I'd Like an Eclair, Please.

ONE WEEK TO GO!

splifford — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:45:19 GMT

So, I just totally spoiled myself (albeit minorly) for the season premiere NEXT WEEK!!! of Supernatural, but can I just say that I am ridiculously excited to see Rachel Miner on the show. I adore her. And it says that she'll be playing a character named Meg. Not sure if it's the same Meg, but it could be very interesting. Anyway, she's such a good actress, and I am very interested in how she is being utilized.

stolen

splifford — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:24:36 GMT

I tend to post this every once in a while, mostly to remind myself that I have to read more!

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? Look at the list and bold those you have read. Tag other book nerds.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Epectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchel
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Aleandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

38...not terrible, but really not great. There are several on here that I intend to read, and a couple others that I started and just could!not!finish! so I don't count them.

GIP!!

splifford — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:44:28 GMT

New icon from yesterday's health care rally...

Keywords: I wanna dip my balls in it!

sniff

splifford — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:29:18 GMT

Lots of things are making me either angry or weepy lately. I have never and will never be able to understand how people can live their lives in ignorance and stupidity and fear of anything different. And it's the willful, stick your fingers in your ears kind of ignorance, too. People who immigrate to this country know more about its history than most of the people who were born here, no one has to actually know what's on a ballot or have any understanding of issues or what's at stake to vote, and the mainstream media are letting the right wing get away with murder, in a couple of cases, quite literally.

The Kids' Choice Awards had a category for Choice Gay, although they don't actually call it that. One side of me is happy about it, that kids are being exposed to different kinds of people in a mainstream kind of way, and the other half is shaking my head at the hypocrisy of this country. It's like gays have become the new minstrel show in so much of the country...they can sing and dance for our pleasure and entertainment, but don't, God Forbid!, give them any rights.

I want the President to stop pretending like non-partisanship will work. Honestly, if you keep trying to play fair when the other side is cheating, you are a fool and will lose in the end.

Oh, and my personal life is going to hell in a handbasket...so, fun times there. There is one thing for sure...love stinks.

splifford — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:30:11 GMT

Your result for Your personal Learning Styles Inventory Test...

The Musician

You scored 100% on Musical

Aural/Musical: This type is based on the recognition of tonal patterns, including various environmental sounds and a sensitivity to rhythm and beats.

If you use the aural style, you like to work with sound and music. You have a good sense of pitch and rhythm. You typically can sing, play a musical instrument, or identify the sounds of different instruments. Certain music invokes strong emotions. You notice the music playing in the background of movies, TV shows and other media. You often find yourself humming or tapping a song or jingle, or a theme or jingle pops into your head without prompting.

Hey! You scored 63% Visual, 100% Musical, 75% Linguistic, 38% Kinesthetic, 50% Logical, 63% Interpersonal and 67% Intrapersonal! Brilliant!

Take Your personal Learning Styles Inventory Test at HelloQuizzy

ganked from flist.

Mandatory Footware

splifford — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:46:26 GMT

I really need a pair of bright orange, thigh high, platform boots.

Whoa.

splifford — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:19:48 GMT

I grew up lstenting to Michael Jackson. Watching the Thriller video for the first time was an Event for me. I know most of the words to most of his music. Cortni and I listened to and sang along to a large part of his discography on our way to New Orleans. He was an incredibly creative and talented person for most of his life. In spite of everything that happened in his later years, he leaves an awesome legacy in the music world. Rest in peace, Michael.

And peace to Farrah, as well. She fought long and hard.

And Ed McMahon, too. He launched a lot of careers.

It's been a lousy couple of days for the entertainment world.

splifford — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:51:16 GMT

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

There are so many people on my friends list that make not just my world but the whole world a better place by existing. Monster love to all of you!!

In other news...boys are dumb.

Why isn't it July 15th yet?

splifford — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:31:28 GMT

OMG, reason #282456127591279623456123 to love Leverage...Wil Wheaton is going to be in an episode!!!

I'm on a boat and it's going fast and...

splifford — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:06:54 GMT

Our third port of call was Samana in the Dominican Republic.

Where we were greeted by a group of beautiful dancers.

We didn't have an excursion planned, because we had to get back for our spa day, so we just went to the beach. Getting there was a little hairy, since we were in a rickshaw pulled by a moped, and the DR doesn't really have what one would refer to as well-paved roads. But we got there in one piece and set up the beach tent.

Little did we know that it would turn out to be the beach tent of doom. It took absolutely no time at all to set up, but once it came time to pack it up and go, it turned evil. It refused to be folded up and put in its bag. We wrestled with it for a good 15 minutes...all the while we had about 20 spectators, a couple of whom were FILMING us. So, if any of you come across "beach tent fiasco" or something like it on youtube, let me know. They applauded when we were done, to which we replied, "Thank you so much for all your help! [muttermutter] Assholes."

Back to the ship for our spa treatments. An hour of head, neck, back, foot and ankle massage, a facial and a glass of champagne. It was SO GREAT! Carly was my spa lady, and she was really cool. I had never had a massage or facial in my entire life, and all I have to say is Oh YES, there will be more of that in my future. So nice. So relaxing. I almost fell asleep. Afterwards it was time for dinner, which was lovely as always, and on to the show. We were in the front row for Sean and Dave, a fun little comedy juggling team who had been working together for decades. And guess who got pulled up on stage to act as Vanna for a couple of minutes...

Yup. I can hand axes to people with the best of 'em. They loved me, though, because every time we saw them for the next few days, they would call me and come over to talk to us.

More karaoke, then bed.

Our last port day was spent in Labadee, Haiti, where Royal Caribbean owns their own beach.

It was absolutely gorgeous there. Before we went ashore, I noticed that we had a stow away.

This little guy had come aboard the night before in the DR, and hung out on the pool deck all night. Seriously beautiful moth...I think it was a hawk moth of some sort.
The beach itself was really nice, and there were chaises and hammocks, which we took full advantage of.

We had a yummy barbecue lunch, did a little shopping, and picked out some artwork for Cortni's new place. Then it was back to the ship for Cortni's graduation prezzie hot stone massage.

Dinner was yummy and the show was terrific. It was the dude who did the Happy Days theme song. His first song was "Mack the Knife," which was one of my lullabies when I was little, and he came down to the audience to do a round, saw me singing every word and stuck the microphone in front of me and let me sing a little bit. By this time, I think everyone on the ship thought that Cortni and I were part of the official onboard entertainment...we did seem to wiggle our way into most of it.

The final two days were at sea. So we spent a lot of time at the pool. Cortni took a few gratuitous bikini pics of me, but ugh, so you only get one. :-p

We spent a bunch of time in the Schooner Bar with AJ and Kevin. AJ was our favorite bartender. One night Cortni wanted a glass of Merlot, but she wanted a long pour, so she asked for a Mer-high. This became AJ's new favorite thing. When he asked me if I wanted a Mer-high, and I told him I wasn't a fan of red wine, without skipping a beat, he offered me a Chardon-high. We love AJ. So, we had to get the "attitude" picture with him...

And we spent a bunch of time with Kevin, who told us that he was engaged to one of the featured singers in the show, JC...so we cheered extra loud for her at the shows. By now we were officially the YAY Girls, and Kevin let Cortni sing "Fever" with him one night, since they didn't have it on the karaoke list.

We also spent quite a bit of time with Cary, our Redneck Gay, who adopted us on the first day. He was there with his entire family, poor man, and they were about as Southern as you could get.

We managed to get a pic with everyone at our dinner table.

And we got pictures of Raj and Arthur.

The last day was a formal dinner night and here we are with Arthur, who was ADORABLE and loved to sing.

The last show was an extravaganza, with these three Argentinian drummers, who were also adorable.

And a terrific show by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers, JC in front. (I couldn't use the flash, so they're a little iffy.

We actually got to meet her, because after the show, we went back to the Schooner Bar, and Kevin made sure he brought her over to meet the YAY Girls. She recognized us from the shows.

Oh, one thing I forgot...our room attendant Lu would put little towel animals on our beds almost every night. Here they are, in no particular order...

Oh, I forgot to mention that on the first formal night, Tom bought roses for Heidi, Cortni and I. Pink for Cortni, yellow for me and, of course, red for Heidi.

Cortni loved the towel turtle and slept with it for a couple of nights. And she wanted to wear the elephant head as a hat.

Finally, we were back in Norfolk (Boooooooooo!). It took us a while to get through customs, because the IDIOTS in front of us in line had tried to bring a plant back to the U.S. with them. A PLANT!!! Stupid people. When we got back to the car, it was about 11 or so, and we set off back to DC and reality. We hit some ridiculous traffic coming out of Norfolk, so as we were crawling along at 2 mph, we busted out some Black Eyed Peas and car danced like there was no one watching. Even though they totally were, and we were very amusing, if their faces were to be believed. Got back to my place around 5, got some dinner, and watched The Big Bang Theory (which I have also successfully indoctrinated Cortni into) and drank wine until we were too tired to be up anymore.

The trip didn't officially end until the next morning around ten. We got up at 8, walked up to this little breakfast place (about the same distance as our stateroom to the Windjammer Cafe), got something to eat, went back to my place, and finished season 1 of BBT.

All told, it was an amazing trip, and I can't wait to take another cruise with Cortni.

Next I'll write about our very last (gasp! until the next one) adventure to New Orleans.

Take a good look at me, 'cause I'm sailin' on a boat!

splifford — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:06:09 GMT

Our first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico. From our place on the dock, we could see El Moro, the big fort up on the hill.

Very cool looking place. And had it not been raining, we would have wandered up there. Next time. As our first excursion had been canceled, we decided to just go on the Distillery tour.

The atrium had a fabulous fountain, that I would love to have in my backyard one day. :-)

And there was a really cool tree out by the bar area.

We spent the majority of the day making fun of one of the other girls on the tour, because she was appalling. She had heard it was going to rain, so all she wore was her bathing suit and a pair of sneakers! OMG, WE WERE SO OFFENDED! Also, the tour turned out to be kind of disappointing...we thought we were going to get a tour of the actual distillery, but apparently, they were all sorts of paranoid about company secrecy, that we got a "virtual" tour and a tour of their museum-like area. But we got free rum, so that was okay. I got a present for my friendly, neighborhood bartender at my crappy, basement bar there. Is that weird?

Later, we got back to the ship, got dressed for dinner, with Cortni all sparkly and leaving a trail of those sparkles everywhere we went, like Hansel and Gretel.

And we got to talk to Heidi and Tom about their para-sailing adventure, which was set for early the next morning...basically as soon as we pulled into St. Thomas at 7 AM.

The next day was our big snorkling adventure, so after the show (which was a very silly comedian), and karaoke for the second time*, we went to bed.

Monday, Day 5, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands...otherwise known as OMG TURTLE DAY!!!!
We woke up and had some breakfast, and then headed to the pool for a while before we were scheduled to meet up with our group. Unfortunately, we dawdled a bit and didn't have time for lunch before we left...this later turned out to be a mistake on my part. Finally, we headed out, and met up with Alex, our guide for the day. Alex was seriously cute. And silly. We got along well. :-p

It turned out that we were getting to the cove on a pirate ship!! Well, it was a sailboat that was flying the jolly roger, so PIRATE SHIP!! I can't remember the captain's name, but he was fun, too. Cortni got to steer for a bit,

and I helped hoist one of the sails.

And jeezus, that's freakin' hard. It took us about an hour to get to the cove, and the seas were fairly rough. I loved it so much. I haven't been in a boat that size on the ocean with any sort of waves since college, and I didn't realized how much I missed it until I was standing at the rail, feeling like we were flying. A couple got seasick, though. Oops. Not me. Finally, we got there, got our equipment and got in the water. I had never been snorkling before, and it freaked me out for about two minutes. Once I got over the "omg, my face is under water and I am still breathing" thing, I was fine, and snorkling quickly became me new favorite thing. And the turtles cooperated! We saw four huge ones, and they just sort of hung out the whole time we were there. There was also a reef with lots of cool coral and fishies. I was very proud that I remembered quite a few names. I still have to get my underwater pics developed, but TURTLES!!!!! After a couple hours of snorkling, we had to head back, and that's when the rum started flowing. And by flowing I mean, "DEAR GOD, THAT'S A LOT OF RUM!!"

Alex totally loved me and Cortni, and spent quite a bit of time hanging out with us on the trip back...

He seemed to really like this pose...

And he found a really good spot to put the temporary tattoo we all got...

Unfortunately, the girl who was acting as onboard bartender really liked us, too. Because I went from nicely tipsy to "What the hell happened!?" Seriously, I haven't been that drunk since college, and don't remember getting back to the Grandeur. Thanks to Cortni for being the best babysitter in the world...and apparently I didn't do anything too stupid or obnoxious, because she wasn't even mad. I didn't make it to dinner or the show that night, that's just how drunk I was. I probably should have gotten sick, but I didn't. Let's just say that the next morning, I was feeling fairly delicate.

*One little note about karaoke. They had it every other night, which was probably a good thing. Because every night they had it, more and more people would show up, and Cortni and I would have people asking us ALL DAY, "What are you going to sing? Are you going to sing tonight? Would you sing a Hall and Oates song for me? Do you take requests? Do you have representation?" and so forth. By the last day they had karaoke, it was less than standing room only - people were PACKED in - and when our names were called, we got a standing ovation before we even sang. It was hilarious! We were totally famous.

Next up...Hispaniola.

I'm on a boat!

splifford — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:54:11 GMT

After too many days of delay, I give you...

We started the party on Wednesday night, with yummy food and a bottle of wine (the first of many) and episodes of Leverage, which I have successfully indoctrinated Cortni into. Got up early Thursday morning, made any last minute packing decisions and headed out. We knew it would probably take us a good four hours to get to Norfolk, and we didn't want to be making any mad dashes for the boat at the last minute. So, since the scheduled departure time was 4, we wanted to get there around one. And aside from some traffic getting out of the city, we made good time.

Got to the Grandeur of the Seas, got through our check in with no trouble, and made our way onto our new home for the next nine days. It was very similar to the ship I had previously cruised on with my family, so there were several familiar things, but as our cabin was an interior stateroom, I think it took me a whole day to figure out where the hell our room was in the grand scheme of things. I finally just started using the weird ass artwork as landmarks. Our cabin was near the weird ass picture of lady's severed head on a platter. (Seriously, WEIRD ASS ART! Sometimes quite literally.)

Since our stuff wasn't in our room yet, we went exploring.

They were having a little scavenger hunt in the Centrum, so we went and met Colette, the Royal Caribbean Loyalty Ambassador, who would later become one of our cheerleaders on the trip. We met Courtney, the fruit carver, who was really cute,

we met Katrina, the wife of the cruise director, John, although I can't remember what her title was...she was fun. We went to the pool deck (and the pool bar, where we met Kirk, one of our bartenders) and the solarium and checked out the fitness center and spa. We also signed up for a special spa day when we were going to be in the DR (YAY!). Finally, we set sail and were on our way.

The first day was very laid back...there wasn't anything we were particularly interested in doing, as far as activities, and we had been in a car all morning, so we just chilled by the pool, and had a couple of fruity, frosty drinks in celebration.

Met a few cool people in the hot tub, and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. Cortni and I were of the exact same opinion regarding dinner. We were going to dress up every night, formal night or no formal night. So, we put on our pretty dresses and headed up to the dining room. We had the early seating, because we had wanted time to go to the shows and karaoke and stuff at night, so 6 PM was the appointed hour. We knew we were going to be sitting with other people, too, and we prayed that they would be cool. So, we found our table, met Raj and Arthur, our waiter and assistant waiter, respectively...and then we met Heidi and Tom!

Heidi and Tom very quickly became our favorite people on the ship. They became our Table Parents. (This worked out nicely, since they were telling everyone on the ship that they had adopted us, too.) Heidi and Tom are not married. They had each been married (I think) three times each, and weren't interested in doing that again, so they just lived in sin. :-p Heidi was going to be turning 70 in a couple of days, and we found out that their plans for her birthday were to go para-sailing!!! She's a total hippie, with a long braid down her back, and she just sparkles when she smiles. She makes jewelry out of natural things she finds in the woods (horn, bone, antler, stone, seeds, etc.). Tom is more conservative, but not much, and he also sparkles. We took to them IMMEDIATELY, and they us. It was totally a dinner seating match made in heaven. We had so much fun at our table that other tables were leaning over and trying to join in. Dinner was a smash...and dessert was, to quote the menu, luscious.

After dinner, we had a drink in the Schooner Bar, where we first met AJ, our other bartender, and Kevin, the piano player. He was very good, and we cheered loudly for him. We went to bed kinda early...we were tired, and planning on getting up for the Vitality Stretch at the gym the next morning at 7, so off to bed we went.

The second day was our first full day at sea. We woke up, watched the sun rise,

went to our stretch class, which was fantastic, and had some breakfast. The day was filled with steam room visits, hot tub relaxing, pool bar trips and trivia in the lounge. Our little team of two always seemed to lose by one question (to a group of six former teachers, so I think we can be forgiven). It was the first formal night, so we got especially dressed up, where Cortni made me take a silly, cheesy photo in my pretty dress,

and headed up for champagne cocktails before dinner, then wine with dinner,

and an after dinner drink in the Schooner Bar. We went to the show, and then off to the South Pacific Lounge for KARAOKE!!! The selections in the book were very paltry, but we each managed to find something we wanted to sing, and signed up. Let's just say that singing together for 14 years gave us an edge that the other folks didn't have. In fact, we pretty much became famous because of our performance. (Notably, the next day, one woman came up to us and called me a wiggle-worm...I turned bright red.) Then it was off the the Viking Crown Lounge for a little late night dancing, then off to bed.

Day Three: I have to say something about the captain, Captain Rob.

He was hilarious!! He had the driest sense of humor and his morning announcements were a lot of fun to listen to. His delivery was what did it. He had really good comedic timing. And was just really great. The third day, also at sea, was very relaxing. It became obvious that we had, by this time, already made a name for ourselves on this ship. People were coming up to us, saying they had seen our performance the night before, saying that they had heard about our performance the night before, or just heard about us in general from someone else. It was very strange and funny. Half the staff seemed to know our names already, without having to look at our SeaPass cards, and our bartenders knew what we were drinking. Quite a surreal experience. We were informed that we were full speeding ahead, due to a sick passenger, and would be in Puerto Rico earlier than expected. We also found out our excursion had been canceled due to lack of participation, so we signed up for the Bacardi Rum Distillery Tour the next day, instead. Once again, cocktails with AJ and Kevin in the Schooner before dinner (I believe this is when we acquired the nickname "The YAY Girls" from Kevin), and we finally met the third couple at our dinner table. And I think we scared them a little. Heidi and Tom and Cortni and I had already established such a rapport and closeness, that it was probably pretty intimidating for Jim and Kathie, who were from a fairly small town, and were a very religious couple. The four of us were sort of a culture shock for them, and they were pretty quiet that first night. It turns out that they hadn't brought any formal attire, because Tom couldn't fit into anything anymore. :-( But they did join us for most of the nights thereafter and warmed up quite nicely. After dinner was the Divas of Motown show, which was fabulous, and then off to bed.

More to come...Our ports of call: San Juan, St. Thomas, Samana, and Labadee.

splifford — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:05:47 GMT

So, I have decided that I am going to refer to Public Enemies as The Cheekbone Patrol from now on. Seriously, look at the cast.

Too much to tell, not enough time to type.

splifford — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:30:40 GMT

I promise I will have a summary of my trip sometime in the future, but I am trying to catch up on work before heading to New Orleans with Cortni.

All I can say is that by the third day of the cruise, Cortni and I were famous all over the ship. It was AWESOME!!

I hope everyone is well!

When you hear the word of the day...scream real loud!

splifford — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:41:47 GMT

I have always loved the part of American Beauty where Ricky (whatever happened to Wes Bentley, BTW?) is talking about the little film of the plastic bag dancing around in the wind. Well, yesterday I saw two plastic bags doing a little courtship dance along the sidewalk. It was very cool.

My favorite new oxymoron has got to be "prolific serial killer." Really? That was the best adjective they could come up with for a dude who killed a whole bunch of people?

I think fluorescent lights are evil. They make me tired almost immediately. And spending 8 hours under them is particularly draining.

I am so glad that they gave Misha the opportunity to show his chops. I thought he did an excellent job. It's ridiculously hard to play two such wildly different characters in such close juxtaposition, and he did it masterfully. Also, we needed some justification for the continued usage of the Jimmy meatsuit (like we got with Ruby). My favorite bit was when Jimmy was back with his family and they sit down to eat, and doesn't say grace. Knowing now what we know about Jimmy before he was possessed, his reaction just broke my heart. GO MISHA!!! I really need an icon of that man.

I loved Dean fishing in his dreams. Very nice continuity from last ep.

I really should take notes as I watch, because by the time I get here and get time to write up my thoughts, half of them have gone out the window.

I see where they are going with it, but the whole demon blood/drug addiction thing is...really kinda dumb. It's the only major plot point I have ever had a problem with on this show, but it bugs me, because it just seems so unnecessary for the advancement of the storyline. Why couldn't they just have left it as Ruby is teaching Sam her nasty demon tricks and then they bone. I mean, Sam already has demon blood in him, why would he need more? Ugh. And the whole flask nonsense. Double ugh. Just drink it from the flask, if you're gonna...I thought the whole pouring it on his hand and licking it off was stupid. If it's such a precious commodity, why would he waste so much of it by letting it drip off his hand onto the ground. Like I said...dumb.

Dean calling Sam "Ginormo" was hysterical.

I kinda love that Castiel was pulled back into heaven for getting too close to Dean.

The last shot with Bobby and Dean closing the door to the panic room on Sam was worth it, though. All I could think was "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no." The word of the day was "intervention."

On the whole, however, this ep was just kinda meh for me, except the ending.

Project Runway Canada is one of my new favorite things.

Tomorrow's the reunion. It should be interesting.

No sex for you!

splifford — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:54:06 GMT

Many thanks to a friend from the crappy, basement bar who sent me this link:

2,500 years after it was written, Lysistrata is still relevant!!

Ugh! My computer has the plague.

splifford — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:04:29 GMT

The Lonely Lime Wedge
Once upon a time, there was a lonely, little lime wedge that fell into an elevator door groove and got stuck. How it got there is was mystery, since there was no place in the building where one could go about finding a lime wedge. So, alone it languished, to desicate and wither and finally, to fossilize. Poor, pitiful lime wedge. The End.

I had an excellent weekend. Friday night I went to see Lysistrata at Synetic Theatre in Rosslyn with Greg and Lisa. It was fabulous (alas, the stage was not in the thrust configuration). So raunchy and dirty and full of innuendo and skin...lots of skin. To be more specific, a bunch of scantily clad college students. My face hurt from laughing afterwards. Good times. The next show is in their silent Shakespeare series. It's a version of Midsummer, which I really can't wait to see. After the show, I went to Atomic and saw a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a while, which was nice.

Saturday was a complete waste, but in a good way. It was too hot to do anything anyway, so I stayed in and mainlined BSG. Season Four is giving me high blood pressure! But oh, how I love it so. Speaking of BSG...did anyone catch on the SciFi Convention spoof ep of CSI, that the convention crowd was like playing "Spot the BSG Actor?"

Sunday, I went to see Earth with some friends, and it fulfilled all my expectations. Seeing that footage up on the big screen was totally worth my $9. And during the previews, I discovered that next Spring they are releasing Oceans in the theatres. I was bouncing up and down and clapping when I saw that. My friends made fun of me for how excited I was, but they can all go hang. :-p After the movie, I went in search of a dress (again) to no avail (again), but I did discover that I now can wear a size 10 (sometimes), which has never happened before. So, that was a nice surprise. So apparently, going to the gym actually works! What a concept.

Thankfully, yesterday I left work early to go shopping with my mom and dad out at Montgomery Mall, and wonder of wonders, I found a dress!! It's pretty and perfect for the cruise. Happy sigh of relief, that's for damn sure. Also, the little underwear place I like was having a going out of business sale, so I scored a bunch of bras that actually fit and some cute little lingerie type stuff.

This coming Saturday is my 15th High School Reunion. Eep! I am going, but only because three of my favorite teachers happen to be the keynote speakers. I don't actually care if I see anyone from my class. There are a couple people I wouldn't mind seeing, but more that I would prefer not.

Hello, gorgeous (weather)!

splifford — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:00:15 GMT

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE!!

This was one of the creepier episodes I have seen. From the very beginning, it managed to hit most of my phobias...the thing under the bed and small spaces, being buried alive to be more specific. Yikes.

The title was AWESOME!!!! Especially considering that one of the most frequent signs that a show has jumped the shark is the random addition of a younger sibling/relative out of nowhere. And the Cousin Oliver ref from the Brady Bunch was fabulous.

I know Dean doesn't want to think about John and sex, but c'mon, did he really expect his dad to never have sex again? I mean, he could have been more careful, but he deserved a little fun, too.

I loved Dean getting mad about the baseball game. And that John did all this "normal" stuff with Adam...but then Dean wants to keep Adam normal. (To no avail, however.)

I liked the little bit of Rochambeau, and Dean getting pissed because he didn't throw paper. And man, crawling through ducts. Never fun. Gotta love blind corners in a tight space.

Sammy teaching Adam how to shoot. (Actually, the whole mirroring of Sam's words to John's from the beginning was fairly cool.) It made me want to see a scene of young Dean teaching a young Sammy how to shoot.

Alas, Adam turned out to be a ghoul...I was actually wondering how they would deal with an extra Winchester, but I liked the twist.

And once again, Sammy was trussed up like a Christmas turkey. What is it about the writers/directors on this show that they are so into bondage and Jared Padalecki. Not that I am complaining, mind you.

Also, note to Sam...Castiel is not your personal resurrection machine!!

All in all, a top-notch episode. Not my favorite, definitely, but really good.

Is anyone else watching Harper's Island? It's fun. Mindless and pulpy, but fun. And Jim Beaver is in it! I love him (BOBBY!!) And Katie Cassidy is not nearly as annoying as she was as Ruby on SPN.

I had quite a lovely dream last night. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember waking up thinking, wow, that was nice.

I have decided that I have Canine Tourette's. I am unable to pass a dog anywhere without yelling, "PUPPY!" really loudly. It's completely uncontrollable, too. I also suffer from a milder form of Avian Tourette's, which causes me to yell, "BIRDIE, BIRDIE!!" at pigeons and such.

I'm going to see Lysistrata tonight at Synetic. I love the play, and am really looking forward to seeing what this group does with it.

This is made of win.

splifford — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:20:28 GMT

I pity the fool who doesn't enjoy this video.

[edit x2: Grrrr. html woes like crazy....]

Something to ponder @ 4:20

splifford — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:20:29 GMT

Men in V-neck t-shirts...Yea or Nay?

I vote Nay.

(I vote Hockey.)

Happy Friday.

splifford — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:51:32 GMT

I am reposting this from my neighborhood listserv...

"These 3 dogs have been at the shelter for quite sometime. If you are looking for a dog or know someone who might be, please pass along their info. The more exposure they get, the better chance they have of being adopted."

MIKEY

SPARKLE

PRINCESS JOSEPHINE

All three dogs are absolutely beautiful, adult pit bull mixes. I love pitties, but I live in a one-bedroom condo, and would never want to keep a big dog in such a small space. So, if you know anyone who loves dogs, wants a dog, needs a dog, whatever, consider adopting one of these sweeties.

Also, if any of you have kids that like to write:

The *Harvard Educational Review* is looking for youth essays on what the election of Barack Obama might mean for their education, and we would like your help! Please forward this information to K-12 educators, or consider working with young people you know to encourage their participation in this important opportunity. [ Please refer here.

*Purpose:*

We* *are marking Barack Obama's election to the presidency of the United States with a special issue of the *Harvard Educational Review* that addresses the significance and meaning of this election. Because students are the most important voices in American education, we would like to invite students to contribute to the journal and have their work considered for
publication alongside practitioners, professors, and scholars. We are not seeking work that espouses a certain view; instead, we would like to compile a collection of richly diverse perspectives on the recent election.

*Submission information:*

We are seeking essay submissions from K-12 students anywhere in the U.S. that address the question: *What might the election of Barack Obama mean for my education? *We are also open to receiving other forms of expression such as poetry or artwork, and younger children may submit writing together with illustrations. There is no length requirement for student submissions. However, please note that artwork will only be published in black and white.

Writings must be received by February 20, 2009. Please visit the *HER* website for more information and to download the official Call for Proposals at HER Youth Voices on Obama.

Please direct inquiries to Christina Dobbs or Kristy Cooper at
HER. youthonObama@gmail.com

Thank you for your time,
Kristy Cooper
For the Harvard Educational Review

It was really nice to see so many Whendonheads in one place on this week's episode of Leverage. Christian Kane cracked me up with the fake German (or was it Austrian?) accent.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights are AWESOME!!!

The Republicans are absolutely shooting themselves in every foot they have. It's pathetic and sad that they care more about being bitter and petulant children than they do about the people who voted for them.

I am having a very hard time coming up with 25 random things about myself for that Facebook thingy. I'm not that boring, am I?

Is there a better word than blargh?

splifford — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:01:58 GMT

The sun! It's so nice to see the sun. It's been so gloomy lately.

My life has gotten incredibly boring lately. I just haven't felt like doing anything.

Speaking of which, does anyone know of any fun place to watch the Super Bowl? My mom invited me over, but I know I would end up watching it by myself. And if I wanted to do that, I could just stay home.

I still absolutely adore the Mastercard commercial with Peyton Manning in the various hotels. It makes me giggle every time I see it. "You're goin' down, Manning!" "Yup. Fourth floor. Gettin' a massage." LOVE IT!

Oh hey...this is a totally random request, but does anyone have an mp3 copy of the Ashford & Simpson version of "Solid as Barack" that they could send to me?

Strange and unusual (and funny)

splifford — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:24:00 GMT

Ok, this is really random, but someone up on the 11th floor just told me I reminded her of Mira Sorvino. Now, I don't see it AT ALL, but as she is a hot, Oscar-wimming actress, I will not complain. :-)

Neil Gaimain was just awarded the Newbery Prize for Children's Lit for The Graveyard Book, which is AWESOME!!

Also, this complaint letter is one of the funniest things I have read lately.

Snow is blanketing my city, and all I want is my bed.

splifford — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:34:57 GMT

First thing...I am devastated by the news of Kim Manners' death. He was the directing (and producing) force behind some of my favorite television in history. I feel so bad for the SPN family, who have lost a great friend and family member, and the show will simply never be the same without him.

I also found out this morning that one of my coworkers, of whom I was quite fond, has passed away. He had cancer, and they forced him to come back to work way too soon. I'm really pissed about that.

But on to happier times, or I'll spend the day crying. I finally managed to write down an entry about my experience on the Mall at the Inauguration,
The adventure started when between_names got here Monday evening. We got a pizza, watched the ELE audition tapes and Wall-E and went to bed early in preparation for waking well before dawn. I slept badly, because I was starting to get sick, but woke up at 4:30 anyway. We got layered up (three shirts and a sweater on top, plus one of those Thermacare back wrap thingies, two pair of pants and two pairs of socks, hat, scarf, gloves complete with wrap-around hand warmers) and got all of our supplies ready (camera, water, protein bars and cough drops) and headed out to the Metro at a little after 5. Still pitch dark and colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra, there were already plenty of people making their way towards Capitol Hill. I was surprised that the Metro wasn't that crowded, but I am guessing that the cold actually deterred a whole lot of people from going and/or going that early.

When we got downtown, we wandered around, navigating the closed streets and following the herd, over to the Lincoln Memorial, which was our final destination. We passed St. John's Church, which had a big sign hanging behind it welcoming Malia and Sasha (provided by the AFL).

Everyone around us seemed to be in a good mood, despite the weather. The crowds grew thicker the closer to the Mall we got, but we bypassed the majority, since we were heading further down than just about everyone. We reached the Lincoln Memorial and set up camp front and center. We did notice that the WashPost had completely LIED about the placement of Jumbotrons, so we couldn't actually see anything, but we could hear. Before the sun rose, we saw Annie Liebowitz taking photos around the Memorial, which was pretty cool. But now it was a waiting game. We got there just after 6 and had 6 hours to wait in sub-freezing temps. I was fine except for my toes, which after about an hour and a half were in serious trouble. So, being a smart cookie, I took the hand warmers off and put them in between my two layers of socks. Sure enough, my feet were soon toasty warm. And everything got a little better after the sun rose.

As time passed, the crowds grew thicker.

There was such a feeling of anticipation in the air, like the entire city was holding its collective breath. We struck up conversations with some of the folks around us, and everyone was really nice. At one point, between_names and I were singing songs from The Music Man, and not ten minutes later, we were talking to the lady in front of us, who turned out to be from Gary, Indiana!!! My cousin, Paul, showed up with his friend, but they decided to get closer, and headed for the Washington Monument (and a good thing, too, since my cuz got interviewed by ABC News and showed up on tv that evening, talking about his 8 hour drive, and then doing the hokey pokey with a bunch of strangers). God, I love Paul...he's my pookie darling.

After seemingly endless waiting (which wasn't so bad, since they were piping in Sunday's events over the speakers), things started up for real. All the people were announced as they came out to take their seats, and the only hissing I heard was for Cheney (I thought that booing Bush would just be unnecessary on such a day of celebration, but I'll hiss at Cheney, no prob). Huge cheers for everyone else, though.

(My camera has an awesome zoom. This is just the very fringes of the monster crowd that covered the Mall. Simply amazing.)

And finally, it was time. The level of emotion (and positive emotion at that) was overwhelming. I, and everyone else, had a huge smile on my face and tears streaming down my cheeks. K and I had our arms around each other, and everyone around us was hugging and swaying and laughing and crying all at the same time and all out of happiness and relief and pride. The huge, collective breath that the country was holding was let out as an elated sigh from coast to coast, but was a palpable and spiritual event on the Mall that day. I have never seen that many people in one place before, and it was amazing. And everyone was over the moon. And every time I see footage of it on tv, or hear someone talking about it, I get that same feeling of awe and love and happiness that I had on that day. I was the experience of a lifetime, and one I shall always treasure.

Getting home is another story entirely, but I can put up with a lot of bullshit when I need to...and the pain and the sickness was actually well worth it.

splifford — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:14:18 GMT

Happy Birthday, crossbonesdj!!!

Hope you have a marvelous day.