How much of a Brit are you?

I am 62.5% British, just like
Sir Elton John
Roots in the UK, the rest of your hair is in the US.


Take the Brit Quiz at
www.darrenlondon.tripod.com/britquiz1.htm
Quiz written by Daz

Effing C*cksmoker *heh*

I've been laughing my ass off for the past two hours. Matt is the best boyfriend! He got me An Evening With Kevin Smith (& special edition of Dogma) for Christmas and it just arrived today. It's seriously funny shit. I really needed some good laughs. For a few hours, life was very good and happy.

Perhaps Monroe Can Get Someone More Qualified Now

Jack Doyle has announced he won't run for re-election as County Executive of Monroe County, NY. Well, like that's a big surprise. After the snafu's with the Seneca Park Zoo, the soccer field, this year's budget (although I do have to give him some credit for his smooth maneuvering), and a multitude of other things, someone else should get a chance. At the same time, it would have been fun to see the Dem's sparring with him. That's life I guess.

Happy Christmas

I'm off for a few days. Actually, I'll be able to update tomorrow night if I was that zealous about filling you all in on every miniscule detail of my life. If you don't hear from me, don't worry. Lately, I've had friends either drop off the planet or calling me up frantically wondering if I was still talking to them, if I was ok, and such. I say, chill. It's all good. Now get yourself a nice hot cocoa or other tasty beverage and relax. I'm headed over to Rochester for the weekend. Everyone enjoy the holiday as best as you can. Hug a friend or two or three.

Born, Eat, Shag, Die 2002

The Mayfly Project is up and going over at not.so.soft. Go sum up 2002 in 20 words or less.

Some Christmas Haikus

Courtesy of The Backfence, I copy and paste some Christmas Haikus for you:

Cash registers ring.
The economy picks up.
So, this is Christmas.

Rudolph, Red-Nosed Deer
Does not buy Santa's Story
Crashes sleigh: pure spite

Twenty percent off!
Everything is marked down!
What you want is gone

Delicate glass orb in bottom of shopping bag
Chink, chink, chink, chink, chink

Eternal question:
Receipt in bag or in hand?
Don't know! Whatever!

I'm sorry sir, but
Credit card was rejected.
You now leave in shame.

Dozens of twist ties
Toy held in box by ten screws
@#$

You are Princess Leia Organa

"This is some rescue. When you came in here, did you have a plan for getting out?" Technically you're a princess, but there's nothing dainty about you. When your royal blood runs hot, you speak your mind and tell it like it is. Only a true leader would have the courage to stand up to an enemy as ruthless as Darth Vader, and like Leia, your strength lies between your ears (although you're never afraid to go head-to-head with the boys).

You are the type of person who fights for their causes. You are a defender of the downtrodden and an inspiration to all those who have been oppressed. You may come off as a little headstrong and cocky, but how else could you pull off the "ear-muff" hairdo?

Aw yeah. Feel the force, baby.

I Think I've Truely Seen Everything Now..

I visited this site via Jenny and happened upon this. The funny, or sad, part is that I know people that would think this is a really cool gift. I don't know what that says about some of the people I know. Heh.

Mini Movie Marathon

I took advantage of getting my Christmas shopping and various other bits done early and rented several DVD's this weekend. In order, I watched:
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
Monsoon Wedding
Y Tu Mama Tambien

I recommend all three, but if you're not into romantic/comedy/drama with subtitles, skip Monsoon Wedding. Dangerous Lives.. was quite good. Definitely left me and Matt thinking. The ending was such that I had to watch Monsoon Wedding in order to gain some better footing. If you rent Y Tu Mama Tambien, get the unrated version. I never liked the idea that movies are softened for American audiences. I'd rather see something in all its sex/violence/etc. than a sanitized version. In this case, the movie was unrated due to sexual content. I rented it more for the fact that I wanted to see the technique of the man who will be directing the third Harry Potter film.

A Saint, He Is..

After sleeping in very late and then whirling around town doing various errands, I came home to Matt watching the Bills lose to Green Bay as he decorated our Christmas tree. A saint I tell you! I really had no intentions of decorating, but Matt took up the cause and once again, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh hang near the top of the tree as they try to put a star on top of their tree (part of the ornament). Oh happy day!

WHAT HOLLYWOOD STARLETTE OF THE 90'S ARE YOU?

this quiz was made by the sunni bunni bear

Your Candy Woman At Work

Today is candy day. As soon as this is published I will be downstairs in the kitchen, whipping out batch after batch of homemade peanut brittle and fudge. If anyone would like my very easy, microwave recipes for these two candies, just email me. I've been making these two candy recipes since third grade for my relatives at Christmas-time. I personally think my peanut brittle is the better of the two and kicks ass in general. I estimated that I'll have to make at least six to seven batches of peanut brittle and at the very least, four batches of fudge. Awwwww... sugar sugar...

Wobbling On Skates

Matt had the brilliant idea to go check out the new Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena tonight. I hadn't been there yet, so I was game. The place is quite nice. Sure, when hockey players walk by you get a whiff of sweat-soaked gear, but aside from that it's a beautiful new facility. We took advantage of the open skate going on last night. We knew one of the guys taking care of the rink, so he let us on to skate on the newly-Zambonied ice for five minutes before everyone else was allowed on the ice. It would have been awesome if not for the fact that my rental skates (figure skating-style) were crushing my feet. I sat out for a few minutes and then traded in my skates for hockey skates. Much better! So we now have a new extracurricular activity we enjoy doing together.

I Bite the Bullet

Well.. I succumbed. Soon, no ad at the top and I'm already taking advantage of some of the nifty things Blogger-Pro does. Ah well.. I had been thinking about it for a few months anyway.

Archives & Blogger

Like many, I'm a free user of Blogger. I accept that for not paying for the more premium, Pro-Blogger, that there are things I'll miss out on. However, I'm pretty exasperated over the fact that I can't get my archives to work with me. I spent a long while last night trying to get my archives to publish, a mind-numbing experience I would have not gone through if possible, but I was determined to get them to work. According to a blogger-support site (not sponsored by Blogger), there's not a thing I can do about it since a lot of free users are having the same problem. *grumbles* I may have to find another place to host this blog or bite the bullet and upgrade.

A Brief Thaw

The weather turned warmer today, making me feel a little more alive and rejuvenated. That's not to say that I'm more in the spirit of the season. The warmer air actually made me crave spring even more so. Ah well. At least I have a few things off my back work-wise. Things will "calm" down a weensy-bit for the next week. There are a couple big things coming up that need to be addressed, but phase one of a project I'm working on is done. That's good.

This weekend will be filled with wrapping presents, making peanut brittle and fudge, going to dinner with a friend of ours, and other holiday-ish items (aka alcohol imbibing). My only regret in the gift-buying area is that I was unaware that Crossroads, a farm and craft market here in the county, was open until this weekend. I could have gotten a lot of shopping done there, especially with all the discounts they will have this Saturday. I'll just have to remember for next year.

By the way, our tree still isn't decorated. Anyone interested in taking up the task?

Word

As received and copied from the TMBG mailing list:

"GIGANTIC" EXCERPT ON ABC THIS FRIDAY!
After getting great reviews and winning over festival audiences all around the country, we are very happy to announce that a half hour except of "Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns" is going to be broadcast at 12 midnight EST on ABC's Nightline UpClose series this Friday. Set your Tivo or make some popcorn and cuddle round the nation's electronic hearth and enjoy Ted Koppel's introduction! This is a full half hour network exclusive excerpt from AJ Schnack's documentary. Cross your fingers that the leaders of the world don't do something crazy and bump this special event!

Woo-hoo! I missed the movie when it was in Rochester, but I'm not going to miss this!

Kodak & Hometown Loyalty

A few days ago I said I would provide some musings about Kodak. Growing up in Rochester, especially during the late 70's, 80's and 90's, just about everyone knew someone who worked for Kodak. In fact, my schoolmates thought it was weird that my dad didn't work for Kodak or Xerox. On top of that, I didn't know how to explain what he did (a computer programmer). Either way, Kodak was almost omnipresent. It got into daily life whether through the actual products (film, cameras, movies), employment, or general phrases like "A Kodak moment." There was a pride about this great company that employed thousands of people, thus making it possible for a lot of people to have a good life.

The 1980's began to change all that with cut backs and lay-offs. I know salaried people that took full advantage of overtime pay, who suddenly were finding themselves in financial quandries when Kodak stopped that overtime pay. I know of marriages that suffered during this time. But we were all told that this would help stabilize the company and that we needed to stay loyal to the brand. Then stories of chemicle leaks at School 41 (otherwise known as Kodak Park School since it's right next to Kodak Park) started to surface, literally, in areas near the school. There were questions of whether people who lived on Rand Street were affected by possible groundwater contamination. Then "rumours" of dead spots in the Genesee River downstream from Kings Landing (a wastewater treatment plant for Kodak) were heard. I had done a project in early 1993 on dead spots in the river that Kodak claimed did not exist. Several years later, scientists refuted that claim with scientific evidence. For information on these past three environmental items, visit this site.

The 1990's brought continued lay-offs at Kodak. The Democrat & Chronicle ran several series on Kodak, China, and Fugi-film. We all wondered where we were going next. We started to hear about this move to digital cameras. We also heard about Kodak pushing its film to moviemakers. There was a new CEO, George Fisher, who seemed great early on but later reports made us unsure. He's gone now. More layoffs. A new website was developed in a time when not a lot of companies had sites on the Internet. There was a partnership with AOL that developed into "You've Got Pictures".

2000 and beyond could just be reflective of the past. Plants are being closed down or moved to China. The large Elmgrove (Thanks Ryan for the correction) complex was closed down. More layoffs. There's another set of layoffs I'm waiting to hear more about. Visit the blogs of Jenny, Matt, or Tina and read older entries (from the past couple of weeks) that refer to this.

I lay this all out for background. I have always been loyal to the Kodak brand. That goes from buying film, where and how I process my film, and even cheering quietly at the end of films that are printed on Kodak film. While I acknowledged the company had its faults, I always thought they had a good product and were a decent place to work. Occassionally, I think the business model gets in the way of the human model. Lately, I question my loyalty. Does it make sense to be loyal to a company that's pushing more of its business out the United States? Is it foolhardy to be loyal to a company that keeps reducing its employment rolls? Maybe it's foolhardy to think they can survive otherwise. That's one thing I remember from those Democrat & Chronicle articles from years ago. I guess we'll have to wait and see like everything else.

Damn Song Stuck In My Head.. Here's Why

Dartmouth has done a study to figure out why we get songs stuck in our heads. I didn't get all the technobabble, but it's still interesting.

Jinxies! Nancy's Back on the Case

I was satisfied with the tv production of Nancy Drew (link requires registration) last night on ABC. Sure, Nancy got into a few scrapes you didn't read in the books (like hacking into computers, thus getting put in the slammer until Daddy bailed her out), but it was all good. There were enough "loose" ends at the end of the movie to allow for additional movies/tv series. I'd probably watch it since there were enough good moments in the movie. Plus, Nancy Drew reads Dorothy Parker (one of books Nancy pulls out of her suitcase while unpacking in her new dorm). A related note, more connected to the books, doesn't it seem funny that Nancy was always getting into those scrapes that led to her being tied up, drugged up, knocked out, and generally incapacitated? Even when I was younger, it seemed a little excessive at points. Like the author was annoyed with Nancy or perhaps Nancy just likes to be tied up.

Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.

what kind of person are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Staying Within the Blue Line

Bethany, Oklahoma was trying to figure out a way to get its residents to shop locally. An 18-inch-wide strip of blue paint on the city's borders just may be part of the trick. Here's to ingenuity. Bethany, Oklahoma.. salute!

Mood Reprisal

I must apologize for my bah humbug mood, but it's just a state of being right now. I take comfort in the fact that several other blogs I've been reading are also "suffering" from the same thing. Maybe I just need a good glass of spiked eggnog. Bring it on!

Which Tori Amos Era are you?
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Nancy Drew Returns to TV

I was a huge Nancy Drew fan growing up. In fact, I was reading Nancy Drew books in first grade (along with Trixie Belden, the Dana Girls, and a multitude of others). Now, the famous red-head detective is coming back to tv after a 25 year hiatus (last seen in 1977) this Sunday.

I'm Not In the Mood For This

After working a super long day today, typing pages and pages for an enormous Medicaid piece (will provide link very soon), I think: Hey, won't it be great to go home this Saturday to see Vanessa Carlton at Water Street Music Hall? Yeah. Well, my friend tried to get me a ticket where she bought two yesterday and they were sold out. I tried to buy one online from TicketMaster. No luck. I'm hoping it's just a glitch and there's actually tickets left somewhere in Rochester. *sighs* Add that on top of my lack of enthusiasm for the holidays and it's wrapping up to be a great season. The tree is up with lights, but I don't think I'm going to decorate it. I don't feel like sending Christmas cards. I don't think I'm going to this year. I don't even want to finish shopping for gifts or making the traditional peanut brittle and fudge (which are just more gifts). I just need a break. I think I've hit the peak of my burn out from July. I have only so much energy to exert right now, and work is the only thing that's going to get it because I have to work. I'm at this point of not caring though. I'm not even excited about New Orleans next month. When I say it feels adolescent, I'm not being condescending. It just reminds me of how the stress felt when I was an "adolescent" aka in my mid to late teens and early 20s.

Christmas & Work Rush

You'll have to pardon me if you don't hear from me much these next two weeks. The rush is on in terms of the season and work. The work part has me typing up mounds of news articles for a massive project. That will be done (or at least due) soon, so maybe later this week you'll hear from me. Topics on the hot plate include musings about Kodak, the holiday season, and general every day yammer. In the meantime, hop on over to Meg's site and read her hilarious section called Tis The Season. You'll laugh your mittens off.

Which Closet?

Had a fun night tonight. Matt and I froze while watching the annual Holiday Parade in downtown Jamestown. He really wasn't into it since he felt sick, but indulged me nonetheless. We stood with Troy, Melissa, Irys, and Claire for most of it. Claire had brought these wand-like things with streamers/shiney stuff coming off the ends. She and I waved them around every time a float went by. I think it was more to keep the blood moving than real enthusiasm. Every time I recognized someone, I'd cheer "Hey so-and-so! Yeah!" No one heard me but Claire and we would then giggle. (side note: it's damn late.. I should wait to write more.. ergh)

Anyway. The tree lighting and fireworks went off without a hitch. We then ambled down Third Street in search of food. By this time my feet were so cold that entering warm spaces actually made them sting a little as the blood returned to my extremities. So much for wool socks. After an Alcatraz sandwich (aka glorified peanut butter and jelly sandwich) and hot chocolate, we came home. Matt set himself up on the computer/play station for the night and I took off to see Leah Zicari and the Robin Stone Band at Sneakers.

The concert was great. I really need to make it a habit to get out and see quality live acts more often. Leah actually reminded me a little bit of Dar Williams, but I didn't want to tell her since you never know when you might be comparing one musician to another and the person you're talking to can't stand that other musician. Anyway, I had a nice time talking to Leah. It's one damn small world. I found out she knows my boss from "way back" and we shared some small talk about other people we knew. Good times.

One thing that was a little odd for the evening was the feeling of being in several closets. Since I left Baldwin-Wallace, I've tended to be very quiet about certain bits of my personal life. I get so worried that people will be unwilling to accept me for who I am or wouldn't understand that I just don't say everything. I think we all want people to like us, even if we assume the persona that other people's opinions are not our concern. The problem is that I feel so dishonest about it, and now I feel like if I say what is true that people will be offended that I didn't say anything sooner or will think I'm just doing it to "push my agenda" or attract attention. Gar. C'est la vie. So tonight I was in the closet about having a boyfriend and at the same time about being bi. During the day I was just in the closet about being bi. Bizarre.

Jenny has a blog of note

Y'all should go over to Jenny's blog and pay her some blog-homage. Blogger has made her site a "Blog of Note". That's a pretty good thing.

..and a can of fake snow..

As I drove onto the ramp to get onto Interstate-86, a wild scene lay out before me. The trees on the surrounding hillsides were covered with snow as if someone took a can of fake snow, some movie set snow, and a few cottonballs for good measure and liberally doused the countryside. It was pretty amazing and very pretty. It was the same way brushing off my car this morning. There was several inches of fluff on my car that I could have probably removed with one big breath. Images of skiing down one of the local slopes this weekend filled my head. It is really wonderful living here sometimes. It may get cold, blustery, slushy, and icky, but as Donn Esmonde from The Buffalo News stated in his column today, it's real here.

Want to Find Out Some Clues to "Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix"?

Click HERE to help The Leaky Cauldron raise money to buy a card with 93 words on it that are clues to what's in the next Harry Potter book. All money raised in this auction is being given to charity.

Which Kevin Smith Movie Are You? by jennablue! textarea>

Like This Wasn't Obvious

The Center For Digital Democracy has an article about a report that found that radio deregulation has led to less diversity and less competition on the air. That should be no big surprise to anyone.

Also known widely as the Fire Bird, the phoenix is a profound symbol of the circle of life. It has a life cycle of 500 to 600 ears and after that amount of time, it sets itself on fire and dies in the flames. Then after three days, it rises again from the ashes. It is a completely benign creature who lives in dew. It is said that the phoenix has a beautiful melidous song which grows ever more mournful as its life comes to an end. It is a symbol of the sun and immortality. The phoenix is a very worthwhile beast.

What mythical beast best represents you?Take the quiz!

The Insidious Whim Quiz

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Amazing. You'd think we lived in Canada for the amount of time it takes to get a regular doctor's appointment. I called this morning (9:30am) to make an appointment for that annual women's check-up that I'm now 6 months overdue (for the appointment that is). The first available date was February 3, 2003. I think that's rediculous! That's life I guess. So another two months before my doctor hems and haws over my ovaries and suggests I need to go back on some drugs. Even in college I could get a more timely appointment.

World AIDS Day

Please visit Yahoo's World AIDS Day Health page. Read about HIV and AIDS today. Become informed. Help others become less ignorant about this disease and help them and others protect themselves.