Can you tell Marco to stop doing my face?

Ok, so I already had a hard enough time trying to figure out why Rachael Leigh Cook doesn't get more work. And apparently I haven't seen her in so long, she looks like this these days?? WTF?? And people STILL aren't hiring her? (In anything other than straight-to-video or crap that's nearly impossible to find?) I definitely prefer the cute RLC to the mega-hot RLC pictured here, but shit man, whatever gets her in something worth watching, I'm all for. Poor girl hasn't done a decent thing since before I moved to Japan in 2001...

I'm gonna rip the eyes out of your head and piss in your dead skull! You fucked with the wrong Marine!

What a long-ass week and it's only Tuesday. Still working, only missed one question on my "final exam" so it looks like I get to stay. Actually, everyone does so that's a good thing. There was a little dead weight at one point but it got filtered out on the second test. They must know what they're doing...

The Oscars were a fairly dull affair, most everything was a lock and turned out as predicted. I guess Alan Arkin snaking the award from Eddie Murphy was a shame, but I wanted Mark Wahlberg to win anyway, so I wasn't really devastated. I guess he was expecting to win, though, what with imdb.com reporting: Dreamgirls star Eddie Murphy was so devastated after losing the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award to Alan Arkin he stormed out of the ceremony, according to press reports in the US, including Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com. Murphy was the favorite to win the Oscar, which instead was awarded to Little Miss Sunshine star Arkin. The 45-year-old tried to downplay his disappointment telling American publication Us Weekly, "It's fine. It happens. It's OK." But shortly thereafter, Murphy and girlfriend Tracey Edmonds left the show and didn't return. Murphy missed out on his Dreamgirls cast mates Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose performing songs from the film, as well as Hudson's win for Best Supporting Actress.

As for me, I got to eat my truffles and drink my Oscar wine (which D always gives me for xmas), and that's the important part. And seeing Nicole Kidman pull off a giant red bow dress. (Note the scandal: is Naomi Watts pregnant? Do we care?)



D has been very stressed at work these days, so I know he's happy to have a vacation coming up at the end of March. I hoped taking him to New York City would prepare him a little for Tokyo. If anything, New York City originally intimidated me more than Tokyo--after all, they can understand you in New York, so you have almost no excuse for being a moron. But this last time I enjoyed it immensely. I really need to look over some Japanese before we go back, though. It's not like I've been using it for the past four years. Now that I know I get to keep my job maybe I can spend a little more time on that.

I was so exhausted last night I caught up on my Studio 60 (no comment, I just watch) and my weekly TBS-censored Sex and the City 'sodes. It's so hard to tell why and what they'll edit. They let them say "bullshit" but "cock," "pussy," and "dick" in certain contexts are apparently no-nos. ?? D was in the computer room a few weeks ago while I was watching and even called out, "Did they just say 'bullshit'?" I myself had been processing the same question. Clearly the answer would be to just own them and then I can watch them in all their profane glory. Not that I haven't before... But anyhoo, after these viewings, well, I curled up on the sofa and fell asleep just after D got home. He was supposed to be off at 4 but didn't leave til 6, a very regular thing, sadly. (Meaning he gets home around 7 and then I fell asleep around 7:45. Nice). And he closes tonight, so it's anyone's guess as to whether or not I'll make it. I didn't even get to see last night's Colbert Report and it was finally new after last week being off. (But that's what Tivo is for). Damn, House, M.D. isn't new again til next week. I swear, they do 2-3 at a time with that show.

Blow me. Not literally, though, unfortunately there's no promotion involved.

Almost time to sit down for the goofy Oscars. We saw The Departed today and I really liked it. It surprised me several times and the whole movie was wonderfully suspenseful. I loved the twists and pace and that it didn't pander to the slowest in the crowd. Scorsese may have it in the bag but I'd like to see the film win as well. I have to admit I did not get to see Iwo Jima, but I also have a feeling The Departed is a bit more my cup of tea than another war movie. I'm not passing judgment--I plan to watch it and I may even love it. But I'm less than eager to watch another war movie at the moment.



And Mark Wahlberg had all the best lines. But really, everyone was so good. Matt Damon does such a good weasel.

The killer's a literature professor. He cuts off little chunks from his victims' bodies until they die. He calls himself "the deconstructionist."

(Ooh, and thanks to Alex for the heads up about The Tomato in the first place. *Sniff.* The only thing more depressing would have been to drive down Fry Street and see it all shut down! She also tells me it's going to become...yes! A **PHARMACY**. As I mentioned on Triana's comments, it's good people will still be able to get drugs on that corner.) Ok, back to today's post...



It never fails.

The weather service gets all worked up predicting sudden death and I get a little antsy about words like "hail" and "my roof" and then not a goddamn thing happens. I mean, I think it tinkled a little outside, as the driveway is wet, but the backyard is fairly dry. No good house-shuddering thunder, nuthin'. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted the tree in my front yard isn't in the computer room, but a nice thunderstorm once in a while...

The photo above is from a site my dad sent me nearly two years ago (go, gmail!), shot by Jorn Olsen. They are mammatus clouds and some of these were featured on the front and back of The Journal of Meteorology.




I have only seen mammatus clouds once in my life (in Denton) and they were not this cool. (Then again, if you're looking up at these, you were probably just in a really unpleasant storm, so there is that). If memory serves, these are usually seen after a bad thunderstorm, usually tornado-type weather and in the midwest. I don't think I'm making this up...

Anyhoo. On a totally different subject, I'm a little conflicted. It's really nice outside and it's not even 9am. But there are Oscar nominees to be watched! Ones in the theatre that technically still require my viewing would be Pan's Labyrinth, Notes on a Scandal, Volver, and Letters From Iwo Jima. Obviously the last one is probably the most important. But the other three I would probably enjoy way more. I left out Last King of Scotland because there's just no way I'm that silly I would see it instead of the other four, Best Actor or no. I can't see Blood Diamond (nowhere to be found), so why bother with a category that is nearly a lock anyway? Notes just seems like a fantastic guilty pleasure, though it may be darker and more depressing than I anticipate. Pan would also be wonderful and very dark...

But it's gorgeous outside! You see the dilemma.

Well, no matter what I do watch, I will try to write a little something for the BSL site. In retrospect, I may have rated Shut up and Sing a little high considering it's about as shallow in depth as Fuck, which I totally reamed for the exact same reason. However, in my own defense, I knew a lot more about "fuck" than the Natalie Maines "Incident." But I stand by my rating; after all, simpy by looking at my reviews and ratings over there...jeez, I was starting to come off a little snobby. Ellen Aim needed to post some piffle. Although, speaking of that film, the good Natasha was kind enough to direct me over to a little film called Protesting the Dixie Chicks, which seems to be far more focused on the reactions of people and fans than the Chicks (and therefore a little more in-depth). In that regard, it's probably ten times more depressing. Sadly, it's only available through the website (I did find some youtube clips but I'm also not seeking out depression at the moment).

But I do need to seek out more tea.

If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

(yes, let's all note the 'family car' website, wtf?) Yes, I like to strap my two-year-old to the hood.

Whoa. So the highlight of today, easily, was the two-hour lunch, much of which was spent in a red convertible belonging to a girl named Mickey. No, it did not look like the one above, but I got distracted playing online looking for one to buy. That one's around $40,000, so I don't think it'll be mine anytime soon. And I was JUST starting to let that convertible fantasy go...and it also occurred to me that despite my years of coveting convertibles (how fun to even say), I have never actually ridden in one, with the top down no less!

Mickey is girl #4 from the previous post who I was hoping to get to know a little better. Mickey is 40 and she looks 22. I know people bullshit and say you look young for your age, but I forget she's 40. She's had TWO children and is on her second marriage (the first husband cheated, she's been with her second husband a while and is very happy), though the second marriage has a troubled stepchild. My point is, she has barely a wrinkle. She just says she drinks water constantly (which also helps balance out the amount of alcohol she also readily consumes). All I know is, there must be something to that water thing. I have never seen anyone look that good for their age, it's shocking. Especially for the not-so-easiest of lives. And she's from New Jersey but has the best accent. Subtle but occasionally pronounced. Love it.

I wasn't even going to go out for lunch, but our head trainer really tried to push us to enjoy our last hour lunch and go out. I told Mickey I'd brought my lunch, but as she so aptly put it, "So what?" So nearly the entire class went out to a really cool place near the airport that's almost all deck (and it was cloudly [Editor's note: Cloudly? The fuck is cloudly?] and nice outside). However, they had been robbed overnight and weren't opening just yet. Whoops. So we ran into very bad traffic and everyone ended up having to eat at Bennigan's, served by Mr. Personality himself who, when questioned by some of the more gregarious people in the class as to why he didn't look all that happy, replied, "I will be when you leave." (!) The story was relayed to our head trainer upon returning from lunch who took it upon herself to call the restaurant and verbally fist them for having such a shit server.

The best part was having the assistant trainer with us, so when lunch ended up taking two hours, well...meh! Surprisingly, the head trainer found out just how long lunch was and thought it was funny. I'm delighted, since there's no way in hell we'd ever get away with that during our regular shifts...

But oh, the joy of the convertible! It was everything I hoped it could be and more. But it did occur to me that if anything happened that would so be the end. And I know both parents read this with utter joy. Don't worry, Mickey and her husband also own motorcycles (!), and I won't ever go down that route. Not my cup of tea. I can happily lie to myself in a convertible. On a motorcycle? There's just no getting around that one. I'd wee myself.

Ok, enough typing. One long week gone, a weekend of wine, Oscars and Flying Tomato coming right up!

That's not a name, that's a major appliance!!

Woo hoo, it's...oh...Thursday. Damn. Oh well.

I'm so glad we've got our priorities straight in this country. At this moment, CNN.com has a banner across the top reading, Breaking News: A U.S. soldier has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing three members of her family, The Associated Press reports. And it's all encompassed in fuck-me RED. But right under that, the HEADLINE for the site, with the nice BIG PHOTOGRAPH, is still: Smith's daughter gets body, mom appealing decision.

Cause God forbid we're not up-to-date on that.

I guess CNN isn't all to blame, but that's another post altogether.

So I made a perfect score on the second test. The third is still to come, and unlike the first two Q&A style exams, the third is practical. I will SO be the one who forgets to save her accounts, update changes, etc. and bomb massively. Embarrassing wouldn't even cut it.

I'm less than impressed with the gay man I befriended, as he's already managed to stir up more drama than even a good queen should. And his holier than thou attitude towards the rest of the class, however subtle he may strive for, I find offputting. I actually find myself in the company of three to four women more and more, which is quite odd as I seldom if ever find myself in the company of women whom I like. My old co-worker Donna at the lab was an exception, as is Mob's wife K whom I have never really gotten to speak with for more than bits at a time but has a marvelous wit and mouth. I'm keen to see her more. Anyhoo, these three girls (the fourth I'm waiting to spend a little more time with before the jury's all in, but her adoration for Stephen Colbert (and I was not the one to bring it up!) gives her a huge bonus) also have very odd names I wish I could mention here, but would only be incriminating at a later date, I'm sure.

Most of these women are around 40 (one is maybe 25, so hell, even younger than I) and two are very happy to be childless, which I find to be good company since the very few friends I have do have children and therefore make it quite hard to spend time with. (At least their kids are cute).

Making creamy spinach pasta for dinner and attempting truffles once again. Nixing the tempering this time because

A) I don't care

B) rolling them in stuff is fun. I even got pink sprinkles.

And on a REALLY depressing note for any Dentonites, the Tomato on Fry Street is closing. Evicted. Soon to be gone.



I realize this is not the most happenin' photo, but it was all I could find.

When we closed the photolab and people were coming in and getting all teary I thought, fuck man, I work here and I'm not that sorry to see the place go. I realize we were there for 30 years and I was only there for 4 of those, but still. It's a PHOTO LAB. It's not like people got drunk and had hot dates in us. (That I know of). Or went to college and ate at us every night. I remember thinking I couldn't imagine a single place for which I WOULD cry if it closed. And I won't cry for the Tomato, but of all the things that could close and be the most depressing for me, this just might be it. Mostly because it's a Fry Street icon, I grew up with it always there, I spent many lunches and class group meetings there (though I've only consumed beer there a few times, as I obtained my goddamn BA before my goddamn drinking age--and I LOOKED 12, so I didn't bother trying...I did college all wrong!)...and they really do have the most amazing pizza. YUMMMMMM.



(She's wearing a Smiths shirt, it would seem, so it's a fairly accurate depiction of an evening there...in my mind, anyhoo).

And I ADORE the years of years of years of graffiti carved into every hint of an inch of wooded walls, tables and chairs. You simply could not cram more personality into one place. I'm taking my camera this weekend, by god. And I still call it The Flying Tomato, name changes be damned.

I just hope it's still there Saturday. Sniff.

I knew it had been, but sadly, this makes it real. Fry Street has officially been fucked and ruined.

What the hell are you bitchin' about? I gotta sleep under some Chinaman named after a duck's dork.

I could punch a ladybug right now. All the windows just shut the hell down and I was ALMOST done.

I'm exhausted, I'll attempt another go tomorrow.



This is what happens when you google images for "weird food."

Goodnight...

Spells? Jesus, James, you make it sound like we're in a Tennessee Williams play. I don't get spells.

Hmm. Another Tuesday. My Chicago flight is looking quite full, plus I'm a misanthrope who gravitates towards inaction, so we may cancel those plans. Plus with the big Oscar night a-comin' on, we can use the weekend to knock out Letters From Iwo Jima, Notes on a Scandal, and Pan's Labyrinth. I don't think Blood Diamond is gonna happen, it seems to have left the metroplex. Meh, whatever.

But dude, go Netfuxers! Those sneaky bastards somehow got the two Tuesday releases to me TODAY! And considering yesterday had no mail...well, I'm impressed. Which means I've got Babel and Shut Up and Sing! on my hands at this very moment. The first is imperative, as it's an Oscar nominee and gee, if I want to know what's going on next Sunday, I should watch it. The latter, if you recall, I viewed at my old nemisis of a theatre--for whom I did NOT work but with whom we were supposedly sister theaters after a certain Dallas fuckwit billionaire bought the parent company. At least I may or may not have snuck in a bucket of eggnog, heavy on the 'nog. And now I seem to be consuming post-work fuzzy navels (and since I always thought that meant vodka+peach schnapps+OJ, well, that is how I make them. Harry the Bartender from our old theatre informed me once that they are peach schnapps+OJ...but which do you think I'm drinking?), well, it's not certain I will ever see this film completely sober. And D is closing tonight. It's looking fairly ominous for sobriety and a well-prepared dinner.

And in closing, may I just say that Ellen Aim has once again picked out the one gay man in a crowded room and befriended him? It's weird. For the first few days of class he mentioned something about an ex-girlfriend so I thought perhaps I got it wrong (and no, I did not start talking to him BECAUSE I thought he was gay, it just wound up that the two uh, snarkier people found more things to say to each other). And then today he starts telling me about his ex-boyfriend. Took it totally in stride and took note to high-five myself later. Twenty-two people and I befriend the gay man. It never fails. I don't think I ever mentioned this, either: I inadvertently made a gay Sim. Christian, the hot single writer who's looking to be a popular slut? Yup, I played him for a little bit and he brought home another man from work!! Leave it to me. They haven't done "woo hoo" yet, as the game so maturely refers to it. Either I haven't purchased the appropriate bed or the Sims game frowns upon homosexual love-making. But shit, HE'S the one who brought him home! I didn't even have the chance to misbehave on my own! They make out all the time, though. On the lawn and everything.

Ok, time to make another fuzzy navel and watch my DC. (It's not my fault, it's the only Netfux we have that D doesn't also want to see...*cough*). I'm not even a huge fan, I own one album from '98. But I do quite enjoy this song from the newest album... (and no, I have no plans to rename my blog "The Stephen Colbert/Dixie Chicks Blog," I promise to accrue more interests in the very near future)...

Ok son, if you can raise $250 million we won't sell you to Paris Hilton.

Hee hee. Found it. Who'da thunk you could get it right off Comedy Central's website? And you don't even have to watch a commercial first like I did. So the best part of this clip is towards the end, when my state enters the discussion.



Also forgot to mention earlier that we FINALLY saw the Paris Hilton episode of South Park, titled Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset from season 8. (Apparently they're on season 11!) SO PERFECT. I **loved** it every time she hacked white phlegm into her hand and rubbed it on whatever was near. Or when her little dog shot himself. It was so vulgar and disgusting and probably an absolute mirror.



Best episode ever. It seriously looked just like her.

And on to films...I find it vaguely alarming that Premiere seems to think Little Miss Sunshine is going to win the Oscar. I see their logic, uh...Babel, like, too much for the masses, LFIwoJima, like all subtitled 'n shit...etc. Basically they think since Scorsese will win Best Director, they'll give best pic to LMSS since the two categories rarely go hand-in-hand. I find that logic shady at best and plus, Premiere almost never gets it right. I think Scorsese has been taking it in the ass for so long they'd BETTER give The Departed Best Picture AND Best Director. But we'll see.



And in closing, I did watch Marie Antoinette and a little write-up of it and Fuck should be up on the ol' BSL later. When I turned off MA, I didn't really think I liked it much. But the more I think about it, the more I like it. Like, a lot. Hmm. Same thing happened with Lost In Translation, however. (Although in that case, the film was just so drastically different from what I expected. The second time around and ever since, it's one of my favorites of all time). But Marie Antoinette is certainly worth watching just to look at (and not just at Kirsten Dunst, geez). That's not the only scene with those pastries!

Listen up, urinal cake...

Wow, my posts have never been so dull! It's just that work is eating my brain alive. Plus I've been having to get up at 5:45 and then I get home around 6...I haven't actually cooked anything in days...I'm not really sure what we've been eating. Oh wait, I made D cook the other night. It was Thursday night but I couldn't make it to Friday, I needed red wine, little filet steaks and a little Colbert Report marathon since my lame ass hadn't watched all week. Bless the TiVo. There was even a really hysterical Chinese New Year episode and I admit I was going to link to You Tube and kinda let the post be one of those elementary school movie-day posts, but not a single damn person has illegally linked the show's content on You Tube. What IS the world coming to.



Watched Fuck this morning, the documentary about well, guess. I was unimpressed but I'll write it up on BSL. (Interesting side note: the above clip plays during the documentary and was filmed at (so I'm told by my old co-workers) my old Texas Education Agency TV studio in Austin (he would have been governor at the time). I knew about the footage but it only came out a couple years ago!)



We also watched Half Nelson last night. Or uh, most of it. We finally just jumped to the last chapter. I mean, Ryan Gosling does a great job, whee, but you know? It's another drug movie. I hate to say that because yes yes, everything's already been done, I get it. But seriously. Drug movies may really be done. Done. It was Dangerous Minds but only if Michelle Pfieffer kept burning her lip on her crack pipe. I just didn't care. Which is not Ryan Gosling's fault, I'm sure it was an Oscar-worthy performance. Well, Oscar nominee anyhow. And I still watched it and still have not seen The Last King of Scotland, which we all know is going to be the Best Actor win. Two things, though. #1: I think LKOS is going to be way mediocre. #2: I don't really like Forest Whitaker. There, I said it. I just don't. I don't DISLIKE him, I'm just....meh.

And I remember when I would watch a movie from start to finish no matter what, especially if it was up for the big award (it's part of the little dork game I play with myself), but apparently when you get older you just know sometimes. (Well, not always. Not only does D still watch nearly EVERY horror movie he can get his hands on, REGARDLESS, but even I sometimes naively hope a piece of shit will pick up midway and really pull it off. See: The Oh in Ohio). And I think we watched a couple Aqua Teen Hunger Force 'sodes instead, time far better spent if you ask me. Frylock decorated Meatwad's cat-toy brain with macaroni and glitter to make him think it was a new brain and Meatwad started growing to an enormous size, filled with knowledge. Way more entertaining than a drug movie.

Someone's making waaaaaaaaaaffles! The noon hour looks to be filled with peanut butter waffles and Marie Antoinette. More on this as it develops.

Let's get our Christ on, let's kick it Jesus-style!

Dude.
Stephen Colbert Ice Cream!!

I had no idea this existed, and D managed to find out first. He went to four grocery stores tonight trying to find it for me so he could, just before tonight's show, be able to say, "Hey, I got you something to eat with The Colbert Report!" But it may not be out yet, and it surely may never even see Texas. But mmmmmmmm...fudge-covered waffle cone, caramel, all in vanilla ice cream. I'd be sad if it was something nasty. (I'm behind on my Reports this week, if it's been mentioned on the show; I've been falling asleep early this week. Meh, that's what TiVO is for).

Work has been slogging along, I've been neglecting the blog, the usual. We had the first of three exams yesterday; the weeding out continues as we lost one more person. Without a score of 85%, you don't get to keep going. It's a little terrifying, even if we get to use our online resources. It's the last exam that kinda freaks me out, since you actually have to DO things rather than just answer questions.

Netfux did me right--sent me ALL FOUR Tuesday releases (that I wanted, anyway): The Departed, Fuck, Marie Antoinette, and Half Nelson. The last one is an Oscar thing, don't ask. It may blow.

It snowed a teensy bit yesterday and a little on my car during my morning commute. Wild, positively wild. No actual accumulation, but this is the craziest weather North Texas has seen that I can clearly recall. I think it may have snowed like, six times by now (and by "snow," that means it snows and I see it). Once is the norm. And even then...

Friday is finally here tomorrow. Nothing exciting planned for the weekend, just not going to training will be enough. I need to do my taxes, determine whose benefits are better, and...well gee, I think that may be enough excitement right there. Ok, time for a glass of wine and whatever makes it into the DVD player...

Their mean, stuck-up private school kids will make fun of my crack baby, my crack baby will have no play dates, poor kid.

I can't believe I'm watching the Grammys. I never watch the Grammys. Usually they happen and then the Monday after I'm like, oh? The Grammys were on? I just don't like popular music. It's a very foreign world to me.

But I'm watching tonight. Perhaps it's a desperate attempt to at least have some pop culture knowledge, but mostly, if you ask me, I'm watching for three reasons.

1. I have a hi-def TV and holy shit does everyone look great on it. It's too bad we hate sports, really.
2. The Police opened. It was kind of a waste, though, I mean, one song? Jesus. Lookin' good, though.
3. The Dixie Chicks kick ass; it was great to see them perform and hopefully they'll pick up all five awards they're nominated for. (But oh Natalie, the fuck was up with your white nails and white Barbie dress? At least you do brunette well...)



The major downsides:

1. I already had to watch Jamie Foxx be gross. And while we're at it, can these award shows STOP STOP STOP showing black people in the audience every time someone black is onstage? Just once, man, show Jamie Foxx talking and then, I don't know, cut to Sheryl Crow or something, jesus.
2. John Mayer is up for...I don't know, ALOT.
3. I don't know who half these people are.
4. And can they stop cutting people off with music? It runs long, who cares? I don't give a fuck who these people are thanking, but that just always struck me as so tacky.

I'm going to go pour a glass of wine and see if that helps. Uh oh, I just heard someone tearfully thank Jesus Christ. Better make it a bigger glass...

Let me get this straight. You don't want to cheat on your girlfriend with your wife?

I am being so good. Patty Griffin has a new album out and I am restraining myself. I could download it, but I notice there is at least one track sold only on the album itself. I'm not sure this is a nice thing to do, but it helps me restrain all the more. Since I'd probably rather have the whole album, and the likelihood of my going out to get it is much less likely than my "accidentally" downloading the whole album. So for now I am being good.

Speaking of musicians, I'm hoping to be in Chicago the last weekend of February. Going to test out the perks on the new job. Can't do it often, as money and time are both essential and I'm short on both. Keeping an eye on weather and crowds. I checked on some of my favorite musicians and lo and behold, Dar Williams



is going to be at the Steppenwolf Theater. However, uh, since when are Dar Williams shows $38 a pop? Don't get me wrong, she's worth it (in the event I had it), but damn. So, probably not going to see her that weekend...

Look at this sad gentleman here.

I'm hoping a pretty picture will distract you from the total lack of content in today's post.

Another stunning day at working, training. It really is a fuckload of information. It's all a-jumble in my little head.

Unlike the previous part of the week, it's now REALLY fucking cold. Because naturally, the weekend is nearly here.

One more day one more day. My brain needs a rest. I'm looking forward to mulling over all my notes at the Saucer...warm, fat pretzel and Leinenkugel...yum! I have to go to the one in Addison, though. The one in Fort Worth has way lamer pretzels. *smacks lips*

Uh, that's my titillating day. Well, there was that moment when class was interrupted when they found Anna Nicole Smith's body, but I have a hard time pretending to uh, really care. I'm a horrible person, I know. It would be better if I just didn't write about it.

And Vel, my hollandaise sauce recipe (James Peterson, Fine Cooking) only called for 2 tsp lemon juice. I thought that was weak and it was. I will add more next time and definitely some cayenne. It was good and all, but it was basically just...you know...creamy butter. I think I may just be a bearnaise girl, but I can do better with my hollandaise...

Sorry, it's cold in here. Time for some spa action. Haven't spent any time with Steve all week.

And how about some Deeply Wrong to end the post today?



Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable? The hell? Was Harry doing crunches between Defense Against the Dark Arts meetings? Equus...nice choice, Daniel. Few things could be further from Harry Potter, so I have to applaud the, uh, bold move.

That was...an electrical ear cleaner.

So I've kinda been sucking at the posting. The new job training is only from 8-5 (which means I leave here at 7:15 to be extra sure) and get home before six. Learning all these new systems is hurting my brain. Lots of info, particulars, exceptions, rules, blah blah. But they are very easy going, open minded and keen on creativity and intellect. It all frightens me. I really like both my trainers (so far). All the other trainees are very nice, but some still make me want to strangle them. Some are just too "ohmyGAWD I can't believe I WORK HERE and you ACTUALLY HIRED ME and I am so lucky to be here please help me be worthy." I want. to. yak. And this other woman just doesn't shut the fuck up. Has a story for everything.

See? I can bitch about anything.

Oh, and I work with the guy who wrote "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." No shit.

In another part of my little world, I was hired to start blogging for the city/metroplex of DFW (I forgot via which site, I'll blog more about it if it ever amounts to anything) and get paid for traffic that comes through my site. I don't imagine it will amount to much, mostly another exercise in writing. This is a shitty week for that to start, but hey. I'll see what I can do. I'm thinking of starting with what I know...too poor to go adventuring anyhoo.

Dang, I want dinner. D gets off at 4 when he opens but he NEVER leaves at 4. I think he left around 5 and it's currently 6:30. He always leaves later than he's supposed to and it's a bitch of a drive. (I think he needs a raise, if you ask me).

I want to make mint chip meringues but I'm not sure what I did with that recipe...and mom is in Vermont...(I'm just that lazy that normally, instead of searching for it I would just call her at home...hee hee). I'll actually try to dig it out after dinner.

I hope D remembers cat litter. It's scary in there.

We should go to the park this weekend and watch all the children shooting squirrels with their BB guns.

Sunday was quite nice as my last day of freedom. I got up early and made an actual breakfast (see? I didn't consume that much beer!) and watched The Ground Truth. That was kind of depressing. It's a documentary mostly comprised of interviews with veterans from Iraq who now oppose the war. They spend a lot of time describing how they're trained to see the enemy, how the dehumanization process has gone beyond even previous wars, and how they all had moments of revelation when they realized they had no idea why they were there. (They didn't spend as much time on the last part, suffice it to say they all assumed it was because of 9/11). There was no view point on how many Iraqi deaths there were--well, they did address it, but only from the viewpoint that the images of all those dead bodies haunt these veterans and will for the rest of their lives. Lots of time on post traumatic stress syndrome. It was very good, but it also didn't try to tackle opposing views. Just sort of a "war is bad" take, which hey, fine. But this war in particular begs "uh, remind us why we're here?" so intensely (false pretenses *cough*) that it's hard not to address it. Especially since otherwise, in retaliation, you get veterans from other wars saying we should be lucky our death count is as low as it is.

Anyhoo. Then it was a beautiful sunny day so D and went to Home Depot and blew a large chunk of our xmas gift card for the backyard. A portion of the backyard is going to be rocks and pebbles, mostly the area I want to designate for the grill (which we also got!) and a nice reading area. Bought red lava rocks, black Mexican pebbles (which are quite large and not at all pebble-like). Got more holly for the front of the house since the foundation people killed the ones that used to live there.

This one's going to be short and sweet, I'm ravenous and D should be home soon. Completed the first day of work, whee. It was actually really good and everyone is very nice. It actually borders on Stepford. Everyone loves working there and is extra friendly and speaks highly of everyone else.

Too hungry to type.

Spike sing a widdle song?

Hey, at least I'm Spike. This episode is sooo fun with beer....

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She is startin' to damage my calm.

I'm not going to write this up on BSL because I can't really offer an unbiased opinion. I think it was well done, I just don't think it really needed to be done. Eventually, sure. As the end titles recall the fate of the flight and the unprecendented shutdown of US airspace, it really felt directed at people who weren't there five years before.

I remember on the one-year anniversary seeing a re-enactment on Japanese TV which, while far cheesier, really wasn't a whole lot different from the second half of the film. The first half is devoted to seeing the inside of air traffic control as they start to lose contact and track of certain flights, followed by them seeing the CNN reports of the Towers and the Pentagon. I'm sorry, I have my own imagination and the film did nothing for me I couldn't have already speculated for myself. I also don't think it was the sort of under-reported event that necessitates a film in order to help "spread the word/story." I don't mean to sound callous--I'm sure the heroics of the people onboard deserve to be told over and over. And imdb had some neat trivia to offer on United 93:

Families of the 40 passengers and crew members killed on United Flight 93 cooperated in the production, offering [writer/director] Greengrass detailed background about their loved ones, down to the clothes they wore, what reading materials or music they had with them and what sort of candy they might have snacked on aboard the plane.

At the request of the filmmakers, no studio-produced trailers were shown before the start of the movie in its theatrical run.

And isn't this great:

The Iraqi-born (but London-based) actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays the lead hijacker in the film, was denied a visa by US immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York City to attend the premiere, despite having already been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. The reason given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi army - although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993.

I'm just saying that personally, I really could have gone without seeing it.

And right along with more cheerful viewing, I have the documentary The Ground Truth to watch. I believe these are interviews with people who have come back from Iraq and tried to get on with their lives. Should be a huge upper.

But don't worry! I won't leave you on such a downer. D and I are both off tomorrow and I was reminiscing the other day that it had been ages since I'd played a proper drinking game. I'm far too old (and, uh, "wise" seems like the wrong word altogether, but you get the drift) to take straight shots. I imagine we'll be drinking beer and water to be safe. And lots of munchies. This was all in the spirit of drinking for anything but the Super Bowl. And lifted right off the internet, we have...ta da! The Buffy Drinking Game:

SIP IF:

You see Buffy's bra strap
Someone sneaks up on Giles
Someone has a little more knowledge than they should
A nice teacher gets whacked
Somebody alone in a locker room gets whacked
The Hellmouth is mentioned
Buffy's past is mentioned
There is a gratuitous cleavage shot
There is any "buffyism" (a short two or single word phrase - NOT A LINE)
Willow is behind a keyboard
Xander displays jealousy over Buffy
Willow displays jealousy over Xander
Buffy gushes over or is annoyed by Angel
Angel appears with a cryptic greeting for Buffy
Buffy grunts while fighting
Cordelia rips on someone, someone rips on Cordelia, or Cordelia is oblivious to the paranormal
Buffy goes on a date
A vampire whacks an innocent person
Buffy's mom lays the smack down on Buffy's plans
Principal Snyder shows distaste for Buffy
Buffy cries
Willow surprises herself with her last remark
Willow hacks into a restricted site
The Master orders Buffy's death
Buffy leaves school grounds during normal hours

CHUG IF:

Buffy slays a vampire
Buffy's dress goes past her thigh
Willow is better dressed than Buffy
A nice teacher lives through the episode
Giles sneaks up on someone
Buffy delivers a line before laying the smack down (ex. "Hi honey, I'm home!")
Buffy's date isn't human
Giles' earring hole is visible

But depending on our viewing mood, there is also the Firefly Sips & Shots Game!

A shot every time Zoe shoots someone.
A shot every time River says "Two by Two hands of Blue" (if she says it 13 times in 4 scenes, that’s 13 shots)
A shot every time someone mentions 'the special hell'
A shot every time Book crosses his arms across his front while holding his Bible and looks on disapprovingly at the situation
A shot if Jayne tries to barter a weapon for a person....
A shot for any repair to the ship that involves string, tape, gum or other non-mechanical household objects
A shot every time there is an encounter with a Reaver ship
A shot anytime Kaylee makes a play towards the Doctor.
And 2 shots if he actually makes a play *back*
A shot each time Inara kicks Mal out of her shuttle.
Five shots if she gives herself a sponge bath
A shot each time Book tells them needful info about criminal/shadowy activities.
A shot whenever someone speaks a mandarin phrase
A shot whenever Mal says "not so much" (special rule for Buffy fans)
A shot for every time some one refers to Inara as a whore (directly)
A shot every time the ship is referred to as "she"
A shot every time Jayne says something that makes the rest of the crew stare at him. E.g.: "That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth," or "This smells like crotch."
Two shots if Mal talks about his plow in a scene (not every time he says the word plow, just how many times he says plow in one scene)
Two shots if someone is still alive after a Reaver attack
Three shots if Mal kisses Kaylee in a less-than-brotherly way.
Four shots if Jayne kisses Kaylee at all. Ever.
Five shots if Simon kisses Kaylee.
Six shots if Inara kisses Kaylee

A sip for every scene showing the alliance where someone is wearing a goofy alliance hat
A sip for every time Jayne starts to caress his weapons
One sip for the use of the word "shiny"
One sip every time Firefly lands on a friendly planet...
one gulp every time they land on a hostile one

A chug for each time the crew poses as a married couple…. and a whole can/glass if they come away at the end of the show with no profits/goods acquired for their troubles.
Big chug if Jayne kisses ANYBODY!

A round for the house every time Kaylee hollers during sex.

Ok, how does anyone get past the first thirty minutes? I'm too old; I have a feeling I'll be drinking at my normal pace and merely watching whichever show we go with...(what a pussy)! And I'll stop including these huge lists of show drinking games, but damn there's a great one for STNG, some of the highlights being:

"Engage", "Make It So", "Energize", "Accessing", "On Screen" and "Magnify" are shot words - you must take a drink unless you say the exact word _in unison_ with the dialogue. Two drinks if you say the wrong word.

Whenever Riker appears in a scene, the last person to say "Oink Oink" takes a drink.

If Troi "senses" something, everyone must stick a finger down their throats and make gagging sounds - last one to do so takes a drink. (This one could be dangerous in the latter stages of the game.)

Whenever Data embarasses himself, drink until somebody stops him.

Clearly it's time to go eat.

It would be the last unicorn that came to Molly Grue.

Happy Birthday, Fiona!! Even if you are in bed by now. Better late than never.



I can't wait to see party pics.

It's freezing in this house and I need to go make a fire. I have the Best of Saturday TV Funhouse but I'm not allowed to watch it til D comes home. I also have something I'm LOATHE to watch, but in the interest of fairness, I bumped it up to #1 while Netfuxers was shipping so I wouldn't be able change my mind. I've added it before and taken it off. I just have no desire and I think the making of these films was in poor taste and done too soon. But now that it has a Best Director nod, I'm forced to at least give it a watch, in the interest of playing by my own twisted rules. And from time to time I remember what my film criticism teacher used to say; basically, he didn't care if your best friend died from HIV the week you had to screen a movie about HIV. He felt it was the fillm critic's job to watch the film no matter what and be affected by it however you were. But you had to watch it. I try not to bitch about movies I haven't seen (unless they're the fucking stupid low-brow dregs of humanity type and then, frankly, I just don't care), but I just can't see how making these films was anything but a scam for money. I'm speaking, obviously, of United 93 and World Trade Center, the former of which is sitting in the kitchen.

Time to grab a beer and get this over with.

You are about to learn a lesson in responsibility, Shake!

The 200th post is brought to you by...The Aqua Teen Bomb Scare!



Ok, I wasn't even going to blog about this. But hey, CNN keeps reporting on it. Damn, it's just now February and we already have a strong contender for "Most Fucked Up News Story of 2007." This is so embarrassing for the genius in charge of shutting down Boston. Why do they keep calling it a "hoax" and "prank?" IT'S FUCKING MARKETING. I don't know what's more embarrassing, thinking that it was "sinister looking" or acting on it after THREE WEEKS of it having been up. Even if I didn't watch ATHF, for fuck's sake it looks like a goddamn Lite Brite.



Lifted straight from the AP:

Two men who put up the promotions were to be arraigned today on charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Authorities say Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were hired to place the devices.

Berdovsky, an artist, told The Boston Globe he was hired by a marketing company and said he was "kind of freaked out" by the furor.

"I find it kind of ridiculous that they're making these statements on TV that we must not be safe from terrorism, because they were up there for three weeks and no one noticed. It's pretty commonsensical to look at them and say this is a piece of art and installation," he said.

Fans of the show mocked what they called an overreaction as about a dozen gathered outside Charlestown District Court on Thursday morning with signs saying "1-31-07 Never Forget" and "Free Peter."

"We're the laughing stock," said Tracy O'Connor, 34.

"It's almost too easy to be a terrorist these days," said Jennifer Mason, 26. "You stick a box on a corner and you can shut down a city."

O'Connor said there's nothing wrong with being vigilant, but said she said it was ridiculous to shut down a city "when anyone under the age of 35 knew this was a joke the second they saw it."

Jesus.

And while we're bringing pain, how embarrassing was Senator Biden (who's now also running for President, haha) describing Senator Obama:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

It reminds me of that Chris Rock bit when he's fed up with everyone describing Colin Powell as being "well spoken," as if it were something outstanding for a black person to be. I LOVE the use of the word "clean," which he so sadly tried to back out of on The Daily Show last night, insisting he meant, "Fresh. Like fresh ideas!" Ok, seriously? And I'm not even going to get into what it says about the black candidates who've come before Obama...

[Editor's Note: Ok, ok, I was wrong to include this scrap of media-mutilated news; I don't think Biden is racist, but I do think his word choice is really unfortunate. I also watched him fail to really explain his meaning when given the chance. In any case, see the comments section for more.]

Anyway. Good lineup on Comedy Central tonight; they're FINALLY showing the South Park "Trapped In the Closet" episode, which I never caught, followed by the Sarah Silverman premiere and then the usual Daily Show/Colbert Report combo. Might have to actually cook a decent dinner...I've been talking about making hollandaise for about eight weeks now, I just need to cart my ass to the store for butter.

And sugar.

Well, there's this recipe for butterscotch crunch ice cream. And...I got an ice cream maker for the wedding...so...it's not my fault. I should make it now so I have something hard to bite down on during Sarah Silverman each time I cringe. (But it will be a good kind of cringe? Not unlike The Office...?) We'll see.