Culture

  • Madonner (That’s Madonna with a cockney accent, if you’re confused…)

    I don’t have much today. I went and gave my presentation last night, which went OK, but I was nervous all day, so it sucked my energy dry. I received a phone call that my poor Grandma had fallen and hurt herself (she’s going to be OK, no broken bones, but still, she fell pretty darned hard), which was very upsetting because I love her to pieces, and that kind of took what energy I might have had left. And it’s only Friday, not Saturday, so I have a bunch of work to do today, blah blah blah. SO, I’m going to post today, because you know, the world would…

  • Crap

    Does this mean I have to give up my diet coke addiction? I have a lot of the risk factors for osteoporosis…but on the other hand, I don’t want to turn into one of those people that overreact every time a medical report comes out warning of the dangers of this or that. So if a report says don’t eat butter, I look at the evidence, and try to decide whether or not I’ll eat butter. Generally, my motto is moderation in all things, and you’re fine. But I don’t drink diet coke in moderation. I drink 4 or 5 diet cokes a day. It clears my head and gets…

  • Time for Bloggy Love

    Last month, I was on the ball, and gave a ‘perfect post’ award. I kind of thought of doing that again, but for me to do that would mean keeping the idea in the back of my head all dang month, and remembering which blog would be worthy, and comparing it to others that would be worthy, etc. etc. etc. I know, I can copy and paste the URL into a draft, or I could go all 20th century and write them down on a piece of PAPER or something, but instead, I just think, “Wow, that was good stuff”, leave my comment, and move on. I read great stuff…

  • Fashion DON’TS

    You all know of my obsession with What Not To Wear. I love to see them take a person with a misguided sense of fashion, and turn them into a lemming fashion plate in one short week. Really, for all that the folks DO tend to come out looking a bit cookie-cutterish, they ALWAYS look 150X better than they did going in. Well, after a particulary entertaining episode yesterday, when the victim participant (Eddie, over there on the left) reminded me of no-one so much as Bobcat Goldthwait in Scrooged, I had to go look at the website. While there, I saw that one of the host/stylists, Clinton Kelly, had…

  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month

    Did anyone watch Ellen yesterday? I don’t usually watch that format of TV, no Oprah, no Ellen, etc., but for some reason yesterday, after I knocked off from work, I turned it on. Her guest was Sheryl Crow, talking about her fight with Breast Cancer. When she went for her mammogram, they told her they had concerns, and she should come back in 6 months for a follow up. Thankfully, her OB/GYN didn’t think waiting was such a good idea, and she got her treatment started right away. Coincidentally (or maybe not, since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month), the other day I was flipping channels, and came across…

  • Killer Popcorn?

    Have any of you heard of the dangers of microwave popcorn? I first read of it at Pureland Mountain, though I can’t link to the post anymore. On Saturday, I heard a story on NPR about the dangers of working at popcorn plants. The danger comes from the butter flavoring that is added to some microwave popcorn, and the danger is to the employees who work there. Some people have died, and many others are suffering from serious health effects to their lungs. Some popcorn manufacturers have voluntarily imposed safer methods of making their popcorn, while others are ignoring the danger, and I suspect won’t make any changes until federal…

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  • Romantic? Or Realist?

    Every once in awhile, I’ll be talking to someone, and they’ll mention that someone is (or isn’t) their ‘soulmate’. The idea, the way I understand it, is that there is one person out there, who is perfect for you, and assuming you want to be in a relationship, you have to find them. I find this difficult to believe. Also, somewhat depressing. What if they’re perfect for you, but they get hit by a car, and you never get to meet them? What if they’re already married? What if they’re perfect for you, but they’re in Sudan, and you’re in Stockton, and you never have a chance to meet? What…

  • Dealbreakers

    I was reading Dooce yesterday. I don’t usually read her blog, because when someone gets 400+ comments on a post about nothing at all, I get a little jealous, and I don’t want to hang with them anymore. Of course, she never knew I was hanging with her to begin with. Anyway, once in awhile, I’ll come back and check out her blog, and see what’s new in Dooceland. On this particular day, she was talking about her friend Maggie (who is cousin to a friend of ours), another big time blogger, and how she has a book out called No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas…

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  • I’m Just Sayin’

    I bought a cute dress at maxstudio.com once, and now I get these emails telling me of their new lines, etc. The one I received yesterday came with the subject line, “Snazz up your office wardrobe”, and this picture. Tell me, if the girl in the middle doesn’t work at Vogue, where could that possibly be appropriate office attire? I’ve only been working from home for a few months here…has office culture changed THAT much? Wait…maybe she works from home, so she can wear whatever she wants? I’m thinking maybe she should add a bra to her ensamble.

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  • Old Friends

    Old friends, Old friends Sat on their park bench Like bookends. A newspaper blown though the grass Falls on the round toes Of the high shoes Of the old friends. Old friends, Winter companions, The old men Lost in their overcoats, Waiting for the sunset. The sounds of the city, Sifting through trees, Settle like dust On the shoulders Of the old friends. Can you imagine us Years from today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange To be seventy. Old friends, Memory brushes the same years Silently sharing the same fears. – Paul Simon Does anyone understand how it is that friendships grow, then wither away? How do…

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  • Rest In Peace, Ann

    I was sorry to boot up my computer this morning and learn that Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, had succomed to cancer. I wrote about her once before, here. She was a hell of a woman, and we sure need more like her. She will be missed in the fight for what’s right.

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  • Speechless

    I don’t even know what to say about this…I was just reading Salon’s Broadsheet, and came across a trifecta of bullshit that should make every woman in the United States wretch, and hopefully, make both men and women understand why it is so important that we claim the term Feminist, and fight this shit. I don’t have the energy to try to paraphrase, so I’m just going to copy and paste. Some days there is just so much repulsive news that it would be, well, criminally depressing to separate it into three separate entries. So for everyone’s vomitous convenience, I present the three grossest stories of the day, in no…

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  • Edelmiro Abad

    Edelmiro Abad of Brooklyn at a wedding with his close-knit family: his wife, Lorraine, and in white from left, daughters Serena, 19, Rebecca, 26, and Jennifer, 23. (note: the original photo was larger, but the source I had for it discontinued it for some reason.) Beloved husband, proud father, loving son, brother, uncle and dear friend are words that best describe Edelmiro Abad. Ed touched the lives of all who knew him with loving words, a kind gesture, or his unique sense of humor. Ed lived a happy, fulfilled life with his wife of 29 years and three daughters. He also enjoyed a successful career with Fiduciary Trust for 26…

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  • Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty

    Has anyone else out there ever found yourself up too late, watching TV, and flipping channels, and you come across the train wreck that is “Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty“? (Let me take a moment to tell you that in searching for photos of Shannen showing her big nasty gap-toothed smile that makes me think, ‘braces’, ‘cosmetic dentistry’, and ‘frenectomy‘, I came across the news that 90210 will finally be released on DVD this fall…oh, I’m almost tempted, but $62 for one season? WTF?)So, here’s the premise of her new show. Girl wants to break up with boy, but she’s such a LOSER FREAK that she thinks it will be…

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  • Overreacting?

    I expected the lead-up to 9/11, the 5th anniversary of September 11th, to be full of fear. I expected BushCo to try to scare me with talk of war and terrorism. Hell, right before the midterms, I wouldn’t be surprised if they found Bin Ladin AND the elusive WMDs in Iraq. What surprised me was watching Nova last night, which was all about the structural strength of the World Trade Center. I watched them talk about how the buildings did what they were supposed to do, to a point, and what went wrong. They talked about ways that the buildings could have been better designed. They said that about 10K…

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