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Showing posts from 2006

The Interesting And The Serious

Ok, what I consider just serious and not interesting is what you all would find most interesting so we will start with that. Last night, I had plans to go to the movies with JRRyan and others. These plans changed when I get a call from my mother that my father had fallen and hurt his arm while they were ice skating and she was taking him into the hospital. It turns out that his wrist is "partially fractured." The other thing I wanted to discuss was that I finished my other birthday book the other day. Armageddon's Children , by Terry Brooks, reminded me a lot of Dark Angel if created by said Brooks. No, it wasn't about a genetically created super soldier turned bike messenger per se but a good chunk of the book took place in post-apocalyptic Seattle. This series, I'm unsure how many books it'll be, is a continuation of the Knight of The Word trilogy which I didn't read. Aside from maybe three references, it doesn't matter. Not to ruin anything, but, t

Because You Knew I'd Do This Eventually...

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE? To review: 1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc) 2. Put it on shuffle 3. Press play 4. For every question, type the song that's playing 5. When you go to a new question, press the next button 6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool... And yes, I've done it a million times before too. And I'm posting a lot. So what? :p Opening Credits: "After The Goldrush"- Natalie Merchant (That just rocks...) Waking Up: "Once Around The Block"- Badly Drawn Boy (If you don't listen to the lyrics, not a bad song for this scene really.) First Day At School: "Your Song"- Elton John (Ok, this makes no sense...) Falling In Love: "Things Have Changed"- Bob Dylan (::spittake::) Fight Song: "Can't Stop Loving You"- Van Halen (Yeah, that sounds like a fight I'd get in...) Breaking Up: "Play Guitar"- John Mellencamp (Why does this song keep pop

Super Christmas Post

On Friday night, my parents and I went to see a production of A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage. It was really well acted. This version had some interesting aspects to it. One: Scrooge's housekeeper was a transvestite. In fact, the same actor played Jacob Marley... Two: While the Ghosts of Past and Present were how we have come to expect them to look, the Ghost of Christmases Yet To Come wasn't a Grim Reaper type. He was a guy in a top hat and sunglasses riding a funky tricycle. My mother accurately described it as "Tim Burton-inspired." Yesterday, we had the Christmas Pageant at my church. We did the traditional Nativity story this year after letting the kids write something different last year. The best part of the play was watching was watching our preschool kids as sheep. The best part of the whole experience, however, was not having to be in it myself... Yesterday afternoon, my father and I went out to get the tree. It's now up and decorated! Woo Hoo! Last

The "Knee"-tivity Story

So today at PT, I was put on the bike. No weight and we weren't sure I could do a whole rotation. I was able to do it, however. I was peddling pretty slow at first but, once I got going, I was peddling at a pretty good clip considering. I've been experiencing popping first the on the underside of my knee now on top. I was told my my orthopedist this is just the scar tissue breaking up. Anyway, I experienced a big pop on the bike so this is a good thing I guess. A new stretching excercise was added: while on my stomach, I pull my leg towards my head, holding it for 10 seconds then repeating. This makes a complete ten excercises now but this new one goes into the "just twice" catagory instead of three times. (Making 3 of those now.) Just like when I went to PT this morning, I didn't wear my brace to the movies last night when I went with my mother. We pondered sitting in our usual spot on the first elevated level but we decided I need more space so we sat in the s

Holiday Boredom

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?: Depends if I want something hot or alcoholic... 2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?: Santa didn't used to wrap the gifts but then he started to and still does... 3. Coloured lights on tree/house or white?: Currently white lights on the tree. 4. Do you hang mistletoe?: What would be the point? 5. When do you put your decorations up?: We've started to but still no tree yet. 6. What is your favourite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?: cheese smokies or Chex Mix. 7. Favourite Holiday memory as a child: Hmm the only memory I have at the moment is having the flu one year and throwing up on my gifts from Santa... 8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?: I received a teddy bear one year labeled "From Santa" but then I was told it was from a family friend. It unravelled from there... 9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?: I used to but now my mother gets so many presents from her office we run out of present

6 Weird Things About Moi

Ok, this has been going around the blogsphere like a virus and I have finally been tagged by JRRyan. She is my only reader who has a blog so I tag no one but invite whomever is bored to do this in my comment section if they so choose. You can always get a blog too... 1. I'm not fond of onions and peppers but do love salsa. I also do not like coconut but do really like brazil nuts. 2. I hate wearing shoes but I also really don't like being barefoot either so I am frequently in socks. (Well, rarely in sandals...) 3. I'm left handed but use scissors with my right hand. 4. I frequently sprinkle television or movie references into everyday conversation. By the same token, I frequently make bizarre references. This is very Dennis Miller of me which I suppose is a weird reference in itself... 5. I imagine whole future conversations with people; most of which never do really happen. 6. I'm hardly ever wearing a watch but frequently look at my wrist as if I was.

Knee Recovery Update: The Next Generation

I saw the orthopedist this morning. He pulled out the last stitch and told me not to wear the brace around the house and only when I go out. I also have to remember to tell the physical therapy people they can be more aggressive. Yay me! Did I mention I can bend to 108 degrees now? This has been the limit for a few days now so, hopefully, it will improve soon. I'm sure there was something else I wanted to say but I'm drawing a blank so here's a quiz: You Have Your Sarcastic Moments While you're not sarcastic at all times, you definitely have a cynical edge. In your opinion, not all people are annoying. Some are dead! And although you do have your genuine moments, you can't help getting your zingers in. Some people might be a little hurt by your sarcasm, but it's more likely they think you're hilarious. How Sarcastic Are You?

Blog Post Royale

First, let me tell you about seeing Casino Royale with my father on Friday. I really must say that this was the best Bond film ever and I'm afraid it will never be duplicated. Like the early Sean Connery films, it has more emphasis on plot than fancy gadgets and, with the exception of two or three scenes, unbelievable stunts. Unlike those films, however, this one doesn't drag. They actually allowed Daniel Craig to act in this film. It's this aspect I think that will be one of a kind as Bond has now learned the consequence of getting emotionally involved. ( Of His Majesty's Secret Service seems to suggest otherwise but that story hasn't taken place yet...) Of course, I think Craig is the first Bond actor, since Connery anyway, who actually can act we'll have to see... My two main complaints have to do with the experience not the movie. These new fangled movie theaters still don't have enough leg room if you can't bend your knee unless you sit in the fl

Christmas Time is Here

Though the media has tried to push Christmas upon us since even before Halloween, I finally succumbed yesterday. I actively play Christmas music and even started my shopping yesterday. (I know. Wow!) The knee recovery is progressing. I'm now in phase 2 of the physical therapy. Phase 2 isn't all the different from the first one except I can bend my knee past 45 degrees. (In fact, I can bend it all the way to 90!) Did anyone watch the James Taylor tribute on PBS last night? That was the best tribute I had seen since the Bob Dylan one in '92. (OK, the Johnny Cash and John Lennon tributes of a couple years ago didn't totally suck...) My one problem with it was they used up David Crosby, Sheryl Crow and Jackson Browne on one song instead of spreading the wealth. My problem with the John Lennon tribute was neither Paul or Ringo was there. I think Paul would have been nice here since JT first signed with Apple Records but the line-up they had was great. Like the Dylan tribute,

Thanksgiving Blues

So, we didn't go away for Thanksgiving this year as I came down with an intestinal thing Tuesday night spending about 42 hours straight on a "porcelain cruise." Thankfully, I was able to eat a little something on the actual day and was feeling well enough to preform my duty as greeter this morning at church. Woo Hoo! Lately, I've been keeping busy revising databases. I noticed about a month ago that the All Creatures Great And Small page only had the two stars, Christopher Timothy and Robert Hardy, appearing in thirty of the ninety episodes. Why the hell wouldn't James Herriot appear in a show about James Herriot? I mean one or two episodes maybe but over fifty? In any case, I starting submitting corrections and I noticed last night that someone else has been doing the same bringing the numbers up to fifty-something now. Even more recently, I've been working on applying labels to the archived posts on this here blog. It seems I've taken many quizzes over

Don't We All Need A Change?

Hope you enjoy the new template. I hadn't changed it in awhile so there we go. Today was our church fair complete with lunch, raffle and silent auction. I bid on a David Ortiz plaque and a Manny Ramirez poster. The bidding on the plaque got too steep for someone you has little income (Who'd pay 45 bucks for that?) but the poster may yet be mine! My local branch library is looking for a part time reference librarian. I received a letter today informing me that, while I'm still in the running, the search has been reopened due to the feeling the deadline for applications was too soon. I choose the pessimistic view that I'll do but they'd prefer someone better...(Truthfully, I basically wrote their collection development policy for a class and live only a block away.) I just love the first sentence of the second paragraph: You are The Hermit Prudence, Caution, Deliberation. The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The ill

And Now, Something Completely Different

Recently, I finally finished one of my birthday books. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous , written by Sean Stewart, overall is the best Star Wars book I've read in quite some time with three really engaging lightsaber battles but, to be more accurate, the last 100 pages was the best Star Wars novel I've ever read in my life. Yoda has always been one of my favorite characters and the dialogue/interaction between him and Count Dooku was really good . Obviously, since most novels take place after the movies, they can't have the old Jedi Master in them but I was really hoping here to get more of him here. What species is he? Why is he the only member of his race ever even mentioned? What about the rest of his backstory? No answers to any of these questions were present here. While it's impossible to skip the first 230 pages, I do recomend this novel to all those who didn't dislike the storyline of the prequel movies and to those who miss reading Star Wars novels that don'

And Now, PT...

I had a physical therapy consult yesterday. She wanted me to stop one of the exercises I was doing as it could haerm the incision area if done wrong but added 4 more. Some I'm supposed to do 2-3 times a day while a few I only do twice. I can actually bend my knee somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees now without pain. Woo hoo! (Well, obviously I can't with the brace on...) Not my next appointment which is Monday but the one after that I have to go in Wednesday at 7AM! Since I have to wear sweatpants anyway, I'm thinking of just going in my pajamas... In other though not really different news, I've been getting a lot of attention due to my brace when I've gone out in public. So far, it's just been guys who can relate to knee problems and not hot chicks so I'm not really liking it...

Knee Surgery Recovery Update

I went in for my post-surgery check-up yesterday before doing my patriotic duty and voting. I have no idea what exactly he did to my knee during the examination but that hurt like hell. Then, the med tech came in with my new brace and to remove my stitches and I had a panic attack. I had my leg up on the table with no brace and she needed me to stand up to fit the new brace and I couldn't move my leg! It was so embarrassing. The new brace is different in that my knee can now be bent to 20 degrees instead of being completely straight all the time. Also I don't have to wear it at night. I may have mentioned this already but I now can put weight on the leg and am taking less medication. I have also started doing two isometric exercises. The doctor wants me to call for a PT consult as soon as possible and gave me a schedule on how he wants the therapist to proceed: starting light and getting more intense over the next three weeks. I can't believe I answered all the quest

Knee Surgery Recovery Part 2

Nothing really new to share so here's a quiz: Which Classic Story Role Do You Play? - You Are The Wayward Heart "Feel Better." You are best described as 'Emotional Support'. Anytime an emotional issue comes up or something stresses people out, you are there to help them feel better about it. Whether you are the prankster of the bunch, the funny one, the wild one, or just the shoulder to cry on - your traits favor what it takes to keep people going. You like large groups of people and have many friends. When something hits home for you, however, you have a hard time with it. You also have difficulty paying attention or focusing on one thing. Above all, though, if people are happy, you are happy. Take this quiz ! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code Could my boobs be any bigger?

Recovery From Knee Surgery Part One

As some of you know, I had knee surgery bright and early on Monday morning. (Actually, it wasn't bright as the sun wasn't up when we left the house that morning.) I was home by lunch. Thursday was the first night I slept in my own bed instead of a cot in the living room. It was also the first night I slept through the night but I won't gross you ladies out by explaining why. The first two days or so, I was entertained by watching the first season, or introductory miniseries, of The 4400 which I bought with birthday money. It's really too bad it was only 5 episodes...I've also been reading birthday books but I write more after I finish one. Today, was my first shower and man was my hair nasty! Yesterday, my father rented The Sentinel . That was a very good movie in that it was very fast moving. It was also good in that Eva Longoria didn't exceed her grasp...

When A Geek Posts

The major event of my birthday this year was going to another play but, unlike last year, this was at the Ivoryton Playhouse instead of on Broadway. We saw "An Inspector Calls." The play was very well acted and the plot was very suspenseful. The only drawback I can stress is that when the first act ends, there was some confusion as to if it was intermission or actually over. It could have been over but no one came out to give bows or anything. There was no mention of how many acts in the program as is usual and the director never gave a hint either way when she introduced it. It turned out all right but... This was the most "community theater" experience I've had here in Connecticut in that you could eat in the theater but the actors were still mostly professional. It was a very good time. Yesterday, I went with my mother and a colleague of hers to a Christian Education conference. I personally went to a workshop on children's literature where most age app

Birthday Trivia

Tomorrow is my birthday. Yay! Last night, I discovered some trivia about the day I'm going to now share with you because I'm geeky like that: I knew I shared a birthday with Hillary Clinton, Pat Sajak and Jaclyn Smith but I also share the day with Natalie Merchant and Dylan McDermott. Quite the posse... What really blew my mind was the events of the day. I knew about the Shootout at the OK Corral and that The Who recorded "My Generation" like 12 years earlier (than my birth not the Shootout) but I discovered last night a possible reason I have a huge interest in Star Trek : The spaceshuttle Enterprise, named by President Ford for the ship on the show, had its fifth and final test on that same day in the same year as my birth! In an unrelated matter, I have Jessica Simpson's new song "I Belong to Me" stuck in my head and I want it out!

Update For Inquiring Minds.

The interview yesterday went well I think. It's hard to tell when the interviewer has a pokerface the entire time to get a totally accurate impression but I still feel pretty good about it. I certainly asked more questions than I ever have in interviews previously and I even mentioned that I had looked at what databases they had on their website which I had done one other time but I think it worked better here. The only thing that could sink me is if they found someone who had professional budget management experience. She really hopes to have someone in place by Election Day but I guess this is dependent on when she can meet with the board so it may not be until December. I'm not postponing the surgery unless I have a good reason to. As far as living there, there is a apartment building right next door. I don't know if there's any vacancies but that would be great if I could work that out. Not that anyone asked but, the doctor's appointments went well on Thursday.

Remind Me

Remind me to complain how boring and unexciting my life more often because as soon as I did, it got really exciting really fast. Last night, we had four visitors arrive from Korea. They like ziti and garlic bread. Go figure. They will be staying until Sunday night. I told my mother (AKA Hyacinth Bucket) she was making way too much salad but did she listen? No. Now we have this huge-ass bowl of salad in the fridge...What's really irritating is first the fork we use to serve catfood went missing now Susie's dish is missing as well... Tomorrow, I have a physical to prepare for my surgery then I go to my orthopedist's to fill out consent forms. Woo Hoo! I hope I can find time for a haircut as well because... Friday, I have a job interview at a library in Massachusetts! It's a reference job but I also will be conducting a book group. I've never done that but it sounds really fun. Sure, I'll be stuck reading many book that sucks but isn't that what book group i

First, I Would Not Call It "A Party"...

Thursday night we went up to Maine to celebrate the 8oth birthday of my grandfather's wife. As I suspected, especially since my partners in crime couldn't make it, the affair was fairly yawn-worthy. The highlights included my aunt, my mother and I speculating just what kind of sandwich my mother was eating. My aunt said if you don't know what it is, it's usually chicken and then I said something like, "let's go with that..." Another highlight was when I mentioned to another aunt that the eclair piece I was eating seemed to have the cream sucked out of it. My "grandmother"'s son sang, as did she actually. During his performance of a Christmas song he wrote, (Yes, you read that correctly.) his wife was wandering around the room doing other tasks but piped in when he needed a backup singer... Friday night, we saw a movie with my uncle and grandmother from the other side of the family: Monster-in-Law . I've noticed I've been giving go

More Movies

Last night, my father and I rented two movies from Blockbuster as TV was crap. The family movie was Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School . I don't mind non-linear offerings (Hell, I love Alias and Lost ) but this movie did it in a very aggravating way I think. Though his name appears on the package and others that have infinitely more to do don't, Danny Devito only appears in one scene but it's a good scene so I suppose we can forgive whoever made that decision. Speaking of the cast though, amazing. There isn't one cast member you haven't seen somewhere else. I wasn't sure if I'd recommend it when I started watching it but it grows on you. The "Me Movie" watched today was Ultimate Avengers II . You can read what I thought of the first one here but I thought the plot of this one was much more original. I recommend watching the first one beforehand anyway, however, because it will make more sense. You Are 7 Up Understated and s

Madman Has A Blog

I don't have anything to say of any import except to say the career is still going nowhere so the move to Portland is looking good. Now what I really wanted to comment on today was the political scene here in Connecticut. There are only two congressional incumbents who's jobs aren't being threatened; my district congressman being one of them. The other three districts however seem quite heated and so I'll have to watch a buttload of political ads that have nothing to do with me for the eternity until election day. Being from the two district state of Maine, I didn't have this problem there as the incumbent of the other district never had a serious challenger so this is rather new to me. (Not my first election down here but it seems especially annoying this year.) I will say this: the Republican incumbents all seem to stress their opponents will raise taxes. First off, not very original. (Not a cigarette tax! No!) Secondly, one of the main reasons I can never be a

Post of Quizzes Only

Your Learning Style: Innovative and Independent You are determined and driven. Confident in your abilities, no field is too difficult for you. You Should Study: Astronomy Biology Chemistry Design Engineering Philosophy Physics Political Science What Should You Study? I would say subjects 1,4,6, and 8 maybe but to the rest, I say, "No way in hell!" Take the quiz: Who would you be in the War of Armageddon? Mortal You're a mortal. If you're caught in the end days, you must be careful, for you will have a choice to make. You can join the forces of good or evil. To join the forces of evil means to be damned for all eternity... To join the forces of good means to be destroyed by the forces of The Antichrist, but it's the only way to save soul. You tend to teeter, leaning sometimes to good and sometimes to evil. You usually look out for yourself while things are happening around you. This probably won't work in end days, the battle will leave none untouched. Quizzes

All I Seem To Do Is Review...

I, along with everybody else who attended except for 4 people, saw Akeelah and the Bee last night. That was a great movie. Very inspirational. As I expected the number in attendance was almost exactly the same as last time but I did have a better time. We could have used more food I think for some reason... The new series Heroes is rebroadcast on Fridays which is good because Mondays at 9 isn't good for me. The review in the paper was correct the Japanese guy's story was the only thing interesting in the premiere episode. I'm not really sure where they're going with this series. I thought it would be like My Secret Identity , especially considering Jerry O'Connell is part of Tim Kring's other show Crossing Jordan , on a more global scale but since they all except one end up in New York so I'm not so sure. The second series, or 37th if you will, of Doctor Who premiered last night as well. David Tennent makes a very good Doctor I think but so far they

Movies Day And Night

Yesterday morning, I watched the third library movie: The Last Samurai . First and foremost, I want to comment on the movie's cinematography. Beautiful and breathtaking scenery. I also like how in one scene, the camera panshot allowed them to hide a decapitation behind a tree and not make it obvious that's what they were doing. Great job. Tom Cruise played the drunken 19th century American asshole very well and I honestly thought he portrayed the level of soften during the course of the film quite well. In an article I wrote for my high school newspaper, that was republished in The Lewiston Sun-Journal actually, I said Cruise "actually acted" in Jerry Maguire . This movie makes his performance in that look like amateur theater. Best of all, like The Red Corner and the Chinese language before it, the Japanese actors here speak Japanese in scenes that don't have English speakers, and, when they either probably don't know English or don't want the Ame

Another Movie With A Jennifer Aniston Theme?

I forgot to mention that on Sunday afternoon the Alfred E. White Chorale, a local gospel choir, performed at my church. They were very good. The choir director became overwhelmed with emotion after their own rendition of "The Lord's Prayer" and then again after the concert was over. During the concert, one of the other women had a hot flash. Still, it rocked! This morning, I now believe why the Aniston-Pitt marriage fell apart. I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Pitt and Jolie had almost Hepburn-Tracy chemistry in this film. It added quite a lot to what would have just been a straightforward action film. Overall, I loved it but I really must comment on not the plot itself which was actually fine. (I mean I could watch Angelina kick ass all day...) No, the real problem was the background or basis of the plot. I'm giving away something here but unless you think wrestling is real, it's fairly easy to deduce anyway. If you have a problem with your agent consortin

Killing Time

I have forty minutes before the next set of pop culture challenges unlock on Gold Rush so I decided to update the old blog. Over the weekend, I finished reading Vanish by Tess Gerritsen. I've liked her writing and the fact she's a Maine author is pretty cool. Another cool aspect of her writing is the recent books especially have been set in Boston. In this book, a scene took place on the same street I had my internship which is kind of funny IMHO. Vanish isn't as good as earlier books as she seems to be getting away from the medical field more and more. The real problem I had with it was more suspense than mystery. I'm not saying it was Columbo where you know who the murder is right off but Gerritsen has written novels that exercised the brain more... After I returned this to the library, I borrowed three movies. The first, which I watched this morning, was Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic which is more or less a concert film. It was hilarious in that quirky-S

The Big E and Other Commentary

Last night, we went to the Big E up in West Springfield. It was apparently Connecticut Day so the parade was all CT all the time. It was the longest parade I have ever watched. It went on like forever. We got a baked potato at the Maine Building and a Spiced Apple Cider Donut at the Vermont building as well as sharp cheese called "The Preacher." I wanted to get "The Green Mountain Boys" which was supposedly XX-sharp but my father wouldn't go for it. We then went to the Sam Adams Beer Garden where I ordered an Octoberfest. Mine was 20 ounces so it looked huge compared to the little cups of chardonnay my parents ordered. We then went over to get the special Big E cream puff. Has anyone heard Clay Aiken's new song? He's covering Badfinger's "Without You" of all things and, I really hate say this, it's pretty good... We're having another Movie Night a week from tomorrow. We've decided today that we're going to watch Akeela

Anniversary Dinners, Drumming Workshops and New TV

Last weekend was the big 85th Anniversary celebration at my church. Saturday night was a lobster/steak/hot dog dinner. The steak and baked potato was awesome and the corn on the cob was better than the piece I got at the Chicken BBQ. The cole slaw was not nearly as good but you can't have everything. Sunday, after church we had a silver tea. That was good too. That night we went to mother's church for a meditative drumming workshop. I originally just went for the potluck dinner but it turned out to be really fun. It was attended by men and women of all ages. Now, a quick word on the new TV season. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the best real drama I've seen in ages. ( Boston Legal is supposedly a drama but if Desperate Housewives and Ally McBeal were comedies, so is that. And how dare they not keep Parker Posey!) The cast is great and the storyline is cool too. My parents, especially my mother, hate it so it'll be yet another show I'll have to watch in

Four Things

1. We took Susie for her annual check-up yesterday. She did very well but may need dental work in February. 2. I damaged the toenail on my right big toe during that April mailroom job. (You know. The one that I wasn't paid for the second week of for another month.) The nail finally fell off yesterday. 3. My mother gave me two library job ads yesterday. Thinking I had time to apply I put it off until today. I call human resources today to see if they still had my information on file as I had recently applied for another job there. The good news is they did but the bad news is the deadline for the suckier of the two jobs but the one I had a better shot of getting was yesterday. Did it ever occur to me my mother would tell me of a job that was about to expire? No. In reality, by the time she came home with the ad, the office would have been closed anyway but I'm still kind of irritated. 4. I was kind of irritated to discover the new online game Gold Rush was forcing me

More Of An Addendum Than An Actual Post

I meant to mention this yesterday but I was watching the news yesterday morning and I saw this interview with a Austrian woman who had been held captive for 18 days before escaping. After the interview the news anchor added that the woman's lawyers allowed the appearance but insisted her hair be covered in order to "hide her identity." Her face was clearly visible and, frankly, you could still tell she was blonde. Are there people out there who say "Her face looks familiar but I can't tell how long her hair is so I don't know..." I'm not even sure what the point of hiding her identity really is. Do they think her former captives will try and stake out the TV studio and grab her again? Then again, I may be that paranoid too if I was held captive. I do admit I'm still a little wary crossing the street...

The Audience Has Spoken

I was waiting to post until I had something worth talking about but I realized I have no idea what you'd find interesting so here's what I can share with you now. On Sunday, I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with my father. I expected it to be incredibly silly but I did not expect to laugh so hard. The whole cast was hilarious but especially Gary Cole in his best role yet I think and Molly Shannon who I admit was not my favorite SNL castmember. (Her "Best of" special was only funny because of the other people in the sketches with her.) Here, she was so funny. John C. Reilly wasn't as funny as he was in The Good Girl but I think we all know the writing was much better in that movie... This afternoon I finally got around to watching the movie I borrowed from the library almost a week ago. I had wanted to see Flightplan with Jodie Foster for awhile but it was always checked out so after talking with my grandmother who asked me if I'd seen it

Well, At Least I Know This Character...

Scout Finch! Congratulations, you're... You're the plucky heroine of Harper Lee's only novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird." You're stubborn, rude, your hands are dirty and your elbows are scraped, and you have a knack for going where you don't belong. And we all adore you! Congrats! Link: The Beloved Literary Character Test written by lachrymosis on OkCupid Free Online Dating , home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Out Like So Much Other Garbage

So Thursday I started a new temp assignment at a waste management company. The day went well I thought. I did some job shadowing of an account manager and helped her do a Fed-EX mailing. I come home and check in with my agency as I was asked to do by them and I'm informed they received an e-mail saying the company didn't want me back as I wasn't a good fit. No other explanation was given to them. I think it was really that my skills were best suited for keeping the clients they already had happy which I assume they already had enough people to do that and really wanted people to bring more clients in which is not me. Once again, it seems the corporate world is not for me. So mainly because I'm trying to be responsible and build up my bank account and not really because my mother keeps hounding me about it, I've decided to begin my birthday moratorium even though the actual day isn't for about two months. This means I didn't buy the new Bob Dylan CD yester

Another Maine Vacation

From Tuesday until yesterday we were in Maine. We started off in the Portland area visiting with relatives both who still live there and others up from NJ. We gathered for lunch twice. First at Two Lights State Park then at the mall. We then went up to Bangor where I was scheduled to have a breakfast "date." She never showed up. She had left an e-mail for me saying there was a complication at work but I didn't read this until I returned back to the motel. We were headed back to Portland the next day so we weren't able to reschedule. Oh well... As per usual, we saw three movies. The first was Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. On the whole, this was very good with great acting and gripping suspense but, alas, the ending majorly sucked. The second film was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . This film was typical Tim Burton bizarreness but, as is also typical, it somehow works. I think I like Johnny Depp's interpretation of Willy Wonka more than Gene

What The....?

Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein Circle I Limbo Creationists Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind Scientologists Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow Republicans Circle IV Rolling Weights Rednecks Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled River Styx Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies Circle VI Buried for Eternity River Phlegyas George Bush Circle VII Burning Sands General asshats Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement The New York Yankees Circle IX Frozen in Ice Design your own hell

Rednecks Can't Dance

It would probably be more accurate to say they won't rather than can't but the other way sounded better as a title. More on this later. My Oregonian cousin who's been in Western Mass. all summer stayed with us for the past week and a half before going home today. I'm eight years older and have different life experiences but we have Marvel Comics in common. (She read many of my Spider-man and X-men comics.) Once my father and I got her into the Red Sox we had something else in common but this wasn't the best week to do that I think. (Damn them!) She's way into Christian music and every t-shirt she wore, except one, had a Christian theme. At first, I thought the rap was the worst but yesterday we heard this chick who sounded like Avril Lavigne and you know how much I love her... (Speaking of "chick rock," I listened to excerpts of Paris Hilton's new album and her cover of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was pretty good. I'm not kidding.)

Because Everybody Will Soon Do It

Step 1: Go to this site . Step 2: Choose 5 quotes that relate to you in some way. Step 3: Paste them in your blog/lj/whatever, along with the instructions "Complain to one who can help you." -Yugoslav Proverb "The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive." -John Sladek "The idea of all-out nuclear war is unsettling." -Walter Goodman "Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it." -David Sedaris, interview in Louisville Courier-Journal , June 5, 2005 "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

Knee Surgery Update

I think many of you already know this but, for everyone in cyberspace I haven't told, I have scheduled the knee surgery. It will be in late October. Four days after my 29th birthday. Woo Hoo! Happy Birthday to me! Ok, so the Sox swept the O's. I'll still not be convinced they have a shot at the playoffs until they come away with a winning record against the Tigers and Yankees in this and the next series. I want 12 wins in a row! (Wouldn't that be nice?)

Argh! (Sports Edition)

How in the hell can the Red Sox have such a terrible road trip? The were playing the two worst teams in the league! I know they seem to play better against the good teams but it's absolutely unacceptable to be swept by Kansas City! I'm afraid they're done and I think at least of few of them know it. I predict they will lose again tonight... A quiz: You scored as Jimmy . Y-y-you're Ji-ji-jimmy! One of the nicer kids in South Park. You have trouble expressing yourself, and it can sometimes get you into trouble. But you are an excellent comedian anyways! Jimmy 100% Stan Marsh 83% Eric Cartman 75% Butters 75% Kenny McCormick 75% Kyle Broflovski 67% Timmy 67% Shelly 42% Tweak 42% What South Park Character Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Thoughts During Primary Day

1. No matter who you or I voted for yesterday during the primary, Joe Lieberman has proved to be a sore loser. "I'll run as an independent!" Give it up Joe. The state wants a change. You not invulnerable. Get over it. So you've beaten child molesting Republicans in past races. Hell, I'm pretty sure I could manage that... 2. What's John DeStefano going to do with all the bumper stickers now that the people have decided the mayor of my town isn't a good running mate? (Hell, I voted for Glassman as well.) A related question is why does this state even pick running mates before primaries if they aren't tied together in the initial voting? Waste of time, I say. 3. If the Red Sox Don't win the next 2-4 games, they're done. They have the best defensive team they have ever had. (In my lifetime anyway.) The pitching however sucks! I do not blame John Lester specifically since he's not used to the post September grind. (Remind me what month we

Pirates and More

A couple nights ago, the family and I went to see Pirates of The Caribbean II . This movie was even more the delightful mindless romp Ex-Girlfriend was. Most of the stunts really weren't needed but most were fun to watch anyway. My mother said to me that she thought young kids would have nightmares by it which she's right about, I'm sure but, young kids shouldn't see this movie anyway but they probably will... My one real problem was that the ending was kind of confusing for those who didn't know there would be a third movie and unless you watch the first movie numerous times (which, let's be honest, it isn't really worth doing), how are you supposed to remember all the different characters especially when they don't identify themselves? A question we had that really didn't need to be held over until the next movie was: Does Will think something went on between Jack and Elizabeth? "There will be no knowing!" This heat and humidity is bea

New Ramblings

I don't know who will read this let alone care as everyone seems to be having their own problems, some anyway being way more important but writing here has always helped at least little just writing it down. I need a change. No, not just a short vacation. I need something to happen that will last at least 9 months. I'm not interested in getting more education as I'm stilling paying off the so far useless education I already possess. I've considered taking up the suggestion of my cousins and move to Portland but their are issues that I need to work out first. (It is true my temp agency has an office there.) One: I can't do anything like that until I get the knee situation figured out. If I do end up having surgery, I want to be home during my extensive rehab. If that sounds a bit childish, so what? The second reason is more of a lasting complication and probably even more childish but the reason I do enjoy living at home is that I can do temp work to pay my tw

Cirque Du Poulet

Friday was my church's annual Chicken Barbecue. It was sparsely attended due to the weather and the fact we don't advertise it really in order to not get the attention of the town's health department which would make it more trouble than it's worth. Traditionally it's the least favorite fundraiser of my family as it used to have Flintstone -size pieces of chicken that only a trucker could love but this year they finally went with normal-sized pieces after what seemed like three years of complaints about it. The chicken was good although mine was a bit too dry. (My father felt he's rather sacrifice moistness to not have pinkness. I feel I'd rather risk throwing up for a couple hours to avoid choking to death on a dry piece of chicken but maybe that's just me.) The corn was pretty good for a mass operation but was a bit overcooked as well. The cole slaw and roll, however, was spectacular not to mention the desserts. Last night, my father and I joined

Oooh, Pretty!

Find your Celestial Choir

The Long in Coming Geek Rant

I went to bed last night after getting a rather huge surprise: I was told a friend is pregnant again. The announcement isn't really that mindblowing given all the facts such as her age etc, but my reaction to it was admittedly overblown. I think if a woman told me she was pregnant with my child I may seriously have a cerebral hemorrhage and die... This morning I wake up to this not-so-surprising surprise . Anyway, I went to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend with my father. It was a simple mindless romp that is a great diversion in a place with A/C. It seems like a chick flick but it's such a guy film in reality. No woman I want to know would get more than a chuckle out of this bit of dialogue: Jenny: I'll buy you a new one. Matt: A new bed or a new penis? The ending was terribly clique and the comic book geek in me must ask why the meteor changes hair color and boob size and why the same meteor both giveth and taketh away powers and hair color... One more thought on the movi

Another Movie, Again with Jennifer Aniston.

Why do I keep watching movies with her in it? I have no idea. Sure, I think she's a great actress and pretty to boot ("I think I want to fuck you." she says at one point...) but I can't say I find her any more attractive or talented than many other actresses. Anyway, this film was Derailed also with Clive Owen, Melissa George who plays his wife here but I will always think of her as the evil Lauren from season 3 of Alias and Xzibit of Pimp My Ride . (Why do they always put a plasma-screen TV in the trunk?) This movie had three big twists. In no particular order of occurrence: One was bloody obvious, another should have been obvious for someone like myself who can kick major ass on the new pop culture competition on VH-1 but was still a surprise nonetheless and a third surprise that was genuinely shocking. Given the sometimes excessive violence and inclusion of a severely diabetic daughter, Mother wouldn't have liked this movie but I recommend it to all those