Massage, here I come!!
Today, I submitted two glorious posters to the little men in my computer, and now, I wash my hands of them. 4 days of work come to fruition. *sigh* And now, I head off to the gym to partake in an hour long, much-needed massage. After that, I go to watch an oboe-god perform (because, yes, I really AM that big a dork sometimes). All in all, it should be a satisfying day.
Which is good. Otherwise, there might have been a bloody trail of carnage and tears in the wake of the rampant bitchiness that has been threatening to take control all week. True, this might have been more amusing than painful to those of you who know me (as me being bitchy is something about which even I have a hard time being serious), but I prefer when things are more calm and relaxed.
AND...I STILL SEE SUN!!! This makes me exuberant!!! woo hoo!!
No, I DO NOT WISH TO DEBUG!!!
Blogger is my nemesis today. All morning my plans to post, to comment, to do ANYTHING on blogger have been FOILED!!! FOILED!!
This is, to date, the most stressful week, on numerous levels, I have had at work since starting here over a year and a half ago. Overtime, mad scramblings to finish posters by impossible deadlines, last minute changing of decisions that make void hours of work, stupid squabbles over garbage cans...the madness doesn't seem to end.
The answer: no. The madness is calling me back to work now, as blogger sucks too much today, making me waste my prescious posting time clicking "no" to the prompts of "Do you wish to debug?". Ah well...
How gullible are you?
How good are you at spotting doctored photos? Go
here to find out.
I got 19/30 (63%) which it told me was 'pretty good'.
I got this link from my sister, who scored a 28/30.
An example (which I think is one of the more obvious photos to decipher):
A sample
Here is a page from Worth 1000 of which I am particularly fond (I would post the Kermit the Frog picture here if I could, but I can't!).
News nEws neWs newS
In local news...
For those in the Pittsburgh area, the Carnegie Museum, in preparation for upcoming rennovations, is
disassembling its dinosaurs.
PITTSBURGH - What could be better than seeing the first tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered? Watching it being taken apart. Visitors to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which has one of the oldest and largest dinosaur collections in the nation, will be able to watch as the museum's collection of fossilized dinosaur skeletons are taken apart before a renovation of the museum's almost century-old Dinosaur Hall.
If you like dinosaurs, the whole article is worth the read. Another fun fact about the dino exhibit here in Pittsburgh is that it played the Smithsonian exhibit in the movie "Silence of the Lambs". Sadly, it received no academy award nominations.
The next story features the case of the
hugging muggings in West Mifflin, PA.
A woman was charged with stealing money and other items in recent weeks by walking up to six elderly victims, giving them a big hug — and then stealing their wallets or other loose items in the process.
Another note about baseball and steroids...
Oops, I mean
fighting cows and steroids.
SION, Switzerland - Cows that lock horns in an annual test of strength in the Swiss Alps must face renewed doping tests, authorities have decided.
Recognize my superiority, cow! I said RECOGNIZE, dammit!!
During the largely bloodless fights, each cow tries to force the other to submit, using its head and horns. The contests often end without any physical contact between either cow, when one of the animals recognizes the superiority of the other.
And finally...
I am adding another link to my list of links on the sidebar. This is a site my sister introduced me to (and which she occasionally submits entries to), which is worth checking out if you like photography (and particularly if you're interested in photoshopping):
Worth 1000.
gloomy pittsburgh
all my plants are dying, as there is no sun. it has nothing to do with the fact that i have a tendency to kill plants, of course.
jeb jaggerbush munches fetid donkey cock.
yesterday at the gym, all three tv's by the cardio equipment were tuned to oprah. ALL THREE!!! What the fuck, it's a gym, put on some sports or SOMETHING!! Even MTV would be better than Oprah!! OR, and this is a real genius idea (so genius that my head would explode if i had any idea of what it actually was!), if you want to watch Oprah, pick a machine BY THE TV WITH OPRAH. DON'T PICK A MACHINE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM AND CHANGE A SECOND (OR THIRD) TV TO OPRAH!! Dammit people, THINK!!
and now, i get to go sequester myself in an office in western psych for 3 hours and work on analyzing data. woo hoo. the extent to which i'm thrilled by this is overwhelming me.
oh, oh..one more while i'm at it.
at class monday night, i bought a hot chocolate from one of those coffee vending machines (it was sufficiently nasty, yes). on the scrolling message, it said something about the cost of cappuchino, and then it said 'yunz all will love it' (or something to that effect). What did I learn from this? Apparently 'yunz' is just as acceptable as 'yinz', AND it's okay to put it on a scrolling advertisement on a vending machine. lovely.
Follow-up
Judge won't order Schiavo tube reinsertedHoward Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) of Florida, praised the ruling: "What this judge did is protect the freedom of people to make their own end-of-life decisions without the intrusion of politicians."
...
Terri Schiavo did not have a living will. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has fought in courts for years to have the tube removed because he said she would not want to be kept alive artificially and she has no hope for recovery. Her parents contend she responds to them and her condition could improve.
...
Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly because of a possible potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.
Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery, while her parents insist she could recover with treatment. Doctors have said Schiavo could survive one to two weeks without the feeding tube.
Bravo to that judge.
Here is an op/ed article entitled
'A Blow to the Rule of Law' that is a response to this case. It's worth the read.
But in the Schiavo case, and in the battle to stop the Democratic filibusters of judicial nominations, President Bush and his Congressional allies have begun to enunciate a new principle: the rules of government are worth respecting only if they produce the result we want.
Let me pull out my soap box
I don't know if you have all been following the Terry Schiavo case, but
here is an article from today's NY Times highlighting the decisions that have been made by Congress and the JaggerBush regarding this woman's care.
The really, really short version - Terry Schiavo has severe, permanent brain damage. Her husband (and legal guardian) wants to remove the feeding tube (which will eventually end her current state of being). Congress is intervening (after her other family members raised objections and took it to the state court level).
A quote from the Jaggerbush himself:
President Bush said in a statement just after 1 a.m.: "In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. This presumption is especially critical for those like Terri Schiavo, who live at the mercy of others."
First of all, he is in no position to argue that ANYTHING he does is "in favor of life". He has blown all credibility in that department.
But more importantly, Terri Schiavo's legal guardian is her husband. He is the person most likely to know what she would want (or what she may have expressly stated to him before her injury). What right does Congress have to intervene in her treatment and care??
Yet another reason to have a living will...
St. Patrick's Day
In honor of it being St. Patrick's Day (for the next 53 minutes, that is), I am posting a link to
The Onions Irish Heritage Timeline, which I found to be worth the read. Enjoy!!
A little bit of justice
I'm generally not a vindictive person, but I was quite please this week to find out that the cock-munch who fucked us over when we moved from Chicago to Phoenix was just convicted of fraud (and various other things) and is now serving 12.5 years in prison. I received a letter from the FBI stating that I might stand to get some sort of restitution if I can provide all the supporting documents, yadda yadda yadda.
Of course, I have since changed email address, so don't have the original moving quote, and I doubt I have kept my receipts from a move that took place almost 4 years ago. So, sadly, there is no restitution in my future. However, I can still take some satisfaction in knowing that at least the fucker behind it all now has only soap on a rope to keep him company at night.
A Gandalf with a Hobbit on Top
I just can't see how this could possibly be a good idea...
'Lord of the Rings' Takes the Stage as MusicalWe are ultimately dependent on 50 actors and musicians to tell the story rather than technology," producer Kevin Wallace said as he announced details of the 27 million Canadian dollar (11.5 million pound) musical.
"We are going to have to break new ground. It is a hybrid of text, music, spectacle and physical theater," he added.
Eager to quell the fears of devoted Tolkien purists who dreaded the classic being transformed into a showbiz extravaganza, he said: "There will be no singing and dancing Hobbits. The music will be in a very traditional mold and draw on ethnic traditions.
Random music lyrics
In the spirit of the random book quote post, here is the random music lyrics post.
In this case, I opened the insert to the CD I am currently listening to and picked song 6. Since it's short, you get the whole thing (and i'm typing it just as it's printed, punctuation and all).
i'm waking from a dream the neighborhood is
green all the sounds i've missed all the years
come down to wedding deaths and fears and
all i've heard has been in vain like water on
a stain touch me i'm so beautiful rub your
hands across my head just like this come
with me it's not worth it if you don't are
you hiding i am hiding cypress moon bald in
june like the granite in a stream swamp
ophelia i'm torn down let your waters let
me drown touch me i'm so beautiful rub
your hands across my head just like this
come with me it's not worth it if you don't
are you crying i am crying jump jump jump
so high watch me let you down if i
stumble i will stumble if i fall i will fall
i'm trying to hold it like rain in a river
everything is getting bigger better this
won't last forever touch me fall
As I know this song very well, I cannot divorce the melody from the lyrics. However, for those not familiar with this song, the way the lyrics are printed in the insert give you no sense of the rhythm of the song. I suppose that the music itself provides the necessary punctuation.
Some songs are quotable. The lyrics stand alone. I think that this song has its quotable moments too, but I think the choice to print them as they are seems to make the statement that the lyrics and the music are not separate, independent entities, but one in the same.
So, I encourage you to listen to the song (Indigo Girls,
Swamp Ophelia,
Touch Me Fall).
Oddly enough, as I was typing that, the song came on. :)
I also encourage you to share with me the lyrics (all or some) of track 6 of the CD nearest to you. Hopefully this will get me to listen to some new music I have not yet heard.
The five things (for today) that I wish people would learn...
1. One can drop the "TO BE" from a sentence simply by adding "-ing", and it's just as short and doesn't sound as silly!!
2. There is NO "X" in Pittsburgh.
3. When entering an elevator, it is common practice to allow those exiting to get off first - NOT TO STAND RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR SO THAT NO ONE CAN GET OFF AND EVERYONE HAS TO PUSH AROUND YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO DAMNED IMPATIENT!! (this happens FAR too often in my building and it makes me crazy).
4. It's not very nice to push your way past people to be the first person on the bus, and then take for-freakin'-ever paying your fare in pennies while everyone else who could have just flashed their passes stands outside in the below zero wind chill (or snow or rain).
5. My last name is not jew-eng-est or hew-angst. While I realize that my family has bastardized the pronunciation (these are the same people who thing that the long in long island has 4 g's on the end (longggg)), AT LEAST they got the general idea. I am quite happy with the German pronunciation as well. On the plus side, this allows me to identify telemarketers very quickly.
On my own...
And yes, now that song is in my head...
This week (as I type), Jon is spending a splentastic time at the most wonderful place on earth (***HEAVY DRIPPING SARCASM***), DISNEY WORLD!!! Or I suppose just Orlando, FL in general. So, the Panch and I are left here to fend for ourselves.
As a result of my guilt for leaving Pancho alone so much while I'm at work, class, galavanting around town, etc etc, he has gotten to go on 2 walks since Jon left yesterday morning (which is not to mention the walks he had this weekend before Jon left). Of course, it's raining now, and the balmy 59 degrees of today will be a cold, snowy 29 degrees for tomorrow, so his walk streak might have to end. He is currently nudging me with the hedgehog (his favorite toy), wanting me to, not throw it, but CHASE him around the apartment trying to get it from him. This usually involves many circles around all three tables in our place.
But alas, enough about the Panch. I have a very brief, and perhaps amusing anecdote from my class tonight. My name sign involves a fusion of the sign for "talk" and the sign for the letter "S". This is because I talk a lot (big surprise, i know). However, my class has decided this must be an ironic sign, as they don't believe me that I talk a lot. I should have warned them not to unleash the beast! Anyway, let it not be said that I can't be quiet and reserved.
On a totally different note... (for all of you who even THOUGHT of the horrible music pun associated with that cliche, you should all burn in hell!!!!!!) :) :)
I have, for the past two nights, fought with the urge to drink. Actually, yesterday I was fighting with the urge since 11:00 in the morning. You see, Friday night I discovered a beer distributor that sells Lindemann's lambics (Peche being my personal favorite) by the case. 12 bottles for $65 (which, if you've ever bought a single bottle in a bar, you'll know it's over $9 per bottle, so this really IS a good deal). As I only have 10 left, and I just got the case on Friday, I really need to stretch it out over AT LEAST a month (as I'm sure once it's gone, I will need to replenish promptly). I JUST LOVE IT SOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! Everything about it...peeling the foil off the bottle, popping off the cap with a bottle opener, uncorking the bottle, pouring it into my Lindemann's lambic glass (which I acquired through a crafty maneuver I like to call "stick glass in pants and exit stage left"), and of course, the sweet, tasty goodness of the lambic itself. *drool*
ALAS, I have resisted its siren call for two days!!!! I must be strong!!!!!!!
Controversial art museum
Artist Wants to Build Corpse Art FactoryI saw this guy's exhibits when I was in Vienna back in 1999, and it was worth seeing. I don't have any formal opinions on the ethics in art, though, in principle, I don't have a problem with the concept of what this artist is doing. I can say that seeing some of it was...difficult (for lack of a better word), though I think the educational value of his exhibits cannot be questioned.
This article, though it does not state it directly, seems to imply that this is "wrong" in some way. I don't understand why the artist's father's past has anything to do with the artist himself, or his work. To me, it seems as if the author put that in there just for the scandal effect. It associates this exhibit with something that no one I know would endorse (that being genocide, particularly WWII (as people don't seem to care as much about the genocide going on in Darfur and other places in the world NOW as they do about the genocide that occurred 60 some years ago, but that's another whole issue altogether...)).
Other than that, the article makes it seem as disturbing as it possibly could - like he's some evil, mad scientist robbing graves and desecrating (yeah, i spelled that wrong but i'm too lazy to use the spell check) corpses.
Moral of my story is, if you get a chance, go see this exhibit (it won't be here in the States, I can almost guarantee that!). Look up more info on it. Here's another article:
Plasticized Corpse Exhibit. This shows some pictures, including the one below, if you're interested.
