The legendary and talented Ekaterina Maximova passed today, the world is a bit dimmer indeed.
With her legendary partner and husband Vladimir Vasiliev. Not the best of video quality, but it makes me smile to see them when they were young in one of my favorite ballets.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Random hilarity
For no reason other than the fact that I really needed a laugh. OK, I admit I actually do love Elmo too. And Ricky Gervais, his David Brent really was genius.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
I could be wrong.
I frequently am..
Let’s have a hypothetical (not) scenario, shall we? You have a couple that married, produced a child and than divorced. You later remarried and ostenisibly your son was integrated into this “blended family”.
Your son however states to his close friends more than once (over a couple of decades) that he has “”the family I was born with and the one I chose.” Humm…
Your son spends nearly every holiday, his birthday and his vacations with his chosen family- not you. Humm.. Except for Grandma, because she’s cool like that.
Your son is dying and the people that got him into an experimental treatment protocol, praying they could save him, and the people that were there dealing with the doctors and held his hand as he slipped away were his “chosen” family- not his blood relations. Humm…
A “Mother” that goes on a cruise while her son is in the hospital is not a Mother.
A “Father” that has to delay a funeral because he has to work it into his schedule is not a Father. (Especially if you’re Jewish- that’s just disrespectful.)
And now suddenly the chosen family isn’t “good enough” to participate in the memorial.
Would that not tell you that you are beyond fucked up? But that’s just my opinion. Perhaps I’m being unduly harsh, I can be like that, I can be a judgmental bitch that way,
Let’s have a hypothetical (not) scenario, shall we? You have a couple that married, produced a child and than divorced. You later remarried and ostenisibly your son was integrated into this “blended family”.
Your son however states to his close friends more than once (over a couple of decades) that he has “”the family I was born with and the one I chose.” Humm…
Your son spends nearly every holiday, his birthday and his vacations with his chosen family- not you. Humm.. Except for Grandma, because she’s cool like that.
Your son is dying and the people that got him into an experimental treatment protocol, praying they could save him, and the people that were there dealing with the doctors and held his hand as he slipped away were his “chosen” family- not his blood relations. Humm…
A “Mother” that goes on a cruise while her son is in the hospital is not a Mother.
A “Father” that has to delay a funeral because he has to work it into his schedule is not a Father. (Especially if you’re Jewish- that’s just disrespectful.)
And now suddenly the chosen family isn’t “good enough” to participate in the memorial.
Would that not tell you that you are beyond fucked up? But that’s just my opinion. Perhaps I’m being unduly harsh, I can be like that, I can be a judgmental bitch that way,
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Can't shake the sad today.
A very old and dear friend died last night. It was a blessing. The pain was great and he'd suffered long enough. I was looking through some old pictures in order to find a few for a friend that's putting together something for the funeral services and I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or keep crying.
The hysterical picture of the two of us when I was just about to have Miss Thing standing in front of the ice cream shop in Arlington I used to love made me bust out laughing. He went to the OB often enough with me that the nurses were very confused as to who the father actually was...
One of a drunken evening at our old apartment with the woman he should have married, that made me ever so sad...
A lot of years. A whole lot of years. He liked to claim he introduced the Beast and I. Not really, I actually picked the Beast up in a bar, but I always told him I'd be happy to blame him if he really wanted me to.
Farewell and godspeed old friend. I'll never be able to go down to the river without thinking of you. Rest well.
The hysterical picture of the two of us when I was just about to have Miss Thing standing in front of the ice cream shop in Arlington I used to love made me bust out laughing. He went to the OB often enough with me that the nurses were very confused as to who the father actually was...
One of a drunken evening at our old apartment with the woman he should have married, that made me ever so sad...
A lot of years. A whole lot of years. He liked to claim he introduced the Beast and I. Not really, I actually picked the Beast up in a bar, but I always told him I'd be happy to blame him if he really wanted me to.
Farewell and godspeed old friend. I'll never be able to go down to the river without thinking of you. Rest well.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Random Thursday Video
Primarily because I was just in the mood for Rosie Ledet this morning.
Have a lovely Thursday, carry on with whatever you were doing.
Have a lovely Thursday, carry on with whatever you were doing.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Clara is just too adorable!
I know everyone has seen this dear sweet grandma-
But Clara makes me smile. And makes me glad I actually paid attention when both my Grandmothers told me their depression stories, and later during my starving early twenties, taught me more than a few things about living on the cheap.
But Clara makes me smile. And makes me glad I actually paid attention when both my Grandmothers told me their depression stories, and later during my starving early twenties, taught me more than a few things about living on the cheap.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler Y'all!
Have an excellent Fat Tuesday people.
And mainly because I love Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys- just hard to find a good video.
And mainly because I love Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys- just hard to find a good video.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Well that was awfully nice-
Buddyboy hit town and we managed to get together for linner (that would be way too late for lunch and too early for dinner) and were joined by two excellent friends a bit later on. All in all it was a lovely visit, we yakked on and on and caught up. Considering how often we text, email or call you'd think that would be somewhat unnecessary. Well actually it isn't.
Managed to also grab coffee this morning before he had to make himself scarce, which was also good. While every moment was genuinely lovely, we were both still a little sad remembering again how hard it's been not seeing one another all the time. The food was great, the wine as well, the conversation amazing and hysterical as always, and the hugs were the absolute best. But having to say goodbye still does make both of us rather sad still to this day. We both tear up a little when we say goodbye, but don't flat out cry like we used to. That's progress.
But on the whole I'd rather have a friend that finishes my thoughts, makes me laugh hysterically and always knows whats in my heart be a bit too far away than not have one at all...
I'm a lucky, lucky person to have such an amazing person as a friend.
Managed to also grab coffee this morning before he had to make himself scarce, which was also good. While every moment was genuinely lovely, we were both still a little sad remembering again how hard it's been not seeing one another all the time. The food was great, the wine as well, the conversation amazing and hysterical as always, and the hugs were the absolute best. But having to say goodbye still does make both of us rather sad still to this day. We both tear up a little when we say goodbye, but don't flat out cry like we used to. That's progress.
But on the whole I'd rather have a friend that finishes my thoughts, makes me laugh hysterically and always knows whats in my heart be a bit too far away than not have one at all...
I'm a lucky, lucky person to have such an amazing person as a friend.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chapter 1: Wherein our heroine unwittingly steps into a parallel universe. And does not like it one bit.
In this parallel reality she finds her son, the typical messy unkempt 11 year old boy, has turned into a creature who not only bathes regularly without prompting, but suddenly is channeling his inner Hedi Slimane. And to add insult to injury is fielding calls from multiple girls for hours on end each evening. But luckily remains sweet and cuddly and remembers to tell his Mom he loves her at least five times a day.
Her husband, the man who is generally oblivious, up and made dinner reservations. On his own. With absolutely no prompting. And chose an absolutely fabulous restaurant- on his own. This from the man that could care less about food and thinks the entire concept of a tasting menu is moronic and given the choice would rather be eating at Gracie’s Diner. She ponders the import on the assumption he's banking brownie points for something really, really bad.
Her daughter, the self directed straight A student, who has never given her parents a moment of anything resembling real trouble in her nearly 17 years, pulled a C as her final in Spanish. This is not a letter of the alphabet that has ever been sighted on an actual report card. She simply didn’t bother with trivialities like homework for that class. And to further add insult to injury said child has decided that the favored class for the repeat performance is going to be AP Calculus. Oh great, please do pick the one that counts for college credit!! Upon being confronted, the obstinate teen declares the world is going to hell in a hand basket , all she has to look forward to is a life of corporate servitude and she really doesn’t give a damn about anything. At which point our heroine comes to the thundering realization she’s really fucked this up- but simply can’t put her finger on what precisely and realizes she has no idea how to go about fixing this one. And she really, really wishes to find the exit to her actual universe posthaste.
Her husband, the man who is generally oblivious, up and made dinner reservations. On his own. With absolutely no prompting. And chose an absolutely fabulous restaurant- on his own. This from the man that could care less about food and thinks the entire concept of a tasting menu is moronic and given the choice would rather be eating at Gracie’s Diner. She ponders the import on the assumption he's banking brownie points for something really, really bad.
Her daughter, the self directed straight A student, who has never given her parents a moment of anything resembling real trouble in her nearly 17 years, pulled a C as her final in Spanish. This is not a letter of the alphabet that has ever been sighted on an actual report card. She simply didn’t bother with trivialities like homework for that class. And to further add insult to injury said child has decided that the favored class for the repeat performance is going to be AP Calculus. Oh great, please do pick the one that counts for college credit!! Upon being confronted, the obstinate teen declares the world is going to hell in a hand basket , all she has to look forward to is a life of corporate servitude and she really doesn’t give a damn about anything. At which point our heroine comes to the thundering realization she’s really fucked this up- but simply can’t put her finger on what precisely and realizes she has no idea how to go about fixing this one. And she really, really wishes to find the exit to her actual universe posthaste.
Let the lawsuits begin!
I'm not normally a litigious sort, but it this case I think it's warranted.
That really has to be one of the more morally repugnant things I can recall reading about recently- and it hasn't exactly been a slow news month in that regard y'all.
That really has to be one of the more morally repugnant things I can recall reading about recently- and it hasn't exactly been a slow news month in that regard y'all.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Merely trying to be helpful.
Dear Blonde lady in the lavender Escalade,
As you were very obviously in a terrible hurry to get to a no doubt crucial appointment concerning the transition or the stimulus package or some such, I wanted to take a small moment to bring a little matter to your attention that I’m sure you were too busy to take note of.
When you swerved over into my lane and nearly hit the car in front of me as well as myself, you may not have noticed the five or six other vehicles that also narrowly avoided a large and dangerous pile up. And when you essentially slammed on your brakes to make that right into the nice gated community, this did rather make the rest of us somewhat uncomfortable.
On behalf of the others involved in this incident, as well as myself, I’d like to offer a small primer, if you will, regarding announcing your intentions to those around you whilst behind the wheel.
I would suggest the following instructions be followed in a nice safe place like your driveway, with the vehicle in park. Once you are seated, you will observe in front of you the steering wheel- this is the thing you place the hand that doesn’t currently contain your cell phone or lipstick on. Good. Now if you look carefully to the left- the left side is the side where the hand that has excessively the large diamond on it is- there is a thing sticking out of the wheel on that side. This is called either a turn signal or an indicator, because it announces your intention to turn your vehicle to other drivers. Clever, no? Now push down on it, hear the clicking sound? Excellent! You just communicated that you are going to turn left (ring side, remember?) now if you push it upwards you’ll hear the same clicking sound and it tells others you mean to turn right (that’s the side where your purse is sitting dear) and then back to the middle.
Like any new skill this can be no doubt daunting, but I have full confidence that with practice you’ll have it down in no time! And if I may, one more small matter. The small child that was roaming about the back end that got slammed into the window when this occurred may well have sustained minor head trauma, you may want someone to take a look at that. In the future you can save yourself the inconvenience of having your child’s head x-rayed if you utilize the seat belts the nice car manufacturers put in the vehicle. Just a thought.
Kindest regards,
Dora Smith Long
As you were very obviously in a terrible hurry to get to a no doubt crucial appointment concerning the transition or the stimulus package or some such, I wanted to take a small moment to bring a little matter to your attention that I’m sure you were too busy to take note of.
When you swerved over into my lane and nearly hit the car in front of me as well as myself, you may not have noticed the five or six other vehicles that also narrowly avoided a large and dangerous pile up. And when you essentially slammed on your brakes to make that right into the nice gated community, this did rather make the rest of us somewhat uncomfortable.
On behalf of the others involved in this incident, as well as myself, I’d like to offer a small primer, if you will, regarding announcing your intentions to those around you whilst behind the wheel.
I would suggest the following instructions be followed in a nice safe place like your driveway, with the vehicle in park. Once you are seated, you will observe in front of you the steering wheel- this is the thing you place the hand that doesn’t currently contain your cell phone or lipstick on. Good. Now if you look carefully to the left- the left side is the side where the hand that has excessively the large diamond on it is- there is a thing sticking out of the wheel on that side. This is called either a turn signal or an indicator, because it announces your intention to turn your vehicle to other drivers. Clever, no? Now push down on it, hear the clicking sound? Excellent! You just communicated that you are going to turn left (ring side, remember?) now if you push it upwards you’ll hear the same clicking sound and it tells others you mean to turn right (that’s the side where your purse is sitting dear) and then back to the middle.
Like any new skill this can be no doubt daunting, but I have full confidence that with practice you’ll have it down in no time! And if I may, one more small matter. The small child that was roaming about the back end that got slammed into the window when this occurred may well have sustained minor head trauma, you may want someone to take a look at that. In the future you can save yourself the inconvenience of having your child’s head x-rayed if you utilize the seat belts the nice car manufacturers put in the vehicle. Just a thought.
Kindest regards,
Dora Smith Long
Friday, February 06, 2009
For mindless super entertainment powers
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And because the second try got the "Meaty Glorious Samurai" Huh? Just wish there was a better selection of accessories. Guess I'll have to check in with Marvel and see what they have going on.
Have some mindless fun y'all, it's Friday!!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
This is soooo not good...
My cell phone had a SIM card crash. Who the hell knew such a thing could happen?? OK I'm sure that would be everyone but me. Aside from the fact that the nearest store for replacement is very, very geographically inconvienent, my address book is toast. This really, terminally sucks. Yes I know my own fault for not backing the phone up better, blah blah blah...
Five years of phone numbers- poof!
Umm, feel free to email your numbers - you know who you are.
Sucks, sucks, sucks!
Five years of phone numbers- poof!
Umm, feel free to email your numbers - you know who you are.
Sucks, sucks, sucks!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Hey, Ticketmaster! Know what??
You can kiss my ass!! I have had it with you people! But I for once got the upper hand, so there!
Monday at 9:55 I log on and prepare to purchase some Springsteen tickets, at 10:00 your server goes haywire- yet again. I’m sure y’all had no idea (since it’s happened a thousand times before) that many thousands of people were going to hit you for tickets at that precise moment. At 10:10 when I finally get processed into the queue, your system tells me there’s nothing left but points me to your sister site Tickets Now or whatever it is, that lo and behold DOES have tickets- at twice to four times the venue price. You’re assholes.
In frustration I go back to the home page and note that he’s playing at UVA- the John Paul Jones Arena is actually a really nice venue- about a third of the size of he Verizon Center or any of the others so I got my self on over to the UVA web site and purchased (without any hassle at all) excellent seats in a much better venue for fair market price. Another good reason for Miss Thing to attend Mr. Jefferson's University, they get awesome concerts and I'd get student rates.
So y’all can pound sand, this is the umteenth time you’ve nailed me this way, and it ain’t gonna happen again.
Monday at 9:55 I log on and prepare to purchase some Springsteen tickets, at 10:00 your server goes haywire- yet again. I’m sure y’all had no idea (since it’s happened a thousand times before) that many thousands of people were going to hit you for tickets at that precise moment. At 10:10 when I finally get processed into the queue, your system tells me there’s nothing left but points me to your sister site Tickets Now or whatever it is, that lo and behold DOES have tickets- at twice to four times the venue price. You’re assholes.
In frustration I go back to the home page and note that he’s playing at UVA- the John Paul Jones Arena is actually a really nice venue- about a third of the size of he Verizon Center or any of the others so I got my self on over to the UVA web site and purchased (without any hassle at all) excellent seats in a much better venue for fair market price. Another good reason for Miss Thing to attend Mr. Jefferson's University, they get awesome concerts and I'd get student rates.
So y’all can pound sand, this is the umteenth time you’ve nailed me this way, and it ain’t gonna happen again.
Hell hath no fury-
Like an 11 year old boy denied a snow day after the first really good sledding snow of the year fell the night before…
The reaction was decidedly NOT pretty, I can assure you.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Hola!
Yes, they let us back across the border, imagine that...
Just a quick hey y'all to the one or two people that would be concerned if we had been incarcerated at the airport. The proverbial good time was had by all, the scuba diving was quite good, the ruins were epic, the sand sandy and the sun sunny- all in all an excellent trip. Just wanted to share a quick story that really struck me.
On the morning of the inauguration the boys had booked some windsurfing lessons, as the Hurricane really was dying to go, and Tuesday was more or less our one relax and chill day. Miss Thing and I were no way in hell going to miss the swearing in and had assumed it would be CNN in the room. Hell no! Here I was in Mexico, at a resort mostly frequented by nice folks from Europe and South America and they showed it in it's entirety on the big ass wide screen in the lobby bar and also live at the theater on a full sized cinema screen. I opted for the bar. Sue me, I was on vacation people...
So here we sit, in a bar in Mexico watching an American President taking the oath of office. Which in and of itself was somewhat surreal, I can assure you. Things were just getting started and the lovely bartender, who by then knew me well- probably due to my propensity to tip heavily, hands me a bottle of champagne and two glasses. I guess I must have given him a slightly startled look and he just smiled and said "Congratulations!"
As President Obama put his hand on the bible the place literally stopped. Waiters, bartenders, bellmen, tourists- damn near everyone was rooted in place. I admit, I teared up when the oath was taken and my heart felt so much lighter and hopeful. And then a very strange thing happened. All of these people erupted in spontanious cheers and clapping. People started congratulating the few Americans there, smiling, hugging and laughing. Complete strangers, most of whom were not my fellow countrymen, were celebrating this moment. I must say, it really does give me hope for the future, something I have been sorely lacking these last few years.
Here's to hope my friends! It's going to be a tough row to hoe and perhaps people might have finally realized it's going to take all of us to get through it.
Now I really need to go start on the laundry and go to the grocery- back to reality.
Just a quick hey y'all to the one or two people that would be concerned if we had been incarcerated at the airport. The proverbial good time was had by all, the scuba diving was quite good, the ruins were epic, the sand sandy and the sun sunny- all in all an excellent trip. Just wanted to share a quick story that really struck me.
On the morning of the inauguration the boys had booked some windsurfing lessons, as the Hurricane really was dying to go, and Tuesday was more or less our one relax and chill day. Miss Thing and I were no way in hell going to miss the swearing in and had assumed it would be CNN in the room. Hell no! Here I was in Mexico, at a resort mostly frequented by nice folks from Europe and South America and they showed it in it's entirety on the big ass wide screen in the lobby bar and also live at the theater on a full sized cinema screen. I opted for the bar. Sue me, I was on vacation people...
So here we sit, in a bar in Mexico watching an American President taking the oath of office. Which in and of itself was somewhat surreal, I can assure you. Things were just getting started and the lovely bartender, who by then knew me well- probably due to my propensity to tip heavily, hands me a bottle of champagne and two glasses. I guess I must have given him a slightly startled look and he just smiled and said "Congratulations!"
As President Obama put his hand on the bible the place literally stopped. Waiters, bartenders, bellmen, tourists- damn near everyone was rooted in place. I admit, I teared up when the oath was taken and my heart felt so much lighter and hopeful. And then a very strange thing happened. All of these people erupted in spontanious cheers and clapping. People started congratulating the few Americans there, smiling, hugging and laughing. Complete strangers, most of whom were not my fellow countrymen, were celebrating this moment. I must say, it really does give me hope for the future, something I have been sorely lacking these last few years.
Here's to hope my friends! It's going to be a tough row to hoe and perhaps people might have finally realized it's going to take all of us to get through it.
Now I really need to go start on the laundry and go to the grocery- back to reality.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Why not?
The conversation went something like this:
The Beast- The weather's really getting bad. Let's go to Mexico.
Me-OK honey, my S.A.D. is getting bad- April, May, when?
Him- I was thinking next week. You hate this time of year.
Me- Huh?
Him- No -really, fuck it let's just go.
Me- Umm, really? Next week?
Him- What the hell, whatever -let's just go.
Me- OK- Honey some people just do this sort of shit at the spur of the moment. We aren't those people. Those people only exist on TV.
Him- Next week we are those people.
Me- OK, works for me. Are you sure about this? It's a little crazy.
Him- We've earned a little crazy the last few months don't you think? And this way I don't have to hear you whine about packing your butt into a bathing suit for three months. Everyone wins.
Me- I'll go get some fresh sunscreen tomorrow.
See y'all when we get back from the Riviera Maya..
The Beast- The weather's really getting bad. Let's go to Mexico.
Me-OK honey, my S.A.D. is getting bad- April, May, when?
Him- I was thinking next week. You hate this time of year.
Me- Huh?
Him- No -really, fuck it let's just go.
Me- Umm, really? Next week?
Him- What the hell, whatever -let's just go.
Me- OK- Honey some people just do this sort of shit at the spur of the moment. We aren't those people. Those people only exist on TV.
Him- Next week we are those people.
Me- OK, works for me. Are you sure about this? It's a little crazy.
Him- We've earned a little crazy the last few months don't you think? And this way I don't have to hear you whine about packing your butt into a bathing suit for three months. Everyone wins.
Me- I'll go get some fresh sunscreen tomorrow.
See y'all when we get back from the Riviera Maya..
Friday, January 09, 2009
" See the footage of the rare, venomous mammal"
Rare footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists.
Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew; it can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite.
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