Big Tuna!

Why do guys hate the nickname "big tuna"?

Decemberists - 16 Military Wives


Thank you to Torrey &; Tony for this new lovely addiction.


Update: Great article with Colin Meloy

Dog people theory

I am wondering about dog people. People who have dogs and they are an extension of each other. Nothing against them -- I rather enjoy them -- I am able to enjoy their dog and don't have any of the fuss or muss. And when I say muss I mean poop.

So, I am wondering if its easier for a dog person to fall in love? Is the dog kind of practice for being in a relationship? I am just trying to think about the people I know in relationships that are dog people -- and I am not entirely sure if this theory is foolproof. But sometimes it seems that a lot fo couples or easy to date people are dog people.

I live in a neighborhood where alot of dog people live. Walking dogs, carrying their baggies of poop, clinging to that leash as if the dog is tethered to them through a life line. If you open yourself up to an animal, what does that say about you as a person?

No real answers here, because I am not sure if there are any. Any one have any of their own observations? Dog or not to dog?

WHY?

On the road I stop random places to kill time. Sometimes the Dollar Stores have some hidden treasures in them. This time I came across a rare find.

A pregnancy test.

Texts to amuse

Last night I was at a college fair in NJ. Apparently Maine might as well still be a frozen tundra. And too far, while they hold brouchures for South Carolina and Florida in their hands.

I was threatening to pass out from boredom and I texted some of the finest minds I know to send me something amusing. This is what I received:

• Two guys walk into a bar. The third one ducks.
• I saw a 10 foot lobster in Portland and he walked up to me and told me he knew me and I didn't know that I knew any lobsters.
• iTunes now has games.
• Come to our school. Food sucks, we have no parking and you have to drive a half hour to class. (Note: I said none of this)
• Tell them there's lots of places in Maine to hide a body -- that should appeal to a Jersey crowd.
• Picture me running around my apartment naked! Now that is entertainment!
• A picture of an ear (see right)
  

The wedding of the year, 2006.

It was the only wedding I went to this year so I can say that. But it was still pretty awesome. Saying my family got drunk was an understatement.

Let's tell the story in pictures.


My Aunt Kathy and me. She had to be at work at 4:30 in the AM. She did not make it.



The ONLY picture of the bride I got. Hey, she hired someone for that. More aunts and cousins. What you can't see is my aunt's broken hand. Heels and beers don't mix.


My sister and the boyfriend. You will see him later picking her up off the floor. A lot.



My cousin, Nikki, was doing these faces in the background of pictures all night unoticed by others. This was my favorite of all of them.



Uncle Paul's number one goal of the night was to make Samantha dance. Success!


Samantha down.


Samantha up.


Samantha down again.

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of when she fell down out of the van. That one she flashed us all.

And the end of the story is: My grandmother got so drunk, that she ended up throwing up, and accidentally flushed her false teeth down the toilet.

Movies that I really want to see

I have been binging on Apple Trailers. Its a site that I forget about for a period of time, but then when I rediscover it, I will browse for periods of time that are probably too long -- but I find appropriate when I am stuck in hotels for hours.

• The Motel
• Driving Lessons
• Jesus Camp
• Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny
• Fur
• Eragon
• Deliver Us From Evil
  
• The Fountain
• Stranger Than Fiction
• For Your Consideration Inside of everyone there is a pig, an ass and a tiger. You are never sure which one is going to show up.
• The Oh in Ohio
• The Science of Sleep

Observations from the road

1. High schoolers in a certain area of the north east (I am leaving this undisclosed, because it’s irrelevant and I don’t want to piss anyone off) wear more beer t-shirts than I thought existed.
2. The worst t-shirt saying: An awkward morning beats a boring night.
3. I thought Hollister was a high school. Apparently I am wrong, and it’s a clothing line.
4. Because of #3 – I am losing my hip young ness.
5. AirBorne is the best anti-cold medication ever. Just a little tab – to be put in water, not directly in your mouth as I found out the hard way – helps curb many sniffles. I recommend Pink Grapefruit.
6. The new Decemberists album is excellent for driving.
7. Hampton Inn is THE cat’s pajamas. Their beds have created the best not-in-my-own-bed nights sleep that I have ever had.
8. Malls are still boring no matter where you are.
9. I am looking for books to read --- suggestions?
10. Hayden Carruth’s Letters to Jane is an excellent collection of his correspondence with her as she was very ill. He wrote to her not expecting any response, just writing to give her a touchstone to life. Its witty, candid, reflective and I can’t help but love the voyeuristic nature of reading some one’s letters. It feels forbidden – and it makes me wish I could have opened the envelope myself instead of turning the pages in a book. I think I need to explore letter writing more as a medium for my own writing.
11. Emails from friends while I am on the road are appreciated – It’s a little lonely out here sometimes.

Question of the day

monomania \mon-uh-MAY-nee-uh; -nyuh\, noun:
1. Pathological obsession with a single subject or idea.
2. Excessive concentration of interest upon one particular subject or idea.

What could people accuse you of having a monomania about?

On the road again

I have taken to writing down random blurbs when I am eating at restaurants on the road. On the road -- it sounds so glamourous, eh? Not quite the rockstar lifestyle, but it sure is interesting. This is something I wrote a few days ago... I am not sure if I get my point across, but for my readers that really know me, I think they will catch my drift.

This is what it has come down to. Sitting at a Starbucks in Connecticut, sandwiched in between a RiteAid and a Big Y, staring out at the various palette of SUVs that stream on by this little strip mall. Slurping on a Pumpkin Spice latte – which I ask for a medium ---- oh no, ma’am it’s a Grande. What can I say, I needed the caffeine. And pumpkin might just be my downfall. That and dark chocolate and ginger.

At what point does the guilt stop? Over buying something at a chain. Over grabbing that quick fix. Are there lesser evils out there? I avoid Wal-Mart (except when it comes to fabric), McDonalds (except when on I-90), Starbucks (except when I am traveling for work and I am in fear of getting lost and have time to kill between visits). See, everyone has their exceptions to the rules. Forgive me for liking the music at Starbucks. For finding this Pumpkin Spice Latte and that Pumpkin Scone quite tasty.

Is giving out free wireless that financially damaging? I just want to check my email, download new podcasts, feed my blog addiction and make sure that I have not missed anything that major in my world of geek related pop culture. TMobile has this place covered, and those little airwaves cost a pretty penny. It’s just charged air, right? Next thing you know, you will have to pay for radio….


Even this damn spell check changed my “Walmart” to the correct Wal-Mart. Even Microsoft knows what consumers must know. Unfortunately it can’t stop people from saying “Victoria Secrets”. I hate that blasted store, but man its like nails on a chalk board taking that damn “s” and adding it at the end of the other word. Although iPod still goes as a word that is misspelled. Interesting…

How do I avoid being a Yuppie? My dad calls me that and it makes me cringe so much. The things according to him that make me a Yuppie:
*Love of coffee – especially flavored
*Technologically competent.
*Own an iPod
*Have seen many “artsy” movies
*Have a Masters
*“Bleeding Heart” Liberal
*Environmentally aware
*Snub various chain places
*I use a laptop in coffee shops. (guilty, right now.)
*I prefer local breweries to the Buds and Millers of the world.

Which, I am many of those things. I can’t deny it, I am even proud of many of them. Does that make me a yuppie? I counter with this:

Things that I do not make me a yuppie:
*I make my own purses. I do not own any Coach. I think they are the ugliest things I have ever seen.
*I drive a 97 Ford Escort station wagon, and will until it dies.
*I have a Masters degree in poetry and student personnel administration. I am not earning any money there.
*Read Comics
*Own several action figures.
*Have only gotten something dry-cleaned three times in my life. That is like once a decade.
*I wear $9 watches that I lose a lot.
*I like mud.
*Tattoos, two.
*I seldom coordinate.
*I have degrees from two state schools, small ones that are not overly prestigious.
*I genuinely enjoy bowling, mini-golf, and bingo.

I could keep on going. But I honestly fear the yuppie mentality. Wanting something bigger and better, never being content with what you have. When honestly, its enough to have what you have. Yes I would love a new computer. I would love more books. But in terms of big ticket things --- I could care less. The whole car thing I don’t really get. Constantly trading up for the new year, model, feature. It’s a frickin’ car! Honestly, I just would like to earn more to get rid of my loans. I don’t like that hovering over me. It’s for my education, that I worked very hard for and I paid for. Or am trying to pay for. I like my apartment that I share with two other people. I don’t need to constantly upgrade. I think that is what is at the core of a yuppie: Upgrading constantly to keep up with people that are scrambling to do the same thing. If people could just chill out and assess what they have, I think most people would be fairly pleased.

This is an actual word

commodious \kuh-MOH-dee-us\, adjective:
Comfortably or conveniently spacious; roomy; as, a commodious house.

I have the Dictionary.com Word of the Day as my home page. Some times it amazes me what is actually a word. This one sounds made up to me. Like someone was just trying to sell a house and they point to different things and say "This is so spacious and...... commodius!"

Other favorites from past days


small beer \small beer\, noun:
1. Weak beer.
2. Insignificant matters; something of little importance.
adjective:
1. Unimportant; trivial.

tetchy \TECH-ee\, adjective:
Peevish; testy; irritable.

vade mecum \vay-dee-MEE-kuhm; vah-dee-MAY-\, noun:
1. A book for ready reference; a manual; a handbook.
2. A useful thing that one regularly carries about.

sui generis \soo-eye-JEN-ur-us; soo-ee-\, adjective:
Being the only example of its kind; constituting a class of its own; unique.


Now use all of those in a sentence!

I am becoming an old woman.

I am looking at fabric online. I know, I know. But I kind of geeked out over this one:

Sara Recommends

Butter Chicken

This is always a good choice at any Indian restaurant, but I found an easy recipe for it. It makes for great leftovers and freezes well too. I was quite proud of myself for making this.

The Monhegan Pie from Portland Pie

Steak, caramelized onions, green peppers, blend of three cheeses and a garlic sauce make this pizza delectable. The best non-red sauce pie I have ever had.

Barenaked Ladies are Me – Barenaked Ladies

I love this band. They are my band. Everyone has some musical artist they have a weakness for or have stuck through time with them. This is the band for me. This album is different than the standard “One Week” fare that most people associate them with. Its witty (I was a baby when I learned to suck/But you have raised it to an art form) and rocking with “Wind it Up”, it grapples with our world in “Take it Back” and just challenges you listen more closely to lyrics like in “Easy”. You might be led astray by the music, but the words are contradicting the tone of the song. And of course I got the Deluxe Edition from iTunes – which includes the second album Barenaked Ladies are Men, which will not be released until January. The song “Maybe Not” makes me want to be in a relationship just so I can break up to it.

Water

Cheap. Refreshing. And apparently, you need it to live.

Sewing from a pattern you made

Not only do you feel accomplished, but you feel almost as hip as Project Runway without the drama. But also sadly without Tim Gunn. Tell me to make it work!

Veronica Organa?

Very, very interesting.

Office Observation #2

Are lunches sadder in sandwich baggies or some variation of Tupperware?

I think the sandwich baggie. Even if it is a sandwich. Though I think a basic two slices of bread with cheese and your lunchmeat in a Tupperware container is trying to be more than it really is. Like its trying to keep up with the Jones' of last night's leftovers of homemade lasanga. The left overs that are most often brought in are of the pasta variety. Either people eat a lot of pasta OR don't eat it all and you are stuck with it for a few days, or it makes for the best leftover. Tupperware typically houses food that is prepared, rather than slapped together. I think the person with Tupperware 7 times out of 10 has the better lunch.

What is the saddest office lunch you have seen?

Blogger's Note: Yes, I hate that I used the word "baggie" too.

Poem by Kenneth Rexroth and my commentary.

The Love Poems of Marichiko
IV
You ask me what I thought about
Before we were lovers.
The answer is easy.
Before I met you
I didn’t have anything to think about.

-Kenneth Rexroth

Okay, this could be the single jaded person in me – but does this poem seem creepy to any one else? Nothing to think about before the lover. Noooooothing. Not a single thought. Granted, I know damn well as a poet that you can use hyperbole or other devices. But, I still think this is a little weird to me. I think if I met someone, and they were like “Oh darling you are so wonderful. I am so glad you came around because now I can think. At last!” I would tell them to piss off. I think that meeting someone can give you clarity of mind, heighten your senses to see the world in different ways, or even see the world through someone else’s lens. It probably clouds your mind blissfully too. This poem just gives me the creeps.

I think the geek in me just peed a little

I love love Brian K. Vaughn and what he has done with comics. Especially Runaways. I read that whole first "season" of it in one night. He is leaving the title after a few issues. And who is replacing him.... Oh, none other than my compadre, Joss Mother-lovin' Whedon.

Oh Wegmans.... how I miss thee!

I look at Western New York with this weird mix of nostalgia and "get me the hell out of there!" (How do you sum up "get me the hell out of there" in a word... suggestions?) I do consider Portland my home, the place that I feel like I belong. But, I do miss a lot of things about it. I love saying the word "pop". It just makes sense, it feels like home. I will cling to that word no matter how many people cringe. I miss euchre. Anyone in the Portland area that plays it? Zweigles -- lovely hot dogs -- they come in white, too. And they are miles better than these little skinny radioactive red hot dogs out here. Lilac Festival. Parkleigh Pharmacy. Buffalo wings that are more than just Franks Red Hot on them and with bleu cheese -- none of this Ranch dressing hulabaloo. Bakeries with what my aunt calls Jewish rolls -- flaky and light and just barely sweet. WBER on the radio when ever I want! Major influence on most music I am exposed to today and back then. And Wegmans.... I never thought I could love a grocery store as I do that one. The best subs I have ever had are made there. They make really good Chinese food. My friends and I would sometimes have scavenger hunts there. The one in Pittsford you can sit in the cafe area, get a great cup of coffee, and forget you are in a grocery store. Not to mention, they practically have employed every member of my extended family at some point. They consistently make the Forbes top 10 for employers that treat their customers the best in the nation. I should write sonnets to Wegmans. But my poor attempts at iambic pentameter would just come out so.... Shaws. Or for those people still in Western New York -- Big M.

I yoinked this from a fellow Fredonian and pulled out the ones I can relate to.

You know you're from Rochester when....

"Waking up with the Wease" doesn't mean that you have a respiratory infection.

The thought of eating a "garbage plate" makes your mouth water.

The worst four-letter word you could say is "Fuji".

Toronto is about 70 miles away, but it takes four hours to get there.

You know that a "Can of Worms" is not something that you take fishing.

Your baby's first word is "Wegmans".

In a city where it snows at least 90 inches a year, they build a new sports stadium with no roof on it.

It can be 70 degrees one day, below freezing the next, and you think nothing of it.

Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude an Abbott's custard.

You order a white hot and a pop, and the counterman knows what you're talking about.

You know who Vinnie and Angelo are.

You can go to any mall on a Saturday and see at least 5 people you either work with, went to school with or dated.

You awaken from a deep sleep, look at the clock and see that it's 6:00, but you have no idea whether it's AM or PM.

When 12+ inches of snow falls overnight, but you never thought of NOT going to work.

In winter if the temperature hits 45 degrees and the sun comes out, people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets.

There are places at the poles that seem to get more sunlight during the winter months than we do.

Wegmans is somewhere to go on a Friday night, for entertainment.

Half the change in your pocket is Canadian, eh.

You think that people from Pennsylvania have an accent.

Your idea of a seven-course meal is a six pack of Genny and a bucket of Buffalo wings.

Fly me to the moon

When I was in third grade, I wanted to be an astronaut. Everything I wanted was up on that moon. I themed everything I could in my school work around being in space. We went to DC for a family trip and going to the Air and Space Museum was like walking in one of my dreams. I wanted to go to Space Camp so badly. My parents were never in a position to send me there. It was my pony. I really saw myself floating around in the shuttle, floating M&M's and Tang to another astronaut. Looking at space in a different view. I would lie there in my bedroom, and I could see through my window the stars. It was like I had my own block of sky right there, this one square of sky that belonged to me.

I wonder if I have any dreams as lofty as those were. I gave up on it, because I think as a worldly fourth grader, I realized how hard it was to be an astronaut -- how much science and competitveness was involved. How it was almost like wishing to be President. It was out of grasp. I am not sure what my dream changed to then -- but I do remember I never stopped keeping my head in the sky. I am still there sometimes. There is nothing more satisfying to me than a really good sky. Crisp, clear -- sharp points of light reaching out to be wished on, counted on. One of my favorite skies was one night in Fredonia -- Jay and I had gone for a walk and found ourselves at the ampitheatre. The sky was so clear -- but there were a few huge white billowy clouds. They were illuminated by the moon. They were so white and bright against that black sky. I remember just lying on my back not wanting that sky to go away. Wishing that I could make the sun wait just a little bit longer so I could have it. Time is like that when things are good -- wanting to hold it in your grasp, trying to put the brakes on the rotation of the earth. But we all just keep spinning, your dreams changing with the seasons sometimes. Other ones weather it all. Tough, resilent, staying with you.

Caption Contest

Who can think of the best caption for this picture?

Photo credit to Brian Lewis.