|
Monday, September 30, 2002
I just thought these were great pictures... ...from Reba's sitcom...   Thanks for the picture, Lori! From Saturday's Native American Festival at Wells College. This look on my face can only mean one thing... but I don't remember *being* constipated this weekend. I'm obviously not getting into the music as much as the l'il trooper next to me. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments You would have seen a post sooner, but... ...I couldn't get into my office all weekend... the carpets in the building were being shampooed. Another non-stop weekend... Friday, I was pleasantly surprised by an invite to Cortland to chill with Matthew and Dom. They came all the way to Ithaca in the storm to pick me up. We had already decided that a late dinner, the promise of lively conversation, and an abundance of wine would necessitate my staying over... so I packed a bag. They've got a great apartment, they outdid themselves with tons of great food, and they were superb hosts. :-) It was a *great* way to spend a Friday night. My only condition to staying over was that I had to be back in Ithaca by 10 Saturday morning. Lori and I had already made plans to spend the day together. We got some coffee and played pinball for over an hour at WowNet... Lori is a pinball shark from way back. We have such a blast playing pinball together cause we both get so into it. Oh Lori, yesterday I noticed the Bowl-O-Drome has some pinball machines. ;-) We skipped the Pagan Festival on the commons, and traveled up the lake to Aurora for the Peachtown Native American Festival at Wells College. Lori's co-worker was taking part in a pow-wow there. I had a good time, we stayed through a few different performers, checked out some of the vendors and then left when our stomachs were getting the best of us. Neither of us had really eaten all day so we sought out a diner. After two unsuccessful attempts (one was too scary and the other was closed) we ended up just eating at State Street Diner. Yummmm. Bittersweet bowling... Last week, the Harlem Pin Divas were ranked #11. This week, our ranking had jumped up to #5 because we had taken all four points last week. But... I bowled the worst games ever yesterday -- 110, 111, and 89 (!?!?). I was *by far* the worst bowler on the team. We only ended up taking 1 of the 4 points for the day. So we'll probably slip again. Sorry, team. I'm blaming the new shoes I bought Saturday at Dick's. They *look* fierce, but they were so slippery that I almost fell on my ass multiple times. In fact, I had to scour the bottom of the shoes with an SOS pad before I could keep going... and even then they still weren't right. On top of all that, when I was at my lowest emotional point (because I had something like a 60 in the 8th frame)... Rodney had to be a jackass and make a comment about how even Lisa (who wasn't even there) was doing better than I was. And even when he saw that pissed me off, he didn't apologize. You know the bitch never says, 'I'm sorry.' After my dismal showing, I was hardly in a mood to go hang out with friends, but Mikey and I went up to Dave and Erich's for dinner and a soak in the hot tub. Mmmmmmmm, it was *well* worth it. After that, the only motivation I had was to go to bed. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, September 27, 2002 Write your own Bush speech... ... and he actually says it! (Use lots of BIG words. ;-) @ http://www.lemonbovril.co.uk/bushspeech/ | private feedback | (0) public comments Bomb Antarctica! *laughing* Check out the new 'Tom The Dancing Bug' @ Salon.com. | private feedback | (0) public comments 2004 For those of you who think its too early to start talking about presidential aspirations over 2 years before the election... think again. Presidential races are starting earlier and earlier... Al Gore is pounding the pavement serving up sharp criticisms of Bush... political pundits are predicting hes testing the water for a run in '04. (Gore says he'll decide by December.) Howard Dean, the Governor of Vermont, has proclaimed that he's running. Joe Leiberman has also said he's thinking about running... but adds that he will not run *if* Gore does. And of course there's always speculation about Hillary Clinton even though she assures us that she's going to keep her promise to complete her first senate term for NY first. (Polls have her running second in popularity on the Dem's short candidate list, following only Gore himself. But if a strong 'Draft Hillary' movement starts -- as it did for her Senate run -- she may not be able to pass up the opportunity.) There's a Web site dedicated to watching politicians with an interest in running for the oval office in '04. Keep an eye on that site, Politics1.com to see how the race shapes up as the field narrows. And... just when we thought politics couldn't get any kookier than paranoid Texas Bajillionaire H. Ross Perot... the FX network announces the launch of a reality show to pick an "America's Candidate." The show, to start in January of 2004 and running for six months, will pit contestants against eachother in debates and primaries. When Mike told me about this I couldn't believe it... but when you think about it... the political system really isn't unlike Survivor or American Idol. Why not pick a candidate that way? Here's an article about the show, and an opinion piece from CNN.com. | private feedback | (0) public comments  Struck me as funny...
LL Cool J endorsed Pataki for Governor yesterday... but when asked why he chose to endorse Pataki over Carl McCall he referenced the way the Gov. 'handled' the 9/11 attacks. He said, 'The way he stood back and allowed the mayor to really help the city, to help us get through that, the way he showed his leadership ... was wonderful to me.' If you remember, early in the Democratic primary battle, Andrew Cuomo drew tons of heat for making a comment about how Pataki was nothing more than a coat holder or a coat rack (or something like that) for Rudy during the whole 9/11 aftermath. Apparently it's OK to say simliar things if you're actually endorsing the Governor based on his ability to do nothing. ;-) This really cracks me up... Until yesterday, LL Cool J was not even a registered voter. So Pataki's camp hands him a voter registration card during the same campaign stop which LL Cool J filled out in front of the press. Referring to the Independence Party voter fraud allegations in which Pataki's campaign registered fake voters (Marilyn Monroe and Cinderella to name just two), McCall's aide had this to say, 'At least this time the governor is registering a real person.' That was a good one. LOL Gore stumps for McCall Ex-Vice President Gore came to NY last night to headline a fundraiser for McCall. It was reportedly a pretty disappointing turnout with McCall aides having to make frenzied last-minute calls to get people to fill the room. But look for McCall's momentum to increase rapidly in the coming weeks as Ex President Clinton and Senator Clinton as well as the Democratic Party Chairman come to NY to pitch in. Small Disappointment So I read this morning that shortly after the merger of phone companies that created Verizon... McCall wrote to one of the executives to congratulate him. This is apparently a common practice, but the next sentence read something like, 'I'm also sending the resume we discussed under a separate cover letter.' Well, the resume was his daughter's and she subsequently got a job working there. I hope it didn't have anything to do with the sentence that followed which reminded the executive of how many shares of the new company that the NY State pension fund owns and McCall manages. Carl's daughter was subsequently fired for fraudulently using the company card for personal reasons... but have no fear. Now, she works for the company that Carl McCall's running mate owns. D'oh! | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, September 26, 2002 'The Bachelor' As tacky as the premise for this show is... it seems they actually got a good-looking guy this time. (Yup, that's him right there.) Hopefully his luck is better than the last 'bachelor' who, the last I knew, has since stopped seeing the woman he met on the show. Is anyone planning a gay version? They outta, it would be 'scandalous'...  Dan Savage takes on the 'Virtuecrats' Read the excerpt from his new book, due out October 10th, 'Skipping Towards Gomorrah.' Here's an excerpt from the excerpt... *grin* 'Curiously, after spending three hundred pages making the United States sound like Calcutta, Buchanan wraps up his book with a one-sentence paragraph about what a beautiful country this is. Speakers at the Republican National Convention do the same thing: Once they've finished telling us that the United States is a shithole, they wrap up their speeches with claims that the United States of America is unique in the world, a shining example to other nations, and the greatest country on earth. Oh, and God bless America. It's difficult to square this circle: America speeds towards hell in a handbasket, year in, year out, through both Democratic and Republican administrations; things get progressively worse, never better; and yet the United States remains the greatest country on earth, year in, year out. How is this possible? How can we be the stinking moral sewer and the shining city on the hill at the same time? Gomorrah and God's country? Are all the other countries on earth so irredeemably awful, so squalid, so beyond hope that no matter how fast America falls we can't pass a single one on the way down? This explanation might cut it if the rest of the world were Syria, Sudan, and Serbia. But how do the Buchanans, Bennetts, and O'Reillys account for perfectly pleasant little countries like Sweden? Or the Netherlands? Or Canada? (By the way, someone needs to alert Pat Buchanan that Canada is not in Europe. On page 200 of The Death of the West, he writes, "Europe has begun to resemble the United States. Between 1960 and 2000, out-of-wedlock births soared in Canada from 4 percent to 31 percent, in the U.K. from 5 percent to 38 percent, in France from . . .")' Gotta love *that* | private feedback | (0) public comments I demand a recount! Ok, so that wouldn't make a difference. But 9-1? Nine... to One? That was the final vote count on Big Brother last night giving the $500,000 to Lisa. Of course I think Danielle did a major dis-service to herself by making the comment, 'You've got good, and you've got evil.' referring to the choice between voting for Lisa and voting for her. Put that way, who *would* vote for Danielle? *I* would, having a thing for strong personalities... So to recap... Lisa ends up with a new boyfriend AND $500,000. Some girls get all the breaks... | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, September 25, 2002 Poor Loser Seems Bush has a grudge against the man he lost to and then subsequently stole the 2000 election from. 'Bush Vocabulary Now Omits Gore's Name' (New York Times article) | private feedback | (0) public comments Uhm... WHAT!? Kmart Forever. My favorite part... 'How to Recruit Other Kmart Supporters' *laughing* | private feedback | (0) public comments Lunch Follow-up Lunch was non-eventful. I did *not* let the cutie guy buy me lunch... AND I did not go home to change my shirt. ;-) We just chatted about the state of the job market. Turns out he is looking for a job eventually... he's just doing his research now. I pointed him in the direction of some good resources and some offices that might be hiring. Also, it turns out we have some friends in common. Small town... Big Brother Finale!! Tonight is the night that we find out if Lisa or Danielle takes home the $500,000 from Big Brother 3. Supposedly, the jury (comprised of evicted houseguests) gets to pick the winner... but there *has* to be a twist. I've got other plans but my VCR will be working overtime.   Its about time... ...that someone started talking about a pride festival in Ithaca. I think its long past due and 2003 just might be the year. There will be an organizational meeting of the Ithaca LGBTQ Pride committee on OCTOBER 3rd from 7:00 - 8:30 PM in the Borg-Warner room of the Tompkins Library. Anyone who wants to participate in the planning stages is welcome to attend! | private feedback | (0) public comments New Poll shows Governor's Race Tightening
George Pataki is barely maintaining a double-digit lead over Carl McCall, according to a poll released today. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey had the two-term incumbent leading McCall, 45 percent to 34 percent, among likely voters. Golisano is favored by 13 percent. Hey, an 11% difference is better than the 15% difference in previous polls... Movin' on up. | private feedback | (0) public comments I'm a sucker... This young guy barges into my office this morning and says, 'Hi, I'm X, a recent college graduate. I dunno why I'm here. I guess I was hoping I could talk to someone about the design industry. I'm not looking for a job, I promise.' He's tall, he's blonde and he's super cute so I'm already thrown for a loop... But I bascially tell him that noone is free on such short notice (he says he can't wait until next week), that I'm probably not the one he should talk to because I'm not a designer, and that we're still setting up the office so there's really no place to sit down and have a conversation yet. Then he really starts putting on the pressure... and starts asking a few questions... but I'm persistent and say we just don't have time to sit down at the moment... Then he says, 'That's fine. What about lunch? I'll take you to lunch.' I dunno what insane part of me said 'Yes,' but I'm meeting him at 12:30 to talk about the graphic design industry. The boy gets mad credit for determination. Perhaps the lamest part of this tale... My first thought? 'I need to go home and change my shirt before lunch!' I'm so pathetic... I need a boyfriend... and quick! | private feedback | (0) public comments Comments... ... seem to be down. :-( Dunno why. | private feedback | (0) public comments I couldn't help myself... Even if Dubbya can't read, you'd still hope he could identify whether pictures were upside down or not.  As an honorary lesbian... ... I feel like I missed our Annual Meeting. I didn't go to the Indigo Girls concert last night. One Hour Photo I'm not a fan of Robin Williams. Besides 'The Birdcage,' I don't think I could identify a movie of his that I like. (Dar-dar says I should see Fisher King... but that's for another time.) Last night I went to see 'One Hour Photo.' I had read a New York Times synopsis and an interview with the director in which he said something like, 'I put a photograph of happy people in front of Robin and told him that this photograph represents everything you want in life and can never have.' So I figured the movie was going to be about some misfit who is intensely jealous of this family, a family that he's gotten to know by developing their photos over the years, and he attempts to ruin their life. Well... its not that easy nor that straightforward. This was a very intense and disturbing movie. Right away I felt sympathy for Sy the Photo Guy (the role that Robin Williams plays). But you don't know exactly why you should feel sad for this character or why Sy can't acheive happiness until the very end of the movie. (No worries, I'm not going to spoil it.) The movie continuously juxtaposes images of the surreal happy Yorkin family with the stark sad life led by Sy in such a way that whenever Sy interacts with a Yorkin family member, there is all sorts of tension. Sy begins to take his obsession a little more seriously, and when he finds out that the Yorkin family isn't quite as perfect as reflected in so many family photos, he takes revenge in a way that only he knows how... Go see this movie, its really good.  On a lighter note, Michael Vartan is *really* hot. ;-) I rarely do this... gush about an actor... (OK, maybe Ben Affleck) but I have had the biggest crush on Michael Vartan ever since I first saw him on 'Friends' or in 'Never Been Kissed' with Drew Barrymore (I don't remember which came first at this point.) That's a pic of him in 'One Hour Photo'... but he has an official web site too. I didn't go see this movie because he was in it, but it was definitely a plus! | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, September 24, 2002 All I want is a life-sized Jesus... ...or the Kinsey Sicks. I dunno what drove me to check out the Kinsey Sicks' Web site... probably just nostalgia. A longing to relive part of my trip to Provincetown this summer. I couldn't resist posting this pic. 
| private feedback |
(0) public comments
Google News Search In what may be the coolest thing that Google has ever done (OK, to news-junkies like me)... the search engine has added a new 'beta feature' that crawls over 4,000 sources of news on the web. So, in other words you might attempt to look up 'Pataki/McCall Debate' like I did... and you'll get news stories from ABC, the Ithaca Journal, the Post Standard (out of Syracuse) and about 136 other relevant articles. Talk about news at your fingertips. Go Google! | private feedback | (0) public comments 
I am Marvin the Martian! 'You love conquering worlds and things that go kaboom. You have control over lots of amazing technology, but are a bit of a wimp.' What Looney Tunes Character are You? | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, September 23, 2002 New York Magazine
I just got my first issue of New York Magazine last week. And I was greeted by an article about George Pataki's weak spot... and how he just might lose. Check it out online. P.S. I 'borrowed' this image... It will become my NY Governor's Race icon. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Fearing for my life... I'm waiting for someone to jump out of the bushes wielding a lead pipe and beat my knees to a bloody pulp. About 2-1/2 years ago someone who I wasn't at all interested in, asked me out. I had a good enough reason to say no, I had just started seeing someone and it was getting serious. So, as politely as possible I said something like, 'I'm sorry. I just met someone.' His response (which came via email) -- 'You do NOT want to fuck with me. I hope for your sake that's true, because if you're lying to me I'll kill you.' I kid you not. Since then, he has started working at a place downtown that I frequently get my lunch at. And over the last few months I've tried to be friendly enough that he doesn't think I still hold a grudge for his threat on my existence. Apparently too nice... Yesterday, I got an email (@gay.com, an address which I NEVER use) from him asking me if I was still single and if so, would I be interested in going out with him. This time I simply said, 'Yes I'm single. But I don't think we'd hit it off.' Once someone threatens your life that pretty much rules them out as a viable dating option right? | private feedback | (0) public comments You see? Remember that silly post I made last week about how the two major parties could come together so the US would have its first female president? Well it turns out something similar just happened in Hawaii. From the New York Times: 'Hawaii voters all but ensured that the state will have a woman as governor for the first time, choosing Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono to carry the Democratic banner against Linda Lingle, a Republican.' Read the full story. See, that wasn't so hard... | private feedback | (0) public comments How's that? After some not so great feedback on that pic of me clutching the pillow... here's a new one taken at my office about 15 minutes ago. | private feedback | (0) public comments I'm pissed... But let me tell you why... (It's not juicy personal stuff... just work drama I need to vent about...) For those of you that don't know... I work for a graphic design agency. We recently designed a few projects for one of our bigger clients. Once we got the design approved, we handed our files over to another vendor who is responsible for production (i.e. printing). In this case, the client had chosen the vendors (*not* someone who we would have chosen) and *all* of these projects were completely screwed up while under their supervision. We, out of the goodness of our hearts, worked overtime to try and help these vendors with problems they were having... problems that we were *not* responsible for. NOW, the production vendors have already invoiced DOUBLE for the projects even though *they* screwed up the initial run of the jobs. So, this is technically a $30,000 loss to our client if they pay the invoices as submitted. Instead of negotiate with the vendors to drop the price on the invoices because of *their* mistakes, our client's accounting department just paid them. Now that they've realized they took this loss they are trying to collect their money in other ways... namely trying to make *us* pay the $30,000... since we have the unfortunate distinction of invoicing our services after the other vendors. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time just being nice and taking responsibility for problems that weren't ours. But the general consensus around our office is that in the long run we should take this hit because it will salvage our working relationship with the client. And the client *knows* that its not our fault which is why I can't understand why they are asking us to do this. We're not a large office... $30,000 is a lot of money to us! So we compromised and made a proposal... 'We'll take responsibility for half of the money.' The response? 'We're very disappointed that you won't take responsibility for the whole amount, especially since we're willing to be flexible and extend the agreement out over two years so that you have more time to make it up.' This to me reads, 'We're sorry we're asking you to take it up the ass, but we'll use lube... we promise.' So now we're waiting to see what THEY have to say for themselves, i.e. their counter-proposal. And in the end, if we can make clear that we are NOT responsible for the problems AND if we lock them into an agreement for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of project work that we can 'give them a break on' to make up the money, then I suppose all will be fine. I just broke one of the blogger rules that Lori showed me last week... never blog about work stuff... | private feedback | (0) public comments Back to work... Yesterday was bowling day... I had a blast at the alley and I bowled my lifetime high, a 151. Halfway to that perfect 300 game. *smirk* Who am I kidding, I will NEVER bowl a 300. In fact, I told my teammates that if I ever bowled a 200 or higher I would just have to quit. I think though, that my average will go up about 7 pins next week. Fierce! I was at the Common Ground not once... not twice... but three times this weekend. Ugh. In hindsight I wish I had only gone once.. on Sunday. And that's only 'cause I finally got to meet Matthew and his boyfriend. What a pleasant surprise. I'm sorry we didn't get to chat more than we did. (Matthew, I *will* email you my number again but you better use it this time.) EVERYTIME I go to the Common Ground its a sure bet that I will run into a handful of guys that I dated and I'll remember what a jackass I was to them or what a jackass they were to me... neither is a really great walk down memory lane. Friday was no exception, at least three folks I would have rather not seen. (You see, this is the moment I wish I had an anonymous blog because I could spill all the details and not have to be so cryptic and PC about everything. ;-) Saturday, Mike and Rodney and I had made plans to go to Syracuse. BUT, at the last minute, Mike got a call asking if he could DJ at the Common Ground. I was sort of bummed... but I went to CG 'cause I had wanted to do *something*. It was CG's Aloha Party. (That's right, lei's for everyone!) And I didn't have that bad a time until the end of the evening... Again, I wish my blog were anonymous. :-) Which brings me to Sunday... Why did I go to the Common Ground (on Karaoke night, god forbid) when I had already had two disappointing nights out this weekend? Well... I bowled above my average and so I got this little coupon for a free burger at Common Ground. Basically I was hungry and didn't have much cash on me... so there you go. We didn't stay up there very long though. I had taken the air conditioner out of my bedroom window earlier (it was going to fall out on its own if I didn't)... and so for the entire evening it sat on my bedroom floor full of the dirt, rust, insects and sludge it collected throughout the season. So you see, Matthew, I had some big stuff to get home to. :-P The Emmys Once the AC unit was sufficiently cleaned, I decided to rearrange my bedroom and watch the Emmys. Recently, at Borders, I was flipping through a Feng Shui manual, and the only furniture arrangement advice I retained was to put your bed in the corner farthest away from the door to the room. So I've been wanting to do this except the bed would have been right under the AC. So... now that the AC is out... well, you can fill in the blanks... So, you see, the rearrangement was all about getting some of that good feng shui feeling in my apartment. :-) I don't want to forget about the Emmys. I've never really been a big fan of Conan O'Brien's... but... well, I'm still not. Why didn't they bring Ellen Degeneres back!? She was awesome last year in the worst possible circumstances. I was so happy to see Everybody Loves Raymond had such a strong showing (Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor in a Comedy). Although I was surprised that those cable shows Sex and the City and Six Feet Under didn't win more awards. Maybe network television isn't dead... or at least not to the Academy voters. Of course, the Emmys also confirmed to me that Oprah Winfrey ROCKS! She was amazingly eloquent and beautiful up there on that stage accepting the first ever Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. (One question though... When your program already runs over consistently, doesn't it seem counter-intuitive to add *more* awards?) And... there was a category that defied definition for me... because of who was nominated in it. I can't remember what exactly it was called... but Ryan Stiles and some other comedian from 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' was up against Billy Joel and Sting for their concert specials. Huh!? | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, September 22, 2002 BB3 Fatal Flaw... I was all pumped for a Jason/Danielle showdown on BB3. But Jason's fatal flaw was not getting rid of Lisa when he had the chance. I mean, you KNOW Amy wouldn't have made it through the endurance portion of the 3-part Head of Household competition. Jason and Danielle would have had a clean shot for it... and then the Jury would get to pick between the two of them. As it is, Lisa and Danielle are in the final two... and I guess I'm still hoping that Danielle wins just for the simple fact that she played the game as a game the entire time and strategized like mad... and she insists that her family could really use the money. I don't think Lisa needs it or necessarily deserves it... I guess we'll find out on Wednesday of next week. | private feedback | (0) public comments Saturday, September 21, 2002 8 Women An all french cast that I mostly have never heard of? Subtitles? A murder-mystery set to music? All things point to a movie that I wouldn't be so excited about. But I've seen so much press about this movie that I am feeling *compelled* to see it. Of course I have no clue when our little Ithaca will acquire the film.. but it can't be soon enough. Life Goals I'm feeling a bit like an underacheiver the last few days. Two of my friends are making strides towards realizing HUGE life goals... one to buy a house and the other to have a baby. Granted, they're both a little older than I am... but my goals have sort of fallen by the wayside. Whatever happened to wanting to go back to school to get my MBA? What ever happened to *my* wanting to buy a house? Whatever happened to my goal of making a friend out of the counter lady at the coffee shop? All worthwhile goals, and none of them are really coming closer to becoming reality. (Well, that's not *entirely* true, the counter lady at the coffee shop greets me by name now...) I make steps, but they're superficial ones... I bought a GMAT review book but I only open it when I have a frustrating day at work. I cancelled roadrunner and most of my cable at home to get my finances 'in order,' but then I spend more going out to see movies and buying CDs. I'm just not committed to my goals. The other day I gave a friend shit because he wasn't sticking to *his* goals. Maybe that makes me a bit of a hypocrite. He has had the same goal for his entire adult life I assume, to lose weight. And he is telling me this straight-faced as we're eating out one night. My response? "Uh-huh, tell me your goal again *while* you're stuffing your face with the fried potato skins you just ordered." (That only *sounds* mean, it had a much friendlier delivery. *big cute smile*) He quickly accused me of not being supportive, to which I had to defend myself by saying, "I'm not unsupportive of your goals, just he way you go about acheiving them." I should turn that statement back on myself more often. | private feedback | (0) public comments When I'm away from my computer... ... I can think of a million things to write about. But when I sit down to my cutie little iMac, my mind draws a blank. At the moment, I'm preoccupied with thoughts of my apartment burning down. This used to be because I heated my apartment by turning the oven to a low temperature and leaving the door open... But I haven't done *that* for a few years, since I currently live in an apartment in which I control the thermostat. No, now It seems there's an arsonist on the loose in my neighborhood. Four suspicious fires, the most recent of which was just two nights ago. Two fires ago, the building in question was directly behind my house, only a small patch of concrete separating us. I'm slightly comforted by the fact that all the fires have started from *within* the buildings. I highly doubt anyone is going to get into my little concrete block building... but fire works in strange ways. I'm also slightly comforted because I live only two doors down from the fire station so all the fires have been caught fairly early. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, September 20, 2002 The Reba-American Idol Connection I didn't watch more than 15 minutes of 'American Idol' but apparently the winner, Kelly Clarkson, is quite a fan of Reba's. When asked the question, 'What celebrity would you most like to be for a day?' she answered, 'Reba.' Here's a pic of the two at the taping of the American Idol Reunion Special taped in Vegas (to air 8/23). Rumor has it that Reba and Kelly sing 'Does He Love You' on the show. I might have to watch that. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Mark your calendars! Dan Savage's new book, 'Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America' goes on sale October 10th. Let's see if our lovely local bookstores stock this one. | private feedback | (0) public comments Man, I work in a fun place... I pulled a muscle or something in my back lifting these big green phony walls that my boss built at home. He's installing them now and assures me he 'doesn't need any help.' I have never met anyone like my boss who can visualize something so clearly and then execute it flawlessly within minutes... We've already got a wall made up of industrial shelving backed by a HUGE painter's canvas, room dividers of white plastic mesh reminiscent of bug screening, and green stained walls with drilled holes meant to hold the sticks of chupa chup lollipops spelling out the name of our company. And there's more to come... Our old office was similarly interesting... we had an airplane wing jutting out of the wall over my desk, inflatable orange lights... a custom-built blue plywood counter in front of my desk, black rubber flooring, and retro office furniture the conference room. Our clients have come to know us for having interesting workspace, so we can't let them down in our new digs. | private feedback | (0) public comments Gov. Pataki rolls out two ads that rip Carl McCall The *first* negative ads since the primaries. Campaigns don't run attack ads unless they're a little nervous about something. Debates Rumors are flying that Pataki might only debate once (if at all) before the general election, depriving New Yorkers of seeing why McCall is a better candidate for Governor than Pataki. This isn't a new campaign strategy for him... Pataki hasn't debated in any of his previous bids for Governor. | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, September 19, 2002 I'm Such a Reality Television Whore... Big Brother 3 Amy's out! So the final three are Lisa, Jason and Danielle. I have a strong feeling that Jason and Danielle are going to be in the final two. But I have my doubts that the jury will give the money to Danielle over Jason. Especially now that they've seen her from the comfort of their own home for what she really is... D'oh! Danielle forgot to play the game OUTSIDE the house too. In my opinion, Danielle really has played this game the best and deserves the money. You just never know, I thought that during the first series of Survivor that the jury would lash-out against Richard for being backstabbing and 'playing the game' but some folks decided that he should have the money for precisely that reason. This Saturday is the last eviction and then next Wednesday is the FINALE. Survivor I watched the premiere of Survivor Thailand tonight. I'm *so* over Survivor. Amazing Race I can't wait until October 2nd. Bring it on!!! Road Rules I *swear* I saw Eric from this season's Road Rules in Best Buy tonight! Hey, its possible... he *does* go to Cornell. Reba Ok, its not reality television... but tune in tomorrow @ 9 for the season premiere of her great sitcom on WB! Sorry CDUniverse... ... but you just took too long to ship my CD. After a short scavenger hunt, I ended up buying the only copy of Megan Mullally's CD, 'Big As A Berry,' at Best Buy. Luckily, my CDUniverse order hadn't shipped yet so I was able to cancel it. The songs are all covers... some showcase an amazing voice and others... well, not so much. BUT the shocker... she redid 'Fancy' which was a hit for Reba back in the early 90's. I realize the song has a history that goes farther back than Reba... but it will always be Reba's signature song to many people. I had read a few reviews of Megan's CD that said she'd be very comfortable singing country music. I was like, 'Huh!? Megan Mullally... Karen on Will & Grace... singing country!?' But boy were they right. A few of these songs you'd swear were arranged to sound like they came from country albums. Maybe that just speaks to Ms. Mullally's versatility. And another CD purchase... I've been overlooking Lee Ann Womack's new CD for a while now. BUT... while I was waiting for Mike to pick me up and go to the Mall tonight I saw the video for the first single, 'Something Worth Leaving Behind.' I listened to the words and fell in love with the song... 'I may not go down in history, I just want someone to remember me. I'll probably never hold a brush that paints a masterpiece. I'll probably never find a pen that writes a symphony. But If I will love then I will find, that I have touched another life. And that's something, Something worth leaving behind...'   And speaking of great music... I found a streaming music station through iTunes on my Mac. ;-) Its called Circuit Candy which bills itself as 'the hard bodied sounds of the gay circuit scene.' Within a half-hour I heard Whitney, Anastasia and Funky Green Dogs. *smile* | private feedback | (0) public comments Did I misread this headline? Breaking News! Alyssa Milano and Justin Timberlake. She's 'so in love.' Better question... Why do I care? | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, September 18, 2002  Something to look at while I wait for my CD...
Real World Las Vegas I had wanted to see 'One Hour Photo' last night (it was cheap night at Cinemapolis), but at some point during a conversation with Mike, I remembered that the premiere of Real World Las Vegas conflicted. The thing that excited me most about the new season of Real World was that I was just in Las Vegas. Barring New York and Chicago, I have never been in any of the cities that have hosted Real World casts. MTV remodeled almost an entire floor of a Hotel/Casino for the cast to call home. It's fab! *I* want an apartment just like that someday... *daydreaming* And like a good reality show cast should do...a few of the people on 'Real World Las Vegas' have already infuriated me... Three new roommates... Steven, Frank and Trishelle (what kind of name is *that* anyway?). Right away, the cast notices that Frank and Trishelle have a certain chemistry. They both seem to be sweethearts and flirt with eachother whenever they get the chance. Frank makes very clear to his new buddy Steven and the other roommates that he's into this hick from Louisiana, Trishelle, and Steven even goes so far as to say, 'Dude, she's yours! She's so into you!' Fast forward to an evening of drinking and debauchery (who knows how much later because of editing) -- Steven and Trishelle initiate a kiss. Not a peck, but a no-holds-barred make-out fest. Frank stumbles upon all of this going on. Now, when EVERYONE is quite aware that Frank is a little perturbed, the three sit down and talk... Trishelle on one side and Steven on the other. All of the sudden Steven says, 'Hey, maybe Frank didn't see what we did. Let's show him!' and quickly leans across Frank and starts making out with Trishelle yet again, not a foot from Frank's face!! Some more words are spoken (high-drama) and after sharing a bed initially with Frank and being all cuddly, Trishelle and Steven end up in bed together. I couldn't help but feel terrible for Frank. That poor guy. Trishelle's a whore and Steven's a backstabbing asshole. Trust noone. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, September 17, 2002 One of the best things to ever happen to Ithaca... ... is the Route 10 bus that shuttles folks back and forth from the Ithaca Commons to Cornell University every 10 minutes between 10 AM and 4 PM. I take it to client meetings... I go up to campus to meet friends... I go up for lunch sometimes... If you've been in Ithaca on a weekday maybe you've seen it, it looks like a big dark green trolley car, but on four wheels. :-) Today I took the #10 to campus so that I could look for Meghan Mullally's new CD at the Campus Store and Sam Goody. I had already stopped in at Sounds Fine on the Commons. I can only guess why they didn't order a single copy of the CD for the release date. Well it turns out that neither the campus store nor the Sam Goody in Collegetown had 'Big As A Berry' either. Hmph. (Maybe this isn't such a surprise to all of you, but besides new Reba albums, I have never ever gone to a music store on THE DAY of an album's release to look for it.) All the stores said the same thing... 'We can order it for you. It will be here by the end of next week.' A week and a half!?!?! Am I crazy or was there a time when you could have a book or CD special ordered within a few days? Has customer service actually started to go backwards? Look folks, I travelled all over Ithaca today to try and support local music merchants... Amazon.com can get me a copy in two days and even with shipping and handling it will be the same price or cheaper. So... excuse me while I go to MySimon.com and find out which eCommerce site has the best deal on Megan Mullally's new CD. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, September 16, 2002 Deeper and deeper into site statistics Every one of my pages has been hit as the result of a google search. Some of my favorite search phrases that actually landed people on various pages of my site follow: 'pics lesbians making out' 'native nebraskan bumper sticker' 'brett summers birthday' 'make a book cover bag' 'egg-plant breakfast syracuse' Just thought I'd share... | private feedback | (0) public comments Have you seen... ...the new Chevrolet SSR? Mmmmmmm | private feedback | (0) public comments I like Aldi as much as the next guy... I have been known to get my essentials there... sugar, flour, sloppy joe sauce... I've stocked up on 33 cent packages of hot dogs and 40 cent loaves of bread. I don't even mind that I have to bring my own bags to get the groceries home... But I would NEVER EVER buy a computer there. I was flipping through the circulars in our paper this morning and the whole cover of the Aldi flyer is a picture of a 2.2 GHz notebook computer... for $1499. "Come early! Limited quantities!" Just imagine the conversation that must have transpired between the Marketing Director and the CEO of Medion Computer... Marketing Dir: So where do you think we should sell our top of the line 2.2 GHz computers? CEO: Hmmmmm. Who's hot right now? Which store best matches the brand image we'd like to portray in the marketplace... Best Buy? Circuit City? Or god forbid, Staples? Marketing Dir: How about Aldi? CEO: Aldi? Marketing Mngr: *nods* CEO: The home of the 18-cent can of off-brand peas?!? BRILLIANT!! | private feedback | (0) public comments Thanks Lori! For the link to the Apple Computers Collectibles Site. Check it out!! | private feedback | (0) public comments  My Inner Blonde is Pamela Anderson -- "Although you look like a cartoon character, you lead a soap opera life. Stop picking the wrong guys, and your glamourous life won't have a Marylin Monroe ending." Who's *Your* Inner Dumb Blonde? | private feedback | (0) public comments My sincerest apologies... ... to those of you who stumble upon my little Web site by looking up 'pictures of Shane from Road Rules' or 'pics from the movie 'Shane'' (which I have yet to see) on google. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, September 15, 2002 Where do I begin? I had such a great weekend. I am in the office late Sunday night because I know describing my weekend will take all of tomorrow morning to type out... and I won't get any work done... and then my week will start terribly.. and I'll have to spend the rest of the week catching up... and we don't like that type of thing. :-) So, gosh. Friday night was a bonfire at Mike and Donna's. So many lesbians... so much fun. It was sort of a blur... all I remember is lesbians roasting weiners over a roaring bonfire and being a little uncomfortable at the sight. When I got home from the bonfire I noticed that Chrissy's feeding tube was all infected again. It was extremely disgusting... food coming out from around the entry point and her neck was all red and irritated. I vowed to call the vet in the morning. I'm a little out of my league cleaning up shit like that. Now that you're completely grossed out... While trying to avoid having Chrissy rub her neck on me, I watched David Letterman. Meghan Mullally was the guest... She's a riot! And she sang a song from her new album 'Big As A Berry' (or something like that). I have an MP3 of her singing 'Paris Original' from some broadway show... but that's all I'd ever heard her sing. I LOVE her voice. I imagine sitting in a smokey underground cabaret bar. The CD comes out this Tuesday, I *will* own it. Saturday morning my first order of business was to call the Vet. Luckily, Chrissy's main Vet was on duty... and she said to bring Chrissy in so that she could clean up and readjust her tube. Now, you know that Chrissy has been gradually eating more and more for the last week... Well, Saturday morning Chrissy was eating like a fiend. She at whatever I put in front of her. Wet food, dry food, treats, everything and anything. So I decided that when I got to the Vet's office, I would tell her I wanted the tube taken out... unless the Vet *strongly* advised against it. So Lori (god bless her) came into Ithaca to take Chrissy and I to the clinic. We got there, I talked up how much Chrissy was eating... and the vet said, "Well, I'm on the fence. We could take the tube out, but it would be a shame if we had to put it back in if she doesn't eat enough on her own. As Chrissy's power of attorney, are you feeling lucky?" My response was swift -- "YANK IT!" So... drum roll please... I am no longer tube feeding my cat!!!! It's sort of strange to think about... because I had sort of gotten on a schedule. I would frequently say, "I gotta get home to feed Chrissy." Or I'd groan and say, "Oh my god, I just want to go to bed but I can't 'cause I gotta go feed my freakin' cat." But now I just pop the lid on a can of wet cat food and put it out. She's really into this 'all natural' pet food that you can only get at Greenstar. I've actually found whole chunks of what I can only assume are chicken veins and fish scales in the cans. And they have very clinical and non-appetizing names like "Chicken and Wheat Gluten." Good thing Chrissy can't read. :-) A quick stop at Best Buy so that Lori could look at digital cameras... and then I was on my way to the Outlet Mall in Waterloo with Rodney. We were meeting Amy there to help her pick out more business casual attire for her new job. We must have hit every clothing store and shoe store in that mall... The three of us had such a good time trying on clothes, giving Amy the thumbs up and thumbs down on clothes, tormenting Rodney... Heh. Every one of those clothing store clerks assumed that either Rodney or I was Amy's husband. I *so* wanted to say, "No, I'm her lover. THAT'S her husband" while pointing at Rodney. :-) Then I was supposed to meet *someone* for coffee and maybe a movie Saturday night. But when they didn't return my phone call... I called Rodney to see if I could go to Common Ground with him. Normally I have a terrible time out at CG, but I actually had a great time. I met a few new folks... it was busier than normal because a whole contingent of guys from Rochester were on some annual tour of the Finger Lakes region that culminates in taking over our little gay bar. I danced quite a bit... Mike was DJing and was having a really great night in the booth. I stayed until close. I got up early this morning to go to a brunch celebrating my friend Sally's birthday. She and her partner Elaine made some amazing food and a kick-ass cake... What a monster! Chocolate cake bottom layer, followed by a thin layer of raspberry, spice cake as the middle layer, then a thin layer of buttercream, a top layer of spice and chocolate cake marbled together, finished off with thick chocolate fudge frosting. MAN... was it yummy. I bowled this afternoon. This was the first week that our scores actually count towards our average. I was relatively consistent... a 112, a 128 and a 126. I was actually the highest scorer on our team (overall) by 2 pins. :-) I do not expect this to last very long. WOW... I sure can ramble on and on... if you actually make it to the end of this will you just type something in the comments section like, "I survived Shane's weekend post." LOL. I'm sorry, it's not so much fun is it? I had a great weekend and I can't even really pinpoint the reason except for being around friends all weekend... and the end of the tube-feeding. Tonight, I dragged Mike to see "Notorious C.H.O." at Cornell Cinema. What a hysterical movie! Margaret Cho's stand up routine is hilarious! I knew she was a favorite of a lot of gay guys, but I didn't really ever know why. Now I know... 3/4 of her stand up is about gay men and lesbians. :-) My favorite line... she says something like, "I'm not really sure if I'm a bottom because I actually enjoy it, or because I'm lazy." *laughing* So I have this song stuck in my head... or at least the chorus of it... "He Think I Don't Know" by Mary J. Blige. More specifically, the dance remix version of it. I LOVE IT. That and Mike's favorite line ("He walks around like shit is fine.") are the only two lines I remember. Although that song is currently competing for brain space with my new favorite country song... from Sara Evans' latest CD... called "Looking for Something More" and it pretty much sums up my usual mindset. 'Just as soon as I get what I want / I get unsatisfied / Good is good but could be better / I keep looking for something more / I always wonder what's on the other side / Of the number two door / I keep looking / Looking for something more' | private feedback | (0) public comments I know... I liked the old picture better too... but it was time for a change. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, September 13, 2002 Memorize this number... As sad as it is to admit, none of my best posts come from things *I've* personally found. I usually just find funny things that other people post and then recycle them. ;-) This one, from Brian who got it from Edie, takes the cake for the week. RejectionLine.com is a New York City-based enterprise that provides folks who are sick of rejecting people the old fashioned way another option... by giving them this number (212) 479-7990. Go ahead, you know you want to call it. Rochester guys!! You have a similar service right in your own backyard... politely give out this number to those you'd rather not talk to: (585) 399-5902 As far as I know we don't have one in Ithaca yet. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments WOW Check out the journal at chrisonomicon.com. The guy's got mad writing skills. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Anonymity Is that even how you spell that? Sometimes... just every once in a while... I wish I had started this web page anonymously so that I could post more juicy things... | private feedback | (0) public comments The night the drama queen got the boot... ... or, Last night on Big Brother 3. :-) When Julie announced that Marcellas was the latest houseguest to be evicted, I was bracing myself for some drama queen carnage. The way Marcellas was holding his hand over his mouth in disbelief and walking around so dramatically... I was sure he was going to twirl around and fling a nasty or sarcastic comment at Jason, who, up until recently, had been a close ally. As head of household, Jason had to cast the tie-breaking vote directly to the nominees' face. OUCH. ... and that leaves Danielle, Lisa, Amy and Jason... | private feedback | (0) public comments Wouldn't it be cool... ... if both major political parties conspired to elect a female President? It'd be easy, both parties could nominate their best female candidates. (Of course this is assuming there are no viable third-party candiates.) Republicans might nominate Elizabeth Dole (who will most likely be a US Senator from North Carolina soon) and the Democrats might nominate Hillary Clinton (who already is a US Senator from New York). It would be 'Dole Vs. Clinton: The Rematch'... This time, the wives!! | private feedback | (0) public comments Rotten afternoon... Nothing is going as it should... deliveries that were supposed to arrive earlier this week still aren't here (we can't organize our office without furniture), one of my clients demands that we use a vendor who delivers consistently poor quality materials and then *I* have to ream them out... but my criticisms constantly fall on deaf ears (as I'm sure they did this morning), and one of my coworkers is being a prima donna and won't touch the 'piddly' yet extremely important tasks I give him... which jeopardizes a huge project. Grrrrrrrrr. Yesterday, one of my clients jokingly said that they've identified my three personality phases... 1) Friendly, 2) Perturbed, and 3) Pissed. Right now I'm somewhere between 2 and 3... I'd say closer to 'Pissed.' | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, September 12, 2002 Full Steam Ahead... Carl McCall HAS to be the next Governor of New York. Stay tuned to the box on the left for all the campaign news from now until November when he beats George Pataki. This is just the beginning... ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Who loves Carl McCall more? THIS is what happens when good blogs between folks that have never met turn competitive... If I didn't have a client presentation at 2, my response would be swift and severe... Just wait, Matthew. Just wait. *evil laugh* | private feedback | (0) public comments Florida Good and Bad... The repeal of the Miami Dade gay rights ordinance failed. But with only 53% voting against the repeal, it's not quite as resounding a victory as I was hoping for. But what's up with the whole FL voting fiasco? Election night 2000 all over again? Volunteers were late opening polls... electronic touch-screen voting machines didn't work properly. In some places voters had to wait 90 minutes while issues were resolved. (Janet Reno had to wait an hour to vote for herself!!) In some predominantly black precincts, hundreds of people were turned away because they couldn't get the machines working. There were even accusations flying that some poll workers closed up early because they were 'tired.' WTF!? Jeb, you need some serious help. I hope whoever wins this Democratic primary (Reno may contest the results), kicks your butt in November. First one Bush... then on to the next. | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, September 11, 2002 Turning the corner... Since I'm in the office this late at night I can't help but post something... Chrissy is making noticeable efforts to eat again. She actually emptied her bowl, nibbled on some wet food and ate a whole chunk of chicken that I had shredded for her yesterday evening. When I got home tonight from work she was whining 'cause she was hungry, so I refilled her food dish and she immediately walked over and started eating. Not for long, but its a start. The vet randomly happened to call tonight (at 8:30 PM?) and I was telling him about the progress and how timely his call was. He was getting excited and said I should keep up the tube feedings at least through the weekend and then he'd advise me early next week on next steps. I guess it wasn't SO random that he called. He mentioned he had gotten a phone call earlier today from another client whose cat had been diagnosed with fatty liver near the time Chrissy was. That cat died today. :-( Not to be outdone... Matthew, nice 'McCall for Governor' logo on your Web site. You're putting my level of support to shame... Hmmmm, I just don't know if the red and blue logo goes with my color scheme. Whaddya think? ;-)  AND, I just found out that my friend from Rochester, Tim, has created a Web site for his alter ego, Lexxus. Yes, that's him right there. If you can stand the pop-up boxes and the slow-loading graphics long enough (heh, I'm just teasin' ya hon), then check out his other pics. He's fierce in drag... hands-down one of the best queens in Rochester!!
I wonder what Carl McCall would say about being prominently featured on the same page as a drag queen... he'd probably *rather* share a page with Nicole Kidman. *big cute grin* And, in news that only *I* care about... This weekend on CMT (09/14 and 09/15) is the 'REBA-THON' Yes, that's right... an entire weekend dedicated to Reba McEntire. I'll just let that sink in... ... and I'll call it a night. | private feedback | (0) public comments All is right in the political world... Barbara Lifton won her primary in a landslide... Golisano won the Independence Party Primary (NY Post: 'Tom's Win a Win For McCall, Too.') which can only be good news for Carl McCall as Golisano sucks away the conservative voters from Pataki... and McCall is now the OFFICIAL candidate for Governor of the Democratic Party. The other voting issue I was watching was the proposition to repeal an ordinance in Miami Dade County, Florida that prohibits discrimination against gays and lesbians. Nothing final yet, but early returns show 47 percent of voters wanted to repeal the ordinance. I can't even begin to imagine what those people are thinking... essentially they're voting to be able to discriminate against people. How bizarre. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, September 10, 2002 Slow and steady Pataki's lead over his challengers is getting a bit smaller. In a May poll, Pataki was ahead 60% to 30% over Carl McCall in a hypothetical match-up. Today, those numbers are a little less daunting... Pataki is at 52% and McCall at 37%. When Thomas Golisano is included, Pataki's lead over McCall is 48% to 32%, with Golisano at 11% of the vote. Don't forget... McCall was behind Cuomo by similar numbers in the beginning of the Democratic primary season and shot ahead so strong that Cuomo eventually dropped out of the race. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, September 09, 2002 Primary showdown... With Andrew Cuomo firmly out of the race, the only 'major' primary for the news to cover is the Independence Party primary between Tom Golisano and George Pataki. There has been tons of news about this primary that I personally haven't cared too much about... but its super interesting... A little background... the Independence Party was started back in the 90's by Tom Golisano himself, following in the footsteps of another multi-bajillionaire's (H. Ross Perot's) national movement. About 2% of voters in NY (200,000 total) are registered in the Independence Party but its anyone's guess if they actually *want* to be part of that party or if they thought they were actually registering with "no party." This is the first (MAYBE the second) time they've had a state-wide primary in the party's history. Golisano thought he was a shoe-in for the nomination, but after two previous failed bids for the Governor's mansion, the Independence Party leaders wanted someone on their ticket who could win... and they courted George Pataki... much to Golisano's dismay. That's when the dirty politics began. Apparently, Pataki's supporters registered around 20,000 new Independence Party 'voters' (who would support Pataki, of course)... going so far as to register 'voters' that any normal individual would assume were fake (Marilyn Monroe, Cinderella, and a few others). But when Golisano attempted to challenge the new registrations in court, the court basically ruled the case had merit but that you couldn't strike voters from the rolls without the participation of the actual voter in the process. So... unless Cinderella and Marilyn Monroe come forward, their names stay on the Independence Party voter rolls. Pataki's response to all this, "I don't know what my campaign does," or something to that effect. Golisano has spent tens of millions of his own dollars to run T.V. commercials you've probably seen... all blasting the Governor. I honestly hope he wins the Independence Primary tomorrow... it would be a major blow to Pataki and one more person (who probably doesn't have a shot at winning in November) making a mess for Pataki. Vote in tomorrow's Democratic primary! Carl McCall for Governor, Dennis Mehiel for Lt. Governor, and Barbara Lifton for State Assembly. | private feedback | (0) public comments Random Picture Day... I finally found time to get the pics off my digital camera... and this is what I found... A random picture of Rodney... From our trip to Provincetown. Lori and Darlene... on our 'Day 'o Massages and Fun.' Wendy and Darlene's dog, Major in the car. From my trip to the Omaha Zoo... Lazy racoons Macaws Cute monkeys I don't remember what these are called... *grin* This was the first thing we saw at the zoo, and I'm pretty sure the tortoises (I stand corrected, Chris) are doing what you think they're doing. It drew quite a crowd. | private feedback | (0) public comments You might think I'm crazy... ...but then an article in the Wall Street Journal puts everything into perspective. My sanity has been called into question for spending so much time and money on my cat... but did you know that 'fish surgery' is on the rise? That's right... FISH surgery. Specialized machinery and training has been developed for vets and scientists who want to practice on fish (mostly Koi). The WSJ had a cover story today on a $4.95 goldfish, named Hot Lips, who was overnighted to a specialist in North Carolina to remove some lumps surgically. | private feedback | (0) public comments HAPPY BIRTHDAY... Part II ... to Matthew. Happy 30th!!! :-) P.S. Cortland's not THAT bad is it? :-P | private feedback | (0) public comments Bowling is not cheap... Not only do we have to find a sponsor for our team, the "Harlem Pin Divas" (or kick in the money ourselves), we also have to join the American Bowling Congress... and then pay weekly dues/bowling fees... and we're strongly encouraged to participate in the weekly "fundraiser raffle" that funds other bowling-related necessities... and since I don't have shoes of my own I have to either rent shoes every week and/or buy a pair. ... I'm not even done paying off my cat yet. Chrissy Update There's not really much to say. Things have sort of stabilized... I'm maintaining her through tube-feedings and she's still not eating much. I come home and she nags me to "feed her" because she's hungry... Sometimes in response I just look at her and say, "Well then EAT, Damnit!" Although she *did* lick all the frosting off a donut hole last night... maybe that's a good sign. *grin* HAPPY BIRTHDAY... ... to Lori! It was this past Saturday... so wish her a happy belated birthday if you see her. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, September 08, 2002 11 pics of my nephew... What a cutie!!! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 1 pic of my brother... 1 2 pics of my mother... Yes, her shirt says, "Cook as Fcuk." She got it in Las Vegas. ;-) 1, 2 | private feedback | (0) public comments Answered questions... If you remember... about a month ago I went to Syracuse and "met" the Handsome Guy that I had been trying to meet for a while... and during our conversation, much to my surprise, he dropped a bunch of facts that he already knew about me. But, in the end, told me I would have to wait to find out how he knew by saying, "I'll tell you next week." And, as you already know, the next week came and went and he was nowhere to be found. Fast forward to last night... Mikey and I decide to go out in Syracuse for a change of pace. We were playing darts a little while after arriving and in walks Handsome Guy. I had actually not even thought about what I would do if I saw him out. But when Handsome Guy saw me he waved and I thought, "Well, gee, I gotta say hi." So after Mike and I finished our game I went over and talked to him. It was sort of an awkward conversation... he kept stopping mid-sentence for no reason or just saying things like, "Yeah, I thought I'd keep you guessing a while longer." I finally pieced together that the only way he knew all this stuff was innocent enough... through a "mutual friend." And the pics were actually just harmless ones they take of the patrons of RAIN... but he still didn't fess up to WHY he had them. We only talked twice for short periods of time (being frequently interrupted by his lack of attention span or by friends coming up to talk to him)... and he said he'd find me again before he left... of course he didn't. So I suppose that's pretty much the end of that story... a little more anti-climactic than I was hoping. Oh well. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, September 06, 2002 A new site to bookmark... Mark Wilson's site of NY Political Cartoons, Empire Wire. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday afternoons this fall... ... you will find me bowling. That's right... I guess it's official now... I'll be bowling in the Ithaca Gay and Lesbian bowling league. A bunch of my friends were in the league last year and I spent a few Sundays at the bowling alley being supportive. This year, I'm excited at the prospects of donning my own pair of smelly bowling shoes. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Here it is... Here's that rotten commercial. I found a link to a Real Player Movie version of it... Its called 'Humane Humanity,' and here's a short introductory text written by the folks who made it... "This commercial is ideal to air anytime, but particularly around the anniversary of 9/11 by Right to Life groups nationwide. The images feature unborn and newborn babies, families, people of color and different faiths, handicapped, elderly, etc.. and ends with a powerful 9/11 image." To Contact VirtueMedia: 480.545.0911 or toll-free: 877-7Virtue | private feedback | (0) public comments 'What!?' I dunno if any of you have seen this new anti-abortion commercial on television... It starts off all warm and fuzzy showing pictures of all kinds of people and the voiceover talks about how much "America values diversity"... and then splits to pictures of pregnant women and the voiceover continues, "... and America values life." And then the voiceover says something about how every life counts, even unborn children... AND THEN you hear "After all, we know how it feels to be treated as less than human." and it flashes pictures of the Twin Towers and the 9/11 aftermath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even tell you how angry that makes me that somewhere, some rotten anti-abortion group is trying to use the sentiment of 9/11 to drive home their message about abortion. And to run that commercial so close the anniversary of the attacks!! HOW INAPPROPRIATE!! What does 9/11 have to do with abortion!? And how could anyone think *that* commercial was 'OK?' The only possible explanation I can imagine is that Jerry Falwell made that commercial since he th |