Wacky Pataki & Casinos

We used to call New York Governor George Pataki "Wacky Pataki" in the newsroom. Correct that, we still call him that but usually with a little more venom in the tone of our voice.

The latest shenanigan is the State is apparently negotiating with an Oklahoma tribe to bring video gaming to downtown Rochester. The Buff News story is the first I've heard of this and I'm absolutely appalled. I don't think any more casinos should be opening in this state. Guaranteed, I applied for a job at one so it's a bit hypocritical for me to say that. It's amazing how your values can be compromised when you're getting desparate for finding new employment in the area where you live.

UPDATE:
Democrat & Chronicle: City casino pact at hand

Support Our Troops Via Gmail

Wil Wheaton has shared a crazy, but cool idea of another way we can help out our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I might not agree with the war, but I still support the men and women over there. After all, they're the ones dying needlessly. So if you want to help, read Wil's suggestion on using your Gmail invites. It's totally worthwhile.

I've Been Living So Long With These Pictures Of You...

Heidi and I got to brainstorming during a flurry of instant messaging and the result is this:

Fiercest Calm: A Photo Blog Between Friends

Searching For A Teacher

Despite my depleted income, I've started thinking about finding a violin teacher in order to start lessons again. Part of this is due to the fact that our friends who are getting married a month after us want me to play at their wedding ceremony. I've played the piece before ("Ave Maria"), but that was back when I was practicing or playing violin almost every day. Now, it's a small miracle if I drag out my instrument more than eight times a year (usually for one of the Community Orchestra concerts).

I've never been big on practicing. In fact, one of the few years I was diligent was when I was in eighth grade. I wasn't spending a lot of time on the phone with friends and I had this weird motivation to become a better violinist because I thought it might make this high school guy I had a crush on like me more than one of the top violinists in the high school. Eighth grade was also the same year I decided that maybe I would become a violin teacher, and thus started the five year educational track to get to that goal. While friends participated in sports, I took up piano. When other friends got summer jobs, I babysat and taught the occasional violin lesson to one of the neighborhood kids. I spent a couple weeks of other summers at various music camps.

Music became a sort of obsession. There was even time when I couldn't imagine being involved romantically with anyone who didn't have musical abilities. We all have our temporary ideals. I would say I was a pretty decent violinist. I had nurturing, vibrant teachers and great opportunities to play with various groups while living in Rochester.

College changed all that. The music education classes were great. I definitely had a real enthusiasm for the material. In fact, I was so interested in the theory of music education that I convinced myself that I really did want to be a teacher for most of my freshman year in college. That changed when I took a class that had us working in the field as part of the class requirements. It's then that I realized that I didn't like children very much. This was on top of the fact that my violin teacher was stifling any desire I had to play violin.

Now that it's been 8 years, I think I'm ready to try again. Plus, I'd hate to think that all that money my parents spent on lessons going to waste!

Postage Shenanigans

I just found out that some of our wedding invitations arrived (or didn't) requiring the receiver to shell out 12-cents postage due. This news is even worse than the batch of invites sent back to our house by the Postal Service for not having enough postage. At least that could be rectified without anyone finding out. I'm just terribly embarrassed right now. You ever feel like you just want to crawl under some blankets and hide for days?

Six Degrees of Weinstein

I just learned that my parents went to SUNY University of Buffalo at the same time as movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. In fact, my dad happened to observe on of the 1969 riots mentioned in the commencement speech. He says that he and some of his friends decided to watch a protest going on somewhere on the campus. They realized that things had turned ugly when canisters of tear gas buzzed overhead. My dad ran one way and his friends the other. He was lucky but his friends were downwind of the gas and felt the effects of it. Trust my dad, the politics-hating-don't-trust-the-government guy that he is, to just watch a protest and not activily participate in one.

Movie: Singles Scene: Cliff & Janet in Coffeehouse

There's a hip new trend called movieoke. Of course it's something you can do NYC and maybe a few other hot spots in big cities. Our friend, Richard, has been doing a form of this for years now. Richard is one of those quirky guys who can recite all of the Star Wars movies by heart. In fact, if you play the soundtrack, he can start the dialogue from any part of the movie as long as you give him a musical cue.

Me? I don't have mad skills like that but I was pretty good at reciting the Cliff/Janet scene from Singles. An excerpt went something like this:


Cliff: I used to live in a house near the airport, so it was under a flight pattern. And I couldn't have friends over because of the noise. Then I moved. I miss that house. I miss those planes!

Janet: Cliff, what are you talking about?

Cliff: I don't know!

Nary A Ribbon Broken

It's safe to say I'm still recovering from my bridal shower on Sunday, especially since sleep eluded me last night and I'm struggling through today on about 2-4 hours of dreamworld.

The shower went well. Heidi has a post with pictures. Truthfully, it was a bit overwhelming. I'm not into big crowds of people and there were over 30 women crammed into my parent's house for the festivities. It makes me wonder how the hell I'm going to survive my wedding day!

High notes included seeing my cousin, Karen, for the first time since she was married a year ago. She and my Aunt Stella came up the day before to help out with shower prep, so we got a chance to get caught up. It was also good to see a good many friends and relatives that I hadn't seen in months or over a year or more. Opening presents was fun too. Matt and I were super-surprised to get an outside bistro-glass-table-top table from Pier 1 from three of my cousins. We had registered for it on a lark almost, thinking that maybe we'd buy it after the wedding depending on how much money we had left over after we bought our new bed. It's already set up on our porch, waiting for us to enjoy a drink or dinner outside. There was only one duplicate in gifts, a George Forman grill. A couple of friends thought they "messed up" when I received two mattress pads, but I had to reassure them that I wanted two since you always need a clean one to put on the bed while the other one is in the wash.

The food rocked everyone's socks. My mom's homemade scones were to die for. Lucky me got to test-taste a couple before the shower. There was plenty of other afternoon tea goodness including homemade shortbread, baklava, brownies, chocolate truffles from Encore Chocolates, chocolate dipped strawberries, cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, chicken salad in puff pastries, shrimp cocktail, fruit on skewers, cheese platter, olive tray, heart puff pastry cookies, and ham-wrapped asparagus. Naturally there was hot tea, and for the non-tea drinkers, homemade lemonade and iced tea.

One fashion item: I tried out Hanes Toeless Hosiery so I could show off my pretty pedicure. The way they work is that the toe of the stocking is open except for a loop to stick your big toe through. It's sort of like a stocking-thong. Works great except I'd highly recommend getting some Dr. Scholl's padding to stick between your big toe and "index" toe. The thong tends to tug in-between after wearing them for a few hours. Despite that, it barely looks like you have stockings on but you get the benefits of the control top and a little dressier look than just going sans-nylons.

Meet Jane Blog

TIME magazine has a nifty article on blogs including several links to blogs of note at the end. An interesting read and it provided me several new places on the web to distract me from doing work.

Taken from Heidi's blog: My Music Personality

72 % enjoys reflective and complex music
81 % enjoys edgy and aggressive music
9 % enjoys fun and simple music
56 % enjoys energetic and upbeat music

Hats Off for the Shower

We're headed back up to Rochester this weekend for my bridal shower. It's an afternoon tea, which seems to be quite the rage for parties lately. I like to think that this tea will be pretty authentic with scones, finger sandwiches, patries, several kinds of tea, and the optional hat and gloves. I will be wearing a red summer dress and a straw hat that will have a red scarf wound around it. In honour of the occasion, I got a pedicure in my favorite red tone by Opi, "Friar, Friar, Pants On Fire!". After playing violin for years and having to keep my finger nails short, it was nice to discover an alternate way to pamper myself.

Changing Scents

I've been wearing the same perfume/body spray since 1994. When I discovered The Body Shop's White Musk, I was in love. I found the soft, clean scent was comforting and lightly sensual at the same time. My favorite version of the scent was the body spray, which The Body Shop stopped making for a few years. I stretched out my supply until I went to Canada last year and was able to buy two bottles of White Musk body spray at a mall in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Lately, I've been spritzing Victoria's Secret Very Sexy for Her. I haven't worn an eau de toilette in many years since most I've come across don't seem to fade gracefully in scent. This one has offered a nice change of pace even though Matt claims it has slight undertones of old lady perfume to it.

But Will It Help Him Sell More Albums?

Morrissey's comment about Reagan's death has resulted in a backlash from some people in the U.S.

Leah asked in comments on my previous post about my thoughts on the whole puppet concept. It's simple really. I don't think George W. Bush is capable of being a good president and that most of what's happened over the past four years has been orchestrated by Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Bush is not worth the effort to spend time backing that up, but I am comforted in the fact in knowing I'm not alone in that sentiment.

Morrissey's lastest album, You Are The Quarry, is experiencing the highest chart position for any of his albums, including albums recorded with The Smiths. I'll be curious to see whether his latest controversial remark will have any effect, positive or negative, on album sales.

And a post-script: NPR did a review of You Are The Quarry on All Things Considered on June 7th. The review link also has a link at the bottom for a past story on the music of The Smiths in Ukrainian.

Mail Day

Our invitations for the wedding have been put in the mail this morning. There was an increased sense of urgency to get them out when we found out that there would be no mail service of Friday due to the National Day of "Mourning" for Reagan.

Now we wait and see what kind of fall-out occurs due to not being able to invite every single friend and friendly co-worker we have due to huge extended families.

On a brighter note, Matt designed a website for the wedding that includes a short "how we met" story by me. Email me for the address.

Why My Husband-To-Be Rocks

Go read Matt's post on gay marriage. Just another reason why I love the guy. Either that or he's got plans to marry a guy. Just kidding!

Oh That Morrissey

Steven is making some headlines again. This time it's due to a comment he made at a concert where he stated that former Pres. Reagan had died and that he wished it had been Bush instead. A nice show of support for the Bush-haters, I'm sure, but Bush dying would only result in the puppet being replaced by the guy pulling the strings, Dick Cheney. And unfortunately, since this country loves a good cry, it probably also would have meant that Cheney would get a huge sympathy vote in November, miring this country in another 4 years of lies and corruption.

I take things too seriously sometimes.

Winding Up For Next Weekend

I'm totally zonked, trying to recover from a busy weekend but I thought it would be nice of me to update the blog.

Friday: Matt and I went to the first showing of Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban in town. Brilliantly done. Alfonso Cuaron and Steve Kloves did an excellent job on adapting the third book in the series to film. I left with a big grin on my face.

Saturday: We had a successful final session with the pastor who will marry us next month. Lunch included reserving the back room of La Bella Sicilia's for the rehearsal dinner. After picking up a wedding shower gift for some friends and getting an oil change, I made a mad dash for Rochester. Heidi, Ryan and I took in October Project at Water Street Music Hall. I enjoyed the concert. Much beer and hockey was enjoyed.

Sunday: My mom woke me up much earlier than my bone-weary body would have liked to go buy flowers for shower gifts at the Rochester Public Market. The rest of the daytime hours involved putting together shower gifts with assistance from my lovely bridesmaids, Heidi and Anne. The evening hours involved a roller hockey game (see Ryan's blog for more). Then I got to have a beer and some wonderful conversation with my friend, Ben, and hang out with Heidi and Ryan some more.

Monday: My mom made me get up way too early again to do some wedding dress checking/adjustments. After I washed up, I met up with my mom again at my former-junior high, where she was substitute teaching. On her lunch, we walked around that school and my former high school to see all the renovations that had been made. I got to see several former teachers and a friend from high school/college that now teaches orchestra at our alma mater. A good time. I'm home now and totally beat, so if you think this post is a bust, a pox on you!

Excited? Stressed More Likely

Despite my best attempts to thwart those who keep asking if I'm excited about the wedding, they're still asking. Even when I've given the standard, bland reply of "Ehn.. just working on everything. Still a lot to do." The latest violator of the wedding question was my hairdresser yesterday. She asked or stated that I must be excited about three different times until I said, "Well, I'm not as much excited as I am stressed about the whole thing." That was a true statement. I've had sporadic stress dreams about the wedding since we got engaged. Last night's dream went like this:

I woke up at my grandparent's house and realized that not only was the whole house still asleep but that it was after noon. With only three hours before the wedding, I began assessing the situation. My Matron of Honor hadn't gotten to Buffalo yet from Rochester, I never got a manicure or pedicure, whether there any calla lilies availble for my bouquet or the altar display was questionable, and my friend who was to do my hair and my bridesmaid's hair was nowhere around. It felt like the whole day was to be a disaster. Then I thankfully woke up.

I can honestly say that there hasn't been much about planning our wedding that's been fun. Sure, I'm looking forward to it and the reception, but putting up with my parents and other issues has made it a chore. I'm not one of those girls who had their whole wedding planned out since I was eight. In fact, from my mid-teens until my early 20s, I was determined never to marry. Now that the glorious day is nearly here, there's that general feeling that because I didn't have everything planned out in scrapbooks and journals since my pre-pubescent years that I don't get much of a say in what actually happens.

On a lighter note, there have been some links floating around some blogs for wedding registries for some famous people. After registering at Pier 1 and Target, I feel like a mere peasant next to some of items these brides-to-be are requesting, especially this one:

MSNBC's Ashleigh Banfield's registry

Wait.. I thought I Was Canadian..

I am European



Which America Hating Minority Are You?

Take More Robert & Tim Quizzes
Watch Robert & Tim Cartoons

Things That Make You Glad You Live In Jamestown

Matt and I traveled two hours south to Dubois, PA on Sunday for his grandmother's 90th birthday. After the party, dinner, and drinks, we jointly wrote this entry:

Even though Dubois has a Pier 1, Lowe's, and a Quizno's, it's virtually impossible to find a bar, any bar, in this college town on a Sunday night, or any night for that matter. To go even further, you cannot even find a store that sells alcoholic beverages due to Pennsylvania state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol in grocery stores, gas stations, or convenience stores.

And so, this leads us to the bar. The seemingly only local bar open in town past 10pm on a Sunday night. Matt and I felt like total outsiders in this western-themed joint. By western we mean animal heads on the wall and murals of cowboys. Thankfully, the msuic being played by the DJ was your standard modern rock. Two bottles of imported beer will set you back $6.50. Matt had Bass ale and I finally got to try Moosehead Lager, which is brewed in St. John, New Brunswick. The crowd could be described as local youth who migrated home from college for the summer. There was the one, well-coifed guy who stuck out almost as bad as us. The other guys at the bar shared several traits such as tatoos, piercings, and buzz cuts covered by baseball caps. The girls wore spaghetti-strap tanks and jeans or capri pants. Matt said, "We can definitely die now. We've seen it all."

And so one drink later found us at Perkin's with cups of decaf coffee, awaiting a pre-midnight gorging of the 24-hour breakfast menu. Nothing much more to look forward to other than sleep.

When the Bloggers Cause Trouble

It amuses me how the news media goes bonkers over various blogs sometimes. Some examples:

The Blog
Rance: A person who may be a celebrity in Hollywood skewering Hollywood and celebrities in a blog.

The Story
Reuters: "Hollywood Mystery Man 'Rance' Has Internet Abuzz"

The Blog
Washingtonienne (Archived)

The Story
Washington Post: "A Diarist's Safe-Sex Proviso" (Scroll Down)

The Blog
She's A Flight Risk

The Story
Wired News: Blogger-Catch Me If You Can

Being one of the types of bloggers that will probably never get that kind of widespread attention is a good thing. Of course that could all change tomorrow, but since I have no plans to do anything radical that disrupts the planetary alignments, I think I'm safe for now.

Slow Death of Radio

People have often told me that I left my news reporter job at one of the local radio stations just in time. I don't doubt they're correct since the already short-handed staff in the newsroom experienced a downsizing a year after I left. Since I left, the station owner who had promised to keep the then 78-year old radio station locally owned sold it to a Cleveland company. The latest news is just more proof that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a dismal failure.

The Cleveland-based company, Media One Group, announced this week that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement to buy the other big group of radio stations in Jamestown. This would make the total number of stations owned by one company in the metro area five. You are allowed to own up to six in an area by FCC regulations. If this agreement is approved by the FCC, there will be only one radio station (WKZA) located in Jamestown that is not owned by Media One Group. I exclude WNED and WBFO since they are located and broadcast out of the Buffalo area.

When you consider that Chautauqua County only has 139,000 people and the city of Jamestown (excluding metro area) has 32,000, you can safely say that Media One Group's purchase would create a legal monopoly in this area. This has happened in almost every area that has radio stations. I challenge anyone to identify radio stations that are locally owned in their area.

When you have conglomerates, it means homogenization. Sure, you still get your mix of classic rock, top 40, country, and oldies but when you start traveling across the country you may start to notice that you're hearing the same bumper/jingles for those same style of music stations elsewhere. Your local dj's may be slowly replaced by syndicated, satellite-fed programs with a host located miles away from your hometown. The previous-local station sounds just like every other radio station out there. And even the modern rock, "alternative" rock, top 40, hot adult contemporary, classic rock, and rock stations are starting to sound similar with different artists "crossing" over into genres. There's less diversity of musical artists on the air.

Don't like this? Want to make it change? Contact your Senators and Congress Representatives. Write letters to the FCC. Complain bitterly.

I'll leave this with a copy of the article that appeared in our local paper today:

Media One To Buy Three Area Radio Stations
By John Whittaker

A possible location change is likely to be the only major change for three local radio stations to be purchased by the Media One Group of Cleveland.

Media One Group officials announced on Tuesday that the company has entered into an asset purchase agreement to buy WKSN (AM-1340), WHUG (FM-101.9) and WQFX (FM-103.1) for $4.5 million from the Vox Radio Group.
The company purchased WJTN (AM-1240) and WWSE (FM-93.3) in May 2002 for $5.9 million from the James Broadcasting Co. and local owners R. Michael Goldman and Merrill Rosen.

Now that the parties have agreed to the purchase agreement, Vox Radio Group and Media One Group will submit documents to the Federal Communications Commission. The sale is expected to be closed by mid- to late August.

James L. Embrescia, Media One Group president and managing partner, was in Jamestown on Tuesday to announce the purchase agreement. On Wednesday, he said the companies should be able to co-exist despite being small-market competitors for more than four decades.

"We don't expect any changes at all but a very cohesive blending of these two businesses,'' Embrescia said. ''We want them to be autonomous from that perspective. We might consider, since we have two locations, having everybody at one location. But, we haven't gone through all of that yet."

Acquiring the Vox Radio Group stations allows Media One Group to diversify its audience in Western New York and northern Pennsylvania, something that Embrescia said is necessary in the existing radio broadcasting environment.

"WHUG is a country station, WQFX has (Don) Imus and the album rock in a separate kind of format and WKSN is oldies,'' he said. ''Those are entirely different products hitting different core audiences than you have with WJTN, which is a heritage station with more than 80 years on air and SE-93, which is adult contemporary geared toward women as its core audience."

Vox Radio Group is a small-market broadcasting company formed in 1999 to consolidate and operate regional radio clusters in the northeastern United States. Media One Group, meanwhile, owns nearly 60 radio and television stations in affiliated companies in 16 markets throughout the United States.

It is owned by three Cleveland natives: James Embrescia, Thomas J. Embrescia and Lee Zapis.

"We are excited to acquire these excellent stations in this attractive market for Media One,'' Embrescia said. ''These are well-established heritage stations with an outstanding record of performance."

WKSN and WHUG were sold to Trend Broadcasting Inc. in 1980 after changing hands and call signs several times since their creation in 1948 as WJOC by Harry E. Layman and Robert Blalock.

Vox Radio Group obtained the stations in the 1990s along with WQFX. Embrescia said that the stations' listeners won't notice any difference from the new ownership.

"It's a wonderful blending of those formats from that perspective for different core audiences and between men and women,'' Embrescia said. ''It's what our business is about today. That's what made it so attractive. I don't think listeners will notice anything at all. We'll just continue with the same great programming and the same great service that these stations have always provided."

If You Support Bush, Shame On You

In November 2000, I voted for Al Gore. Maybe I wasn't thrilled with him as a candidate, but I figured he had a better idea of what he was doing than Bush. Now, in May 2004, I know without a doubt that Gore was the right choice. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court appointed an person who is destroying this country. Former Vice-President Gore made a statement today that everyone should read, and pay heed to. His statement makes me angry, nay furious, at the sham of a government Bush is running right now.

News Coverage of Gore's Speech:

Washington Post
Associated Press
Wired/Reuters

WORSHIP! You're inner Bombshell is the beautiful
Audrey Hepburn. Like her you've been blessed
with a "certain something" that no
one could describe accurately. You are more
reserved than other bombshells, and that shows
in your gentle, graceful nature. You like doing
things for other people and love volunteering
for your favorite charity. Yours is a rare gift
in this day and age. You don't need to show a
lot of skin to be sexy, all you need is your
eyes. To see Audrey at the top of her game
watch the movie "Breakfast at
Tiffanys".


Who is your inner bombshell?
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Fiddling While IHS Burns

Something caused a fire in the new wing of the high school I graduated from today. The photo accompanying the story is a bit amusing.

Christ In A Canoe

In between wedding dress sewing and painting my parent's family room and entry way, Matt and I had time to marvel at the torrential storms that moved through the Western New York and Rochester area this weekend. In the 27 years my parents have lived at their house, I've never seen water come through the basement windows before. You could see a rain water mark 3 inches up on the glass pane the next day. The best part was our determined outing to one of the local bars near the Genesee River. Heidi, Ryan, Matt and me had to find detours around a flooded St. Paul Blvd. and flooded sides streets in order to find safe haven at The Summerville Grill. Heidi posted a picture of me at the bar on her blog. Mind you, I was exhausted at this point in the evening.

Matt and I found out after we came back to Chautauqua County yesterday that several roadways had been covered with water. Chautauqua Lake near Bemus Point is still at flood stage along with the Chadakoin River in the village of Falconer. More rain is expected this afternoon, which will only exacerbate the problem.

Weekend Storm News from Around WNY & Beyond:

From WJTN-1240 AM:
Recent rains and high waters lead Sheriff's Department to issue boat advisory
High water levels on Chautauqua Lake for the next several days has caused to sheriff's department to release a warning to boaters. The sheriff's marine patrol is asking any boat owners to make frequent checks on their vessels if they are currently docked on the lake. Those who have boats on a lift are advised to remove the boat if the lift is as high as it will go. The patrol also suggests more slack is given to the boats that are tied so the boat can still float if water levels go up. The weather forcast is for more precipitation over the next few days and prompt attention to these matters is requested. A flood warning remains in effect for Chautauqua Lake for today, and Jones and Gifford Avenue near the Chadakoin River may also see some flooding.

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle-5/25/04
WOKR-Channel 13 5/24/04
Time Warner Cable-R News
Buffalo News-5/24/04
WNBC: Binghamton Story on Tornado

Moving Up In The World

Scientific studies have discovered that the melting of a ice sheet that stretches over the northern part of Canada is causing the Canadian land mass to rise higher than the United States. It's a see-saw effect. If you put weight down on one side, the other side rises. The ice was putting weight down on Canada, causing the U.S. land mass to be higher. Now that the ice is melting, the pressure is off the Canadian land mass.

This could mean earthquakes on the Eastern part of the U.S. where there are no fault lines or plate borders. My geological hazards professor at Buffalo State always said he knew there weren't any fault lines running underneath Western New York. However, his next comment that this meant New York State would never see a major earthquake seems bogus now. Note this seismic graph for the past decade. The orange spots are indications of earthquakes. The bigger the spot, the bigger the earthquake. The largest quake recorded in NYS was a 4.8 in Massena in 1944.

Quirk of note: if you look at the Great Lakes area of the map and note the area near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario where the green line goes through, they're essentialy saying that Rochester, Syracuse, and Niagara Falls (USA) are on the Canadian side, therefore moving up in the world. In other words, I'm screwed living down here in Jamestown.

Unitarian - A Religion?

The current Texas Comptroller has decided that Unitarian Universalism is not a religion. There's something very un-American about that. Maybe we should invade this rouge state of the south and set them straight. That's what this administration does, right?

The "Pope of Mope" Releases a "Fine Mess"

The beloved, yet seemingly unloved Morrissey has released his first album in seven years this week, You Are The Quarry.

And in support of his new album (and perhaps his birthday which is this Saturday), Morrissey will spend a week-long residency on the "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" starting Monday.

My love affair with this Manchester lad began in 1991. Today, a book called Saint Morrissey confirms that I was not out of my head to be a fan. Those who could not look beyond the omnipresent doom and gloom they preceived vomiting from Morrissey's mouth missed out on very pithy lyrics. Indeed, Morrissey has been classified as being one of the great lyricists of the pop music genre.

The reviews are the new album are positive. And while almost all the reviews I've read have made mention of the fact that Morrissey has made L.A. his new home, none relate the fact that the album was actually recorded in England. Not only that, Morrissey will be performing his a concert on his birthday in his hometown of Manchester, his first appearance there in 12 years. I'd say the old boy can't quit his homeland entirely. My impression of the album? Glorious. A kind of orgasmic longing that isn't truly fulfilled by the album because you know that its twelve tracks cannot carry on into infinity.

Boston Globe: Review

Telegraph.co.uk: Review

Washington Post: Review

"Now Spell Answer..."

You're a Speak & Spell!! You nerd, you. Just
because you were disguised as a toy doesn't
mean you weren't educational, you sneaky
bastard.


What childhood toy from the 80s are you?
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I loved my Speak & Spell! I even had a module based on E.T.. To relive the '80s in that quirky, educational way, check out this Speak & Spell emulator.

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Think the the two prequels to the original, almighty Star Wars Trilogy sucked? Me too. Christopher Bahn concurs and suggests that perhaps a change in directors and a raising of the dead might be a solution to prevent the curse of suckiness from befalling on the third, and final, prequel due out next year.

How About That Economic Policy, Eh?

The Ohio factory that Bush visited to promote his tax cuts is shutting down, laying off 1,300 people (courtesy of FARK). I'd say a village somewhere in Texas is missing its idiot and it's time to send him home.

Wedding Bells?

I think it's about time to email my cousin, Bill, and kindly harrass him about when he and his partner, Bob, are going to get married. Especially since he told me almost a year ago that he would consider getting married if gay marriage was made legal in the state he lives in, Massachusetts. Well, 1,000 gay couples have sought marriage licenses in Massachusetts since yesterday, so he better hop to it!

And Nature Carries On...

Our little birdie died yesterday. I knew it wasn't going to be good when I came downstairs to feed him and he had gotten himself into the same position his sibling had gotten into before he died. Carefully using a plastic pen (not the pen end), I manuevered him back into a better position for him to breathe. I tried to feed him some of the food we made (following instructions found on the Internet), but he wouldn't open his mouth. I burst into tears. Matt came downstairs and took a look. We then did something we should have done before, but hadn't thought of it because it had been so warm the past day. We got out the heating pad and turned it on low, placing the pail at an angle on towels on top of it. Matt was able to feed him a little then. We kept checking on him, and Matt tried to feed him a few times, but it wasn't good. Around noon, Matt checked in on our little guy and turned toward me with a sad face, "I think he's gone." Of course I bawled. Matt buried him next to the other bird that died on Friday, marking it with a stone.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the birdie hadn't seemed to be doing so much better yesterday. He was sitting up, taking nourishment, and he even made some squeaking noises for Matt when he fed him. I even dreamt that he had gotten so much better, fluffed out, and we were able to get him to the Jamestown Audubon Society for further care. Matt thought he was sick all along, but I still felt like we didn't do enough for him in some ways. I do feel good about bringing him in at least and not leaving him on the ground where the bugs had started to bother him. I'm still sad about it though.

I AM the Luckiest Girl Alive

My fiance is a truly great guy. While I was checking some flowers I had planted this past Monday, I noticed something moving under one of the bushes by the house. If I hadn't gone to turn on the hose I probably would never have seen it. A little baby bird that apparently had fallen or been pushed out of its nest. I then saw a second little baby bird near it. I quickly watered my lavender plants and tried to decide what to do. The little thing doesn't even have feathers or its eyes open yet. After a minute, I ran inside and called Matt to ask him what he thought. The situation was so sad and the birds so helpless that I started to cry on the phone while I talked to him. He told me to hang on and he left work to come home to see what he could do.

Since both birds were alive, Matt lined a small, silver pail with grass and carefully placed them inside using a shovel. He then used a pen cap to dribble water down the throats of the birds. The one bird was obviously in better shape than the other one and even sat up a little so it could get at the water. We've been checking on it throughout the day. The other bird didn't make it, so Matt buried him next to the house. He changed the grass in the pail, gave the bird more water, and then brought the pail inside for the night since it's supposed to get down into the 50s.

We're not really sure what to do about the bird. I doubt it will survive long, especially without its mother to feed it, but I didn't want to leave it vulnerable outside for one of the neighborhood cats to play with. For those wondering, we haven't touched the bird at all with our hands. You can't be too careful with West Nile Virus being spread through birds and whatnot. It makes me feel really good that Matt would expend that much effort for a little animal that we probably can't help too much anyway.

As Opposed to Trying to Earn A Toaster Oven..

Furnulum pani nolo.
"I don't want a toaster."
Generally, things (like this quiz) tend to tick you
off. You have contemplated doing grievous
bodily harm to door-to-door salesmen.


Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Maybe this is the root of my problems. I didn't want a toaster to begin with, much less try to earn one through conversion! By the way, does anyone know the origins of how "earning a toaster oven" came about? I can guess it's based on the idea that once you sell enough in some businesses, cars for instance, that you win a prize. But the saying is so universal that I wonder who started it all.

Gee.. I Was Kinda Hoping For "Kissing Jessica Stein"...

Grease!


What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla

A Look to The Future

It's a year or more late, but City newspaper's look at Rochester's future: 2003-2013 is pretty funny. I had the best laugh over the Golisano item.

Julia In Central Park (November 2003) 

"That's So Bloggable!"

So I'm checking out some of the many things on the Internet when Richard calls.
Conversation:
Richard: "So what's up?"
Julia: "Not much. Just reading the Internet."
*laughter from both*
Richard: "That's hysterical"
Julia: "I've been at it all afternoon. Gotta test on it tomorrow."
Richard: *laughter*
Julia: "Yeah, you should see the index on this mother!"
Richard: "You know, that's so bloggable. Actually, you can buy a t-shirt over at Think Geek that says 'I'm Blogging This'."
Julia: "Really? I just might have to get it!"

So yeah, I changed my template in order to solve some of those nasty commenting problems. Spiffy for sure. Leave a comment damnit!

So Much For Population Control

Australians are throwing any ideas of world population control out the window with their government encouraging reproduction. Apparently they haven't heard how countries, like China, who have huge populations have taken extreme measures to reduce the country's population. We do not need more people than necessary on this planet! The planet's natural resources are already stretched thin as it is.

New Blogger

This new blogger stuff is freaking me out. Nah.. I'm just saying that because I'm punchy (as in tired). I lost my comments when I tried to switch over to blogger's commenting system. Hopefully they actually respond to my Help email I sent them. So if you see commenting back, leave one. Otherwise email me or leave a note in the guestbook (one of those links on the right side). In other news, I'll probably switch my template soon since there are so many other choices now. Or something. All in all... life is peachy. I need sleep. Good Night.

Three Questions AKA It's a Slow Effing Day

I'm getting this from Patrick, who got this from some other people, who apparently also had nothing better to do on a Thursday. If you know the creator, let me know and I will post the links them.

3 Questions

I want everyone and anyone who reads this to ask me 3 questions, no more no less. Ask me anything you want and I will truthfully answer it here on this blog. Then, I want you to go to your blog, copy and paste this allowing your friends (including myself) to ask you anything.

Friends

I can count on one hand how many times I've joined a group of friends to watch a tv program. The only one that sticks out in my head at the moment is the coming out episode of Ellen. Tonight will be the next moment as some of our usual Thursday drinking crew gather at our house to watch all the Friends finale hoopla.

Admittedly, I didn't start watching the series until Matt and I started dating. But in a funny twist of fate, the series premiered on the birthday of a guy I had just met who was beginning to become a great friend. It was my senior year of high school and I was more interested in watching My So-Called-Life. In the early years, all the hype about the show seemed a bit overdone to me. I knew groups of music students at Baldwin-Wallace that would tape each episode to watch on Thursdays after they got out of orchestra rehearsal. It wasn't until I started watching the show weekly sometime in late 1999, early 2000 that I began to understand.

And since I am a sentimental bastard, I'll probably be weeping into a tissue for chunks of the final episode tonight. It was a good run all in all.

Getting Out of a Ticket? Priceless (courtesy of FARK)

A sense of humour and ingenuity sometimes will get you out of a speeding ticket. Or just make you laugh on a slow work day in my case.

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear. What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Quickies

Our meeting with the Pastor who will marry us went well.

I think we have all the music for our wedding picked out. I just need to produce our processional and recessional.

The wedding dress finally looks like a wedding dress. More fittings and lace applique sewing coming up.

How unbelievable, yet entertaining, was 10.5? Apparently 20.4 million people agree.

I have an interview on Friday at Home Depot. Don't know what job. I'm thinking they mixed up my resume with someone else's unless I'm lucky enough that they have an office job that pays a livable wage (by my terms).

Ryongchon Train Disaster

It's amazing that there weren't more than 161 people killed in the Ryongchon railway accident when you look at this comparative overview of the blast-affected town. The train tracks run parallel to the bottom of this photo.

Speaking of Wedding Stuff...

Set of Rules for Next Three Months:

1. No one is allowed to ask me how wedding plans are going.
2. No one is allowed to ask me if I'm excited about the wedding.
3. No one is allowed to ask me where we're going on our honeymoon.
4. No one is allowed to have a conversation about marriage, weddings, or anything with me unless I initiate the conversation.

Why do I spoil your fun? I'm getting sick of the same people, and different ones, asking me every day how things are going. I'm not joking. Every day. And it's hard to act excited every time someone asks me a question about it. Matt and I have agreed that our standard answer is to make a "Ehnnn" kind of noise that would imply disinterest from here on out. Seriously. On a hypocritical note, I may be able to direct you to a website in the next month or so that will give all the lurid details of the upcoming joyeous event. If anything, it will be worth visiting just to see the picture that one person has said makes Matt and I look like brother and sister. Stay tuned...

Wide Range of Hopefuls

When you read the article: Quinn Exit Stunning (Buffalo News), scroll down to the paragraph titled "Wide Range of Hopefuls" and note the last bit in this section. Just when I thought all I had to worry about was a wedding this year... updates coming.

"We Are Sorry That Our President Is An Idiot..."

Since my cash flow has slowed down, I probably won't be buying the French Label T-Shirt. However, the subtlety of the joke may make me throw all caution to the wind.

And Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now...

Poor Morrissey! Guess our ever-so-bright Homeland Security System detained him at LAX, thinking he was a notorious Manchester terrorist.

Track the Spirit of Ontario

The D&C has provided a way for people to track the Spirit of Ontario as it makes it way from NYC to Rochester, NY. If you want to follow the progress of the ferry, click over to www.purplefinder.com and type in the username "cats" and the password "facec8ev"

Attending Mass..

Matt, Heidi, and me may be filling some of our culture quota tomorrow night at the Eastman Theatre when the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra and Eastman-Rochester Chorus present Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. I haven't been to a classical music concert in a few years, so I'm looking forward to this if we can make it to Rochester from Jamestown in time. I suppose it's fitting that we "attend mass" the day before a microbrew crawl with my dad as part of an early birthday celebration for him.

God Love Those Kids

The title to this post is just what came to mind when I saw that Fat Wreck Chords is putting out the compilation Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1. Spiffy I say. Spiffy!

Does This Mean L.A. Will Become An Island?

Researchers are saying the San Andreas fault is set to have earthquakes occur more frequently with more intense shaking. They predict the next earthquake to hit the desert will occur sometime before September 5th and will measure around a magnitude of 6.4 or greater on the Richter Scale. Read the article if you're skeptical. Scientists are getting more accurate with predictions.

And humourously enough, and that's how it's described on Internet Movie Database, 10.5 is about the "big one" that includes part of the continental U.S. breaking off into an island.

What About Moving to Canada?

So you don't support the war in Iraq. Well, regardless of this, a new bill may reinstate the draft for 2005 that may force you to go over there and risk your life anyway. I have relatives in northern Nova Scotia. I think Matt would very much like to meet them some day, even sooner if necessary.

How Polish Are You?

To give you an idea of how funny I found this email forward, I found myself nodding and laughing as I agreed with 32 out of 60 on here. I assure you that that number would go up if it was my parent's answering yes or no.

Straight from a Polish Household
How Polish are you?

If you come from Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Hamtramck, or Milwaukee,
there is a large church called St. Stanislaus or St. Hedwig within one block of your childhood home (that is unless you're one of those suburban exiles, in which case the church is within one block of your Babcia's house).

The neighborhood you grew up in is called "Little Warsaw", "Slavic Village", "Polish Hill", or something of that sort.

You like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day but only because "the Irish are oppressed too!"

Your knowledge of Polish language is limited to 'naughty words' (e.g. dupa, gowno, gatki, etc.), names for food (e.g. pierogi, kapusta, etc.) and drinking toasts (e.g. nazdrowie).

You occasionally add the suffix "-ski" to English words for no apparent reason; e.g. ("I'm gonna put the carski in the garageski.")

If you also happen to know a few basic conversational phrases in Polish you are considered to be old school by friends and relatives. You call your grandma "babcia" or "busia" you’re your grandpa "dziadzia".

You know how to dance the polka, but you only do it at weddings after kicking back a few generous shots of vodka.

You like to drink; especially beer, cheap beer.

When frustrated you slap your forehead, shake your head, and say "O Jezu Maria"

You have one grandma that wears a babushka and galoshes every single day of the year and another grandma that wears a lot of chintzy jewelry and too much makeup. You have a grandma that uses every single part of animal carcasses to make sausages, soups, dumplings, etc.

You know more Polish jokes than all of your non-Polish friends combined.

You have at least one uncle named Stan or Stas.

You have at least one relative that works for or used to work for the Big Three.

Your relatives devotion to saints, the Blessed Virgin, the Pope, the Democratic Party, the US Steelworkers, etc.

Your grandma has a shrine complete with votive candles and a picture of the Madonna of Czestochowa or Infant of Prague.

Your parents have at least one crucifix or religious picture mounted on a wall in their home with palms tucked behind it.

Your grandparents and other relatives habitually kiss everyone they meet.

You refer to your two dozen or so cousins by childhood nicknames (e.g. Stannie, Nicky, Louis, Joey, Chickie, Honey, etc.) irrespective of their ages. You refer to grandparents and aunts by pet names (e.g. Aunt Honey, Aunt Chicki, Grandpa Jo-Jo, etc.)

You regularly attend Friday fish fries, harvest festivals, parish festivals, Vegas nights, and/or bingo.

You bowl regularly and/or on a team sponsored by a local bar.

You get your food blessed at Easter time and your house blessed at Christmastime.

Your family has a wigilia meal on Christmas Eve at which you share oplatki.

You like to put sour cream, horseradish, and/or beer on everything you eat.

Your family likes to play card games like Hearts or Pinochle, and this often culminates in full-scale brawls.

You always prefer rye bread to white or wheat.

Your dad has forced you to eat horseradish, claiming that "it will put hair on your chest" (even if you're a female).

You like to go "mushroom hunting".

People in your family have their wedding receptions at places called "Polish Legion Hall", "Sacred Heart Center", etc.

You know the words to "Sto Lat" and sing it at all birthday parties.

You can out drink all of your friends.

You have waited in line at a church or bakery to buy pierogi.

You say "I seen" rather than "I saw", "I says" rather than "I said", and/or "youse" rather than "you guys". You frequently add "dere" (there) and/or "ya know" to the end of sentences.

Words like kiszka, kielbasa, and kolaczki actually mean something to you.

You know the difference between Czechs, Slovaks, and Slovenes, and you think they're all inferior to Poles despite the numerous glaring similarities.

You used to get a day off from school on St. Joseph's Day (March 19).

You actually know who Kosciusko and Pulaski are, and why they're important.

You mention Nicholas Copernicus, Frederic Chopin, or Marie Curie whenever people accuse Poles of being stupid.

You have at least one relative who plays the accordion.

You are inclined to blame all the world's ills on Germans and Russians.

You have an easier time getting along with Irishmen and Italians than with non-Polish Slavs.

You're either completely overdressed or completely underdressed for every occasion.

If you're a woman, you wear makeup at all times, even if it's 90 degrees and you're 88 years old.

Your idea of "healthy" is boiled pierogi, light beer and filtered cigarettes.

You have a potato-shaped face, a huge dupa, and/or a 'Polish Nose'.

You walk into a crowd of people you don't know, talk to them like they're your best friends in the whole world.

You hoard vast amounts of money in your house.

You have at least one bar in your house; usually in the basement.

Your family always has an excuse to hold a "poprawinie"; e.g. when someone dies, when someone gets married, etc.

You've never been to Poland but you have mysterious relatives there to whom you send gifts and money every Christmas.

Your front yard is filled with lawn ornaments, e.g. pink flamingos, jockey, Mary in the half shell, etc.

You have relatives who are priests and nuns.

You collect 'prayer cards' from funerals.

You pronounce th's as d's (e.g. you say dis for this and dat for that, etc.)

You or someone in your family owns at least one beat up highly outdated Dodge or Plymouth.

You regularly attend Mass but spend most of the ceremony sleeping and/or looking at the parish bulletin.

You haven't been a practicing Catholic for years but everyone in your family insists that it's "just a phase".

You often visit cemeteries, light votive candles for dead relatives, and generally spend an unhealthy amount of time obsessing about death.

You like to gossip and generally talk too much.

People often have trouble pronouncing your last name.

Your family is so loyal that even a second cousin would take a bullet for you.

Hello Cleveland!

I don't know if it was an idea born of too much alcohol, but somehow our little group of friends decided last night that a trip to Cleveland was in order before the end of summer. It's blog-worthy if only for the discussions that went on about how many rooms to get. Since there's five of us (two couples and one singleton), we debated everything from getting three rooms to just sharing a room. Much badness could occur. I say this because it would involve our friends that helped make the martini party we had last month a 27-hour event. Also, I would have a lot of fun if I had a chance to plan a small getaway (booking rooms, meal reservations, sightseeing possibilities, driving strategies, etc.). It's funny how a month and a couple weeks ago, Matt and I were wondering when we would ever be back in the Cleveland area with Heidi back in Rochester.

What Could Soon Occupy All My Free Time (Aside from the Wedding)

WRFA: a Low-Power FM Station

Watch this space for updates as I submit myself, once more, to the radio gods that demand my allegiance.

Have Fun With the Sloganator!

Bored on the Thursday before Good Friday? Spend the remaining hours of your work day Making Your Own Bush/Cheney '04 Poster!. The Shrub campaign actually had this on the campaign website. NewYorkish gives us a brief explanation and poster ideas.

Continuing Lethargy

I hate that time of the month. This month has been different than other months. Normally, I get the whole bitchy/tired symptoms, but this month that's accompanied by big emotional swings and a general feeling like I want to crawl out of my skin. I've taken to wandering around the house with an old afghan constantly around my shoulders. Poor Matt has put up with me wonderfully. That includes comforting me as I cried in his arms after reading chick-lit-tear-jerker, P.S. I Love You. He also bought me chocolate when we went to Tops to pick up some draino for our clogged bath tub. Maybe our usual Thursday outing with friends will help pull me out of my funk.

The Underground Railroad to Canada

With the potential for civil war rising every day in Iraq, some say the best way to avoid this is more troops. How do you get more troops? The draft. What happens when you draft kids that don't want to go to Iraq? The Underground Railroad to Canada.

*shakes finger* Bad PMS!

I thought I was coming down with the flu when I woke up yesterday. The symptoms of body aches, chest congestion, coughing, and general exhaustion pointed that way. Thankfully it was only PMS. Some months I wonder which would be worse. I do have to sigh and make a I'm-not-happy-with-your-behavior-now-go-sit-in-a-corner-and-think-about-what-you-did face at my PMS since some of my actions over the past week or so now make sense. I become more frank when that time of the month rolls around. I find myself saying things that are often the truth, but I decide I don't care how blunt the words are when they come out of my mouth. Here's to hoping my friends and family still like me!

One particular discussion where I was frank involved the guest list for the wedding. My mom and I don't really see eye-to-eye on this one. She wants to limit the list to 200 people, while I'm trying to explain that if we do that we'll have to cut out friends that we really want to have at the wedding. Matt and I have insisted that we'll pay for however many people come over 200, but my mom seems to be more concerned about only having enough decorations for 25 tables, so we can't possibly invite anymore than 200 people. What my mom forgets is that Matt and I have control over ordering the invitations and she really can't stop us from innocently sending out invites to the friends that we want there. The list stands at 189 before Matt's mom adds her family members. Make that 193. I just thought of two more people (plus their guests) that need to be added.

In more positive news, we had our engagement photo taken this weekend. Came out nice. Now we just need to pick one to send to some of the local papers.

You are water. You're not really organic; you're
neither acidic nor basic, yet you're an acid
and a base at the same time. You're strong
willed and opinionated, but relaxed and ready
to flow. So while you often seem worthless,
without you, everything would just not work.
People should definitely drink more of you
every day.


Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

What is the story?

A conversation with a friend got me thinking about my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. K. I decided there was a blog-worthy story in there somewhere and tried to decide what exactly the story could be.

Is the fact that one of my friends is still in touch with Mr. K and that he was able to tell me that Mr. K is doing well despite the fact that my former teacher had seemingly dropped off the face of the planet the story? No. Not really.

Is the fact that Mr. K seems to have been able to make a good life for himself and, thus, triumphed over the nasty situation where one little girl's claims of inappropriateness cost him his job as an English teacher the story? I suppose that makes for a good story, but it's not the one that keeps coming to mind.

For me, the story is about writing and the reason why I still write for enjoyment today.

The majority of the time I spent in English classes 7th through 12th grade was out of necessity and not free-will. There are a number of times I received midterm progress notes from my English teachers stating concerns about my grades due to turning in papers late. My obvious disdain for analytical writing reached its height my senior year in AP English where I refused to read novels all the way through; instead skimming what seemed to be the important bits.

The silver quill in all of this was 8th grade. Eighth grade, by itself, was a very difficult year for me. In adult-speak, my "peer relationships" were at an interesting, new low. Due to many reasons I won't discuss, my English class could have been a horror if not for the new teacher, Mr. K.

Mr. K, fresh out of college, decided to do things differently. We were not going to just read works of literature and then spit out analytical comment in the on-going effort to improve our writing and comprehension skills. Instead, the young teacher suggested that great literature extended beyond books. We dissected "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman, discussed the new album "Out of Time" by R.E.M., and were encouraged to go see the latest film adaptation of "Hamlet", starring Mel Gibson. We did read some grade-appropriate novels, but my memory of that is overshadowed by other classwork including the six-week creative writing segment.

The creative writing segment was new. I have no knowledge of whether it was continued years after the test run with our class, but I seem to remember Mr. K telling us that it was probably the last time we would get to do any class-related creative writing until we left high school. We explored writing different types of poetry ranging from free-style to haiku. Some of my classmates developed short stories. The class itself went free-style with each student having the luxury to work on whatever moved them. I tried my hand at poetry. Admittedly, most of it now seems immature but it was an effort to spread my wings into an area where I didn't have a lot of experience. I even found enough courage to submit two poems to the Junior High's literary magazine. One was published. We were all encouraged by our teacher who offered praise and constructive criticism along the way.

Recently, while trying to slim down the pile of jumbled stuff into meaningful memories, I could not bring myself to throw out anything I wrote in 8th grade that had a comment sheet from Mr. K attached. The advice he gave then pushed me more than any other English teacher I've had since then. Today, I work in a public relations job that requires me to write often. The job before that required me to write news stories nearly every hour of my shift. Still, I find time just about every day to write something for myself and others. I truly doubt I would find this much pleasure if not for one class and one teacher.

We Love The Subs!

I have never eaten a Quiznos sub, but I just love that weird commercial with the rats. Apparently this commercial has gained the attention of many other people. So you ask, just where did these rodents come from? Seth Stevenson tells us more in "The Creatures From the Sandwich Shop - Behind the singing rodents in the Quiznos ad".

City Newspaper Interviews Brother Wease

People who live and grew up in Rochester, NY know that Brother Wease is a morning talkshow host on WCMF. With all the hullabaloo raised by the FCC about profanity and whatnot on the radio/tv, City Newspaper did an interview with the local shock jock. My favorite part of the story is this:

Brother Wease: But listen: If [City Newspaper senior writer] Jack Spula had a radio show, truck drivers aren't going to listen to him. Because he's a fucking geek and he's boring. I'm not saying this in a bad way. I'm saying it as a fact. And it's a proven fact. That's why liberals couldn't have radio shows before, and that's why the right wing makes fun of the liberals.

Mario Cuomo is boring. Is he smart? Absolutely. Does he have the truth? To me, absolutely. But he can't reach the truck driver. The right wing is reaching the truck driver. So when the people from City Newspaper discount Brother Wease because I'm dirty, then they're fucking losing the fight, and it infuriates me that I'm fighting on their side.

I mean, you guys did a cover story on Bob fucking Lonsberry. And that's the guy who I fought constantly and I would debate any day. He's a guy who's on the opposite side of the political coin as your newspaper, and who promoted him? Your newspaper! When did you do a cover story about the only motherfucker who fights for the liberal side on the radio? And I've converted people. I've got mail from them. Your paper ain't converting shit. Your paper -- I love it --- but it speaks to the choir.

.....

This is a bad time, man. We've got McCarthyism coming back, and the right wing has got a boner. I have never wanted anybody to win an election more in my life --- and I don't necessarily like the guy. But when you say "Anybody but Bush," I ain't kidding, you give me a monkey. We're just trying to beat the right wing. He's just a figurehead. This is insanity going on.


Amen!

Wrinkle In Time For Sweeps

I'm curious to see the tv adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time that will be on ABC this May. Truthfully, the book was a little too out there for me growing up. My mom read it to me in 3rd grade and then I read it by myself at a later date. Something about the whole story was weird and unsettling in an almost "bad touch" kind of way. I can't pinpoint it, but even though I knew it was well-written it just left me feeling off. Either way, I'm still interested to see how they adapted it for television.

More Quizes.. Must Be a Wednesday...

You are a Mentalist. Your magic depends on strength
of will. You could be a memory-reading
Mind-Mage, a lethally telekentic Force-Wizard,
or a helpful Transmage for your abilities are a
result of sheer stubborn will and intensely
keen intellect. Your mind has been honed by
learning and practice into the perfect tool for
examining and dissecting reality and altering
it to suit your needs. You are intelligent and
scholarly with a tendency to distance yourself
from others.


Which Magical Order Are You In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Meaningless? Hah!

You are YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON TELEVISION.
Sometimes, you wonder why you couldn't just be
Canadian. Some people say you are weird. You
have an interesting sense of humor and a
meaningless life. But, you're nearly Canadian,
so did you expect better?


Which old school Nickelodeon show are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Man Beats Speeding Ticket

This story about a Rochester-area man who fought a speeding ticket all the way up to New York State's highest court reminds me of a friend of mine. Matt (a different Matt.. this one is a Special Agent with the DOS) successfully fought several tickets he received while hanging out at the Irondequoit Bay Pier. At the time, there was a small sign that stated the park closed at 10pm. Matt and friends liked to go well after 10pm to sit at the end of the pier. I believe in Matt's case it was an Irondequoit Policeman who gave him the ticket. It sticks in my mind that he successfully argued that the Irondequoit Police did not have jurisdiction in the pier area. On a related note, I got a ticket there once too and the policeman issueing me the ticket told me I could get out of it by telling a judge that I couldn't see the hours of operation sign. It worked.

Sunny, Sweet Days

These past couple days of gorgeous, sunny, warm weather have spoiled me. Our area is now faced with weather in the low 50s and rain for the rest of the week. Give or take a few degrees. The weekend rundown:

Friday: I ran various errands including stoping at Chautauqua Works to fill out some job-search forms, dropping off a copy of The Darkness cd to our friend Kevin, and made a phone call to the future general manager of a low-power FM station to offer my volunteer services. We also finally saw Starsky & Hutch. The best part was the scene where Ben Stiller does his "Do it. Do it" lines. Otherwise, it pretty much sucked. I know many of our friends liked it, but it just wasn't my bag.

Saturday: Slept in. Washed dishes. Washed clothes. That about sums it up.

Sunday: Since we went to bed at the super early hour of 11:30pm, I woke up at 7:30am, showered at 8am and then bugged Matt to get up around 9am. We drove all the way to the bustling town of Portville to eat a hearty brunch at Sprague's Maple Farms. I had the "sugar on snow waffle" which is a belgian waffle covered with maple whipped cream with a light dusting of maple candy pieces. Very sweet but a nice treat. We walked around the grounds so our stomachs could settle before heading back to Jamestown. I decided that I had to tackle some of the weeds in our flower beds around the house. The roots on these mother's were rediculously large! I didn't even get to the bottom of one and even broke the shovel I was using. I dread when these weeds start sprouting again. After that heavy labor, I had a quick shower and then collapsed on the couch to watch tv the rest of the evening.

Monday: Matt continued doing laundry and bought me some coffee from Tim Horton's. I showered and took off for Home Depot to buy a new shovel, a little rake, and two bags of cedar mulch. After a much needed trip to Wegman's to stock up on groceries, I came home to attack the flower beds again. Satisfied that I was able to spread the mulch enough to protect the beds until the final frost, I had a cold non-alcoholic beverage, put on a mix cd, and folded some laundry. I sat on the front steps for awhile, surveying my handiwork, and enjoying the warm weather. Later on I met up with our friend, Lynda, at a local restaurant to hear some live jazz and ate too much food.

That's the run down. It was a good couple of days.

Dark magician. You love the dark because of it's
beauty and just the life that no-one else sees.
Mysterious, calm, quiet... But that doesn't
mean you're not friendly!

What kind of dark person are you?
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Choose Your Own Adventure

Many people have been asking me what I plan to do once my job ends with the county. I don't have a real answer, but in the interest of fun I decided to put up a garden variety multiple choice of possibilities:

A. Open a Coffee Shop that is also a wireless hot spot
B. Write a Book
C. Live Off of Matt's Meager Salary
D. Become a Stay At Home Mom (requires getting pregnant and having children immediately after getting married)
E. Find Some Random Currently-Non-Existent Job in the area in Public/Media Relations
F. Go On Welfare
G. Get a Job Part-time or Full-time in Retail (AKA Bon-Ton) or the Food Industry (AKA McDonald's or Tim Horton's)
H. Go Back to School for another Bachelor's degree or Master's
I. See if the local tv or radio station would like to hire me again as a reporter despite my obvious bias and political connections
J. Teach private violin lessons
K. Other (Please Describe)

Discuss...

The Lays Potato Chip Theory

Sabrina turned me onto this article titled Heteroflexible -- or Fauxmosexual?. I went in with a sketchy attitude but decided that the studies aren't far off. I do believe there is real fluidity of sexuality, especially for women. This also goes along with that other study from a year or two back that stated that women are turned on by anything that moves basically. This study and that study basically concur with the fact that men don't seem to be as fluid as women when it comes to sexuality. Either that or pressures from peers and society are still too great for men to feel as anywhere near as comfortable as women in exploring same-sex relationships.

Osama Found?

Who wants to bet that Osama Bin Laden has been found and is about to be captured or killed? CNN's breaking news banner of:

BREAKING NEWS Pakistani president tells CNN he believes troops have surrounded al Qaeda fighters protecting "high-value target." Details soon.

And the details at this time are here.

Just you see.

Green Bagels

The way our mostly Swedish/Italian community in Jamestown seems to celebrate St. Patrick's Day is by eating green bagels. Matt made a kind of gross allusion to this on his blog.

But anyway, it's just a funny thing to me I guess. In other related-news, I did end up meeting some friends for a drink last night. The group was multi-tasking their fun by celebrating a belated birthday for one of the guys and celebrating the Irish holiday. Unfortunately, the birthday boy is still under 21, so we ended up going to the local "meat market" (AKA The Rusty Nail) for our drinks since it was teen night or "tiny hiney night" as my friends in the Legislative Offices call it. A few of us couldn't figure for the life of us why we were there, but it wasn't a bad time. The one piece of excitement came when someone punched another guy in the face, causing him to fall straight back and bash his head on a brick wall as he fell. No one did anything at first and then the police and EMT's converged on the scene. We could see the action from the table we snagged along the wall. I realized that I must not be an overly squeamish type since the pool of blood that collected under this guy's head from his head wound didn't bother me much. It was a very bright red. Quite striking against the black and white tiled floor. A bouncer with a steaming hot mixture of water and bleach erased any hint of an accident soon after the drunken guy was carted out. He seemed okay other than the good bonk on his head and possibly a bitten tongue or lip. Regardless, I do not plan to go anywhere near another "teen night" event in this town.

A Little Bit of Irish From Someone Else

We have a winner in the St. Patrick's Day theme for blogs. Now, you might think that the lovely Jenny would get it since her graphics and projects are borderline obsessive when it comes to themed-holidays, but this year Patrick wins hands down. And not just because he wrote overly nice things about this blog. Lord knows I'm not clever enough to sit down and think of witty little limericks and rhymes in honor of the guy from Wales who went to Ireland to convert the Pagans. But you know... that would make him Welsh, not Irish. I do happen to be a little Welsh (and not like THAT), so maybe I'll celebrate some tonight afterall!

Queer Blink Relation

Have you noticed how much the guitarist/vocalist from Blink 182.. you know.. the one with the more nasally, higher voice.. looks like the punk version of Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame? Seriously, these guys were separated at birth. Don't believe me? Tune into Blink's latest video for "Miss You" and then catch any one of the Queer Eye shows that are constantly on Bravo! when The West Wing isn't playing.

The 27 and 1/2 Hour Party

You know it was a good party when...

- the last guests leave over 24 hours later
- the amount of alcohol consumed is astonishing, yet there's still enough to keep going for a day or two (St. Patrick's Day anyone?)
- the people who suffered from a hang-over still maintain it was great fun
- all the food is gone including 2 bottles of ranch dressing
- people actually danced to music being played
- people showed up four hours after the party started and everything was still in full swing
- the coffee made the next morning was almost as strong as espresso and people still drank it
- the people not drinking coffee the next morning started drinking bloody mary's
- one martini glass broken and one olive holder missing

I think that sums it up. God it was a lot of fun!

A Top Ten Tale of Two Cities...

It's hard to pass up a good idea for a blog. Now, courtesy of Shep, I find I must post a sort of top ten things I love about Jamestown and Rochester. Want to take bets on which one will be easier?

Rochester

1. My family and friends who live there
2. Lake Ontario and the Irondeqoit Bay Pier (general natural settings everywhere)
3. The Lilac Festival
4. Park Ave./East Ave./Monroe Ave.
5. The Clothesline Festival at the Memorial Art Gallery
6. The Best Coffee in the World at Java's on Gibbs Street
7. The cultural arts scene (Eastman School of Music, MAG, Geva, multiple arts festivals and all assortments)
8. Great restaurants (California Rollin', Tuscany's, Nick Tahoe's, Bill Grey's, The Parkside Diner, Sinbads, etc.)
9. Drive-ability. You can get anywhere in the metro area in about 30 minutes.
10. The Music Scene and..
11. The Little Theatre

Jamestown

1. Matt
2. Our friends (a lovely group)
3. Chautauqua Lake
4. The vast rural, rolling hills around us
5. The community of people (you always run into someone you know at Wegman's)
6. The variable pace (you can take it easy or go nuts with events, organizations, and activities)
7. Prices. Utilities cost isn't bad, housing is CHEAP, local restaurant prices are decent
8. Seasonal events like the Greek Festival, St. Patrick's Day event, the various Fall Festivals, I Love Lucy festivals, the Ice Castle Extravaganza, Fourth of July
9. The seasons and the extreme beauty they bring
10. There still being a few places I need to explore before I ever move away from here (Panama Rocks, the Wine Trail on Route 20, several restaurants, hiking one of the Overland Trails, attending an honest concert at Chautauqua Institution, and several other items).

On The Eve of A Party

As the snow comes down in our fair city, I try to rouse myself from the computer desk to go do some random house chores in preparation of a small shin-dig we're holding at our house tomorrow night. We haven't had a lot of get togethers at our house. It used to be that we just didn't have that kind of space at our previous dwellings, so I suppose we never got in the habit of having parties. In my case, it just took awhile to find a group of people that I really enjoyed hanging out with and could feel comfortable with in a larger-group setting.

So of course that nervous ohmygodthehouseneedstobeCLEANED feeling has overcome me. I'm trying to be casual about the whole thing, but as most of my long-time friends can tell you, I'm not much of a party girl. I'll have a drink, maybe two, grin through a buzz for a little while and immediately switch to soda or nothing. I hate feeling real off balance. Alcohol tends to make me feel more ill than good if I drink more than a couple drinks. I suppose all my worries about drinking in college before I was 21 were unfounded as I probably would have stopped before I got really drunk.

And that's just the alcohol bit.

As just mentioned, I'm not much of a large-group person. I'm not comfortable in large groups if I don't know a majority of the people there. If it's friends and family, that's different. But to go to a party where I know a few people, and no one else is not a lot of fun for me generally. When it that position, I usually try to attach myself to the person I know and talk to them or I find just one other person to talk to at the event. This runs the gamut from social parties to political events to work-related events I've had to go to in my boss' place.

But tomorrow should be fun. It's a good group of people. Much rowdiness could occur. I may just have three drinks if the spirit moves me right.

A Primer on the ETA (washingtonpost.com)

I thought this was important with all the stories you may see or read about the bombing in Madrid this morning. A Primer on the ETA (washingtonpost.com)

Sketchy Argument

I should never go down the path of arguing about religion but I can't help myself sometimes.

The Da Vinci Code and a conversation that happened at Matt's dad's birthday party prompted some thoughts. For some background: Matt's family comes from a non-denominational background. They were fairly active in the Christian church at one time, including Matt who could be classified as a born-again. For various reasons, the family left the church.

Matt's brother, Tom, still goes to church occasionally and is married to a former-Catholic. We started talking about the differences between Catholicism and Christianity. Most of this due to the fact that Matt's mom is reading our copy of the Da Vinci code.

I got to thinking about the whole discussion about the book states that the bible isn't really what was originally. That there were more books and it has been rewritten so much that it barely resembles what it was in the beginning. We talked some more and I hit upon a thought.

A sort of time line would suggest that Paganism (or various other types of religion) came about ages ago.

Then came Judaism.

Catholicism followed that. If you subscribe to the idea that Jesus was a real person, which by most accounts it seems pretty likely that he was, then you must assume that most of the books of the bible have some truth to them.

Now, despite the fact that the bible and Catholicism have been twisted by whoever has been in power or wanted certain details to go away, this religion was the next step.

Lutheran/Protestantism is a response to Catholicism. They are religions based on the ideas of Catholicism and then changed to suit what their founders believed was "true."

Thought: if the bible and Catholicism were ghosts of what they had started out as before being politicized, therefore, not "true" to begin with, how is any Christian religion that forms out of Catholicism have any shot at being "true"?

Yes, the argument has holes, but you get my drift.

Another Word For Procrastination?

I've been terrible about blogging. That's a bad way to start off a post. To you, the reader, it's obvious that I've been shirking. You're thinking, "Well, instead of writing a whole post apologizing for not updating, why don't you just post something interesting that we could care about rather than moaning about it?" Good advice.

"There's a Lot of Czech's at a Chess Game in Prague"

My parents and I had a post-dinner habit of reading the back of the Salada tea bag tags while I was growing up. If it was a particularly punny saying my dad would do what I tend to think of as GGB. Groan, Grin, Boo. Picture it this way:

Dad: (reads tea tag, groans, grins) Boooo!
Julia: What does it say?
Dad: (reads whatever witty saying Salada has come up with)
Mom: Oh that's a bad one!

This random memory came to mind this morning when I flipped over and read my tea tag as I made my breakfast cuppa tea.

Brief trivia bit coutesy of Salada: "Salada printed a few words of wit or wisdom on each tea tag beginning in the early 1960's. These tidbits were intended to provoke a smile or a thought while the tea drinker paused with a cup of Salada tea. Through the years, Salada tag lines have become a memorable part of Salada Tea."

You're A People's History of the United States!

by Howard Zinn

After years of listening to other peoples' lies, you decided you've
had enough. Now you're out to tell it like it is, with all the gory details and nothing
left out. Instead of respecting leaders, you want to know what the common people have to
offer. But this revolution still has a long way to go, and you're not against making a
little profit while you wait. Honesty is your best policy.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Big 'Ol Congrats

A big hooray and congratulations go out to Rochester Matt on his getting into University of Chicago. I call for a rousing U-S-A to that!

Heart of Gold


What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?
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