Eau de Humanity!

Facebook Sucks...

2009-09-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

...major bong water right now!!!! I give up! After 20 minutes of trying to log back on and getting nowhere, I'm going to walk away while cursing them out.

Anyway, keeping an eye on "All My Bad Storylines" right now. Erica and Ryan doing the nasty on a desk!?! EWW! From jumping the shark to jumping the cougar, I guess.

My father's still in the hospice unit. No calls so far today so no news is good news. The doctor spoke to my nephew over the weekend and she said that it doesn't look good but doesn't know how muc longer he has but I gather it's a matter of days. You're not put in a hospice unit for an extended period of time.

Beginning of the End?

2009-09-07T19:48:00.002-07:00

Just got an email from my sister. My dad was readmitted to the hospital last night because he was bleeding out again. She said he's a mess. Giving that and what he's gone through the past month, I have this feeling that he may not have much longer.

To quickly catch my reader(s) up: At the end of August his divorce lawyer didn't show up to a scheduled court appearance. When they finally got a hold of him he said that my father didn't do any of the paperwork needed (again) and with nothing to hand in and my dad being in the hospital, why bother showing up?

Now, no one was told he was in the hospital and sis, mom, and I all thought it was bull. No one called any of the hospitals in his area to check so I did. Yep! He was in one. My sister called the next day to see what was going on. Turns out he had been in since the beginning of August, had some sort of a small stroke, three toes on his right foot were so bad (MRSA infection and complications due to Type 2 diabetes) that they needed to be amputated, and for some reason, he was bleeding out in his intestines and landed up needing 6 pints via trasfusion. He seemed stable enough to be moved to a rehab place last Thursday but the bleeding started again last nite.

As I said my gut feeling is that he'll never see home again alive. I'm fine with that in a lot of ways. Granted, if he goes soon, it's a landmark major event in my life but giving everything that has happened esp. the events and revelations that have happened over the past 2 years or so, my guess is I'll be okay. Lets hope so.

Animated Who

2009-08-21T22:21:00.005-07:00

Thought this looks interesting. I hope it's good.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/First-Look-At-David-Tennant-As-Cartoon-Doctor-Who-For-New-BBC-Series-Dreamland/Article/200908315366640

Will write more real soon-like! Just got caught up in a couple of other things the past couple of days.

When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes...

2009-08-16T21:45:00.003-07:00

Today's the 17th anniversary of when I quit smoking! Can't believe it's been that long already. For those who don't know, I smoked for a grand total of about 15 years; the last several about 2 packs a day. Marlboro was my staple brand but I smoked many others as well. I still head over to the Nat Sherman's website and droolingly recall smoking several types of cigarettes they put out. To quote Jerri Blank: "Good times."

That nite, 17 years ago, it was just before midnite, I was futzing around on my first computer (an IBM PS1. Lousy thing! IBM did not know how to do personal computers), and just finished off the last cigarette of the pack. I figured I'd step outside for a moment or two, get some fresh air, and look at the stars before toddling off to bed. (WHAT?! Me thinking about going to bed before midnite? Yes! Amazing, ain't it?)At the time, I didn't have a regular asthma doc nor was I on any decent asthma meds other than occasionally sucking down on Primatine Mist. Not the best stuff to use. Anyway, I left it on the nitestand and headed out to the parking lot of the complex I lived at. After a handful of minutes, my lungs were feeling a bit tight so I headed back in to go get the inhaler.

Now, from where I was to my bed was only about a minute or less in travel time but by the time I got to my bed I seriously couldn't breathe...AT ALL. My lungs completely seized up on me. I couldn't inhale or exhale...AT ALL. This was very outta the blue for me. My asthmatic attacks were the type that slowly gets worse giving me enough time to go see a doc but NOT in this case. It just hit me outta the blue and bad!

I don't know exactly how long I sat there at the edge of my bed (just a moment or two) but it felt like an eternity. I couldn't breathe and seriously thought I was going to die that nite and probably would have. I was scared shitless. Nothing like that happened to me before (and thankfully not again since), I didn't know what was going on or what to do, and there was nothing I could do except that I was was on death's door.

For some reason my lungs "deseized" and I was able to breathe a bit again although there was an immediate segue into something being wrong (took me a month and 5 fuckin' doctors to find out both my lungs were badly inflamed. Why the first four didn't think of it is beyond me. Asstards!)

The next night, 24 hours later and not a cigarette had, I realized that I had lived without one, I didn't kill anyone, my apartment didn't get torched, and my cat hadn't filed for a pet version of a divorce (and I still had major breathing problems anyway)I decided to continue on with the non-smoking.

So, here I am 17 years later, ass once again parked in front of a blasted monitor but still smoke free.

P.S. I still have all my lighters and ashtrays I had back then.

Still Alive! Part Deux

2009-08-15T02:10:00.006-07:00

Ugh! I can't believe I let this place slide unattended for 7 months! Bad blogger! BAD! No biscuit! I've made a bit of a pact with three other people (2 bloggers and 1 blog-newbie) in trying to post more often. They started it and I just hopped on since I figured I needed the inspiration. Anyway, now that my internet service seems to have been fixed after a recent service fuck-up by dear old Cumcrust, I'm going to start making an effort in posting more here. Just going to tidy up a bit first (clean up the blogroll list there on the right and seeing what else I can do.)

Wish me luck!

Still Alive!

2009-01-27T03:24:00.002-07:00

Yeppers! Still here with every intention of posting! About family melodrama that'll probably best fit into a Joan Crawford-esque 50's-style one. I'll do it soon! Really!

Also want to ask if anyone can recommend a blog links site I can use instead of Blogrolling which I'm extremely unhappy about now. They've been kinda down for MONTHS where you can't do any sort of editing of your line-up claiming they were hacked into and have been trying to correct it. Well, it's been fuckin' MONTHS now, asshats!! MONTHS! It shouldn't take so long and I've had it with them. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

BUSTED!!

2009-01-01T22:16:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year, all!

What your pets may be doing when you're not home:

Found on:
HOMME NATURE

Blogged with the Flock Browser

xmasimage017 by you.

2008-12-24T20:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Yule/Christmas!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I Thought So!

2008-11-23T22:50:00.002-07:00

LOL! When Peephole...er...People magazine announced their "Sexiest Man Alive" guy was Hugh Jackman, I thought that there was the chance of the amount of hits here would skyrocket. Well, I finally checked my stats and, lo and behold! The hits have soared! I have a pic that I blogged about 3 years ago supposedly of a nekkid Señor Jackman (it ain't) which has been bringing on the hits ever since.

FABulous FABric?

2008-11-23T22:16:00.003-07:00

I ~~stole~~ found this on UltraSparky's blog and just had to post it! It can be found here

I'm now using the Flock web browser since Firefox went all wonky on me last week and no matter what I did, it wouldn't go back to normal. Even deleting it and re-installing did nothing for it. So, this is my first post trying to post via flock and posting it to my site. I'll see if it works momentarily.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

And like totally OhMyGawd! Gag me with a spoon! It posted!!!

Keith Olberman on Prop. 8

2008-11-12T00:23:00.003-07:00

Wonderful commentary on same sex marriage. Thank you, Keith!

Habanera!!

2008-10-13T03:18:00.002-07:00

This had me rolling!:

Thanx to Sturtle for finding this.

You Dog!

2008-10-13T00:46:00.002-07:00

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You are a Labrador Retriever!
Your family is what makes you tick, and you never "flea" from an opportunity to hang out with the whole gang. A family picnic complete with hot dogs, deviled eggs and a refreshing swim in the lake is hard for you to stray from. Your sparky temperament and dogged intelligence mean you are not only a blast to hang out with, but great to work with as well. Your close pals appreciate your patience and forgiveness, knowing you'd rather let sleeping dogs lie than dwell on the mishaps of the past. Your dashing good looks may one day lead to a modelling career, if only you can tame the unfortunate clumsiness that sometimes causes you to go flailing from the catwalk.

Guilty as Charged

2008-10-11T04:21:00.003-07:00

I'm surprised I haven't seen this mentioned on some of the blogs I read:

Palin abused power, probe finds

"Palin abused power, probe finds
Todd and Sarah Palin in Anchorage, Alaska
The report said a family grudge was a likely factor in the dismissal

The running mate of US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been found guilty of an abuse of power, according to a state legislature probe.

Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin was accused of sacking a senior state official over a family feud.

But the McCain-Palin campaign team said that the report showed Mrs Palin acted within "proper and lawful authority".

The report could have an impact on Republican hopes of winning next month's US presidential election.

"I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110 (a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act," investigator Steve Branchflower concluded in the panel's 263-page report.

Mrs Palin has always denied any wrongdoing, and her supporters say the charges were motivated by her political opponents.

"This was a partisan-led inquiry run by [Democratic candidate Barack] Obama supporters and the Palins were completely justified in their concern," a McCain campaign spokesperson said.

Mrs Palin was accused of dismissing Mr Monegan for refusing to sack a state trooper who was in a bitter custody battle with her sister.

The report concluded a family grudge was not the sole reason for the dismissal, but was a likely contributing factor.

However, the report said that the actual sacking of Mr Monegan was not beyond Mrs Palin's legal powers.

Speaking after a bipartisan investigating panel reached its decision on what has become known as Troopergate, Mr Monegan said he felt "vindicated".

"It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions," he said. "And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

Ethical violation

The panel found Mrs Palin in violation of a state ethics law prohibiting public officials from using their office for personal gain.

Legislators do not have the power to take formal legal action against the governor; that would be up to Alaska's Personnel Board.

If the Board decides Mrs Palin violated state law, the case will be referred to the president of the state Senate.

Mrs Palin's lawyer said that the report had not been conclusive.

"In order to violate the ethics law, there has to be some personal gain," said Thomas Van Flein.

"Mr Branchflower has failed to identify any financial gain."

And Alaskan state Senator Gary Stevens, a Republican, said there were "some problems" with the finding.

"I would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a jaundiced eye," said Senator Stevens, after the report's release was announced.

Several Republican politicians had earlier attempted to have the investigation stopped on the grounds that it was politically motivated.

The investigation into the affair began before Mr McCain selected Mrs Palin as his running mate in August.

The US presidential race has now become so polarised both Republicans and Democrats will likely see the report's findings as vindication for their own trenchant views about Mrs Palin, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington.

Alaska's governor will either be seen as the victim of a Democratic party hatchet job, or a hypocrite.

Most voters, for now at least, seem more concerned about who will extract them from the current economic crisis, rather than any questions about political infighting in far-off Alaska, our correspondent adds.

'Budget row'

Mrs Palin maintains she fired Mr Monegan in July over a budgetary dispute.

But Mr Monegan said he was dismissed for resisting pressure from Mrs Palin and her husband, Todd, to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, Mrs Palin's former brother-in-law.

Mr Monegan said he simply wanted the truth to be made known.

"The governor did want me to fire [Mr Wooten], and I chose to not," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"He didn't do anything under my watch to result in termination."

Todd Palin has admitted he did publicise what he called the "injustice of a violent trooper keeping his badge".

But he said his wife, who did not give evidence to the enquiry, then told him to drop the matter."

Vote Silly! Vote Michael Palin!

2008-10-08T00:22:00.002-07:00

Michael Palin for President!

Way to Go, Wilsons!

2008-09-22T22:05:00.001-07:00

Way to Go, Wilsons!
Originally uploaded by AZLee

Confused

2008-09-17T22:57:00.003-07:00

Alexander posted this a few days back and I thought it was perfect so I'm ~~stealing~~ borrowing it for here:

"I’m a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight…

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re “exotic, different.”

But if you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

But if you name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.

If you graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.

But if you attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.

But If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.

But if you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.

If you teach teach children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

But if, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.

But if your husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

It’s the hyprocrisy, stupid!"

Pretty in Pink.

2008-09-10T21:53:00.001-07:00

Pitbull or Victim?
Originally uploaded by cobalt123

A Flickr friend Cobalt123 posted this picture today along with opinion piece in the Kansas City Star about the whole lipstick-wearing pitbulls and pigs and stinky wrapped fish that's not change which I liked:

Lipstick, pitbulls, pigs...and a fish

By George Harris, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel

Let’s do the history.

Governor Sarah Palin said the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull is you can put lipstick on a hockey mom.

Obama, ridiculing the McCain/Palin’s new "change" mantra, said,
"You can put lipstick on a pig. "It's still a pig.You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

And the Republicans cried foul, saying Obama was calling Palin a pig. Or maybe a fish.

Say what? Sarah Palin says she’s like a pit bull but with lipstick, but don’t dare compare her to a pig?

Of course, Obama didn’t put the lipstick on Palin but on the opponent’s campaign slogan.

Whatever. The uproar made me wonder when the pigs, pit bulls and fish are gonna take offense.

“Hey,” Porky says, “Don’t even think about putting me in the same sentence with a pit bull. This is an affront to porkers everywhere.”

“Speaking of Washington lobbyists,” the pit bull says, “the porkers have practically ruined this country. You can put lipstick on a lobbyist and some congressman will ask it for a date.”

“How offensive,” Porky replies. “Lots of lobbyists look really nice in lipstick. And who’d want to date a pit bull, even one with lipstick. Anyway, don't you dare compare me to a Washington lobbyist.”

“Now you’ve crossed the line, Porky. I know a pit bull with five kids, and people are standing in line to get to see her.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, Fishface.”

“Don’t call me Fishface! Unless you mean like a dolphin ‘cause they’re cute. And don't mix your metaphors.”

"You probably mean don't confound the similes, you illiterate slime dog."

“Well, lipstick on your collar tells a tale on you.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“If you can’t figure that out, you’re dumb as a post.”

“Don’t you dare call me a post.”

“Oh, never mind.”

And this is what we call political discourse.

Loved This!

2008-09-02T01:51:00.001-07:00

Loved This!
Originally uploaded by AZLee

Passed along by a friend. Thought it was funny and wanted to share.

The Naked and the Addendum

2008-09-01T02:28:00.002-07:00

Funny how my post about a nekkid Hugh Jackman from 3 1/2 years ago is STILL my number hit-maker to my site!

Humming "Sugar Sugar" and Hold the Starch, Please

2008-09-01T01:21:00.005-07:00

Well, I did another blood draw this past Wednesday to double-check on my glucose level and heard back from my cute, former-Canadian-1988-Olympic-Wrestling-Team-Member doctor on Thursday that it was still high (high 100's). So it looks like I'm at least pre-diabetic. Ah, shit! Anyway, he recommended that I start up on this Sugar Busters! diet and I'll go in towards the end of October for another blood draw to see how well my glucose level is then and see how to proceed from there.

The diet looks pretty easy to follow along. Basically keeping sugars to a minimum, avoiding added/refined sugar completely, and going for high fiber foods. So white flour is a no-no as well. No white rice nor white potatoes either. That's going to be a pain since I loves me my taters. I've already been clearing out my fridge, freezer, and pantry of the no-no's and restocking with the approved stuff and been eliminating the bad stuff from my food intake. So far, so good but I gotta see how I'll be when I'm off the bad stuff entirely.

As for the family melodrama, I spoke to my sister earlier today (Sunday) and my father is getting worse with his anger, hate, spite, paranoia. Accusing my sister, mother, and myself of various things during a phone call with him I had on Wednesday. None of them true BUT try to convince him of that. Apparently, he told my sister last week that his father had and affair with one of the McGuire Sisters just prior to his death! That my grandfather was having an affair to begin with was a bit of a shocker to both of us but to one the McGuire's?! My sister and I highly doubt it. (To the McGuire's, any of their representatives, families, friends, fans - please don't sue or be mad. I'm just relaying a story and I mean NO disrespect. I loves ya!)

Ah, well! The soap opera continues and it's a bitch getting old, apparently.

Small Planet Bakery

2008-08-24T00:15:00.001-07:00

Small Planet Bakery
Originally uploaded by AZLee

This is the Small Planet Bakery, a local (Tucson) bread bakers that's been around since 1975. They make several kinds of breads (see their website) including my most favorite onion rolls and whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread. I was leaving my part-time job and heading into downtown and had to wait for the train to pass (the tracks are right behind the building) so while waiting, I took a picture with my handy-dandy cellphone.

Go me!

2008-08-16T23:25:00.003-07:00

Today (August 16) marks the 16th anniversary of my quitting cigarettes. How did I celebrate? Got myself a haircut and a long nap. Exciting, no?

Birthdays, Parents, and Other Stuff

2008-08-11T23:17:00.002-07:00

So, I find myself with a bit of motivation at the moment so I might as well grab the chance and post a few more lines here.

My birthday (back on July 26 for those who don't know and I turned 48 ::ptui:: I hate thinking I'm that old!! My amazon.com wishlist is on the bottom of the links on the right there, for those who feel guilty about not wishing me a happy birthday and/or those who want to help soothe my painin' mind from the knowledge of being so old and decrepit) was quiet. A few phone calls, cards, and a friend took me out to my fave Mexican restaurant, Rosa's:

Rosa's Mexican Food Restaurant
Originally uploaded by AZLee

In the parental unit department, they're prime examples that getting old can suck. As I've mentioned before, my dad has been slowly sliding further into dementia/senility and my sister got him under guardianship late last year. He hates it and lawyers moreso than ever, and doesn't speak highly about my sister for doing it to him. She doesn't speak to him unless absolutely necessary. I was the same but have been talking to him periodically now for the past 3 weeks. Thankfully, the conversations have been pleasant enough but if he thinks he's ever going to have a good "father son" relationship withe NOW, forget it!! Too much shit has happened over the years to change that.

Alas, my mother's memory is also going. Long term is still good but she'll misplace things, forgets some words she normally knows, forgets that she said or was told something earlier that day or week, etc. It's scary for both me and my sister to helplessly witness it especially since my maternal grandmother had a memory like a steel trap till she died at 98. Luckily, tho she's got her own place in a very nice senior's community (my mother moved out of my parents' place back in November, 2007 since my father's volatile behavior was getting increasingly worse and it wasn't safe for her to be living in the same apartment with him) and they have an assisted living and Alzheimer's sections if, Zod forbid, it's ever needed.

Other than that, I finally did a comprehensive blood test for the first time in over 3 years, everything looks better than expected EXCEPT glucose level! Ick! Higher than it should be. Not in "yeah it's definitely diabetes" level but up there to keep it monitored. I'm going back this week or next for another fasting blood draw. Exciting, ain't it?

And one final word for the moment - the ASPCA/Sarah MacLachlan commercial still makes me cry up a storm everytime I see it.

EGADS!

2008-08-10T01:38:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's been nearly 3 months since the last I posted! Bad blogger! BAD! No biscuit!!

Anyway, I'm still alive! Just been busy with backlogged email, flickr, Farcebook, logging onto tribe.net for the first time in over a year (I even forgot my password there!), and reading other people's blogs so by the time I get around to posting anything here, I'm not in the mood so I toddle off and do something else.

For your NSFW video watching in the meantime, here's a wonderful video someone threw together of Miss. Piggy singing:

Burning Down the House

2008-05-14T00:52:00.002-07:00

Some good news on the family front first - my sister, her partner, the three kidlets, and my mother seem to be okay the last time I spoke to them earlier on Tuesday. Sister and her family live where those fires are that have been going on in eastern Florida so it got pretty scary there for a while since the flames got awfully close and were seen from their house. My mother had been up there visiting to attend my niece's school play (she was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"! Go her!) so mom was trapped up there. They even evacuated for the night. I'll try them today (Wednesday) to see how things are then.

Ick family news - Apparently, last Thursday my mother called me to tell me that my father called me and I, after seeing his name on my caller ID box, hung up on him. Er...mom? He didn't call me! First off, the phone didn't ring, his call does not appear on the caller ID box, and I wouldn't have immediately hang up on him, besides, my mother's name is on their phone's account and not his. According to mom, he's not only pissed off for signing an affidavit getting him to do something but now he's more pissed that I hung up on him. Reminder here, dear readers, he's dealing with dementia and Alzheimer's. As it turned out, he seems to have called my fax number and got the fax machine, which clicked off the call when it didn't get a signal back from the calling fax machine. Apparently, he can't realize that there's "Lee's fax number" right next to the number he called on the card nor can he figure out that the loud annoying high-pitched noise coming over the handset is NOT me. And no, I haven't called him back yet. No plans for it. I've NO need to have a possible obscenity-laced guilt trip monologue screamed at me.

On a more pleasant note - Joel Derfner's new book Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever is now officially on sale.

Still Here, Still Queer! Got Posted About it!

2008-04-22T01:40:00.003-07:00

Just a quick-o post to let whatever people that cruise by know I'm still alive and so is this blog. Just been busy elsewhere commenting on others' blogs, battling the idiotic FundaThumpers on YouTube, dealing with class, dealing with interviews for an intership, and just not energetic enough for blogging myself.

Anyway, I've finally tidied up my blog list there on the right. Getting rid of blogs no longer being used, updating url's of the ones who moved, and getting rid of one that decided that I was no longer a friend (Dunno what I did or didn't do so fuck 'em! His loss!).

The situation with my parents is still weird. My father continues to sink slowly into Alzheimer's-related dementia and gets meaner and nastier as time goes on. My sister and I no longer deal with him with is fine with me although my sister still deals with the lawyer and his guardian in legal matters as necessary. Yes, we decided to have guardianship placed on him. He was doing things with his and my mother's stuff that was detremental to their well-being and was trying to control my mother by taking money out of their joint account, her passport, accusing her of having an affair, etc. It was best. He even had 18 guns in their apartment and we were scared that he'd use one on my mother. The guns are gone now and he's prevented from buying another one. My mother has also moved out of the apartment as of last November after 59 years of marriage and now has a place of her own not too far away from him. It's in one of those upscale retirement places and she's having a ball! I'm so glad she sounds so happy! She deserves it. She calls it like being at camp so I nicknamed the place "Camp Medicare".

Anyway, I need to mosey! I'll blog more soon! I'm also a part of group blog, please visit! It's: http://foreverfabulous.blogspot.com/

How To Behave On An Internet Forum

2008-02-26T01:57:00.001-07:00

YES! I'm still alive and NO this blog ain't dead! Just been having fun and/or busy elsewhere. I figured I'd stick this funny video on for your enjoyment since it gave me an excuse to post quickly so here ya go:

"Wizard of Oz" Alternate Ending (MadTV)

2008-01-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

Too friggin' funny!

Meme!

2008-01-11T01:23:00.001-07:00

Baked Earth!

Band Name:Hiram Worchester

Album Title:A Gift of Cooperation

I've seen this meme around a couple of times but I'm finally doing it after spotting it on Adam's blog (besides I need to show that I haven't abandoned the blog!)

Anyway, here's the instructions:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2.http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Combine steps one, two, and three and voila!

Doctor Who is My Lord and Savior

2007-12-21T03:19:00.001-07:00

Doctor Who is My Lord and Savior
Originally uploaded by AZLee

I love this! And appropriate for the time of the year.

via Alexander's blog via Angry Toy Robot via Home on the Strange

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2007-11-22T05:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Originally uploaded by AZLee

OMG! Classic Blues Video

2007-11-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that someone had this and posted it on YouTube! It's of Sippie Wallace, Big Mamma Thornton, and Jeannie Cheatham singing "Bye-Bye, Baby" on a PBS special back in 1983. Wallace passed away in 1986 at 88 and Thornton passed away in 1984 at 58. I've been a fan of the two of them for many years and had the honor of seeing Wallace in concert at The Botton Line in New York back in 1982.

Pulp Muppets!!!

2007-11-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

The Eric Stolz cameo was a scream!

Feed me NOW!

2007-11-11T07:02:00.001-07:00

For you cat-owned out there.

House of 1000 Muppets

2007-11-03T02:20:00.001-07:00

Just too friggin' funny!

A Casa de Clutter Anniversary

2007-10-28T02:06:00.001-07:00

Casa de Clutter
Originally uploaded by AZLee

(View of the front of my place. Behind that garage is 2100 sq. feet of cluttered condo.)

T'was 10 years ago today (Oct. 27) when I closed on the title and officially became the owner of Casa de Clutter. I can't believe 10 years as passed already!

I was dropping off a review tape to a co-committee member's home (we were on the screening committee for the local GLBT Film Festival) and I loved the floor plan, the "open-airiness" of it and the size. (2100 sq feet worth of apartment is definitely nothing to sneeze at!) Kipp said that there were 4 other apartments in the complex, one of them with the exact same floor plan as his. I made an appointment to see that one and LOVED it. I decided to buy it even though I wasn't officially looking. I told my parents I was interested and fully expected for them to tell me I was crazy, they surprized me and said "Go for it" instead.

Several haggelings with the previous owner, meetings with the agent, $48,000 down payment, and a $ 113,000 mortgage later it was mine.

I don't regret owning it although I occasionally wonder why I need so much space and so much shit but no, no real regrets.

Faster, Pussycat! Eat! Eat!

2007-10-21T05:52:00.001-07:00

Faster, Pussycat! Eat! Eat! 2
Originally uploaded by AZLee

Back view.

Yay! It arrived today! My "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" lunch box! It's so cult and kitch I just HAD to get it! Alas, if I showed up on a school campus with it these days, the school security would be all over me like tasteless on John Waters.

I Forgot to Post This Yesterday

2007-10-21T05:51:00.001-07:00

They Grow Up So Fast!
Originally uploaded by AZLee

That's moi, 34 years ago today (10/20/07) at my Bar Mitzvah. (For those math impaired, I was 13 then....er....um....too old to admit now). Thought I'd make myself feel bad by seeing how young and slim I was! (Luckily, I still have my hair)

I still haven't forgiven my parents for making me do this and I remind them of that every year.

Gimme More Shoes Mash-Up

2007-10-12T04:08:00.001-07:00

Yep! Kelly meets Twitney! Enjoy!

And yes, I'm still alive and so is this blog.

Yeah! Listen to Seth Green! Leave Chris Crocker Alone!

2007-09-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

And watch "Robot Chicken"!

Seth Green Chris Crocker Outtakes

Add to My Profile | More Videos

######

Your Score: Cheezburger cat

57% Affectionate, 53% Excitable, 60% Hungry

Sure, you deserve one. You helped popularized lolcats from a running gag to an online sensation. Now mainstream media writes asinine columns on this 'phenomenon', students write theses on the topic, programming languages adopt the grammar, and losers write tests about them on dating sites. Now take your cheezburger and never touch the internets again.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

via Karl

For Those Flickrite and Blog-Readin' Friends and Aquaintances That Celebrate It....

2007-09-13T01:49:00.001-07:00

For Those Flickrite and Blog-Readin' Friends and Aquaintances That Celebrate It....
Originally uploaded by azLee

Happy Rosh Hashanah!!

BULBOUS BOUFFANT - THE VESTIBULES

2007-08-19T02:23:00.001-07:00

I'm giving this new YouTube posting that seems to be the only way to post videos from there now.

Yes, I'm still alive! Will post soon!

R.I.P. - Tom Snyder

2007-07-30T23:04:00.003-07:00

R.I.P. - Tom Snyder
Originally uploaded by azLee

Tom Snyder Turned Television Into a Tete-a-Tete
By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 31, 2007; Page C01

Tom Snyder was born to broadcast. He loved television and it loved him back. In that, he was a member of a vanishing breed, especially as narrowcasting displaces broadcasting, "online" replaces "on the air," and any Tom, Dick or Mary can be monarch of a desktop domain, uplinking themselves to satellites in space.

Snyder's death Sunday from leukemia, at the age of 71, was not "the end of an era," as is often said of legendary figures in any field, but another poignant part of a long goodbye, of a transition painful to those who remember the great broadcasters of television with deep affection -- Dave Garroway, Howard Cosell, Jack Paar, and some, like Regis Philbin, who are still alive and working.

The Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning critic reviews shows with wit, humor and a quick finger on the remote.

All they needed was a TV studio, a relatively small crew and a camera or two with which to reach out across the country into big cities and small towns, tenements and penthouses, and keep a viewer captive, speaking not to "everybody" but to each individual, intimately.

Snyder made his last network talk show, "The Late Late Show" on CBS, partly a celebration of television -- as it is, but also as it was. "The simulcast is up and running," he'd say after his introductory chatter about whatever was on his mind that day, "simulcast" being by then a seldom-used term for a TV show also heard on radio. "So settle back," he would say, "fire up a colortini, and watch the pictures fly through the air." No one was sure what a "colortini" was -- maybe a martini linked somehow to color TV, which was once more of a novelty than high-def is now.

"I'm small," Snyder said in a 1995 interview, as he began the new CBS show, which he hosted for four years. (He had hosted NBC's late-night "Tomorrow" program from 1973 to 1982.) "I'm little television. I'm not big. I'm 19 inches diagonal, and if I can do that, I'm okay." In person he was anything but little. He stood 6 feet 4 and wore, he said, size 13-D shoes (sometimes doing the show in his socks). He was so self-conscious about having big ears that he let his hair grow down over them.

And the picture got bigger, from 19 inches diagonal to today's wall-size 50-, 60-, 70-inchers and more. The size is almost irrelevant; Tom Snyder was big enough to fill the night with talk and his own persona. The Snyder we saw on TV was not a replica of the real guy; it was the real guy. Like David Letterman, whose company produced "Late Late" (as it does the current version with Craig Ferguson), Snyder was perhaps never so comfortable as when under the hot lights and wired for sound.

"Tom really was a true broadcaster," Peter Lassally, Snyder's executive producer, said yesterday. (Lassally continues to produce "Late Late" with Ferguson, another natural talker.) "The word 'broadcaster' is tossed around and used for anybody who works in the business, but Tom did what a true broadcaster can do: He made the camera disappear and talked directly to the viewer, and it was just 'conversation.' There really was no one like him."

"The big man is gone," said CBS News Vice President Steve Friedman, 60, who knew Snyder for 37 years. They became close friends when Friedman was a news writer in Los Angeles and, later, executive producer of NBC's "Today" in New York. "Tom used to say, 'Writers write, producers produce, and stars star,' " Friedman said, "but he only said that to make us feel better -- because he was a better writer than any of us, a better producer than any of us, and the biggest star in our universe."

Snyder's distinctive quirks -- including his loud, staccato "ha-ha-ha" laugh -- were too tempting to be ignored by impressionists, and the definitive faux Snyder was unquestionably Dan Aykroyd, who perfected the impression during the first five years of "Saturday Night Live." It became one of the most popular bits on the show, and it helped popularize Snyder with a young audience that otherwise might have ignored him.

The impression became so well known that there were times, on his own show, when Snyder would do his version of Aykroyd's version of Snyder, making the ha-ha-ha's even broader. He wasn't really such a good sport about the imitation, though. "He was never that fond of it," a friend said.

What Snyder proved at NBC and at CBS was that he could interview virtually anybody -- from mass murderer Charles Manson to Beatle John Lennon to entrepreneur Martha Stewart to Johnny Rotten of the notorious Sex Pistols. One of the most hilarious Snyder encounters ever was an interview with Howard Stern, a hugely entertaining case of culture clash.

Stern to Snyder: "You are a psychopath!"

"People who didn't do other talk shows did Tom's show," Conan O'Brien, boy genius of the new generation of TV talkers, has said of Snyder. "And they said things there that they wouldn't say anywhere else."

During the 1995 interview, Snyder was praised for his session with Stern. His response: He blew his top. He said he was sick of hearing about it and complained that NBC had aired it too many times. He was, it seems, more at home with an argument than a compliment, naturally contrary and argumentative. It was commonly said of Snyder that he could have gone farther in the business if only he hadn't always fought with network management and with any other authority figures around.

When he was still at NBC, and network boss Fred Silverman was displeased with his ratings, Snyder suffered the indignity of having his show torn asunder; a studio audience was brought in, and gossipeuse Rona Barrett made regular appearances. Snyder hated her and hated the new format and, inevitably, clashed again with the bosses in the front office. Silverman had committed the ultimate sin in Snyder's view: He had come between Snyder and his viewers.

Bits and pieces of Snyder in his element, and in his glory, circulated yesterday on the latest medium to threaten television, the Internet. There was Snyder again, grilling guests pugnaciously or roaring that expansive laugh. On a computer monitor, the pictures were small again -- but Tom Snyder was still a giant.

R.I.P. - Ingmar Bergman

2007-07-30T23:04:00.001-07:00

R.I.P. - Ingmar Bergman
Originally uploaded by azLee

Film great Ingmar Bergman dies at 89
By Duane Byrge

July 31, 2007
Ingmar Bergman, one of the leading influences in the development of cinema whose films probed the mysteries of human existence with indelible imagery, died in his sleep Monday at his home on an island off the coast of Sweden. He was 89.

With more than 50 feature films to his credit, together with more than 100 theatrical productions, the Swedish director gained an international following with works often inspired by Scandinavian theater and its richly developed themes of religious ritual, romantic passion and family tradition.

Three of Bergman's works won Oscars for best foreign-language film, and he was personally nominated nine times. In 1971, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him its Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Religion and reflections on ethical and philosophical issues were his subject matter. His films, which reverberate with philosophical and psychological themes, became the most revered of the century, including "The Seventh Seal," "Persona," "Shame," "The Passion of Anna," "Cries and Whispers" and "Fanny and Alexander."

While his films evolved in distinct stages over more than five decades, his visual style -- intense, intimate, complex -- explored the depths of the human psyche as well as man's place in the universe with an intensity and cadence that has been itself an artistic correlative for Bergman's narrative themes.

His name has become synonymous with "serious" filmmaking, and his works have inspired many filmmakers, among them Woody Allen, whose reverence for Bergman can be found in many of his own works, both comic and serious. Allen once described Bergman as "probably the greatest film artist ... since the invention of the motion picture camera."

"Bergman was the epitome of a director's director -- creating beautiful, complex and smart films that imprinted permanently into the psyche -- inspiring filmmakers all over the world to create their own movies with similar passion and brio," DGA president Michael Apted said.

The DGA recognized Bergman with its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1990. The Festival de Cannes, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1997, also honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor the reclusive Swede declined to accept in person. He remained during the course of the May festival at his isolated home on the Baltic island of Faro off the coast of Sweden.

Responding to the news of Bergman's death, Cannes Film Festival director Gilles Jacob called the director the "last of the greats, because he proved that cinema can be as profound as literature."

The son of a Lutheran clergyman and a housewife, Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born in Uppsala, Sweden on July 14, 1918, and grew up with a brother and sister in a household of severe discipline that he described in painful detail in the autobiography "The Magic Lantern."

The title comes from his childhood, when his brother got a "magic lantern" -- a precursor of the slide-projector -- for Christmas. Ingmar was consumed with jealousy, and he managed to acquire the object of his desire by trading it for a hundred tin soldiers.

He broke with his parents at 19 and remained aloof from them, but later in life sought to understand them. The story of their lives was told in the television film "Sunday's Child," directed by his own son Daniel.

To break into the world of drama after dropping out of college, Bergman started with a menial job at Sweden's Royal Opera House.

In 1942, he found work revising scripts for Sweden's largest production company, Svensk Filmindustri. In 1944, he wrote an original screenplay titled "Frenzy," and Alf Sjoberg, the country's most respected filmmaker, was selected to direct. That same year, Bergman was appointed director of the Municipal Theatre in Helsingborg and later worked in theater in Goteborg and Malmo. He garnered excellent theatrical reviews, which paved the way for directing films. Bergman directed his first feature film, "Crisis," in 1945.

The young Bergman went on to make a succession of films, bursting onto the international scene with "Smiles of a Summer Night," an inventive comedy of manners that was a hit at Cannes in 1955. The film was adapted to the musical stage by Stephen Sondheim in 1973 as "A Little Night Music" and also inspired Allen's 1982 comedy "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy."

The Cannes accolades prompted Svensk Filmindustri's financing of Bergman's pet project, "The Seventh Seal." An intriguing mystery set in the Middle Ages when weary Crusaders were returning to Sweden only to confront the Black Death that was sweeping across Europe, the film quickly became a classic. It is still screened with regularity in college film societies and at film schools throughout the world. The haunting film starred Max Von Sydow as a knight who encounters Death, a role that launched his international film career.

Bergman's eye for acting talent was sharp, and many young Scandinavian players went on to international stardom as a result of playing in Bergman's films; in addition to Von Sydow, they include Liv Ullmann, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson.

Bergman's success and development as a filmmaker continued apace in the '50s. His "Wild Strawberries" won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1958. A piercing exploration of childhood through the memories of old age, the film was remarkable for Bergman's creative use of the close-up, etching vividly the inner psyche through the contours and expressions of the human face.

"The great gift of cinema photography is the human face," Bergman once said, indicating that it was his dream someday to make a film that would be a two-hour close-up of a human visage.

The late '50s saw Bergman further widening his craft as he merged his cinematic aesthetic with his philosophical, psychological and religious themes. His subjects were "big": "The Magician" explored the supernatural; "The Virgin Spring" tapped into a dark eroticism; and "Through a Glass Darkly" explored the Western notion of God, probing what Bergman regarded as an inherent destructiveness in Christianity.

"Mr. Bergman's power to convey complicated philosophical reflections upon the nature of man and society, all through the cinematic medium, is so great that it makes one gasp," the New York Times wrote in its "Magician" review.

"Virgin Spring" won the Oscar for best foreign-language film in 1961, and the following year, "Through a Glass Darkly" captured the same high honor. Film scholars regard that film as the beginning of a dark trilogy for Bergman that included "Winter Light," a penetrating look at human loneliness, and "The Silence," a sexually charged portrait of spiritual malaise and a work that prompted vigorous opposition from censors in Sweden and France. All three films were photographed by the late Sven Nykvist, whose stark and dark framings were in sync with Bergman's dark-eyed narratives and themes.

Light and shadow were crucial to Bergman's philosophical narrative palette: In 1968, he began a series of austere works that were designed to evoke the essence of "darkness." "Hour of the Wolf," "Shame" and "The Passion of Anna," his films made during the cataclysmic period of the 1960s, were fraught with issues of social and political responsibility. They brought him both praise and condemnation.

His next film, "Cries and Whispers" -- a sensual and anguished observation of solitude -- was widely lauded by his ever-growing legions of cinematic disciples. He followed that up with a six-episode TV project, "Scenes From a Marriage." It starred Ullmann and Erland Josephson, and the series was dubbed for rebroadcast in the U.S. and the U.K. It was later condensed for theatrical release as well.

Bergman's scope widened in the '70s. He filmed Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" as well as "Autumn Sonata," which starred Ingrid Bergman. That cycle of Bergman's work aptly concludes with "Fanny and Alexander," a family story that is part fairy tale and part ghost story. Although he continued to write screenplays -- "The Best Intentions," "Sunday's Children" -- he essentially stopped making feature films after "Fanny," focusing instead on a number of television projects.

After the release of "Fanny," Stockholm's leading newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, wrote that Bergman is "a director who has looked deeper than most people into the shadows of existence and the human psyche, but who, after the nightmares of many films, now seems to have reached a clarified and harmonious reconciliation with life."

"Saraband," a TV film he completed in 2003, proved to be Bergman's last directorial effort. Once again, he turned to Ullmann, who appeared in 10 of his films, to star in the family drama.

Bergman was married five times and fathered nine children, including a daughter Linn Ullmann, whose mother was Liv Ullmann, his partner in a five-year affair.

The date of Bergman's funeral has not been set, but will be attended by a close group of friends and family, the TT news agency reported.

Gregg Kilday and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

"Pur Francine! Pur Pur Francine!"

2007-07-29T01:04:00.001-07:00

"Pur Francine! Pur Pur Francine!"
Originally uploaded by azLee

I just got back a little while ago from seeing "Polyester" complete with Odorama! (Those are two of the cards. I wanted to save one unused one and the box office person slipped me a freebie)

T'was fun seeing it on the big screen complete with odors! And it was an enjoyable birthday prezzie. I also found out that the theatre will be doing the Buffy Sing-A-Long again is September and not only will they be showing "Grey Gardens" in September with an appearance by the co-director, Albert Maysles, but it'll be for FREE!! I'm so there!

Fangs Alot!

2007-07-28T04:54:00.001-07:00

Fangs Alot!
Originally uploaded by azLee

Ooh! I just found out this nifty lil' birthday present from this Variety article Apparently, Johnny Depp is co-producing a new version of "Dark Shadows" an fave childhood show of mine. No mention of him playing Barnabus Collins, tho.

Who'd play Quentin? Victoria Winters? Elizabeth Collins Stoddard? And Dr. Julia Hoffman? (although no one can replace Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall for the last two)

"Depp lights up 'Dark Shadows'
Graham King to produce Warner feature
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Johnny Depp is getting in touch with his inner vampire.

Warner Bros. is teaming with Depp's Infinitum-Nihil and Graham King's GK Films to develop a feature based on the '60s daytime supernatural sudser "Dark Shadows."

Depp has said in interviews that he has always been obsessed with "Dark Shadows" and had, as a child, wanted to be Barnabas Collins, the vampire patriarch of the series. The role was originated by Jonathan Frid.

A rights deal just closed with the estate of Dan Curtis, the producer/director who created the soap that aired weekdays on ABC, from 1966 to 1971. Depp and King will produce with David Kennedy, who ran Dan Curtis Prods. until Curtis died last year of a brain tumor. Infinitum-Nihil's Christi Dembrowski served as the point person on the deal.

Over 1,225 episodes, "Dark Shadows" was a highly atmospheric, spooky soap that featured gothic horror staples like vampires, monsters, witches, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. The show has a continuing rabid fan base that populates Dark Shadows Festival conventions. Numerous TV revivals of the series and pic adaptations have been attempted over the years but none with as high-wattage a star as Depp.

Depp, who is coming off "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and who just wrapped the Tim Burton-directed "Sweeney Todd," is next expected to star in "Shantaram," a Mira Nair-directed adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts novel that Depp, King and Plan B are producing for Warner Bros. Depp, King and WB are also mobilizing to make a film about the life of Alexander Litvinenko, with Depp poised to play the former KGB agent, who was fatally poisoned. "

The Tardis in Trouble! And Staring Down Another Birthday.

2007-07-19T23:45:00.001-07:00

The Tardis in Trouble!
Originally uploaded by azLee

My new desktop courtesy of Powerbooktrance and can be found here.

Anyway, yes I'm still alive! Just thought I'd post so y'all (well, what readers I have left, other than the ones STILL looking for pix of a nekkid Hugh Jackman) didn't think I abandoned here.

I finished my MicroFlacid Excel class this evening after a 100 pt., 100 task final so I'm officially on vacation till Aug. 22 when fall semester kicks in so I'll have the time to blog and actually do those memes I've been promising to do! (Josh and Texan Dave).

In other news, my mother, sister, and nephlet have threatened to visit me! They'll be here for the weekend of Aug, 10. Shit! It'll take me that long just to clean Casa de Clutter! They're (sis and nephlet) going to Sedated...er...Sedona for 2 weeks for getting treatment (Myofascial Release) for my nephlet's myofascial pain syndrome and my sister's ,igraines to see if that helps her. My mom's just going for a vacation. Daddums is staying home in Florida since he can't really travel anymore.

Speaking of daddums, my mom moved back in a few weeks back, much to my and my sister's dismay. Her life, her choice, I guess. My shingles is healed but it still looks like a large birthmark on my back.

Also, my birthday's next Thursday!!! July 26th. I'll be 39....again. Prezzie are ALWAYS welcomed and my amazon.com Wish List is there on the right side, bottom of the link list.

"What the Hell is a Bedazzler?"

2007-07-05T03:41:00.001-07:00

Via Biscuit God Jeff via Uncle Bob.

RIP Beverly Sills

2007-07-03T03:24:00.001-07:00

RIP Beverly Sills
Originally uploaded by azLee

Beverly Sills, the All-American Diva, Is Dead at 78

Zombified! and Kylie Hears a Who.

2007-07-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

35%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Via FARBIE.

######

And for those Dr. Who and Kylie Minogue fans:

She'll be doing the Dr. Who Christmas special!

Kylie Minogue on board for Titanic festive special.

Via Jeffrey.

Pimping Bloggers

2007-06-30T00:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so in fear that Jeffrey and/or Uncle Bob may send a HelloKittyDalek after me if I don't, I'm helping out Bob to gain "Pimp Daddy" status at this contest. Look on the right-hand column for the contest and vote for Bob!

Otherwise, the HelloKittyDalek may come after YOU!!

hell-o Kit-ty ex-ter-min-ate!
Originally uploaded by groc

Michael Tolliver and Tales of the City Live!

2007-06-15T04:26:00.001-07:00

Michael Tolliver and Tales of the City Live!
Originally uploaded by azLee

For anyone who is interested, I just found out via Joe.My.God.'s blog that Armistead Maupin just had this seventh-in-the-series book published and it came out back on June 12th!

DON'T LOOK, ETHEL!!!

2007-06-11T02:34:00.000-07:00

Ye Gods and little fishes! I haven't seen this video or heard this song in over 30 years now! I gotta kick outta seeing it again. Thank Zod for YouTube!

Quiz!

2007-06-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

My New York age is 24

This New York age puts you-generally speaking-into the young category. That's what you were hoping for, right? Run and tell your friends. Then get drunk (as usual). Then sleep it off. Then pop an Adderall. Then come back and consider experimenting with a more mature type of New York life (just once in a while). Have you ever been to the Village Vanguard or the Living Theatre? Eaten at Elaine's? Taken a date to Michael Feinstein? Before you laugh, check 'em out and see what old-school NYC experiences you can add to the new.

Does your age reflect how you're living? Let us know.

What's your New York age? Take the Time Out New York quiz and find out!

via FARB via Tinman

"Black Sheep" Arrives in TooStoned!

2007-05-29T03:46:00.001-07:00

"Black Sheep" Arrives in TooStoned!
Originally uploaded by azLee

Yippie Skippy! I just found out that New Zealand's comedy horror "Black Sheep" will be playing at the The Loft Cinema on August 10. Here's the trailer and site for the movie.

Other events coming up there are a "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" and ABBA sing-a-long, another Buffy Sing-a-long, "Polyester" in Odorama(!), the Tucson premiere of "La Vie en Rose" about Edith Piaf, "Team America" sing-a-long, "Can't Stop the Serenity" charity event with the movie "Serenity", "Phantasm" with an actual appearance of Angus Scrimm!, and "Shaun of the Dead" as part of their cult classic series. Looks like a great summer of flicks at the thAYter!

R.I.P. Charles Nelson Reilly

2007-05-28T22:22:00.001-07:00

R.I.P. Charles Nelson Reilly
Originally uploaded by azLee

Charles Nelson Reilly, Tony-Winning Comic Actor, Dies at 76

Charles Nelson Reilly, who acted and directed on Broadway but came to be best known for his campy television appearances on talk shows and “Match Game,” died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 76 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his partner, Patrick Hughes, who is his only immediate survivor. Mr. Reilly had been ill for more than a year, he said.

Long before moving west to become what he somewhat ruefully described as a “game show fixture,” Mr. Reilly was an actor and an acting teacher in New York City. In 1962, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

But he was proudest of “The Belle of Amherst,” a one-woman play starring Julie Harris based on the life of Emily Dickinson, which he directed on Broadway at the Longacre Theater in 1976, said Timothy Helgeson, who collaborated with him on the show. Two decades later, Mr. Reilly directed Ms. Harris and Charles Durning in a revival of “The Gin Game” at the Lyceum Theater. He was nominated for a Tony for best director in 1997, and Ms. Harris was nominated for best actress.

His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, “Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly,” in which he recounted his difficult childhood. Born in the Bronx, the only child of a Swedish mother and an Irish father, Mr. Reilly told of the pain of being considered the oddest member of a decidedly odd family.

He explained the title of his show by saying that, when he was a child, his mother would often cut him off from speaking by admonishing him to “save it for the stage.” His father, he told audiences, never got over having passed up a chance to move to Hollywood and work with a budding animation artist named Walt Disney.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Reilly, with his ascots, oversize spectacles and over-the-top penchant for double-entendres, was a regular on television. He appeared more than 95 times on the “Tonight” show with Johnny Carson and was a panelist on game shows like “Match Game” and “Hollywood Squares.”

In a 2001 interview with The Advocate, the national gay magazine, Mr. Reilly reflected on the effect those shows had on his professional prospects. “You can’t do anything else once you do game shows,” he said. “You have no career.”

Mr. Reilly’s openly gay persona was many years ahead of its time on television, and it had its risks. He recalled being dismissed early in his career by a network executive, who told him that “they don’t let queers on television.” Paul Linke, who directed the one-man show, said Mr. Reilly later had the last laugh when he would page through TV Guide and count how many times he was on the air that week.

Tinky Winky Says Bye-Bye to Jerry Falwell

2007-05-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

Tinky Winky Says Bye-Bye to Jerry Falwell

The former TV star recalls the trauma of being called gay by the conservative preacher.

By King Kaufman

Tinky Winky: Tinky Winky, with his handbag, left, has long denied rumors of an affair with former costar Po, right.
Originally uploaded by azLee.

May 16, 2007 | Eight years ago the Rev. Jerry Falwell warned parents that BBC children's television star Tinky Winky was a hidden symbol of homosexuality. Falwell died Tuesday at 73, and the world wanted to talk to Tinky Winky.

"They're calling again, again, again," he said by phone from his home in Islington, in London. A spokesman said the former "Teletubbies" costar got more than 100 calls from reporters in the hour following news of Falwell's death.

"Oh dear, it's easy to say the wrong thing here," he said. "Tinky Winky sad whenever someone dies, but ..." He left it hanging there.

In a 1999 article in his National Liberty Journal headlined "Tinky Winky Comes Out of the Closet," Falwell pointed out that Winky could be taken as representing gays.

"He is purple -- the gay pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle -- the gay pride symbol," Falwell wrote. "The character, whose voice is that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse in many episodes and has become a favorite character among gay groups worldwide."

In the resulting media firestorm, gay-rights activists called for Winky to come out while Christian groups demanded the BBC fire him so that he couldn't, in Falwell's words, "role-model the gay lifestyle."

"It was traumatizing, really," says Winky, who now owns a holistic healing center and makes occasional appearances on British TV. "I'm a very private Teletubby. I just wanted to get away, go over the hills and far away. But when you're 7 feet tall and purple with an antenna on your head and a TV screen in your belly, where are you going to go?"

Winky says he tried to contact Falwell after the article came out, but the evangelist wouldn't take his calls.

"I wanted to know why he didn't talk to me first," Winky says. "It's not like I'm hard to reach. Have the pinwheel call me. But really I just wanted to clap him on the head with Tinky Winky bag."

The star never has clarified his sexual orientation, insisting on his privacy and denying rumors over the years that he had affairs with two of his costars on the 1997-2001 show, the male Dipsy and the female Po.

"We love each other very much," he says. "Big hug. But it's not like that. It was a kids show, know what I mean? And this Falwell guy and his followers wanted to turn us into something else. We weren't modeling a gay lifestyle and we weren't trying to corrupt anyone's kids. We were just kids ourselves, really. Give us a little Tubby toast or custard and a film of some kids washing clothes or something, that's all we needed. We didn't give a shit about modeling a lifestyle."

Tinky Winky sounds angry. The wounds are still raw.

"I'm just practicing my craft, working for the kids, and all at once the tabloids are everywhere on me," he says. "I couldn't even go out. Was it a gay club? Was I talking to a woman? It was bollocks."

Winky chuckles. "I must say, though," he says, "without getting into too many details, we had a girl in the group who ran around this kids show yelling, 'Cooter! Cooter!' And I'm the gay one? Do me a favor."

Through a spokeswoman, Po declined to comment for this article.

Winky says the Teletubbies stay in touch, and he remains friends with both Dipsy, who owns a nightclub in West London where Winky is often seen, and Po. Winky says he and Laa-Laa never really got along during the show's run, but, "We're fine now. We've come to appreciate each other."

Asked about Falwell's death, Winky turns serious and chooses his words carefully.

"I'm not going to pretend I'm sadder than I am," he says. "There were late nights during the dark times when I wished to hear news like this. I'd be lying if I denied that. I don't feel that way anymore. I like to think I've grown over the years, gotten past all that pain.

"But at the end of the day, I'm not terribly sad, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Jerry Falwell was a divisive person, a hateful person, and what I've tried to be all about, in the Teletubbies days and since then, has been love. I've got to keep it that way. I don't want anybody feeling good about it when it's my time for Tubby bye-bye."

Down Memory Lane

2007-05-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

...and not believing this was 30 years ago now. I was thinking of a Kid Creole and the Coconuts and the band that they originated from and was wondering if there was ever a video of it. Lo and behold (and thanx to YouTube) there was. I present Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band:

Horsing Around on Broadway

2007-04-26T04:44:00.001-07:00

Harry and a Horse
Originally uploaded by azLee.

It seems the London stage production of "Equus" with the nekkid Daniel Radcliffe is moving to Broadway next spring! Not confirmed yet but it looks like Mr. Radcliffe will reprize his role:

"PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, April 14-20: Here Comes Harry
By Robert Simonson
20 Apr 2007

Harry Potter is coming to Broadway.

It was announced April 20 that the hit London revival of Equus — starring "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe — which will play its final performance at London's Gielgud Theatre June 9, will be heading for Broadway in spring 2008, followed by an Australian production. Casting and dates for the New York run have yet to be announced, but London's Daily Mail reports that both Radcliffe and the big boy of English theatre, History Boys Tony-winner Richard Griffiths, have signed on.

Radcliffe's performance as Alan Strang, an English stable boy who blinded six horses with a spike, won strong reviews and created quite a stir in England, not least of all because the plays calls for him appear in the altogether.

The production is the first West End revival of the Peter Shaffer play, and the transfer will mark the first Broadway revival. The return of the Tony-winning play, however, is not the reason the show will spark the biggest ticket-buying frenzy since Julia Roberts came to town. Radcliffe will be the sorcerer behind that box-office magic."

Hittin' the Walls and Workin' the Middle!

2007-04-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

I know this has been posted in several places already but I loves me some Alexxys:

And here's the "Jackrabbit Remix"!:

More of an interesting post to follow soon.

Kurt Vonnegut, Counterculture’s Novelist, Dies

2007-04-12T23:31:00.001-07:00

Kurt Vonnegut, Counterculture’s Novelist, Dies
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Kurt Vonnegut, Counterculture’s Novelist, Dies
Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark comic talent and urgent moral vision in novels like “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Cat’s Cradle” and “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” caught the temper of his times and the imagination of a generation, died last night in Manhattan. He was 84 and had homes in Manhattan and in Sagaponack on Long Island.

His death was reported by his wife, the author and photographer Jill Krementz, who said he had been hospitalized after suffering irreversible brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago.

Mr. Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction. But it was his novels that became classics of the American counterculture, making him a literary idol, particularly to students in the 1960s and ’70s. Dog-eared paperback copies of his books could be found in the back pockets of blue jeans and in dorm rooms on campuses throughout the United States.

Like Mark Twain, Mr. Vonnegut used humor to tackle the basic questions of human existence: Why are we in this world? Is there a presiding figure to make sense of all this, a god who in the end, despite making people suffer, wishes them well?

He also shared with Twain a profound pessimism. “Mark Twain,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote in his 1991 book, “Fates Worse Than Death: An Autobiographical Collage,” “finally stopped laughing at his own agony and that of those around him. He denounced life on this planet as a crock. He died.”

Not all Mr. Vonnegut’s themes were metaphysical. With a blend of science fiction, philosophy and jokes, he also wrote about the banalities of consumer culture, for example, or the destruction of the environment.

His novels — 14 in all — were alternate universes, filled with topsy-turvy images and populated by races of his own creation, like the Tralfamadorians and the Mercurian Harmoniums. He invented phenomena like chrono-synclastic infundibula (places in the universe where all truths fit neatly together) as well as religions, like the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent and Bokononism (based on the books of a black British Episcopalian from Tobago “filled with bittersweet lies,” a narrator says).

The defining moment of Mr. Vonnegut’s life was the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied forces in 1945, an event he witnessed firsthand as a young prisoner of war. Thousands of civilians were killed in the raids, many of them burned to death or asphyxiated. “The firebombing of Dresden,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote, “was a work of art.” It was, he added, “a tower of smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had had their lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of Germany.”

His experience in Dresden was the basis of “Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade,” which was published in 1969 against the backdrop of war in Vietnam, racial unrest and cultural and social upheaval. The novel, wrote the critic Jerome Klinkowitz, “so perfectly caught America’s transformative mood that its story and structure became best-selling metaphors for the new age.”

To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness. The title character in his 1965 novel, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine,” summed up his philosophy:

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

Mr. Vonnegut eschewed traditional structure and punctuation. His books were a mixture of fiction and autobiography in a vernacular voice, prone to one-sentence paragraphs, exclamation points and italics. Graham Greene called him “one of the most able of living American writers.” Some critics said he had invented a new literary type, infusing the science-fiction form with humor and moral relevance and elevating it to serious literature.

He was also accused of repeating himself, of recycling themes and characters. Some readers found his work incoherent. His harshest critics called him no more than a comic book philosopher, a purveyor of empty aphorisms.

With his curly hair askew, deep pouches under his eyes and rumpled clothes, he often looked like an out-of-work philosophy professor, typically chain smoking, his conversation punctuated with coughs and wheezes. But he also maintained a certain celebrity, as a regular on panels and at literary parties in Manhattan and on the East End of Long Island, where he lived near his friend and fellow war veteran Joseph Heller, another darkly comic literary hero of the age.

Mr. Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922, the youngest of three children. His father, Kurt Sr., was an architect. His mother, Edith, came from a wealthy brewery family. Mr. Vonnegut’s brother, Bernard, who died in 1997, was a physicist and an expert on thunderstorms.

During the Depression, the elder Vonnegut went for long stretches without work, and Mrs. Vonnegut suffered from episodes of mental illness. “When my mother went off her rocker late at night, the hatred and contempt she sprayed on my father, as gentle and innocent a man as ever lived, was without limit and pure, untainted by ideas or information,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote. She committed suicide, an act that haunted her son for the rest of his life.

He had, he said, a lifelong difficulty with women. He remembered an aunt once telling him, “All Vonnegut men are scared to death of women.”

“My theory is that all women have hydrofluoric acid bottled up inside,” he wrote.

Mr. Vonnegut went east to attend Cornell University, but he enlisted in the Army before he could get a degree. The Army initially sent him to the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh and the University of Tennessee to study mechanical engineering.

In 1944 he was shipped to Europe with the 106th Infantry Division and shortly saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge. With his unit nearly destroyed, he wandered behind enemy lines for several days until he was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp near Dresden, the architectural jewel of Germany.

Assigned by his captors to make vitamin supplements, he was working with other prisoners in an underground meat locker when British and American warplanes started carpet bombing the city, creating a firestorm above him. The work detail saved his life.

Afterward, he and his fellow prisoners were assigned to remove the dead.

“The corpses, most of them in ordinary cellars, were so numerous and represented such a health hazard that they were cremated on huge funeral pyres, or by flamethrowers whose nozzles were thrust into the cellars, without being counted or identified,” he wrote in “Fates Worse Than Death.” When the war ended, Mr. Vonnegut returned to the United States and married his high school sweetheart, Jane Marie Cox. They settled in Chicago in 1945. The couple had three children, Mark, Edith and Nanette. In 1958, Mr. Vonnegut’s sister, Alice, and her husband died within a day of each other, she of cancer and he in a train crash. The Vonneguts took custody of their children, Tiger, Jim and Steven.

In Chicago, Mr. Vonnegut worked as a police reporter for the City News Bureau. He also studied for a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Chicago, writing a thesis on “The Fluctuations Between Good and Evil in Simple Tales.” It was rejected unanimously by the faculty. (The university finally awarded him a degree almost a quarter of a century later, allowing him to use his novel “Cat’s Cradle” as his thesis.)

In 1947, he moved to Schenectady, N.Y., and took a job in public relations for the General Electric Company. Three years later he sold his first short story, “Report on the Barnhouse Effect,” to Collier’s magazine and decided to move his family to Cape Cod, Mass., where he wrote fiction for magazines like Argosy and The Saturday Evening Post. To bolster his income, he taught emotionally disturbed children, worked at an advertising agency and at one point started a Saab auto dealership.

His first novel was “Player Piano,” published in 1952. A satire on corporate life — the meetings, the pep talks, the cultivation of bosses — it also carries echoes of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” It concerns an engineer, Paul Proteus, who is employed by the Ilium Works, a company similar to General Electric. Proteus becomes the leader of a band of revolutionaries who destroy machines that they think are taking over the world.

“Player Piano” was followed in 1959 by “The Sirens of Titan,” a science-fiction novel featuring the Church of God of the Utterly Indifferent. In 1961 he published “Mother Night,” involving an American writer awaiting trial in Israel on charges of war crimes in Nazi Germany. Like Mr. Vonnegut’s other early novels, they were published as paperback originals. And like “Slaughterhouse-Five,” in 1972, and a number of other Vonnegut novels, “Mother Night” was adapted for film, in 1996, starring Nick Nolte.

In 1963, Mr. Vonnegut published “Cat’s Cradle.” Though it initially sold only about 500 copies, it is widely read today in high school English classes. The novel, which takes its title from an Eskimo game in which children try to snare the sun with string, is an autobiographical work about a family named Hoenikker. The narrator, an adherent of the religion Bokononism, is writing a book about the bombing of Hiroshima and comes to witness the destruction of the world by something called Ice-Nine, which, on contact, causes all water to freeze at room temperature.

Mr. Vonnegut shed the label of science-fiction writer with “Slaughterhouse-Five.” It tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, an infantry scout (as Mr. Vonnegut was), who discovers the horror of war. “You know — we’ve had to imagine the war here, and we have imagined that it was being fought by aging men like ourselves,” an English colonel says in the book. “We had forgotten that wars were fought by babies. When I saw those freshly shaved faces, it was a shock. My God, my God — I said to myself, ‘It’s the Children’s Crusade.’ ”

As Mr. Vonnegut was, Billy is captured and assigned to manufacture vitamin supplements in an underground meat locker, where the prisoners take refuge from Allied bombing.

“Slaughterhouse-Five” provided another stage for his fictional alter ego, Kilgore Trout, a recurring character introduced in “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.” The novel also featured a signature Vonnegut phrase.

“Robert Kennedy, whose summer home is eight miles from the home I live in all year round,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote at the end of the book, “was shot two nights ago. He died last night. So it goes.

“Martin Luther King was shot a month ago. He died, too. So it goes. And every day my Government gives me a count of corpses created by military science in Vietnam. So it goes.”

One of many Zenlike words and phrases that run through Mr. Vonnegut’s books, “so it goes” became a catchphrase for opponents of the Vietnam war.

“Slaughterhouse-Five” reached No. 1 on best-seller lists, making Mr. Vonnegut a cult hero. Some schools and libraries have banned it because of its sexual content, rough language and scenes of violence.

After the book was published, Mr. Vonnegut went into a severe depression and vowed never to write another novel. Suicide was always a temptation, he wrote. In 1984, he tried to take his life with sleeping pills and alcohol.

“The child of a suicide will naturally think of death, the big one, as a logical solution to any problem,” he wrote. His son Mark also suffered a breakdown, in the 1970s, from which he recovered, writing about it in a book, “The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity.”

Forsaking novels, Mr. Vonnegut decided to become a playwright. His first effort, “Happy Birthday, Wanda June,” opened Off Broadway in 1970 to mixed reviews. Around this time he separated from his wife and moved to New York. (She remarried and died in 1986.)

In 1970, Mr. Vonnegut moved in with Ms. Krementz, whom he married in 1979. They had a daughter, Lily. They survive him, as do all his other children.

Mr. Vonnegut returned to novels with “Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday” (1973), calling it a “tale of a meeting of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.” This time his alter ego is Philboyd Studge, who is writing a book about Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy auto dealer. Hoover has a breakdown after reading a novel written by Kilgore Trout, who reappears in this book, and begins to believe that everyone around him is a robot.

In 1997, Mr. Vonnegut published “Timequake,” a tale of the millennium in which a wrinkle in space-time compels the world to relive the 1990s. The book, based on an earlier failed novel of his, was, in his own words, “a stew” of plot summaries and autobiographical writings. Once again, Kilgore Trout is a character. “If I’d wasted my time creating characters,” Mr. Vonnegut said in defense of his “recycling,” “I would never have gotten around to calling attention to things that really matter.”

Though it was a best seller, it also met with mixed reviews. “Having a novelist’s free hand to write what you will does not mean you are entitled to a free ride,” R. Z. Sheppard wrote in Time. But the novelist Valerie Sayers, in The New York Times Book Review, wrote: “The real pleasure lies in Vonnegut’s transforming his continuing interest in the highly suspicious relationship between fact and fiction into the neatest trick yet played on a publishing world consumed with the furor over novel versus memoir.”

Mr. Vonnegut said in the prologue to “Timequake” that it would be his last novel. And so it was.

His last book, in 2005, was a collection of biographical essays, “A Man Without a Country.” It, too, was a best seller.

It concludes with a poem written by Mr. Vonnegut called “Requiem,” which has these closing lines:

When the last living thing

has died on account of us,

how poetical it would be

if Earth could say,

in a voice floating up

perhaps

from the floor

of the Grand Canyon,

“It is done.”

People did not like it here.

love for sale

2007-04-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

love for sale
Originally uploaded by olga-saglo.

A flickr-friend, Olga-saglo, had this posted today and it gave me a good giggle.

Lee - Now New and Improved With Roofing Materials!

2007-04-10T20:22:00.001-07:00

Lee - Now New and Improved With Roofing Materials!
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Lee - Now New and Improved With Roofing Materials!
Made my visit to the Nurse Practitioner at my primary care doc's office today to find out what the flyin' frackin' frell was going on with my upper back this past week and lo and behold! I've got shingles! Not the stuff you put on yer roof, mind you, but herpes zoster aka the same stuff that's causes chicken pox. Looks like hell on toast points and feels even worse (dear Zod! Between the pain, sensitivity in the area, and the itching I'm surprized I'm not on heavy sedatives!)

Anyway, I'm on Valtrex and ibuprofen for a bit. At least I know what the hell it is now. The good news of the visit was I'm 37 lbs. less than the last time I made nice with a scale!

Buff the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Episode 2Comic

2007-04-09T12:11:00.001-07:00

Buff the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Episode 2Comic
Originally uploaded by azLee.

It arrived today! I cuddle up with it later.

Still got that blasted something-or-other on my upper back and upper left arm.Dunno WHAT that flock it is but I have an appointment with the nurse practicioner at my doctor's office tomorrow. I just hope I don't scratch myself skinless by then.

If I Was Christian, I'd Be Going to Hell 'Bout Now

2007-04-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

I was just watching The Sound of Music on CBN just now as I was making my usual internet rounds so I wasn't paying complete attention to what was on right after the closing credits ended.

Well, as soon as it ended, CBN News started and the anchor (are they called anchors on that "news" show?) said that this weekend was a major holiday for Christianity - (and as I heard it) the erection of Jesus! Imagine my spit-take when I thought I heard that.

Now, time for me to turn the channel before any of CBN makes me ill.

######

A few assorted things:
Only 153 hits till I reach 50,000!! wow! Although many of them are for seeing a nekkid supposed Huge Jackman.

It seems I got some sort of bug or spider bite on my upper back a few days and a very inconvenient spot on my back! It itches and I hope it's just scabbing over and not becoming infected. (Yeah, I know...TMI)

Albert Maysles who, along with his brother David, did such documentaries as Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens will be in TooStoned in September showing Grey Gardens. I'm planning to go.

Zuni Warrior Fetish

2007-04-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

Zuni Warrior Fetish
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Natural enemies: Karen Black, ovens. Suitcases can't contain them. Do not remove waist chain.

From 1975's Trilogy of Terror, it finally came in after being back-ordered.

I'm Alive!

2007-03-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

First off, I saw this last night and it's got to be the most heartbreaking commercial I've ever seen. It's for the ASPCA with Sarah Mclachlan. I viewed it again and once again was reduced to tears. Yeah, I'm definitely and always have been a sucker for a cute puppy or puddy face and I try to support the organization when I can.

Other than that, I've been slogging through school and survived another intense exam this past Thurday. Alas, having to play hermit, I missed seeing Jimbo. I gotta 'nother exam coming up so I gotta siddown and see how that'll fare. I dunno if I gotta continue playing hermit or not since I should let Glenn know fer shure.

And I've got to somehow scrape the money together to replace the wood trim in the from of Casa de Clutter since it's in desparate need of being replaced.

RIP Mr. Humphries (John Inman)

2007-03-11T01:50:00.001-07:00

RIP Mr. Humphries (John Inman)
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Just found out from Nala's blog that John Inman aka Mr. Humphries from "Are You Being Served?" passed away a couple of days ago:

Comedy actor Inman dies aged 71

Actor John Inman, most famous for the comedy Are You Being Served?, has died in London aged 71, his spokesman said.
Inman made his name in the 1970s show as Mr Humphries, whose catchphrase "I'm free!" entered popular culture.

In recent years he was a pantomime regular, most often taking the role of the dame. He also made appearances in BBC comedy show Revolver in 2004.

The Preston-born actor died in hospital and had been suffering from a Hepatitis A infection for some time.

The infection, usually caused by eating contaminated food, forced him to cancel the opening of a pantomime in London in December 2004.

It was initially hoped he would be able to return to the production of Dick Whittington, in which he was due to play Wanda the Cook, but he never worked again.

His manager Phil Dale said: "John was known and loved throughout the world. He was one of the best and finest pantomime dames working to capacity audiences throughout Britain.

"John was known for his comedy plays and farces which were enjoyed from London's West End throughout the country and as far as Australia, Canada and the USA."

Inman's Are You Being Served? co-star Wendy Richard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "John was one of the wittiest and most inventive actors I've ever worked with.

"He was a brilliant, brilliant pantomime dame and he was a very good all-round actor, really. He was a true professional."

Fans Favorite

Are You Being Served? ran on the BBC from 1972 to 1985 and depicted the antics of the staff of Grace Brothers, an old-fashioned department store.

Mr Humphries became one of TV's best known characters, and in 1976 Inman was voted funniest man on television by TV Times readers. He was declared BBC TV's personality of the year the same year.

Trevor Bannister, who played Mr Lucas in the series, told BBC News 24: "The 'I'm free!' was something put in because that is what people in those stores really said.

"We didn't realise it would become a running catchphrase.

"It was that way about the whole show - we never realised it was going to as successful as it was."

Veteran actress and co-star Mollie Sugden, who played Mrs Slocombe, told the BBC: "It's a very sad day. As far as I'm concerned, it's the end of an era."

Confident comedian

In the last four series, Mr Humphries was given an assistant, Mr Spooner, played by Mike Berry.

"I felt like going home at the end of the day and ironing my face, he made me laugh so much! As funny as he was in front of the camera, he was funnier off.

"He was such an astute comedian as well. He would get the script and mark in pencil the best lines and how to get the most laughs.

"And he was a confident comedian, which made him generous. He would help you in delivering a line to get the most out of it, he liked to work in a good team."

'Innocent quality'

Actress Rula Lenska, who worked with him on TV and in pantomime, paid tribute to his comic style.

"It was suggestive but never in your face or aggressive. It had an innocent quality that you rarely find today.

"He was a joy to work with and even after an exhausting day in pantomime he would have time for the fans who crowded round the stage door."

Fellow pantomime dame Danny La Rue called him "irreplaceable".

The 79-year-old added: "John was wonderful in panto. The children adored him. He had a magic touch. Panto can be exhausting - but he loved it.

"He was such a fantastic and inventive actor, and he could play serious roles too. He wasn't all about that flippant catchphrase 'I'm free!' But that's what made him. When that show first started he was just one of the salesmen, but they soon saw a star."

Inman's long-term partner, Ron Lynch, is said to be "devastated" at his death

That Time of the Year Again...But Earlier and Longer!

2007-03-07T01:09:00.001-07:00

That Time of the Year Again...But Earlier and Longer!
Originally uploaded by azLee.

A friendly reminder to forward yer clocks by one hour this Sunday March 11th at 2am

Yeah, it's a month earlier than before The second Sunday in March from here on out and we "fall back" the first Sunday in November. (Nov. 4th this year.)

You can read more about it here!

It still bites the Grand Wazoo. Although we here in Arizona don't have to bother, it still a bit of a pain to have to readjust to the new time difference with the rest of the country and having to explain to the parental units a dozen times how many hours back I am from them now.

Somehow I'm Not Surprized

2007-02-26T01:15:00.000-07:00

I was just checking my stats here and it was interesting to see the increase in the amount of hits since the Oscars.

Now, normally I get a chunk of hits daily looking for nekkid pix of Huge...er...Hugh Jackman but it seems that the increased numbers of hits this evening were also looking for it.

Franz Ferdinand vs Kelis - Take Me out For a Milkshake

2007-02-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Oh this is a great mash-up of these two songs. Found it while meandering around YouTube

Clocky!

2007-02-20T03:51:00.001-07:00

Clocky!
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Yep! That's really it's name! I was catching up on ChadFox's blog and he posted about a potentially new clock radio made by a company called Nanda. It's got moving wheels and it runs away from you if you don't wake up after a while. It even comes in shag if you prefer that!

ChadFox is right, whomever came up with it, watched Pee-Wee's Playhouse

Ah, Shit!

2007-02-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

Well, tonite was the night I was forced to finally switch over to the new Blogger set-up. Apparently, they're outta beta now and into the final version. I dreaded this since I'm not all THAT fond of change and I've heard a lot of complaints about the new version. Besides, I have to use my haven't-used-in-ages gmail account. I was surprized I even remember what the addy was! We'll see what happens with this blog.

######

Anyway, wierd news from the parental unit situation. My mother told me today (Sunday) that she's "taking a vacation" from my father for a bit. Not sure how long but for now, a month (the length of time she paid for at an apartment complex in the same city they live in) and this in 9 days from their 58th anniversary!

They're 84 (dad) and 81(mom). They both have had their share of health problems the past 4 years. My mom discovered she had breast cancer March, 2003. Luckily. they seem to have caught it in time and she went through a mild form of chemo. So far, no signs of it showing up again since (she got checked out a month or so ago). At the same time she was going through the chemo, my father started having leg problems where they would collapse under him. Apparently, its circulatory in nature and it weakens his legs preventing them from supporting him for any length of time. He can walk but not well and only for short periods of time. He's still got the problem with no certainty of it going away and his Type 2 diabetes ain't helping. (He also developed that a couple of years ago and does little to take care of it properly).

My mom can't physically care for him 24/7 especially if he falls and emotionally, she shouldn't have to be glued to him 24/7 anyway for her emotional health anyway. They've had an assistant come in about 8 hours a day for the past 4 years. Luckly, long-term care insurance, Medicare, and the money they have as enabled them to pay for the assistant.

My father is has never been the easiest person to deal with and being disabled the way he has been and other health problems related to being old has made him even worse and more difficult to deal with him. Apparently, he's now got it into his head that my mother is having an affair with the assistant! And refuses to believe otherwise despite my mother arguing about it. Believe me - my mother is NOT having an affair. She's too old and the assistant is NOT her type and she wouldn't have one even if the best attributes of Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, and Errol Flynn all merged together and begged her, she wouldn't be in the mood.

My mother mentioned it to their doctor who knows them quite well and she told my mother that for her own well-being, get her own place. She doesn't need the stress and bullshit. Doc also phoned my sister and informed her and my sister agreed. Well, she informed my father and moved out today into a very nice seniors place that sounds wonderful. She also told my father that she's not moving out, just getting her own place for a bit for a break from the bullshit.

I'm glad she did that since I know how she can over-worry and stress herself out and giving how demanding he can be, I'm glad she can get a break but just hearing about the crap he dumped on her has got me pissed off at him and I doubt he'll listen to anyone. I haven't spoken to him since I found out; I dunno what to say nor do I want to deal with him at this point.

Sheesh! I joked with my mother that they're now separated and I knew their marriage wasn't going to last. She laughed.

######

And Dave, I've spaced out that meme! I'll do it soon! Really!

The Phonebook At the End of the Universe

2007-02-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

The Phonebook At the End of the Universe
Originally uploaded by azLee.

The new phonebooks arrived in my neighborhood yesterday and this afternoon, I went to take a look for something in the yellow pages. The business white pages are right in front of it and, giving my shits and giggles in spotting silly, funny, and/or unsual names, I always keep my eye out for that kinda stuff.

Well, I got to the last page of the aforementioned buisness section, glanced over and spotted Mr. Beeblebrox. Being that I have this camera, I figured I'd try to take a pic and post it. Not too shabby giving the size of the print.

My top fave intersesting names that I've spotted in the phonebook over the years have been:
- Allowishes T. Kornpone
- Dan Steely (givinng that the residential section lists last names first, it was listed as Steely Dan)
- Shirley Shirley (2 of them! One even married into that name!)

It's Only a Model!

2007-02-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Yes! I'm still alive but haven't been posting recently, apparently. I'll rectify that soon.

In the mean time, for yer viewing pleasure, I present this (via Naladahc):

P.S. If TeddyBoy Haggard is completely straight now then I'm the frelling poster boy for anorexia and Tammy Face Bakker never used make-up!

Bush and Incompetency

2007-01-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

A friend passed along this article and I figured I'd pass it along here.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_011807J.shtml

Bush and the Psychology of Incompetent Decisions
By John P. Briggs, MD, and J.P. Briggs II, PhD
t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributors

Thursday 18 January 2007

President George W. Bush prides himself on "making tough decisions." But many are sensing something seriously troubling, even psychologically unbalanced, about the president as a decision-maker. They are right.

Because of a psychological dynamic swirling around deeply hidden feelings of inadequacy, the president has been driven to make increasingly incompetent and risky decisions. This dynamic makes the psychological stakes for him now unimaginably high. The words "success" and "failure" have seized his rhetoric like metaphors for his psyche's survival.

The president's swirling dynamic lies "hidden in plain sight" in his personal history. From the time he was a boy until his religious awakening in his early 40s, Bush had every reason to feel he was a failure. His continued, almost obsessive, attempts through the years to emulate his father, obtain his approval, and escape from his influence are extensively recorded.

His biography is peppered with remarks and behavior that allude to this inner struggle. In an exuberant moment during his second campaign for Texas governor, Bush told a reporter, "It's hard to believe, but ... I don't have time to worry about being George Bush's son. Maybe it's a result of being confident. I'm not sure how the psychoanalysts will analyze it, but I'm not worried about it. I'm really not. I'm a free guy."

A psychoanalyst would note that he is revealing here that he has been worrying about being his father's son quite a lot.

Resentment naturally contaminated Bush's efforts to prove himself to his father and receive his father's approval. The contradictory mix showed up in his compulsion to re-fight his father's war against Iraq, but this time winning the duel some thought his father failed to win with Saddam. He could at once emulate his father, show his contempt for him, and redeem him. But beneath this son-father struggle lies a far more significant issue for Bush - a question about his own competence, adequacy and autonomy as a human being.

We have seen this inner question surface repeatedly, and we have largely conspired with him to deny it.

On September 11, 2001, we saw (and suppressed) the image of him sitting stunned for seven minutes in a crowd of school children after learning that the second plane had hit the Twin Towers, and then the lack of image of him when he vanished from public view for the rest of the day. Instead, we bought the cover-up image, three days after the attack, of the strong leader, grabbing the bullhorn in New York City and issuing bellicose statements.

In 2004, we saw and denied the insecurity displayed when the president refused to face the 9/11 Commission alone and needed Vice President Cheney to go with him.

In 2003, we saw and suppressed the dark side of the "Mission Accomplished" aircraft carrier landing, in which a man who had ducked out on his generation's war and dribbled away his service in the Texas Air National Guard dressed up like Top Gun and pretended that he was a combat pilot like his father.

Asked by a reporter if he would accept responsibility for any mistakes, Bush answered, "I hope I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't - you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not quick - as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." What we heard, and yet didn't hear, was a confession of his feelings of inadequacy and an arrogant denial those feelings all at once.

In early 2006, when his father moved behind the scenes to replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the son responded, "I'm the decider and I decide what's best" - and when he clenched his fist at a question about his father's influence, proclaiming, "I'm the Commander in Chief" - we glimpsed what was going on.
To cover up and defend himself against his feelings of his inadequacy and incompetence, Bush developed a number of psychological defenses. In his school years he played the clown. (His ability to joke about his verbal slip-ups is an endearing adult application of this defense to public life.) His heavy drinking was a classic way to anesthetize feelings of inadequacy. Indeed, drinking typically makes the alcoholic grandiose, which has led some commentators to argue that Bush has the "dry drunk" syndrome, where the individual has stopped drinking but retains the brittle psychology of the alcoholic. Other defenses now play especially powerful roles to protect the president against his internal feelings of insufficiency.

The Christian Defense

Bush has carefully let it be known that he believes the decisions he makes in office are directed by God. His famous claim to make decisions by "gut" ("I'm a gut player," he told Bob Woodward) equates with his claim of the spiritual inspiration he receives through prayer, his own and the prayers of others. Whatever else it is, this equation of his own choices with God's will has unparalleled advantages. It creates the perfect defense against any doubts he or anyone else might have that he can't make the right decision. The need to engage in analysis and explore alternatives to get there comes off the table. Instead, he has his gut; he has his God.

Being "born again" also allows the president to present himself as having relegated to the past all those previously inadequate behaviors of his younger days: the poor academic performance, the drinking, the failed businesses. He's a new man, no longer incompetent but now supremely competent as a result of his faith.

When Woodward asked Bush if he had consulted his father before invading Iraq, he replied, "He is the wrong father to appeal to in terms of strength. There is a higher father that I appeal to." How wonderfully that appeal must seem to resolve the internal conflict about adequacy we have described above.

The Bully Defense

Bush's mother, Barbara (sarcastic, mean, disciplinarian, always with an acid-tongued retort), is probably the model for another major defense Bush deploys to defend himself against feelings of inadequacy. A friend at the time described her as "sort of the leader bully."

That bullies are insecure people is well known and fairly obvious. A bully covers insecurity with bluster and intimidation so that others won't find an opening to see how weak he feels.

Much of the world outside the US considers Bush a bully. "You're either with us or against us" is a bully's threat that anyone can recognize. The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes is a bully's doctrine.

For his intimates and those closer to home, Bush appears to be what is called an emotional bully. An emotional bully gains control using sarcasm, teasing, mocking, name calling, threatening, ignoring, lying, or angering the other and forcing him to back down. Bush administration insider accounts describe this sort of behavior from the president. He's well known for his dismissive remarks. His penchant for giving nicknames to everyone has its dark, bully's side. Naming people is a way to control them.

In report by Gail Sheehy in 2000, recalled recently by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, we get a glimpse of how Bush's pervasive fear of failure (his absolute refusal to consider "failure as an option") and his bully defense go together. Sheehy interviewed friends from his teenage years and college years. In basketball or tennis games he would insist points be played over because he wasn't ready; he would force opponents who had beaten him to continue playing until he beat them. At Yale he would interrupt his fellow students' studying for exams (helping them fail) to compete in a popular board game, "The Game of Global Domination," at which he was the player noted for taking the most risks, being the most aggressive.

It's likely that speculations about Vice President Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice functioning as Bush's puppet-masters are 180 (or at least 160) degrees off. Bush is the president; he gets his way, and they know it. Chances are they have learned to channel his "gut" and give him policy advice that matches it. They may even imagine they are steering him, not clear about the ways that he has bullied them, elicited in them "The Stockholm Syndrome," in which hostages come to identify with and even defend the very person who is threatening them. This is the same dynamic evident in the behavior of battered spouses and members of gangs.

Ron Suskind described the small group around the president: "A disdain for contemplation or deliberation, an embrace of decisiveness - a sometimes bullying impatience with doubters and even friendly questioners."

Biographical reports tell us that Bush's parents taught him to keep his inner feelings to himself. As psychiatrist Justin A. Frank noted in Bush on the Couch, this results in a "self-protective indifference to the pain of others." This is another aspect of his bully defense, projecting his inner pain onto others. Bush's remarkable drive for the power to torture terrorist suspects and his reported glorying in Texas executions during his terms as governor testify to his lack of compassion, despite his recent statement of qualms about seeing Saddam Hussein drop through the trap.

The Man of Splits and Oppositions

Being in the world, for all of us, involves the challenge to somehow integrate the opposites of our nature and to select our way through the many opposing choices presented us in life. The bully polarizes the natural ambivalence (the internal opposition) anyone feels about whether he is strong or weak, safe or vulnerable. A person who needs to feel invulnerable and completely adequate all the time, or who always feels helpless and inadequate, has polarized these emotions and leads a deformed life. The degree of internal polarization in President Bush appears to be serious - and widespread. Commentators have made lists of the president's polarities: the proclaimed uniter who is a relentless divider, the habit of "saying one thing and doing another," as Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords put it. The list is long and growing. It should include the oppositions that show up in his famous Bushisms, such as:

There is no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world's worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons.

They [the terrorists] never stop thinking of ways to harm our country and our people - and neither do we.

To a psychiatrist, these are not mere malapropisms and mistakes in speech. They suggest ambivalence oscillating violently between poles. They suggest a desperate uncertainty about everything that the president reflexively seeks to hide by taking absolutist, rigid positions about "victory," "success," "mission accomplished," "stay the course," "compassion," "tax cuts," "no child left behind," and a host of other issues.

The Presidential Defense

Once Bush took the bullhorn at ground zero, he found perhaps the ultimate defense for his secret fears of inadequacy. As he told Bob Woodward, in Bush at War, "I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." As commander in chief, as a war president, he could assemble his other psychological defenses around him. He could split the world into good and evil and the country would follow. His internal oppositions could be projected without much resistance from the populace or his adversaries. He could be the gut-led, divinely inspired "Decider," to save the country. He could project own internal fears of being "discovered as a fraud" into a threat "out there" waiting to happen. He could surround himself with loyalists whom he could emotionally bully, creating a new family that would admire him and that he could control. Meanwhile the ambiguities of political decisions that can always be rationalized offer a safe haven. Until history judges me (and that's a long way off, maybe never) I can't be definitively seen as incompetent.

But as much as the presidency is a perfect defense for disguising incompetence, it's also the perfect trap. It accelerates the positive feedback loop that was set in motion when he "changed his heart" around age 40 (committing himself to God) and presumably put his failures, and his feelings of failure behind him.

In recent weeks, anyone following the news must have intuitively sensed from watching and hearing the president that he would reject the Iraq Study Group's report, co-authored by a person he must have felt was the emissary of his father come to tell him that he had failed again. He chose escalation, the one solution most knowledgeable people agree cannot succeed, in order to keep alive the fiction that success still lies in the future.

The dynamic is becoming obvious to almost everybody.

But how much is Bush aware of this psychological dynamic and of the secret he's keeping? Not aware enough. That's the problem. Psychotherapists use the term "unconscious," but it isn't quite an accurate descriptor. We are aware of feelings, sensations and scripts that occur when one of our unseen psychic mechanisms is triggered. So, when an interviewer asked about the generals who demanded Rumsfeld be removed, and the president knew his father had been working behind the scenes to replace Rumsfeld, the question would not have triggered the conscious thought: there goes dad again trying to make me feel incompetent. Instead, the president may have felt a hollow sensation or a flush of anger, an urge to form a clownish grin to cover his watery feelings, and a script that would come out of his mouth as "I'm the decider." Beneath that would be the inadequacy and cover-up dynamic outlined here.

A president's psychology and his inner secrets are his or her own business, except in one important area. That is area covered by the question, "Does the psychology of this individual interfere with his or her ability to make sound decisions in the best interest of the nation?" Recent history has certainly been witness to presidents with psychodynamics that have damaged their historical legacies. Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon come to mind. But in neither case was the very ability to make sound decisions compromised to the extent we believe it is with this president.

A Failed Process

Many accounts of the president suggest that his decision-making process is a failed one; in an important sense, it is no process at all.

Ambivalent feelings are normal at certain stages of decision-making, and the ability to tolerate ambivalence has been shown to be the hallmark of creative thinkers. The inability to tolerate uncertainty because you think that may imply incapacity brings decision-making to an end.

Thus, instead of focusing on the process needed to arrive at a decision, Bush marshals his defenses in order not to feel incompetent. That doesn't leave much room for exploring the alternatives required of competent decision-making. Not interested in discussion or detail (where the devil often lies), he seeks something minimal, just enough so he can let the decision come to him; it's his "gut" (read "God") that will provide the answer. But these gut feelings are the very feelings associated with his deep sense of inadequacy and his defenses against those feelings. So while he brags that he makes the "tough decisions," psychologically, he's defending himself against the very feelings of uncertainty that are the necessary concomitant to making tough decisions. His tough decision-making is a sham.

In the recent maneuvering toward the "new strategy" in Iraq, we have witnessed a great pretense of normal decision-making. But the president clearly made up his mind almost as soon as the "surge" alternative appeared, and apparently moved to cow others, including his new secretary of defense Robert Gates (his father's man) in the process. "Success" is the only alternative for him. "Failure" and disintegration of Iraq is unthinkable because it would be synonymous with his own internal disintegration.

As his decisions go awry, he exudes a troubling, uncanny aura of certitude (though some find it reassuring). He seems to expect to feel despised and alone (and probably has always felt that), as he has always secretly expected to fail. That expectation of failure leads to sloppy, risky, incompetent decisions, which in turn compel him to swerve from his fears of incompetence.

At this point, the president seems to have entered a place in his psyche where he is discounting all external criticism and unpopularity, and fixing stubbornly on his illusion of vindication, because he's still "The Decider," who can just keep deciding until he gets to success. It's hard not to feel something heroic in this position - but it's a recipe for bad, if not catastrophic, decisions.

Psychologically, President Bush has received support for so long because many have thought of him as "one of us." Most of us feel inadequate in some way, and watching him we can feel his inadequacies and sense his uncertainties, so we admire him for "pulling it off." His model tells us, "If you act like you're confident and competent, then you are." We are the culture that values the power of positive thinking and seeks assertiveness training. We believe that the right attitude can sometimes be more important than brains or hard work. He's bullied us, too. We don't dare to really confront the scale of his incompetent behavior, because then we would have to face what it means to have such an incompetent and psychologically disabled decision-maker as our president. It raises everyone's uncertainty. And that is, in fact, happening now.

----------

John P. Briggs, MD, is retired from over 40 years of private practice in psychotherapy in Westchester County, New York. He was on the faculty in psychiatry at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City for 23 years and was a long-time member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis. He trained at the William Alanson White Institute in New York. J.P. Briggs II, PhD, is a Distinguished CSU professor at Western Connecticut State University and is the senior editor of the intellectual journal The Connecticut Review. He is author and co-author of books on creativity and chaos, including Fire in the Crucible (St. Martin's Press); Fractals, the Patterns of Chaos (Simon and Schuster); and Seven Life Lessons of Chaos (HarperCollins), among others. He is currently at work with Philadelphia psychologist John Amoroso on a book about the power of ambivalence in the creative process.

"The Sheep Are Revolting!"

2007-01-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

Or possibly Lambchop's revenge dream on Shari Lewis. Glenn has this movie trailer posted on his site:

At first, I didn't know if it was just by someone with a sense of humor or if it was real but I checked out the imdb and yep, it's real!

It doesn't list when it'll open in the States only when it'll open in New Zealand (March, 2007) But I'll have to see it!

I'm My Own (Muppet) Grandpa

2007-01-17T03:12:00.000-07:00

Thanx Meg.

Serenity Now/Equality Now

2007-01-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

Serenity Now/Equality Now
Originally uploaded by azLee.

While at the Buffy Sing-A-Long on Saturday, Jeff the Emcee mentioned a Joss Whedon-related coming attraction for the Loft slated for this June.

Apparently "The Browncoats", a group of "Firefly" fans, have been involved somehow in a nation-wide charity fundraiser for Equality Now (a woman's rights advocacy organization at www.EqualityNow.org ) that'll be held (as mentioned) this June.23 (Whedon's birthday!) Here is the press release concerning it:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Devin Pike
www.CantStopTheSerenity.com
mailto:devin@cantstoptheserenity.com

GLOBAL SCI-FI CHARITY EVENT RETURNS IN JUNE 2007
Screenings of 'Serenity' Benefit Women's Rights Advocacy Group

Dallas, TX (PRWeb) January 12, 2007 -- Science fiction fans are notorious for their passion for their favorite film or television series, launching massive letter writing campaigns to save their show, or attending conventions dressed as their favorite character. Fans of 'Serenity' and "Firefly" are working to convert that passion into positive global change with a series of charity events.

In 2006, organizers answered the call to hold "Can't Stop The Serenity" events in 47 cities around the world, raising over $65,000 for the women's rights advocacy group Equality Now by holding screenings of the Joss Whedon film 'Serenity.' The goal for 2007 is to hold events in over fifty (50) cities across the globe on or around Saturday, June 23, raising over $100,000 in donations.

As of January 11, organizers in forty cities in seven countries have signed onto hold a benefit screening. Details on planning an event can be found at www.CantStopTheSerenity.com, as well as a current list of participants.

"The slogan 'done the impossible' means a lot to fans of "Firefly" and 'Serenity.' In 2006, we did the impossible. In 2007, we're topping it," global organizer Devin Pike said.

"In most cases, when you see a fan-based event centering on a particular show, it's almost out of a sense of self-gratification. 'We want more of our show,' or 'we want more stories from this crew of actors and writers.' With the Can't Stop The Serenity events, it's a bit different. People across the planet are gathering resources to benefit a great charitable organization, by screening a film they know has a fervent fanbase."

In the first year of Can't Stop The Serenity events, the vast majority of organizers were learning how to put together a benefit from scratch. Pike says the experience was invaluable, and the 2007 screenings will be better all around.

"There will be several new organizers on board this year, and the questions we had to answer for ourselves will be the same ones they'll ask. The level of collaboration will be fantastic."

Equality Now, the charity benefiting from the screenings, works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure. Some of the issues Equality Now addresses are female genital mutilation (FGM), women's rights in Third World countries, and suffrage in the Middle East.

Amanda Sullivan, Women's Action Network Director of Equality Now, is enthusiastic about the response the "Can't Stop The Serenity" movement has generated. "All of us at Equality Now continue to be amazed by and grateful for the Browncoats' and Serenity fans' generous and committed support for our work. Their energy and enthusiasm is inspiring and these screenings are coming at a critical time when we are especially in need of funds! We thank each and every one of them."

"These events are unlike anything else in fandom," Pike said. "You don't see people putting on screenings of their favorite movie on a whim in one city, let alone fifty cities across the world. The organizers of Can't Stop The Serenity are a really special group of people, and they're creating something truly unique."

The June 23 date was chosen for two reasons: first, it's writer / director Joss Whedon's birthday; second, it marks the anniversary of a series of sneak previews Universal Pictures held to raise interest in 'Serenity' in the "Firefly" fan base, known as "Browncoats."

About 'Firefly' and 'Serenity' (from Wikipedia.org)

Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered in the United States and Canada in 2002. The series was developed by Joss Whedon, who also created the cult favorite "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The series concept merged the classic Western genre with a science fiction backdrop, applying naturalistic science fiction concepts such as showcasing flawed characters in humble circumstances.

The series was broadcast on the FOX network and was cancelled after only eleven episodes. However, strong sales of the DVD collection of all fourteen episodes allowed Whedon to convince Universal Studios to produce a film based on the series, titled 'Serenity' after the crew's spacecraft of the same name.

For More Information

Global Event Web Site: www.CantStopTheSerenity.com
Equality Now: www.EqualityNow.org

"Well, I'm a Hair's Breadth from Investigating Bunnies at the Moment, So I'm Open to Anything."

2007-01-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

"Well, I'm a Hair's Breadth from Investigating Bunnies at the Moment, So I'm Open to Anything."
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Costume line-up. The winner was The Original Slayer.

I attended the Buffy Sing-A-Long on Saturday. Lasted a good 2.5 hours! First there was the costume line-up and judging. another Buffy episode "The Wish" (Episode 9 from Season 3), then Buffy-oke (which was so-so), then "Once More With Feeling" where we all got to sing along, complete with props!

I'll post photos of those later when I take pics.

A Couple of Good Pro Gay Marriage Vids

2007-01-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting much recently, been caught up in other online stuff. Anyway, here's a couple of vids a friend of mine came across:

A funny one about "Traditional marriages" from Canada:

Moisturize Me! Moisturize Me!

2007-01-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Moisturize Me! Moisturize Me!
Originally uploaded by azLee.

MUST. HAVE. THIS.

I was just watching a YouTube clip of a BBC interview with a scruffy-bearded David Tennant done April 12, 2006 on BBC with John Barrowman and they show an action figure of Cassandra as well as a Sycorax, 2 Dr. Who's (both Tennant), and a Slitheen. Alas, they're only available on amazon in the UK BUT they'll be available via TimeandSpaceToys.com next month!!
Here's the page to pre-order the stuff with a special pre-order price of $89.99 (regularly $109.99)

::Bouncing up and down in anticpation!::

Betty Does New Years

2006-12-31T05:04:00.000-07:00

07
Originally uploaded by azLee.

Happy New Year's, everyone!

Yow! I Do Loves Me Some YouTube!

2006-12-28T05:33:00.000-07:00

I just came upon two Big Mama Thornton videos from 1965!

Good stuff, folks! Blues at its best.

"Down Home Shakedown" with her, Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, John Lee Hooker and J.B. Lenoir all playing harmonica:

and "Hound Dog" with Buddy Guy on guitar!

The Return of Buffy!!

2006-12-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Just read over on Sparky's blog that Joss Whedon willl be doing a season eight of Buffy starting up a few months after season seven left off. You can read the interview with him here.

The comic, due out starting in March, is by Dark Horse Comics where you can preorder it. I hope it turns out well.

Another Quiz

2006-12-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

Still a bit sick (chest cold since Sunday) so I'm taking it easy.

Got this via Aaron who got it via Secret Simon

Gerald Ford - R.I.P.

2006-12-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

Former president Gerald Ford dies at 93

WASHINGTON — Gerald Rudolph Ford, an Eagle Scout from Grand Rapids, Mich., whose earnest integrity helped Americans recuperate from the devious evils of the Watergate affair, has died at age 93.

Ford was the nation's only unelected president, radiant with decency, successful without seeming ambitious, "an ordinary man," according to biographer James Cannon, called to serve America in extraordinary circumstances.

Nobody's fool - Ford graduated in the top third of his Yale Law School class - he profited all his life from people who underestimated him. But Ford was a wooden speaker, more consensus-builder than leader, and, in what was then the closest presidential election in 60 years, he lost in 1976 to Jimmy Carter.

It was the only election America's 38th president ever lost. But it was also his only campaign outside Michigan's Fifth District, the optimistic, entrepreneurial, moderate Republican stronghold that Ford represented in Congress - embodied, you could say - for nearly 25 postwar years.

Ford, then House minority leader, intended to retire in 1976 and had promised his wife, Betty, that he would. But Richard Nixon picked Ford in October 1973 as his second vice president. Nixon's first, Spiro Agnew, had been forced to resign in a plea bargain after Justice Department investigators determined that Agnew had taken kickbacks from Maryland contractors.

"Well, it would be a good way to end my career," Ford responded with characteristic, slightly ungainly modesty. He was the choice, Nixon had determined, of most Democratic and Republican congressional leaders. Ford succeeded Nixon on Aug. 9, 1974, after irrefutable taped evidence showed that Nixon had, despite his denials, participated in the cover-up of a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters.

"My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over," said Ford as he took office. Ford had argued with his speechwriter that "long national nightmare" was too hard on Nixon, but it was just the right chord to strike, as were Ford's first White House days. After two weeks on the job, Ford's Gallup Poll approval rating had soared to 71 percent.

Then, a month later, from an absolute conviction that it was, Ford said, "the right thing to do," he forfeited much of his popularity and his political future in a single stroke: He pardoned Nixon unconditionally. While Ford denied that the pardon had been part of the bargain with Nixon to induce him to step down, that suspicion was widespread and persistent.

"This blundering intervention is a body blow to the President's own credibility and to the public's reviving confidence in the integrity of its government," sputtered a New York Times editorial. Overnight, Ford's popularity plummeted 22 points.

The political price was certifiably permanent. Ford lost the popular vote to Carter by 47.9 percent to 49.9 percent in 1976. Roughly six percent of voters interviewed in exit polls said Ford's pardoning of Nixon had made it impossible for them to vote for him.

Was there a deal? Ford's standing in history depends largely on the answer. Certainly, Nixon's chief of staff, Alexander Haig, had approached Ford while Ford was vice president to sound him out on a pardon for Nixon. And certainly, Haig, who served as Ford's chief of staff, kept Nixon abreast of Ford's thinking about a possible pardon after Nixon resigned.

Ford was "not instinctively suspicious" by nature, however, and may not, according to longtime senior adviser Robert Hartmann, have considered his pardon discussions with Haig to have been soundings-out for Nixon's benefit. Haig, at any rate, kept his conferring with Nixon about a pardon secret from Ford.

Rep. Peter Rodino, D-N.J., who'd been chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating the Watergate affair, tried to clarify the ambiguous situation in an interview 17 years later with Ford biographer Cannon. "Nixon, being the kind of manipulator he was, knew that Ford was a feeling, humane and decent guy," Rodino told Cannon, "and might have felt that a pardon was something he could count on from Ford. But Jerry Ford is not the man who would ever make a deal like that. Jerry was like a Boy Scout - the truth is the truth.

"Any number of people felt there had to be a deal," Rodino said, "but they didn't know Jerry Ford."

Rodino accepted Ford's explanation that only a pardon could avert years of sordid, distracting humiliation that trials of Nixon and his henchmen would have produced.

None of the other ups and downs of Ford's 895-day presidency - the final helicopter withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Saigon, the big red-and-white Whip Inflation Now lapel buttons, the beginnings in Helsinki, Finland, of successful arms reduction measures - defined the man as clearly as Ford's pardon of Nixon did.

Over a lifetime, Grand Rapids had created him. Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. in Omaha, Neb., he adopted his stepfather's name after his parents divorced and his mother moved to Grand Rapids and married Gerald R. Ford Sr.

The stepson was a handsome and popular teen in the city of 169,000, a Boy Scout in fact and values. His mother, a good Episcopalian, was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Depression had squeezed his stepfather, a varnish salesman to local furniture makers, however, to the point that college looked impossible for Ford. Thanks largely to a scholarship fund created from bookstore profits at Grand Rapids South High School, where he'd been an all-state center on the football team, Ford graduated from the University of Michigan in 1935.

Although "Saturday Night Live" caricatured Ford as a klutz, and TV news clips showed him hitting his head on two aircraft doorjambs, Ford was, among presidents, the most accomplished athlete. The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions offered Ford post-college professional football contracts, Detroit's the better offer at $200 a game. Instead, he coached football and boxing at Yale for two years, and, on the second try, won admission to its law school.

The day after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Ford shuttered his thriving Grand Rapids law practice and volunteered for the Navy. He served as a gunnery officer and later a navigation officer on a carrier that won eleven battle stars in 13 months in the Pacific. A year after the war, at age 35, he defeated Grand Rapids' five-term House Republican incumbent. Two weeks after the primary, he married Betty Bloomer Warren, a divorced former John Robert Powers model. She'd been a Martha Graham dancer in New York, then fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a Grand Rapids department store.

Rep. Ford and Hubert Humphrey, Minnesota's new senator, both got their start in the 81st Congress, sworn in January 1949. One class ahead of them were Reps. Richard Nixon of California and John Kennedy of Massachusetts. Ford's big break was to be named, while a freshman, to the Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on the Army. It was a powerful post that Ford, a hawk when it came to Vietnam and the Cold War, worked extraordinary hours to master.

Coupled with frequent trips to Grand Rapids, however, it meant Ford was rarely home in Alexandria, Va., with the family's two - and eventually four - children. To cope, Betty Ford admitted in her autobiography, "The Times of My Life," she'd sometimes put a spoonful of vodka into her morning coffee. Alcohol, coupled with painkillers taken for a persistent back ailment, led her to admit in 1978, with candor unique among First Ladies, to a substance abuse problem. Betty Ford recovered within the year.

The Fords retired to Rancho Mirage, Calif., and a home alongside the 13th hole at the Thunderbird Golf Club. A $1 million deal as an NBC commentator, a $1.5 million deal for his-her memoirs, and numerous corporate consultancies and board memberships made the Fords multimillionaires in their retirement. Betty Ford co-founded the non-profit Betty Ford Center for substance abusers in 1982.

Presidents Ford and Carter joined to oppose the Reagan administration's arms build-up and President George H.W. Bush's vow to impose no new taxes. Budget-balancing, they argued, was more important. In later years, Ford often appeared at charitable events, particularly those requiring a bag of golf clubs. He swam twice daily well into his 80s.

Four children survive the former president: Michael, director of student development at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Steven, an actor in Los Angeles; Jack, a businessman in San Diego, and Susan Ford Bales, an author and activist in drug- and cancer- awareness programs who lives in Corrales, N.M.

The family appeared close and warm for all its travails, largely thanks to Betty. She'd let it all hang out back in 1947 when the couple's courting was still dilatory. As her beau took off without her for a week's skiing in Utah, Betty gave him a lighter for his pipe. She'd had it engraved: "To the light of my life."

James Brown - R.I.P.

2006-12-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

TEXTLegendary Singer James Brown Dies at 73

AP) James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.

Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.

Copsidas said the cause of death was uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.

Pete Allman, a radio personality in Las Vegas who had been friends with Brown for 15 years, credited Brown with jump-starting his career and motivating him personally and professionally.

"He was a very positive person. There was no question he was the hardest working man in show business," Allman said. "I remember Mr. Brown as someone who always motivated me, got me reading the Bible."

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.

If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.

"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told The Associated Press. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."

His hit singles include such classics as "Out of Sight," "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Say It Loud _ I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in a South Carolina prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release on in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business."

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.

In 1986, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.

Brown's work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. "The music out there is only as good as my last record," Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," he told the AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, he was abandoned as a 4-year-old to the care of relatives and friends and grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it. There he learned to wheel and deal.

"I wanted to be somebody," Brown said.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars.

While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.

While most of Brown's life was glitz and glitter, he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.

In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom.

Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.

Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991. In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.

Soon after his release, Brown was on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable television viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said.

More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr.

Two years later, Brown spent a week in a private Columbia hospital, recovering from what his agent said was dependency on painkillers. Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, said singer was exhausted from six years of road shows.

MMVI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Cat News with Smiley Muffin

2006-12-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

Too friggin' funny. Thanx to Chrisafer for bringing it to my attention.

Episode One:

Episode Two:

Episode Three:

Season's Greetings!

2006-12-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

For those who celebrate it - Merry Christmas!!!

CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE DISTURBED

* 1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

* 3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

* 4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets
and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees
and.

* 6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

* 8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm
Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at
the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?

* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Dudley Do-Right Has Mounted His Last

2006-12-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

(P.S. Dave - I'll do the meme soon! Really! --Lee)

'Rocky and Bullwinkle' Writer Dies at 81

Dec 18, 11:39 AM EST

The Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Chris Hayward, an Emmy-winning television writer who helped develop the bumbling animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right and other offbeat characters for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show, has died. He was 81.

Hayward died of cancer Nov. 20 at this Beverly Hills home, his wife, Linda, told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday editions.

Hayward contributed satire, wordplay and puns for "Rocky and His Friends," a witty cartoon that built a large adult following. The show debuted on ABC in 1959 and was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show" when it moved to NBC in 1961.

Besides its titular flying squirrel and moose, the hit show featured segments including Mr. Peabody, a time-traveling dog with a boy companion, and Dudley, a klutzy hero always in pursuit of his nemesis Snidely Whiplash.

The first episode Hayward co-wrote for the two lead characters was "Rue Britannia," according to "The Moose That Roared" (2000), a history of the show. In the episode, Bullwinkle has to stay in the Abominable Manor in England.

"Shucks, I've been livin' in an abominable manner all my life!" the moose says.

Jay Ward, whose studio produced the show, gave very little instruction to Hayward when it came to reinventing the Do-Right character, which had been around since the late 1940s.

"It's about a stupid Mountie. Just have fun!" Hayward recalled.

The character was voiced by Bill Scott, who also was the voice behind Bullwinkle.

With partner Allan Burns, Hayward later helped create "The Munsters," and in 1968 the pair received an Emmy for their work on the CBS sitcom "He & She."

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Hayward moved to Los Angeles at age 17. He took a night class in scriptwriting at a local high school and went into television in the 1950s. He worked on "Crusader Rabbit," the first cartoon show created specifically for television, as well as "Get Smart," "My Mother the Car" and "Barney Miller."

In addition to his wife, Hayward is survived by his children, Laurel, Victoria and Tony, from a previous marriage that ended in divorce.

Crumb-cast Strikes Again

2006-12-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Friggin' system-wide crash for both cable modem and tv for 6.5 hours last night! I had to actually DO something constuctive instead of futaing around on line! I'm just glad I didn't need to do any school work online.

"That guy's being awfully forward with that donkey."

2006-12-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

I just watched Clerks II. Gawd, I loved it.

Yeah, emotionally arrested, I guess.

The Jewelry Dept. of the "Oh. My. Gawd!" Store

2006-12-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

I found these very interesting, to say the least, pieces of Jewelry via Davezilla's and AmericanInventorSpot's Michelle's sites and, giving my bizarre and twisted sense of appreciation, I liked this. The jeweler, Luna Parc owner Ricky Boscarino, does have some other non-anatomy pieces which are nice

These ones...:

...are from jeweler Margaux Lange's plastic body parts series of brooches, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings.

Scary Mary

2006-12-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been 'round the past week posting here but the semester's winding to a close and I had a shitload of readin' and writin' and quiz takin' to do before it ends. Just a final on Monday and then I'll be on vacation! YIPPIE SKIPPY! {insert imaginary video of me doing happy dance here)

Anyway, in the meantime, I present this - The Scary "Mary Poppins" Video! Hilarious!!

######

BTW - Check out Baby Jane as an Elf!

World AIDS Day

2006-12-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Take Action Today

In Memorial
Emilio Escarcega
Monte-Jon Gilmer
Damon Anthony
Gary Feltner
Steve Hall
Delbert Hibden
Gene Kelton
Glenn Sabel
Newton-John Skinner
Gary Trent
Louie Wash

And in honor of those living with with the disease.

Fear Me Pity Them

2006-11-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

You now have the honor of reading the blog of the Vice President of my homeowners association.

The annual HOA meeting was tonight and a new board was elected for the year. I've NO idea how I'll pull it off.

And Now For a 70's Disco Flashback!

2006-11-25T02:58:00.000-07:00

Gawd! I can't believe there's a video out there for this song! (I do loves me some YouTube!) and I can't believe this song is now 32 years old! I remember hearing it way back in 74 and loving it ever since. It's SO fuckin' quintissential 70's disco! I present Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra with "Love's Theme":

I DO So Love French and Saunders!

2006-11-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

And YouTube! Here, for your entertainment is French and Saunders' parody of the making of "The Titanic":

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4