Tony Curtis died on Thursday. Heart attack, age 85.Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Quote of the day
The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox [News] is part of that tradition -- it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view ... It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.
- President Obama
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
If my friend Moose Briller was a fashion designer ...
... he would be Austin Scarlett. I love this guy. He was a contestant on Project Runway and now he's in "On the Road with Austin and Santino," Thursday nights on Lifetime.
Quote of the day
When I see some of them looking for returns of 20 or 25 percent, at a time when fellatio is close to zero, and in particular in a slump, that means we are destroying businesses.
- French politician Rachida Dati. She meant to say "inflation."
Money shots and other quickies
Today I saw my new psychiatrist for the second time. I really like him but I don't think I'll get to keep him. He wanted to see me again in one month but the earliest appointment he had available was in seven weeks. They're trying to hire more nurse practitioners and I'm sure I'll get assigned to one of them. Dammit.
Anyway, he's so understanding about the amount of stress I'm under and even talked about how all the chemicals they're putting in my body and the hormonal changes can affect my bipolar symptoms. Finally! Someone gets what I've been trying to tell the oncologists. He also respects my intelligence. The nurse practitioner I was seeing before could be so patronizing sometimes.
A few quickies:
• The agony and the ecstasy: Check out Australia's Top Model, where the winner was announced, she gave a great thank you speech, and then was told, oops, we made a mistake. You're not the winner after all. I'd love to see Tyra Banks top that.
• TLC has a new show called "Sister Wives," about a polygamous family. I watched part of it Sunday night and thought it was interesting, but not quite as good as "Big Love," the fictional version (which I have big love for). Now the family from "Sister Wives" is being investigated by the state of Utah and may end up getting charged with felony bigamy. I don't like fundamentalist religion of any type, and the guy in this family seems pretty self-indulgent and the wives are a little too easy-going about the whole thing. However, they are all consenting adults and they were all adults when they entered into this arrangement. There are 13 children in the family who all seem to be happy and healthy and well-cared for. The government should butt out.
• "I would not spend that money," says an 80 year old cancer patient who's taking a new drug that may add four more months to his life. It costs $93,000 and he says he wouldn't have tried it if his insurance didn't pay for it because he doesn't think it's worth it. Read more about how the cost of cancer drugs affect life and death decisions.
• The owner of Segway Inc. was killed when he drove his Segway over a cliff and into a river. It's believed to be an accident.
• Huff Po has a list of the craziest things Christine O'Donnell has said. My favorites are #3, 4 and 5 because the pictures look like she's waiting for the money shot.
• Check out this picture of what happens when lonely farmers spend too much time in the sheep barn.
Anyway, he's so understanding about the amount of stress I'm under and even talked about how all the chemicals they're putting in my body and the hormonal changes can affect my bipolar symptoms. Finally! Someone gets what I've been trying to tell the oncologists. He also respects my intelligence. The nurse practitioner I was seeing before could be so patronizing sometimes.
A few quickies:
• The agony and the ecstasy: Check out Australia's Top Model, where the winner was announced, she gave a great thank you speech, and then was told, oops, we made a mistake. You're not the winner after all. I'd love to see Tyra Banks top that.
• TLC has a new show called "Sister Wives," about a polygamous family. I watched part of it Sunday night and thought it was interesting, but not quite as good as "Big Love," the fictional version (which I have big love for). Now the family from "Sister Wives" is being investigated by the state of Utah and may end up getting charged with felony bigamy. I don't like fundamentalist religion of any type, and the guy in this family seems pretty self-indulgent and the wives are a little too easy-going about the whole thing. However, they are all consenting adults and they were all adults when they entered into this arrangement. There are 13 children in the family who all seem to be happy and healthy and well-cared for. The government should butt out.
• "I would not spend that money," says an 80 year old cancer patient who's taking a new drug that may add four more months to his life. It costs $93,000 and he says he wouldn't have tried it if his insurance didn't pay for it because he doesn't think it's worth it. Read more about how the cost of cancer drugs affect life and death decisions.
• The owner of Segway Inc. was killed when he drove his Segway over a cliff and into a river. It's believed to be an accident.
• Huff Po has a list of the craziest things Christine O'Donnell has said. My favorites are #3, 4 and 5 because the pictures look like she's waiting for the money shot.
• Check out this picture of what happens when lonely farmers spend too much time in the sheep barn.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
This oughta scare the crap out of 'em
For Halloween, I'm going as my great grandpa. That's who I look like now that my brows and lashes are almost gone and my head's getting smooth.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Quote of the day
It's an unbelievably tight race for hideous today.
- designer Michael Kors on Project Runway
I don't know if this guy is serious ...
... but I know there are people out there who will believe him. Behold the genius of radio host Alex Jones.
Thought for today
I'm not sure which is worse - being known as "The Toilet Paper Bandit" because you wrapped TP around your face when you robbed 7-11, or getting caught because you dropped a prescription pill bottle with your name on it near the scene.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Dead is dead
I've been blogging about the Iranian woman who's been sentenced to death by stoning. Some people point out that the U.S. system of capital punishment is just as bad.
Teresa Lewis is on death row in Virginia for hiring 2 men to kill her husband and stepson. The two men who actually committed the murder got life. One of them wrote:
Teresa Lewis is on death row in Virginia for hiring 2 men to kill her husband and stepson. The two men who actually committed the murder got life. One of them wrote:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The chemo cubbie
This is the cubicle where I got my last chemo treatment. That's the full width of the room. It's maybe a foot longer than the cot. There's a mini TV on the wall on the right, and that's about it. The paper sack is over the IV because it's light sensitive - I think that's the carboplatin. They always start by giving me Benadryl, Ativan, Zofran and steroids to prevent a reaction to the chemo drugs.
They also give me potassium chloride just to dilute the stuff, I think. Then they give me the Taxol infusion, which takes about 4 hours, followed by the Carbo which takes about an hour.
Monday, September 20, 2010
This hacks me off
Another one of those anti-fat do-gooders is spouting off again. They get the problem but they always fuck up the solution.
The thesis of his article is that poverty, obesity and diabetes are tied together because healthy foods are not readily available to people in some neighborhoods and even people who have full-service grocery stores available can't afford to buy healthy foods because sugary, fatty foods are cheaper. In fifteen years, the cost of vegetables went up six times as fast as things like candy, cookies, chips and soda.
He even got into the biology of starvation - how your body holds onto calories and converts them to fat after you've been deprived of sufficient calories. That's why you see so many fat people in poor countries (you know, like Mississippi).
But here's where he loses me. His "solutions" -
1. Stop or reduce subsidies of agriculture products that allow for the glut of cheap, high-calorie, nutrient-poor sugars and fats from corn and soy into the marketplace.
2. Consider taxing sugar and processed food to support national food programs and community projects, and help cover the hundreds of billions of dollars of health care costs from increasing obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Yeah, that'll fix everything. Now poor people can't afford fruits and veggies and they can't afford cookies and chips either. What are they going to eat? Lead paint?
And yeah, let's just single out certain foods or behaviors to tax. That'll end well, once we're all pale little vegans pooping our brains out.
He has other suggestions about funding healthy eating programs and expanding food stamps. But why didn't he make those goals #1 and #2? We all know how Congress works. If they can save a buck by getting rid of farm subsidies, they'll do it. Not that many farmers left to vote any way. They'll find a way to skim the money off to corporate farms. But they're not going to put out money for programs that might actually benefit poor people.
I mean, have you seen how many brown-skinned and black-skinned and burqa'd people are going hungry? Stop feeding them and maybe they'll go away.
The thesis of his article is that poverty, obesity and diabetes are tied together because healthy foods are not readily available to people in some neighborhoods and even people who have full-service grocery stores available can't afford to buy healthy foods because sugary, fatty foods are cheaper. In fifteen years, the cost of vegetables went up six times as fast as things like candy, cookies, chips and soda.
He even got into the biology of starvation - how your body holds onto calories and converts them to fat after you've been deprived of sufficient calories. That's why you see so many fat people in poor countries (you know, like Mississippi).
But here's where he loses me. His "solutions" -
1. Stop or reduce subsidies of agriculture products that allow for the glut of cheap, high-calorie, nutrient-poor sugars and fats from corn and soy into the marketplace.
2. Consider taxing sugar and processed food to support national food programs and community projects, and help cover the hundreds of billions of dollars of health care costs from increasing obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Yeah, that'll fix everything. Now poor people can't afford fruits and veggies and they can't afford cookies and chips either. What are they going to eat? Lead paint?
And yeah, let's just single out certain foods or behaviors to tax. That'll end well, once we're all pale little vegans pooping our brains out.
He has other suggestions about funding healthy eating programs and expanding food stamps. But why didn't he make those goals #1 and #2? We all know how Congress works. If they can save a buck by getting rid of farm subsidies, they'll do it. Not that many farmers left to vote any way. They'll find a way to skim the money off to corporate farms. But they're not going to put out money for programs that might actually benefit poor people.
I mean, have you seen how many brown-skinned and black-skinned and burqa'd people are going hungry? Stop feeding them and maybe they'll go away.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Another boring post about a dream
I dozed off and on a lot over the last few days and had a lot of weird dreams. The one that sticks with me is one where I was living with my family in a house that resembled one we really lived in but was different. The roof was leaking in one spot and the water was running throughout the house. It wasn't a big tragedy because we were moving out of the house anyway and it was scheduled to be torn down. My mom was scrambling around trying to clean up the water to keep it from ruining our stuff.
Some excerpts from an online dream dictionary that seem to fit where I'm at:
To see a leak in your dream, symbolizes loss, disappointments, frustrations and distress. You are wasting your energy on fruitless endeavors. Alternatively, the dream indicates some repressed feelings emerging from your unconscious or from your past ...
To dream that the roof is leaking, represents distractions, annoyances, and unwanted influences in your life. New information is slowly revealing itself to you. Something is finally getting through to you. Alternatively, the dream means that someone is imposing and intruding their thoughts and opinions on you ...
To see and hear rain falling, symbolizes forgiveness and grace. Falling rain is also a metaphor for tears, crying and sadness ... If you get wet from the rain, then it indicates cleaning from your troubles and problems ...
To dream that you are moving away, signifies your desire or need for change. It may also mean an end to a situation or relationship; you are moving on. Alternatively, it indicates your determination and issues regarding dependence/independence ...
To see an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings ...
To dream that water is rising up in your house, suggests that you are becoming overwhelmed by your emotions ...
If I were more ambitious I'd summarize all that and put it together. Or I'd just write something more interesting.
Some excerpts from an online dream dictionary that seem to fit where I'm at:
To see a leak in your dream, symbolizes loss, disappointments, frustrations and distress. You are wasting your energy on fruitless endeavors. Alternatively, the dream indicates some repressed feelings emerging from your unconscious or from your past ...
To dream that the roof is leaking, represents distractions, annoyances, and unwanted influences in your life. New information is slowly revealing itself to you. Something is finally getting through to you. Alternatively, the dream means that someone is imposing and intruding their thoughts and opinions on you ...
To see and hear rain falling, symbolizes forgiveness and grace. Falling rain is also a metaphor for tears, crying and sadness ... If you get wet from the rain, then it indicates cleaning from your troubles and problems ...
To dream that you are moving away, signifies your desire or need for change. It may also mean an end to a situation or relationship; you are moving on. Alternatively, it indicates your determination and issues regarding dependence/independence ...
To see an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings ...
To dream that water is rising up in your house, suggests that you are becoming overwhelmed by your emotions ...
If I were more ambitious I'd summarize all that and put it together. Or I'd just write something more interesting.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
This doesn't bode well
I use a clock radio as an alarm. This is the first thing I heard when it went off this morning:
Hey, Mama, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land
Owww!
I'm on the highway to hell
highway to hell
I'm off to chemo.
Hey, Mama, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land
Owww!
I'm on the highway to hell
highway to hell
I'm off to chemo.
Getting ready to hibernate again
Today I'm having chemo #5 of 6. The last one was the worst so far - I started feeling sick the first day and ended up spending four days in bed, too weak and tired to do much else.
I probably won't be blogging much the rest of this week.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Quote of the day
"I snuck up behind him and took his Koran, he said something about burning the Koran, I said 'Dude you have no Koran,' and ran off."
- a Texas skateboarder who foiled a preacher's planned book burning
Not the greatest but I'd still do him
Pierce Brosnan then & now.
I'm operating on no sleep. I just couldn't turn off my brain last night. I have an appointment at the cancer center today for blood work and an exam. I had to get up earlier than usual for that because I have to shower and apply numbing cream to my port at least an hour before the appointment. It sucks but the pain of getting stuck with the big needle they use sucks more.
Not much else going on right now. I watched a good movie last night, "The Greatest," with Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon. Their son is killed in a car accident and the girlfriend they didn't know about shows up pregnant, needing a place to stay. The younger brother felt like the dead brother always got all the attention - shades of "Ordinary People" there.
I love Pierce Brosnan but after seeing him in that movie and in Mama Mia, I'm afraid I have to admit he's not that great an actor. He's worse when he's trying to cover up his accent. I still like looking at him though.
Susan Sarandon is great but I hated the character she played - a selfish, sanctimonious bitch. They were trying to excuse it because she was a mother grieving the loss of her son. But some of that had to be going on before he died, otherwise her husband wouldn't have been cheating on her. Because it's always the wife's fault, right?
Anyway. I'm off to get my chest poked and my lymph glands squeezed.
Update: My appointment was at 9:30 to get my blood drawn. Then the nurse took me back to check my BP, weight, temp and go over my side effects, meds, etc. Back to the waiting room. The doctor was supposed to see me at 10:00. They didn't even take me to the exam room until 11:00, then I had to wait until 11:45 for the doctor to come in. That's typical of the way they do things. It pisses me off.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Beard-dragging granny & other quickies
How'd you like to wake up and find this guy standing over you naked? A 64 year old woman in KC did - and she dragged him out of her house by his beard. When the police arrived, he was sitting on the deck crying. Shockingly, he had been drinking.More quickies:
• Cities around the country are charging "crash taxes." If you're in an accident and the police, fire department, ambulance or Hazmat show up, you get charged for it. The practice is being driven by debt collection agencies who offer to do all the collecting for a fee. Most of the ordinances say that the fees will be paid by insurance companies only and shouldn't be charged to the accident victims. But insurance companies refuse to pay and the victims get billed. They pay the fees because they're afraid of having it affect their credit records.
• So how was your Friday the 13th last month? A cop in the UK got into an altercation with a suspect and accidentally shot pepper spray into his own face. He was then punched in the jaw another suspect, tased by his own partner, and kicked in the jaw by the first suspect. Ta da!
• Speaking of cops, sheriffs in North Carolina are seeking records of people with prescriptions to powerful pain-killing drugs. They say they want to fight prescription drug abuse. Because they've done such a good job of wiping out illegal drug use? That whole privacy thing - forget about it.
• From Australia: FAT men last longer in bed, while lean gym jocks are prone to premature ejaculation, a new study has found.
• It’s very easy to do a lot of useless science, but when you do things people care about, it becomes much more difficult, said the leader of Duke University's sex toy study.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Cow urine, screaming children & a laced scrotum
A bunch of quickies.
• The good news: they're using condoms. The bad news: Kids are having sex on the school bus.
• More on the Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery: The Iranian government has suspended the death sentence while they investigate further.
• Note: Next time you go for your mammogram, if the doctor sucks your nipple, he's doing it wrong.
• One in four college women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape before they graduate. One in four.
• Oh those crazy Aussies: An Australian burglar who photographed his penis with mobile phones he stole — and then sent the images to some owners' friends — told police after his arrest he'd been "off me head for a while."
• More Aussie madness: Mystery Eye Problem Caused By Cow Urine.
• If you're going to Berlin, don't miss the toilet tour.
• Speaking of European vacations, here's a list of ways Europeans can tell you're American. Examples: We're fat, we like air conditioning and we use hand sanitizer.
• More on European vacations: you might want to steer clear of Russia. The cops have gone a little crazy there. One teenager was beaten so severely at police HQ that he may lose his genitals. Another cop shot dead a snowplow driver who accidentally nicked his car. And a Russian journalist died after being beaten and anally raped with a broomstick.
• We don't pay 911 operators enough: A homeless man who called 911 from the hot tub of a suburban US home and asked for towels ... As he put it, "I just need a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it."
• A restaurant in North Carolina has a sign that says, "Screaming children will not be tolerated." The owner explains they don't kick the families out - a restaurant employee approaches the parents and asks them to take the child outside to calm down. Which parents would already be doing, if they had any common sense. Instead, parents are complaining about the policy.
• Who needs a money belt? A guy from Florida was arrested for conspiracy, fraud and identity theft. According to the Secret Service: A search of Black pursuant to his arrest revealed $1,540.00 in currency tied to his scrotum with a shoe lace.
• Remember that old movie where the babysitter is getting scary phone calls and the police tell her "He's in the house!" A guy in California who was on probation for domestic violence, and had 4 restraining orders against him, got arrested for sending his wife text messages - from her closet.
• A lawyer in Arizona told a client that the spirit of his dead wife, who had recently committed suicide, was inside her and his wife wanted him to have sex with her. The lawyer told investigators that the sexual requests were coming from the dead wife, not her. The punchline: They're only going to suspend her for 3 months.
• Don't take your kitty to a gang bang. I'm just saying.
• A Home Owners Association in New Jersey "improved" a historical graveyard within its jurisdiction by removing and destroying the 150 year old head stones. The stones will be replaced with flat white placards. One resident asks, "Are we now that culturally bankrupt?" I'm asking, Haven't you guys ever seen Poltergeist? You fuck with a graveyard, you're gonna get fucked.
• Next time you feel like spray-painting graffiti all over someone's wall, bring your dancing shoes.
• Your house is on fire and you're trying to put it out with a garden hose? That's a tasing.
• Not only does the TSA want to see you naked - they also want to give you cancer. And they're liars.
• Fark headline of the day: Just because you call a confidential government hotline about the sex toy stuck up your butt doesn't mean your problem is going to stay confidential. (the story)
• The good news: they're using condoms. The bad news: Kids are having sex on the school bus.
• More on the Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery: The Iranian government has suspended the death sentence while they investigate further.
• Note: Next time you go for your mammogram, if the doctor sucks your nipple, he's doing it wrong.
• One in four college women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape before they graduate. One in four.
• Oh those crazy Aussies: An Australian burglar who photographed his penis with mobile phones he stole — and then sent the images to some owners' friends — told police after his arrest he'd been "off me head for a while."
• More Aussie madness: Mystery Eye Problem Caused By Cow Urine.
• If you're going to Berlin, don't miss the toilet tour.
• Speaking of European vacations, here's a list of ways Europeans can tell you're American. Examples: We're fat, we like air conditioning and we use hand sanitizer.
• More on European vacations: you might want to steer clear of Russia. The cops have gone a little crazy there. One teenager was beaten so severely at police HQ that he may lose his genitals. Another cop shot dead a snowplow driver who accidentally nicked his car. And a Russian journalist died after being beaten and anally raped with a broomstick.
• We don't pay 911 operators enough: A homeless man who called 911 from the hot tub of a suburban US home and asked for towels ... As he put it, "I just need a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it."
• A restaurant in North Carolina has a sign that says, "Screaming children will not be tolerated." The owner explains they don't kick the families out - a restaurant employee approaches the parents and asks them to take the child outside to calm down. Which parents would already be doing, if they had any common sense. Instead, parents are complaining about the policy.
• Who needs a money belt? A guy from Florida was arrested for conspiracy, fraud and identity theft. According to the Secret Service: A search of Black pursuant to his arrest revealed $1,540.00 in currency tied to his scrotum with a shoe lace.
• Remember that old movie where the babysitter is getting scary phone calls and the police tell her "He's in the house!" A guy in California who was on probation for domestic violence, and had 4 restraining orders against him, got arrested for sending his wife text messages - from her closet.
• A lawyer in Arizona told a client that the spirit of his dead wife, who had recently committed suicide, was inside her and his wife wanted him to have sex with her. The lawyer told investigators that the sexual requests were coming from the dead wife, not her. The punchline: They're only going to suspend her for 3 months.
• Don't take your kitty to a gang bang. I'm just saying.
• A Home Owners Association in New Jersey "improved" a historical graveyard within its jurisdiction by removing and destroying the 150 year old head stones. The stones will be replaced with flat white placards. One resident asks, "Are we now that culturally bankrupt?" I'm asking, Haven't you guys ever seen Poltergeist? You fuck with a graveyard, you're gonna get fucked.
• Next time you feel like spray-painting graffiti all over someone's wall, bring your dancing shoes.
• Your house is on fire and you're trying to put it out with a garden hose? That's a tasing.
• Not only does the TSA want to see you naked - they also want to give you cancer. And they're liars.
• Fark headline of the day: Just because you call a confidential government hotline about the sex toy stuck up your butt doesn't mean your problem is going to stay confidential. (the story)
You wanted more butts
My friend has been complaining that I don't show enough butts on my blog. Fixed that for ya.
Monday, September 06, 2010
I want to punch Bill Gates' lights out
Yesterday, I did several hours of work on my novel. I had cut about 1800 words, which is a huge ordeal. I saved my work several times so I wouldn't lose it.This morning as soon as I sat down at my desk, I did a word count. I was about to record that in my header when I got an error message that Microsoft Works had to shut down. I thought, okay, that's cool because I know I saved everything I did yesterday - repeatedly - and I did one last save before I went to bed last night.
When I opened the file up again after the shut down, all the changes I did yesterday (and possibly the day before) have been lost. Fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!
I am so pissed!
Update: Good news. I didn't lose everything. I had copied one section into a separate document and worked on it there before I copied it back into the original document. Since I closed the separate doc yesterday, I still have the changes I made there. I lost some work but not all. From now on, I'm closing all the documents every night before I go to bed.
I just made backup copies on CD. The last draft I had on CD was from a year ago.
Microsoft still sucks but it would be hard to live without it.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Time for some quickies
It's been awhile since I've done some quickies. Here you go:
• Who knew that riding in the plane was more dangerous than jumping out of it? Skydivers killed when their plane crashes.
• American women are fighting back against the rising C-section rate the most effective way they can - by giving birth at home. Many of them had previous C-sections and their hospitals and/or doctors won't let them try to VBAC.
• According to a recent poll, British women are the ugliest in the world. Americans came in second and Germans third. No wonder I'm so ugly. I'm American and most of my ancestors came from Britain and Germany.
• Speaking of British women: A woman driver in Britain has been taken to court after she was spotted performing a sex act on herself while overtaking lorries on the M6 ... Defence lawyer Judith Birbeck said Chapman was “trying to make herself feel better” after being left “greatly distressed” by the news her mentally ill daughter was pregnant and her son was being deployed to Afghanistan.
• Awhile back, I mentioned an Iranian woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning after she was convicted of adultery. Now, she's also been sentenced to 99 lashes for a photo of her without a head covering that was published in a British newspaper. Her son says the picture isn't even her.
• Speaking of Iranian women: One woman fled persecution in Iran 15 years ago and became an American citizen. Then she got attacked by a monkey.
• Sometimes the first line of the article tells the story: A CAR thief ran off when the owner of the vehicle he was about to steal got into the car naked.
• Toothpaste
• Who knew that riding in the plane was more dangerous than jumping out of it? Skydivers killed when their plane crashes.
• American women are fighting back against the rising C-section rate the most effective way they can - by giving birth at home. Many of them had previous C-sections and their hospitals and/or doctors won't let them try to VBAC.
• According to a recent poll, British women are the ugliest in the world. Americans came in second and Germans third. No wonder I'm so ugly. I'm American and most of my ancestors came from Britain and Germany.
• Speaking of British women: A woman driver in Britain has been taken to court after she was spotted performing a sex act on herself while overtaking lorries on the M6 ... Defence lawyer Judith Birbeck said Chapman was “trying to make herself feel better” after being left “greatly distressed” by the news her mentally ill daughter was pregnant and her son was being deployed to Afghanistan.
• Awhile back, I mentioned an Iranian woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning after she was convicted of adultery. Now, she's also been sentenced to 99 lashes for a photo of her without a head covering that was published in a British newspaper. Her son says the picture isn't even her.
• Speaking of Iranian women: One woman fled persecution in Iran 15 years ago and became an American citizen. Then she got attacked by a monkey.
• Sometimes the first line of the article tells the story: A CAR thief ran off when the owner of the vehicle he was about to steal got into the car naked.
• Toothpaste
Warning: Play at your own risk
You know how it is when you get a song stuck in your head. It's even worse when it's a song you despise. Three days now.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
I'm getting all morbid again
When I was a kid, I got a kitten named Natasha. She stayed with my family when I moved away from home, but she lived to be 17.
When I was in college, I got a kitten named Carolina. She had a kitten named Casey who lived to be 15. When Casey died, I got my current girl cat. Shortly before Carolina died at 17, I got my current boy cat.
Girl cat is now 15 and boy cat is 14. Last winter, boy cat was diagnosed with a heart condition and my vet said the average house cat only lives to be 14. So I thought, chances are I'll only have them for a couple more years.
I figured at my age - 50 - I should be able to outlive another set of cats, another 15 years at least after girl and boy cat are gone.
But just now, I was lying on the floor and girl cat came over for a snuggle. And I thought, I wonder if I'll outlive you. Maybe my current cats will be my last ones.
When I was in college, I got a kitten named Carolina. She had a kitten named Casey who lived to be 15. When Casey died, I got my current girl cat. Shortly before Carolina died at 17, I got my current boy cat.
Girl cat is now 15 and boy cat is 14. Last winter, boy cat was diagnosed with a heart condition and my vet said the average house cat only lives to be 14. So I thought, chances are I'll only have them for a couple more years.
I figured at my age - 50 - I should be able to outlive another set of cats, another 15 years at least after girl and boy cat are gone.
But just now, I was lying on the floor and girl cat came over for a snuggle. And I thought, I wonder if I'll outlive you. Maybe my current cats will be my last ones.
Friday, September 03, 2010
D+
This is just about the stupidest thing I've heard. Drake University in Des Moines has a new marketing campaign that uses the logo D+. (That's D-plus, if your browser doesn't read that.)
Would you want to go to a school with a big D+ on its brochure?
Would you want to go to a school with a big D+ on its brochure?
Do nice guys finish last?
There's a guy who works at my favorite grocery store who's about the unfriendliest guy in the world. He's not rude or mean, he's just not friendly.
I've been running into him on a fairly regular basis for more than 20 years. He used to work in the store a few blocks from me, and when that closed, they transferred him to another location. He was bagging my groceries today and I knew he'd be carrying them out, so, like usual, I tried to start a casual conversation.
Me: "A lot of great sales today."
Him: nothing
Me: "This is my favorite week of the month to come shopping."
Him: nothing
That's how he always is. He's in his forties, really good looking and works his ass off. If he were a little friendlier, he'd probably be manager by now.
My brother used to work for the same chain. They strung him along for years, always promising that eventually he'd be manager. He had to transfer from town to town, always on short notice, and he worked a lot of nights and weekends. He made it as far as assistant manager then stalled. After a few years at that level, they offered him another horizontal transfer across the state. He turned it down. A few weeks later, they made up an excuse to fire him.
I think this guy's probably in a similar boat.
My new psychiatrist started me on two meds this week and it really seems to be working. One is melatonin for sleep. It doesn't help me get to sleep but once I do, I wake up more rested. The other med is Wellbutrin XL. I've been on it before. He warned me that it might make me manic. I was on it right before I bought my car last winter. I can't remember if I had stopped it before I bought the car or after but I know it was a contributing factor to the mania I was developing then, which was the primary cause of my impulsive decision to buy a car with 200,000 miles on it and the expensive repairs that followed.
But I feel really good right now. I've been waking up around 7:00 every morning full of energy. This morning, I worked on my novel for a couple of hours then went to the recycling center, the flea market and the grocery store and was home by 11:00. That's earlier than I usually get up. I'm not sure if it's the meds but I'm going to enjoy it for awhile.
One thought I had as I was unpacking my groceries: How many places in the world can a person buy a month's supply of food for $60?
Groceries are pretty cheap in Iowa compared to other places. I could live a month off what I bought today. I'll be going back before then, but it's nice knowing I'm ready for the nuclear meltdown.
I've been running into him on a fairly regular basis for more than 20 years. He used to work in the store a few blocks from me, and when that closed, they transferred him to another location. He was bagging my groceries today and I knew he'd be carrying them out, so, like usual, I tried to start a casual conversation.
Me: "A lot of great sales today."
Him: nothing
Me: "This is my favorite week of the month to come shopping."
Him: nothing
That's how he always is. He's in his forties, really good looking and works his ass off. If he were a little friendlier, he'd probably be manager by now.
My brother used to work for the same chain. They strung him along for years, always promising that eventually he'd be manager. He had to transfer from town to town, always on short notice, and he worked a lot of nights and weekends. He made it as far as assistant manager then stalled. After a few years at that level, they offered him another horizontal transfer across the state. He turned it down. A few weeks later, they made up an excuse to fire him.
I think this guy's probably in a similar boat.
My new psychiatrist started me on two meds this week and it really seems to be working. One is melatonin for sleep. It doesn't help me get to sleep but once I do, I wake up more rested. The other med is Wellbutrin XL. I've been on it before. He warned me that it might make me manic. I was on it right before I bought my car last winter. I can't remember if I had stopped it before I bought the car or after but I know it was a contributing factor to the mania I was developing then, which was the primary cause of my impulsive decision to buy a car with 200,000 miles on it and the expensive repairs that followed.
But I feel really good right now. I've been waking up around 7:00 every morning full of energy. This morning, I worked on my novel for a couple of hours then went to the recycling center, the flea market and the grocery store and was home by 11:00. That's earlier than I usually get up. I'm not sure if it's the meds but I'm going to enjoy it for awhile.
One thought I had as I was unpacking my groceries: How many places in the world can a person buy a month's supply of food for $60?
Groceries are pretty cheap in Iowa compared to other places. I could live a month off what I bought today. I'll be going back before then, but it's nice knowing I'm ready for the nuclear meltdown.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
My novel
The pages I've been revising got a good review at writers' group last night. They're the first two chapters on my novel and it's been such a struggle to get them right. I think I'm finally there. And I've finally got the damn thing down below 600 pages. The first draft was 1300+. If I accomplish nothing else with my life, I did that.
My dream is that some agent out there will stumble across my blog and like it and beg to see my novel.
Hey, it's no less likely than winning the lottery. I dream about that too.
My dream is that some agent out there will stumble across my blog and like it and beg to see my novel.
Hey, it's no less likely than winning the lottery. I dream about that too.
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