Thursday, June 28, 2007

A Great Blog or Two

It must be "Best of Chautauqua" time over at the WORD since I got an email from editor Mike Salamone asking whether In Java... was my main blog or if I was using one of my other two sites now. I'll let the record stand that I could never abandon the site I've kept going for six years. If this blog was a child, it would be entering first grade this Fall. How I could deny it that experience? Anyway..

I passed along to Mike the short list of sites I check regularly that include:
Galoot's Hoot Page
Makkaio
Preppy Girl's Guide

A special nod goes to Galoot for his entry about being in a local production of The Nutcracker. The post and comments still provide me endless amusement and laughter.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Happy Blog-i-versary

Here's to SIX years of ramblings on In Java, Literally.... Let's give a quick run down of all that has happened then in my personal life:
  • Changed jobs three times
  • Got engaged/married
  • Bought a house
  • Got two dogs
  • Met many new, cool people
  • Mourned the loss of some friends and family members
  • Replaced a car
  • Started doing the news again on the radio
  • Changed radio stations
  • Became more violinistically involved with several music groups
  • Made up a new word "violinistically"
  • Had so much fun and heartache, that it's difficult to measure or summarize in a short list

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Antoinetta Gets a Tune-Up


When I was in Rochester earlier this month, I dropped off my violin to Signorelli's for some maintenance. The bridge needed an adjustment, the bows re-haired, and I needed a new set of strings. My mom picked "her" up this Friday and brought "her" to Buffalo yesterday, where I retrieved "her" at a graduation party.

And yes, I named my violin. I figured, some people name their cars, so I was going to name my violin. I decided that since the instrument has curves and wears a G-string, it had to be a girl, so Antoinetta it was named.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Vanilla Coke Is Back!

I don't normally get overly excited about sugary sodas that corrode the enamel on your teeth and destroy the lining of your stomach, but I was overjoyed to hear that Coca-Cola is bringing back Vanilla Coke.

When Vanilla Coke began to disappear from grocery store shelves back in 2005, I bought the last two cases of it from Wegmans. These have been savored slowly ever since. I even brought a case to SMA Mini-Con 2006 to share with the other Vanilla Coke enthusiasts.

Wikipedia: Vanilla Coke
(HT to Sabrina for instant messaging me the news)

Monday, June 18, 2007

The push and pull of grocery carts

I created the rule that every time you go into Wegman's, you will see three people you know. It's an inevitable truth.

The rule worked Friday to the tune of 5 people, and tonight to the requisite three.

I wander the aisles, pushing or pulling my cart in a daze. I nearly walk into a display as I turn to look toward the entrance and exit. The sun is trying to shine a beam of light through the clouds. I turn away and face the warm glow of display cases around me.

I frown when encountered with a blur of deli meats. I will not decide tonight. Shiny plastic containers wink softly at me from the prepared food cases. I will not look.

I thump a container of milk into the cart and push my way to the row of cashiers.

"Can I put this all in one bag?" says a young boy. I stare through him and nod.

Happy Father's Day (a buck short)

I laughed a little too hard at this.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Metaphors That In Theory Don't Work

I spent an inordinate amount of time considering the phrase "drink like a fish" today. I'm not a marine biologist, but I didn't have the impression that fish actually drank water. Sure, they use the water to aspirate, but I didn't think they guzzled it down. So it might make more sense to say "drinks like a drunkard."

The whole aspirate thing got me thinking of another phrase people use in reference to fresh air, and other sensory-things. "She/he drank in the (fill in blank with non liquid reference)." Consider I'm standing outside in the fresh air. If I go by the metaphorical logic that I'm "drinking in the fresh air" like a fish aspirates water, then I could be considered drunk. But it being that I'm referencing air, it means I'm drunk on a gas. So wouldn't it be more appropriate to say, "She was high on the fresh air" as opposed to "She was drunk with the fresh air around her" or however you'd write it?

I think I need better distractions.

Monday, June 04, 2007

The Big Blush

There's blushing brides, wines that blush, the blush of a rose, and then the blush that you buy at the drugstore or your favorite cosmetic counter. The latter is what led my Aunt Carol to submit a story about a blush of embarrassment to Neutrogena.

Give it a read and a vote. My impression is that the higher the story is rated, the better chance she has at winning a Girl's Day Out at a Spa. It's a fun distraction either way.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Who Loves You? And Who Do You Love?

One of those notsofun things about getting older is the increasing difficulty of looking cool out on the dance floor. Oh sure, I've been out dancing at Sky Bar with my friends where all the guys are extremely hot, if not extremely gay. But, it's hard to feel like you're doing the floor any favors when some 22-year old size-zero girl sidles up to the wall-to-ceiling mirror and breaks out some hippy moves that even makes some friends of Dorothy think twice about their sexual preference.

When I became club-legal age, one of my favorite places in Rochester was Club Zei. It's gone through several incarnations, and I'm not even sure if it's a dance club anymore. But in the mid-90s, it was the place to if you wanted to shake it to some alternative club music.

Before I was old enough to go out, I would dance around my bedroom to stuff by The Shamen, Apotheosis, and Praga Kahn. I didn't like all the club/techno music, but if it had a great beat, sampled another song (Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds or Utah Saints' "Something Good"), and cleverly lifted pop culture reference like Messiah's "Temple of Dreams" I was there. Here's a video of the latter. Ignore the video and just listen to the music. The other video I found on YouTube was better, but it was a different mix of the song.

Cutting to the Scene with the Pixie

Ten years ago, I decided to do one of the most drastic things I had ever done to my hair. I went from a long style (below collarbone) to a p...