmail Swap. Folks with extra invitations can connect with people who desperately want Gmail and are willing to trade odd and interesting things for them.
I had a couple of invites left, so I connected with a grad student who intends to build artificial kidneys someday, and is just sure that a Gmail account will help that happen more quickly. My second invitation went to a woman who had just got a new kitten. She was looking for names for the cat, which had been found in a dumpster and was covered in oil. I traded her a Gmail invite for the naming rights to the feline, who is now known as Allie, which is short for Allergen. I'm allergic to cats. Really a lot allergic.
Anyway, it's kind of a fun thing to browse through even if you don't have invites left. And if you're one of those folks without Gmail and you still want it, look around for something to swap. It's fun!
I had a couple of invites left, so I connected with a grad student who intends to build artificial kidneys someday, and is just sure that a Gmail account will help that happen more quickly. My second invitation went to a woman who had just got a new kitten. She was looking for names for the cat, which had been found in a dumpster and was covered in oil. I traded her a Gmail invite for the naming rights to the feline, who is now known as Allie, which is short for Allergen. I'm allergic to cats. Really a lot allergic.
Anyway, it's kind of a fun thing to browse through even if you don't have invites left. And if you're one of those folks without Gmail and you still want it, look around for something to swap. It's fun!
June 28, 2004
Fish Heads, Fish Heads
Matt came home with two chinook salmon this afternoon. They were each about 30 inches long, and now we've got something like 15 lbs. of salmon in our freezer. Yay for Matt!
I forget (or maybe I block out) every year how messy the whole salmon experience is. We have a rather small kitchen with only one countertop that you can do much work on. So Matt holds the fish by the tail with one hand, then tries to fillet the damn thing with the other. It's quite a spectacle.
I love putting food up for the winter. It makes me feel like such a good ant, rather than a lazy grasshopper. We dehydrated roughly 12 lbs. of morels earlier in the month and now we have the salmon. Next will come huckleberry season. Huckleberries are tough because it takes a tremendous amount of patience to pick any kind of quantity. I usually pick for 10 minutes, look at the handful I've got, then just eat them and go do something else. If I am industrious though, we could have plenty enough to at least do a pie or two at Thanksgiving. And after huckleberry season comes hunting season, and Matt drew a tag this year to hunt a cow elk. An elk would pretty much fill our back-porch freezer right up. Yes, I'm a cracker with a freezer on her back porch. At least it's not a washing machine.
Behold the bounty of nature! (Whew, the bounty of nature was evidently just too much for one of the dogs. I'm suffering through a toxic dog fart at the moment.)
I forget (or maybe I block out) every year how messy the whole salmon experience is. We have a rather small kitchen with only one countertop that you can do much work on. So Matt holds the fish by the tail with one hand, then tries to fillet the damn thing with the other. It's quite a spectacle.
I love putting food up for the winter. It makes me feel like such a good ant, rather than a lazy grasshopper. We dehydrated roughly 12 lbs. of morels earlier in the month and now we have the salmon. Next will come huckleberry season. Huckleberries are tough because it takes a tremendous amount of patience to pick any kind of quantity. I usually pick for 10 minutes, look at the handful I've got, then just eat them and go do something else. If I am industrious though, we could have plenty enough to at least do a pie or two at Thanksgiving. And after huckleberry season comes hunting season, and Matt drew a tag this year to hunt a cow elk. An elk would pretty much fill our back-porch freezer right up. Yes, I'm a cracker with a freezer on her back porch. At least it's not a washing machine.
Behold the bounty of nature! (Whew, the bounty of nature was evidently just too much for one of the dogs. I'm suffering through a toxic dog fart at the moment.)
June 27, 2004
Elephant Bashing
Okay, I'm going to openly apologize if I have made any of my Republican readers/friends angry over my occasional jabs. I know lots of wonderful people who happen to be Republican, and 90% of the time we just agree to disagree and get on with life. Not all Republicans are narrow-minded, not all are capitalists out only for their own gain.
Much of my rabid irritation toward the Republican party stems from the fact that Idaho is one of the most conservative Republican states in the Union, and I am in quite the minority. I look at my blog as a place where I can freely express my own opinions without having anyone in this community looking at me as though I were a microbe on a slide.
That said, a large portion of those of you who read are friends of mine. I know who you are, I know who your families are, and I know what you believe. You can say the same about me. So if anyone else reading is still offended, just click the "Back" button on your browser, look at another page, and forget all about me.
Much of my rabid irritation toward the Republican party stems from the fact that Idaho is one of the most conservative Republican states in the Union, and I am in quite the minority. I look at my blog as a place where I can freely express my own opinions without having anyone in this community looking at me as though I were a microbe on a slide.
That said, a large portion of those of you who read are friends of mine. I know who you are, I know who your families are, and I know what you believe. You can say the same about me. So if anyone else reading is still offended, just click the "Back" button on your browser, look at another page, and forget all about me.
Hello, Darling. How was Your Day?
I just got back from seeing The Stepford Wives. I flat-out adored it. Nicole Kidman (who I don't ordinarily like all that well) was actually fun in this movie and still managed to play a serious role. The movie was just so funny with all kinds of little double-entendres.
The downer? I saw it in Cascade, Idaho. Yes, the Republican, Keep the Little Missus at Home Barefoot and Pregnant Capitol of the World. I was sitting near one of the county commissioners and he all but hissed at a few parts. It was like he'd sat down to his morning bowl of Cheerios, only to discover that the Missus had made wee-wee in them.
But, as in the movie, the moral of my story is probably this: Noli arrogantium iniurias pati. By the way, click on that link above if you want to get your interesting fact of the day.
The downer? I saw it in Cascade, Idaho. Yes, the Republican, Keep the Little Missus at Home Barefoot and Pregnant Capitol of the World. I was sitting near one of the county commissioners and he all but hissed at a few parts. It was like he'd sat down to his morning bowl of Cheerios, only to discover that the Missus had made wee-wee in them.
But, as in the movie, the moral of my story is probably this: Noli arrogantium iniurias pati. By the way, click on that link above if you want to get your interesting fact of the day.
June 26, 2004
On the Street Where I Live
We live right across the highway from the old Boise Cascade mill site. The mill was torn down shortly after I moved here four years ago. I had nothing to do with it, I swear.
Since we bought our house a year and a half ago, we've looked across the street to kind of a junky area that was waiting to be reclaimed. Well, now it looks like there could be a solution. A nursery in Boise has bought the land, will haul off the years' accumulation of wood chips on it, and then donate it to the city. Hopefully the city will be able to come up with an adequate plan and funding in order to get the dreamed-of recreation center put in.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Since we bought our house a year and a half ago, we've looked across the street to kind of a junky area that was waiting to be reclaimed. Well, now it looks like there could be a solution. A nursery in Boise has bought the land, will haul off the years' accumulation of wood chips on it, and then donate it to the city. Hopefully the city will be able to come up with an adequate plan and funding in order to get the dreamed-of recreation center put in.
Wouldn't that be nice?
The Veep Made Me Do It
The next time someone looks askance at me at work for dropping the F-bomb (which should be sometime early tomorrow, statistically speaking), I'm just going to point out that that is how our esteemed Vice President deals with professional conflict.
Cheney, annoyed at Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, had hurled the "F-word" at Leahy during a conversation on the Senate floor in Washington on Tuesday.
Cheney said on Friday he had no regrets about what he said.
"I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," Cheney told Fox News.
Cheney, annoyed at Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, had hurled the "F-word" at Leahy during a conversation on the Senate floor in Washington on Tuesday.
Cheney said on Friday he had no regrets about what he said.
"I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," Cheney told Fox News.
June 25, 2004
Maybe Someone Should Explain
I'm sorry, but didn't The Beastie Boys suck the first time around? I clearly recall being one distinctly unimpressed seventh-grader back in the days when such deep and touching classics like, "You Gotta Fight (For Your Right to Party)" came out.
Now we're stuck with "Check It Out." Hoowee, that is some stank right there. One of my younger co-workers really enjoys the area hard rock/alternative radio station out of Boise and we heard it four times one day last week. Bleah. I'll send them ten bucks if they'll just go back into retirement.
Now we're stuck with "Check It Out." Hoowee, that is some stank right there. One of my younger co-workers really enjoys the area hard rock/alternative radio station out of Boise and we heard it four times one day last week. Bleah. I'll send them ten bucks if they'll just go back into retirement.
June 24, 2004
I Wish I was a Fisherman, Travelin' O'er the Sea
Since Matt went with me to Boise to get my haircut today, I figured I should make an equally gender-bending personal sacrifice and so I went salmon fishing with him tonight. He didn't end up catching any fish and, to add insult to injury, had to share the fishing hole with a total freaking moron. This guy showed up, flicked his cigarette into the river, and without even asking if Matt minded, threw in his line and started fishing. (That's bad river etiquette. No one would think of denying someone a spot at a hole, but you always ask first.) Then he started talking. And talking. He must have taken Matt for a novice or something, because he started dispensing helpful little tidbits like, "You've got to get the bait right there near their mouths." No shit? Really? God, and all this time we've been thinking you were supposed to aim for the anus.
Despite little gems like that, he didn't catch any fish either. So nyeah!
Despite little gems like that, he didn't catch any fish either. So nyeah!
Whoa, Greg!
Greg is a mighty powerful man. You saved me an unpleasant trip to the doctor, and for that I owe you much.
All the rest of you wussies...you'd better be sending flowers because it's too late for vibes. Hrmpf!
All the rest of you wussies...you'd better be sending flowers because it's too late for vibes. Hrmpf!
June 23, 2004
Going for a Ramble
Had a pretty quiet day today. My friend Jamie and I headed up to Gold Fork Hot Springs, which is about 15 miles north of here. It was the first time I've been. I'm not usually a hot springs person. I can't fathom why anyone would want to put their naked bottom in a basin where people have been doing God only knows what shortly before. I've had to clean up hot springs areas, and I guess familiarity breeds contempt. Anyway, Gold Fork is a managed area and has actual, developed pools. After a nice soak, we headed up to the local produce store/gourmet deli. It was a good way to start my "weekend."
The dogs got to go up to the lake and play for a while afterwards. I think the only way to avoid a repeat of last night's lunacy is to exercise the heck out of the dogs so that they're too exhausted to be annoying.
And for your final bit of information tonight (sorry guys), I still haven't started my damned period. The doctor put me on a cycle of estrogen/progesterone birth control to try to start my cycle up again, and it isn't working. Every month that it takes to get my body back under control takes a month away from our opportunities to conceive. So if it's not to weird, please send your internet friend in Idaho some *have a normal period* vibes. Thanks...
The dogs got to go up to the lake and play for a while afterwards. I think the only way to avoid a repeat of last night's lunacy is to exercise the heck out of the dogs so that they're too exhausted to be annoying.
And for your final bit of information tonight (sorry guys), I still haven't started my damned period. The doctor put me on a cycle of estrogen/progesterone birth control to try to start my cycle up again, and it isn't working. Every month that it takes to get my body back under control takes a month away from our opportunities to conceive. So if it's not to weird, please send your internet friend in Idaho some *have a normal period* vibes. Thanks...
June 22, 2004
The Natives are Restless Tonight
The Dogs of Winter
Matt is working late with the salmon season tonight and boy, the dogs are restless. They don't like it much when one or the other of us is away from home outside the normal routine.
Grover has been staring out the screen door for half the night, which would be fine if he wouldn't burst into spontaneous barking every time an ant walked across the patio. Cody (aka Codypendent) stares out the screen door as well, but punctuates his angst with extended sessions of high-frequency whining. The whining is just audible, which actually makes it twice as annoying as normal whining.
It doesn't help that Matt takes the role of The Fun Human, whereas I more of a hands-off dog manager. That's not an effective strategy with Springer spaniels, nor with any other variety of spaniel if I understand them correctly. Basically they're slightly less neurotic than a Cocker spaniel, the dogs most likely to bite their owners and who inevitably wee-wee on the carpet if you look at them even remotely fondly. For our dogs, this means that Cody has bonded so completely to Matt that he can't abide being out of sight of his master. He'll go off his feed for days if Matt has to be out of town. Grover paces. He rambles through the house. He patrols the perimeter for intruders. (He just started barking again.) He drives me up a friggin' wall.
Dogs for sale! Free shipping with the Buy It Now option!
My Name is Casey and I'm a First Responder!
I attended my regular CPR/First Aid recertification course today. I've been getting this training for 11 years now and have yet to actually apply anything I've learned. Not that I'm standing around watching people bleed out or anything, but I just haven't encountered any kind of situation.
One thing I've decided from this training is that my first "patient" is in some serious trouble if they are choking on their own vomit. I might be able to roll them over with my foot and gently kick the back of their head in order to try to dislodge it, but I really don't think I'll be doing the recommended finger sweep of the mouth area. That's just eukie.
One thing I've decided from this training is that my first "patient" is in some serious trouble if they are choking on their own vomit. I might be able to roll them over with my foot and gently kick the back of their head in order to try to dislodge it, but I really don't think I'll be doing the recommended finger sweep of the mouth area. That's just eukie.
June 21, 2004
Fishing Widow
Fish & Game is holding the annual chinook salmon sportfishing season on the South Fork of the Salmon River this year. Matt is the lead conservation officer for the season, which means I see him in the daylight approximately 2 hours every week. Someone is crawling into my bed during the night, stays for a while, then leaves again before I get up. I really hope it's Matt, but I haven't actually had a sighting to verify the identity of the teepee-creeper.
I'd see him more often if I could stomach salmon fishing at all. But it's friggin complicated! First of all, you have to be able to tie an adequate fishing knot. I can't do that and I'm evidently not capable of learning. This is what it's like for me to salmon fish:
Fifteen minutes to tie a knot on my line so as to connect all the "salmon rigging," which includes a sinker, swivel, corkie, hook, and a sack of salmon roe.
Three seconds to aim the rod and let my bait and hook fly.
Two minutes of concentrated yanking on the rod because the rigging is stuck on a rock (or a log, or a dead fish, or in a tree across the river).
Five minutes to walk downstream to the obstacle and yank for a while longer.
Three to six minutes of cursing because my lame-ass fishing knot gave way and all my rigging is gone.
Repeat process.
I'm not patient enough to salmon fish. Hence, I will just have to hope that the man in my bed is someone with whom I have exchanged wedding vows.
I'd see him more often if I could stomach salmon fishing at all. But it's friggin complicated! First of all, you have to be able to tie an adequate fishing knot. I can't do that and I'm evidently not capable of learning. This is what it's like for me to salmon fish:
Fifteen minutes to tie a knot on my line so as to connect all the "salmon rigging," which includes a sinker, swivel, corkie, hook, and a sack of salmon roe.
Three seconds to aim the rod and let my bait and hook fly.
Two minutes of concentrated yanking on the rod because the rigging is stuck on a rock (or a log, or a dead fish, or in a tree across the river).
Five minutes to walk downstream to the obstacle and yank for a while longer.
Three to six minutes of cursing because my lame-ass fishing knot gave way and all my rigging is gone.
Repeat process.
I'm not patient enough to salmon fish. Hence, I will just have to hope that the man in my bed is someone with whom I have exchanged wedding vows.
Speaking of Mac...
Here's an interesting little bit of information that came via Mac. Seems that despite all the "sanctity of marriage" hooraw that the Christian right is preaching lately, things aren't so rosy among those who marry in the eyes of God.
In a study conducted by the Barna Research Group, the Christian Right's claim that faith-based marriages have a dramatically higher sucess rate that those of agnostics and atheists has been blown right out of the water. Get this:
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Dallas TX newspaper, the national study "raised eyebrows, sowed confusion, [and] even brought on a little holy anger." This caused George Barna to write a letter to his supporters, saying that he is standing by his data, even though it is upsetting. He said that "We rarely find substantial differences" between the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same."
In a study conducted by the Barna Research Group, the Christian Right's claim that faith-based marriages have a dramatically higher sucess rate that those of agnostics and atheists has been blown right out of the water. Get this:
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Dallas TX newspaper, the national study "raised eyebrows, sowed confusion, [and] even brought on a little holy anger." This caused George Barna to write a letter to his supporters, saying that he is standing by his data, even though it is upsetting. He said that "We rarely find substantial differences" between the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same."
Because it is Better Than "Skanky Semi-Colon"
Mac, formerly of Go Fish, has changed locations. She's now at Pesky Apostrophe. Not sure why the change, but I'll update the link on the left there to click into the new site, though until she gets a new button it will continue to say Go Fish.
June 20, 2004
Allow Me to Point Out
Check out the top of the page where the BlogSpot advertising is. Anyone notice the related searches? What the hell is that all about?
June 18, 2004
Recent Photos
Hells Canyon Overlook
I've got a couple of photos to share with you all. This one was taken on our recent camping trip to the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. More specifically, this is the view from the Hells Canyon Overlook. Looks a mite steep, don't it?
Sailor's Delight?
This is the view to the north of our house tonight, or it was about 20 minutes ago. The sky looked a little more yellow when I first noticed it. The air was very still. I was planning on jumping into the cellar to wait out the twister, but then I realized that we don't have one. Think the crawl-space would work?
Anyway, if the old adage is right, this should mean great weather tomorrow.
So Much Junk
I can't believe all the random garbage in the celebrity news today. (Yes, I'm the moron that looks for it, but sometimes it's interesting.) I'll briefly recap the various schlock so that you don't have to go looking for it:
Madonna now wants to be called "Esther." I'm not kidding. The performer, born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, recalled that she was very young when her mother, for whom she was named, died of cancer.
"I wanted to attach myself to another name," she said according to excerpts from the interview released by ABC on Thursday. "This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. ... I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name." Yeah, no offense Mom, but since you died tragically young, my vain ass is going to change to a better, less cancer-related name.
Esther sounds like Chester, which sounds like molester, which leads us to the fact that Michael Jackson evidently paid off the kid who "alleged" in 1993 that Jackson molested him. I know you've been wondering how much that cost. How does $25 million strike you? Jackson still swears the alleged acts never happened, but that does seem like a lot of money to keep his reputation snowy white. Ha.
Finally, Johnny Ramone is not dead quite yet after all. Yes, he has cancer, but it is nowhere near as bad as bandmate Marky Ramone reported to Rolling Stone magazine earlier in the week.
Okay, now you're up to date and you didn't have to read through all the crap to get the little nuggest of, uh, gold.
Madonna now wants to be called "Esther." I'm not kidding. The performer, born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, recalled that she was very young when her mother, for whom she was named, died of cancer.
"I wanted to attach myself to another name," she said according to excerpts from the interview released by ABC on Thursday. "This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. ... I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name." Yeah, no offense Mom, but since you died tragically young, my vain ass is going to change to a better, less cancer-related name.
Esther sounds like Chester, which sounds like molester, which leads us to the fact that Michael Jackson evidently paid off the kid who "alleged" in 1993 that Jackson molested him. I know you've been wondering how much that cost. How does $25 million strike you? Jackson still swears the alleged acts never happened, but that does seem like a lot of money to keep his reputation snowy white. Ha.
Finally, Johnny Ramone is not dead quite yet after all. Yes, he has cancer, but it is nowhere near as bad as bandmate Marky Ramone reported to Rolling Stone magazine earlier in the week.
Okay, now you're up to date and you didn't have to read through all the crap to get the little nuggest of, uh, gold.
June 17, 2004
You've Got Mail!
Wader, Tracy and Kevin, you all have Gmail invitations waiting for you. It appears that the more invitations I give out, the more Google gives me. Looks like I have another four to dispense. Anyone? If you want them, post your e-mail address in the comments here.
I forgot to mention, if you want Gmail you have to promise to be my best friend forever and visit my site often. And laugh at all my jokes. And tell me I'm pretty. No, just post your address. Really.
I forgot to mention, if you want Gmail you have to promise to be my best friend forever and visit my site often. And laugh at all my jokes. And tell me I'm pretty. No, just post your address. Really.
You Don't Need to Wear Your Shoulders for Earmuffs
The above is what my accupressurist tells me whenever I see him. When I get stressed, I tend to tighten up my shoulders and lock up all the muscles down my back. I've made a conscious effort to change that since the first time he pointed it out, but there is only so far that I can relax them. Time to pay that guy another visit.
Anyway, one of the reasons I'm stressed is that our mortgage company called to say we were delinquent with a payment. I immediately bugged out--I'm anal retentive about many things, but especially with payments to anyone, and most especially to the mortgage company. Long story short, Matt and I split the payment and pay with separate checks, and my check seemingly didn't make it into the envelope. However the hell that happened... The check didn't clear the bank, but I've got it logged into my check register. Matt is afraid he may have tucked it into an envelope going to another place.
Someone at Idaho Power may be sitting at their desk right now thinking, "What the hell?"
Anyway, one of the reasons I'm stressed is that our mortgage company called to say we were delinquent with a payment. I immediately bugged out--I'm anal retentive about many things, but especially with payments to anyone, and most especially to the mortgage company. Long story short, Matt and I split the payment and pay with separate checks, and my check seemingly didn't make it into the envelope. However the hell that happened... The check didn't clear the bank, but I've got it logged into my check register. Matt is afraid he may have tucked it into an envelope going to another place.
Someone at Idaho Power may be sitting at their desk right now thinking, "What the hell?"
When My Baby Smiles at Me I Go to Rio De Janiero
I just thought that post title might be catchy enough to annoy you all. Great host, aren't I?
Matt and I have settled on our summer vacation plan. In the last week of July, we're going to head across Oregon to Crater Lake National Park. Both of us have been through there before, but never had much time to stop and explore. From there we'll head overland to the Medford area and take one of those nausea-inducing little highways to the coast.
We'll catch up with Highway 101 and follow it to Redwoods National Park, a place that I have always wanted to see. I may never want to leave, and I'll likely have splinters in my arms from hugging all those trees. (Aside: I'm generally pro-logging and have actually worked in the industry back in the old days when they still did that, but the Redwoods are awfully special.)
We'll continue down the coast a bit and then hit a little highway back inland. We go through the town of Willow Creek, where there was a famous Bigfoot sighting in 1967. Matt is a huge Bigfoot devotee, so a stop will be necessary there. Then it's onward to Redding and north to Mount Shasta.
From there, we head north and back east to home. Whew...sounds like a lot to see, but I'm excited already!
Matt and I have settled on our summer vacation plan. In the last week of July, we're going to head across Oregon to Crater Lake National Park. Both of us have been through there before, but never had much time to stop and explore. From there we'll head overland to the Medford area and take one of those nausea-inducing little highways to the coast.
We'll catch up with Highway 101 and follow it to Redwoods National Park, a place that I have always wanted to see. I may never want to leave, and I'll likely have splinters in my arms from hugging all those trees. (Aside: I'm generally pro-logging and have actually worked in the industry back in the old days when they still did that, but the Redwoods are awfully special.)
We'll continue down the coast a bit and then hit a little highway back inland. We go through the town of Willow Creek, where there was a famous Bigfoot sighting in 1967. Matt is a huge Bigfoot devotee, so a stop will be necessary there. Then it's onward to Redding and north to Mount Shasta.
From there, we head north and back east to home. Whew...sounds like a lot to see, but I'm excited already!
June 16, 2004
Three For Free
Anyone want Gmail? I've got 3 invitations. Post your e-mail address in the comments if you want one. The first three to post can have them.
Open Letter to Sting (And Other Music Miscellany)
My Darling Gordon,
You know I love you like a fat kid loves cake (to borrow a phrase), but I'm afraid I must take issue with your latest video. The song "Stolen Car" is fine as it is on the CD, so the fact that you remixed it for the video into what can only be called The Booty-Shake Remix saddens me. It is an intelligent, thought-provoking song. So throwing in a heavy bass track and picking up the tempo only dulls the edge. You've no need to urbanize your music to meet market needs.
And by the way, please quit dancing like that with those girls. I've come to accept Trudie's presence in your life, but those hoochies only make me jealous.
Love,
Casey
Additionally, I received the Jem CD that I mentioned a couple of days ago. I am really enjoying it. She's Dido-esque but more up-tempo and far less boring. Thumbs up!
You know I love you like a fat kid loves cake (to borrow a phrase), but I'm afraid I must take issue with your latest video. The song "Stolen Car" is fine as it is on the CD, so the fact that you remixed it for the video into what can only be called The Booty-Shake Remix saddens me. It is an intelligent, thought-provoking song. So throwing in a heavy bass track and picking up the tempo only dulls the edge. You've no need to urbanize your music to meet market needs.
And by the way, please quit dancing like that with those girls. I've come to accept Trudie's presence in your life, but those hoochies only make me jealous.
Love,
Casey
Additionally, I received the Jem CD that I mentioned a couple of days ago. I am really enjoying it. She's Dido-esque but more up-tempo and far less boring. Thumbs up!
June 15, 2004
Buy the Book
Yonder comes a meme from Rude Cactus, among other places. It's a big mother of a list, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't pound the rest of my posts immediately into archive status.
Steal it, post it on your site, bold the books you've read and add three of your own!
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alices Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Joness Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick OBrian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline LEngle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. OBrien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline LEngle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster loved
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate OBrien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine LEngle
386. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris
391. The Things We Carried, Tim OBrien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel
404. The Alienist, Caleb Carr
405. A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
Looks like I've read 88 out of 405. Sheesh, I've got some reading to do...
Steal it, post it on your site, bold the books you've read and add three of your own!
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alices Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Joness Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick OBrian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline LEngle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. OBrien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline LEngle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster loved
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate OBrien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine LEngle
386. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris
391. The Things We Carried, Tim OBrien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel
404. The Alienist, Caleb Carr
405. A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
Looks like I've read 88 out of 405. Sheesh, I've got some reading to do...
Black Gold, Texas Tea
Okay, not oil, but it was viscous and organic. *gag* Matt called me at work today to tell me that we were having a serious sewer pipe back-up problem. This has happened before. We had relatives staying last summer and something clogged a pipe. Next thing we knew, we had some really vile matter overflowing in the bathtub and shower drains.
Today was more of the same. A trip to the rental shop and some dedicated pipe rootering on Matt's part took care of the problem, but I'm worried. Seems like the clogs are all happening out near a mongo-huge arborvitae bush in the front yard and maybe the clogs are from bits of root breaking into the pipes. I'm guessing that digging up the pipe and replacing it could run between $500 and $1000.
Whee.
Today was more of the same. A trip to the rental shop and some dedicated pipe rootering on Matt's part took care of the problem, but I'm worried. Seems like the clogs are all happening out near a mongo-huge arborvitae bush in the front yard and maybe the clogs are from bits of root breaking into the pipes. I'm guessing that digging up the pipe and replacing it could run between $500 and $1000.
Whee.
June 14, 2004
What a Cloaca
Apparently Steve Irwin of "The Crocodile Hunter" is in trouble again. After dangling his baby a la Michael Jackson near the jaws of a crocodile earlier this year, Irwin is claiming via movie publicity to have frolicked in the chilly surf of Antarctica with seals and penguins.
I'm sure Malia could expound upon the evils of human contact with pinnipeds and the like, but suffice it to say that it is explicitly against Australian law and the Crock (spelling intended)Hunter is in the proverbial soup again.
I'm sure Malia could expound upon the evils of human contact with pinnipeds and the like, but suffice it to say that it is explicitly against Australian law and the Crock (spelling intended)Hunter is in the proverbial soup again.
Craptacular Extravaganza!
We just got home from watching "The Day After Tomorrow," a big-budget disaster movie based on the threat of global warming. Hoo boy, that was some crap there.
I think it was supposed to take after movies like "The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure." But those movies had something. (Of course, anything with Steve McQueen deserves a Best Actor Oscar as far as I am concerned.) This was just...bad. I did enjoy the fact that the writers took a few ill-concealed jabs at the current administration. The president was a pretty-boy talking head (and I use pretty somewhat loosely as applies to our current Commander In-Chief), and the VP was the power behind the throne. For good or ill, the President gets turned into Eskimo Pie about halfway through the flick, so Uncle Dick...I mean, the VP in the movie takes over.
Anyway, I rate this one a Must Miss. Don't bother.
I think it was supposed to take after movies like "The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure." But those movies had something. (Of course, anything with Steve McQueen deserves a Best Actor Oscar as far as I am concerned.) This was just...bad. I did enjoy the fact that the writers took a few ill-concealed jabs at the current administration. The president was a pretty-boy talking head (and I use pretty somewhat loosely as applies to our current Commander In-Chief), and the VP was the power behind the throne. For good or ill, the President gets turned into Eskimo Pie about halfway through the flick, so Uncle Dick...I mean, the VP in the movie takes over.
Anyway, I rate this one a Must Miss. Don't bother.
June 13, 2004
Makes Me Sad
I saw one of those horrible bumper stickers on a co-worker's car today. You know, the one with the word "Marriage" followed by the equal sign, a male glyph, the plus sign, and then a female glyph.
I really like the guy whose truck it was on. He's always been very kind and friendly toward me. I would have thought he was one of the live-and-let-live types and whether he approved of gay marriage or not, I thought he wouldn't be quite so...outspokenly against it.
I don't know what to do or say about it, if anything. You might remember that I had another run-in with someone who had the same sticker on their car. I was more outspoken then. Why then, and possibly not now? I have to admit that it is probably because I know and like this person. At least, I like him without his views on gay marriage.
Sigh...I dunno what to do.
I really like the guy whose truck it was on. He's always been very kind and friendly toward me. I would have thought he was one of the live-and-let-live types and whether he approved of gay marriage or not, I thought he wouldn't be quite so...outspokenly against it.
I don't know what to do or say about it, if anything. You might remember that I had another run-in with someone who had the same sticker on their car. I was more outspoken then. Why then, and possibly not now? I have to admit that it is probably because I know and like this person. At least, I like him without his views on gay marriage.
Sigh...I dunno what to do.
The Human Vapor
My God, it's been five days since I posted anything. Sorry...life has been busy lately, which doesn't seem to surprise anyone but me. Matt and I took our days off and went camping last week. We headed over to the Wallowa Mountains of eastern Oregon and camped along the Imnaha River with the dogs. The Imnaha has special significance to me: an old room-mate of mine and I used to party pretty hearty in Joseph and Enterprise, Oregon, which was where she was from. So after a heavy night of drinking, riding a mechanical bull and doing other things that I won't mention on a family blog, we'd get someone to drive us to the little burg of Imnaha. There was a store there that had a grill, and we'd order french fries and Coors Lights. We were pretty sure that was the sole cure for an eastern Oregon hangover.
I had a yard sale in our front yard yesterday--we netted $245! Baby needs a new pair of shoes!
Anyway, sorry for the doldrums around here lately. I'll be back soon.
I had a yard sale in our front yard yesterday--we netted $245! Baby needs a new pair of shoes!
Anyway, sorry for the doldrums around here lately. I'll be back soon.
June 08, 2004
Tenterhooks
I just placed an order on Amazon and I'm so excited. Here's the scoop:
"Finally Woken," by an artist named Jem contains the song, "They," which almost seems like the sort of music you'd find in a Cirque du Soleil performance. It might also be excellent music to have an absolute mental breakdown to. I think I'll just clean the house while playing it and not live up to all the acrobatic/manic pressure.
Is anyone else reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series? I ordered "Song of Susannah", which is Book #6 of 7. I have been following the series closely and have re-read numbers 1-4. I'm completely on pins & needles waiting for the conclusion of the series, yet I want to do everything I can to stall it because I will miss the characters, and will miss knowing that there is more about them yet to be told.
It's probably too soon to go check the post office box, yes?
"Finally Woken," by an artist named Jem contains the song, "They," which almost seems like the sort of music you'd find in a Cirque du Soleil performance. It might also be excellent music to have an absolute mental breakdown to. I think I'll just clean the house while playing it and not live up to all the acrobatic/manic pressure.
Is anyone else reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series? I ordered "Song of Susannah", which is Book #6 of 7. I have been following the series closely and have re-read numbers 1-4. I'm completely on pins & needles waiting for the conclusion of the series, yet I want to do everything I can to stall it because I will miss the characters, and will miss knowing that there is more about them yet to be told.
It's probably too soon to go check the post office box, yes?
Used to Be
It used to be that I'd pick dandelions by the handsful and try to make a crown. I'd rub them all over my hands and arms to give my skin an oddly beautiful streaky tint. I'd pick batches of them and take them in to my mother as a present. And when they'd go to seed, I'd take one in each hand and twirl around in circles until all the little pods had blown off to heaven only knew where.
Nowadays I yank them out of the ground. Instead of being the ultimate cosmetic accessory to a four year-old, they are the lawn-dwelling nemesis of the twenty-nine year-old. Instead of twirling around in circles watching the seed pods drift, I frantically try to pluck them out before the seeds appear.
I guess twenty-five years will change you that way.
Nowadays I yank them out of the ground. Instead of being the ultimate cosmetic accessory to a four year-old, they are the lawn-dwelling nemesis of the twenty-nine year-old. Instead of twirling around in circles watching the seed pods drift, I frantically try to pluck them out before the seeds appear.
I guess twenty-five years will change you that way.
June 07, 2004
Nothing Much
Not a whole lot to report or share with you all today. The Bitchuation (as I think I'll call it) was more or less resolved. And it doesn't matter to me if these particular people think I'm bitchy or not, but the fact that they're talking it up to other people who may not make their own judgement bugs me. But it's done.
We are going to see "Troy" tonight at the local theatre/temporary Catholic church. And tonight's dinner is one of my all-time faves, Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, which is also known as Heaven on a Plate here in the O'Connell household. Try it, you'll like it!
We are going to see "Troy" tonight at the local theatre/temporary Catholic church. And tonight's dinner is one of my all-time faves, Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, which is also known as Heaven on a Plate here in the O'Connell household. Try it, you'll like it!
June 06, 2004
It Came From the Cactus!
I know Chris is just dying to post his own answers about me, so I figured I'd play along with the meme. And I swear to God, if you write "Bitch" in for number 3 or 4, I am going to hunt you down and murder you with a stiletto heel.
Answer the following questions in the comment box:
1. Who are you?
2. Have we ever met?
3. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
4. Describe me in one word.
5. What reminds you of me?
6. If you could give me anything, what would it be?
7. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
8. Are you going to put this on your weblog and see what I say about you?
9. What do you love like a fat kid loves cake?
10. What makes you come back here?
Answer the following questions in the comment box:
1. Who are you?
2. Have we ever met?
3. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
4. Describe me in one word.
5. What reminds you of me?
6. If you could give me anything, what would it be?
7. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
8. Are you going to put this on your weblog and see what I say about you?
9. What do you love like a fat kid loves cake?
10. What makes you come back here?
Power Trip?
I heard second-hand over the weekend that someone with whom I had a business association considered me to be on a power trip. Now, the situation was not even remotely adversarial to begin with and, as far as I am concerned, was of such a trivial nature that I'm surprised the individual even cared. I can't really discuss my job (as most of you are already aware), but this isn't the first time I've had a tag put on me, most notably, "bitch." In each case, I feel it was because I have what I refer to as a Low Bullshit Tolerance Threshold (LBTT), and the name-caller ended up not in the position they apparently felt they should be in.
But I'm curious to hear from other women (and men too, if you feel like it): do you feel that being a woman in the workplace makes you vulnerable to that kind of thing? Have you been referred to in that way? And if so, do you think the intent behind it was specifically because you are a woman and that it wouldn't have happened to a man?
I ask because I think most people who know me would be pretty hard-pressed to call me a bitch. Because of the above-mentioned LBTT, there are a limited number of chances I will give people (in every situation, be it social, professional, familial, etc.). But I do give chances. Anyway, tell me what your experiences have been.
But I'm curious to hear from other women (and men too, if you feel like it): do you feel that being a woman in the workplace makes you vulnerable to that kind of thing? Have you been referred to in that way? And if so, do you think the intent behind it was specifically because you are a woman and that it wouldn't have happened to a man?
I ask because I think most people who know me would be pretty hard-pressed to call me a bitch. Because of the above-mentioned LBTT, there are a limited number of chances I will give people (in every situation, be it social, professional, familial, etc.). But I do give chances. Anyway, tell me what your experiences have been.
June 03, 2004
If Only Mrs. Graham Could See This...
Mel Gibson's next epic is going to be about Boudicca, queen of a Briton tribe. I did my high school senior paper on Boudicca at the urging of my English teacher, Marie Graham, may she rest in peace.
Boudicca's husband died, and the Roman rulers at the time didn't seem to think Boudicca could rule as queen. To add injury to insult, Roman legions are reputed to have raped her and her daughters. That pissed her off right smart, as they say. So she sacked and raged and burned Londinium right down to the ground. Then they caught her and killed her and a whole bunch of other Britons besides.
Anyway, interesting story. I may have to put aside my rampant disgust at Gibson's more recent historical/biblical vomitus and go see this one when it comes out.
Boudicca's husband died, and the Roman rulers at the time didn't seem to think Boudicca could rule as queen. To add injury to insult, Roman legions are reputed to have raped her and her daughters. That pissed her off right smart, as they say. So she sacked and raged and burned Londinium right down to the ground. Then they caught her and killed her and a whole bunch of other Britons besides.
Anyway, interesting story. I may have to put aside my rampant disgust at Gibson's more recent historical/biblical vomitus and go see this one when it comes out.
You Talkin' to Me?
Via Ginny's Many Words You Shouldn't Live By. Ginny is also The Godfather. I was actually hoping for "Monty Python & the Holy Grail." Disappointment abounds.
Except for the Snapshot!
(Tell me who sung the line in the song referred to above and you'll get linked to in a big way tomorrow.)
Anyway, if you want to see some really damned great baby pictures, you'll go check out Baby Leta Armstrong. I love how Heather doesn't just post the adorable, baby model stuff. She posts the pictures that Leta will truly be embarassed about in another 13 years. Good stuff!
Anyway, if you want to see some really damned great baby pictures, you'll go check out Baby Leta Armstrong. I love how Heather doesn't just post the adorable, baby model stuff. She posts the pictures that Leta will truly be embarassed about in another 13 years. Good stuff!
Long Lost Family
Chris over at Rude Cactus was just talking about his long-lost sister. It's a great post about family in spirit, rather than family in biology. (You need to be sure to read the Christmas and Easter links.) But it got me to thinking about the news bomb I had dropped on me last Christmas.
We were sitting in the living room at my dad's fiancee's house (another long story). My younger brother was there as was my dad's brother, Uncle Fred. Fred is a really kind man. Life and love have been hard on him, but he's never been unkind to anyone that I ever knew of. Fred has two sons, Devin and Stephen, who were with their own young families that morning.
So we were sitting there unwrapping presents, and Uncle Fred says, "I talked to my son Christopher yesterday." I sat there blinking, running the quick inventory of known cousins in my head. He noticed I looked puzzled and said, "I haven't told you about your cousin Christopher?" I said, "Uh, no." Fred went on to explain that when he and his first wife were married, she was pregnant. Fred was in college, she was barely out of high school, and while they wanted to get married, they knew they couldn't support a baby. They ended up putting the infant boy up for adoption. Apparantly my cousin Christopher is around 33 years old and living somewhere near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It seems very odd to me that there is a member of my near family out there that I don't know and who doesn't know me. I can't say that I'm particularly close to the cousins I am acquainted with, but still...seems strange, doesn't it?
We were sitting in the living room at my dad's fiancee's house (another long story). My younger brother was there as was my dad's brother, Uncle Fred. Fred is a really kind man. Life and love have been hard on him, but he's never been unkind to anyone that I ever knew of. Fred has two sons, Devin and Stephen, who were with their own young families that morning.
So we were sitting there unwrapping presents, and Uncle Fred says, "I talked to my son Christopher yesterday." I sat there blinking, running the quick inventory of known cousins in my head. He noticed I looked puzzled and said, "I haven't told you about your cousin Christopher?" I said, "Uh, no." Fred went on to explain that when he and his first wife were married, she was pregnant. Fred was in college, she was barely out of high school, and while they wanted to get married, they knew they couldn't support a baby. They ended up putting the infant boy up for adoption. Apparantly my cousin Christopher is around 33 years old and living somewhere near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It seems very odd to me that there is a member of my near family out there that I don't know and who doesn't know me. I can't say that I'm particularly close to the cousins I am acquainted with, but still...seems strange, doesn't it?
Lift With the Knees
Matt and I spent yesterday getting two loads of firewood in. Yep, we're hillbillies--we burn firewood in the winter instead of turning up the thermostat like most folks in the 20th and 21st centuries.
We actually enjoy getting firewood. It gives the dogs a chance to run around, we get some exercise, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we've got a start on taking care of ourselves for the winter. Plus I get to worry maniacally about my husband cutting a tree down on his head. I am praying for the forest gods to be nice to him every time he falls a tree.
Two full loads is pretty substantial for us. We're both quite sore this morning and the dogs still seem pretty sluggish, which is very rare for them. But come this winter, we'll have about 4 more weeks of warm, toasty fires in the fireplace.
We actually enjoy getting firewood. It gives the dogs a chance to run around, we get some exercise, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we've got a start on taking care of ourselves for the winter. Plus I get to worry maniacally about my husband cutting a tree down on his head. I am praying for the forest gods to be nice to him every time he falls a tree.
Two full loads is pretty substantial for us. We're both quite sore this morning and the dogs still seem pretty sluggish, which is very rare for them. But come this winter, we'll have about 4 more weeks of warm, toasty fires in the fireplace.
June 01, 2004
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians
I'm now going to drive myself nuts with that song in my head. I think that's how I learned to count...and speaking of counting! I added a counter over there on the left. I'm going to throw myself off a bridge from the insecurity it will create within me. What if I don't get any hits in a day? (I'll be hitting myself, in the cyber sense.) Anyway, if you love me just click onto this page, hit "Back," and repeat. Often.
Remember Them?
Scott Wolfe and Kelly WhoEverKnew
Party of Five Star and Real World New Orleans Chick Wed
Scott Wolfe from "Party of Five" married that cute chick from "Real World New Orleans" (no, not Melissa, nor the Mormon girl). Who knew her last name was Limp? I hope she doesn't hyphenate...
THAT MOST SUMMERTIME OF NOISES
Matt is out mowing the front lawn. The earlier mentioned guy is out test-driving my brother's car, so Matt decided this was the perfect time to mow the lower part of the yard. I let the test-driving people into the car and discovered an empty Coke bottle and a very nice travel coffee mug. I levied Cascade European Auto Sales' "car clean-out fee" on the younger brother and am now keeping the coffee mug.
Notice my nifty post header? It's more sweet fun from Mandarin Design Daily. Such a fun place from which to spruce up your blog!
Matt is out mowing the front lawn. The earlier mentioned guy is out test-driving my brother's car, so Matt decided this was the perfect time to mow the lower part of the yard. I let the test-driving people into the car and discovered an empty Coke bottle and a very nice travel coffee mug. I levied Cascade European Auto Sales' "car clean-out fee" on the younger brother and am now keeping the coffee mug.
Notice my nifty post header? It's more sweet fun from Mandarin Design Daily. Such a fun place from which to spruce up your blog!
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