Friendships really do come in all shapes and sizes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/2
We went to Mother-in-laws to hand out candy to the goblins.
We went to the Torture Factory, a locally produced haunted house. I was surprised to find it had a major presence on line. It was even listed by googling “Nashville Haunted Houses”. It has a back story of a crazy, renegade homeland security torturer who has hidden out in rural Tennessee. I am not very interested in sadism, and wanted a good ol' house haunted by ghosts. But we went anyway to support the local economy. It was wonderful. It was the longest & imaginative haunted house I have been to. While there weren't exactly ghosts, there were clearly dead animated individuals. There were creatures that blended unnervingly into the walls. The best was a hallway of soft walls that stuck out and grabbed you. I actually started screaming at that point, not something I normally do in these places. There was a very long maze that we couldn't find our way out of for quite a while. We even had to crawl through a long oven. It was good. It was cathartic.
Then home. We don't get trick or treaters at Welpenwald, the population is too disperse. But, when we let the dogs out of their upstairs confinement, they were very excited and they ran around the feast set table sniffing the floor? I could understand them sniffing the food. But now. They sniffed the floor. Odd.
We stayed up to hear the Westminster Clock chime midnight. I rescued it from my Mom's & took it to a clock repair guy. I just got it back yesterday. It chimes on the ¼ hour & then chimes & bongs on the hour.
Apparently, Spouse really does like the decorations. He asked me not to take them down until next weekend. Although, Spouse borrowed Mr. McCord's black robe (the ghoul in the balcony). He traded him with a silver spangled robe. Now Mr. McCord looks like he is in drag.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n
2.from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by Katie Halper
3.Put on a bunch of fake blood, carry a cane or crutches, draw on what look like home-made stiches. You're... the opt out to the public option.
4.Put a pillow under shirt and carry a bunch of baby dolls. You're... Abstinence Only.
5.Wear a suit and glasses. Get a wolf stuffed animal and apply fake blood to it. Carry around the wolf and a baby (keep its eyes shut if possible so it looks asleep). In your free hand carry around a thesaurus. You're... Sarah Palin
6.Combine a sexy nurse outfit with a pants suit. You're... Nancy Pelosi.
7.Wear a pope costume. Take three cards, which you will pin to your costume. Write "Holocaust Deniers" on one, "Married Priests" on another one and "Gays" on another one. Put checks next to and Married Priests and Holocaust Deniers and draw a line crossing out the Gay sign. You're... Pope Benedict. (Feel free to add a Hitler Youth Arm band. Not sure what they look like but think Hello Kitty meets swastika).
8.Wear a fancy suit with a top hat and a cane. Stuff yourself with pillow so you look as bloated as possible. Wear a dollar sign around your neck (you can make it out of tin foil.) You're... Too big to fail.
9.Wear a devil costume. Pin a hanger to it. You're... the anti-choice movement.
10.Wear galoshes, carry an oar and put a question mark on your shirt. You're... Roe v Wade.
11.Wear pajamas. a mustache and carry around a one way ticket to Costa RIca. You're... Manuel Zelaya... President of Honduras... Remember Honduras... It's a country.
12.Wear a cowboy hat and a suit (or an entire cowboy costume). Carry around a pair of clippers. Cut out pieces of paper in the shape of quote bubbles. Write things like "you can do it!", "believe in yourself," "it's not where you're from, it's where you're at." You're... George Bush.
13.Wear dog ears and a tail. Wear all blue. get a stuffed animal of a donkey and tie a rope around its neck and drag the donkey around with you so it trails on the floor. Feel free to step on it. You're a blue dog Democrat.
14.Wear a polo shirt and khaki pants. Put a pillow (or two) in the shirt. Carry around a microphone and stuffed animal elephant. Tie a rope around its neck and drag around with you so it trails on the floor. Feel free to step on it. You're... Rush Limbaugh.
The Annoying Dope on the van told me today that I am a Yankee. I told him that I am from Georgia. My entire family is from Georgia. My husband is from Georgia and his entire family is from Georgia (except his mother, who is from Virginia). I pointed out that Georgia is SOUTH of Tennessee. He DISAGREED with me!!! Another on the van said we would have to 'agree to disagree'!?!
Excuse me? How should we agree to disagree as to whether I am from the south or not? Apparently my accent negates my heritage, my history and my family ties. Some people live such insular lives that they get their cause and effects backwards (i.e., believes that everyone from Georgia speaks with the accent he believes we all have. He continues to believe this in the face of someone who is from Georgia and who doesn't speak the way he "knows" Georgians speak. This is the ignorance of stereotyping).
DOPES!!!
I think tomorrow I will tell him that I believe he is from South Dakota. And if he disagrees, then we will have to agree to disagree.
As I have been thinking of these seasonal transitions it (finally) occurred to me that a seasonal holiday for death should come AFTER the holiday of final harvest. It has seemed pretty odd (and inconvenient) that we decorate for harvest in September. Then in October, decorate for death & closure. Then in November, we pull out the harvest motifs again. I guess this is just an artifact of our multicultural absorbent culture. But, does that seem weird to anyone else?
None the less, I have found some October decorations that I really like this year. Last year I sewed a beautiful table runner with silver spider webs & shiny black & red spiders. I love it. I also bought a sparkly human skull on sale (not real, mind you). So this year, I put them together and love the look. Spouse said he liked it, but wouldn’t admit that it was scary.
Then Antrozous sent me these adorable battery operated lights. They are so cool, and I hung them from the chandelier over the skull. Spouse came in and said, “I think those lights have parted the veil.” Now THAT’S the reaction I was looking for.
It finally occurred to me that I should light the candles & this is result after I blew them out.
And of course, this is the balcony with Mr. McCord & all his little minions (and one big one although, it is probably too dark to see the large spider reaching down to the porch). I so want to have parties here.
I so want to have parties here.
*Rooms finished: foyer, bedroom, dining room, den, landing. Rooms finished for function: kitchen, downstairs bathroom, laundry room, walk-in closet. Rooms unfinished & full of junk: Guest bedroom, upstairs bathroom, sunroom, outside of house, patio.
There is a “Conservative Bible Project” whose intent, is not to create a translation of the bible that is the most scupiulously accurate, but one that is translated with 'conservative values”. Isn't that taking a modern perspective to interpret the bible?
These are their 10 guidelines.
1.Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2.Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3.Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
4.Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5.Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6.Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7.Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8.Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9.Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10.Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."
Some of these I can understand, such as not dumbing it down. But, avoiding liberal bias & express free market parables are just absurd interpretations.
These people suck.
Rider A: Your friend is addicted. I don't want to have anything to do with Myface or any of those things.
Rider B: He plays with people all over the world.
Rider A: That is because he is addicted. He can't help himself. It is an addiction.
Rider B: He stays up late playing with people in Russia & China & Africa.
Rider A: It's an addiction. It is because he can't be content sitting and watching TV or just doing nothing. He is addicted.
I quite liked it. I laughed. I cried. I got very depressed and anxious. Then I got very proud. I wish I had been alive in the time of FDR. He was a wonderful man & I am proud to say that my family have all been "FDR Democrats".
This movie brought up some thoughts.
I do not, and never have understood how the religious right in this country can promote a system based on greed. Capitalism is based on greed. Without some mediating force it is completely run by greed, pure and simple. This country is not based on greed. It is based on freedom and equal rights. Unfettered greed is NOT freedom & it is certainly not equal rights.
I am not for unbridled competition. I think it is an inappropriate social or economic model. However, if you are going to tout capitalism you CANNOT take bailouts. You CANNOT give bailouts. The essential part of capitalism that "they" continually ignore is failure. If it doesn't outcompete then it fails. It has to be allowed to die. It is immoral to prop up the failed rich on the backs of the poor.
For the first time one of his movies actually left me with hope.
The bad news is she is still unconfined.
Good dog. Bad owner.
The cash for clunkers bailout was the ONLY one of the tax relief plans that gave an advantage to us, consumers, peons, little people...the ones on whom whose backs this economy rests. It also took a lot of gas guzzlers off the market that were designed by those stupid big car companies. ANd they will no longer be spewing trash into OUR COLLECTIVE AIR.
Go fuck yourselves Big Car Executives.
But, it is terrible to watch Spouse decide to leave a dog that is ill. I know it is tearing him up.
I hate this.
A prize winning essay written in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England has been found. It was written by a 10 year old Sir Paul McCartney. I haven’t seen the text of the essay but I trust it wasn’t
Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say.
Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she changes from day to day.
I want’ to tell her that I love her a lot but I’ve got to get a belly full of wine.
Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, some day I’m gonna make her mine, oh yeah.
Some day I’m gonna make her mine.
Don Fisher co-founded The Gap in 1969 (Defining how Americans can be cool & casual, as the Vogue reporter said).
And last but not least, Roman Polanski was arrested for a 1978 statutory rape charge.
It was like a walk through time.
Take a minute to see this!
YouTube - Bodhisattva in metro <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jedd2fiztqm>
Spouse is building kitchen cabinets. He has the frames for all of them to completely circle the kitchen. Yeah!
We just finished season 2 of Dexter via netflix. Now we will have to wait until next fall to get season 3. However, we will be starting the 2nd season of The Big Bang Theory (also via Netflix) just in time for it to start with season 3. I MAY be able to tape this season at Mother-in-law's house. Although, I will believe it when I see it.
I picked up this little list from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
starcat_jewel. The “tips” normal rape prevention lists give potential victims are so condescending. It’s fun to turn the tables.
http://nonotyou.tumblr.com/post/16820898
Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!
1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.
2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!
3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!
4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.
5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!
6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.
7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.
8. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.
9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!
10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.
And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn’t ask permission and then respect the answer the first time, you are commiting a crime- no matter how “into it” others appear to be.
This one came from wytchlady.
http://www.beautyden.com/news/rapex-anti-r
I think it is very telling that anyone would accuse the maker of this devise as a “man hater”. It just shows that anything a woman does to stand up for her own rights labels her as a “man-hater” by worshipers of the patriarchy.
In September of 1989, a NOAA hurricane hunter airplane intercepted Hurricane Hugo as it approached the Caribbean islands, just before Hugo's destructive rampage through the Caribbean and South Carolina. The crew of the airplane were the first people to encounter the mighty hurricane--and very nearly became its first victims. The mission remains the most harrowing flight ever conducted by the NOAA hurricane hunters. I served as flight meteorologist on that flight, and feel fortunate indeed to be able to tell the story.
— Dr. Jeff Masters (Chief Meteorologist, Weather Underground, Inc.) http://www.wunderground.com/education/h
I was working at a marine lab that was right on the marsh. My house was 9 feet above sea level. We (Spouse, 4 dogs & I) evacuated to the dormitory at the marine lab, along with 4 adults, 1 child & 4 more dogs. The dormitory was 20 feet above sea level and it's two story glass all faced inland. The last announcement we heard on the Charleston TV station was "No need to worry. Hugo has turned north and is likely to hit shore ~ 30 miles north of us". We all looked at each other, as we were ~30 miles north of Charleston. Then the electricity went out and didn't come back on for a fortnight.
For weeks afterwards we heard horror stories from all sorts of rural areas: the evacuation center that flooded & the people escaped by climbing on tables into the ceiling. The people who woke up when their bed began floating. The woman who had my job before me who sat on the top step in her house and watched the water rise. The USGS official measurement of tidal surge of 19.6 was measured in her living room. Later, when the man was clearing the fallen trees & once he cut the top of, the tree stood up burying his wife under the roots.
Fortunately, I kept my job. After all ecological research is even more important under such circumstances. We worked out of the dormitory facilities for the rest of the time I worked there. They didn't finish the new lab until a long time after I left.
It has been twenty years. What a hell of a trip!
Spouse very sweetly made me a carrot cake with cream cheese icing (yummy) & butter pecan ice cream (yum). We went out to eat with his mom at the local steak house.
I called my mom. She didn’t remember it was my birthday & I had to tell her my age 3 times. But she was happy to hear from me & pointed out old it made her that her baby is now 52.
We went to his mom’s house for cake & presents. Spouse got me a Roomba. It is an adorable hard worker & loud. He let it clean his mom’s kitchen & living room & she was delighted to show off to his sister that her cat’s hairs need vacuuming (I don’t think she took the hint).
I got two external hard drives (thanks to Glacier, who I must write a thank you note to). Two beautiful hand knitted scarves from Antrozous (who was here visiting last weekend). An artistic horsehair decorated pot Spouse bought while we were in Tucson, a really attractive clay colander from Mother-in-law…and a spatula. I hope I am not forgetting anything. It looked like a huge pile.
When I got up Saturday, ROOMBA had already been cleaning the floor in the foyer (and it felt terrific on my tootsies) & spouse made me an omelet. What a birthday?
Later in the day I took Mother-in-law out to the local winery where we sat outside listening to a local musician/friend of ours. I got to see some old buddies there. It was nice.
The rest of the weekend was business as usual (making breakfasts & lunches for work, making bread & yogurt, making lotions & creams for my face, washing dishes, washing clothes) with the addition of trying the ROOMBA in every room (ba).
