Thursday Thirteen

(With just minutes to spare before it isn't Thursday any more!)

The other night, we downloaded "Knocked Up" onto our TiVo-- and had the usual question, "Do we have enough room on our TiVo to record this?"

Our TiVo records LOTS of stuff-- we have 38 "Season Passes" for shows. Many of the passes are for shows that are more Cory's interest than mine ("Mad Men" and "Sunday Morning Shootout," for example). Others are for now-defunct shows that I simply hope might come back sometime as a mid-season replacement ("National Bingo Night?" "Pros versus Joes?" anyone? How about "Treasure Hunters?). But many are shows that I watch religiously.

Thirteen Shows on our my TiVo Season Pass:
1) "24"
2) "My Name is Earl"
3) "The Soup" (and also its mildly retarded VH-1 cousin, "Best Week Ever")
4) "Desperate Housewives"
5) "Last Comic Standing"
6) "Mythbusters"
7) "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
8) "My Life on the D-List"
9) "Meercat Manor"
10) "Ace of Cakes"
11) "30 Rock"
12) "Burn Notice"
13) An assortment of Adult Swim cartoons-- specifically "Metalocaypse," "Lucy, Daughter of the Devil," and "Venture Brothers."

Oops... my ride is here-- got to go. Later, I'll fill in with links to some of these shows. You really need to check some of them out.

For more Thursday Thirteen, check out the T-13 blogroll.

Flasher on the loose

Cory's a big fan of the flash drive (or if you prefer, "memory stick"). As a bit of a techno-geek, he has one that he stores some of his work stuff on-- and for a while was in the habit of wearing it on a lanyard around his neck. I liked to call it his "nerd necklace," which seemed to discourage him from wearing it more often.

Now don't get me wrong-- I have a flash drive of my own. I bought it once our station started using computer-based editing programs. I can download (upload?) my video from the computer into the flash drive so that I can watch it on my computer at home. In fact, just tonight, I
put my way-cool story about the Stanley Cup onto my flash drive. So, I have the technology. I just don't like to advertise my geekiness by wearing it as a fashion accessory.

About four years ago, when "flash drives" first came out, Cory convinced me that it would be a good idea to get my dad one for Christmas. It ended up being a pretty good gift-- while he was
visiting us, he could do work on his laptop, then if he wanted to email it, could save it onto his memory stick, and load it into my PC which had internet access.

Since then, I've stumbled across flash drives as PR devices-- when I was at Super Bowl XLI this year, the Super Bowl XLII committee was plugging their venue by handing out flash drives, which were loaded with information and pictures of Glendale Arizona and the University of Phoenix Stadium... site of next year's game. And when one of my co-workers swiped it, I was ticked off!

Now there's a company called Pexagon, that's designing Personalized Flash Drives specifically for gift-giving.... with available themes like snowflakes and butterflies that you can have engraved on the flash drives. You can even have them personalized. And of course, you can always pre-load them with fun stuff like pictures for grandma (assuming she's fairly computer savvy) or loaded with MP3 files of music for your kids (assuming that you can figure out what kind of music they'll like). Of course, you could also give them a blank one-- nothing's wrong with that, either.

Just warn them... if you ever see them wearing it lanyard, you hold the right to mock them incessantly and call it a "nerd necklace."

Soup's on!

Cory and I are both big fans of "The Soup" on E! In fact, it's a season-pass on our TiVo.... has been for as long as we've been members of the TiVo cult.

What I like best about the show is that it shows me all the insane, grotesque, bizarre highlights of televised trainwrecks like "I Love New York" and "Tyra"... without actually having to watch the trainwecks themselves. Kind of a Reader's Digest for bad TV, I guess.

But occasionally on "The Soup," we'll see something so funny that we'll actually start watching the show in hopes of seeing another gem.

At least that's what happened with "Yo Gabba Gabba!" If you haven't seen it... then you probably don't have kids. That's why we'd never heard of it. Yo Gabba Gabba is a show designed for little kids-- but we can't get enough of it. Mabye it's the crazy furry hat that DJ Lance wears. Maybe it's the recurring appearances by Mark Mothersbaugh (of DEVO fame) and Biz Markie (The world's worst rapper). Maybe it's the adorable "monsters" (Brobee and Muno are my favorites). Whatever it is, it's pretty entertaining, though I can feel my brain turn to mush as I watch it.

For more on Yo Gabba Gabba, check out this article from the New York Times.

Wordless Wednesday

Dillingham Street Bridge, Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit the W.W.Website.

Sweaty Betty

Since it's late November, I don't really feel the need to turn on the air conditioning. After all, we have ceiling fans to keep the air circulating in here-- certainly it can't be so hot right now that we need to spend money cooling the place down, right?

Wrong.

I ran some errands today-- and left the windows open to keep it cool in here. And when I returned, it was.... drumroll please... 88 degrees in here! And poor Zoe is stuck wearing a fur coat 24-7.

As my old roommate Darren used to say, "I'm sweating like a whore on Nickel Night."

Tourist Season

Having grown up near Detroit, and having lived in some pretty boring places-- it's kind of weird living down here in Florida. I've never lived someplace that people actually wanted to visit. And while we haven't exactly been overrun by houseguests (a good thing for the most part... I hate cleaning for company), there is a certain glamour to living here.

Sure, living in the Sunshine State isn't exactly like living in a city like Savannah or Key West or San Diego-- cities that are themselves tourist destinations. Cities that people who live here would take a vacation to visit.

Several years ago, when we were still living in the Peach State, we got to visit Savannah for a few days. The downtown area is adorable, the history is fascinating-- and I didn't even find the peoples' accents annoying (unlike the part of Georgia where we lived. The accents there were obnoxious).

There was so much to see that we decided to take an official tour. I think it's the only time that I've done that, and it was really interesting. For more than an hour, we traveled up and down the streets of Savannah, seeing unusual sites-- like the park bench that Tom Hanks sat on when they filmed the movie "Forrest Gump." We stopped at the Telfair museum (site of my "Wordless Wednesday" post two weeks ago). We even saw the infamous "Bird Girl" statue of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" fame. Oh, and I got to pet a horse. That's always a plus in my book.

I don't know if I'd ever go back to Savannah-- love the city, hate the state. But I think if we went back, I'd want to go on the Savannah Ghosts Tour. We considered going on a simlar tour when we were in New Orleans but never got around to it... and it sounds pretty cool!

I don't see a vacation in my near future-- but if you plan on visiting one of those touristy cities, and you don't know where to start when you get there, check out one of those tours-- one of the companies that seems to offer tours in every city is Trusted Tours and Attractions. I know, it sounds cheesy-- but turst me, it's better than sitting around your hotel room staring at pamphlets and tour guides (which is what I often end up doing-- and regretting). And if you have to read those tour guides, you can do it while riding on the trolley between tourist stops!

Trusted Tours and Attractions has an email newsletter that you can sign up for-- and as an added bonus, if you sign up, you'll be automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of your choice. By the way, that offer is only good until Friday, December 14th, 2007. So if you're going to do it, get on the horn!

Only in Florida

Nationwide, stores were packed over Thanksgiving weekend as the Christmas shopping season began. I'm sure lots of crazy things happened in stores in every state.

But in only one state will you find the following headline:

Flaming Lingerie Prompts K-Mart evacuation.

And guess what? It wasn't spontaneous lingerie combustion. Apparently, an arsonist set the fire.

Hmmm... I always thought polyester melted.

Activism in the Buff

Like naked ladies? Want to be more socially concious or politically active-- without all the fuss? Then check this out:

The Lovely Mistresses of George W. Bush 2008 pin-up calendar.

Some of his "mistresses" include: his press correspondent, "Miss Represenation;" Katrina Reconstructionist, "Miss Appropriation;" and the beauty queen, "Hal E. Burton."

As they say on their website, "It's your duty as a good citizen to stare."

Yet another million-dollar idea I didn't think of. Oh well. I don't have the body to pull this one off, anyway.

Artsy Fartsy in the Sunshine State

I saw a sign today for an Art Festival, and got a little excited. I love art fairs. My favorite is the annual Ann Arbor art fair-- but since I'm never in Michigan during it, I haven't gone since I was in grad school (about 12 years ago).

It's a common problem. I never, ever get to go to art fairs... usually because I work on weekends, which are prime art-fair time. The last one we went to was right here in the Cape-- and we could only spend about an hour because we had to squeeze it in during our lunch break.

Today, I heard about another cool art festival here in Florida-- the St. Augustine Artwalk. I've never been to St. Augustine, though I'd love to go. Even though I'm not a history buff, it would be really cool to see the oldest city in the nation (Eat that, Jamestown!)

The Artwalk divides the city into five art districts... with about 20 galleries taking part. And even though it's an Artwalk, they also use the Old Town Trolley Tours to shuttle people to the galleries. So you get to see the city while you see all the galleries.

The next First Friday Weekend Artwalk is December 7th. I won't be able to make it-- but they're holding them on the First Friday of every month in 2008-- so hopefully, we'll get there sometime in the next 12 months.

Thursday Thirteen

OK, so it's kind of a cop-out, since today was Thanksgiving, but today's Thursday Thirteen is

13 Things I'm thankful for:

1) All of the important people-- parents that love me, a husband that somehow doesn't think I'm a complete bitch, and cat that depends on me.
2) Reasonably good health-- especially considering the fact that I don't exercise much, I don't always eat well, and I don't really have genetics on my side, either.
3) 80s music (especially "new wave" and "hair bands"). I've been in kind of a funk lately, but every time I hear the B-52s or a Def Leppard song, it perks me up!
4) Minor League Hockey. We don't get Versus on the cable system here in the Cape, so my weekly trips to Everblades games give me the fix I need.
5) A car that still runs fairly well considering the fact that I've put about 120,000 miles on it since February of 1996.
6) Other people with a weird sense of humor. Especially ones who are authors (i.e. Christopher Moore, Carl Hiaasen)
7) Cheesecake. Quite possibly the worlds' greatest innovation.
8) Cheap, yet tasty beer. Lately one of my favorites has been Shock Top.
9) Having a fairly fast metabolism. It allows me to enjoy cheesecake and beer.
10) Ben & Jerry's. Though I've been very dissapointed by the lack of B&J's Frozen Yogurt at the store lately.
11) Florida. Sure, it has its faults. It's very flat, I sweat constantly from May to October, and there aren't a lot of trees near us. But the view as I drive over the river on my way to work every day makes it worth it.
12) TiVo. (This was Cory's suggestion. While I love the TiVo, I'm not sure it's quite list-worthy. On the other hand, maybe it is.)
13) Having an education, and a job, and running water, and all of the other things I might not have if I'd been born somewhere else... or in some other time. I couldn't survive a day in Africa. I don't even like camping, for God's sake.

Check out other Thursday Thirteeners on the TT Blogroll.

Happy Thanksgiving

And now... by special request:

The Thanksgiving Song

Wordless Wednesday

Providence Canyon State Park, Lumpkin, GA

Like this? Check out other Wordless Wednesday participants.

An Interesting Tidbit...

About my birthday (which will be here in one month and eight days)...
130,389 People Click here to get your own death report... It also tells you who died on your birthday (any year... not just your birth year. The most interesting person on there was Lester B. Pearson, who won a Nobel Prize... but I know him for having an NHL award named after him.

And yet another interesting tidbit... when it's time for me to kick the bucket, Cory could spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a funeral for me-- or he could just cash me in and pocket the profits:
$3265.00
The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. Granted, it wouldn't help him to make too many mortgage payments... but it might keep Cory and Zoe off the streets for a few months. I'd hate to see them living in a refrigerator box on the beach.
So, how much are you worth?

Gussying up the place

Since Cory and I bought the condo almost a year ago, most of the improvements we've made have been on the interior. Fresh paint, new carpet, wainscoting and tile in the bathroom. As far as the exterior goes... we really haven't done much. I planted a bougainvillea and a hibiscus, and we laid down a little mulch. We've done absolutely nothing with our patio, so it still looks really white-trashy.

When we first started looking for a place, we wanted to buy a house instead of a condo-- and if prices had been as low as they are now, we could have done that. After 14 straight years of living in apartments, I really wanted a yard.

Not that I have any idea what to plant in it. It gets way too hot here for most of the plants that I'm familiar with. But even though we have no yard to speak of, I still flip through catalogues, looking for fun things to put in the yard.

I always liked those artificial rocks. No, not the little bitty ones you stick in a garden and stash your spare key inside. I like the big boulders. Now granted, I'd rather have a real one than a fake one, but I lack the cash-- or the physical strength-- to acquire a huge granite monolith for the yard.

And before you get any crazy ideas, I'm not looking for a giant Stonehenge replica to put in the yard. Nothing fancy. Nothing that would attract druids playing pan-flutes during every full moon. Just a nice boulder. Just a couple feet around, maybe.

Sometimes, during my decorating daydreams, I go to websites like the Artificial Rocks Factory and check out the wares. They have boulders in different shapes, sizes, and colors (Yep, colors. You wouldn't want sandstone if it clashed with your slate sidewalk, right?). You can even get faux boulders with address plaques on them.

You know, at work, I spend a lot of times driving around hunting for people's houses, and I'm always stunned at how hard it is to find the house number in front of people's homes! It's become kind of a pet peeve of mine. Seriously, how hard is it to put some numbers on your mailbox-- or even better, get a cool rock with your address on it!

Of course, for me, this is all just a pipe dream. We only have a very narrow strip of landscaping--- not even big enough for a fake boulder. But I like our tiny little yard. It looks nicer than most of our neighbors' entryways. And since it's so little, there really isn't any upkeep!

Maybe they could start making mini-monoliths for condo dwellers.

This post brought to you by: Artificial Rocks Factory

Furry Friends

I've been informed that not everyone knows what a "furry" is. Rather than trying to explain it, I'll just let you watch and learn.

(I should add, at this point, that while I do have a mild fascination with mascots, I don't think I quite qualify for "furry fandom." I just like to watch them dance at sporting events. And ice skate. I love an ice skating mascot)

By the way, why couldn't Cory and I have come up with this idea for a documentary? Every now and then, we'll come up with what we think is a great idea (like a documentary about Bingo), only to have our hopes dashed by the discovery that it's been done before. One of these days, though... we'll come up with our million-dollar idea.

On the Dark Side

A couple of nights ago, our friend Jason (who occasionally prefers that we call him "Dan Handsome") was all in a tizzy about a book he saw at Barnes and Noble. Apparently, it was a book about fetishes, and being the least intimidated person I've ever met in my life, he was reading the book openly in the store.

Apparently, it had some pretty interesting pictures, one of which amused/disturbed him so much that he had to tell me all about it. I say "amused/disturbed" because for Mr. Handsome, it seems the two are often one and the same. For example, he loves that guy "Mystery" on MTV's show "The Pick-Up Artist." Get the picture.

He described the photo in stunning detail-- I'm really couldn't do it justice if I tried to replicate his description. Just imagine the type of photo you might see in a book about Fetishes. Throw in a little nudity, and few cylindrical props, and your imagination has probably done all the work for me.

Now, I need to explain Jason. When he sees things that amuse/disturb him, he gets all worked up into a tizzy. He'll talk about it for days unless you nip it in the bud immediately. So here's all I said:

"I'm just glad they found each other."

And honestly, that's true. I mean, it's hard enough to find someone you love in this world when you're a fairly "normal" person. But what if you're goth? Or a vampire? Or if you're a "furry?"

Well, I still don't know how the "furries" do it, but as far as the Goth/Vampire/Alternative/Fetish crowd goes, you'd better believe there's a website out there just for Goth singles. Why wouldn't there be?

Darkyria.com calls itself a "friendship and matching coven," but behind all the draped red velvet and heavy black eyeliner, it seems a lot like any other online dating site. Members can upload photos and “Send a Wink” if they see someone that they're interested in. There's even a "Dark Cupid" that can help match up Darkyria members. The website also has a World Map Seeker, so I guess if a member wanted to find a vampire in Pennsylvania instead of one in Transylvania, this would be the place find him!

And it's not just for "goths," but for the whole horror/sci-fi/fantasy/alternative/extreme music crowd. So if you're the only single vampire in Novinger, Missouri, there's somewhere for you to go!

I love the internet. There's a place for everyone!

This post brought to you by: Darkyria.com

My New Favorite Website

I'm not sure if it's the catchy title... or the fact that it completely delivers on the title's promise:

Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians

Just fantastic. I never realized how much Warren Beatty looked like Billie Jean King.

Why can't I come up with a million-dollar website idea like that? It's nearly as brilliant as "Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers."

What A Coinkydink....

It's currently 54 degrees here in the Cape-- balmy by some of my northern readers' standards... but pretty chilly for us here in the Sunshine State. So my weather pixie is all bundled up (if you haven't seen her, she's in the left column, about halfway down the page. As I write this, she's wearing an argyle sweater.

Here's the coincidence... yesterday, I was wearing an argyle sweater ($4.26 on clearance at Target).

I think my weather pixie is spying on me.

Thursday Thirteen

Since Cory and I bought the condo last year, we're now only about a mile from the public library, so I've been going there a lot lately. That's what made me think of this week's T.T. Topic:

My 13 Favorite books as a kid/teenageer (in no particular order):

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. As Charlotte herself expressed, that is "Some Pig."
2. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. The illustrations were done by Garth Williams, who also did the illustrations for Charlotte's Web.
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I probably read this dozens of times, and much like Charlotte' Web, I remember seeing an animated version of it at school at some point.
4. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Sugh a great book, though I read it a little too young. It made me terrified of my menstrual cycle years before I even needed to think about it. And terrified of belts, too.
5. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I don't remember much about it, only that it made me cry. And speaking of crying....
6. The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. I bawled like a baby. I know they made a movie out of this a few year ago, but I never saw it. Which leads us to another book that's "now a major motion picture:"
7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I saw a high school production of the play when I was little, and I read the book shortly afterwards. I really, really wanted to see the movie, but somehow Cory went to see it and I didn't. Totally not fair.
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I had trouble getting through all of the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy, but I loved The Hobbit. I remember seeing an animated Hobbit movie at some point. I don't think it was very good.
9. The Pigman by Paul Zindel. I really liked all of Zindel's books. He wrote about most of the same topics that Judy Blume wrote about, but his characters weren't as sugary-sweet.
10. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Who didn't love Ponyboy? I loved this book before the movie came out-- then I saw the movie and became mildly obsessed with C. Thomas Howell, who played Ponyboy in the movie.
11. The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger. I could relate to Marcy. She was smart but thought she was stupid, and she wore glasses and had a low self-esteem. I still have a copy of it.
12. I Was a 98-Pound Duckling by Jean Van Leeuwen. I still have a copy of this one, too. I must have read it 50 times. The main character was tall, skinny and awkward. And she still managed to find a boy who kind of liked her. You've got to love that.
13. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I spent one summer reading all of Adams' books while lying in the backyard. At the end of the summer, I emerged physically tan and a little mentally warped. Don't forget your towel.

So, which books did you read as a kid?

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Dreaming of A "Green" Christmas

Here in the Sunshine State, it's never really "Beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Instead, the warm weather means that the holidays sneak up on you. For example, the first Salvation Army bell-ringer I ever saw here was wearing shorts and a tank-top with her Santa hat. You'd never even know Christmas was on the way if it weren't for neighbors who decorate their yards with thousands of twinkling Christmas lights. (often in their palm trees-- also a little odd the first time you see it)

But this time, when I say "Green Christmas," I'm not talking about the Florida weather. This time, I'm talking about the Al Gore-type green. (And on a side note, did you catch Al Gore on "30 Rock" last week? His cameo was great! His best line? "A whale is in trouble! I have to go!" And then he removed his suit jacket a la Clark Kent. Good Stuff)

Those twinkle lights take up a lot of electricity. And in a place like Florida, where we're suffering from a nasty drought, there's a good chance that they could start a fire. Very un-Christmasy.

But, modern technology is making a better, greener Christmas. How? LED holiday lights! Light-emitting diodes use 1/10th of the energy of standard incandescent Christmas lights. Even better, they also create virtually no heat so they're safer, too.

And-- even if you don't care about the environment (and shame on you if that's the case), there's another benefit. If you're like me, you've always dreaded the day you put up the tree because of the remarkable pain in the tuckus that those light strings create. The bulbs break-- or fizzle out-- and suddenly, an entire string of lights doesn't work because of one cruddy bulb. Or, even worse, no matter how neatly you stored the light strings, they emerge from your basement/attic/closet in one giant tangled wad. I've been known to make a special trip to the store to buy a new light kit-- just so I wouldn't have to untangle the lights I already had.

Well, the folks who make these LED lights say they're nearly indestructable. And the wire? Tangle-resistant. Save the planet, save your sanity.

It's a Festivus Miracle!

This Post brought to you by: Holiday LEDs.com

Only In Florida

Despite the fact that the "Devil Ray" is an aquatic creature commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have decided that their former nickname was far too offensive. They've removed the "Devil" from their name. That's right, in an apparent move to make the team more likeable, they're now just the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yeah, that's what they needed. The fact that they're the only team that's never made the MLB playoffs-- that's not the reason why people don't go to their games. But now that they've given the devil the boot, I'm sure people will be lining up at the gates, right?

I bet you're curious why they didn't change it to "Manta Rays." Well, apparently someone thinks that when people hear the word "ray," they think about "rays" of sunshine. And the Sunshine State.

Personally, I think of Ray Liotta. Maybe he should be their new mascot.

Wordless Wednesday

Michelangelo, Telfair Museum, Savannah, Georgia

Only In Florida (and California)

After reading the article, I realized it's about Disneyland in California... and not Disneyworld in Florida. But I'm guessing if this is happening at one place, it's happening at both.

Evidently, people love Disneyland so much, that they're having their cremation ashes spread on popular rides at the park (Partway down the page "A Pirate's (After) Life for Me").

And Speaking of the Writers' Strike...

If you're interested, this report on TVGuide.com tells you how many new episodes remain for many TV shows.

Bad news for Cory, apparently only one new episode of his favorite show, "The Office", remains. Fortunately for him, there are nine episodes of "Scrubs" left.

As for my favorite show, "My Name is Earl," they're not on the list. Curses!

The Best Show You're Not Watching

Ok-- maybe it's not the best show on tv. Or even in the top-ten. But "Reaper" is a cute little show. It reminds me of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but without all the whiny teenage I'm-in-love-with-a-vampire angst. And you've probably never seen it because it's on the CW network.

"Yikes," you say. "Isn't that the same network that shows 'The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll' and 'Beauty and the Geek?'"

Yeah... it is. But despite that, this show is pretty good. I've meant to post about it every Tuesday for the last month, but I always forget until it's too late. So, tonight, if you're looking for something to do at 9pm (eastern), check it out.

If nothing else, you'll probably enjoy Ray Wise, who plays the devil. He's kind of a George Hamilton-meets-Dean Stockwell type. You'll recognize him the second you see him... though if you're like me, you won't remember anything you've seen him in. (He was in "Good Night and Good Luck", and played the VP on a season of "24").

And if you don't like the show, don't worry. In a few weeks, because of the writers' strike, the only new things on TV will be news magazines, game shows, and 'reality' programming. Then you'll have to (gasp!) read for amusement.

Snap Attack

One of my coworkers has a digital picture frame at her desk with photos of her kids-- when she got it (last year for Christmas, I think), it was quite the novelty around the newsroom. We all oohed and ahhed for a while, mostly because that type of stuff is totally outside of our pay grade.

Every time I see it, it makes me think about how much digital cameras have completely changed our world. Ok... that sounded a little silly, I know. It's not like digital cameras have brought about world peace or anything.

But think about it... just about everyone has a cameraphone now. Remember when we were kids, and you weren't allowed to bring cameras into a concert? Imagine trying to police that rule now! You'd have to confiscate nearly every cell phone in the crowd!

And what about Drivers' Licenses? Remember when you had to wait 4-6 weeks to get your new license in the mail, only to discover that your eyes were closed? Or that there was a shadow across your face that made you look like you had a moustache? Now you can see that horrific picture in just minutes!

Cory and I have two digital cameras (aside from the ones on our phones). Mine is larger and takes better pictures, but I'm always afraid to take it anywhere. I don't want to bring it to an amusement park, for example, because it's a little too big and too nice.

Cory's camera came free when we signed our mortgage. It's much smaller (I can carry it in my purse, so I can take pictures any time I want), but the pictures it takes aren't as nice. And somehow we lost the software and the USB cable to connect it to our computer, so any time I want to remove pictures from it, I have to go to the store and use their photo computer, which is kind of a pain in the butt.

What I like most about our digital cameras is what some people like least about them-- you don't have any pictures. I'm okay with that. I have shoeboxes full of photos from film, and I rarely look at them. But if I have a digital picture I like, I can email it to my friends. Or I can make a print of it. Or, I can make it part of the new "Wordless Wednesday" here on the blog. Did you catch last week's picture of the Tiger and his meat kebab? I'd never been that close to a tiger before-- it was pretty cool!

I'm going to try to post more pictures on "Wordless Wednesdays"-- so I can show off a few more photos. I haven't figured out if I want to do some kind of theme yet-- we'll see. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

The Lucky Ones

I know, the suspense has been killing you all weekend. Yes, Cory and I made it to Coconut Festival in time to see most of the Loverboy concert. The concert started around 9:15 and we probably arrived around 9:45-- I think the only hit we missed was "The Lucky Ones"-- a good song-- but it's no "Working for the Weekend," "Lovin' Every Minute of It," or (try not to laugh) "Hot Girls in Love."

Ok, so they're old-- and Mike Reno got fat. No surprise there. But they were a good band, and they rocked the house (well, actually, they rocked the waterpark. But you get the picture.) You can tell they still love playing live. I just feel bad for them-- and so many other 80s bands-- that they were an early part of the music video revolution.

I love music videos to this day, though it's not easy to find them on TV anymore. But long before music videos became a "legitimate" film form, they sure had their awkward stage. It's kind of like when a pre-teen girl first puts on makeup. Yeah, she'll get the hang of it eventually-- but it isn't gonna be pretty watching her get there.

More on the Loverboy concert later. Until then, I'll leave you with this thought:

Seperated at birth?
Mike Reno (80s Rock Star)
and
Mike Modano (Dallas Stars)

One is Canadian-- the other plays hockey. Sure, Reno's about 20 years older than Modano, but I definitely see a resemblance.

El Cheapo

That's me, El Cheapo.

Given any situation, I'll try to take the cheapest way out. When I bought brand-new custom-made pink golf clubs, I got them from a guy who makes golf clubs at the flea market. When I go on vacation, I take the cheapest direct flight I can possibly find... even if it means flying at 7:00 in the morning or 11:00 at night. When I rent a car, I use an online coupon for an academic fraternity that I wasn't even a member of.

The best? When a restaurant has an online club, I always sign up, because I know that somewhere, buried in all the spam I'll get in December, there'll also be a coupon for a free birthday meal. I heart a free birthday meal. Of course, I sign Cory up, too. That way, we eat for free in September and in December!

Now, I'm not so cheap that I'm willing to make a scene in a store, or demand a discount on something because "It looks like the box has been opened." I worked retail long enough to know how obnoxious those people are. But if I can find a legitimate way to get some money off without making an ass of myself, I'll do it.

That brings me to online shopping. I love to shop online because I don't have to deal with people, and because the prices are usually good enough that they balance out the shipping costs. And who doesn't like getting a package in the mail, right?

But the best part about online shopping-- is that you can always find coupons online if you're willing to hunt for them. Sometimes you can get 10% or more off, sometimes you can snag free shipping. I have a few favorite coupon-hunting websites-- And just today, I found another good website for Online Coupons. They have coupons for Sierra Trading Post, where I recently bought a couple of adorable skorts for golfing. That's right, I said "skorts." They're coming back in style... really! Oh-- and they also have Target.com coupons... which (I've discovered) comes in very handy when buying gifts on people's baby registries. They also have a bunch of stores and websites I've never even heard of before-- but with Christmas coming, I may have to check all of them out! They have an alphabetical listing-- so I might just have to start at the A's and work my way down!

It's funny to think of Christmas being on the way-- it's about 80 degrees and sunny here today. And we went to an outdoor concert two nights ago. Last year, Christmas totally snuck up on me... so I'd better start shopping now!

This post brought to you by: NC Natural.com

Selling Out, Part II

As you may remember, I bought my wedding dress on EBay.  And I got the money for my wedding dress by selling off many of my childhood toys on EBay.  Really, kind of symbolic.

 

The majority of toys I've sold were Breyer horses, with a little bit of doll house furniture thrown in. Apparently, I'm not nearly creative enough, since a man in Spain is selling his "invisible friend" on EBay.

 

I had an invisible friend, too.  He looked a lot like Fred on "Scooby-Doo".  And he drove an invisible dune buggy. How much do you think I could get for that?  I mean, an invisible Dune Buggy should sell for big bucks, right?

Lovin' Every Minute of It

Remember Loverboy?  Those cute Canadian rockers from the 80s?  When I was in junior high school, I thought Mike Reno was so hot.  In fact, when I got my wisdom teeth pulled in high school, my oral surgeon looked just like Mike Reno (only he didn't wear red leather pants-- a serious oversight on his part.  If you look like Mike Reno, you might as well capitalize on it!).  I remember as the nitrous oxide slowly put me under, I even told him that he looked like Mike Reno, and was disappointed when I had to explain who Mike Reno was.  I think I passed out mid-explanation. 

 

I saw Loverboy on Regis and Kelly a couple of years ago-- and Loverboy got old.  Not that I'm surprised, after all, I got old, too.  They still rocked, though. 

 

Well, anyway... O don't want to jinx anything.... But Loverboy is in town tonight, just a few miles from our house, playing at the " Coconut Festival."  And if everything works out tonight (which would require me getting to the hockey game on time, and the Everblades scoring at least one goal in the first period), then I just might get to see them.

 

Of course, every time I ever need things to work out that way, the hockey team plays to a scoreless tie and I'm stuck waiting for something interesting to happen, so I'm not holding my breath for an 80s Flashback.

 

PS- Speaking of Regis and Kelly.... Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford were in town last night. Remember her constant babbling about Cody & Cassidy?  Cody plays high school football-- and his team played Naples High School down here last night.  Frank and Kathie Lee were sitting next to each other-- but they looked a little frosty.  And I'm not talking about the weather.

Mmmmmm... Ham.

Sometimes, living in Florida, it's hard to tell that the holidays are nearly upon us. 

 

Fortunately, the fine folks at Jones Soda (makers of Seattle Seahawks Perspiration-Flavored Soda) are releasing this year's holiday packs-- as a delightful reminder of the coming festivities.

 

Flavors include Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham.

 

Seriously.

 

Oh, and they're Kosher, too.  Jolly Holidays!

Phoning it in

I keep forgetting to write about the bizarre thing that happened to me on Sunday.

Cory and I went to Bar Louie on my lunch/dinner break. The one here in town just opened a few months ago, so it's never very busy, and Cory likes to go there to watch football because he can watch the Chiefs in peace.

Anyway, at some point while we were there, I needed to use the restroom. And as I was "doing my business," I could hear the exterior bathroom door open and a woman talking. I assumed she was with a friend. I was wrong. She was on her cell phone.

Now, I've ranted about cell phones plenty of times. In fact, I've even ranted about people using their cell phones in public restrooms. But this one gets even better.

This woman was on...... drumroll please....... speakerphone.

I'm sure we've all been on the phone and thought the person we were talking to might be in the restroom. Perhaps we heard what sounded like water running. Or tinkling. Or other things not safe for polite conversation (I know... since when am I polite?) But if you're on speakerphone in a public restroom, that's pretty hard to disguise. Not only did her friend know what she was doing... her friend knew what I was doing. Yuck.

But get this: That wasn't even the weirdest part. The weirdest part was the phrase that the woman said as she was walking into the bathroom in the first place.

"He's probably down at the pier, snorting lines off a dead fish."

Seriously. Where do these freaks come from???

The Mist

When I was ten, I saw "The Shining." You know-- the one with creepy Jack Nicholson typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over and over again.

It was, by far, the scariest movie I'd ever seen. I think it was probably at that moment that I understood the phrase "edge of your seat," because I was literally there for most of the movie. It still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

After that, I started reading a lot of Stephen King books-- and then becoming more and more disappointed every time I saw the film adaptations. I think the last straw was probably "Maximum Overdrive," which my friend Emma and I went to see in high school, mostly because Emilio Estevez was in it. Even a brat-packer couldn't disguise the fact that the movie was horrible, and at that point, I stopped reading King's books-- and swore off his movies.

But then, something happened. People started making good adaptations of King's novels (and novellas). Movies like "The Shawshank Redemption," and "The Green Mile." Movies I loved.

Today, I watched the trailers for The Mist by Stephen King and it looks pretty good. First of all, I love Marcia Gay Harden-- she's a great actress. The plot looks pretty cool, too. A weird mist envelops a small town, and traps a bunch of people in a supermarket. They're pretty sure there's something evil in the mist... but inside the market, there's a different kind of evil.

I haven't read King's novella, so I don't know what the payoff is. There's some shots of giant bugs and some kind of tentacled thing-- I hope the effects don't make the movie cheesy. I really like a good psycho-drama, and I hope this one doesn't disappoint me. At least, now that I've seen the trailer, I know it'll be better than "Maximum Overdrive." When you get a chance, check out the trailers online (The Mist by Stephen King). I'd like to hear what you think.

Sadly, Cory and I have only gone to about five movies since moving to Florida, so I'm not sure if we'll make it to this one. Sigh.

A girl can dream about a movie date with her husband, right?

Thursday Thirteen

Today's Thursday Thirteen:

Thirteen Albums I Own (and when I say "Album," I mean "Album." as in a 12" round vinyl disk with a hole in it.)

By the way, I'm not including Soundtracks or Greatest Hits collections. As Bruce McCullough once said on Kids in the Hall, "Greatest Hits are for housewives and little girls!"

1. Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2. Don't mock. I didn't say "Thirteen albums I'm proud to own. did I?"
2. Friend Or Foe (Adam Ant) My friend Anne and I sent a really bizarre fan letter to Adam Ant once. I'm surprised he didn't hire police protection and get restraining orders against both of us. I also have the album "Strip," which was by far his worst album.
3. Living in Oz (Rick Springfield) Hello? Dr. Noah Drake? Need I say more?
4. Pyromania (Def Leppard) I also have "On Through the Night," "High and Dry" and "Hysteria" on vinyl.
5. Forever (Bittersweet Alley) Probably the second-most popular 1980s Detroit rock band, behind The Romantics. The lead singer ended up marrying the older sister of a girl I went to high school with. I also have their second album, "Some Like it Hot."
6. Pictures for Pleasure (Charlie Sexton). Charlie Sexton was a teen guitar prodigy. And he was cute. Enough said.
7. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) As we all know by now, I was obsessed with Billy Idol. I also had his self-titled debut album, along with "Whiplash Smile" (which sucked) and the EP "Don't Stop," which I bought on a school field trip. Oh, and I have two albums from his first band, Generation X.
8. Slippery When Wet (Bon Jovi) After all these years, Jon Bon Jovi is still cute-- and still putting out hit albums. Who would have guessed that of all the hair-bands I liked in the 80s, they'd be the one to survive?
9. License To Ill (The Beastie Boys) My friend Kristi won us concert tickets to see the Beastie Boys in downtown Detroit when I was a senior in high school. I bought a T-shirt, unaware that on the back it said "Get off My Dick."
10. Slide it In (Whitesnake). With Tawny Kitaen on the cover, of course.
11. Out of the Cellar (Ratt) Actually, now that I think of it, Tawny Kitaen is on the cover of that one, too. And just think, years later, she was married to a major league baseball player who she beat up-- and dated Jerry Seinfeld, too. Girl gets around.
12. Days of Innocence (Moving Pictures). The ultimate one-hit-wonder, at least as far as their US albums go. They had exactly one hit song, "What about me?" Last year, a guy at the karaoke bar sang it-- and I had to talk to him about it. Turns out he was Australian.
13. Seven and the Ragged Tiger (Duran Duran). I never really liked this album that much, Their earlier stuff was much better.

Feel free to discuss my awesome taste in music. You know you want to.
Check out the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll!

Out of the Loop

Has Keira Knightley done something particularly scandalous recently? People keep finding my blog by googling her name and now I'm starting to get curious.

So I did some looking-- and didn't find much. She's one some magazine's list of the 100 most overrated things, along with pilates and Grey's Anatomy.

Maybe she did something really scandalous in Europe-- and my Ameri-centric computer and web browser just haven't found it yet.

Selling Out

Remember the first time your favorite band "sold out" to the man? Maybe it was when KISS did that god-awful disco album, "Dynasty." Ugh. Or when Metallica did an album of all covers? Or when Sugar Ray stopped doing hardcore punk... and then sold out again when lead singer Mark McGrath started hosting Extra?

Pretty bad, right? But then, at some point, you got older, and you thought to yourself "What's wrong with trying something different?" or maybe "They probably just needed the money."

So what's my point? I guess that I'm "Selling Out."

No, I promise I won't release a disco album. Though if I did, it would be damn good.

You may have noticed in the last month or so, I've done a couple of "sponsored posts." In blogger-speak, that means I've sold out. Blogging for fun and profit.

I don't even know how I found payperpost. I was just blog-surfing one day, and some blog I visited had a payperpost link, so I clicked, and the next thing I knew, I was signing up!

I'm still new to all of this, so I'm not quite sure where this is going. I mean, I know I'm not going to be an internet millionaire. Or even a thousandaire. I'm hoping for hundredaire. Maybe enough money to buy some Christmas presents-- or some new tile for the bathroom shower. Or that motion-sensor light at Lowe's I've had my eye on.

"But wait!" my loyal readers say. "What about us?" (I like to fantasize that I have loyal readers. Don't spoil my delusion.)

The way I see it, this will only improve my blogging. First of all, payperpost requires me to write at least one non-profit post for every "sponsored' post I write. Second, I promise to only write about things that I can relate to my own life... preferably with humorous anecdotes... or discussions of KISS doing disco.

"Breathtaking"

When I worked at Foland's, we sold a lot of "art." I use quotation marks because the artistic value of many of these items was questionable, at best. But people must have liked it, because they bought it. And a lot of it wasn't cheap.

In addition to large, shimmery, pastel abstracts on canvas, we also had a few framed posters. One of them was obviously designed for a baby's room. It was a photo of about 10 babies, all lined up in a row.

Cute, right?

In theory, yes. Except these weren't Anne Geddes babies, dressed up in cute little outfits to make them look like bumblebees or peapods. Every damn baby in the picture was ugly.

Now, don't even start with that "all babies are beautiful" crap, because I don't buy it. I've seen ugly babies. Granted, I have no maternal instinct beyond my feelings for Zoe, but there are some ugly babies out there. We've all seen 2-month-olds that look like 80-year-old men. we've all seen cross-eyed kids with blotchy skin and crazy tufts of hair. And yet, everyone who saw the picture would say "Awww! That's so cute!"

I know cute. Kissing pandas are cute. Otters holding hands are cute. And some babies are cute. Definitely not all babies.

Today, I discovered that I'm not the only one who thinks that some babies are ugly. In fact, these people celebrate it!

Alzheimer's Awareness Month

This post brought to you by The Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month-- And Alzheimer's Disease is something that I think about often.

A few years ago, my Nana passed away... but even before that, we watched her slowly fade. Even when I was a kid, she had some minor memory problems-- the type of stuff that people do all the time. She'd call me by my mother's name... or call my mother by someone else's name. We all do things like that on occasion, right?

Well, with my Nana, it just kept getting worse, and eventually, she was moved into a home. Talking to her on the phone was heartbreaking. As a woman who lived by herself well into her 80s, she didn't understand why she couldn't come and go as she pleased. She thought the nurses were stealing her clothes and purse. And one particularly sad night, she begged me to come rescue her-- even telling me which floor she lived on, which window was hers, and the best time to break into her room. It probably sounds funny-- let's face it, I'm not exactly Jack Bauer. But it was the most depressing phone call I'd ever experienced.

Alzheimer's terrifies me. Last year, my mom was having memory problems because of some medication she was on, and I was scared that it was already starting to happen to her. Hell, when I forget someone's name, I worry about myself.

So I try to be proactive about my memory. I've always liked doing stuff like brain teasers, sudoku and crosswords-- and I recently read that all of those things help to stimulate the neural paths in your brain, which in turn helps prevent dementia. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America has information on other steps you can take to keep your memory sharp (or as they put it, "Tips for Successful Aging"). Take a look at them, and tell others about them, too.

I'm even considering getting my memory screened-- not that I'm worried right now, but I figure having a baseline for comparison in the future wouldn't be such a bad thing. Since November is Alzheimer's Awareness month, there's also a National Memory Screening Day (November 13th), with sites across the country offering screenings during that week. If you're concerned about yourself-- or someone else, you should check out the list on the Alzheimer's Foundation website. I was pleased to see that there were several locations within a half-hour or so from us.

Of course, with the holidays coming, you can also contribute to the cause. The Alzheimer's Foundation allows you to donate in someone's honor or memory, or as a holiday gift. Prevention is always important-- and finding a cure would be fantastic-- but people suffering with Alzheimer's now can use some help, too.

Wordless Wednesday

So the whole point of "Wordless Wednesday" is that it's supposed to be "wordless." Oh well. Since this is the first one, I'll give you a little explanation. You may be surprised to know that I took this photo at the zoo. Yes, we were pretty close. About 10 feet away. And yes, that is a meat-kebab that the tiger is eating. Cool, huh?

Ok. From now on, Wordless Wednesday posts will be wordless. But we'll cheat a little. If you want information on the photo, you can hover over it with your mouse. There'll be some text explaining the picture in the information box which appears.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Going Kooky for the Dooky...

(note: I've been planning to post this since Friday, since a peculiar press release showed up at work, but I was afraid of being accused of promoting drug use. This post has been sitting in my "Drafts" folder for three days now! Now that the story has shown up on The Smoking Gun and on Breitbart, I think I'm pretty safe in telling the world)

One of the many reasons I love working in the news business: Bizarre memos showing up at work.

Last night, we got a doozy from one of our local Sheriff's departments. Apparently, the new "cool" drug for middle-school and high-school kids-- is raw sewage fumes (Called "Jenkem'). Seriously.

Apparently, you make Jenkem the same way you make sun tea. Except instead of tea, lemons, and water... you use feces and urine. So, parents, if you see a sun tea jar in your yard, you might want to investigate a little more closely.

The press release itself is almost as funny as the alleged drug use is disgusting. My favorite excerpt:

"All subjects who used the Jenkem disliked the taste of sewage in their mouth and the fact that the taste continued for several days."

I also enjoyed the common street names associated with Jenkem, which include "Butthash" and "Winnie" (as in Winnie-the-Pooh. Poor A.A. Milne must be spinning in his grave. First, his sweet books and characters get Disney-fied... and now this).

By the way, as much as I'd love to take credit for the title of this post-- I can't. My co-worker Randy came up with it.

A Little Housekeeping

Those of you who know me well know that housekeeping and the Sportslady are kind of like oil & water. We don't mix well.

Actually, I think that expression has run its course. After all, if you mix oil and water and add a little vinegar, you get salad dressing. And salad dressing is delicious.

But once again, I digress.

I haven't done housekeeping in the house, silly. I've done some on the blog. People kept telling me that the snap windows were kind of annoying-- so I removed them from blog postings, but kept them enabled on the links in the side column. I've also updated my links a little (including deleting a few defunct links)-- though I've kept the links to all of my friends' defunct blogs. A testament to my longevity (or perhaps to my stubbornness and willingness to beat a dead horse).

Panda Porn

I saw this on the news last week-- and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen (nothing... I repeat... nothing is as cute as the otters holding hands. But this is a close second):

Raw Video: Panda pair kisses everyday

These red pandas in Japan are baffling their zookeepers. They kiss for at least an hour every day.

A warning, though. If you watch it for too long, you might start to feel a little bit dirty.

(P.s. Back to the otters- one of the famed "Otters Holding Hands" nearly died after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. She was rescued and sent to the Vancouver Zoo, where she is now an internet celebrity.)

Like Sands through the Hourglass...

When my friend Melina was living in the Czech Republic, she told me once that watching Days of our Lives overseas was like living through some kind of weird deja vu. They were about five years behind, so she already knew what was going on.

The funny thing is, when she came back to the U.S., she realized that nothing had really changed in five years. The plotlines and relationships had barely changed. Honestly, it's one of the reasons I've watched the show for 20 years... I can miss a month and usually not miss anything.

Checking my blog stats, I've noticed lately that a lot of people from Sweden have been coming here by googling "Days of our Lives Serial Killer." So I did a little investigating, and it turns out that in the Scandinavian countries, they're watching Days from late 2003 right now-- when the Salem Stalker offed about half of the cast (Abe, Jack, Cassie, Caroline... and many more).

I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone... but if you want to know what's going to happen next... head to this website-- it has week-by-week summaries for the last eleven years of DOOL.

Chillin' Out

For the first time since early March, we got to open the windows on Friday night!

The temperatures have finally dropped down into the high 50s overnight. It's still been in the mid-80s during the day, so we had the air on for a little while yesterday-- but just for a few hours.

It'll be so nice to get an electric bill that's under $150 this month!

Thursday Thirteen

Once upon a time... the Sportslady participated in something called the "Friday Five." But the website went defunct, and Fridays are a pretty busy day for me, so I dropped it.

This week: My first foray into the "Thursday Thirteen." Knowing me, this won't last long, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thirteen things I have been for Halloween:

1. A Leopard. Or maybe it was a cheetah. I was only about six, so it's hard to say. The costume was adorable, though.
2. A gypsy.
3. A fairy. I wore my white ballet outfit and my mom made me some sweet wings and some kind of a halo/hair wreath thing.
4. A conehead. I said a lot of stuff like, "Mips! Mips!" and "We come from France.... Yes... France." I was only in fourth grade, so nobody but the bus driver got it.
5. Some sort of a punk David Bowie type thing.
6. A rockette. My dad had a sweet tuxedo jacket with tails. The rest was pretty easy.
7. A witch. The first costume I sewed myself. I made of a green lacy dress to go with a black wig... But everyone thought I was supposed to be Cher. That would come in handy later.

8. Little Red Riding hood. It was pretty cute, actually. The next year, I altered it so my friend Casey could wear it.
9. University of Michigan cheerleader.
10. Barbie, complete with hot pink pumps and disproportionately large breasts. I went to a fraternity party and one of the guys asked me if I was a dude. Very depressing.
11. A Pirate. Because of the fact that I rarely throw things away, I had a sweet puffy shirt and thigh-high boots. It also explains the hot-pink pumps from the year before.
12. Another Witch. This time, I looked a little more Goth... and I added a pointy hat to the outfit.
13. Cher. For real, this time. And I won $100. Not too shabby.


Last night, I was a pirate again. No prize money this year, though. I'll try to post a picture in the next day or so.

If you're interested in hearing what other "Thursday Thirteen"ers have to say today, check out their Blogroll.