Thursday, June 29, 2006

Thursday Thirteen: Excuses, Excuses!

Everyone, once in a while, seems to post a Thursday Thirteen with excuses why they think their list this week is lame. Now it's my turn!

My eyes hurt. Blame it on allergies or that my contacts are getting old. I could also blame it on the pink-eye infected eye juice, but since I don't use it, I can't.
I am not feeling particularly creative this morning. Perhaps some of the other excuses could explain.
My Mother has been visiting from out-of-town.
We've been staying at hotels for the past three days.
I haven't had access to a computer and the Internet for a few days.
I just got back to work and I have a lot of things to catch up on.
I have so many good topic ideas that I can't pick just one!
I need a vacation from the vacation.
I haven't slept very good lately.
I'm supposed to be doing work right now!
My kids have been spoiled so they've been very difficult to deal with.
Did I mention my Mother is in town? This is her first visit to Creekistan. According to her, "It's not as bad as I thought it would be."
Who can top getting to meet C-3PO? It's been a downer ever since last Wednesday.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Friday, June 23, 2006

My Robot Week

Several people have asked how I happened to meet C-3PO, aka Anthony Daniels. I work for a company that makes robots and robot kits for beginners. I am not an engineer, but I work with them. But I had the opportunity to attend the RoboBusiness conference in Pittsburgh this week. It was really interesting—-the robots, machines, and computer systems that are state-of-the-art.

As part of the RoboBusiness conference, Carnegie Mellon had their induction ceremony for their Robot Hall of Fame Anthony Daniels emceed the event, and was available during the conference to sign autographs.

I did not know that they would have C-3PO there. Imagine my surprise when I came down to the conference after breakfast and saw the actual size C-3PO statue, R2-D2, Gort (from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”) as well as Maria, the art deco robot from the 1927 film “Metropolis”. I was thrilled—I’m a huge Star Wars fan. But I was even more excited when I noticed Anthony Daniels there. So I had him sign a hat for my son.

He was very nice, and his handwriting was excellent. He wrote my son’s name, and “May the force be with you” along with his signature. We will all treasure it and put it in a place of honor, once our home is finished.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Thursday Thirteen (13): My Favorite Robots

In honor of my meeting Anthony Daniels this week (the guy who plays C-3PO in Star Wars), I would like to list my favorite robots:

1. R2D2 from Star Wars – I have a theory that all six movies are actually about him, that he is the catalyst that makes everything happen. I think he knew a lot more than he said.

2. C-3PO from Star Wars – He is the most polite and annoying, but great nonetheless.

3. Twiki from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Always interested in what was going on in the 20th century. Frankly, so am I.

4. Data from Star Trek the Next Generation – He was striving to be more human, not knowing that he was more human than human.

5. Terminator – It was scary how he couldn’t be stopped.

6. Bubo - The Owl from Clash of the Titans. I’d love to have him flying around and helping me out. Besides, if money got tight, I could sell him for the gold.

7. HAL2000 from 2001—A Space Odyssey. What are you doing, Dave?

8. NS-5 from iRobot – Where can I get one of those robots? Cook, clean, carry your purse. Perfect! Except for the whole rounding up humans and trying to protect us from ourselves thing that they did.

9. Bender Bending Rodriguez – from Futurama. I’d love to have a few drinks with him.

10. Mars Pathfinder Sojourner Rover – How cool is it to have a real robot on Mars?

11. The Cylons of Battlestar Galactica – Very cool. Some are even sexy! Some don’t even know they are robots.

12. Bishop from Aliens. He could get chopped in half and still save a human.

13. The giant flying robots in “Sky Caption And The World Of Tomorrow”. They were just cool. I mean, 1940’s Art Deco cool.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Thursday 13: My Favorite Hoaxes

Snopes is one of my favorite websites, and I’m always referring people to the site. Especially after I receive an e-mail with a photo or story that seems too good to be true. I love to debunk hoaxes and let the truth be known.

1. The 9/11 Tourist Guy – This photo made the e-mail rounds right after 9/11 and fooled a lot of people.

2. The Well to Hell - Scientists drilling in Siberia went too far and ended up punching a hole through to Hell, where the screams of the damned drifted up to them.

3. Gas Pump Prick –Gas station customers are getting stuck by HIV-loaded syringes affixed to gas pump handles.

4. Frank Zappa once won a gross-out contest by eating excrement on stage. "For the record, folks: I never took a shit on stage, and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973."

5. The Dihydrogen Monoxide Scare. Dihydrogen Monoxide is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the unstable radical Hydroxide, the components of which are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as Sulfuric Acid, Nitroglycerine and Ethyl Alcohol. (Note: Dihydrogen Monoxide is H2O, aka Water.) http://www.dhmo.org/

6. Nigerian E-Mail Scam Help a wealthy Nigerian move millions of dollars and you will get a percentage. - A fraud that has actually cost people thousands of dollars.

7. Y2K – We all remember sitting around in our living rooms, with stockpiles of water and food, generators at the ready, waiting for all the lights to go off, the cars to not work, and even our microwaves to stop working. Nothing happened except that I had to buy new checks because the 19__ part of the date was no longer valid.

8. Bert is Evil - Bert, the Sesame Street muppet, appears on posters carried by supporters of Osama bin Laden. Actually, the joke was on someone in Bangladesh who was looking for pictures of Osama and found this one with Bert. He actually USED this image on thousands of posters that were used in demonstrations. Pictures of the demonstrations were carried by credible news agencies. You go Bert!

9. BBC Interview Guy - A guy that was at the BBC for a job interview, was mistaken as an expert and actually got put live, on camera, in an interview about the Apple computers versus Apple music legal case.

10. Celebrity Mediums – Famous psychics such as John Edwards are using an age-old technique called cold reading where they obtain information by asking questions and guessing rather than "talking to the dead".

11. Movie Ghost #1 – I love to pause movies that are supposed to have dead people or ghosts in them. The Wizard of Oz supposedly captured a munchkin hanging himself and his death was captured on-camera.

12. Movie Ghost #2 - The Three Men and a Baby scene in question really does creep me out. A boy is rumored to have committed suicide a room where they filed the movie and his ghost is supposedly captured on film.

13. Music Hoaxs - such as the woman being murdered during the recording of the Ohio Player’s Love Rollercoaster, and the whole Paul is Dead thing in the Beatles recording.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

“Spring” Garden, aka Hillbilly Archeology

I know, I know. It’s a little late to plant a garden. But it’s not TOO late. There are some things that I can get into the ground that may sprout just fine, like beans, and tomato plants. I recently sustained a knee injury that made walking, let alone planting, painful. But that is getting better.

So we selected a spot across from the Bee House that looked like it would be great for a small garden. In fact, there used to be a chicken house in that location. We can only guess this because of the wood pieces that where piled there from a structure that had fallen a long time ago.

While carefully removing the wood—we had to be careful of any exposed nails and potential snakes—we discovered that the former residents used the structure for storage. Presumably after the chickens had left. We had to perform some Hillbilly Archeology. We removed various old planters, long dried out pieces of plastic, and an old tin wall-hanging of a fiddle (this I kept, once it’s cleaned up and painted, it may be pretty cool!). But striking of all of our finds was about 50 springs. The more we excavated, the more we found.

“Why springs?” you may wonder. Well, we asked our neighbors this very question. Seems that years ago, the grandchildren of the people living in the Bee House had a trampoline. Of course, once that trampoline is broken or the kids get too old, the thing you want to do is bury the springs in your front yard where the chicken house used to be. Then, throw the rest under the house along with the old car parts, satellite dish, and sewing machine.

Needless to say, now that the springs are gone, we should have a nice garden. At least I hope so.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Thursday 13: Phrases That I Find Irritating

Okay, you asked for it!

“Have a blessed day.” –Many things that people do are well intentioned, yet assumes that their audience shares their exact belief. That’s where this phrase comes in. It’s sneaking in a Christian blessing! What if I don’t want me or my day to be blessed? What if I’d rather have a Birkat ha-Hammah (a Jewish blessing) (I am not Jewish). What if I’m just hoping for a good day, let alone a blessed day.
“Enclosed, please find . . . .” (as seen in business letters). What, did you hide something? You mean I have to search for your enclosure?
“Can I ask you a question?” - You just did, but you are more than welcome to ask another question.
“Let’s touch base.” – (Business jargon). Sorry, I don’t play baseball.
“Git-r-done.” – Do I even have to explain?
LOL – Caught you! A lot of people use this, but are you really Laughing Out Loud? How many times have we used this when we really didn’t LOL? Come on, admit it!
“Liberal Media” – I hate the fact that the word “liberal” has become, to some people, a derogative term to label people or institutions that are not conservative. Liberal, in my definition, means “free thinking” or “open minded”. The media, on the other hand, is not liberal in that definition. For the most part, they are more entertainment reporters with a little smattering of news.
“Support our Troops” – I preface this by saying that of course I support our troops, even if I hate the fact that they are forced to go into active duty. But I dislike the magnetic yellow ribbons that people stick to the back of their cars, SIDEWAYS. Stephen T. Banko III http://www.counterpunch.org/banko05252004.html said it better then I can: “We now live in a bumper sticker world where the only truths we accept are those simplistic enough to fit on an 18-inch adhesive placard.”
"Breaking news" – The news media use this too much. In recent times, I’ve noticed that they use this everyday to indicate their most exciting stories, whether or not it is actually “breaking news.” Breaking news should be the news that is happening right then—the kind of news that they don’t have all the information yet but can’t wait to tell you!
“Just you wait” – When strangers are talking to me about my children. I guess they are trying to warn me that things will get bad when my children turn double digits.
“Girlfriend” – Especially said to me by someone I don’t even know! Okay, okay, I know they are referring to the solidarity of the female gender.
“At the end of the day” – Just annoys me, I don’t know why. I am not a fan of unnecessary prepositional phrases.
“Note to self.” – What, are you so stupid that you have to write little notes to yourself? What about love notes? What about Dear John letters to yourself? Actually, I think that whoever says this out loud is actually wanting whoever listens to help them remember something. “Note to self: don’t forget to blog about this topic.”

Thursday, June 01, 2006

13 Potential Thursday 13 Topics – Help Me Decide What’s Next!

13 phrases that I find irritating – For example: “Have a blessed day.”
13 of my favorite moments – For example: Having a giggle fit during childbirth class.
13 things that people tell me to do that I ignore.– For example: Make your bed.
13 things that chocolate is not good on. – For example: Tailpipe hitch.
13 things that I do not apologize for. – For example: I will not attend a party hosted by a person who got suckered by a pyramid-type marketing scheme, like Mary Kay or Amway, especially if they are trying to get people to become distributors too.
13 of my favorite hoaxes – For example: The Well to Hell - Scientists drilling in Siberia went too far and ended up punching a hole through to Hell, where the screams of the damned drifted up to them.
13 strange medical conditions or terms – For example: Micropenis.
13 parts of my body that have been broken, fixed, or altered: For example: Ear piercing #1.
13 things about PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome) bad and good: For example: Irregular periods.
13 things that I miss about working for Big Corporation: For example: multiple stalls in the restroom.
13 things on and under my desk at work: For example: Broken gerbil cage.
13 things about the 13-year-old Amy the Black. For example: I tried to die my hair blond with hydrogen peroxide but it turned my hair orange instead.
13 reasons why I should do a Thursday 13 Podcast. For example: I want to do a podcast, and my husband will be teaching about it, so we might as well do one together!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Behind the Behind

I work at a strange and interesting company. For one of the projects, my company acquired a full-sized mannequin. (Don’t ask me why, I don’t fully understand it myself.) Needless to say, the programmers had a lot of fun dressing him in strange clothes. He is positioned strategically so that he scares unsuspecting victims as they come around the corner. We’ve already had one victim, the cleaning lady, scream and wet her pants when she arrived early one morning.

I took this while they were positing him near my desk.

You can check out more Behinds at http://dumbbuttblog.blogspot.com/. Thanks Angel for the "plug."

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Thursday 13 (Thirteen) for May 25, 2006

13 People I Hope to Meet in the Café at the End of Time

Freddy Mercury– to help entertain the crowd with his singing of We Are the Champions and to sing with guest #2
Galileo– Wouldn’t it be fun to have Galileo sing with Freddy Mercury on “Bohemian Rhapsody”? “Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro.” I’d also want to know how he feels about being permitted back into the Catholic Church, hundreds of years after his death. That is to say, if he would even care anymore.
John Cage– No, not the strange character from the Ally McBeal TV show, but the American experimental music composer. He was also a great story teller, mycologist and mushroom collector: he co-founded the New York Mycological Society. Under the direction of Yoko Ono in order to improve his health, he ate a macrobiotic diet. Therefore, I’d leave the ordering of food to him.
Red Foxx– He could also help entertain with his comic routine. I would also want to ask if he finally got to see his beloved Elizabeth. “This is the big one...I'm comin' to join ya, honey".
Fred Rogers– I would just want a big hug. Reading about him on Wikipedia, I never realized that he was an early and big supporter of VCR use in the home, even giving testimony in court that he appreciates the use of the VCR so that families can watch shows together at a later time. Besides, I’d live to visit the Neighborhood—the little model one, that is!
Anais Nin– We could dish about the men that she’s met, especially Henry Miller. It would be interesting to see her and the next guest flirting with all the guys!
Cleopatra– I just want to hear her stories about her relationships with Caesar and Mark Antony.
Frank Zappa– There is too much I could say about Zappa that I can’t even begin here. If you don’t know who he is, please click on the link. Needless to say, his presence in the Café would be necessary.
Grandpa Clark – He died when I was 7. I’d like to talk to him and find out about his past and if his family really were part of the Oklahoma Sooners as I suspect.
Mark Twain– Who wouldn’t want him at their party? This is a guy who wrote great books, gave wonder speeches, and hung out with the likes of Nikola Tesla.
Jesus of Nazareth– I know, I know. Everyone would pick this guy. But I’m doing it purely on a historical basis. I’d like to see if what we claim to know about him is correct. Besides, he seems like a really cool dude. With him around, we’d never run out of wine!
W. A. Mozart– Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a thing for composers. Don’t worry, hubby, I can control myself.
Leonardo da Vinci– Yeah, I know. A very timely choice, given the controversy over the movie and book, “The Da Vinci Code.” But this guy is fascinating. Besides, if I seat him and Jesus together, they would probably get along great.

Who would you invite to come crash my party? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

American Idol Style Thursday Thirteen Graphic

Please feel free to use! But don't forget to give me credit!

Sirius - The Black Dog

Anyone familiar with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban will know that Sirius Black can change into an enormous black dog. For a while, Harry thought that the black dog he kept glimpsing was a dark omen called The Grimm. Come to find out, it was his godfather who wanted to save Harry and avenge the death of Harry's parents.

We were watching the movie Saturday afternoon, while the baby was sleeping. We've seen the movie a hundred times. I decided to go downstairs. I heard, out the window, some strange noises. So I opened the front door. A big black dog greeted me. Bandit, our puppy, was playing with this dog. But I thought it was ironic that he should show up while we're watching Azkaban.

So I played a trick on my son: I called him downstairs, opened the door, and said, "It's the Grimm!"

We can't have another dog, especially an adult dog of unknown temperament.

Our friends said that people tend to dump their unwanted dogs where we live. They throw them out of the car and speed off. This dog did not have any ID, but he did have a flea collar. He was nice enough, but very submissive. Not good for a "farm" dog.

He's not around anymore. Thank goodness, because I'd hate to call the dog catcher to come get him. Or, as in Harry Potter, the dementors captured him and took him back to Azkaban. I guess Sirius is off on another great adventure.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Gonzo?

You Are Gonzo the Great

"Is something burning in here? Oh, it's just me."
You're a total nutball who will do anything for attention.
The first to take a dare, you'll pull almost any stunt.
You're one weird looking creature, but your chickens don't mind!

The Muppet Personality Test

13 Albums That I Couldn’t Live Without

Radiohead – Hail to the Thief. They only way that I can describe this album is that it’s like stepping into an audio world and looking around, and instead of eyes, you use your ears. If you haven’t heard it, you should. If you have heard it and didn’t like it, give it another chance in a few years. They are too far ahead of their time to be fully appreciated today.
Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair. To me, the quintessential 80’s album with interesting lyrics and synth sounds. (Aside: I know there isn’t any Duran Duran in this list. I find that I don’t listen to them as much as Tears for Fears.)
Led Zeppelin – IV (Untitled). This album was released when I was almost 2 years old, but it has stood the test of time. Who would disagree that “Stairway to Heaven” is one of the best songs ever? I just want to put a good word in for my older brother who kept the LP around, allowing me to sneak into his room and listen to it. The album cover alone is enough to buy it—I could stare at it for hours. Led Zeppelin IV Art
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York. When putting this list together I was trying to decide which Nirvana album to include, and kept coming back to this one. I normally don’t like live recordings, but this one is great. Every song is a winner, even if they were just covering another artist’s song, i.e. David Bowie.
Police – Synchronicity. My “first love” and I had “Wrapped Around Your Finger” as our song. “Every Breath You Take” was 1983’s biggest hit song, and I still don’t get tired of it.
Miles Davis – The Essential Miles Davis. All I have to say is “So What.”
They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18. This is one I can listen to with the kids. It has over 30 songs (okay, some of them are around 10 seconds long) but every one is great! Besides, this album teaches what a Palindrome is, all about Mammals, and even has a song that reminds me of Pavlov’s dogs salivating to the “Dinner Bell.”
Madonna – Ray of Light. Madonna is an audio artist. The sounds in this album are a treat the my ears. Especially “Ray of Light” and “Frozen.”
Beck – Guero. I just like Beck. I especially like “EPro”. I went to the Field Day Festival in New York a couple of years ago, with the headliners being Beastie Boys, Beck and Radiohead. Well worth the trip and sitting in the rain all day. Except that Beck fell down offstage just before his performance and broke a rib. I didn’t get to see him.
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head. This is an album that I say, “Oooh! I love this song!” at the beginning of every song. This album contains the hits, “The Scientist” and “Clocks.”
Pink Floyd – The Wall. The whole story, the content, the movie. All great.
k.d. lang – Ingénue. It’s like eating an entire chocolate silk pie. Every bite is delicious and you let the taste linger in your mouth for as long as you can before taking another bite.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik. If I listen to this when I’m cleaning, everything gets a really good rubdown--if you know what I mean!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Monday, May 15, 2006

Mother's Day

We don't do "traditional" things on holidays. Especially not on Mother's Day. Some people may frown on the fact that I didn't get a hallmark Card and a wrapped present. But I don't mind much, because my beasts (husband included) instead do a lot of little things for me.

For example, Friday night when I got home from work, my husband took the kids downstairs and let me take a nap while he fed them dinner. That may sound mundane, but I enjoyed it a lot. Actually, I spent a lot of my nap time listening to them. Just their little voices talking and asking questions made tears come to my eyes. My husband was trying to explain sarcasm to my 5-year-old. My 1-year-old was trying to "help" buy pulling things out of cabinets. It was nice to listen too. But I did eventually take a nap. It was great.

Just hearing my childrens' footsteps and voices, and thinking about their outreached arms made me sad for all the children throughout the world who don't have parents. To think that there is a toddler in a crib in an orphanage who is holding out their arms in hopes that someone will pick them up makes me sad that I can't pick them up myself.

I have great respect for those who choose to adopt a child. One family that I've been following is looking forward to meeting and bringing home a toddler from Vietnam. Their emotional plight has been chronicled on their website: Vietnam Addition. This is one child who will no longer have to compete for attention. When her arms reach out, wanting to be picked up, she will have a family to cuddle with her.

Happy Mother's Day!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Thursday Thirteen (13) for May 11, 2006

13 Things that I Don’t Miss About Working for Big Corporation

Too many useless meetings – Meetings are an alternative to work. But it’s okay if food or snack is provided.
Pre-Meeting Meetings – Let’s discuss what we’re going to discuss. Aka: Let’s get our story straight.
Post-Meeting Meetings – Let’s discuss what we discussed. Basically, I want us to make sure we got out of the meeting what we wanted. Otherwise, we’ll have to call another meeting.
Mandatory Management Training – Another form of meeting, except this one had sign-in sheets and better food.
Non-Persons. When people were fired or quit, we would quickly forget about them. They were practically family when they were with the company, but now they are a non-person. Very Orwellian.
Office Spouses – Male/Female working relationships that mimic a marriage. When you have to remind your office spouse that he’s got an important meeting tomorrow and that he should wear the nicer tie. I would always remind male employees about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and other events that they might get in trouble for forgetting.
Getting approval signatures. I hated getting signatures of high-ranking officials in the company. My trick was to talk nice to the administrative assistant and make sure they got the signature. Here’s a funny story: I used to have to get approval for expenditures over $1,000 from a high-ranking, very old executive in the company. He should have retired, but it wasn’t the policy of the company to force retirement. There was a nurse working at the company that would give him daily shots of something that made him feel better. I asked her to let me know when she was going to give the shot, and I’d get the signature right after. He was always in a better mood and would sign without much hassle. He worked until 2 weeks before his death.
Corporate dress. Dressing nice or corporate casual, it was always a problem for me. Since I’m a creative individual, my clothes are different, and not very corporate.
Travel expenses. The company I worked at didn’t have credit cards or expense accounts. You were expected to pay for things out of your own pocket or credit card, and submit the expenses at the end of the week for reimbursement. So, basically, I was loaning a multi-million dollar company MY money.
Dilbert (the cartoon) was too close to home to be funny.
Gossip. Who’s doing what, who’s seeing who, who’s getting what. Makes you feel like you’re always under the watchful eyes of people that don’t have anything better to do.
Too many Vice Presidents. Really, at some point, doesn’t it diminish the power a VP has when there are so many? My old company had so many that they all couldn’t fit all of their expensive cars in the executive lot, so they would park in the visitor’s lot. I actually had visitors who couldn’t park because all the VP’s were actually in the office for a meeting.
Not getting credit for finishing a project. Instead, your superior would get the slap on the back for the thing that you did. All he (or she) did was put a fancy cover sheet on it.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Knee Deep in the Hoopla

Last week's Thursday 13 featured songs that I hate. Well, right now, I'm listening to the stupid song "We Built This City." My first reaction was to immediately change the internet radio station I listen to.

But this is a usually a good station. The song before that made my heart leap--it was an old favorite that I almost forgot about: Depeche Mode - "Everything Counts" .

One thing that I remember about the Starship song that I hate is that there is a section that features a DJ speaking about the radio station. Many radio stations took this opportunity to change that section and include their own station identification and tagline.

I guess that is why the radio stations played the song: they made it sound like thier own promotion.

Still, the song sucks.

New look for my Blog

I know that I've been tinkering with the look this week. I finally found something that I can live with--for a month or so. I know I'll be itching to make changes, but I just don't have much time right now. I better get some ~actual~ work done.

Monday, May 08, 2006

The Creekistan-Side Story

I woke up with a dead mouse in my sink.

I was making coffee first thing and looked down . . . Hello! There was water in the sink because I was soaking a dirty dish. I could hardly eat all day. Needless to say, the dish and the sink got a good scrubbing.

Earlier that night, Nicky, our sometimes-indoor cat, ate another mouse. I come into the living room to see him finishing it up—-just the tail and some entrails left. It made a crunching sound. I made a gagging sound and left the room.

My story is that the mice were lovers and when one got killed, the other committed suicide.

Somewhere, a tiny Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim are composing a high-pitched, Alvin and the Chipmonks-style musical:

There's a [mousehole] for us,
A [cheese] and [crum] for us.
Hold my [tail] and we're halfway there.
Hold my [tail] and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Thursday 13 (Thirteen) for May 4, 2006

13 Songs I wish I never heard

Muskrat Love - Captain and Tennille

Tubthumping - Chumbawamba. I wish this song would get knocked down and NOT get up again!

The Candy Man - Sammy Davis Jr.

Up-Up and Away - The Fifth Dimension. In case you don’t know this song from the title, perhaps this will jog your memory: “Up-Up and Away in your beautiful balloon.”

I’ve Never Been To Me – Charlene “I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things that a woman ain't supposed to see” Yeah, thanks for sharing . . . .NOT.

PacMan Fever - Buckner & Garcia. “I got a pocket full of quarters, and I'm headed to the arcade.”

Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus. Talk about Achy Breaky Ears.

What’s New Pussycat – Tom Jones (or Sir Thomas Jones, thank you very much).

Anything by Kenny G

It’s a Small World – Disney. Talk about a song that gets stuck in your head. I think even Disney makes fun of this song!

We Built This City - Starship (or Jefferson Airplane, or whoever)

Macarena - Los Del Rio. Stupid song and stupid dance. What a great way to make Americans look stupid!

Metal Health - Quiet Riot. I don’t even want to go there—the bad, big hair days of the early 80’s. I guess I hate it because my first real boyfriend got grounded for sneaking out of the house and going to a Quiet Riot concert. It put a damper on our dating for a while.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Princess

Friday, I got a rare treat. My sister and I met in Dayton, Ohio to see "Diana, A Celebration", an exhibit from her Althorp Estate, the Spencer FamilyÂ’s 500-year-old ancestral home in England. I personally am not a huge Diana fan, but my sister is. I guess it's because of their similarities: they were the same age and got married during the same year. I remember visiting my sister when I was 11 and we got up early to watch the wedding on her black and white TV. I was 11 or 12 at the time.

It's hard to believe that it as been nearly 9 years since Diana's tragic death. She was 36 when she died--exactly my age right now. Looking at the exhibit, I felt a littlejealouss. What have I done to change the world? Look at what she accomplished in her time. Look at what she could have accomplished if she lived on.

We got to see some of her childhood toys, school uniform, and a few notes written by her. But most importantly, we saw that wedding gown. It gave me chills.

I think there is a little bit of Princess in all of us girls. We need to remember, every once in a while, to bring out our inner Princess and have a royal time.