Absinthe & Cookies (a bit bitter, a bit sweet)

Seriously

Darra Torres rocks! I was so impressed with her last night watching her races, and am equally impressed listening to the interview she's sitting for now. It's not often you get to see someone over 40 compete for Gold at the Olympics.

Guess What?

No, not regular blogging. But I did get the new anti spam plug in to work, *and* I managed to install a plug in that allows me to automatically close old entries. What a relief! Between the two, my spam problem has almost totally disappeared. Go me!

Woot!

House Republicans to Resume Floor Protest on American Energy Monday

Finally, our people are showing some damn backbone! Way to go! Now keep it up!

Big Time

How cool is this? Jane's in the NYT!

Feed

I think I have the feed fixed, thanks to Jay. He sent me some instructions, which I managed to implement without blowing up the blog.

Give it a try.

It's Only Funny Because It's So True

Wake Up Cat. Nin emailed the link to me a few minutes ago.

LOL Cat Does Genesis (Not the Band)

Boreded Cieling Cat makinkgz Urf n stuffs

1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat waz invisible, An he maded the skiez An da Urf, but he no eated it.

2 The Urfs wus witout shapez An wus dark An scary An stufs, An he rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

3 An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.

4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stufs, An seperatered teh lite from dark An stufs but taht wuz ok cuz cats can seez in teh dark An not tripz ovr nethin. an Ceiling Cat sayz u mus hav da moneyz 2 git da milkz.

The rest at the link.

Long Time No Blog

I wrecked my back, then I was sick, and then I was away. Now I'm back!

Spent the weekend in L.A. at LCA, which was very awesome. Got to hang with friends I hadn't seen in over five years.

Down in the extended entry is my Friday con report. Saturday and Sunday to follow.

We got to Woodland Hills around 430pm, after a really quick drive. We actually made it in a little under six hours, which was excellent time. After checking in, we called Jen She answers her cell, and I hear her shouting that it was okay, it was Ith and Nin! Turns out she was being scolded for having her cell on and was telling Jayne it was okay, because it was us and we'd arrived. We head down to the ballroom, and come to find there's a panel going on with Torri Higginson and two other guys, and that Jen was on one side of the room and Jayne on the other! Oh yay, we're famous [g] Turns out that our ringtone is the Imperial March too boot! We checked in, got our event bags and badges, hugged Bev, and took our seats.

The panel was just wrapping up and the auction segment started. I'll admit, I'm not a big Weir fan. It's not that I dislike the character, I just don't mind much one way or the other. But Torri is an absolute delight. Funny, sweet, engaging. I'm very glad I had the opportunity to meet her. I won my one and only auction item, a Riddick crew jacket. I've been wanting a windbreaker/rain jacket sort of thing and this was that, so it was practical. And it's a nice dusky blue with grey inserts. Torri came up to me after I'd won and shook my hand and thanked me. Very nice of her!

At this point, I need to explain the 'smut bucket'. It's an LCA tradition to have a smut bucket. Basically it's a receptacle for participants to put money in it whenever they have a naughty thought about one of the guests. One way to create more naughty thoughts is to place bills in front of the guest, and when they bend over to pick it up, more naughty thoughts and more money for the bucket. This year's 'bucket' was Jack Bauer's man-purse aka 'the magic bag'. Over the course of the weekend, there were guests as well as attendees tossing money all over. In front of each other, into the bag, you name it.

Okay, so, cash had been placed in front of Torri and she wanted to be creative about picking it up. So, she did the splits, then picked it up with her teeth! What a gal!

The session ran late, so we dashed back to the room to freshen up before the party/buffet that started at 7pm. Had a drink in the bar, then headed up. The food was great. Finger food, but substantial with an awesome cheese display! I'm a fan of anything that give me cheese. There were also little fancy cakes and tarts and chocolate covered strawberries. The DJ lights were giving Nin a headache, so we hung out in the seating areas on the mezzanine so we could still socialize, but not be blinded. Nin and Jen did drink runs down to the bar (they had a specialty cocktail Jen and I were very fond of, and of course, single malts for Nin), and I ate more cheese. So, I'm sitting there, by myself, and who do I see at the party bar? Why Fayed! Actually it was his portrayer Adoni Maropis, but I didn't know his real name then [g] He's absolutely gorgeous! Pardon the fangirl squee here for a moment... SQUEE! And I'm happy to report, he's also a really nice man as well.

After a little more drinking and eating, and visiting with Jayne for a while, we decided to head for our room. Glo had gone on a few hours before since she wasn't feeling well, so Jen hung out in our room for a bit before we all decided it was time to hit the hay!

Civic Literacy

Not too bad. I took this civics test:

Students at many of the country's most prestigious colleges and universities are graduating with less knowledge of American history, government, and economics than they had as incoming freshmen, with Harvard University seniors scoring a "D+" average on a 60-question multiple-choice exam about civic literacy.

According to a report released yesterday by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the average college senior at the 50 colleges and universities polled did not earn a passing grade.

"At the most expensive colleges, they actually graduate knowing less," the executive director of the Jack Miller Center at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Michael Ratliff, said. "Colleges and universities are not directing students to the courses that would educate them. We want to know whether after getting $300 billion to do their work, universities are actually educating their students."

At universities such as Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Duke, and Berkeley, seniors scored lower on the test, available here, than freshmen, living proof of the broadening relevancy of the old Harvard adage that the university is a storehouse of knowledge because "the freshmen bring so much and the seniors take away so little."

I never finished high school, and my last years of schooling were in Canada to boot. Yet, I managed a fairly respectable 86.67 %!

Back Home

Had an awesome time in Philly. What a great city! I actually got teary eyed when I saw the Liberty Bell for the first time.

Hope everyone is well!

Holiday

Going on holiday till the 11th. If any of you want to guest blog, have at it. But if you haven't done it in a while, you may want to check and make sure your login still works. If it doesn't, let me know, and I'll fix it before I leave.

Eastward Bound

In about two weeks, I'll be in Philadelphia to see the King Tut exhibit. I've been doing pre-trip research (duh!) and was wondering if anyone has any 'must sees' they'd like to pass on? CTG has already informed me of the necessity of seeing Ben Franklin's privy hole, but other than that... :)

Ha!

Tea 'healthier' drink than water

I've always gotten grief from people bugging me to drink more water, despite the fact tea is water -- just with flavouring. I don't use sugar, and I drink about six cups a day. So now I have my very own study [g]

We Has Tribbles

So I've been peripherally aware of the whole Lolcats thing, but
hadn't paid too much attention. A few weeks back, Nin kept bugging me
to go look at the Lolcats 'Trouble With Tribbles' 'episode' and I
kept forgetting. So finally, tired of being pestered, I did. And just
about fell off my chair laughing. So then I went to the 'I can has
cheezeburger' site and 'meme cats' and ODed on Lolcats!

But she's very sorry now that she did, because I'm captioning
our cat, the neighbour's cat, her, me, TV shows. [rubs hands together
in evil glee] There is no end to my Lolcat mania! That'll learn her!

You Have To Love It

Working at a place where you can get one of your coworkers to explain the ins and outs of breaking someone's wrist when you're researching for a story.

Did I Mention?

That I now have a region free DVD player? And it rocks! It's much nicer than the bargain basement predecessor. And now, I can watch HEX, the entire season of which Nin got me for Xmas. I was at Amazon UK and discovered many box set series at half the price of what they are here as well. Right now, I'm waiting for the first season of Rome to arrive, which was nearly half of what it was here. I had the opportunity to see a few episodes a few months back, and decided it was worth getting the season.

Sampling

I got a bunch of perfume samples from Lucky Scent in yesterday. Last night I tried Burning Leaves, and today is In the Library. I thought I'd post about them as I go, or until I forget.

Burning Leaves really does have a scent of well, burning leaves. I like it, but at the same time, can't imagine smelling like that.

Burning Leaves notes:
The smoke of burning maple leaves

And that's it! I may try it one more time, just out of curiosity.

Today, I'm wearing In the Library and it's pleasant, but not to my taste.

In The Library notes:
Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish

Both scents, and most of the samples I got, are from a new line called CB I Hate Perfume, if you were interested in more information. Each scent comes with an essay on the website from the creator.

LCA 10

This is an absolutely awesome event, and I can't recommend it highly enough:

Jon Cassar has promised an all 24 Sunday. He is going to get as many cast members as he can from all 6 seasons to show.

April 29, 2007

MPICA® is pleased to announce that registration for "Lights, Camera, Auction - Take 10!"
October 5-7, 2007 in Los Angeles is now open.

Our recipient charities will be the Actors Fund of Canada and the Stroke Association of Southern California.

To register, please go to the LCA 10 page for links to the registration page and hotel reservation information.

Please check the web site for more information on the auction and other featured weekend activities.

Our preliminary guest list is:

Ellen Dubin "Jeri Slate" The Collector/"Giggerota" LEXX
Ryan Scott Greene - "Brandon" Queer As Folk/Nikita/Mutant X
David Fury - Writer/Co-Executive Producer Buffy/Angel/Lost/24
Howard Gordon, Executive Producer 24
Barclay Hope "Col. Lionel Pendergast" Stargate: SG1/"Peter Axon" Psi Factor
Gregory Itzin - "President Charles Logan" 24
Steven L. Sears - Writer/Producer Xena: Warrior Princess/Sheena

All guest appearances are subject to professional commitments.

Please stay tuned for further announcements.

Regards,

MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY CHARITABLE ALLIANCE®
501c Non-Profit Organization 31-1588233
http://www.mpica.org
Lights, Camera, Auction, Take 10! http://www.mpica.org/LCA10/main.htm

Treated Myself

And finally joined a wine club! I'm very excited and looking forward to my first shipment. Now I just need a cheese club, and I'm set! Actually Williams-Sonoma has a cheese club, but it very expensive.

Oh, and if you continue to run itno problems with comments or whatever else, please let me know. Can't get it fixed if I don't know it's broken :) You can email me at edithna AT yahoo DOT com

I Wonder What the Moose Think?

Look, two posts in a day! Wheee!

Rick Moranis has an op-ed in the New York Times. You can read it on his website.

A snippet:

12 Rms, 8Bths, 38 Wind Turbines

To: The board of directors, 814 Park Avenue

From: Lydia Katherine Powell-Watley, Apartment 10 C-D

Dear Beloved Fellow Neighbors,

As much as it pains me to needlessly waste paper products, here are the suggestions I discussed at the annual shareholders meeting last week. I apologize for having spoken at such length; I’m just so incredibly excited about the idea of having our whole co-op reduce its carbon footprint.

(Fake points to whoever gets the reference in the subject)

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

(I'm still hopeful, that come the new year, I can get the blog fixed, so I haven't quite yet given up hope.)

How Cool!

I'm a big fan of the show 4400, and one of the stars Billy Campbell. But he hasn't been around much this season. Why? Turns out he spent thirteen months crewing on the Picton Castle. How cool is that?

An excerpt from a recent interview:

As for Campbell, who was a crew member of the Picton Castle, he said he appreciated being able to go on his adventure. "I don't remember the precise conversation, but I do remember saying to my agent, 'You know, I'm going to be on a boat for 13 months,' and being shocked when she came back and said, 'Well, they're OK with that,'" Campbell said. "I thought for sure I'd never hear from those guys again. And then, of course, the conversations after that sort of went, 'But they want to know if they need you a few months earlier than 13 months, is that OK?' I said, 'Well, let them know that I'm circumnavigating the planet, and the moment I get back to my starting point, I'll be happy to come back.' And the next conversation was, 'Well, if they need you a few weeks earlier ... ?' But it kept on, and I kept thinking, 'Well, they're probably going to cut me off at some point and say, "You know what? We've thought about this again ... ."' But it never happened, so I was thrilled. It must be one of the only jobs in the world that I could have that would allow me to take a year and sail around the world."

I Love This Thing

A friend turned me onto del.icio.us last week, and it's kewl! Never again will I lose track of that particular article I read a few days ago that I wanted to read again or blog about. and I don't need to email myself links from work to home anymore. Now I have one set of bookmarks I can get to froom anywhere.

In Love

I get lots and lots of catalogs, mostly filled with the same sort of stuff, so not so much in the temptation to buy category. Until today. I got a catalog from a place called Boden in England, and they have a U.S. catalog branch-- whether it's new, I don't know. Oh. My. Goodness!! The clothes are perfect, exactly to my taste, and the kinds of things I never really see here. Then there's the shoes and boots! I could do some serious damage to my bank account if I let myself. So I'm going to file the name of the place away for the day I do have some spare cash for clothes shopping, and in the meantime, just drool over the catalog!

Gone for the Weekend

It's POTC weekend! Yay! We're going out of town today and will be gone till late Sunday. If you have the keys to the blog, feel free to post while I'm gone.

Wonderful News

Jen and Beau are expecting!

If This Is Global Warming...

more please!

We are having one of the nicest summers I ever remember having. Instead of almost constant fog, and never getting much above 68, it's been sunny! And warm enough to walk to work in the morning in nothing but a sweater! I'm enjoying the heck out of this odd, but lovely summer :)

Calling All Trek Fans!

They're having a fund drive on The Corner this week, and if you're a Star Trek fan, there's even more reason to make a donation:

If by noon L.A.-time on Friday (an olive branch to our left-coast friends) NRO’s Star Trek fans have donated $10,000 cumulatively, we will host a Star Trek Day on National Review Online later this month. Our lineup that day will include a package of pieces—from some familiar faces, and some surprises—all about Star Trek. As you donate, just be sure to write “pro-Trek” in the comments somewhere.

Ditty Bops

My new favourite group: The Ditty Bops! Discovered them while going through a listing for all the music that's been on Grey's the last two years. It's kind of a 21st century take on music from the 1940s and 50s. Kind of Andrews Sisters-ish.

Weekend So Far

So yesterday, I did go out and clean down the porch. I dragged the hose in and washed and scrubbed the chairs and the table and all the other surfaces. Then I made a grilled cheese sandwich, and then attacked the bathroom with bleach to get rid off the grunge. Took a break, stuck in Finale II, and decided to make 'Indian Tacos' for dinner. Mistake! They're yummy, but I always forget how long it takes to make the Fry Bread. We ate at nearly 10pm! I also drank three raspberry mojitos in the process. From the time Finale went in around 3pm, we watched HL eps straight through till Chivalry at 2am. Even Nin watched with me, and dug out an old copy of the "Watcher Chronicles" to provide background narration on the Immie of the week [g]

Yum!

We just got this candle. It's delightful! A great kitchen candle.

I love Illuminations!

Dream Trip

What I wouldn't do to go on this trip! Cowboy Junkies rock! And on a train! I love trains!

[bounce]

They're airing Historyonics again on History International! YAY!

I'm Outta Here...

till Monday. Going to Jen's. Taking the cat. She's not going to be happy!

Waiting For The Weekend

We're going to Jen's this weekend, with cat in tow since we can't leave her alone. It's been a year since we visited, when we used to go up every other month before. There's a new hot tub and a new 52'' TV! A weekend of actually leaving the apartment and actually talking to people. Quite a concept.

I Love This Sort Of Thing

A diaelct survey with maps and such.

I absolutly love this sort of thing. One of the things about LOTR that was such a draw, was all the extra stuff about language. When I was about 17, a friend took me to her linguistics college class, and I loved it. Yes, I'm a geek :)

It's A Hit

Geez, is my new haircut popular with the guys at work! Three days later, and I'm getting repeat compliments.

Hair & Stuff

Nin and I got our hair cut on Saturday and our stylist kept the shop open just for us. She's been doing my hair for nearly twenty years, and over the years she's become very much in demand, so it's hard to get an appointment with her. So when her assistant told her I was asking about an appointment for Saturday, she just went ahead and took us after the shop closed. How cool is that? So it was fun with just the three of us. We chatted and gossiped and had a great couple of hours.

As for the rest of the weekend, not much to report. I cleaned a bit, I worked on my Grey's Anatomy/Methos fic, we watched first season Grey's DVDs, and then watched the second season ender of Slings & Arrows.

Sometimes Procrastination Pays!

Two years ago, I figured I should renew my passport, but I'd missed the 12 year issue cutoff by a few months. So I put it off since I had to start all over. Well, today, Nin and I decided we'd procrastinated long enough -- hey, you never know when some handsome stranger is going to want to whisk you to Tahiti or something! -- so we started filling out the forms online. Surprise!! Now the cut off is 15 years! Which means I can renew now, instead of starting all over. HAH!

Gentleman

When I got to work today, it was pouring. So I leapt over the 'river' to get out of the truck and see my boss smoking under an umbrella. He actually walked over to me so I could walk to the warehouse under the umbrella. Isn't that sweet? Manners aren't totally dead :)

'The "L" Word'

Just a note to my fellow Peter Wingfield fans that he's in this week's episode of The "L" Word on Showtime. It's on several times over the next few days.

Mmm!

I have to thank Rue for sendng me the most wonderful perfume samples. I adore them! Now, if only I could afford to buy the actual product! Something to save my pennies for.

Yowza!!

Seems I'm a bit behind on the news, but better late than never! So, without further ado: congratulations Jen and Beau! You'll be wonderful parents!

A Little Friday Girly Posting

I must have these -- perfect for my colouring, and I adore purples and fuchsias.

Both from my favourite makeup company, Smashbox.

And thanks to the lovely Rue, I'll soon have some new scents to try. She's the best! [smooches]

Told you it was going to be a girly post!

'Monty Python’s Personal Best'

“Monty Python’s Personal Best,” a series of six outrageous one-hour specials showcasing the groundbreaking comedians with new footage and original clips, will premiere on PBS February 22, 2006.

Each episode will include members of the original Monty Python troupe performing in favorite clips from their unorthodox television series, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” repurposed with exclusive new material. Each of the five living Pythons — John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin — produced and wrote his own episode, and collaborated to create the sixth special in honor of deceased member Graham Chapman. The episodes will air over a three week period in two-hour blocks on PBS on February 22, March 1 and March 8.

Olympic Ice

If you like figure skating, you realy should check out Olympic Ice on USA every afternoon. First off, it's a lot of fun -- nice mix of pro skaters talking about Olympic figure skating events and humour. And then, you can watch it the next day and only see the skating from the night before, and not have to try and watch it with all the interuptions and ads.

Good stuff!

(And it has Scott Hamilton!)

A Genuine Authour

Fellow Cotillion member Holly has written a book titled "From Here To There":

This book is a non-fiction book, and I very much hope that it will inspire and encourage its readers to support our troops on an individual and personal level. The name of the book is From Here To There and is a collection of true short stories from my personal experiences supporting our troops as a Soldiers Angel, and also includes letters from our troops as well.

Meeces Update

I thought I'd give you all an update on my little mouse pal at the office. Every few days, he'd go rooting around in my trash can, and this morning, I was able to cover it so he couldn't jump out. I took him out to the front yard, and left the trash bag. Little guy must have been terrified, because he didn't come out for nearly two hours. He's now out of the bag, and I left him a little stash of nuts to get him started in his new home.

I'm gonna miss the little fella [sniff]

Everything Old Is New Again

I've been watching General Hospital since the early 80s. I tape it every day and watch it when I get home. But for a while now, it's been more habit than anything, with lots of fast forwarding. Too much Carly -- BLEAH -- too much mob stuff, no characters I care that much about. But! that's all changed. First they brought back Rick Springfield and Kimberly McCollough, and now, my all time favourtie GH star is back -- Tristan Rogers! Emma Samms is following, and rumour has it, Finola Hughes as well. It's so nice that my old favourite has got some electricity back!

And for lots of good GH discussion, check out Captain Anne's GH blog.

Happy Birthday, Robbie Burns

And if you'd like to plan your own Burn's Dinner, check out this site.

Very Nice

Currently drinking a lovely Himalayan tea. Very Darjeeling in character

A Great CD

if your taste runs to music of WWII, you could do no better than get this CD: Forces Sweethearts. I got it when I was in London about ten years ago, and it's a perennial favourite of mine. It was inspired by a book by Joanna Lumley. It has everything from "In the Mood" to "Lili Marlene", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, and "White Cliffs of Dover".

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!!

I just found out that Tristan Rogers AND Emmsa Samms are returning to General Hospital!! [does a Ninjababe dance of glee and destruction around the room]

This is so kewl!

I Changed My Mind

I had no real interest in watching the "Skating With Celebrities" thing on TV, but Nin wanted to at least check out the first episode. In doing so, I discovered Scott Hamilton is the host, and one of the skaters is Kurt Browning! Probably my two favourite skaters ever. And I adore Scotty! I've been a fan of his since back in his National Champion/Pre Olympic gold days. So, I changed my mind -- I'll be watching.

The 24 Phone is Back!

From a friend:

They are running the 24 fan phone again. You can call and if you get through, (That is the hard part. It can take multiple tries.) you can talk to whom ever has the phone at the time. Several people have already talked to producer Jon Cassar. As well as some of the other cast members. It isn't a free call. But, the number is: 310-597-3781

So I was rummaging around in a drawer...

And whaddaya know, I still have Ith's keys! Excellent.

I thought this was pretty cool. What did you get?

Your Mood Ring is Purple

Sensual Clear mind Purpose is known

Ith's Adventures

Howdy, folks — Russ here. I've not posted here since Ith's vacation last April, and I hadn't counted on being able to do so during her current jaunt, but sometimes one is compelled....

We know, of course, that in April she visited Rome, the UK, a national park, and otherwise entertained herself in various and sundry ways.

Now, I can't honestly say I know for a fact where Ith has gone for her present vacation... but I don't think it's a coincidence that just when she disappears on vacation, there are suddenly reports in the media of some very strange happenings in faraway places.

If Ith comes home with khoresh ghaimeh on her breath and her clothes smelling of camel, well, it might not be too much of a stretch to call that an indicator.

This Is A Special One

Last night, Mickey told me she was engaged. Today, she has a blog post up, so I can finally SQUEALLLLL about it here. I've know Mickey for nearly ten years, and no one deserves such happiness more than she does. Go read her story. It proves that true love is timeless.

Another Aisle Walker!

Jami's getting married! I'd link to the announcement post, but I canna find it, Captain! So go find a random post over there to offer your congratulations! :)

Snowball Fight!

A timewaster for your amusement.

Via The Corner

Sailing Away

We were able to reschedule our canceled Lady Washington trip, and went out yesterday. It was a beautiful afternoon, and on the way back, as the sun went down, Monterey Bay was like glass and the sky was orange and red and pink. And I, of course, forgot my camera. I saw jelly fish too! I love jelly fish, but have only seen them at the aqaurium, or dead on the beach, so seeing them in the water below the boat was kewl. Has a nice conversation with the purser about seafaring and the Jack Aubrey books. Turns out that's what made him sign up. He saw the movie, Master & Commander, got a few of the books, read about the Lady Washington, and signed up for the the standard two week volunteer stint. He liked it so much, he applied for the purser's position, and has been there about two months now. They're going to be down at various ports in SoCal over the next couple of months, so check out the schedule on thier website and take the opportunity to visit her. You won't be sorry.

Santa Came Early

Another thank you to my own personal Santas, Jim and Kim, for the Into the West DVDs! Now I can finally see the last episode! I really loved the mini series, and was seriously bummed when my VCR pooped out while I was out of town.

Happy Birthday...

to my favourite NinjaPiglet!!!

Lovely!

I wanted to buy a 3 qt Calphalon Tri-Ply saucepan from Amazon. Now, I can't afford the stuff full price, but I keep my eyes out for the occasional 50% sales. There is such a sale currently. It was ten dollars more from Amazon than buying at Macy's through Amazon, but if you bought the Amazon one, you got free shipping, so I chose Amazon since I was also getting a set of Abbott & Costello DVDs for my father's Xmas gift. I went to buy it this morning, but when I got to the checkout stand, their gift certificate redemption function wasn't working, so I quit it. I just went back, and now the pot from Amazon is now the same price as the cheaper Macy's one, but still with free shipping! Woo! Even better, I'm at the last page of checking out, and they offer me a free three month trial of Amazon Prime. So now, I get my pot in two days, instead of nine the free super saver shipping takes! And the rest of my Christmas shopping will be that much cheaper!

I'm easily pleased.

Today

I may break the 200,000 visitor mark!

Keeping Those Fingers Warm

CTG passed this link on to me in regards to my post earlier today. And another friend told me about these.

For The Tea Drinker With Everything

There's this little gadget.

Thank You!!

Many thanks to Jim and Kim for the Rosemary and Thyme DVDs! A very pleasant surprise indeed :) I'm taking them with me in the New Year to UT to watch with my mum. She loves Brit mysteries with a passion!

Fellow Elizabeth I Fans

Keep an eye out for Masterpiece Theatre and "The Virgin Queen". It's already aired in some markets, but not here yet. Review here.

Kimba The White Lion Is The One!

I don't believe it! My all time favourite cartoon as a kid, is out on DVD. I used to sing the theme song at the top of my lungs. That, and the song from "Here Come The Brides" :)

"Live" Debate

I've never seen a live TV show done -- at least, not since I was a wee one -- so this West Wing episode is quite odd. and what's kewl, is that they're doing a brand new one for the West Coast. Usually we get the shoort end of the stick in these sorts of things.

Later: I don't like live fake debates any more than I like real live dabates! They make me cringe.

Two Takes

Two nice interviews with Keira Knightly about stardom, and her new movie, "Pride and Prejudice". Not sure when it opens in the States, but I'm looking forward to seeing it.

A Special Announcement

It's Deb's birthday!

Happy Birthday, girlfriend! [HUGS]

(p.s. your blog comments are rejecting me again [pout])

The Things You See

I was reading the copy of National Review that came in the mail yesterday, and who do I see mentioned in a Mark Steyn column? None other than Dean Esmay! Very kewl.

And My Pumpkin After Dark

Look At My Pumpkin!

The Slingbox

I saw this being reviewed on FNC this morning, and it looks nifty.

The things they come up with!

Oh Yeah

How'd you like to take a cruise on one of these?

[insert wistful sigh] maybe some decade when I have actual money.

Unsolicited Rec

Econo Heat panels are an amazing invention! I installed one a few weeks back, and it's pretty much replaced my furnace. And it's removed the perpetual dampness.

Did I Mention?

That my extremely noisy upstairs neighbours are moving out? This is kewl for two reasons:

1) less noise

2) other tenants warned me about them when I moved in a year ago (yes, it's been a year!) that they had gotten the previous tenants in my apartment evicted. And the land lord had made a point of what wonderful 20 year tenants they were. So now, if I need to, I can actualy complain about the noise with the new tenants without fear. Hopefully, they'll be quiet!

Flock

New 'Social' Web Browser Based on Firefox

....Analysts estimate there are 10 million to 15 million sophisticated Internet users writing Internet journals—the number is growing daily—and Flock believes this is a prime target market.

For example, when a user discovers a Web site about which he or she wants to post a comment in a blog, the user just right-clicks on the mouse, which then brings up the Flock blogging wizard (Blog Manager).

The browser software then automatically opens a blank blog entry and adds citations and links for the site that originally caught the user's attention.

Flock also has a built-in RSS (search) integration option, so that users can easily scan news headlines and click through to those pages for more information.

Through a partnership with Vancouver, B.C.-based Flickr, Flock offers the Flickr Topbar, which allow users to drag and drop pictures into a blog post.

Flock also a sort of scrapbook for interesting Web content called The Shelf.

Users can drag interesting URLs, pictures or text snippets from any Web page onto it. From there, these items can be inserted into a blogpost.

#4

The Firefly DVDs are ranked number #4 in sales on Amazon. If you haven't seen Firefly yet, what are you waiting for? Go! Shoo!

I Like!

I love watches and I collect them. These are very nice indeed -- they appeal to my sense of whimsy and oddness.

Afternoon Chuckle

This got a laugh from my more conservative than me coworker and my leftist coworker:

Q: What is George W. Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?

A: He really doesn't care how people got out of New Orleans.

Via The Corner

Pretties!

Jema sent me a link to this artist's site. Lots of great Absinthe and Art Nouveau themed things. I love Art Nouveau!

Thank You For The Music

I knew there was something I liked about her.

Stranded

I've been meaning to plug "Stranded with Cash Peters" for a while now, but keep forgetting. Anyway, it's on the Travel Channel on Monday nights and it's a hoot! I don't think there's anything else quite like it on TV -- which is probably a good thing. The premise is he is dropped off in some foreign local with no money, no luggage, and he has to convince the locals to feed and water him. He finds the humour in the places he visits without being mean spirited -- not an easy balance to strike, but he manages.

You can check out his website (designed by clowns even) here.

Random Weekend List

* Watched "The Pacifier". Not bad, worth the rental. Didn't know Lauren Graham was in it, so that was an added bonus.

* Why is it when you go to Circuit City and want to buy something, you can't get the time of day, but when you're just looking around, you get bugged constantly?

* Went to Target and got some containers for the herbs I've been drying for the last three weeks. I now have fresh dried oregeno, basil, rosemary, thyme, and parsely.

* Friday's SciFi was good, especially Battlestar Galactica. I'm totally hooked.

* Watched "Return of the King"

* Used the Borders gift card I got on my birthday and bought lots of books! First up was "Island in the Sea of Time", and I got a few chapters into the sequel, "Against the Tide of Years".

* Managed to avoid any real house cleaning, but did do muchos laundry

Secret VRWC Meeting Tonight

Tonight is our monthly Townhall Monterey/Salinas chapter meeting. If you're in the neighbourhood, you're more than welcome to join us.

Well, since MY page is evidently down.....

....I thought I'd post over here today.

Just wanted to pop in, say Howdy and wish Ith a safe and speedy trip. Although not TOO speedy. Those Smokey Bears are out in force :)

Also, just wanted to remind everyone about Project Valour-IT. Your spare cash can help a wounded soldier communicate with their family. These laptops are by no means top-of-the-line, but they get the job done for a total cost of about $750 each (including Dragon Naturally Speaking), so even a few bucks makes a difference! Here's what one of these computers can do (that's CPT Chuck Ziegenfuss, the inspiration for this project!)

You can read more about PV-IT on its own blog here, or in this post at Techography, or here at Thoughts by Seawitch.

Update: MuNu is back. We had a bad confluence of DNS attacks and Spam floods.....

Yay!

Nin passed her National Certification test!!

MMMMojito

To celebrate Nin's new job, we went out to dinner tonight as a treat. We decided on California Pizza Kitchen at the mall. They had a Raspberry Mojito on the menu, and I'd always wanted to try one, so I got one without the mint -- Ithy no likely mint (unless it's on lamb) -- and it was quite yummy, and went well with the Gorgonzola Pear Pizza and the Artichoke Cheese Dip.

Then we went to GAP (of which there's none in Rohan) to get her some dress pants for work. On the way, we discovered a Cold Stone Creamery had opened, and there was much rejoicing in Nin Land. Of course half of the Peninsula was there too. Being the boonies, there is a mad rush to try any new chain type eatery that we happen to get. We don't get many, so it's a two month sensation.

All in all, an exciting rare night out on the town.

Thank You!!

I received a lovely surprise gift from reader Jim in the mail: Labryinth and Henry V on DVD! Thank you so much, Jim! Your kindness is greatly appreciated.

Wooo!!

Nin got a job! Nin got a job!

And there was much rejoicing!

Georgia Rain

by Trisha Yearwood. My current favourite song on the radio.

Cool 24 Casting

According to this German website, Peter Wingfield will be in the new seaosn of 24!

It's Wonderful!

I have to thank Russ one more time for what he did for the blog. One of the most infuriating things about blogging had been the ever increasing amounts of spam. Since Russ did the upgrade, and added Conversation Killer along with the new MT Blacklist, and I tweaked it to my needs, I haven't had one single piece of spam to deal with. Not one! Before, I would deal with hundreds, sometimes ever day. It's been wonderful! He can do the same for you, and I can't reccomend him enough.

Molly Ringwraith Strikes Again

If you loved her condensed versions of Lord of the Rings, you'll love the condensed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!

Part One

Part Two

[still wiping the tears from my eyes]

Let's Do It Again

That's Entertainment -- Friday, the weekend's almost here edition.

If you've posted a movie/book/TV/DVD review on your blog, leave a link in the comments, or trackback to this post. If you don't have a blog, leave your review in the comments as well.

Lori's Famous!

Look who's in USA Today!

From The Balcony

Statler & Waldorf review the movies.

How kewl is that, I ask you?

Via K-Lo

Pretties

I love watches, and have a nice collection of them. I got an ad from Fossil for a Lord of the Rings Elven watch. It's so pretty!

Of course, in my current dismal financial state, I can't afford it. Such is life.

Wouldn't This Be Great To See?

I saw the Tattoo once about 15 years ago, and it was a highlight of my first trip to Scotland. This year's looks to be a humdinger!

DRAMATIC scenes to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar will be beamed on to the walls of the Castle in one of the highlights of next month's Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The celebration of Admiral Lord Nelson's famous victory, which saw the Royal Navy overcome the combined might of the Spanish and French fleets, will be staged towards the end of this year's sell-out run of shows.

All 217,000 tickets for the three weeks of the annual event were snapped up months ago. Even seats for next Thursday's dress rehearsal were in high demand - selling out in just over an hour yesterday.

The same technology used to beam huge images on to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations will be deployed to transform the Castle during this year's event, which will pay special tribute to the Royal Navy.

The Massed Military Bands, which will include the combined Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, will feature classics including Hearts of Oak, Rule Britannia and Jack the Lad.

A crack commando unit from the Royal Marines will perform dramatic "Indiana Jones-style" action sequences, including abseiling and death-sliding down on to the Esplanade from the Castle.

[...]

This year's Tattoo will also feature a poignant tribute marking 60 years since the end of the Second World War, when the entire 1000-strong cast perform the theme tune to the TV series Band of Brothers. The lone piper will also perform a specially composed piece, Lest We Forget.

It is also expected to be the first and last time all the Scottish regiments will perform at the event together.

The country's six infantry regiments are set to be merged into a single Scottish super-regiment later this year.

The Massed Pipes and Drums will feature all the bands from Scotland's infantry regiments, along with special guests from Australia's Rats of Tobruk, from Melbourne, the City of Wellington Band, from New Zealand, and the South African Irish Band, from Johannesburg.

Weekend Bits

* Utterly awesome to come home after three days and find no spam on the blog! All the safeguards Russ implemented when he did my upgrade worked like a charm!

* Nin aced her first test, but she won't know on the second one for a month. She came back to Jen's about 1/2 hour after she left, and I thought something had gone wrong. She said, no, she'd just finished the test. It was supposed to be a 2 hour test!

* Dave took me and Nin on a date while Jen was at her riding lesson. We had a wonderful Malaysian dinner with a twenty-something Malaysian waiter who only had eyes for Nin and was so attentive, it was hilarious!

* Went swimming two days in a row, and for once, no sunburn!!

* LIFE/Pirates of the Caribbean edition, the tequila version!

The break was very nice, and I did my best to put my worries to the side, figuring they'd still be there when I came home Monday. And they are!

I Should Go Away More Often!

I come home after three days away to see a trackback from Michelle Malkin! Kewl beans!

Partners

Anyone want to go in on a Scottish castle timeshare with me? Huh? Huh?

Eagle & Child

My boss flew to London yesterday and will be working in Oxford all this week. His first morning out, he sent me a piccie!

Click for larger image

This is the Eagle & Child pub, where Tolkien, Lewis, and gang, hung out. My boss has instructions to take pics of anything Tolkien related, but I wasn't expecting a photo so soon!

Unsolicited Advert

Tearing your hair out over your MT blog? Need an upgrade? A tweak? Troubleshooting? Exorcism? Then Russ is your guy, your hero, your "god-like man".

Neat, clean, and punctual. What more could you ask? Oh, and reasonable rates and attention to customer satisfaction!

Call RUSS! That's his name, so that's why you call him that.

Bwahahaha!

Russ put this link in the comments of my last post. I love it!

Jurassic Alaska

Dinosaur Track Found in Alaskan Park (photo at link)

A track from a three-toed dinosaur believed to be about 70 million years old has been discovered in Denali National Park, the first evidence that the animals roamed there, scientists said.

The footprint was found June 27 by a University of Alaska Fairbanks student taking a geology field course.

The fossil is 9 inches long and 6 inches wide, officials said.

The discovery's importance was its location in Interior Alaska, far from the coastline where other tracks have been found, said Anthony Fiorillo, curator of earth sciences at the Dallas Museum of Natural History.

"It's not necessarily the track itself that's significant," he said. "It's where it is that's got us all excited."

Yes, Me

I'm a "Fabulous Sci-Con Babe". Ilyka says so, so it must be true. Goes perfectly with this pic, or this one. And since I'm strolling down memory lane, two posts from my old personal blog about ConJose, Larry Niven, and my brush with greatness. Post one (you may have to scroll down a wee bit), and post two.

Tomorrow, if I remember, I'll post one of my favourite stories about Larry Niven, his mom, and "A Boy and His Dog".

I'm Running Out Of Booties!

As I suspected...

Many hugs and congratulations!

A few moments later: Wait! How could I forget? [ahem] YAY!!

K, I'm done now.

AFI Tribute to George Lucas

It's just started a repeat run on USA, and it's well worth watching! Even if only for William Shatner's opening bit. Nin and I were laughing so hard we were crying.

"Live long! You've already prospered enough!!

Virtual Booties

Margi takes digital pics on a blog to a whole new level.

Congratulations!! (and lots of hugs, of course)

Invisible

Found this over on the Corner. You have to guess the movie with only the costumes and sets visible. The actors have been rendered invisible.

Ith Radio

I've been wasting my time with this. It's my Launch radio station, or what I like to call, "Ith Radio"! I even put a link in the sidebar. Though it only works in IE, more's the pity. But I still have found it to be a lot of fun and a great way to waste time fiddling with it.

Yahoo 360

Thanks to Gennie, I have a Yahoo 360 page. It's in beta, so if you'd like an invite, let me know. Mine is a little sparse right now, so Gennie's will give you a better idea of what it's supposed to look like.

What To Say?

So I'm officially a pen pal for a service member in Iraq. But here's where I need your help! I don't know who this person will be. The letter I write will be given to someone once it arrives. So what should I say, what information should I include, what do you think a soldier in Iraq wants to read when they get a mystery letter from the USA? I've never written a 'blind' letter before, so any advice would be appreciated!

Good Old Days

Michele's latest, "100 Words" brings back all sorts of great early teenage memories.

I think I should call my brother today. All this remebering reminds me I miss him not being around anymore. My little brother, and he turns 40 this birthday.

Thanks, Michele!

Come On Get Happy!

That's "Doctor CalTechGirl" to you!

[Hugs the Blog]

We're back!!

The hosting company had a hard drive die at some point late last night, so we all went 'poof'. I was having withdrawal! [pets the blog]

Smell-o-Vision

Emeril is always telling his viewers to contact their cable company and ask for "smell-o-vision". Well, it looks like you may be able to actually do that soon!

Good News On The Wolf Front

Marlin Perkins' Legacy: Wild Wolves Bred at Facility

Two artificially inseminated Mexican gray wolves recently birthed a combined eight living pups at a research site founded by late naturalist Marlin Perkins, marking perhaps the first time the non-surgical technique has worked with endangered wolves.

Wildlife officials cheered word of the newcomers to the St. Louis-area Wild Canid Survival and Research Center -- the world's largest holder and breeder of Mexican gray wolves -- as proof of the technology's usefulness in rebuilding the population of the animals.

Among other things, the "phenomenal'' breakthrough someday may enable noninvasive fertilization of female wolves in the wild, no longer requiring them to be caged or disruptively brought in for insemination, said Kim Scott, the center's assistant director.

"This could have huge implications for future genetic management of Mexican wolves,'' said Colleen Buchanan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Surgical inseminations have been done previously with endangered red wolves, though the noninvasive technique now appears to work with the Mexican wolves.

Of the nine pups born -- six on May 4, three on April 30 -- eight still were alive Monday and "are all doing wonderful, doing great,'' growing and increasingly vocalizing, Scott said.

It Get's Better!

It's "National Sea Monkey Day"!

(I refuse to accept they're actually only brine shrimp)

Now For The Important News Of The Day

Forget about George and his Jawa Jumping, this is what I'm celebrating this morning: Court Lets Wine Lovers to Buy Out-Of-State

Wine lovers may buy directly from out-of-state vineyards, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, striking down laws banning a practice that has flourished because of the Internet and growing popularity of winery tours.

The 5-4 decision overturns laws in New York and Michigan, which supporters said were aimed at protecting local wineries and limiting underage drinkers from purchasing wine without showing proof of age. In all, 24 states have laws barring interstate shipments.

The court said the state bans are discriminatory and anticompetitive.

Via The Corner

Wedding Bells

V just told me that Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger just got married! Wow, that's a surprise. Didn't even know they were a couple. And what an interesting combo. A singelton no more :)

Oh, yeah... I wonder if she thinks his tractor's sexy?

Later: a picture of the wedding couple.

This Makes Me Happy

I don't know if any of my readers are Bay Area natives dating as far back as me, but when I was a little girl, I adored "Children's Fairyland" at Lake Merritt in Oakland. I was reading this wonderful retrospective on Disneyland's 50th anniversary and discovered this :

7. Children's Fairyland in Oakland was one of the major inspirations for Disneyland. Walt Disney even hired Fairyland's first director, Dorothy Manes, to work at his park.

One of my earliest memories is of visiting Fairyland -- lost a shoe there once with my great-aunt -- so it's nice to know it still lives on at my favourite place: Disneyland.

Thank You!!

I'd like to thank whoever clicked through the Absinthe store link and bought such a large amount! First off, enjoy! And second, thank you! I've never made so much money from the blog before. Thanks to you, I'm about 1/2 way to being able to buy the newest version of MT!

YAY!!

Ith Comes Back, Today

I am not trying to make up for lost time by posting like a mad-woman before Ith takes away my power. Nope! ;-)

TV News:

Tonight is a Fresh Episode of Gilmore Girls:

"But I'm a Gilmore!
The reaction of Logan's parents' to Rory and Logan's relationship shocks Rory; when Sookie is placed on bed rest, Lorelai calls on Luke to serve as the interim chef at the Dragonfly Inn."

Watch for Ith...she's the one playing the role of Lorelai's long-lost red-headed cousin.

In fact, Ith is quite the movie star, tonight. She'll be on The Amazing Race, standing thisclose to Phil at the mat.

All in all, it should be an interesting evening of TV.

Ith's Vacation - IV

Today being Earth Day, and having enough free time to do some serious thinking, Ith has decided to celebrate in a somewhat unusual way. Since she has a perfectly natural Terran superiority complex, she's decided to blow up all the other planets.

In aid of which, it occurs to me that all her loyal readers could help her defray the costs of the program (tenatively named "Operation Blow Up All The Other Planets," pending further review) by hitting her tip jar or even by relieving her of the need to buy stuff out of her own Amazon wishlist.

So go there and lend a hand.

That'll show those other planets who's boss!

[If I may be allowed a moment of shameless self promotion, here's a link to my own Earth Day post.]

Ith's Vacation - III

On her travels, Ith stopped by Niagara Falls yesterday.

She reports that the amusement park there is mostly unexciting... except that they have a killer Log Ride.

Ith's Vacation - II

Having wrought only very minor havoc in Rome, Ith has winged her way back stateside.

But not before a brief layover in the UK, where she could engage in a bit of sausage flinging.

Ith's Vacation

Ith's travels so far have been fairly interesting. Last night and today she was visiting Vatican City.

Now, I'm not saying it was her, but word on the street is that someone rigged a fire suppression system to the Papal Selection Indicator Smokestack.

Shameless Self Promotion

Here are a couple of entries I posted today for your reading pleasure...

If you're interested in Brit politics, check out this post.

If you want to see some pictures from my recent trip to Savannah, check here.

Dining In

Yesterday, in an effort to harken back to my Army linguist days (I went to language school right there in Ith's home turf), I made an attempt to prepare the Korean dish called chap chae (잡채).

For the record: apart from being an über-geek and a shameless self-promoter, I am apparently also an amazing cook (or just the beneficiary of a massive dose of beginner's luck.)

Look on my 잡채, ye hungry, and drool.

Free Cone Day!

Just a reminder that the Ben & Jerry's "Free Cone Day" is tomorrow, April 19th. Take the day off work to go get you some free ice cream! Is there a Scoop Shop near you?*

*if not, I apologize. Go to work as usual, pay for your own darn ice cream, and we'll pretend I never said a thing... ;-)

Taking a Packing Break

It's kind of fun to open your blog and be surprised at what you see posted!

I am going to be doing something blog related while I'm away -- Wed. Nin and I are having lunch with Rae, who lives a few towns up from my parents.

More Cool Stuff

At dinner with friends a few weeks back, I was talking about somthing similar to this. The project I was talking about was specific to Scotland, but this one is world wide. I'd love to be involved with this!

Via the Llama Dudes.

Revels

Jen's arrived for a girl's weekend, and she and nin have gone to pick up sushi while I test out the sake. Haircut tomorrow and shopping, then home for cheese grits and shrimp and some sort of chocolate dessert. Movies and random DVDs in between with our usual three hours of Scifi channel tonight.

Fashion Show

Margi and Russ gave me an idea!

As an addition to the planned Tartan Day festivities, let's also have a fashion show of sorts. Friday, April 1st, I'm going to put up a photo post, and if you have a pic of yourself in some sort of Scottish attire, post it on your blog and link back, or leave your URL in the comments. So you have plenty of time to dig up that photo of you in a kilt, or plaid of some sort, to put up on your blog.

It's Friday!

Which is kewl in and of itself of course, but then there's a whole night of SF in store. when Nin gets home, I'll make dinner, watch my tape of General Hospital and settle down at 8pm for Stargate.

Talk at y'all later!

I'm Booze!

I tashte like Alcohol. Heh. Heh. I taste like beer. I like beer. Buy me a beer. I'm not drunk, I can drink plenty without... What was I saying? Beer. What Flavour Are You?

Blame this one on the Livster.

It's All About The Tea

Fugitive Jen turned me onto a promotion that Adagio Tea is running. Basically, you put a link to them on your webapge, and based on your google ranking, they send you a thank you gift. Nifty, huh? So I put two links on the sidebar -- one for tea and one for teaware.

Will blog for tea! (and for tequila) (duh!) (wine even)

Survivor On Ice

Hey, the suits must have been listening to me! I've been wanting a cold weather version for a while now.

.... Here's another possible first: a cold edition of "Survivor" set in Canada.

"One day we were gonna run out of beaches," said Probst. "It would be a lot more bleaker. You're not gonna have any sexy water challenges. I think we'll have to seriously think about it. Creatively, it offers something totally new. Our audience is loyal so I think our audience would stay with us."

Name Gizmo

Found this over at Jay & Deb's. It's very nifty and very time wasting :)

It's interesting to compare a name like "Ruby" which was very popular in the early part of the lasy century, to a name like “Rhiannon” which only starts to register in the last decade or so.

Best Wishes

All the best to Prince Charles and Camilla for a happy marriage. I'm glad to see them finally being able to "make it legal". After 30 years, more or less, it was time. And when a lot of powerful men of his age are chasing women young enough to be their daughters, it's nice to see Charles staying with somone he's known for so long, and in the same age bracket!

Sharing

Found a nice pic of Johnny Depp at the SAG's here. Looks like he's growing in his Jack Sparrow hair and beard.

Programming Reminder

If you haven't caught "House" yet, might I suggest tuning in tonight? By all accounts, it's going to be an excellent episode.

And afterwards, here's a place to discuss the show.

Heartbeat

A new fragrance that sounds right up my alley -- though without the heart shaped bottle, please!