Details Are Sketchy

The Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart

2008-10-06T19:48:00.002-05:00

Priceless. The original article by adennak at the Daily Kos.

Here's my Palin theory, because actually taking this seriously is unfathomable.

Shortly after her nomination and all the subsequent disastrous interviews, the Republican Party decided that she was dead in the water so they might as well take advantage of it. Armed only with her gender and folksy charm, she will sling all the mud they need a'slinging. Then! Right before the election, due to her obvious ineptitude, she is replaced by someone whose past evil deeds and incompetence are buried too deep to be discovered until after they are elected. (Let's say Huckabee. A Palin with a penis?)

What makes me really angry? As a country...are we seriously saying she is the best female we have to offer? Whether or not she truly embodies all the tired and distasteful feminine stereotypes she exhibits (Please God, let's hope not), she has yet to do anything to show us different. Isn't the not-quite-dumb-girl-playing-dumb-to-get-what-she-wants the oldest one in the book?

Also, I couldn't care less if her job as VP would interfere with her parenting. That's her business, and it's sexist to even ask the question...until we ask it of men, as well. Ultimately, each of us are going to screw up our kids in our own unique way with our various life decisions, it's the country we are leaving them that we should be concerned about.

Madness 2008

2008-10-01T18:19:00.004-05:00

A collection of random rants…

Yellow Carded – My Boy plays in an Under 12 soccer league. Yesterday, he got his first yellow card. It wasn’t just his first yellow card…it was the first time I had seen ANY child EVER yellow carded. I don’t think he was the first ever…just the first that I or any of his teammates or anyone associated with his team had ever seen carded. He was just trying to score a goal and playing aggressively, which is what a striker should be doing. Nobody was hurt, nobody was traumatized, or scarred for life…so, I guess this isn’t really a rant. I’m actually pretty proud.

Powerball – I spent Sunday at the Tulsa Zoo with gclark and My Boy. A good time was had by all, perhaps such a good time that for a moment I forgot my damnable luck and decided I needed a few Oklahoma Lottery tickets. Needless to say, I didn’t win jack. I even hurried home today to check my Powerball numbers...as if. I NEVER win anything, ever…it’s just a given at this point. Once I won a “stereo component,” it was a door prize that some radio station was giving away at a concert in Little Rock. Marisa may remember this; we reacted as if it was the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstake. It was right after my divorce and I thought maybe my luck was changing. But…it being a “stereo component,” to get it to actually work would have required an additional investment which I was unwilling to make (which, turns out, was exactly the same as my married luck). So, basically, I’m bitter that I didn’t win the Powerball or at least another scratch card or something. The fact that Arkansas insists on giving all of its gambler’s money to Oklahoma or Missouri or Mississippi or Louisiana schools makes it suck just that much harder.

Chinese Milk – I’m sorry, but when cheap unethical bastards add a chemical to a food product which causes serious illness and gives little babies kidney stones…it’s not “contaminated” milk or “tainted” milk…it’s called poisoned milk. Whether Capitalist or Communist, there’s a special place in hell for people like that.

Bail Out – Close examination of the position we find ourselves in now tells you all you need to know about the leadership we have had for the past several years (you know…just in case you slept through the war, Katrina, etc.). Is it torch and pitchfork time yet?

McCain/Palin – They say that the Republican Party is so successful because they have managed to craft their base from two large sectors of the American public…the extremely wealthy and fabulously stupid. Apparently, this ticket is their ignorich hybrid, designed to maximize their appeal with both groups. Throw in the racists and I’m afraid they have once again got a winning formula. I’m scared…and not at all proud of what we are becoming.

Prove me wrong, America!

Roger Spacey

2008-09-21T21:45:00.007-05:00

Ok, so I haven't been around here much lately...but this is important. A really great guy (and a Chelsea fan) was killed in the L.A. train collision on September 12, 2008. I had the pleasure of meeting Roger Spacey only once, but I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation which involved two of my favorite topics...Jose Mourinho and pie-in-the-skying about opening a soccer pub in Northwest Arkansas. He is certainly missed by his family, his many friends, and all those that knew him; I regret being denied the opportunity to visit with him some more at Lucky Baldwin's.

Left to Right: Roger Spacey, Baker, and me.
May 13, 2006 FA Cup Final
Half-time at Lucky Baldwin's in Pasadena, CA.

The Audacity of Hopelessness

2008-05-22T21:01:00.002-05:00

Occasionally, I freelance over on gclark's blog. Here is my Chelsea-centric recap of last night's Champions League Final.

The Audacity of Hopelessness

…Or, reflections after Wednesday’s Champions League Final.

gclark and I watched the game delayed, after a day of much anticipation and considerable anxiety on my part. The only inklings I had about the game seemed to indicate that we were going to have to endure penalty kicks, so I was considerably worked up by game time. I sure didn’t have a good feeling about it and I guess it’s nothing but masochism that makes me watch with our resident Chelsea-hater. You can bet he was warned, though. If at any point the Gooner felt the need to be smug, he was cautioned to ponder how his team went Arse up and didn’t even manage to stay in contention for ANYTHING after such a fabulous start to the season. Yeah, I talked entirely too much smack; even threatened bodily harm if Chelsea lost, the likes of which could be compared to a Scotsman without his Big Screen. I feel bad about it, and much like the Scots…I blame the bourbon.

My hopelessness was not unfounded. What the hell was that with Drogba’s (deserved) red card? What was he thinking bitch-slappin’ folks like there was a four-day vacation riding on it? I’ve defended and sympathized with Drogba time and time again, mostly because he may be the only person on the planet with a bigger crush on Jose than me…but damn, I was embarrassed for him. What a way to go out.

Poor, poor John Terry. I don’t care who you are or what you think about him, you couldn’t help but feel simply awful about him missing the game winning PK because he SLIPPED! That is stuff of which nightmares are made. I hope he was able to drink himself into oblivion last night and put it behind him this morning.

There were a few highlights from the game. I was absolutely thrilled that the first half was commentated by Clarence Seedorf. How awesome is that? I’ll tell ya, the kind of awesomeness that could only be matched by Cristiano Ronaldo making a complete ass of himself during his penalty kick…and not in a sympathetic way like JT, but in a way that he fully deserved. And I can’t help but be pleased for and proud of Scholes and Giggs, even if all that was somewhat under my radar in the midst of my own angst.

I gotta say…the worst part of last night’s game was the nagging thought in the back of my mind that I was witnessing the end of an era, the end of the only Chelsea I have ever known. There is a damn good chance that many on the team will spend Thursday getting their shit together to go elsewhere next season. We can only hope they will all soon be reunited again with Jose in that big football league in the sky, Serie A. My preference? AC Milan.

Oh, and happy belated birthday, KFB. Hope you had a good one, in spite of it all. I feel your pain.

123rd page, 5th sentence.

2008-05-12T19:37:00.002-05:00

Suckers always get tagged. Here's the latest.

1) Pick up the nearest book.
2) Open to page 123.
3) Locate the fifth sentence.
4) Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing…
5) Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Here's mine:

"He does for I heard him do it. We cut a parcel of crazy pilgrims down off the Llano and the old man in the lead of them he spoke right up in dutch like we were all of us in dutchland and the judge give him right back. Glanton come near fallin off his horse."

From Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy. Consider yourselves lucky, you had a 9 out of 10 chance of getting a passage about scalping, bloody human body parts, dried human body parts, or viscera of some sort. He’s fond of the viscera.

Me and a buncha other MyFootballClub.co.uk members are reading Blood Meridian in our “MyBookClub.” You may ask yourself...isn't there anything I can't nerd-up? No, no there isn't.

Gclark is the responsible party. He says he didn't formally tag anyone, but he's a liar, don't believe him. I'm really not going to tag anyone...because all my friends are illiterate.

More Sonic Youth

2008-04-28T18:05:00.003-05:00

Possum (gclark, my fiance, whatever) did a much better review of the show here.

I went to a concert...

2008-04-27T23:53:00.004-05:00

Sonic Youth was awesome! Didn't make it to see Blind Melon because I was old and drunk. Had a great time anyway.

Sonic Youth @ Dickson Street Music Festival!

2008-04-26T14:17:00.006-05:00

Tonite's the nite! Can you believe it's Sonic Youth's first time to perform in Arkansas? Hard to imagine, ain't it? They will be playing at the Dickson Street Music Festival/Springfest tonight. As Pitchfork pointed out, it is a rather...uhm, eclectic lineup. Little sumptin sumptin for everyone, I suppose. I'll probably just head on over to George's afterwards, catch a little Blind Melon, and pretend like it is still the 90s.

Our Town

2008-03-22T23:17:00.003-05:00

The Fayetteville Panorama Project

These are some really cool photos of Fayetteville by Steve Moore. This area is growing so rapidly, it's good to see that someone is documenting the development.

Watch The Football!

2008-03-02T21:55:00.001-06:00

Massively mattering to someone, presumably. Hail yeah!

Observations

2008-02-26T22:05:00.005-06:00

1. Yesterday, I saw jonquils coming up in one of the flowerbeds down by the Square! I was so excited...I mean a visceral, spring-feverish, type excited...even before my brain had fully processed what it was I was seeing. I'm just gonna hold on to the thought that spring is right around the corner.

2. Why do people get louder when they are leave-taking? Notice it? Folks coming out of doctor's exam rooms or ending a cell phone call, their volume goes way up. Why is that?

3. I still REALLY like Vampire Weekend. This is a little strange, because I am fully aware of the potential to be annoying. So far, I'm still OK with it.

4. The incongruity of these preppy white boys singing African music reminded me of MY album cover. "You're album cover?" you are probably asking yourself. Why, yes! It's this little bit of interweb fun that I meant to share a couple of months ago, but was too busy making up album covers to ever get around to it. Here's what you need to do to create your own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
(The first article title on the page is the name of your band.)

http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
(The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.)

http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Use the graphics program of your choice to throw them together and then share the results here! It'll be fun!

So, yeah, if ever this white girl wants to start singing ethnically incongruous music...I'm all set! Hey, it's working for Jamie T and Vampire Weekend!

C'mon! Now show me yours!

*Note: that is not me nor my engagement ring pictured above. I couldn't get my camera to work properly. Maybe one day I will manage to take pictures of my own damn hand and post them. Altho, I would much rather show y'all in person!

EDIT: See...fun and addictive! I got this one just checking to make sure my links worked!

The Fleet, Vampire Weekend, and a Proposal

2008-02-19T15:50:00.004-06:00

OK, so, just because I don't blog doesn't mean that there is nothing going on...there it too damn much going on. Man, y'all sure are missing out on a lot of bitching about my chemistry class and a lot of cussing about my hard-headed nine year old that's giving me absolute fits. (Except for Possum, he gets daily doses.) To top it all off, in a stunning display of complete self-unawareness, I decided to give up dranking for Lent. If ever I ever needed to be besotted...it's now.

Here's the interesting parts:

Today is THE DAY! MyFootballClub + Ebbsfleet United = Done Deal! I am now officially a joint owner of Ebbsfleet United football club; me and over 28,250 MyFootballClub members own a 75% stake in the football club. Now the fun really begins! (It's not too late to join, if'n you're interested!)

Possum's New Year Resolution this year is to watch 200 movies that he has never seen before. So, I have/will see(n) a few, I won't see all 200, I just don't have as much time to waste as he does. Anyway, I had hoped to kinda keep up with them too, kinda like a Siskel and Ebert thang. I haven't managed that so far, but maybe one day I'll be able to catch up. So far, I think my favorites have been This Is England and Juno.

***New Favorite Band ALERT***

Vampire Weekend....these guys are awesome. Their songs are just so doggone happy. It just tickles me to no end to hear these preppy Cape Cod-type boys referencing Lil Jon's Get Low in one of my favorite songs, Oxford Comma. That's worth the price of admission right there...but I've yet to dislike any of their other songs either.

Also, the Juno soundtrack is packed with a lot of sweet little songs (sweet in the traditional sense, not "sweet soundtrack, dude"...ya know what I mean?) I like it, even if it did make me feel old. I realized all those kids I used to babysit that drove me crazy with Wee Sing Silly Songs are now old enough to be writing songs of there own. And I mean that in the best possible way; I love the soundtrack, it's just that the similarities in style are uncanny. Best part ever? There are two...count 'em TWO!...Belle and Sebastian songs on there!

Speaking of feeling old, I had a birthday back at the end of January. It was really fun and low key, not my usual birthday shenanigans. Possum and I spent the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend at the lake. It was cold and dreary and lovely, because we had a fireplace to sit by and plenty of wine and vodka drinks. I'm pleased with the fact that I didn't wear shoes for the entire 3 days. On my actual birthday, we went to Taste of Thai and I had some yummy Duck Curry and then we went to see Atonement at the new theater. It was good, it "looked" just like the novel, but I enjoyed the book better. Probably because I don't like Keira Knightley much.

Valentine's Day was fun, for a Thursday. I met some of the old Charismatic Rats pack at U.S. Pizza. We were a relatively subdued group, no beer. I gave it up for Lent, remember? See? I AM being good! And Zenedrine is doing the whole "bun in the oven" thing. Dr. Performance (who needs a new name) just drank Diet Coke and chastised us for being no fun.

But wait, that's not all! As if pizza, water, and an upbraiding from Dr. Performance wasn't enough V-Day fun...Possum asked me to marry him! Yay!!! And I even got a real purty ring for saying yes. :-) I promised Marisa pictures, I'll try to do that while it is all shiny and new looking. David Adams designed it, based on our vague suggestions, and he did a fabulous job. Don't rush out to Dillard's to buy a blender quite yet, though. It's going to be a very looong engagement; we're planning a honeymoon in England...just as soon as The Fleet are playing in the Premier League! ;-)

Jon & Stephen!

2008-01-07T19:07:00.000-06:00

They're back! They're back! I've missed them sooo. The "Daily Show" and the "Colbert Report" return tonight! It's about time. I've been adrift without them. How is a busy, young, liberal-leaning, quasi-aware chick supposed to know what to think, what to believe??? It's high time I started forming some opinions and regurgitating some pithy remarks about this here...whatchamacallit...Presidential Election.

Either that, or maybe everyone else should just say screw it and do what I have been doing for the last couple of months...memorizing all the words to "The Soup Song".

Soup Soup, a tasty Soup Soup
A spicy Carrot and Coriander
CHILI CHOWDER
Crouton Crouton
Crunchy friends in a liquid broth
I am Gazpacho...ooh
I am a summer soup...mmm
Miso Miso
Fighting in the dojo
Miso Miso
Oriental Prince in the Land of Soup!

Now, if Jon and Stephen suck...sans-writers...there is always "The Bouncy Castle Crimp".

Please help me, Jon and Stephen.

Sounds of 2007

2008-01-03T19:43:00.000-06:00

This is just the same list that used to be over there in the sidebar. It's a new year now. Time to start over. And what better way, really?

*Songs of MySpace (2007)***

The View-Same Jeans

The Kooks-She Moves In Her Own Way

Bananarama & Fun Boy Three-It Ain't What You Do

Lariken Love-Happy As Annie

Jamie T-If You've Got the Money

Pigeon Detectives-Romantic Type

The Toy Guns-Shoot the Boy

The Bees-Who Cares What the Question Is?

Los Campesinos-We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives

The Maccabees-About Your Dress

The Format-Dead End(Live)

Razorlight-Before I Fall to Pieces

Calvin Harris-Acceptable in the 80s

Regina Spektor-Fedelity

The Format-She Doesn't Get It

Bloc Party-I Still Remember

Amy Winehouse-Rehab

Jaimie T-Sheila

The Fratellis-Chelsea Dagger

Thou Shalt Always Kill-Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

Midnight Star-No Parking on the Dance Floor

The Toy Guns-Seaside Treats

The Fratellis-Whistle For the Choir

Pink Martini-Hey Eugene

Fountains of Wayne-Someone to Love

The White Stripes-Icky Thump

The Maccabees-Toothpaste Kisses live @ Glastonbury 2007

The Format-Inches and Falling(live in Chicago-until there is a real vid)

Travis-Selfish Jean

Arctic Monkeys-Fluorescent Adolescent

The Killers-For Reasons Unknown

Wilco-The Thanks I Get

Jeff Tweedy-Nothing Up My Sleeve

Travis-My Eyes

The Kinks-Strangers

Ben Sollee-Prettiest Tree on the Mountain

Happy 2008

2007-12-17T19:51:00.000-06:00

Hey diddly ho, neglectorinos!

I fully intended to do a comprehensive review of 2007 but indicative of the entire year I failed to find the time or the inclination. So here is just a breakdown of the things that I liked and the things that sucked about the previous year.

2007 Good Things

Music: Jamie T's "Panic Prevention" was my fav. I also enjoyed The View, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Travis, The Bees, Amy Winehouse, The Fratellis...oh, just check out the sidebar for a more comprehensive list. Or, lookie here...last.fm.

Movies: Pan's Labyrinth and The Darjeeling Limited

Books: Check out Goodreads; and for God's sake, if you are a reader and so inclined, add me as a friend. I ain't got none. Disturbingly, I have discovered that all of Possum's friends hate me.

TeeVee: The writer's strike sucks for the writer's and all, but man, oh man, there is no end of the goodness of to be found in the UK... particularly, The Mighty Boosh! I lurv Vince Noir! I wanna be a crimpologist! "Where can't you go with crimping?"

Ed-juh-muh-cation: I took two classes this past semester! I made "A"s!!! My Lit II teacher said that nobody has ever scored as high as I did in his 20+ years of teaching! Just in case any of you needed any confirmation of my brilliance. Lord have mercy, I sure needed the reassurance. I hadn't taken a class in over a decade and I was afraid my brain was fulled-up on random sh*t like The Mighty Boosh. In all honesty, my academic success probably had more to do with my paranoid overkill than anything else. That's my advice for the year...write lots, kids. You get "A"s when your teacher gets tired of reading.

Sports: Arkansas beating LSU, the FA Cup Final, discovering MyFootballClub.co.uk. Seriously, MyFC has been a blast; I've "met" lots of cool folks and we almost have a really cool team. Up the Fleet! I can't wait to go to a game!

Boyfriend: I have the best. Most all the good stuff wouldn't be possible without him and the bad stuff would suck much worse.

The Bestest: One of my bestest friends Marisa had a baby! Congratulations, girlie! You are going to be a great mama and I can't wait to see the little darling! He's the closest thing to a nephew I may ever have!

2007 Things that Sucked

Employment: All the drama at my old job...I'm glad that's all behind me now. Sooo, I guess this should really be in the above category. Although, I do dearly miss my regular visits with all the Charismatic Rats.

Sports: By far the worst was when Jose Mourinho left Chelsea. I still can't talk about it.

The Worstest: Saying goodbye to my grandmother, E.

So there ya go, folks. 2007. I'm sure I left out lots, but that's all the looking back I'm prepared to do. It's 2008! Hope that it's the best ever for all of you.

Happy Repeal Day!

2007-12-05T19:15:00.000-06:00

Now, excuse me while I go get drunk.

You should too! If you don't...then that means you hate America.

Drumroll, Please...

2007-11-14T00:30:00.000-06:00

Ebbsfleet United!!!

If I wasn't so sleepy, I would write more. I'm tickled pink!

www.myfootballclub.co.uk

Food, Critters, and More!

2007-11-04T19:28:00.000-06:00

Or, A Few Reasons This Weekend Rocked

Possum
Lake House
Deck Overlooking Lake at Said Lake House
An Extra Hour
Fried Catfish and BBQ Chicken
Gas Fireplace
Arsenal V Manchester United and Egg Sandwiches
Dogs That Lay In the Middle of the Road
Deer That Stand In the Middle of the Road
Mr. Smith
Ladybug Swarms
Drunken Conversation In Which I Try To Convince Possum He Has To Die Before I Do, Because "Women Just Deal With Those Things Better" and I Don't Want Him To Endure the Agony of Having To Live Without Me.
Vodka and Lemonaid
The Razorbacks Win
King-Size Bed
Fat Friendly Roadrunner
Remembering Life Is Good

Uhhh, Let's See...

2007-11-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

Betcha thought I forgot about ya, didn't ya Internetty!?!?

I have been busy with real-life stuff that's frankly just too uninteresting to share. Maybe by now I have saved up enough semi-interesting stuff that when presented together may seem as though I have a life.

I quit my job because it sucked. I have been unemployed for four days, but I'm supposed to start a new adventure next Tuesday. Oh boy!

To celebrate my unemployment I got my hair cut and colored, a manicure, and a pedicure. It took over four hours at the spa to complete the overhaul.

Possum and I went to Fayetteville's swanky new movie theater last weekend. Malco's Razorback Cinema just opened and it's really nice. It's about damn time Fayetteville had a decent place to go see a movie!

We saw the much anticipated (by us , anyway) new Wes Anderson movie, The Darjeeling Limited. I just loved it. Everything about it was just so...pretty. I can say that in spite of the fact that Owen Wilson spent 99.9% of the time with his whole head swaddled in gauze and bandages, and what we did see was horribly disfigured...but hey, still pretty. If you don't already have India on your "must visit before I'm senile" list, you will.

And...if that wasn't keeping me busy enough, I am getting preciously close to being the owner of a British Football (uh, soccer) team!!! You know, me and about 50,000 other folks. I'm so excited I can barely stand it! www.myfootballclub.co.uk!!!

Internets, probably the next time you check-in I'll be able to tell you the story of my sucky job, the story of my new (hopefully less-sucky) job, and maybe even what team I own! Stay tuned!

"History is the set of questions we in the present ask the past."

2007-09-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

I haven't yet, but I'm really excited to watch Ken Burns' new documentary "The War". Yes, I know. I never claimed I WASN'T a nerd.

There was a good interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Distraught

2007-09-22T15:09:00.001-05:00

Where did you go, Jose?

He's still "The Special One". Just ask his wife.

Me...in 50 Years

2007-09-01T00:48:00.001-05:00

The Catherine Tate Show - Nan

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Demetri Martin is Cute

2007-08-26T11:35:00.001-05:00

Demetri Martin + Travis=Goodness

OK, everybody...I'll see ya when I see ya. School has started and I am taking classes for the first time in over a decade! Lord have mercy! It's soccer time again, too. I'm a busy gal.

Venting My Spleen

2007-08-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

I prefer not to dwell on the all-consuming horrendousness* that has consumed every waking moment of the week thus far. Instead, I choose to relish the one little ray of sunshine in my otherwise bleak existence. I'm number 1 out of 6 in my Fantasy Football(soccer) group!!! I'm number 29 out of all the folks in the Yahoo "Fans of Sunderland" group. I'm listed right up there with the Top 50, baby! Now, I'm not sure if this is indicative of any FF brilliance on my part, maybe it just says something about your average Sunderland fan. Either way, at this point I'm pretty pleased with the results of hitching my wagon to the Keane-O star.**

“If a player doesn’t want to come to Sunderland then all well and good,” The Guardian quoted Keane. “But if he decides he doesn’t want to come because his wife wants to go shopping in London, then it’s a sad state of affairs. It’s not a football move, it’s a lifestyle move. It tells me the player is weak and his wife runs his life.”

The Telegraph reported, “Keane’s recruitment campaign has been hit by a series of snubs and the former Manchester United midfield hard man last night vented his spleen.”

Keane said: “If there is nothing to do [in the northeast of England] then find something, because people who are bored are boring. Someone once told me that. People who get bored coming up to the North-east, they are bored because they are boring. It is nothing to do with the shops. Football has got to be the priority.”

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/keane-o-vs-wags/

* Just stupid work sh!t. Nevermind the melodrama.
** Jose, no one can take your place in my heart. No matter how much spleen venting he does.

Forget Fantasy Football...This Is The Real Deal

2007-08-11T19:43:00.001-05:00

This is my chance to prove to the world that I'm the next Jose Mourinho! For 35 quid I am now the proud owner of (to be determined) Football Club! I'll be sure to keep you abreast of the ins and outs of big time British football management.

The Dog Days of Summer Pop-Culture Extravaganza!!!

2007-08-07T18:33:00.000-05:00

Okay internets, maybe I did forget about you. Sorry. In addition to taking life by the neck and attempting to give it a good shake like a terrier with a fat rat...here's the nonsense I have been attending to.

Knocked Up---Cute, but if you missed it in theaters...don't sweat it. It's more of a Netflixer anyway.

The Simpsons Movie---If you like the TV show, you'll like the movie. I went with two nine year old boys who thought it was the best, most hilarious movie they had ever seen. This resulted in a rousing rendition of "Spider Pig"...not once, not twice, repeatedly. On a more personal note, in the theater the nine year olds had to sit a couple of seats down the aisle from me. I am officially uncool.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix---I sure don't have anything bad to say about it. It's grimmer and more "real" than the previous films. I tend to prefer the flight-of-fancy quality of the third one though. No matter, you should be reading the books. Which leads me to where the bulk of my Potter attention has been focused...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows---Ooo Wee...as disappointed as I am that it's over, I'm OK with how it all wraps up (epilogue aside). No spoilers here though.

Octopus by The Bees (known in US as A Band of Bees)---Perfect 60/70ish summertime music, but with just enough '07. Makes me think of The Rascals or Three Dog Night or something, but I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. Check it out for yourself; it'll make you feel good.

Calling the World by Rooney---Here's some more goodtimesummertime music that Possum and I have been listening to continuously. Sounds like snowcones! (We are such 13 year old girls)

That's all folks.

Triple Seven

2007-07-07T13:20:00.000-05:00

"Luck is probability taken personally"
Chip Denman

7
VII
Septuplets
Seven Seas
Seven Jeans
Seven-Card Stud
Seven Deadly Sins

Hope everyone is having the luckiest of triple 7 days. Here's my seven things.

1) I usually don't mention My Boy on this here blog, because I usually try to limit my post topics to the inane. But, I'm gonna use him to excuse my infrequent posts this summer. We have been busy with summer camp, soccer camp, day camp, etc. Augh, kids are SO time consuming! Bummer that ensuring his proper mental, physical, emotional and moral development detracts from my ability to compose long posts on such summer cultural phenomenons as the Drama Chipmunk and thoroughly debate exactly what sort of critter that is anyway??? Some things the world may never know, but one thing is certain...it's damn, damn funny.

We did finally make it to the Fayetteville Farmer's Market this morning. There's always so much good stuff to see and buy. It's worth getting my ass up on a Saturday morning. The quality is noticeably better than anything you can buy at the grocery store and it's comparatively cheap, cheap, cheap. Plus, you are doing your part about the whole food miles thing!

2) Sorta on the subject of luck/chance (and to continue talking about my offspring), My Boy has discovered statistics and the art of BSing(I can't imagine where he gets that from!). I'm never sure if he is telling me a fact he has learned or if he is making it up as he goes along. It's been an education for me, though. For instance, did you know that "if you took all of Homer Simpson's burps and put them together you could make a song nearly three hours long and never have to reuse a single belch"! And, "if Star Wars Clones were real, they would have multiple phalanges due to the growth accelerator"!

3) Congratulations to my friend Christy, who like half of the world's single population is getting married today! Surely, they are lucky in love. It's gonna take more than three sevens on a calendar for me, though. Like...finding at the end of the rainbow a four-leaf clover, a penny and a leprechaun shitting rabbits feet and hollering “They’re always after ‘me Lucky Charms!”. Then...maybe.

But, I wish HER the best of luck!

4) And, still more congratulations to Marisa and Wil who are expecting! A January baby...that's surely lucky!

5) Speaking of all these college friends...I was lucky last week to have dinner with Mandy. She's in Fayetteville for a couple of weeks and it's so good to catch-up and talk of things that should be long forgotten.

6) Let's all spread the good-luck vibe to my friend/neighbor, her family and especially her middle boy. He is a Marine and he is headed to Iraq next week.

7) OK, back to the inane...and, I'm stretching here to come up with a 7th thing. All I can think of is a couple of songs that have been stuck in my head this summer.

For Reasons Unknown by The Killers-For some reason, Brandon Flowers' straining voice puts me in mind of Jeff Buckley or Jim Morrison...which can't be anything but a good thing.

Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys-These lyrics are great, there isn't a bad line. Bonus, the video has clowns! Clowns whooping ass!

Florescent Adolescent
You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking a Tabasco
Remember when he used to be a rascal?

Oh that boy's a slag
The best you ever had
The best you ever had
Is just a memory and those dreams
Not as daft as they seem
Not as daft as they seem
My love when you dream them up...

Flicking through a little book of sex tips
Remember when the boys were all electric?
Now when she tells she's gonna get it
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget i
Clinging to not getting sentimental
Said she wasn't going but she went still
Likes her gentlemen to not be gentle
Was it a megadobber or a betting pencil?

Oh that boy's a slag
The best you ever had
The best you ever had
Is just a memory and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem
Not as daft as they seem
My love when you dream them up
Oh, where did you go?
Where did you go?
Where did you go? Woah.

Falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You just sounded it out
You're not coming back again.

Falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You just sounded it out
You're not coming back again.

You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Started all the naughty nights with niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Everything was pretty in the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking in tabasco
Remember when he used to be a rascal?

Let's Come Together

2007-07-05T21:36:00.001-05:00

What is the EU's sex film really selling?

Film Lovers Will Love This features sex, sex and more sex. Erm, what is it selling exactly?

Free Music!

2007-07-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Y'all will remember that I was obsessed with Dog Problems by The Format all last summer. This summer it's your chance...for FREE!

Happy Fourth of July!

2007-07-04T18:05:00.000-05:00

Love

your

country.

I haven't forgotten about you, internets!

2007-06-30T14:06:00.001-05:00

The Evolution of The Dramatic Squirrel/Chipmunk/Prairie Dog

Oh internets, you crack me up.

And...we have strawberries!

2007-06-15T20:09:00.000-05:00

Campaign Ads to Grind to

2007-06-14T20:17:00.001-05:00

Please don't mistake this for my official endorsement. I'm still deciding. I'm waiting to see Hillary "poll" dance.(hardy har har)

Hello my Cambodian friends!

2007-06-12T19:03:00.000-05:00

If you found yourself here it's probably because you are a fan of Mr. Geoffrey Cain and you are supposed to be at this Details are Sketchy. Who knew I had a Cambodian counterpart?!? I find this incredibly cool and think it would be awesome if we could become "sister blogs" or something! You know, to promote cultural awareness and international goodwill. I must admit that the work that Mr. Cain is doing and the content of the Cambodian Details are Sketchy are much more high-minded than anything you will find here at my little ol' blog. I notified Mr. Cain of the mistake and received a very nice email in return. He seems like a great guy doing some great work. So, good luck and best wishes to all of y'all. Come visit me again sometime.

Now, to my usual small cadre of readers...go check 'em out and smarten up yourself about the world.

SiCKO

2007-06-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

I am anxiously awaiting Michael Moore's expose of the clusterf@ck that is the American health care system.

Better get on the boat now...

2007-06-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

Or risk becoming one of the "BenditlikeBeckhamistas". OK so, I stole this from Possum's blog...but I couldn't pass up such a good opportunity to try to convert my peeps and save them from such a terrible fate.

You can't say I'm not doing my part for the cause. Possum and I have scoured the area for any place where soccer fans might congregate...but to no avail. I know that there are some out there. I'm sure that there are many in the Hispanic community. And, I personally have met a whopping two...count 'em...TWO Liverpool fans since I have lived in Fayetteville. I've decided to be proactive, just see if there is any interest. No luck yet.

Feel...so, so...lonely.

Memorial Day in America

2007-05-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

Keyword Analysis

2007-05-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of the words that folks Googled that recently lead them to Details Are Sketchy. I'm not sure what it says about my blog...but, hell...what does it say about the folks doing the searching? I feel sorry that they ended up here where there is precious little information pertinent to anything. I hope they found what they were looking for in the end. But, what the hay...mine as well use these poor lost souls searches for our own amusement.

Most of y'all already know what nonsense to expect when you come for a visit. Here's some folks that obviously didn't. But, they say seek and ye shall find. I don't know about that...here's a list of the words searched, I've linked it to the post they got in return just in case you are curious.

sooie deliverance: I'm pretty sure that this person was searching for a certain scene from a certain movie. Sorry, no homosexual hillbilly rape here...yet.

details are sketchy verily: Well, it looks like at least someone knew what they were getting. One of y'all must have lost your link.

bubba hog woo pig: Razorback fan

who's wayne: Now, that's just weird.

gully park fayetteville ar: I hope they enjoyed the pretty picture. I bet they were looking for the concerts, though. It's that time of the year again, yay!

feet are throbbing: I hope this person wasn't in need of medical advice.

talking with mouth full fetish: Wha??? Is this an actual fetish? By the very definition of a fetish, it would mean that one could not become sexually aroused without...talking with their mouth full? Or, would it be that their partner would have to talk with their mouth full? Full of w h a t, exactly? I'm not sure why The Google thought I would know anything about this. I'm curious...yet sorta afraid of what I might find if I did a little further research. Would it be hypocritical of me to Google this after making fun of this person for Googling it? If anyone has any info, please share.

keep fayetteville funky: Yes, let's.

What I did on my trip to Chicago.

2007-05-24T18:47:00.000-05:00

Long time no see, internets! I have just now recovered enough to even mention my trip to Chicago last weekend. So here's the high points and the low down.

The Lincoln Park Zoo

Chicago-style deep dish pizza

Visiting with Possum's sister

Watching The FA Cup at The Globe Pub. Having at least five Stellas before noon.

The uber-touristy boat tour of the Chicago river and it's architectural landmark's. This first picture is a picture of me and Possum disembarking.

Eating way too much and drinking a pitcher of sangria at Cafe Iberico & Tapas Bar.

"Shear Madness" at The Chicago Theatre Downstairs. Especially when Tony threw candy at Possum and told him "no whispering!".

Chipotle burritos with a side of Possum's disdain for Chicago, Chicagoans and everything they stand for.

Gasey and Tammy and the joy of flying Southwest. Southwest is to airlines as Bonanza is to restaurants.

Good times, but glad to be home. Here's a picture of the fried catfish I made tonight!

What's Happenin'

2007-05-06T14:57:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Manchester United, Premiership Champions! After the draw against Arsenal this morning, there is just no way for Chelsea to catch 'em. I'm happy because I'm a Man Yoo fan, I like the players and their style of play is exciting(for the most part). Yet, I'm pretty disappointed that rivalry has been put to bed for the season. I adore Jose Mourinho, Chelsea's coach, and I don't like anything that encourages the rumors that he might be leaving. Chelsea fought hard, I want to see what Jose can do with them next season.

Also, in football news...Forget Manchester United, Forget Chelsea...next season it's all about the promoted Sunderland and mean Roy Keane! Woo Hoo!

In addition to being obsessed with the waning EPL season...Possum and I have been enjoying Soul Train reruns with the smove, smove Don Cornelius. Gotta love polyester!

The saga of the name change is over, but the tediousness of notifying everyone who needs to be notified lingers on. But, the important thing is that my son and I both officially have my maiden name now. Yay!

No strawberries yet, but they are coming right along. One basket looks great, but the other looks a little sad.

Nicolas Sarkozy is the new President of France. I was rooting for the socialist woman. It's more fun saying Segolene Royal.

I got an iPod Shuffle! Pink, of course.

I just started reading A Miracle of Catfish by Larry Brown.

I got bangs cut and I'm blonder.

So, that's the lowdown. Enjoy your Sunday evening. It's my girlie night...my neighbor and I watch Desperate Housewives and paint our toenails ;-)

Sadly, all we can do is pass along the truth...

2007-04-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

and hope someday there is enough hollering to drown out the lies.

Read this.

Watch this.

Then tell somebody.

When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”.

2007-04-21T13:28:00.001-05:00

(Thanks to Possum for passing along the awesomeness.)

Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip

Thou Shalt Always Kill

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barret in vain.
Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile… Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thall shalt not stop liking a band just because they’ve become popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by it’s cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thall shalt not buy Coca-Cola products. Thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend’s best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyoakes.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave as soon as you're done just because you’ve finished your shitty little poem or song you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just ’cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you’re never gonna fucking talk to.

Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.

The Beatles - Were just a band.
Led Zepplin - Just a band.
The Beach Boys - Just a band.
The Sex Pistols - Just a band.
The Clash - Just a band.
Crass - Just a band.
Minor Threat - Just a band.
The Cure - Just a band.
The Smiths - Just a band.
Nirvana - Just a band.
The Pixies - Just a band.
Oasis - Just a band.
Radiohead - Just a band.
Bloc Party - Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys - Just a band.
The next big thing - JUST A BAND.

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”.
When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop”.
When I say "he say, she say, we say, make some noise" - kill me.
Thou shalt not quote me happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying “Is it”.
Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always kill.

Tagged

2007-04-18T19:08:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged! Fortunately for me I haven't blogged in a while, so I shouldn't have too hard of a time coming up with some random bull sh*t...

1. As a matter of fact, my first two initials are B.S. and that secretly pleases me. I also tend to like bands with the initials BS...Big Smith, Belle & Sebastian. Mere coincidence?

2. I'm not a fan of the sensible shoe. The soles of my feet are throbbing right now from being scrunched in the cutest pair of heels all day.

3. In the past seven days I have had an extended phone conversation and one e-mail correspondence with my ex-husband, whom I had not spoken to or seen in over 4 1/2 years...up until last Wednesday. It was good, and by good I mean that...ya know, if someday my future self looks back and wonders if I made the right decision...well, lets just say that my future self won't ever do that. Understand?

4. I also had another meander down memory lane last weekend. I was going through an overlooked box retrieved from my parent's house and I came across my journal from 1987, age 12. I remembered such disturbing things as a troubling fascination with Kirk Cameron(I had blocked that one out), rather schizophrenic body image issues(from the same entry..."Easter! I think I looked gorgeous" and "Even after all the make-up, I look terrible today!" I'm frightened to think about what all the make-up meant in 1987.), lots of hateful entries directed at my little sister; I knew she was reading my journal every chance she got("My little sister is being a big brat. She is always pestering me! So, I threw a cold wet rag on her when she was in the bathtub. She got mad and said it gave her the hiccups. Ha Ha 2 points for me!") Yep, that's a goldmine we may have to revisit later.

5. Inside the journal were all of my school IDs from 7th-10th grade and a school picture of the first boy to tell me he loved me. My 8 year old made fun of me.

6. A month from today, Possum and I will be in Chicago!

7. I'm growing strawberries in hanging baskets.

8. I'm currently reading Him Her Him Again The End of Him by Patricia Marx and this bit, referring to a friend's new boyfriend, is the best thing I have read in a long time..."You'd think that I, of all people, would have been sympathetic to someone enthralled with a guy who nobody considered enthrall-worthy. You'd think, but you'd be wrong."

9. From the same book, I read this part yesterday. It is referring to a friend who just dumped a worthless boyfriend. I found it perhaps more significant and timely given the media's non-stop discussion of the possible motives of the Virginia Tech murderer. "Why she took action at that point, which wasn't even the lowest point, I cannot tell you. For that matter, why does anyone wake up one morning and finally clean out the crawlspace or shoot the boss or quit the tuba or propose marriage or throw in the towel or run for alderman or make any other long-intended change?"

10. For lunch, I had a Lean Cuisine Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Panini. It was surprisingly good. I was worried that microwaved bread would be grody, but it wasn't at all.

A Ho By Any Other Name...

2007-04-10T19:18:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning I will go before a judge and I will be made a new woman. I'm officially having my name changed back to my maiden name, finally. So, I guess actually I'll just be the same old woman I once was...but, that doesn't sound nearly as cool. Most of y'all know what to call me.

Speaking of calling names...I just want to take a moment to say that Imus is ucking fugly...no, wait...Lent is over...he's plain old fucking ugly, he has no discernible talent beyond criticizing people and in fact, if I ever find myself in a situation where I feel that I am about to be overcome by sexual desire...I have only to think the name "Imus" to effectively squelch my libido for at least 45 minutes to an hour. I dare not do it, but I would imagine the thought of him unclothed would be enough to spontaneously stimulate my gag reflex and just might put me off sex for several months.

I encourage others to make random, abusive comments about Imus, too. Post them as a comment, post it on your blog, call your grandmother, hang up fliers, send up smoke signals. But, just for one day only...then let's move on with our lives and forget this man ever existed. It really isn't so hard to just do what your mama taught you and remember...

"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all!"

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a good one! Possum, My Boy and I did the Easter egg hunt thing, then turned them into 'tater salad. We grilled out, planted begonia bulbs and froze. Ah, springtime in Arkansas!

Breaking News

2007-04-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

My sources(my daddy, Possum and 40/29) have unconfirmed reports that Dana Altman, the world-famous head-coach of Creighton and brand spankin' new head-coach of Arkansas, has had a change of heart and is heading back to Nebraska. The UofA hasn't confirmed anything. The Hogwired.com headline is still the transcript of the press conference yesterday, when he accepted the position as Arkansas' head coach.

Since nothing is confirmed, it seems like a good time to scrounge up articles from yesterday with gems like this:

"I'm 48 years old," Altman said. "And with your permission I'd like to finish my career at the University of Arkansas."

It's also a good time for wild, unsubstantiated rumors:

The reason the press conference was held yesterday, before Altman had officially signed a contract, was because Frank Broyles was in a hurry to get to Augusta for The Masters .

The reason for all the upheaval now is because Billy Donovan of Florida is upset that Arkansas didn't wait for him to finish winning the NCAA tournament to offer him the job.

Well, perhaps that second one is a little hard to swallow...even as a wild, unsubstantiated rumor started by my daddy on the phone a few moments ago.

Now, for the most important basketball news...my bracket WON my group in the Yahoo NCAA Tournament Pick'em! I was in the 88% for all of Yahoo! Of course, I didn't have any money riding on it or I NEVER would have won. So yeah, bragging was pretty much the whole point of this basketball post.

Ohhh...THAT Wayne

2007-03-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize that having someone describe their dream to you is like being made to look through a stranger's vacation pictures...but, humor me.

In Dreamland last night, I find myself on the street where I grew up. It's dark and still and almost dawn. I'm walking across and up the street when a girl, an amalgamation of every neighborhood girl I ever knew, appears beside me. "Are you going to see Wayne?" she asks. Going to see Wayne??? Sure! That must be what I'm doing. "Yeah, I'm going to see Wayne." I reply. Wayne? Who's Wayne? Could it be Wayne, the big brother of my 5th grade "boyfriend" who lived next door to me circa 1984-1987??? Nah, couldn't be...I wouldn't be crossing the street and I'm heading in the wrong direction for it to be THAT Wayne. My slumbering brain peruses it's various nooks and crannies for Waynes...Wayne...hmmm...do I know any more Waynes? Maybe it's that doctor who's first name is Wayne, I saw his name on a piece of paper today, remember? Couldn't be...I've never met him. No way would I be visiting him in the middle of the night...besides...he's in Fayetteville and I'm in Pine Bluff for this dream, duh. Okay, but better figure it out quick 'cause he's opening the door...Wayne? Wayne? He's youngish, fair complected...I know! ROONEY! That's who it is! It's Wayne Rooney, striker for Manchester United and England's National Team! Why, of course...my dreaming mind decides...the most likely conclusion is that Wayne Rooney is living in the Wilouby's old house and I'm just gonna pop in for a little visit at 4:30 in the morning.

Yep, indeed...that's what I went with.

So, after Wayne opens the door and he is in fact sorta Rooney-ish, Amalgam Girl says whatever she has come to say and leaves. The rest of the dream is a series of vivid images of me and Wayne hanging out for the rest of the morning. From these images I learned a lot about the Rooney of my subconscious. For instance, Wayne leaves his Man U kit crumpled in the dirty laundry basket. (Seeing this was what finally convinced me that this dream person really was who I thought he was...I could see his name on the back! Right on!) Wayne can poke a hole in a water bed mattress with his index finger. (Did you know Wayne sleeps on a water bed? He does in my world. And, that's how he convinced me it really was a water bed. My dream self was incredulous.) Wayne can make a fancy outdoor fire pit out of an old wheelbarrow. (I was angry and chastised him because NOW my Daddy was going to have to do a whole bunch of yard work without his wheelbarrow! Way to go, Wayne. He didn't even ask first!)

My cellphone had just become infected with some sort of cellphone virus and Wayne was going to go with me to get it fixed when my alarm went off. I guess we will never know what adventures awaited me and Wayne at the Cingular store.

I know you are as disappointed as I am.

You Go, Girl

2007-03-25T19:37:00.000-05:00

This is truly awesome...Pervs caught in the act. It's like a freak directory! I wonder if these creeps like receiving public humiliation as much as they like dishing it out? Unfortunately, their kind are not contained within NYC. I think it's fair enough to holla back no matter where you are.

**bonus Lent points to me for not cussing in this post, it was tough**

The Big Read

2007-03-25T19:12:00.000-05:00

Check out The Big Read: Fayetteville Reads Fahrenheit 451.

I picked up my free copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury at the Fayetteville Public Library and I'm really enjoying it. It's short and not all science-fictiony like I was afraid it would be. In fact, it's terrifyingly relevant. The rules say I gotta pass it along when I'm done...so, holla if you're interested.

Spring Break-The Arkansas Tiny Towns Tour!

2007-03-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Sharing the Love

2007-03-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

It's a good day! The weather is lovely, the windows are open and I'm just chillin' with my two new loves.

Xenadrine introduced me to the first one at her wedding shower on Sunday...Kahlua Frosties, a delicious concoction of vanilla ice cream and Kahlua. Mmmm, yummy yummy.

The second is my brand new CD, Jamie T's Panic Prevention that arrived in the mail today!(I've tried to convert y'all before, remember?) I had to order it all the way from Australia, but it's here and it only took 9 days, but I'm so excited and I have been listening to it for about 2 1/2 hours solid and...did I mention...I have been drinking Kahlua Frosties that whole time, too?!?

Yeah, it's a good day.

Love Is a Mix Tape

2007-03-06T22:34:00.000-06:00

I actually finished Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield over the weekend, but it's still on my mind. I have even caught myself recommending it to random strangers...so, I guess it's high time I posted something about it here. It's all about love and music and how they get all tangled up so that the music becomes the bookmark for that time in life, that time in love. You don't have to know a thing about alternative 90s music to love this book. You don't have to have a thang for crappy pop culture to love this book(but it helps). I haven't even made that many mix tapes myself, but oh, the memories it brought back of those received. Photos cropped cassette case size for cover art. Play lists analyzed for insight into some boy's soul, sure that somewhere in those selections were clues to how he really felt about me...surely there is some subtle nuance to Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.

I passed it along to Possum, who's knowledge of indie music is much more extensive than mine. He's less than half-way through and he loves it too, so I can confidently recommend it to one and all. I don't want to write much because I want you to be able to have your own experience with it, if you choose to read it. It is so good. And, it's super short. It will only take you a couple of hours to read it, but you won't consider that a plus when you get to the end of it. So, you don't have an excuse...read it. Then write me so we can talk about it or at least share some mix tape memories.

BTW...I'm not so good at the making of the mix tape, but because of this book I have been inspired to at least keep track of the songs that have interested me enough to use as my MySpace profile song. One day it may be interesting to go back and see how these songs "bookmarked" 2007 for me. Check it out...the list is in the sidebar and I have linked all that I could to their YouTube video. Yes, I know that's completely nerdy and obsessive. I blame Possum.

"If You Expect Me to Take My Pants Off..." and other quotes

2007-03-06T19:08:00.000-06:00

All of these things were said by me or in my presence over the last few days.

"I'm a sucker for buckles."
(Me---explaining to the salesgirl why I just HAD to have two of the same pair of shoes. One black pair, one red pair, both very cute and completely non-sensible.)

"That's the thing about shopping at Wal-Mart. You may save a hundred bucks, but ya gotta stand in spilt chew to do it."
(Me to Possum---on trying to load our new TV in the car while trying to avoid the dip cup in the parking space next to ours.)

"That passed annoying even before I heard it."
(My Boy---his opinion of Fidelity by Regina Spektor)

"I wasn't that wild about the song until I saw THOSE SHOES!"
(My opinion of Fidelity by Regina Spektor)

"That's the sound of zombies coming to chew on my brain"
(My Boy---his opinion of all the ha ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah in Fidelity by Regina Spector)

"Here in a minute I'm gonna take this water gun and shoot it in my ear. That's when we'll see the real action."
(Possum---on inventing a new process for earwax removal. Please don't try this at home. He's a trained professional.)

"If you expect me to take my pants off, you are going to have to close the window completely!"
(My Boy-on having to change into his soccer uniform in the backseat of the car.)

"Describe y'all in one word? I can do it in three letters...H-O-T. Could I add a modifier? 'Cause if I could, it would be Smokin'...Smokin' HOT!"
(A friend who knows that flattery will get you everywhere---in a conversation about that silly e-mail game "describe me in one word". Thanks for playing, B.)

Spam as Inspiration?

2007-03-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

Well, I always thought spam was just annoying...but, when you recite it to animation it seems kinda...evil.

"The dialogue for Spamland comes from the semi-sensical text found in the filter-busting portion of spam messages.

So what to do with those pesky spam emails - we've dramatised them!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwOGbXj9o2c

When you have nothing else to talk about...talk about the weather.

2007-03-03T14:38:00.000-06:00

I've heard tell that the weather for the last couple of weeks has been pretty nice, at least the majority of the time. Unfortunately, that majority of the time has coincided perfectly with the days and hours that I am trapped indoors at work. I have enjoyed having the windows open some, and my attitude is much improved by the sunshine and warmer temps.

Last weekend, I went with Possum to "the cabin" for a "guy's weekend". We had lots of fun, even if there were torrential rains and storms the whole time. Still, I got to participate in lots of fun guy activities like shooting hard liquor, eating ribs and watching Jackass Number Two. One of my bestest friends, M, came up to hang out Saturday night. She's a good guy girl. It reminded me of the times we used to go out to dinner to "eat like a man". We would order the Steak AND Shrimp dinners and drink beer. But, even in the throws of testosterone overdrive she would never do something as unseemly as belch. She's a real lady! She also had the best advice for Britney Spears that I have heard. "Her Mama just needs to jerk up her and those babies and take them back down to Louisiana...put her a trailer on their land until she gets back on her feet." I believe that's the Southern equivalent of rehab.

***WARNING***FLAGRANT BRAGGING ALERT***

So, the first game of the "spring" soccer season found me shivering in snow flurries at 8:30am this morning. As bad as I detest the cold, it was all worth it when My Boy scored the first goal of the game within a matter of minutes. He assisted with two more goals as his team went on to stomp the other team! It seems he's a pretty good cold weather player. Hmmm...I wonder, will it be Manchester United or Chelsea??? ;)

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

2007-02-20T18:51:00.000-06:00

Or...Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or just plain ol' Tuesday...depending on who or where you are. I usually prefer to do the New Orleans tradition of gumbo, king cake and too much liquor. This year, my son and I stuck to the Anglican tradition and had pancakes! We also had eggs and bacon and just the right amount of red wine (well I did anyways). Fortunately, my church fully endorses both traditions. Next, dessert! I intend to have a big ol' bowl of Shake's...for tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.

Since I became a confirmed Episcopalian several years ago, I have been really good about doing the whole Lent thing. Party it up on Tuesday, fast all day Wednesday, get the ashes on my forehead and give up something till Easter...the whole bit. So, tomorrow it is going to be just toast in the morning and juice and water throughout the day until after sunset. I really appreciate the lesson of Ash Wednesday. Fasting for a day is hardly that great of a sacrifice in the grand scheme of things but by the time that evening service rolls around...I feel like I'm starving! Since my general disposition tends to lean more towards the hedonistic than monk-like austerity, I'll try my best to appreciate my blessings and realize that there are many out there that are truly starving, truly suffering. I also find the Ash Wednesday service to be very poignant, especially when fasting. It's powerfully humbling to have your priest look you in your eyes, smudge ashes on your forehead and tell you "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return". Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

So, the purpose of this whole entry...I'm giving up cussing and complaining for Lent. Now that it's out there in cyber space I REALLY feel obligated to keep my Lenten Discipline, y'all will all know when I break it! So, you may be asking yourself, what in the world will I have to talk about if I can't cuss or complain...I'm not sure myself. I guess we are about to find out! For the most part my conversations are only mildly peppered with colorful language, and only then in casual settings..I don't think I have offended too many folks. But, this is what my son requested I give up for Lent. He doesn't think it's fair that he would get in trouble for saying some of the things he has occasionally overheard me say, ah hmm. So, I'm doing that for him and because I never want to be labeled a hypocrite. The complaining I am giving up for myself. I'm gonna get real cheesy and quote ya some Maya Angelou, but it pretty much sums up my goal for Lent..."If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." So, yeah...we'll see how that goes. Let's hope I don't explode sometime before spring break.

I bet she got the lice...

2007-02-17T12:02:00.000-06:00

Just when you thought Britney Spears couldn't get any more white-trash...

"Yawl, let's awl shave our heads bawld and get tat-tooed!"

The Strangest News Week Ever

2007-02-10T13:40:00.000-06:00

Man, this week had a little something for everyone.

The state wide drama has been the throw-down between Arkansas head football coach and the infamous sports columnist Wally Hall. You can listen to Nutt's call-in to "The Buzz"... here.
Read what ESPN has to say...here. Check out what the entire state is saying on the most excellent Arkansas Times blog...here.

Perhaps, the off-season Razorback football soap opera ain't exactly your thang. How about the tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith which has spiraled deep into the abysmal? There's enough controversy surrounding her death to supply All My Children with an entire year worth of plot twists and turns. Who's the baby daddy? Someone needs to get Montel on the case. Is it her attorney/pseudo-husband? Her boyfriend? Zsa Zsa's husband/Prince who long ago proclaimed himself impotent in a Viagra lawsuit? Or, perhaps the frozen sperm of her deceased octogenarian husband? How fortuitous the Popsicle Pop would turn out to be. At least that would finally settle the long battle of his inheritance. Lordy, I think I need a bar graph or pie chart to keep this straight.

So, maybe Hollywood's sensationalizing and shameless milking of the death of a young woman and the ensuing turmoil surrounding her infant daughter doesn't float your boat...how about a female astronaut, a love triangle and adult diapers???

There's even more drama than usual in soccer news. Italy, the World Cup winners, are having a hard time after fan violence resulted in the death of a policeman. But that's not all, folks...QPR couldn't avoid a brawl during a game with the Chinese...WTF???

Off course, there are plenty of folks out there decrying all this attention to the sensational...for instance...here and here. But still, isn't there a war going on? Aren't there folks announcing their candidacy for the Presidency? Don't even get me started on that...I don't want to hear jack about what you are going to do in two years if you win...I want to know what the f*ck you are going to do NOW! Or did I miss something, weren't you already elected to do a job??? I'm talking to you, Hilary and Barack! Tell ya what, when the election rolls around...I'm voting for whoever shows me something more than a campaign...so GET BUSY!

So, that's it...just me propagating the smokescreen until we see something REAL.

Because, who doesn't enjoy making fun of strangers?

2007-02-04T21:39:00.000-06:00

He Looks Like...

Looks like it's been a while since they updated their site...but, with insightful comments like these I just couldn't resist sharing.

"He looks like the best years of his life were spent as a roadie for Lynard Skynard, when rock n' roll was his soul, whiskey was his blood and the opening chords of "Freebird" made his testicles shudder with pure sappy sentiment."

"Alton drives around town in a brown 1990 Datsun hatchback covered in hundreds of bumper stickers."

"He looks like Pablo, an attendee at Ricky Martin's Learning Annex Workshop, "Advanced Techniques for the Pleasing of the Ladies.""

Good stuff.

Winter Things

2007-01-31T15:32:00.000-06:00

I know, I know...it's been a while, but it's been busy! Today is a snow day so we got sent home at 1pm. Good, I needed some laundry time. And, some time to catch y'all up on things other than laundry.

Friday was my birthday! Possum and I had a date, a real, grown-up date! We went out to eat, I of course had to have a yummy, creamy margarita. Then we went to a movie! Yes, it really is that exciting! It was the first time we had gone to a grown up movie, all by ourselves, like a real couple. The best part was that we actually got to see the movie we both really wanted to see, too. It wasn't looking like Pan's Labyrinth was going to be coming to Fayetteville, but we lucked out. It was nominated for an Academy Award, so Fiesta Square 16 granted it one whole screen starting Friday night, because it's "select". Hey, at least their trying and their timing was perfect. This movie is AWESOME. It was everything I expected and much more...by "much more" I mean brutally gruesome. Seriously, I watched several scenes from between my fingers. Still, if you have the chance to go see it...jump on it. Especially if, as a child, you preferred Grimm's fairy tales to Disney's.

Saturday, I helped my little sister move to Houston. I'm gonna miss her :( Still didn't stop me from cussing her when she handed me a box full of de-icer and ice scrapers and said "I won't be needing these where I'm going". The bitch. (Meanwhile, the snow keeps coming and the traffic crawls carefully by outside my window, temperature 25F) Later Saturday evening, some of the gang got together for dinner and drinks at Powerhouse Seafood and did a little of that Dickson Street thang. I had a really good time! Just in case you ever wondered, here's what a "date" between Dr. Performance and Yecinda would look like...

You know you know THAT guy...

2007-01-19T20:11:00.001-06:00

If you don't, that means it's YOU!

"If You've Got the Money" by Jamie T

Loads of Bushy Goodness

2007-01-04T18:15:00.000-06:00

If you haven't already...you MUST go to The Onion and check out

Six Years of George W. Bush: A Celebration of Courage .

Just some good-natured ribbing of our most esteemed President:

Bush Hides U.S. Report Card In Sock Drawer

CRAWFORD, TX—According to White House sources, following yet another disappointing grading period for the nation he leads, President Bush hid the national report card in his bedroom sock drawer Monday.

But, wait! There's more!

When I'm Feeling Blue, I Can Always Go To My Undisclosed Location

Nostalgia

2006-12-31T10:32:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, my friends! 2007! Enjoy every minute of it, time flies.

Oh...and, don't forget to eat you black-eyed peas!

You Ain't Missed Much

2006-12-28T18:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, I managed to survive Christmas.

Here's what's been going on:

This is one of the coolest things I got for Christmas. My sister got it for me after shaming me for still using the same college ID case I have had for a decade now. You know things are critical when your lesbian sister is giving you grief about your accessories. Thanks, sis!

This is one of the coolest things I gave this Christmas. I gave Possum the photo book European Fields: The Landscape of Lower League Football, by Hans Van Der Meer. Beautiful photos, even if you aren't a fan.

Random things I have been thinking about:

Patterdale Terriers. A friend has a puppy, aw.

John Terry's back.

President Gerald Ford.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving(NSFW!)

2006-12-22T16:26:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Things 2006

2006-12-14T20:04:00.000-06:00

OK, here goes, this is my attempt at compiling a list of all(some of) my favorite things from 2006. If I was Oprah I would give you all one of each :-)

(Standard end-of-the-year-list caveat applies; items may pre-date 01/01/06, but this is the year that I became obsessed with them.)

CDs that I played WAY too much: Dog Problems by The Format, The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian

Books I enjoyed: Peyton Amberg by Tama Janowitz, A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot , Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love by Dan Rhodes, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

DVDs: The Secretary, Trois Coleurs, Footballers Wives

LMAO: Karl Pilkington, (you really should listen to these free pocasts, they usually charge for this nonsense!)

Food Finds: Emelia's Kitchen, Monte Ne

Pamper Me: Apparently, The Secret To Supermodel Skin IS NOT cigarettes and heroin(this stuff is AWESOME!), Chandelier earrings from the $1 jewelry store.

Getaway: To Pasadena, CA with Possum.

The Special One: Jose Mourinho

Soccer Moments: Macclesfield v Walsall, My boy scoring his very first goal, yay!, The entire World Cup, oh and I think Zizou may have headbutted someone or something.

That's all for now. Feel free to remind me of something that I prattled on and on about sometime during the last year. 2006 really ain't been all that bad!

The Christmas Spirits 2006

2006-12-10T11:17:00.000-06:00

The Format - Dog Problems

2006-12-07T19:55:00.001-06:00

So, Of Montreal might be Dead To ME...On the other hand(bad pun intended), The Format still just tickles me pink!!!

Mighty Big Talk for Someone Doing Outback Commercials

2006-12-07T18:47:00.000-06:00

Some of you may remember my infatuation last spring with the band, Of Montreal...especially their song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)"...which they have since changed the words and turned into an Outback Steakhouse Commercial. Not that there is anything wrong with selling out. But when I learned that in their new album their is a whole track devoted to dissin' Little Rock, well that just earned them a place on my "Dead to Me" list. (Dead To Me list Fall/Winter 2006: 1. Gwen Stefani: Seriously, Gwen, Jr. High Marching band music and yodeling? 2. Arsenal FC: For Arsene Wenger, for Thierry Henry never playing, and for playing bo-ring games just when I was getting interested.)

You can read the whole Pitchfork article here.

But even internet marketing geniuses face day-to-day challenges offline. For instance, Barnes' wife, Nina, lost her hat in Little Rock, Arkansas, inspiring the new Of Montreal track, "Little Rock". What hardship! As previously reported, the song was released yesterday via Polyvinyl as a B-side on the limited edition (2000 copies on blue and yellow wax) seven inch for the Hissing Fauna number "She's a Rejecter".

"Little Rock" documents the incident ("Little Rock, I offered you my heart and you tried to steal Nina's hat. Little Rock, why'd you have to go and do something as stupid as that?") and Of Montreal's subsequent disdain for the location ("We're never coming back to your shitty little town") in a 58-second mostly-acoustic ditty.

Of Montreal without layers upon layers of instrumentation? Believe it, and download the track below. And get ready for the diss track by the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, hopefully coming to a mixtape near you soon.

And just to remind you, Of Montreal will launch a three-month-long North American tour this January. And out of all these dates, there is not one show scheduled in Little Rock. Walking the walk...we like that.

OK, so like, who goes to Little Rock and DOESN'T expect to get their hat stolen? Gah!

Snow Day

2006-12-01T16:59:00.000-06:00

Bubba Hog

2006-11-30T21:19:00.001-06:00

Go Hogs, Beat Florida!

(Possum said this is how he imagines my ex-husband.)

Listless

2006-11-30T15:58:00.000-06:00

Lately, I have been considering my inability to "list". Tis the season to list, apparently. As the end of the year draws to a close we'll soon be bombarded with "The Best ____ of 2006", "The Worst ____ of 2006", "My Favorite_____ of 2006", ad nauseum. I guess I could actually do a list thing like that...maybe, just maybe, I will. I do keep a calendar/journal of what books I'm reading or songs I'm liking or anything else that particularly catches my fancy at the moment. So, it would just be a matter of looking through that and picking out "The Best". Frankly, that scares me a little bit though. You see, I have this tendency to go a bit overboard with new interests. For instance, some of you may remember "The Great Bluegrass Frenzy of '02" or the time I tried to educate myself about fine wines and nearly ended up a penniless alcoholic. Ah, good times. Not that I don't STILL have a warm place in my heart for Big Smith and Stags' Leap Cab Sav, it's just that once I have moved on I tend to look back at my obsessions with Nelson Ha Ha'ing over my shoulder. There's really no need to have that recorded in a public forum, now is there? And, besides, does anyone really care what I like? No. Everybody else already likes what they like. Seriously, if someone is looking to my preferences for guidance on what's good, cool or quality...just don't.

No matter the time of year though, we have become a "list culture". Some lists are much better than others. (Just spend 5 minutes looking around MySpace for examples of the "others".) Why do folks feel the need to list? Is it simple egotism or is it a tool of self-discovery? Are these lists pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that when put together form a complete, comprehensive picture of the person compiling them? Really? I don't get it. My interests tend to be more like rocks picked up on a creek bed; admired for a moment then tossed over the shoulder, occasionally carried in a pocket, few coveted enough to collect dust on a bookcase. No matter how you look at it...they never fit together to form a complete picture of anything. Maybe I'm just fickle. Maybe I just like the process of learning about new things. I am awfully curious, but I'm also loyal, too. Maybe that's why I don't list. I'm never fenced in by any proclaimed preferences, trapped by any "bests" or "favorites". Perhaps in this particular post I have been a bit enamoured with "quotation marks". Don't get too used to it. Tomorrow...the semi-colon!!!

Bitchgiving

2006-11-27T19:18:00.000-06:00

So, I did the Thanksgiving thing with my family. I was grateful. I counted my many blessings. Yadda, yadda. Now, here's some stuff I'm hatin'.

I detest that my four day weekend is over and now it's Monday.

I detest that I have been busy and not keeping up with this here blog the way that I would like.

I detest that I now must begin Christmas shopping.

I detest that none of the pictures Possum and I took at Lights of the Ozarks turned out worth a damn. Here's a good one I didn't take.

I detest that my grandmother just found out she has lung cancer and we don't know what should/could be done about it, yet.

I detest that the Razorbacks lost to LSU. Oh Hogs, why must you break my heart so?

I detest that I didn't get to see one of my bestest friends in the whole world on her birthday. Hope you had a good one, M. I promise to make it up to ya real soon.

It's not Cyber Monday...It's Bitchgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T19:13:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Here's a picture of my dad carving our Thanksgiving turkey, or...er...cutting the shrink wrap off the fried turkey he bought from the BBQ trailer down the road. Yes, I spent the holiday with The Fam in southeast Arkansas. The turkey was delicious and we got to eat a good third of it before our dog Maxx managed to pull the plate off the counter and devour the remainder. Sonsabitches, Bumpasses!

Woo Pig Sooie!!!

2006-11-11T13:20:00.000-06:00

It's a HUGE day in NWA as the Razorbacks play host to the Tennessee Volunteers. ESPN College GameDay is even in town! Go Hogs, Beat Tennessee! If for no other reason than "Rocky Top" causes all Arkansans to throw up in their mouths, just a little.

Here's a conversation, overheard in a doctor's office, that illustrates exactly how important this game is and exactly how crazy Razorback fans can be:

Older gentleman explaining why he can't have surgery until after the Arkansas v Tennessee game...

Patient: I gotta be in fightin' form for the Tennessee game. I can't be all laid-up! I was there in 1999 when we beat 'em. Remember, the fans tore down the goal post and carried 'em down to Dickson Street!

Patient's Wife: He cried like a baby; this same man didn't even shed a tear at my mama's funeral!

Go Hogs!

Well, It's a Start...

2006-11-11T12:16:00.002-06:00

The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

I'm sure all y'all think I would have just been tickled pink last week when the Democrats gained control of the House and the Senate, but they are going to have to SHOW me something first. Let's face it, the Democrat minority was never that small all along, not so small that they shouldn't have been making a helluva lot of noise long before the past few weeks proceeding the recent midterm election. Frankly, I have been pissed about that. Where is the party of FDR and JFK, the party that took action to help the poor and the oppressed? Where is the party that took a stand for Civil Rights for minorities? Even if they haven't had the balls to stand up and question how we continue to deny rights to a certain portion of the population based on who they love or what they do in their bedrooms, how have they stood by and watched as the civil liberties of all of us were eroded by those using fear to keep us cowed? So, now that they have gained a handful of seats, can we expect some action, some common sense, some application of the very principles this nation was founded on? I'm not so sure. But, I'm watching. Show me, please, please show me!

There's this, Rumsfeld could be charged with war crimes. Could it be? The beginning of accountability? How embarrassing would that be, though? America's Defense Secretary being charged for war crimes in Germany...how very far we have slipped. But, not so far that something still can't be done about it. I still have faith in America and real American values(and I guess the Democrats). Let's show the world something other than our recent fear, prejudice and corruption. Now is our chance!

My Girlz, Our Pedicures & Dr. P's Annual Fall Shindig

2006-11-10T00:15:00.000-06:00

11/04/2006

Midterm Elections...They Matter Quite a Little!

2006-11-07T20:50:00.001-06:00

God, I hope y'all voted!

Halloween Revisited

2006-11-02T19:35:00.000-06:00

On my list of dream jobs, costume designer is right up there with travel writer and sommelier. Like a big girl version of playing Barbies(uh, or maybe it was just me who chose to make all Barbie's clothes from the remains of cut-offs and my grandmother's old nylon nightgowns). So, Halloween is usually my kind of thing. This year, my creative juices were NOT flowing. I was feeling pretty lazy. So, I had a glass of wine, got a couple of white T-shirts, slung a bunch of paint on 'em and after a gawdawful mess, some of the neighbors joining me with their own white T-shirts and considerable drying time...viola...Possum and I were Jackson Pollock paintings for Halloween! I was Convergence and Possum was Circumcision, just in case you were wondering.

That's a close up(and blurred) shot of my T-shirt. So, today I'm messing around on this here internets and I see this.

$140 million. I must not have slung it the right way.

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T20:04:00.000-06:00

Hey, yeah! I have a blog!

2006-10-26T19:25:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy with not much interesting to share...unless, you want to hear about work and payin' the bills, etc.

There are lots of exciting fall soirees in the works though. Here's what I have to look forward to in the next couple of weeks:

A trip to South East Arkansas to visit family and friends.

One of my bestest friend's annual Halloween Party. This is the 2nd year, so maybe it's presumptuous of me to call it annual just yet. She should feel free to shoo my drunk, costumed ass off her front porch this time next year.

Possum and I are going to see Marie Antoinette this weekend! If I don't continue to be so lame, maybe I'll even post a review!

Pedicures with my girls!

Dr. Performance's 3rd Annual Cocktail Party and Shindig.

Aren't I just the social butterfly?

A Religious Right

2006-10-17T06:45:00.000-05:00

For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to also specify the charges against him. Acts 25:27

Now, I'm not one to trot out Bible versus to serve my political purposes. My faith and my belief are MY faith and MY belief. I like it that way and I believe everyone else is entitled to their own faith and beliefs, as long as they aren't hurting anyone or cramming it down everybodies throat either. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way. For the last 6+ years that the Republicans have had their way(despite their best efforts to pin the tail on the Donkey and blame a lingering Clinton aura...longer lasting than a stain on a blue dress!...Damn, what is that man MADE of?... for everything they have managed to screw up), they have played holier than thou and shamelessly used their religion and the Religious Right to further their aims. Turns out it's been a whole lot of talk and precious little walk when it comes to their "faith". Aside from all the corruption, bribes and naughty e-mails to little boys, David Kuo, an Evangelical Christian and White House insider said on 60 Minutes that often Christian leaders were mocked and called "goofy" or "nuts". If the Religious Right remains suspicious of these claims...so close to mid-term elections, instead they should reflect on just how much actual legislation has been implemented over the last 6+ years on the issues near and dear to their hearts. That's the proof of how valued, or rather taken for granted, they are. Not that I'M complaining. I'm just saying.

I started this post with the Bible verse Acts 25:27. I can't think of anything that better illustrates the chasm that exists between my view of a what it means to be a Christian and the view that this administration adheres to. So, that's your Bible study for today, the day Bush signs a law severely limiting the great writ of habeas corpus.

"If All Arkansas Read the Same Book"

2006-10-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

I picked up Shirley Abbott's The Bookmaker's Daughter at my local library because I have fond memories of Ms. Abbott's book Womenfolks: Growing Up Down South from my ninth grade history class. Truly, very few memories of the actual book, but lots of memories of passionate discussions among teen girls about being a "woman" and being "Southern". I was a couple of chapters into The Bookmaker's Daughter when I learned that it is currently Arkansas State Library's "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" selection. Well, I've done my part. I was even considering going to our local library's lecture, book signing and lunch...until I realized it is being held Monday at 11:30am. I shall be working, like any healthy, productive person between the ages of 18-65 on a Monday mid-morning. WTF, Fayetteville Public Library, WTF?

Anywho, the book is a lovely reminiscence of family, and a fair amount of politics, in post-Depression era Arkansas(not too different from the late 70's early 80's Arkansas when I was a little girl). Ms. Abbott lays it all out there...the good, the bad and the ugly, without forfeiting any love or loyalty to the people or the place that raised her. Besides, just look at that cover photo! Isn't that great? Doesn't it just make you wish that men still wore hats and had the home-trainin' to take 'em off indoors and especially at the supper table?

So, to a wallow further in Arkansas nostalgia...I'm gonna give this a go. Remember Designing Women, people? Remember Evening Shade? Er, well, remember Designing Women???

Prairie Grove-Battlefield Park

2006-10-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

Lincoln Apple Festival!

2006-10-07T18:45:00.000-05:00

Note the dunking booth target---upside down longhorns. Yep, we still hate Texas.

Lot's o' Bikes

2006-09-30T11:31:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken while driving down Mission, 10am.

Fayetteville Under Siege, or as it's commonly called...Bikes Blues & BBQ

2006-09-29T18:39:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Possum for submitting these pictures from Bikes Blues & BBQ, right before he Got The Hell Out Of Here. I probably would have left town too, if I wasn't obligated to be here this weekend. The plan is to stay as far away from the fray as possible, though. Fayetteville has more than it's fair share of astonishingly stupid drivers and traffic is a pain in the ass around here on a good day; add over 300,000 bikers and we are talking scenes from a NIGHTMARE. A 10 minute drive from Downtown to South Fayetteville morphs into a 35 minute battle to suppress violent road rage. Not to mention the constant roar of bikes from one end of town to the other, which I can hear through my open window now. I'm not even ANYWHERE NEAR ground zero, either.

In years past, I have looked forward to BB&BBQ as an excuse to go out with the girls at night and an outing with my son to see the bikes during the day. But, this year the traffic and the quest for parking just seems like too much of an obstacle. My boy wasn't even interested in going.

God, I'm sounding like all those Fayetteville snobs, endlessly whining about all the things that "Keep Fayetteville Funky". Au contraire, I'm all for it! I love that Fayetteville is such a shiny happy town that you can mix thousands of bikers and countless drunk locals in a confined area and it's still called child-friendly(at least during the daylight hours). There are very few problems given the magnitude of the event; it's one of the largest bike rallies in the country! I do realize how lucky I am, despite the inconvenience to my routine once a year.

I'm just going to opt out this year, that's how I'm feeling now anyways. If for some reason I do find myself down there...I'll be sure to have my camera.

Life's Too Short for Sensible Shoes

2006-09-28T19:48:00.000-05:00

"Shoes turn you into someone else. You can't be a dominatrix in a sneaker. If you are in a high heel, you are in pain, and you are going to make someone pay for it."
Natacha Marro, maker of custom fetish boots in London

There's an article in the September National Geographic about shoes. The pictures by Mitchell Feinberg are so cool they make me want to strut around in all those over-the-top shoes. What I really found interesting though was the quote from June Swann: Shoe Historian, at the beginning of the article. "Shoes are the best indication of how people are feeling." So, that made me wonder what my shoes, stacked Abu Ghraib style in a corner by my closet, were saying about how I'm feeling. (I think they are saying I had a busy week.) The right pair of shoes can make all the difference, though. After a particularly trying week, I once had a boyfriend give me a pair of "feel-better-shoes", and it worked! You never have to worry about shoes turning on you and becoming too snug if you slack at the gym or hit the chocolate a little too hard either. Not like those bastards, blue jeans.

I'm not a big fan of the sensible shoe; they just aren't any fun to shop for. But, there is a time and a place for everything and if Moses had been a woman he would have insisted on an Eleventh Commandment...Thou Shall Dress for the Occasion. So, as I've gotten older I have come to terms with the fact that there are times when the Nikes and even the Tevas are necessary. Conversely, there are times when only a 3 inch stiletto will do. It's all about adaptability. And shoes, like hair color, allow you to easily become someone else. At least for a little while.

Nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour cream...

2006-09-26T09:23:00.001-05:00

Weird Al is back with a new video called "White & Nerdy". You guessed it, parodying Chamillionaire's "Ridin'". I don't know about y'all, but whenever I think about Weird Al I see a montage of various people from my past singing their own favorite Weird Al songs. I'll spare you the gory details. I'll just trust that Weird Al holds as dear a place in your heart as mine.

Just in case you haven't had enough, or you doubt the cleverness that is Weird Al...check this out.

Note to Possum: I love you even if this did hit a little close to home. Let's just never speak of the Star Wars Holiday Special ever again.

New Hair, Just in Time for Fall!

2006-09-23T17:52:00.000-05:00

If you're a fly gal, then get your nails done.
Get a pedicure, get your hair did."
- "Work It", Missy Elliot

I've never been a brunette before! The four hours that I have been though have been lots of fun, you know...scaring myself when I walk by a mirror and such. My stylist is a hoot and we had fun doing something different for a change. In the past, I have been pretty experimental, running the gamut from a platinum blonde Mia Farrow/Rosemary's Baby 'do to hussy red to a rather regrettable yellowish/purple striped atrocity. So yeah, there have been mixed results but overall I'm grateful that God saw fit to bless me with the type of skin tone that if I ever have to run from the law or join the Witness Relocation Program I'll do just fine. Lately, I have kept it pretty tame and blonde; partially out of consideration for Possum's rather refined and conservative sensibilities. Also, because I have noticed that anytime I stray too far, for too long from my blonde "roots" I start getting sorta depressed. I just start feeling not quite myself. But, that's what makes it so much fun right? It's like being incognito or playing dress-up(which I also still like to do). Make no mistake though, I'm a blonde. There won't be any going over to the other side. I predict fairer follicles by spring.

E-mail8Ball

2006-09-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love everything about this!

Speaking of relinquishing all control over your own life...I had an idea the other day in the shower....Life by Consensus, the politicians have been doing it for years. How about instead of letting fate or a CD decide, you let your friends? Who better? Everyone has a sh*tload of e-mail contacts, folks who know you from different places and know different aspects of your personality, so the next time you are puzzled by life...just poll everyone in your address book. Or better yet, why not let your friends make EVERY major life decision....hell, even minor life decisions? The word's out that kids these days are vacillating to the point of ineffectualness anyways. So, give up soul- searching, logic and quiet contemplation. Where the hell has that got you? Just Dear Abby your friends, they actually know you and you'll have a variety of answers to choose from. Better yet, make it a yes/no either/or type question and majority rules! I couldn't do it, I'm entirely too hard-headed and opinionated. Here's a list of qualifications for the candidate we need for our little social experiment:

1) Must have extensive e-mail contact list. Friends must not be too squeamish or preoccupied with their own life to play along.

2) Must be impressionable enough for this to seem like a good idea.

3) Must have an affinity for statistical methods.

4) Must have already F'd up things enough all on your lonesome.

5) Ability to condense every life choice into a yes/no, either/or question a plus.

6) Must be connected enough to be able to drop everything and e-mail your group anytime you are indecisive. (Should I take that job? Should I go out with that guy? Is it too "Fall" for flip-flops?)

7) When the majority speaks, you must listen.

So basically what we are looking for is a wimpy nerd with no life, who's online all the time. Are you picturing someone right now? So, if you or someone you know wants to try it...DO IT! And, for goodness sake tell me how it works out! Could be interesting.

Who, me??? Bipolar???

2006-09-20T18:13:00.000-05:00

My many moods this week. (Is it really only Wednesday?)

Frazzled: Work, errands, bills, half-assedly working out, and all the other usual stuff has proved daunting this week.

Ecstatic: I saw the greatest goal ever scored! Live and by my favorite soccer player of all time :-)

Amused: Here's something for my redheaded friends. Just don't get carried away, unless you are fed up with being Caucasian.

Excited: I get new hair on Saturday! I'm thinking of doing something REALLY drastic. I think I'm going to go much darker(because I'm fed up with being Caucasian..uh, maybe just blonde.) A lot of this is speculation and depends entirely on the mood of my stylist at the time. She pretty much does what she wants and because she's fabulous, I let her!

Aggravated: The more I write the cheesier this sounds and frankly that just makes me pissed off.

Highlight of the weekend: Eating ice cream with Possum by the train tracks; watching an ambulance, fire truck, AND police cruiser respond to a passed-out drunk on the street. Don't ya just love this town?

I Still Love wikiHow!

2006-09-16T15:12:00.000-05:00

I really wish I had read this a few weeks ago! ;-)

Let's all cheer...Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink!

2006-09-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

Last night, Possum and I watched the Champions League game between Manchester United and Celtic that he had TiVoed. It came on at 1:30pm, so I had to avoid the computer and any possible online spoilers for the rest of the day...hence, no post yesterday. This was a really fun game. The guy with the coolest name in soccer scored a goal, so we got to hear the commentators say Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink a bazillion times! I think they got as much joy out of saying it as I did out of hearing it. Yes, I am easily amused and yes, I did partake of a little wine during the game. Ah, good times. While I appreciated all the JVofH, I think it was pretty clear the commentators weren't rooting for ManU. That goalie's "brush" of Ryan Giggs looked more like a hug to me...and the ref ;-) Now, Giggs is out for a couple of weeks and Possum has to scramble his Fantasy Football lineup. It doesn't affect me, I can't seem to pick anyone who will do anything interesting. If only JVofH would have come to the EPL!

Worth Repeating

2006-09-12T23:54:00.000-05:00

OK, so I finally broke down and watched some 9/11 coverage. Tuesday night I watched the TiVoed "Countdown with Keith Olbermann". I hadn't heard anything about his speech at that time and it completely floored me. I had to go back and watch it a second time, then read the transcript Wednesday morning. It's that good! This is the most intelligent, articulate commentary I have heard on TV in a long time. So, watch it if you haven't already. Sorry it's taken me so long to share.

If you liked that...you'll love this!

A typical conversation with co-workers...

2006-09-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

Sadly, eating is one of the highlights of our workday.

E: I'm gonna eat this last petit four.

L: You should eat that last petit four.
(note: said petit four is over a week old)

E: I microwaved it.

L: You heated up cake?! That's just gross sounding.

Me: C'mon, the microwave will rejuvenate anything. Throw a wet paper towel on it and it's good as new!

E: **garbled talking with mouth full** four thousand **more unintelligible mouth full talking** man.

Puzzled looks from me and L.

E: **mouth empty now** I said...they should microwave that four thousand year old man they found.

L: Of course you did!

E: You know...like in National Geographic.

Me: Are you talking about the peat bog people? Are you saying that they should take the bog man, cover him with a wet paper towel and microwave him? To rejuvenate him???

E: Well, it may take more than one paper towel, maybe like twenty.

fin

E has earned the reputation for being "random" and we love her for it. Only the truly brilliant can appreciate the tenuous link between petit fours and peat bog people.

Escapism

2006-09-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

An old boyfriend once said that he had lived in Madison County for six months before he met anyone with a full set of teeth...All of the pictures in the previous post were taken while on a hike in Madison County. I didn't really have any up close encounters with any residents while on the hike, but some of my best friends have lived there at one time or another so I can assure you they are not all periodontally challenged. That being said, I did see an assortment of wormy dogs! (See the previous post and say hi to one of 'em!) I also saw lots of folks riding their four-wheelers on the main road! So what do you do in a situation like this...When for a brief moment you find yourself outside the constraints of traffic, busy-body locals and pesky city ordinances and find yourself in the glorious white-trash freedom that is rural Arkansas? You shoot off fireworks in the middle of the road, of course!

C'mon, don't y'all all carry fireworks on hikes?

Today has been a day and I'm about to call it. I left home at 7:30am and didn't return until after 7:30pm. The good thing about being busy all day is that I hardly had a moment to even realize The Date. In fact I've been able to avoid the media entirely. It's not that I don't care that it's 9/11, or that I wish to forget what those three numbers will forever be associated with. In fact, I thought about it several times today and over the past couple of days. I've just been able to reflect on it without the media ipecac of patriotic songs, boys choirs, moments of silence and rhetoric. I'm afraid that would have only made me angry.

Good night, and thanks again to everyone who made the arduous journey over from MySpace to see me:-) Thanks for the comments, y'all. See ya around.

Deliverance-NWA

2006-09-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

Here We Go Again

2006-09-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Why howdy-doo everybody. This is my new blog ...Just for all my loyal friends who have expressed their profound sadness at my MySpace departure...uh hum. Seriously, I do appreciate the fact that so many of you actually read the darn thing and I do hope that it's not too much trouble to just bookmark this page and check in occasionally...Just to keep in touch. So if you are interested, this is where I'll be!

Here's what's going on...

Soccer and lots of it. The EPL season is back and in full swing. Let's not talk about my fantasy football team tho...It sucks ass.

Cooler temps means hiking! The picture above was taken on a hike last weekend. I'm about to go on a hike with my neighbor in a few minutes, once it cools off a little bit. Maybe I'll get some cool pictures to share!

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!