Cool Things About Today

1. Got yet another compliment on a dress that's both comfortable & cost just $15.

2. IMAO's Know Thy Enemy: Michael Moore. Good sophomoric fun with lines like this:

"As for people who are rational and don't hate Bush, any attempt by Michael Moore to convert them to drooling idiots is undone by him appearing on screen causing people to shout, "Who is that fat, fat ugly man? Whatever views he has, I want the opposite!"

Go here for the whole list.

3. My wondrous mate & I start our vacation tomorrow - we're already packed!!! Today - all the fun lies ahead.

Random Thoughts

- Evidently, I'm also a family lawyer in Los Angeles. Who knew?

- Use lint rollers for cleaning lamp shades - it really works!

- For those conservatives who want a warm fuzzy & those out there who are con-curious, go read Dinesh D'Souza's Letters to a Young Conservative. It's good, it's short & to the point.

- My dear Jeff saved me from getting caught in last evening's Metro mess by suggesting we meet for dinner on the hill. Pizza, chianti & company were great & no crowds. All was well. Oh, yeh, and we ran into most excellent chef Enzo Fargione of Barolo. Very nice dude & he remembered us. Ain't it cool?

- Meningitis, mystery disease. Once in a while the Metro area has a micro-outbreak. Weird. Read about it here.

Catch of the Day

The Catch of the Day today is The Nation (online). Not because I think it's a great mag, but because it's such a target-rich environment. Let's see, what do the crackhead lefties really think? Good fodder for rants. :)

Can I go on vacation now? Please???

Ok, work madness intensifies. I wanna leave now. Lame post.

Um, I don't envy the Princess Masako of Japan. Oh, the pressure of bearing a son. I'm willing to bet she regrets getting into this whole scene. Shingles - gack. Read the story here.

For the record, I will eventually have many tattoos - not just a few. But never, ever, will I have one of the DC flag. Evidently, those are becoming popular in our uh, fair city. Look here.

End transmission.

A Little Food for Thought

Today in the Post was a salute to 13-year-old Mattie Stepanek who just died of a rare form of muscular dystrophy. For those who haven't heard of this little guy, during his short lifetime, he wrote several tomes of inspirational poetry in an effort to do something to make the world a better place. Makes one wonder what we, the able-bodied, of the probable long-life span, can do to make a difference.

Along those lines (making a difference), Frank J. at IMAO shares his earnest 25-year-old thoughts in The Angst of an Average American. And who says youngsters aren't thoughtful? Check it out.

It Started Today on the Metro

Perhaps I was giving off negative vibes today on the metro, but every darn guy was stepping on my toes, bumping me with his briefcase, side-swiping me with elbows, etc. Although, each did say "excuse me."

I got into work to find an email asking for a change on a previously submitted request. Hello out there - do you really think I have time to do things twice or three times? Does anyone have 2 neurons to rub together? Huh???

For some reason, this makes me think of the book The Roaches Have No King, by Daniel Evan Weiss (thanks, Aunt Joan!). Puts the phrase "the meek shall inherit the earth" into new perspective.

DVD Review - Wait Until Dark (1967)

Ok, so I finally watched the DVD of "Wait Until Dark," starring one of the most winsome actresses ever & one of my favorites, Audrey Hepburn. Synopsis: blind gal becomes embroiled in scary situation involving determined bad guys. She's plucky & smart and is assisted by a youngster who is also plucky & smart without being annoying. There is just one rather off-putting part which shall remain nameless - just go rent it & let me know what you think.

I give the film a B+.

Clinton who?

Ok, I must make a confession, as confessing is good for the soul & I'm always concerned about the state of my soul. Anyway, the horrible secret is that I voted for Clinton (first term). I know, I know - I'll never live that one down or do enough penance to clear that one up. But it was my first time voting & the Rs were pissing me off. As if I'd want to get an expensive education, just to be another Muffy Quayle. Gack. Yet, that's the message I got. Heck, I even thought I was a liberal! Those of you who know me are probably spewing your coffee all over your screen right now, eh? It was a confused time. Now I'm all better.

But, on the Clinton subject - evidentally, he has a book out or something. For the record, I will not be buying or reading his "biography." He is veritable scum & I think he must be sociopathic. So there. But...as soon as I get that Amazon.com thingy set up, I might link to the book ref so that I can make money off him for a change.

See Renee do the Dance of Capitalist Superiority!

Catch of the Day

I've already linked to this on the sidebar, but Catch of the Day is the fun-filled & informative CDC. Learn about diseases. Am I the only one who finds that cool?

Salute of the Day

Here's a salute to a gal in my Spanish class who dragged her butt in for the final exam even though she's been going thru a really wretched time personally. Kudos for the effort! Hang in there T., all will be well.

Did I mention....?

...that I'm about to go postal on some of my coworkers? You know, if I ever do have children - they'll be no problem - I'll have had years of experience dealing with mindless infants wearing suits. At least the actual children will be inquisitive, will learn & will grow up at some point.

Please Pull Your Head Out of Your ....

Well, it looks like the hoards at work are conspiring to drive me mad in the week before our vacation. You know, I try to be conscientious and careful about my job so that things are done right the first time, in a timely fashion & none of us go to jail. Unfortunately, this depends on stuff from other people - done right & completely - which is generally hit or miss. Today folks are really trying my patience on that number.

That & I have a final exam in Spanish for which I'm not certain I'm adequately prepared. Oh well.

In other news, I've added a blogroll & a site roll to my site. Check it out. I'll be adding to them as I go along.

Good news in the conjoined twins front - they made it thru the separation procedure. Check out the story here. Girls - be strong & heal fast -you've made it this far!

Thanks to a head-up from Jeff, I now know that private space travel has been successfully initiated. For a good historical novel on the beginnings of space travel, read James Mitchener's Space. Really elucidated the reason why test pilots were the first astronauts.

That's all for now - should be a doozy of a day!

Happy Fathers Day!

A hearty Happy Fathers Day goes out to all fathers out there, especially my own! Cheers!

Catch of the Day 2

Usually I offer only one Catch of the Day, but today I'll share another very cool link - Michelle Malkin's blog. This young, exceedingly effervescent, conservative Filipino-American (in case you are not familiar with the name) is a syndicated columnist, Fox News contributor & author (do read: Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists Criminals & Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores -it'll make your blood boil) - and rocks on so many levels. I just learned that she has a blog from Frank J. at IMAO (a cool conservative blogger who is very funny) - thanks Frank! Her blog even has a blogroll!

A Gaggle of Articles

Here are some interesting articles on a variety of topics which you might enjoy.

Metro Fare Woes. For us denizens of the DC underground, this is not good news - they're raising fares again. Let's see if they can actually get most of the escalators working at one time...or if the cash will end up in someone's pocket.

Vaclav Havel on North Korea. Former president of the Czech Republic weighs in on North Korea & what freedom-loving nations should do about it. The impatience in me says "nuke it from orbit"; the residual idealism in me says as the great and free nation we are, we have the obligation of spreading democracy and freedom all over, my pragmatic bent says we gotta pick our battles.

Conjoined Twins' Saga. Is it my imagination or are there more conjoined twins being born? How does this happen? No, the article doesn't go into the causes, but chronicles the plight of two little girls & their family - get the Kleenex.

Comet Studies. Unanticipated findings about comets. The universe is our oyster, let's go diving.

Fed Funds against Undocumented Criminals. $800k in Federal grant money is going to Arlington and Fairfax to aid efforts to incarcerate illegal aliens convicted of felonies. Ok, it's not the whole tamale, but it's something. I challenge any BHL (Bleeding Heart Liberal) to explain to me why we should tolerate illegal alien felons!

Good Karma. Woman donates kidney to stranger...then gets an unexpected winfall. Who knew karma worked so fast?

Enjoy!

Antioxidant Knowledge & Practice

Here's a nifty reference of foods with antioxidants from Woman's Day Magazine. The great thing is none of them are esoteric, but totally accessible and you're probably eating them already. So go eat more of them!

Catch of the Day

Interested in stock purchase to round out your investments but don't know how to get started? More of a buy and hold type who doesn't want to put down gobs of cash to get into the stock market? Check out Sharebuilder.com, my Catch of the Day. How it works: you buy stock in dollar amounts, not shares, (and the amounts can be like $10) for a reasonable per-transaction fee or a subscription rate. You can schedule a certain amount to be taken directly out of your checking account each month or schedule a one-time purchase. You can do research about the companies right on the web site.

Note: This is not primarily a service for "day traders," although you can make real-time trades; the fees are more reasonable for scheduled purchases - and the idea is buy-and-hold. For the steady wealthbuilder, this makes sense.

Go Rent It

Here's sharing a few movie rental choices for the bored and antsy:

- Ulee's Gold: drama with Peter Fonda not playing a hippy or drugged out biker. Has themes of redemption, forgiveness & bee husbandry. Trust me, it's really good.

- Drop Dead Gorgeous: underrated comedy. Kirsten Dunst, Kirsty Alley, Denise Richards. Before you say "Gack," think "Lutheran Sisterhood Gun Club" and go from there.

- Clay Pidgeons: quirky murder drama. Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo. When a good guy just can't come clean.

- Pecker: quirky comedy. Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Mary Kay Place. Cool, oddball characters & great one-liners.

Ok, enough for now. Enjoy!

OK, This Made Me Chuckle...In a Sad Way

I was just trawling for news stuff & came across this advertiser link. Yep - you guessed it! It's an online dating service for conservatives. Now, you know things are getting bad when one must go to a political specialty dating service. Heh. But - on the other hand, if you don't want to bother dating scads of guys/gals only to find out that they're all libs, well then - I guess it saves time & money.

Catch of the Day

The Catch of the Day today is the USDA Graduate School website. They offer all sorts of classes in the DC area (computer, languages, exam prep courses, etc) as well as some online courses at reasonable prices. I've been taking Spanish language courses there and really like it.

Catch of the Day

This is where I'll recommend websites/blogs of interest. The Catch of the Day today is Old Navy. I just love their clothes & they're reasonably priced. The site has a "bargains" page that sorts all the sale items. One of the cool features is that you can put items into your shopping cart and come back the next day to edit it. Plus, if the price has changed, it'll let you know that too.

Actions Matter

Warning: I'm about to become new-agey philosophical here.

We were just watching a good episode of Angel (2nd Season) in which Angel has an epiphany about the importance of actions. That is, that in the Big Picture sense, one's actions don't have much of an impact; yet paradoxically, our own actions are the only thing that really matters in the here and now. So, to use an apt cliche, it's not the winning that matters, it's how you play the game.

Coincidentally, I've been coming to the same realization over the last few months. Why be so caught up and obsessed about one's life its disappointments when that mode and its accompanying attitude doesn't result in anything positive? Trust me - I know from whence I speak. Be a good person, take pleasure in the small things, do random acts of kindness, connect with other good people. Yeah, there will always be nasty, rude folks of all sorts, but you'd be surprised how the rest respond to something as simple as a smile. Even in this city!

In effect, it's all about the process & the journey. Why not infuse something positive into that journey - which by the way isn't a solo, isolated one - why not create some positive energy?

What could it hurt?

The Truth about Berries

Check out this Post article on the health benefits of berries, a fine source of antioxidants. Good explanation about the function of antioxidants (yes, Jeff, so you won't rust). Curiously enough Jeff & I have been buying strawberries & cherries like crazy this spring/summer - beautiful stuff at Fresh Fields. I think this qualifies as a "Juicy Pulsating Candy" item.

Don't Throw a Floss-Burning Party Yet

In the Post Health section, an article about Listerine & how it's not quite the replacement for flossing - but an important part of any good oral hygiene regimen.

Read more here.

Panda Vandalism

For those of you who don't live in the DC area, we currently have this street art thing - brightly colored, themed sculptures of pandas all over the city. It follows a theme 2 years ago in which the sculptures were elephants and donkeys ("Party Animals," get it?). I personally love it; it's something whimsical & fun in a city that takes itself far too seriously.

Today in the Post, though, was an article about damage done to some of these sculptures - stolen parts, graffiti & the like. Keep in mind that individual artists created each piece - that it took time, effort & creativity to create them. The article shows a picture of one of the artists whose piece was vandalized - she looks so forlorn. I feel so bad for her and the others affected. It really shows what kind of asshats (thank you, Rachel Lucas!) we have in this city - they can't just appreciate this fun thing and go about their business, they have to destroy, deface and ruin it for others. Oh, and not mentioned in the article is that the graffiti (I observed) appeared to be in Arabic. Hmmm.

But here's the flip side - I observed a girl (young lady, woman, whatever) "examining" a sparkly panda on Conn. Ave. with the most amused smile on her face. Yeah, she gets it.

Here's the full article in case you're interested.

Juicy Pulsating Candy...

"That which is especially good."

- Angel, the series (DVD). I've recently become a fan of the Buffy series, then partner-in-crime Jeff & I started watching Angel, the spin-off series. Well, we're both hooked. Angel has some of the same characters as Buffy, but the tone is darker. Yummy. Also, they've given Cordelia some heft, character & strength. Lots of fun demons (good & bad), vamps & EVIL lawyers. Great one-liners, as you would expect.

- For the girls: Almay Pure Tints (make-up). Clear lip color plus SPF 25. Light, fresh, protective and inexpensive. How can you go wrong?

- Good oral hygiene: Listerine PocketPaks (hygiene). The package says "oral care strips." Bright, minty flavor kills onion breath in a flash - and so portable!

- Green Tea (beverage). I'm totally sold on it. Celestial Seasonings has a whole line of green tea blends. Go to Fresh Fields/Whole Foods and puruse their wall of teas. Great for cold offices & when you want a pick-me-up, something better for you than soda, but none of the jitters & acidity of coffee. According to one package, green tea has 25% the amount of caffeine in coffee. Not into caffeine? There's decaf too. Now I'm trying the chilled green tea blends & I'll let you know which is worthy of "Juicy Pulsating Candy."