I take your five, and raise you seven

Yup, stole it from Ms. Summer Queen herself.

Seven Snacks I Enjoy:

1. Celery and peanut butter
2. Blueberries, walnuts, and vanilla yogurt
3. Apples and peanut butter
4. Tortilla chips and guacamole
5. Kettle Buffalo Bleu chips
6. Spinach and artichoke dip
7. Oranges
   

Seven Things On My To-Do List Today:

1. Clean my books up (this has been on the list for a long time)
2. Finish up edits on application packet
3. Laundry..... or maybe not.
   
4. Call and put the Garden Patch cake pan on hold for my mom
5. Work out (done this am - though that might never happen again)
6. Beat Christa at Scrabulous
7. Write more of that letter
   

Seven Things I Would Do If I Were A Billionaire:

1. Travel for a good year - bringing someone new with me on every trip.
2. Loans and debt for me and the fam.
3. Pay for Maine Youth Leadership seminars and projects forever.
4. Set up a scholarship for student writers and artists.
5. Buy a summer camp to do leadership programs for students.
6. Set up an awesome, well stocked crafting room in a house, with workstations for friends to come over and craft as well.
   
7. Buy a house.
   

Seven Jobs I Have Had:

1. Clown Instructor at the Rochester Museum and Science Center
   
2. Ice Cream Scooper
3. Summer Rec Counselor
4. Security Desk Assistant
5. Driving Range Clerk and Random Yard Work Do-er
6. Office Worker and Receptionist at Springfield College Office of Undergraduate Admission
   
7. Sales Associate at Williams-Sonoma (clearly the most prestigious job thus far)
   

Seven of My Bad Habits:

1. I do not put away things in their proper place.
2. I am too early. Which leads to...
3. ...getting really ansty and impatient when it comes to making it to a flight, concert or movie.
4. I talk at the tv more than I should. Especially during Lost and Battlestar Galactica.
   
5. I never take things out of my car -- it looks like someone lives in there.
6. I am almost always in the middle of a few books - I get distracted if it has not totally grabbed me.
7. I buy more craft supplies than I will ever need.
   

Seven Places I’ve Lived:

1. Lima, NY
2. Nixon Hall, Fredonia, NY
3. Eisenhower Hall, Fredonia, NY
4. Abbey-Appleton Hall, Springfield, MA
5. Upton Hastings, Gorham ME
6. Portland, ME
7. Falmouth, ME
   

Seven Random Things:

1. I like hummus but hate garbanzo beans
2. I like to make up games. People Scavenger Hunts, Extreme Bocce, Extreme Bocce & Croquet (aka Crocce), Truth or Darts... give me a situation, I will make up a game.
   
3. Right handed, but I use my mouse with my left hand.
4. My friends call me the Admiral. And it might just be one of my favorite nicknames, ever.
5. ....and I really like nicknames, especially throwing one out there for a stranger when talking with a friend to see if they pick up on who I am talking about.
   
6. I saw Lilith Fair all three years in a row at the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center.
7. I miss Wegmans, and that makes me a little pathetic.

Just say the C-word.

Note, this video is not suitable for work. It does use the C-word often, but its to prove a point that it is a horrid word. Still pretty damn hilarious use though. Thanks for the good fodder, McCain.

Bread making.... more erotic than you might think.

I some how want to eat less bread now.

Seven things I have dreamed about in the past week

1. Being sent on a trip to London or East Germany by my work and having a time conflict between the two, and London was the one we picked. BUT, I realized I did not have a passport and had to get to the airport in ten minutes. Woke up in a panic.
2. That I was me but in Top Chef Stephanie Izard's body. Not bad.
3. One of my friend's got videotaped throwing a fit in a restaurant when the waiter was not looking...
4. ...and as a result other friends and I had an intervention about her drinking this mixture of chocolate sauce, wild blueberries, and cough syrup. She had it all over her mouth and was kind of wild.
5. I had to check out of a hotel and coming back to find that my room was turned into a conference room and my luggage was now trash bags
6. Having to find files for these student's that had the same names as people I went to high school with.
7. I took a sword out of a stone.
   

Is someone's who's daughter likes Spoon going to take away my right to choose?

Ooooh, its Dr. McCranky... when did he get here?


Another interesting thing on all these angry women from Frank Rich

"And the evidence of misogyny in the press and elsewhere is irrefutable, even if it was not the determinative factor in the race. But the notion that all female Clinton supporters became “angry white women” once their candidate lost — to the hysterical extreme where even lifelong Democrats would desert their own party en masse — is itself a sexist stereotype. That’s why some of the same talking heads and Republican operatives who gleefully insulted Mrs. Clinton are now peddling this fable on such flimsy anecdotal evidence.

The fictional scenario of mobs of crazed women defecting to Mr. McCain is just one subplot of the master narrative that has consumed our politics for months. The larger plot has it that the Democratic Party is hopelessly divided, and that only a ticket containing Mrs. Clinton in either slot could retain the loyalty of white male bowlers and other constituencies who tended to prefer her to Mr. Obama in the primaries.
This is reality turned upside down. It’s the Democrats who are largely united and the Republicans who are at one another’s throats.

......The ludicrous idea that votes from Clinton supporters would somehow make up for McCain defectors is merely the latest fairy tale brought to you by those same Washington soothsayers who said Fred Thompson was the man to beat and that young people don’t turn up to vote."

And this oath that the Clinton to McCain Voters would have to take is eye opening as well.

And the best nickname I have heard for McCain: McSame.

And what will happen to Huckleberry Pie?

I am not pleased about this.
Not one bit.

In the 80's did I need my Strawberry Shortcake to have neon colors and wear jams? No, part of her fruit smelling charm was that she got to wear petticoats and be from a different magical land where petticoats were the cat's pajamas. I did not need my childhood play things to look just like me. Now they are kind of tarted up and pimped out to be little fashion plates. It's not what they are supposed to be! I liked them because they were smaller than Barbies, fit in my doll house and had their own look and feel to them. And my mother never bought me Sour Grapes or any other bad guy. Interesting.... apparently she did not want evil going on in the dollhouses under her roof. I also never remember watching many shows with Strawberry Shortcake at all -- I just really dug the dolls apparently. Orange Blossom and Plum Pudding were my favorites. I always found Lemon Meringue to be kind of stuck up. That's just the kind of chick she was.

Seven reports I did in grade school

1. The Pancreas
2. Georgia
3. Kristi Yamaguchi
4. The longhouses of the Iroquois
   
5. Malaria
6. Abraham Lincoln as a child
7. Metamorphosis..... and not the Kafka work
   

Seven indicators that I would get along with someone

1. You find the Flight of the Concords hilarious and sing it at inopportune times.
2. You do not get freaked out by the various sounds of laughter that range from cackling to snorting that come from me.
3. You spend some of your time volunteering.
4. You enjoy a good car sing along.
5. You are willing and like to play games - from across the game genres: card, board, video and random ones that I make up while playing darts.
6. You have one or more geeky obsession that you consider yourself an expert on and will debate and discuss issues surrounding it at length... interesting length though.
7. You do not find Harold and Maude creepy.
   

Seven things that make for a great summer gathering

1. Something you can throw: hillbilly golf, frisbee, bocce... anything of the like.
2. A fire - a little pit or a bonfire - something to gather around and become mesmerized by. Sometimes I become "firedumb" and get lost in looking at it instead of talking to the people around me.
3. Grilled Meat. And if you are vegetarian, which I respect, you have to at least eat a veggie burger or something that has come off the grill.
4. Comfy lawn chairs... and at least one trick chair that someone falls out of at some point. Its hilarious, even if you are the one that falls. It usually catches you by surprise and does not hurt... much.
5. A mild toasting of the skin. Some reason just a light sunburn is a reminder to me that I had a great time outside. I am not talking full on lobster-hue... just a little pink sun tattoo.
6. Hilarity. I think laughing so hard that I almost lose my corn on the cob is the testament of how comfortable I am with people. And that level of a relationship with the crowd often means that I am with people I adore.
7. Music that people often find themselves grooving to subconsciously. The mix that makes the stoic griller move their spatula to the beat, the beer drinkers show off their moves, or the kids twirling around in circles to it.

Seven mom-ish things that I do

1. Carry random things in my purse that often become helpful.
2. Politely say "No Thank You" to every one of the guys handing out escort flyers instead of just walking by like everyone else.
3. Crochet to pass the time.
4. Talk to strangers in lines.
5. Become really proud of my friends when they do something great.
6. Make sure everyone is well fed and merry.
7. Think of games to play when there is boredom.

Happy Mother's Day, Mama T.

The Heart of the Matter

Oh. My. God.

Note, that if you ever need these tapes, you probably are these people.

The funniest thing that Torrey said to me...

....today.

we'd eat hot pockets together and share our thoughts in leather bound journals.

This roommate thing is going to be a long long journey. I can tell.

What?!

If you watch Lost at all, you might not realize how much they say this word. Not to mention how many times I usually say it while watching it. This montage is brilliant.

Seven searches that people have done and gotten to this blog

I have a little tracker to see how people get here, and man, sometimes its surprising.

1. Baking poem
2. Hipster baking
3. Fredonia Ben Folds
4. How boobs grow*
5. Boob and elbow*
6. Third Boob*
7. Women with third boob*

*I had made one post about Paris Hilton becoming a philanthropist and if that happened I might grow a third breast from my elbow. The public has a hunger for more boob aparently.

Seven things about My So-Called Life

When TV is good: storytelling, compelling characters, funny, and "lived in" -- I am hooked and will be hooked in for a while. I have loved My So-Called Life since it aired my senior year of high school. And while I do hate that it ended, it ended in a nice-oh-my-god-I-want-to-know-who-Angela-ends-up-with suspense. Its okay if things don't always end with a nice pat happy day ending.

1. I miss how we dressed in the 90's. I think My So-Called Life portrayed clothing very realistically- there were some god awful sweaters on there, but people wore horrible knits then. I miss the overalls and flannels, and chunky boots. I was no fashion plate back then, but at least I could see myself in that world.
2. I wanted to have Angela's hair. Straight, fell beautifully and was that rocking Crimson Glow.
3. I loved how the parents were imperfect and had their own dramas, but could be counted on. The questioned what was the right thing to do, and were sometimes wrong, but were not these irrational cartoons of parents. I knew people with parents like them, but never knew what happened behind that veil, just like they might not have see what was behind ours.
   
4. And he may be a douchebag now -- but could Jordan Catalano's eyes be any dreamier? And I prefer to call him Jordan Catalano -- cause that is how I want to remember him.
5. A.J. Langer who played Rayanne -- where are you? I thought you were brilliant. Unless this character was the best one you have ever played and it was yours and you have not found it since.... I am sorry. But I do adore you.
6. Awkward gestures, words, phrasing -- it was almost pitch perfect. Anytime there was an awkward moment or look, it was sooo believable. I defy almost any teenager from that era to not be able to insert themselves somewhere in there.
   
7. I love Brian Krakow. I want one of my own. He was by far my pick to end up with Angela. He breaks my heart all the time. I loved his awkwardness and how he was totally unable to hide it. He has a penchant for letter writing... and man if that does not get to my core. And if the girl you loved lived across the street, you would be outside all the time too. And you would fall in love with this letter too:
   
   
   

21 Accents with Rachel Harris.

Not as accomplished as the 21 accent girl, but a hell of a lot funnier.

Please note, while this does contain a few swears, it is hell of a lot more appropriate and less soul damning than Torrey's last video.

Seven things about today

1. I had coffee on an empty stomach and I am jittery and kinda frantic today. It did clean my desk though. I feel slightly accomplished even if my eye is twitching. I don't think I could ever handle speed.
2. ... and as I type number 1, someone has brewed a new pot downstairs, and its sweet lovely aroma is calling to me, curling its finger in front of me in lovely wispy invisible seduction of its gorgeous earthy smell to come hither. Me wants more...
3. I was inspired to make some playlists by some friends. And I made quick ones just based on song titles, not meaning.... just titles. One was colors and the other was places. The main colors on that playlist were black and blue. Like a musical bruise. Which some of them feel like sometimes. A song that you want to hear but it presses on this small little soft spot and it makes you wince... but you can help but feel a little good after that pressure is released. It was also a good way to listen to all that music you forgot you had. It mixes up genres pretty well too. My next playlist is elements/nature.
4. I am the staff member that gets all the calls today from the front desk that they can't answer. And everytime I leave my desk, there is my little triangle of red blinking at me letting me know there is yet another message. I hate that red triangle. I want to scratch out that little deformed red eye and stomp on it.
5. The artificial smell of vanilla air spray will never cover poop smell. It will just cling to it and make it smell grosser. But yet someone at work keeps on buying it, and we all keep using it.
   
6. The color coding part of my email and calendar program at work makes me happy. To Do items are bright red. Travel is a road sign green. Personal items are a deep blue. Things I don't like to do are a margarine yellow. Its pleasing to put color to tasky things.
   
7. Its not a very bad day at work.... at the core of everything I really like what I do. Maybe that makes the really small things more amplified and annoying or frustrating.
   

Seven things I am a *big* fan of....

....and that might be an understatement. I think these things have a 96% possibility of me using/talking/watching/obsessing at least once a day.

1. Google Reader
2. Colored Pens
3. Barenaked Ladies
4. Scrabulous
5. Yarn or any other textiles that I make crap with.
6. going out of my way to not take a difficult left hand turn.
7. You know his name. Mr. Whedon.
   

Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern talks rainbows and happiness

... and by that she means the gay cancer that in infiltrating her society.



Wow.
Worse than terrorists.
Better make sure that any GSA student is reported to their parents and to the government. High school clubs mandated to tell the parents what club they are in is one of her brilliant ideas. Weed em out young, and make those LGBT youth suicide rates skyrocket. Maybe that is why there is a shorter life span, there Sally. People who think like you make life unbearable for people that just want to be who they are.

Star Wars is exciting again...

I know this has been posted everywhere.... but damn if this did not make my ovaries jump a little and say.... Lets go lets go! Don't worry, the big squoooshy gray brain told them to calm the fuck down.

Seven things about the 2008 Oscars

1. I felt really bad about Amy Adams having to perform alone, with no dancers or anything. I thought... hmmm well maybe they are paring down the performances... and nope. I just wonder what the hell happened! I still adore her though.
2. Jon Stewart... very funny as always. I think he is a subdued host -- but still a great one.
3. Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway were my favorite presenters, I think. Their little schtick was cute, and well acted.
4. 2nd favorite presenters - Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen. They DID look exactly the same.
5. Could I love Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova more? And I thought it was very classy to let Marketa come back out and say her speech. I just loved the sheer joy and the essence of "holy shit we are really here"-ness of their presence.
6. Yay Diablo Cody! If Juno only won one Oscar -- I really wanted that to be it.
7. I loved the look on Cate Blanchett's face after she saw what clip they used from Elizabeth II. And the fact that she so artfully played a dog. Well done.
   

Seven new things I have recently been trying out

1. Olives. I had some at Christmas and I did not hate them. I had some stuffed with almonds and I was pleasantly surprised that I liked them. Salty goodness! Slow down there garbanzo bean.... don't expect me to like you unless you are smooshed up in humus!
2. Star Trek. I am currently being tutored in it. So far so good.
3. Writing a novel. Right now I have these four characters that I am just doing some development with, running them through how they might react to situations or things. Its been a really great puzzle to work with. Now if I can just come up with a plot....
   
4. Dogs. I might like them more and want to live with one more than I had originally thought. Although I do not think I could go as far as owning one.... I just want to be a dog auntie.
5. Cross Stitch. I was always intimidated by counted cross stitch before. But its really not that bad once you get into it.
6. Neil Gaiman. I knew I would like him, but have never really sat down and read his work before. I am reading American Gods right now and am mightily impressed.
7. Sugar free hot chocolate mixed in with my coffee. Sugar free hot chocolate is actually miles better than its other sugar free brethren. Plus the coffee with it is kick-tastic. At work I have to find ways to make the ordinary a little more exciting.
   

Seven Theme parties I would like to throw*

1. Clue - come dressed as your interpretation of that clue character. Original Clue only. No master detective. You can only bring food items that correspond somehow to your color.

2. Come as your favorite holiday - once again food must correlate to costume. Share a tradition with each of them.

3. High School Drama - Dress as your favorite high school stereo type. Bonus points for call backs to 80's movies. I call dibs on Ally Sheedy a la Breakfast club.

4. Welcome to the Hellmouth - You could not expect me to leave off a Whedon-fest in here did you? Trivia, sing-a-long to the musical, and other various activities.

5. When get old I want to be.... -- What did you want to be when you were a kid - come dressed as that profession -- how many firemen will there be? I am going to be an astronaut!

6. Cruise around the world progressive night - I know its kinda cliche - but there is something to be said for gorging yourself on great ethnic foods. In this plan you move from place to place -- entering each "culture" at someones house.

7. The land of misfit superheroes - come as a superhero that might not have ever made it to the Justice League.


*and almost all of them involve a costume and themed food somehow.

Quirk

I am a little delayed in doing this, but I did not want to let Torrey down. Here goes:

The Rules
* link to the person who tagged you
* post the rules on your blog
* share six non-important things/ habits/ quirks about yourself
* tag at least 3 people at the end of the post and link to their blogs
* let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog (I think I am skipping this step. I know I am a bloody rebel.)

1. I like to have cold feet and will make them so sometimes, perhaps even stepping in snow for a moment, just for the feeling of them tingling and warming up.
2. I need to be happy with my pen selection for a chosen task, work or personal. I will go through several pens (the biggest fiasco had me go through 14) until I find the right one. It is not always about color, though sometimes it may be, but mostly how it feels.
3. When asking a customer their zip code when cashing them out at Williams-Sonoma, I almost always touch my glasses.
4. I cry at the National Anthem. I cry at tributes to the troops. I am not a yellow ribbon magnet kinda person, but I get really choked up about it.
5. If I got ready too early for going out with friends, I will end up putting on makeup to kill time.
6. I wait about 5 minutes for my hot beverage to cool. But sometimes I miss that critical moment of exact warmness... and it becomes cold and I will always make a "blech" face when I drink that cold sip.

Tagged People:

Jen at The Dog-Ma - though she might answer it on this one

Brian Lewis at Oblivion Diaries... that is if that bastard is still alive

Jennie at Jen's Fives .... but I am not sure if she can post a list of 6 there!

I kinda miss the old quiz fad

You're Prufrock and Other Observations!

by T.S. Eliot

Though you are very short and often overshadowed, your voice is poetic
and lyrical. Dark and brooding, you see the world as a hopeless effort of people trying
to impress other people. Though you make reference to almost everything, you've really
heard enough about Michelangelo. You measure out your life with coffee spoons.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I kinda love this commercial, but its probably only aired on Bravo.

Oh if this only became a Superbowl commercial.

Rich Fancher, you are one funny bastard.

Unicorn Cove

I thought that more people outside the Portland Area should be able to experience this commercial.

The seven is here to stay

1. I love it when weird coincidences happen with the radio. I was in a crappy mood at work on Tuesday, and I got in my car to go home, and Van Morrison's Into the Mystic comes on the radio. That song from the years of 1993 to 1997 probably made it onto every mixed tape I ever made (shamefully discovered watching the movie Dream a Little Dream, starring the Coreys). It was one of those songs I had forgotten about and loved hearing again. Monday night, I had watched the movie Once and of course fallen in love with it and bought the soundtrack yesterday. What do I discover -- there is a cover of Into the Mystic on it. I love it when things I love, love each other back.
2. California was different that I pictured it. I did not think that I would be able to see the mountains from the city of LA.
3. Favorite pen of the week - Pilot Razor Points. I like that the color Brown comes in the multipack.
4. After not seeing people for 2 weeks, when I come back, some of them are still douchebags.
5. I have decided to keep the seven. Originally it was because of 2007 that I started this, but really, a list of eight just seems pretentious.
   
6. I am getting really excited about the primaries. Watching the votes and percentages the other night reminded me of how some people I know might react a at a sporting event.
7. It is true, we may be able to make good BBQ in the north, but it can't hold a candle to what they make in the south.
   

Seven things I would like to accomplish on this list

This list of 50 nerdy things to do before you die from The Park Bench blog includes several of my geek girl all-time dreams. Here are the seven I would love to do:

1. #38. Draw a map of a nonexistent or fictional place.
2. #7. Feel again like you felt the first time you saw "Star Wars."
3. #27. Go to an underground sing-along screening of the Buffy Musical. (When Buffy is outlawed, only outlaws will sing-along to Buffy.)
4. #24. Witness a live space shuttle launch. Extra points if you're piloting it.
5. #16. "Accidentally" get locked in a bookstore for seven or eight days.
6. #9. Make out with Joss Whedon or J.K. Rowling. Extra points if you achieve a two-fer.
7. #1. Live to see the day when smart and witty wins out over hot and shallow every single day of the week.

Runners up:
#31. Build your own lightsaber.
#6. Correct Alex Trebek on the pronunciation of something French. Consequently hold him when he cries.
#5. Figure out what the hell "Lost" is about. [This item also works for "The Prisoner," "Twin Peaks," "Cloverfield," and the popularity of Oprah.]
#4. Solve a New York Times crossword puzzle...with your eyes closed. Just kidding. Doing one in pen with no mistakes in under 10 minutes is good, too.

Seven things I NEVER want for Christmas

1. Celine Dion box set.
2. Any knitted item that might be pink or canary yellow.
3. Herpes. (Or anything in that general venereal disease family).
4. A kick in the ass.
5. Coal.
6. Knicknacks that are only meant to be put out for one month of the year.
7. A rose scented candle/potpourri/smelly item.
   

Seven things that make me giggle and grin like a school girl, a story in pictures

1. The latest issue of Buffy Season 8. The cover of this is brilliant.

2. Holiday lights. I kinda have a weird little kid dream of taking a sleigh or even a limo to be driven around to see the best lights out there. Hmm, they might not be that earth friendly, but damn if I don't love them so. The ones in Portland are my favorite.


3. Subversive cross stitch. I have been a stitching fool lately. I still think I like embroidery better, but its kinda fun to be a little crass with thread in a structured format. The Subversive cross stitch book is great. I just finished this one:

4. Ann Coulter receiving mail that is so appropriate.

It was a greeting card made by the woman who does Subversive Cross Stitch.
5. Arial view of the motherland, Fredonia

6. The Bucket Boss -- how amazing is this?! I love pens in mugs! This makes it that much better!


7. The idea that someday I make something as rad as this.

Journey to the west:!

My sister, the Samantha, are traveling to California in four weeks. The journey begins in the hinterlands of Rochester, NY... well Positively Lima to be exact and ends in Santa Maria, CA.

In the past I have created photo scavenger hunts for people, and now I want you to help us create one. Some examples of photo scavenger hunt items from the past are:

• Express this: I think that stranger is a vampire!
• Someone wearing inappropriate clothing
  
• Five oranges, a banana and two kiwis
  
• Your name on a sign
  

So, are there any suggestions?

Poem by Ron Padgett

The Drink

I am always interested in the people in films who have just had a drink
thrown in their faces. Sometimes they react with uncontrollable rage,
but sometimes-my favorites-they do not change their expressions at all.
Instead they raise a handkerchief or napkin and calmly dab at the
offending liquid, as the hurler jumps to her feet and storms away. The
other people at the table are understandably uncomfortable. A woman
leans over and places her hand on the sleeve of the man's jacket and
says, "David, you know she didn't mean it." David answers, "Yes," but
in an ambiguous tone-the perfect adult response. But now the orchestra
has resumed its amiable and lively dance music, and the room is set in
motion as before. Out in the parking lot, however, Elizabeth is setting
fire to David's car. Yes, this is a contemporary film.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
This poem reminds me of Torrey. He is overly dramatic, you know.

7 Reasons I'm Happy to Be Back in Maine

In the grand Sara/Cookie tradition, here's a list of all the reasons I'm so pleased to be back in the great state o' Maine...

1. Great Hat Weather - As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate the magic of hats... No matter how out of shape you get or how crappy your hair might be on any given day, a hat is the cure-all. In Maine, you can pretty much get away with Hat Experimentation from September well into April. And that pleases me.

2. The Beach!! Now that I'm back in the midcoast with my pups in tow, I have a ready excuse for beaching it any old time I please. Regardless of the weather, the ocean never fails to inspire me - get my juices flowing and my imagination in overdrive. Hooray for the Atlantic!

3. Family. Yes, they are indubitably insane and they make me that way most of the time, but there's just something about being around people who've known you since way back when that keeps you grounded. Of course, ask me in a couple of months just how much I love being around family again and I'm pretty sure you'll get an entirely different answer.

4. The Magpie. My niece. Eighteen months old, and still just shy of the twenty-pound mark. She pretty much rocks my world - seriously. Yesterday I taught her to wiggle her butt like she has fishy fins, and it was in all seriousness the cutest thing in the history of the universe. No joke.

5. Civilization. I never, ever thought I would refer to Thomaston, Maine, as civilization, but after spending nine months in a world with no bookstores, no music stores, no craigslist, and Confederate flags on every corner, Thomaston seems pretty damned hip.

6. The Second Read. Along the lines of embracing civilization once more, the cutest little used bookshop/cafe this side of Portland. I had my first (and last) espresso there, just out of high school. If you can't go to Powell's, I recommend Second Read.

7. FRIENDS! Hooray for the old gang! I've had the plague since hitting the Maine state line so have yet to spend quality time with anyone, but the fact that people I love and respect and with whom I have Great and Memorable Times are a short car ride away is fabulous in every way. Praise the Lord and pass the Lobstah, I'm back in the great Northeast!

Make me the happiest woman alive,and marry me Amy Sedaris....

Oh my word, Amy Sedaris AND Dolly Parton. Why has no one thought of this before.... good god, its genius! I have to admit, country music videos always have a story involved, and I think I like it. There was a Reba & Kelly Clarkson match up too that was... well ok, kinda overdramatic, but it caught my attention for the duration of the video.

Seven things for a successful holday season, according to me

1. Combinations of mint and chocolate offered frequently
2. Alternative versions of holiday songs by modern rock artists with a sprinkling of the Bing Crosby
   
3. Small but fun and/or meaningful gifts. Quality not quantity in number or expense. Bonus points to the handmade.
4. Light peeping -- taking drives especially to see all the decorated houses.
5. Long contemplative car ride home.
6. Many many many family members packed into small places with a light offering of holiday spirits, aka good vittles and liquor.
7. Letting yourself just enjoy the people and things you love. Yeah, cheesy, but I can't help it!
   

Seven more things I recommend

1. Clipping out recipes and putting them into a book. It makes you think you really MIGHT make them someday.
   
2. Waiting one moment before yelling out someone's name in a public place to recognize who they really are. That one second to mentally process might actually save you some embarrassment.
3. Heroes -- have you heard of this little indie show? I would have continued to have watching it last fall -- if someone had not feed into the problems I already had with it. If I had ignored them and just gave it a few more episodes -- those issues would have gone away. Instead... I listened like a bloody fool, and I am so behind. Curse you.
4. If you are a guy, wear a black sweater, red tie and white collared shirt. It looks frickin' sharp.
5. A really good spatula. It makes scraping the batter out of the bowl a very precise operation. Though it does not leave much for people who love to scrape the tasty stuff out of the rest of the bowl.
6. Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain. Usually, I hate cocky people. They remind me of being way to insecure in high school and its makes me uncomfortable. Though I have a weakness for Bourdain. I hear he is talented in the kitchen -- never having eaten his food, I can not attest for it. But this book is pretty damn close. I enjoy the way he does not dumb down the way he talks about food and techniques. He is honest and explains them as if you were at the table with him and telling you matter of factly with a wry twist. It is an interesting insight into the life of a chef.
7. Never order seafood on Mondays. Anthony told me so.
   

Zuda Comics

DC Comics' new webcomics site Zuda Comics launched this week, and they're having a pretty cool comic-off at the moment. Each month, ten editorially-chosen comics are pitted against one another and voted on by users; at the end of the month, one of the ten competitors is selected and given a one-year, 52-episode contract and $1000. Though there is some contention as to whether or not Zuda truly has the best interests of comic creators in mind, there's no question that it offers greater visibility to its winners. At the moment, my pal David Gallaher leads the pack with a gritty, western-horror- werewolf-tale (really) that I frankly was skeptical about but, it turns out, kind of love. You should check it out. And vote for it. I mean, you don't have to vote for it - you shouldn't feel obliged to, just because I said so. But if you wanted to, you absolutely should. And that's all I have to say on the subject.

Maine Woman Grows Third Boob From Elbow

Sorry, Sara... Paris is bound for Rwanda just as soon as the charity Playing For Good will have her; Hilton apparently had the trip scheduled and was all ready for some major do-gooding when the charity announced they had to restructure first. Restructure, re-schmucture... I think they're just trying to prepare the Rwandan people for yet another blow to their already-downtrodden country.

The most compelling story of a uvula ever told

Oh a singing Anthony Stewart Head... so what if he is violent and bloody...

And Paris Hilton is in this too.. but I have to admit at first glance I can't recognize her. Good sign. And maybe she will die.... in the movie. I mean her character will... Please I am not that mean. I wish better things for her -- like to give away the majority of her money to Habitat for Humanity or homeless shelters or public urban schools... or something. I believe she can do good in the world. But that happening is as likely as me growing a third boob from my elbow.

Ben Folds sings about the motherland, Fredonia, NY

Poor sound quality, but it is catchy.

Find your daemon

If you have not read the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman yet... then what are you waiting for?!

Real Beauty

Now that I have a nipper of a niece to worry about and another one on the way, ads like these seem all the more relevant...

Seven things I recommend

1. The Big Bang Theory - I literally am still watching this show and its not over yet and I am totally smitten with it. It is geekdom and awkwardness and funny sharp comedy writing. Or at least this episode is. One character has undertones of Niles Crane -- and I adore him. I am hooked. Plus, I am not certain, but I think that BNL does the theme song.
   
2. The Giver - Lois Lowry. I have been reading alot of YA novels lately and this one is intoxicating. It is horrific and wonderful in so many different ways.
3. Getting a mixed CD from your friends. I have received some from 3 different people and every single one of them is different and great for the road. Make one for your friend today!
4. Stealing extra boxes of cereal from the continental breakfast at your hotel. You will appreciate it later.
5. Dollar/surplus stores. If you can get past the smell, sometimes you can find some crazy stuff in them!
6. Snyder's Honey Wheat Preztels. Tasty.
7. Not having construction outside your hotel room. Night construction. What the hell Watertown!?
   

Another video! But who does not love flip books?!

The human flip book:

How Much Do I Love This Man?

John Cusack proves once again that he is, in fact, the perfect man: Witty, sharp, and socially conscious. All that, and those beautiful, beautiful eyes.

Jenny Owen Youngs does Nelly.... covers that is

The song is Hot in Herre.
I love when folky pop people cover rap songs. Jill Sobule did it when she performed at USM a few years ago and it rocked my socks.

I want to bake this man dozens of cookies

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders spoke out in favor of gay marriage, and said that he would not veto a resolution to support same sex marriage. Previously, he had been expected to.

Appalachian Poster Child

This is a billboard I pass on my way to any of the more fun cities 'round these parts. My only question: Is this really the best image they could come up with to sell ceramic tile?

Creation Schmeation, Religion is Scary: Jen's Day at the Creation Museum

Yesterday, Dave and I went to the 27-million dollar Creation Museum. Why? Because I'm all about religious mysteries these days, and the most mysterious of them all is who in the world actually believes that the earth is only six thousand years old. I wasn't actually surprised by the quality of the displays; I grew up in a crazy-ass Pentecostal church, I know all about the power of fundamentalist showmanship. Plus I'd read some articles and some reviews, so... Yeah. I knew that there was a born-again Disney guy who'd personally done the animatronics, and that there was a Garden of Eden and part of a life-sized replica of Noah's Ark.

So what was the surprise, you may ask? The surprise was the number of people there. On a Tuesday in September, there were bevies of old folk, Amish folk, teen folk with "I Heart Jesus" t-shirts, couples with babies... Holy Moses, what's going on with the world? According to the affable older archaeologist man (think of him as the Anti-Giles) featured on the many video "documentaries," creationism is indeed a science. It seems that if you just base all of your beliefs on the COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED notion that there was a worldwide flood back in the day, that explains why everything - fossils, the earth's crust, our apey non-ancestors - look so doggone old.

The first stop in the tour is a realistic rendering of an archaeological dig, complete with two waxy figures digging up waxy bones. Anti-Giles narrates from a widescreen, flat panel TV above. Anti-Giles is also involved in an archaeological dig, with a swarthy, vaguely inept fellow explorer. It seems his companion doesn't actually believe in creationism, and proceeds to give a stumbling, bumbling explanation of why evolution makes more sense. Then AG smoothly intercedes, to tell us why he believes that creationism is totally the way to go. It seems that it's all about the Flood - the one God sent down because he was pissed at how crappy people were. You know the story: Noah and two of every animal on this huge boat and it rained for forty days and forty nights, yada yada yada. Anyway, the result of this monstrous natural disaster was that it screwed up the world's climate, plunged us into an ice age, sped up sedimentation rates, and generally just made things look... well, really, really, really old.

From that convincing scientific argument, we make our way to the Graffiti Alley (aka the Tunnel of Shame), with graffiti and a magazine clipping collage showing the decline of western civilization. Most of it has to do with homosexuality, of course, but then there are a few fun snippets about plastic surgery (vanity, I guess, is what they're getting at there), stem cell research, school shootings, and all those other crappy things in our lives. Then you go through the tunnel itself, which flashes violent black and white images on the wall while somebody screams and there's somebody else crying and some random guy tells us why the world is such a shitty place.

Then you through another alley to get to Culture in Crisis, which features a bunch of dastardly home scenes - one with a renegade teen downloading Internet porn (you can't see the porn, so I'm just going on the creepy faces he's making) and some poor knocked up girl trying to schedule an abortion. There's also a vignette of a gossipy woman and her gossipy best friend talking in hushed tones while her husband drinks beer and watches TV in the background. I thought at first that the problem was the gossiping, but it turns out hubby's a druggie who won't get a job. There's also a statistic saying that one in five women in the U.S. has sex before they're married, and I was totally like, "Seriously? It's gotta be more than that." Don't you think? One in five... I think three of those five are total liars.

Anyway, from there we're finally allowed into the Garden of Eden. Eden, incidentally - totally cool. The guy they modeled the animatronic Adam after is actually a porn star (or so the rumor goes), so he's very swarthy and muscular and, I imagine, well endowed. Creationist Adam has no penis parts, so that's all my imagination talking there. Adam and Eve have a rockin' life, and then all hell breaks loose when Eve makes Adam take a bite out of the famed Apple of Satan. Cain kills Abel, there's a frankly horrific display of Adam and Eve standing over the skinned corpses of two unidentifiable animals, and I can just imagine the number of screwed up Bible beater children who'll be haunted by these images for years to come.

From there we get to meet Methuselah, the oldest man ever. 969 years old, was Methuselah. He looks a lot like Yoda, and kind of sounds like him. Apparently Methuselah spawned Noah, because then we head right on over to the Ark. Which also rocks. There are lots of animals, and movies, and scale models, and you actually wander around a structure that is allegedly the size of 1% of the actual Ark. There are lots of little teeny animal figurines and fun shadow boxes, one of which contains swarthy Bible people sitting around a table having dinner. There are an equal number of men and women, just to make sure we know there was no funny stuff going on on the ark (of course, most of these men and women were siblings, but that's clearly not an issue).

Then we head over to the crucifixion, and a twenty minute feature film starring - you guessed it - our good friend Anti-Giles. There are a lot of gruesome dramatizations of animal sacrifices and the crucifixion itself, and a telling interview with Mary. Once you've survived the crucifixion, you get to go outside and enjoy the Creation Gardens, which are still under construction but promise to be very, very cool.

So my general impression of the Creation Museum? Nicely presented, well organized, and completely terrifying. That parents who actually believe this bunk are allowed to bring their kids, and present all of this to them as truth... Well, the whole thing seems a little nuts to me. According to a recent ABC news poll, up to 60-percent of the country believes that the world was created in six days. Sixty percent! People are completely gullible. I do, however, admire the whole spin the authors of the Bible took way back when: If you don't buy my book (both literally and figuratively), you'll burn in hell forever and ever. It's not subtle, but it's clearly effective. I'm planning on using the same strategy with my next novel.

Seth Green brilliance

Torrey had posted the original Chris Crocker video. (Crocker by the way, is like a non-lethal car wreck to me -- I just can't help myself and I have to watch. I am horrified. He is like a really good episode of Springer. He grounds me.) So here is Seth Green's take on it. Oh man, this Whedon alum keeps on getting better and better.

Oh, and yes, I had to find a way to work Whedon in there somehow. It had been a while.

Seven things I am looking forward to my fall travel season

1. Traveling New England in the fall. And especially some of my favorite places like Burlington and Northampton.
2. Not making my bed.
3. Alone time -- on some days it does get to me -- but over all, I love the being in the car and just getting lost in my head. I need to bring my tape recorder this time.
4. People watching. Especially at restaurants. I make up little stories about them. Beware the person who sits alone at a restaurant.
   
5. A car with a CD player! And if that wasn't a great hint for you to make me a mix before I hit the road.....
   
6. Not being in the office!
7. Seeing some friends when I travel. Its nice after being solo for that long, to see someone and have it feel homey. It anchors the two transient months I spend out there.

I hit the road Monday for two months to visit high schools and college fairs all over Vermont, Central NH, Western MA, New York, and midcoast Maine. I am so excited to go. The stability of an office is nice, but oh man... get me out of there!

Maine Youth Leadership

Once again, I adore these people.



And if you want to give a little back -- use Good Search as your search engine powered by Yahoo. Select Maine Youth Leadership for the organization for your searching to be credited to. We get a penny for every search. It adds up after a while! Or you could just give us wads of cash... really either would be accepted.

Greetings from the Long Lost Not Done Baking Partner

Hey Ho Not Done Baking-ites,

Jen here, the long-lost other half of Not Done Baking. When Sara started Not Done Baking back in the day, we had this great idea that we'd collaborate and it would be tremendous fun for everyone involved... Except that slacker that I am, I never actually posted and Sara ran with the idea like the True Creative Genius that we all know she is. And now sixteen years later, I mentioned the wonder of blogging whilst on the phone with our lady Sara the other day and she said, "Hey, you should post on Not Done Baking again." And I said, "Okay," and that was that. Not the most scintillating dialogue, true, but nevertheless, that's the way it went. In case you were wondering who the hell I am and why the hell I'm writing on Sara's blog; now you know.

I'm writing this from sunny Kentucky, where the grass is not blue and the people really love Jesus. A LOT. At the moment I live in a former elementary school with about ninety animals - who knows how long that'll be the case, but for now let's just revel in the absurdity and call it good. The photo here is of my world, and a few of the goats therein. My writing studio/bedroom used to be a kindergarten classroom, we run obedience classes in the old gym, and the kitchen is way bigger than yours. I'm not bragging - merely stating the facts.

At the moment, Snuggles the muloccan cockatoo is screaming his bloody head off. If I sing to him (which I'll do in just a moment) he'll stop screaming and start singing along. He seems to prefer my personally penned ditties to top forty numbers, so here's what I just sang:

"Oh, we live in a school and I'm trying to write,
so settle down Snuggy or there's gonna be a fight -
nobody likes a squalling cockatoo even if they're cute
And if you keep on screaming, I'll give you proof you can't refute

Settle down Snuggy, there's nothing left to say
Just sing a little song and your blues will go away..."

And so on and so on. It's not that I'm complaining or anything, because as birds go, he's really a lovely one. I've been watching House lately, however, and people keep dying of dreadful diseases they got from bird poo, so I'm hesitant to get too involved in the whole bird rescue thing. Plus he bites if I irk him, and he's got a really sharp fucking beak. When he's not biting or screaming, however, he likes to cuddle up (hence the name, which I did not give him) and is perfectly charming. He's actually a lot like me that way.

Seven things about my sister

1. Her middle name is Hunter. My parents were going to give it to me if I was a boy. No dice. So they decided to give it to the next kid in line regardless of gender.
2. She cried when she thought Fox Mulder actually killed himself.
3. She had a carnival goldfish that lived for way way too long -- like 5 years.
4. She lived in the same room one of my friends did her freshman year at Fredonia.
5. She wrote a story in 3rd grade about how I forgot my bathing suit camping one time. It made me really mad she wrote it.... I am not sure why, it was not THAT embarrassing, but it still makes me mad today -- just on principle.
6. She sleeps with one arm thrown with abandon over her head.
7. Today is her birthday!

Observations made by the nerdy work side of my brain

I saw Superbad this weekend. (Michael Cera shined, and it was overall funny, but lacking the qualities that I adore in 40-year Old Virgin). There was a moment that bothered me in the movie. And it was one of those nerdy technical details. Michael Cera's character, Evan, is in math class. He is a senior in his last two weeks of high school. He is Dartmouth bound in the fall. He, and all of his classmates have Algebra II books on their desks.

NO WAY would a Dartmouth bound student be taking AII their senior year. They would have to be in Pre-Calc minimally, and even that is a stretch.

Come on! Evan is supposed to be wicked smart, and you slap an AII book on his desk! Please! Give the man some crazy hard Calculus!


And if you have not seen the web show, Clark and Michael, yet--you really should. You will some Arrested Development folk in there too. If I was 15, I would be TigerBeat wallpapering my room with Michael Cera. But I am not. So, I *clearly* don't.

Seven things to do this fall

1. Watch Pushing Daisies.
2. Eat and make as many pumpkin things as possible.
3. Mull things. Wine and cider, mostly.
4. Leaf peep as much as possible. Even the natives can appreciate that.
5. Cider donuts, find them and devour them.
6. Have a bonfire somewhere. Crisp cold and toasty goodness.
7. Think of a kick ass Halloween costume.
   

Hipster Olympics

I know another video, but still a good time anyway.

Office Summer Vacation

Warning, there may be some spoilers, but it is awesomeness in a milkshake and more.

Seven things about hair

1. My new favorite shampoo and conditioner combo is Whole Foods 365 Herbal Mint. It smells great in the morning and really does leave my hair very soft all day long.
2. Even if I have not looked in the mirror, I can tell its a bad hair day. It just sends little sensors to my brain that say, "Screw you, we are doing what we want today. Beauty be damned!"
3. I remember getting braids so tight on my head as a kid, that when they were taken out at the end of the day, the relief of it felt so good.
4. I can see why dogs love to get their head scratched and petted. It feels a big like I am a pet, but when someone plays with my hair, it reduces me to that furry animal sitting on the carpet, eyes closed with the pleasure of it all.
5. I almost shaved my head in college. Thank you Jay for not letting me.
6. Speaking of college, I also had a streak of it dyed blue. I had it home for Christmas and my uncles said that it looked like a smurf pooped on my head. And honestly, I don't think smurfs pooped blue. Do I poop a pinkish color of flesh..... no.
7. No woman with a mullett has ever looked good.
   

I love stranger crushes

This was the poem of the day on the Writer's Almanac. And it perfectly sums up the stranger crush.

Why I Have A Crush On You, UPS Man
-Alice N. Persons

you bring me all the things I order
are never in a bad mood
always have a jaunty wave as you drive away
look good in your brown shorts
we have an ideal uncomplicated relationship
you're like a cute boyfriend with great legs
who always brings the perfect present
(why, it's just what I've always wanted!)
and then is considerate enough to go away
oh, UPS Man, let's hop in your clean brown truck and elope !
ditch your job, I'll ditch mine
let's hit the road for Brownsville
and tempt each other
with all the luscious brown foods —
roast beef, dark chocolate,
brownies, Guinness, homemade pumpernickel, molasses cookies
I'll make you my mama's bourbon pecan pie
we'll give all the packages to kind looking strangers
live in a cozy wood cabin
with a brown dog or two
and a black and brown tabby
I'm serious, UPS Man. Let's do it.
Where do I sign?

TV pillow

Another amazing creation by me. Though there was no magenta fabric, so I had to go pink. I am quite proud of this one.

Why is Hello Kitty dressed like a hooker?!

Please don't even ask me why I was on this site. I just happened to search Hello Kitty out of sheer boredom. And apparently she is a street walker! Go ahead and make all of the p-word jokes you want. I find it kinda disturbing.

Pushing Daisies

The fact that this is narrated by Jim Dale makes me want to watch this even more. It has some Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls people working on it too. And that tall drink of water Lee Pace does not hurt either!

Seven new names for the days of the week

1. Sleepinday
2. Workday
3. Herb
4. Nevercallmehumpday
5. MightawellbeFriday
6. New Saturday
7. Myday
   

More from my favorite astronomer

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Edward Gleason:

From the USM Southworth Planetarium
"In a manner of speaking...."
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
July 26, 2007
Mars Madness



Our sincerest apologies!
The sound that just thundered across the terrain causing windows to splinter, asphalt to crack, cars to suddenly brake, and hearts to cease was the abject screaming from the remotest depths of the Southworth Planetarium.
Finally, after having for so long set the standard of sanity for the entire Science Building (an impressive accomplishment), we've lost our minds!

Why, you might ask, would we have succumbed to such a nerve disorder? Simple: the Internet Mars announcements are not going away! They continue, despite our ardent pleas to the heavens, our appeals to Google, and our unrelenting campaign against the dissemination of
misinformation. (well, at least the misinformation that doesn't result in a tidy profit).

We figured that since we're all now irreversibly batty, why not propel you into madness, too, with another article about Mars.

First of all: here is what's NOT going to happen on August 27, 2007:

Mars will NOT be closer to us than it has been in 60,000 years.
Mars will NOT be the size of the full Moon.
Mars will NOT cause higher tides and interruptions in the communication infrastructure
and Mars will NOT don a cane and top hat, lock arms with the Moon and sing, "Yes, we have no bananas."
(I told you we've lost our minds.)

This perennial internet announcement is based upon an event that happened about four years ago.

At the end of August 2003, Mars was closer to Earth than it had been in the previous 60,000 years. At this close approach, it looked like a bright, ruddy-red star. Quite lovely, but not nearly as large in our sky as the Full Moon. The only way Mars would ever appear that big is
if one of those ultra mega-giants from the epsilon sector of the Galaxy picked up Mars and in an indignant fit, threw it at us!

So, let us assure you in a serene and friendly manner, that none of these Mars rumours are true.
Mars will look like a moderately bright red-star like object in the post-Midnight August sky. A beguiling sight for the star watcher, to be sure, but not nearly as amazing as these alerts suggest.

PLEASE do the world in general and us in particular the great service of forwarding this announcement to every single person you've ever met. Inform all the recipients that they must forward these announcements to everybody they know or else they'll be jinxed for five years, their coffee will spill, their luggage will be rifled through by over enthusiastic garden gnomes, and the love of their life will turn into one of those spore-emitting mushrooms that everybody playfully kicks on nature walks.

La la la la Lemon

Forgive me for being video heavy lately. I could not resist this one though. And no my ovaries are not pulsing with the tick of the biological clock -- I just thought this was hilarious. Being new to the world, you don't have to hide anything -- your initial reactions to things can be honest and raw. Imagine discovering your favorite -- or unfavorite -- tastes for the first time. Its brilliant.

This could be what the US prison system is lacking: DANCE!

I still wish I could freeze frame Michael Jackson after the Thriller album. Happy memories.

A nice black Mercedes for sure. BMWs is very new money.

I think I just vomited in my mouth. This article about the DC young "elite" crowd scares me just as much as He Who Must Not Be Named.

I'm from Barcelona

One of my co-workers loves to give me random bands to listen to -- and its one of the best musical discovery things ever. Cause he will tell me the band and a snippet about them -- but not go into why they are the best thing, and over opinion me before I can check them out myself. Now granted.... sometimes fandom is passionate and I even have a hard time checking the opinion at the sharing door. He sent me this video for I'm From Barcelona and its the first song I have heard from them -- and I am smitten. The video alone makes me want to know them and love them and squeeze them and call them george.

Seven words I use too often

1. Clearly
2. Dude
3. Absolutely
4. Actually
5. Not (but pronounced in the western New York nasal: naaaat!)
6. Typically
7. Birthday (though mostly this is contained within the question of the date of birth. I have to know people's signs. slight obsession.)
   

Seven things I think could make for a great day

1. Laughing so hard that I snort several times
2. A good weather day -- and being outside for it
3. Eating something really comforting or wonderful
4. Time escapes you in the good way, where you never really pay attention to the clock
5. Learning something new, even if it is something simple, like a factoid to store away for trivial pursuit
6. Wearing something I like. Might not be the height of fashion, but something I like to move around in
7. The radio or the ipod on shuffle hits the right songs at least twice in a row
   

Seven business ventures I would love to have gobs of money for

1. Craft studio to hold classes in for people that might not be able to afford to buy all the supplies -- and have a coffee shop attached
   
2. Bookstore (including a good comic and indie magazine section) with a great reading and quiet writing space when its not a reading space - with a coffee shop attached
3. Rent a living room: Ever been hanging out with friends but you just would rather be in a space just for you, but you can't necessarily go back to someone's because of location, parents, roommates, small apt of your own? This strikes me the most when I am at home visiting rents around the holidays and seeing college friends. Would include board games to borrow, simple snacks and of course, a coffee shop.
4. Center for Maine Youth Leadership: this may not technically be a business, but it would be wonderful. It could be a center for workshops and collecting and assigning volunteer events. It would have some offices for student interns, a good conference room, a living room type lounge, a small studio for audio and visual, and a gallery. And would some how include coffee.
5. Personal music shopper: Tell me what you like and I will research it for you. Give me an event and I will collect music for it. Will give it to you with a cup of coffee.
   
6. Game inventor -- Make random games for whenever you need one. For example, one of my greatest inventions was Truth darts. Land on a multiple of three and you get to ask a question of anyone. Land on 8 and you have to tell us a guilty pleasure. And so on. Photo Scavenger hunt would also be one! Coffee shops also need some type of game too.
   
7. Invent triangle shaped ketchup packets. Makes sense, eh?
   

Interviews about feminism, subtitle: I think I would want to meet Anthony

On so many levels this video makes me want to vomit. Maybe on some of their doorsteps.

I get teary... go figure

Honestly, this really was just beautifully pure and simple and struck me. "Somewhere over the rainbow" really gets to me when it's done right.

Seven things about campfires

1. Old dried up Christmas trees are the most wonderful things to see thrown onto a campfire. I would say it rivals... or may be better than fireworks.
2. Smores are only to be eaten near a fire and prepared at it. Preferably with a stick you just found in the dark and you no longer care about dirt or worms. Just melted chocolately goodness. (Sidebar: Usually I do not find the need to go all foodnetwork on my smores -- the plain ol hershey will do just fine -- but I admit the extra wow factor for me happens when I used the special darks in the Hersheys assorted minatures)
3. Conversations are just better near a fire. I think silences are more comfortable too. People stare into the fire and not talk - and its really ok.
4. I love the symbolism of burning old letters or notebooks in the fire -- but have never brought myself to do it.
5. A gathering is automatically assured to be more memorable and wonderful if it includes one.
6. I kinda love the smell of the campfire on my clothes after I leave it. If I could, most times I would sit there until it burned down to its embers all orange and wicked in the dark. Taking a sense of it with me reminds me that someday I probably will.
   
7. I like how campfires are a common experience for most people: fascinating, calming, inspiring, and brings you back to an almost primitive place you forget you have inside you. It makes you feel a little less alone, or at least it does for me.
   

Seven things I would make you for dinner because I make these things really well

1. Spinach and artichoke dip
2. Twice baked garlic potatoes
3. Butternut squash apple soup
   
4. Chicken Peprikash -tomato/sour cream chicken goodness over rice
   
5. Butter Chicken - Indian food
   
6. Assorted milkshakes involving oreos, peanut butter and espresso fudge sauce
   
7. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
   

Maine Youth Leadership

Slide show from the 2007 seminar



I don't think that I really have ever gotten over the pains of high school until they showed me how. High school has always kind of haunted me, but those specters are fading with every cheer, riotous laugh, words of compassion and looking at them want to not give up on this world. I think its kind of weird that at 30 years old I have finally accepted the 15 year old in me -- or at least put a hand out to her and said its okay. Because it really is.

Plus, how much fun does this look:

He's grrrrrrrrrrreat!

Story about Quinn, one of the MYL students that rocks my socks. Literally, they are jamming little socks.

Color me impressed in blue and white

I have always been very critical of athletes that get special treatment. In professional world and in the collegiate world, I just find it disappointing that it happens time and time again. Now, some people might retort that there are many other types of people that get that kind of privledge -- and yes I know that and yes it still pisses me off. I guess the geek in me that got picked on by the super athletes in high school is still a little bitter. Get over it, I clearly am trying to, though it does not keep me awake at night worrying about it.

I read this article about coach Joe Paterno's creative way to send a message to his Penn State football team. The team was involved in a fight and it was embarrassing according to Paterno. Rightfully so. The kind of mob mentality is what gets to me at times -- even when there is not an organization that holds the mob together. He is making the team clean the stadium after the home games this season. I think it's brilliant. I am sure these DI athletes are afforded some extra privledges, and I think this will be a grounding experience for them.

I admire Paterno for this. Not because its cruel or that I revel in seeing the team do something demeaning (though its hard honest work for many people in this nation, and no where near as degradating as other things in this country). I admire him for wanting to prove to the university, to the athletic community, and to the team itself that they are not the grunting mindless thugs that the incident made them out to be. They can be (and most likely are) better human beings than that.

I just hope the athletes take it seriously and can really reflect on what happened. Show that they can be on an effective team and deserve the attention and heroism they receive by playing a game they love.

Seven movies coming out on my top list to see

1. The Golden Compass: I think the casting of Nicole Kidman is brilliant. She is who I saw in my mind when reading the book. And the polar bear looks amazing! Though slight thumbs down for the use of the Lord of the Rings in the trailer (see the trailer here).
2. Waitress: I know its on that borderline of romantic comedy that I do not like to cross that often, but it looks brilliant, and I cannot deny Nathan Fillion anything. Seriously. Except maybe Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.
3. Knocked Up: Just as I cannot deny Capt Tightpants anything, I must obey Judd Apatow. Plus the reuniting of some cast from both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared -- lovely. Plus, I think I crush a little on Seth Rogen.
4. Goners: Joss' project coming out... who knows when. Just like other projects he has worked on, this might get crushed. Sad.
5. Ratatouille: You can't go wrong with Pixar. Granted Cars was not the greatest in my mind, but it was still enjoyable. Plus, I enjoy Patton Oswald quite a bit -- so his vocal performance should be great.
   
6. Nancy Drew: Its debateable whether or not I will see this in the theatre. I have some hope for it because its co-written and directed by Andrew Fleming -- who also wrote for Arrested Development. I saw the trailer and I think it looks charming and I like the portrayal of Nancy -- she is not modernified to be a smart carbon copy of a Laguna Beach girl. I find that refreshing. Makes me wish I had a niece or babysitting gig to take the kids to see it. Plus, I love girl sleuths.
   
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
   
   

Seven things about jury duty

1. You really are just a number.
2. Comfort of seating or room temperature is never ever taken into consideration.
3. The crazy old woman you almost hit with your car before getting there WILL be the woman you sit next to for 3 hours. On a hard wooden bench.
4. I think that there is a mandatory outspoken old man who does not want to be there. He bitches and speaks up whenever he can. Secretly, I think we all cheer for him.
5. The people sitting behind me were wicked obnoxious during the laywer-judge sidebar. I wanted to tell them to shut it. Then the judge did in the coolest way possible: "Excuse me this is not a bar. Someone's liberty is at stake here, I highly suggest you be quiet and respect it."
   
6. Speaking of the judge - she was amazing. She even injected that appropriate amount of humor into the questioning that was almost breathtaking to observe. If there was to be a judge written by Aaron Sorkin -- it would have been her. She was the best part of jury duty.
7. Juror #134 is adorable. (I think that was his number, I was too busy trying to stop myself from jumping over and licking his arm tattoos to remember his number.) I love stranger crushes.
   

Words can not express the awesomeness of this poster

Word association starts local woman's workday off with a stupid start

My home page is Dictionary.com's Word of the Day. Cause, I love them words. I am sitting here eating my office breakfast of celery sticks and peanut butter Puffin cereal - dry. I read the word and think: 1. Weird coincidence. 2. What a simple and dumb word to have for the day. Everyone knows what "celery" is. This did not expand my vocabulary one bit. I even start to feel a little cheated.

Then I read it again.

This is today's word:

celerity \suh-LAIR-uh-tee\, noun:
Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

Seven things that have lived up to my expectations

1. Philadelphia
2. Each Harry Potter book
3. Vermont in the Fall
4. Almost any recipe I get off of the Food Network
5. College at Fredonia
6. Living off campus
7. Earth Shoes and how they are comfortable from the first day on
   

Seven things that have disappointed me

1. Spiderman 3
2. Elmwood Street in Buffalo.... until we finally got to the cool parts
3. The inability in some people to know their limits
4. Sarah Michelle Gellar's blindness to embrace her portrayal of Buffy
5. FOX networks -- just all around really
6. Gravity
7. The pace of environmental legislation and action