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Friday, 02 April 2010

  • Currently
    Rumours
    By Fleetwood Mac
    The Chain
    see related

    Stolen Survey

    Do you walk up stairs 2 at a time?
    Rarely.

    Have you ever seen someone get hit by a car?
    Not in real life, but I've seen the movie "Meet Joe Black", so technically I have seen someone get hit by a vehicle.

    Are you scared of spiders?
    YES.  Terribly, horribly so.  Justin has to kill them.  He doesn't like them much either, though, so it becomes a fight to see who has to kill the evil eight-legged abomination of Satan.

    Would you be able to go out with someone that has a kid?
    I think so.  Justin has kids, but he doesn't have custody.  I don't know how I'd feel about it if the kids were around; I guess it would be difficult at first, but I have enough love in my heart for my baby's babies.

    Who's the newest member of your family?
    Cade Horn.  Justin's brother and his wife had their second boy almost two years ago now.  He's the newest.

    Would you ever work at McDonald's?
    If I desperately needed a job and it was the only one I could find, I would work at McDonald's, at least until I found something better.  When you really need a job, you don't sneer at anything.

    Do you own any pink pajamas?
    Actually, yes.  They're all Christmassy and they have little penguins and stuff.  I love them.  I have a blue pair, too.

    Do you know any who is 'gangsta'?
    Uh...no.  I know a lot of people who like to think that they are...

    Do you like the band 'Bullet For My Valentine'?
    I honestly don't think I've ever heard them.

    When's the last time you scared someone?
    I don't know.

    Do you know anyone that's tried meth?
    No.  Unless I do and they just haven't told me that they've done it.

    What color is your mouse pad, if you have one?
    Black with a red-framed tan box in the middle with the Chinese character for "love" in black.

    Who's the 1 person that always makes you feel better, no matter how bad?
    Justin and April.

    Do you hate school enough to drop out?
    I did drop out- I was tired of the drama; I guess I just grew up too quickly for high school.  I got my GED and did very well, but it's a decision that I still regret to this day.

    What TV Shows were you obsessed with when you were younger?
    I don't remember.  I always liked things like Bill Nye and those Discovery Channel specials on the ocean, but I don't remember any one thing that I obsessed over.

    Have you ever given anyone a hickey?
    A very faint one.

    What are the last animals you saw mating?
    ...Um, none?  I don't exactly go outside with binoculars and hunt down cats in heat.

    Most outrageous color you've ever dyed your hair?
    Bright red.

    Would you ever share a guy with your best friend?
    Uh, no.  I'd never share my guy at all.  Sleeping with someone else is a deal-breaker, and we both know it- we discussed that quite some time ago.  There will be no sharing.

    Are you afraid of falling in love?
    Obviously not, as is evidenced by the ring on my finger.

    Have you ever read a 'Stephen King' novel?
    Um, yes!  He's my favourite author.

    Do you believe in ghosts?
    I believe in something, but I don't believe that the souls of our dead loved ones are floating around in the ether between dimensions waiting for an opportunity to make contact.

    Have you ever went to the funeral of someone who committed suicide?
    No.

    Who's bed did you last lay on?
    Ours.

    Do you feel bad for Britney Spears?
    In a way.  On the one hand, she took the steps to put herself in the position that she's in, but on the other hand, if she'd had better friends and family, they might have recognized the signs and stepped in.  You can't make someone divert from the path their on, but you can at least try to talk some sense into them, and it doesn't seem like she had anyone to do that for her.  In that way, yes, I do feel bad for her.

    Do you hate your most recent ex?
    No, I don't hate him.

    Did you ever wear suspenders?
    No.

    Have you ever watched 'Desperate Housewives'?
    Ew, no.  I don't like trash TV.  I'll pick up the occasional rag at the check-out counter at the store if there's a good story in it (People and US Weekly both covered the recovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart for a while, and I like reading the Oscars issues), but I have no desire to watch that crap.

    Do you get bored with people you date easily?
    No.  When I date, I'm in it for the long haul.  Fortunately, I've found a good man that feels the same.

    How many messages are on your answering machine right now?
    None- I don't have a phone.

    Do you have your nose pierced?
    Yes- on the left.

    Isn't it annoying when people ask for you advice, but then they do totally the opposite of what you say?
    Sometimes, but even if someone asks for your advice, you can't dictate their lives to them, and you can't force them to do what you think they should.  Giving them advice doesn't mean that you know what's best for them.  It's only a suggestion of what you'd do.  Sometimes they just need some guidance.

Monday, 08 March 2010

  • The Bell Jar

    I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.

    From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked.  One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Atilla and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out.

    I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose.  I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.

Monday, 22 February 2010

  • Currently
    The Fame
    By Lady Gaga
    LoveGame
    see related

    Book List

    I posted this forever ago, so I'm updating.  Because I'm bored.  Bite me.

    Bold the ones you've read. Underline the ones you want to read. Strike the ones you're not interested in. Star your favourites. Then pass it on!

    Part One Classics

    Beowulf by Anonymous
    The Collected Work of Jane Austen.
    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
    If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino.
    Don Quixote by Cervantes.
    The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge.
    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
    Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.
    The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad.
    The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.
    The Collected Work of E. E. Cummings.
    Inferno by Dante. *
    A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
    David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
    Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
    Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.
    A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
    Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
    As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.
    Light In August by William Faulkner.
    Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
    The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
    Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
    Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.
    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
    Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
    Catch22 by Joseph Heller.
    A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
    The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
    The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway.
    The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.
    The Odyssey by Homer. *
    Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.
    Daisy Miller by Henry James.
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
    Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence.
    To Build a Fire by Jack London.
    Billy Budd by Herman Melville.
    Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
    The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
    Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
    Paradise Lost by John Milton. *
    Animal Farm by George Orwell. *
    The Collected Work of Edgar Allan Poe. *
    Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.
    The Catcher In the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
    Hamlet by William Shakespeare. *
    Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. *
    A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
    Othello by William Shakespeare. *
    Richard III by William Shakespeare.
    The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
    The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
    Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. *
    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
    The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
    The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles. *
    The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. *
    The Pearl by John Steinbeck.
    The Lady or the Tiger by Frank R. Stockton.
    Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.
    Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
    Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
    War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
    Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
    Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.

    Part Two Sci Fi

    Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
    The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander.
    The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander.
    The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander.
    Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander.
    The High King by Lloyd Alexander.
    The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony.
    Piers Anthony's Guide To Xanth by Piers Anthony and Jodie Lynn Nye.
    The Apprentice Adept Series by Piers Anthony.
    The Collected Work of Isaac Asimov.
    The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov.
    The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov.
    I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
    Ring by Stephen Baxter.
    The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
    Mars by Ben Bova.
    Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. *
    The Collected Work of Marion Zimmer Bradley.
    The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks.
    The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks.
    The Talismans of Shannara by Terry Brooks.
    The First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks.
    Magic Kingdom For Sale --Sold! by Terry Brooks.
    Running With the Demon by Terry Brooks.
    A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks.
    Angel Fire East by Terry Brooks
    Pyromancer by Don Callander.
    Aquamancer by Don Callander.
    Geomancer by Don Callander.
    Aeromancer by Don Callander.
    Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. *
    Speaker For the Dead by Orson Scott Card. *
    Xenocide / Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card.
    Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card.
    2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.
    Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke.
    The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.
    Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.
    The Man In the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.
    A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick.
    Timewyrm: Exodus by Terrance Dicks.
    The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson.
    The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson.
    The Belgariad by David Eddings.
    The Mallorean by David Eddings.
    City On the Edge of Forever by Harlan Ellison.
    Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch.
    The Collected Work of Raymond E. Feist.
    The Flinx of the Commonwealth Series by Alan Dean Foster.
    Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster.
    Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
    Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind.
    She by H. Rider Haggard.
    The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
    The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.
    Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
    Stranger In a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.
    Dune by Frank Herbert.
    Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert.
    Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.
    God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert.
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb.
    Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb.
    Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb.
    The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.
    The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.
    The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.
    The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.
    The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan.
    Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan.
    A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan.
    The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan.
    Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan.
    Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan.
    The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay.
    Journey To Aprilioth by Eileen Kernaghan.
    The Collected Work of Dean Koontz.
    The Dragon King Trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead.
    Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead.
    A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin.
    The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin.
    The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin.
    Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin.
    The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis.
    The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.
    The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis.
    Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis.
    The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis.
    The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis.
    The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis.
    The Collected Work of H. P. Lovecraft.
    The Collected Work of Anne McCaffrey.
    The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
    The Towers of the Sunset by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
    The Magic Engineer by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
    The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.
    Ringworld by Larry Niven.
    Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
    Pawn's Dream by Eric Nylund.
    The Cat's Meow by David J. Parker
    Timewyrm: Genesys by John Peel.
    War of the Daleks by John Peel.
    The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
    Dark Planet by John Rackham.
    Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn.
    The Star Scroll by Melanie Rawn.
    Sunrunner's Fire by Melanie Rawn.
    Stronghold by Melanie Rawn.
    The Dragon Token by Melanie Rawn.
    The Kirinyaga Series by Mike Resnick.
    Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.
    Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. *
    Contact by Carl Sagan.
    Starplex by Robert J. Sawyer
    The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
    Our Children's Children by Clifford D. Simak.
    The Mad Overlord by Samuel Stoddard.
    The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
    The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.
    The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien.
    The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien.
    Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
    Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
    Dragonlance: Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.
    Dragonlance: Legends by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.
    The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.
    The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.
    The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.
    The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.
    The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells.
    The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
    The Sword In the Stone by T. H. White.
    The Queen of Air and Darkness by T. H. White.
    The Ill-Made Knight by T. H. White.
    The Candle In the Wind by T. H. White
    The Book of Merlyn by T. H. White.
    The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams.

    Part Three - Banned Books

    Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz *
    Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou *
    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck *
    Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling *
    Forever by Judy Blume
    Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
    Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
    Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
    My Brother Sam is Dead by J L Collier and C Collier
    The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    The Giver by Lois Lowry *
    It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
    Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
    A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
    The Color Purple by Alice Walker
    Sex by Madonna
    Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
    The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
    Go Ask Alice by Anonymous *
    Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
    In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
    The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
    The Witches by Roald Dahl *
    The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
    Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
    The Goats by Brock Cole
    Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
    Blubber by Judy Blume
    Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
    Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
    We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
    Final Exit by Derek Humphry
    The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
    The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee *
    Beloved by Toni Morrison
    The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
    The Pigman by Paul Zindel
    Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
    Deenie by Judy Blume
    Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes *
    Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
    The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
    Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
    A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
    Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
    Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
    Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
    Cujo by Stephen King
    James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl *
    The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
    Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
    Ordinary People by Judith Guest
    American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
    What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
    Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
    Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
    Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
    Fade by Robert Cormier
    Guess What? by Mem Fox
    The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
    The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
    Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
    Lord of the Flies by William Golding
    Native Son by Richard Wright
    Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
    Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
    Jack by A.M. Homes
    Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
    Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
    Carrie by Stephen King *
    Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
    On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
    Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
    Family Secrets by Norma Klein
    Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
    The Dead Zone by Stephen King *
    The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
    Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
    Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
    Private Parts by Howard Stern
    Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
    Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
    Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
    Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
    Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
    Sex Education by Jenny Davis
    The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
    Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
    How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
    View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
    The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
    The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
    Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
  • Currently
    American Woman
    By The Guess Who
    "No Sugar Tonight"
    see related

    Wedding Dress

    Okay, so...I've found the dress that I want, but in order to fit into it (I found it at the Thrift Store, so there's only one size, but the manager will hold it for me), I have to drop from a 16/18 to a 6/8 by October. So, either crazy crash starvation diet (think Ramen and water) or I blackmail a plastic surgeon out of free lipo. What do you think?

Friday, 04 December 2009

  • Currently
    Under the Dome: A Novel
    By Stephen King
    see related

    A Different Christmas Poem

    The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
    I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

    My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
    My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

    Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
    Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

    The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
    Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

    My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
    Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

    In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
    So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

    The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
    But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

    Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
    Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

    My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
    And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

    Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
    A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

    A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
    Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

    Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
    Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

    "What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
    "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

    Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
    You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

    For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
    Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,

    To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
    Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
    I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

    "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
    That separates you from the darkest of times.

    No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
    I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

    My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
    Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

    "My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
    And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

    I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
    But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

    Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
    The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

    "I can live through the cold and the being alone,
    Away from my family, my house and my home.

    I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
    I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

    I can carry the weight of killing another,
    Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

    Who stand at the front against any and all,
    To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

    "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
    Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

    "But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
    "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

    It seems all too little for all that you've done,
    For being away from your wife and your son."

    Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
    "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

    To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
    To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

    For when we come home, either standing or dead,
    To know you remember we fought and we bled.

    Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
    That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."


    Remember our troops this Christmas.