Meme-iograph

Sarah challenged me to copy her little photographical biography so I accept.

The place I grew up:


The place I live now:

Astoria

My first name is:

Valerie Click here

My last name is:



My grandmother's names are

Bertha

and


Mary

My favorite food:

Sushi


My favorite drink:

Water


My favorite song:

I Will Survive

and my favorite Beatle:

Paul

My favorite shoes:

the above Chinese slippers in orange

Creepy

I'm sure by now you've heard of this Dean Schwartzmiller character.

Investigators say he's been keeping a journal of the children he molested over the years. A smart neighbor became suspicious of him when he gave her young sons treats and it's a good thing too. Turns out he never registers anywhere as a sex offender as required by Megan's Law. So he's been moving from state to state for years molesting children along the way.

It's just so darn disturbing.

Hit Me One More Time

Okay. New reality show - summer programming. Hit Me One More Time.

Highlights of the show tonight.

• Wang Chung performing It's Getting Hot in Here by Nelly
• The lead singer of Cameo wearing a shiny black latex outfit with a screaming red cod piece.

Sacrificial Lambs

A terrible news story from London finds that young African boys are being trafficked through London churches for the purposes of human sacrifice.

At what point are things going to improve in Africa? Perhaps Geldof is right. It is going to take a worldwide effort to help the people of this region. I was listening to something last night on the radio about Sierra Leone and chidren soldiers and amputations and blood diamonds. 1 out of 4 people is reported to have A.I.D.S. People are starving over at least one quarter of the continent.

Gosh. It makes me sad.

Nature Turned On Her Air Conditioner

and we are all grateful to her for doing so. The weather is so much nicer than it was two days ago. I'm feeling better already - cleaner.

Getting Over the Hump

Wednesday is like 3:00 in the afternoon. Once you get to through that hour rest of the day goes by fairly quickly. Once Wednesday is over, the rest of the work week flies by.

I certainly did miss going trivia to last night but I'm glad I was able to work out. I'm trying to lost two pounds this week and I think I'm well on my way. We'll see.

They gym was very, very crowded. Mon, Tues and Wed are the crowded nights. Thursday through Sunday has less of a crowd. I tried to listen to Dark Side of the Moon on the treadmill's CD player but it wouldn't play. I guess the CD is just too old. I listened to the piped in club music and watched the accompanying videos on the monitor instead. I've been catching up with the popular music scene. Justin Timberlake seems to dominate the gym's station - Justin, Britney and Kylie. Does anyone else find Justin Timberlake disturbing? I think he's having some sort of identity crisis because he sings and dances like Michael Jackson which is silly because he is talented enough not to have to do a weak impersonation of MJ. Of course he could be doing it as a tribute but he should probably save that for the Kennedy Center.

Buggin' Out

Alaska is experiencing a plague of bugs. Yuck.

Hot, Hazy and Humid

When you look at the skyline from the elevated tracks of the N train in Queens, you can see a dirty layer of shmutz hovering over the city. That's what happens when the weather has been hot, hazy and humid for several days in a row. I look out at that layer of schmutz with dread on my morning commute because I know that the grimy, moist hot air will soon be settling on my skin - that I have been trying to take really good care of because of the proximity to my 40th birthday. Granted it's still a few years off but I can already see the careworn lines around my eyes when I laugh. My hands still look young but the eyes - the eyes have it. My age is starting to show and I wear my age with pride but it is showing none the less.

I'm eating my Yo Baby yogurt, a little snack before the gym - a little calcium and protein to help me along the way. I can't decide which T-shirt to wear so I'm typing this in my bra.

Are you bored yet? Me too and how nice it is to be bored for a few minutes. Things are so crazy at work now - it's great. I'm so busy all day but I remember to take breaks so the work load remains manageable.

I just got RUNNING WITH SCISSORS in the mail. I've been looking forward to reading this book for some time now. I just finished King of the World by David Remnick which is not about Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Titanic - thank you very much. It's a fantastic look at Muhammad Ali and the era that made him. The author also looks at the world of boxing and where it fits into American history. EXCELLENT. I can't recommend the book highly enough.

By the way, I went with my Green Party T-shirt.

Not Attending Trivia Tonight

If you've come here looking to see if I'm going to Tuesday Night Trivia, I am NOT going. I am two days behind at the gym and I've got a wedding dress to look good in in October, but I'll see you there next week.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Michael Jackson was found not guily by a jury of his peers today. I wonder if he is going to leave the country now as promised several weeks ago.

In a move that surprises no one and interests fewer people than no one, Katie Holmes is converting to Scientology.

Pink Floyd is reuniting for Live8, Sir Bob Geldof's fundraising party in Hyde Park July 2. The fund raiser will bring awareness to growing problems to Africa. If Geldof didn't organize these events I would never have known there were problems in Africa.

Monday Morning

Monday here. I don't thingk I can take it anymore. I am under so much pressure to make sure everyone is happy but no matter how hard I try, things still go wrong on Monday. I have to try to get alarm clocks working, trains running well, find matching outfits for people in the dark, and guarantee the weather is to everyone's liking. If the weather is too nice people will get upset with me because they'll wish I had provided that weather on the weekend. If its not nice enough people will assume there is some curse on Monday put on people as part of a conspiracy to make their lives miserable.

Well. I've had it. I'm tired of being Monday and tired everybody's piss poor attitude about me.

So #$*%*^ you and the horse you rode in on.

S-A-TUR-DAY Night!!

Thank you Phil for inviting Jon and me to your housewarming party. I was really impressed with your apartment and wish you the best of living in your new neighborhood.
===================
Lazy Saturday spread to midtown Manhattan, yesterday. I recruited Sarah to hang about doing nothing with me and we ended up doing nothing at her apartment instead. We did nothing by way of synching up Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz but only made it up to the Tin Man which is okay because that's about where the coincidences run out. I met Sarah's landlord and his lovely wife.

Around 5 we headed over to the Film Center Cafe. Here is a picture I took of the cafe using available light. You may notice how dark and depressing it is, that you can't see anything. It's the most depressing place I've ever eaten although the food was quite good, I could barely see anything. And this coming from someone who likes dark, seedy places. This is shot looking into the kitchen which is thankfully well lit. I commented to Sarah that the Film Center Cafe is the perfect gathering place for depressive artist types - well, because of its darkness.


By the time we were ready to head back to Sarah's apartment, the skies had already opened up and were dumping buckets of water onto midtown. Here is a picture of Sarah while we wait by the front door of the cafe waiting for the rain to slow down just a little. We were both wearing open shoes and I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of getting my feet both wet and dirty.


After drying off, we met up with our friends and drove out to Bay Ridge for the above mentioned housewarming party. In the car we had a three way camera shoot out. Here is Caren shooting at me shooting at her and then Sarah shooting at me shooting at her.




Thank you to "CENSORED" for giving us a ride to the party through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, the traffic on the Belt, the crowded streets of Bay Ridge. We appreciate it, believe me.

Once there I rested my camera as other people were busily shooting away. Sometimes you just have to put the camera down otherwise you end up watching your life through the lens. On the way out of Phil's building, Sarah and I both got a shot of this great sign in Phil's lobby warning that the acts of trespassing, smoking, gambling, loitering or playing in the lobby by anyone other than the tenants will result in arrests by the police . . . . as opposed to what the KGB? the Gestapo? the Khmer Rouge?


The trip from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn back to Astoria, Queens took a long time. Here is Sarah with our new friend at the Bay Ridge Avenue station. We walked out of Phil's about 11:30 and didn't get home until a little after 1am. However, as long as that took, we still did pretty well considering we had to change from an R to an N. We are fortunate that we live on the N line. It's at the entirely opposite end of the line from where we picked it up but felt fortunate and thrilled the trains were running with somewhat regularity.

WWII Memorial

I finally have a chance to post some of the pictures from our trip to DC in May.

Here is the WW II Memorial

White House

Here we are in front of the White House.

Headless Horseman

This very cool painting of the The Headless Horseman story is on display at the Renwick Gallery as well.

Renwick Gallery

A painting from the Renwick Gallery.

Isn't she lovely? Abbott Handerson Thayer is quickly becoming a favorite painter of mine.

National Gallery

I was quite fond of these two images both from the National Gallery.

I don't know what it is about still lifes, but I always like them, especially when they are as bold as this one.


This image fooled me. From the distance I thought it was three dimensional but up close you can see it is a flat. Pretty amazing, huh?

National Archives

We went to the National Archives to look at the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. While waiting on line I shot this picture of the corinthian columns that dominate the facade of the National Archives building.



Jon thought I looked cute taking that picture so he asked me to recreate my pose without the camera so he could use it to shoot the picture of me recreating shooting the above picture.

Random Four

Random Thing #1
This morning I went into L.A. Cafe on 23rd and Broadway for some breakfast. Today was a muffin day - a low carb pistachio muffin day to be exact and the L.A. Cafe is the only place that I know of that offers one. But waiting on line I was tempted with this.

Yes. You are reading the sign correctly. These are indeed Rocky Road Cupcakes. In a brilliant act of resistance I passed them by without a second thought until this very moment and I'm really, really thinking about them right now.
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Random Thing #2
Today was one of those days, where you don't do anything or think about anything but your job. I didn't have a single thought of my own beyond what I should have for lunch, how much water should I drink and whether or not I was remembering to go to the bathroom. When I got out of work, I instantly slowed down and meandered to the subway, making a few observations and snapping a few shots. I fell in love with this piece of a NYC phone booth.


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Random Thing #3
I don't know if you believe me when I tell you that the NYC subways are slow. There is nothing worse than having to wait a long time for your train after a hard day of work. So I took a picture of this clock put there as courtesy of the NYC MTA. As well as the time, they broadcast messages like "don't lean on the doors" or "give your seat to old or disabled person" because we don't know how to do these things on our own and I'm not kidding. I don't know how many times I've given my seat up because nobody else would which is fine because that's what you should but. . . come one. Just once, I'd like to see a guy give up his seat for an elderly person or pregnant woman. By the way, I didn't get home until 6:40 pm. I don't live that far away.


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Random Thing #4
By the time I got out of the train and worked my way through the rush hour crowd and made my way out of the station and down the stairs and on to the street, I was ready to go home especially since the promise of the AC in our bedroom lay ahead of me. Jon put the AC in this morning. Thank goodness. I chose to walk past the Greek Orthodox church. In that direction there are less people and I get to look at the church's pretty garden. Here is one of their roses. I always stop and look at them because one should always take the time to pay attention to roses especially when they are big and happy like this one.

Cheaters!!!

The Onion features a report this week on performance enhancing hugs at the Special Olympics this year. I knew those people were cheating.

But What Will We Feed Our Dogs?

Landslide U.S. House of Representatives Vote to End Horse Slaughter
6/9/2005 3:35:00 PM

WASHINGTON, June 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- For the second time in just three weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of stopping horse slaughter in the United States. Yesterday's 269-158 landslide vote bars federal funds from being used to facilitate all horse slaughter. A previous amendment only prevented wild horses from going to slaughter.

"The facts and truth about the immense cruelty inflicted on America's horses won out last night, despite strong last-minute efforts by pro-horse slaughter organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Quarter Horse Association to mislead Members of Congress," said actress Bo Derek, spokesperson for the National Horse Protection Coalition, of which the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) and Doris Day Animal League are founding members.

Because yesterday's amendment is attached to an annual spending bill, it will only stop horse slaughter for one year. The U.S. Senate must also approve the measure, which will be the next focus for the coalition. The vote demonstrates strong public and congressional support for a permanent ban -- which must be achieved through passage of H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. U.S. Representative John Sweeney (R- NY), who sponsored yesterday's amendment, is also the sponsor of the Act. He is joined on both measures by his colleagues, U.S. Representatives John Spratt (D-SC), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Nick Rahall (D-WV).

"The vote on an amendment by Congressmen Sweeney, Spratt, Rahall and Whitfield is a huge victory on behalf of our campaign to end horse slaughter. These tremendous legislators, their incredible staff and all of those who voted in favor of ending horse slaughter showed us what good can come from the halls of Congress," said Chris Heyde, SAPL policy analyst.
"We always believed that if we could just bring this issue before the full Congress, we would prevail. The facts, and the American public, support an end to horse slaughter. Congress listened, and we are one step closer to making horse slaughter a thing of the past in this country. But Americans must continue to push Congress for a permanent ban," said Liz Ross, director of special projects for the Doris Day Animal League.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
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Too Hot Too Soon

It's too soon to put in the air conditioner or is it?

I woke up around 4 sweating so maybe it is. But if the weather goes back to normal, we'll have closed off the only window in our bedroom, cutting off any nice and natural spring breezes.

But I can't go through another night like last night. That was ridiculous. My throat is soar. Ow.

My Trainer and Me

Tonight when I got to the gym, my former trainer pulled me into his office and started talking to me about his personal life. It is nice to know that I've made a new friend. He told me at the end of the rap session that he thinks of me as an "older" sister. I told him lots of guys think of me as a sister and it's true. They do. There's just something very sisterly about me.

Going to the gym has now become a habit. There's no wanting to go or not wanting to go there's just going because that's what I do now in my free time. With that mind, I didn't feel much like going to the gym tonight. I wasn't expecting much from my workout. That's when you know you are going to have a great workout and guess what? I had a great workout. I did whatever you do on the elliptical machine for three miles and my heart rate was nice and high meaning I was both working my heart and burning fat. Wahoo!! When I looked at the monitors of the people to either side of me I thought it an incredible coincidence that their heart rates matched mine. Turns out the monitor I was wearing across my chest was reading out on the machines to either side of me. The guy to the left of me kept adjusting his workout because he couldn't understand why his heartrate was so high. I didn't say anything. He could afford to calm down. He was way too thin anyway.

Some Other Trivia Pictures

Sarah


Sam


Caren talking to trivia regular and occassional trivia host Jonathan Bloomfeld.


Jonathan B. with Kory and Phil

Third Anniversary of Tuesday Trivia

Last night was the 3rd Anniversary of Tuesday Night Trivia.


Caren and Brad hosted and they did a terrific job.

There was a huge crowd.



As you can see there were at least 1,000 people there.

I can't really write about it now. I'm so busy. I have to run out of here.

But I'll try to post more about it during the day.

Yuck Part II or Stowaway Horror Story

NEW YORK (AP) - A body part apparently fell from the wheel well of a plane coming in for a landing on Tuesday at John F. Kennedy Airport and landed in a suburban backyard, authorities said. More remains were found on a South African Airways flight after it landed at Kennedy, said Tony Ciavolella, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said a Customs agent meeting the plane, Flight 203, after its landing at Kennedy's terminal three discovered a leg hanging from the left wheel well section. Police suspect the remains were that of a male stowaway, Ciavolella said. He would not confirm that the incidents at the airport and Long Island were related, saying, "It's still under investigation." Messages left with South African Airways were not immediately returned. Police in Nassau County received a call at 10:51 a.m. about a body part found in the backyard of a house in Floral Park. It apparently had hit the roof of a garage and bounced to the ground, said Officer Thomas Blanchard. Peters said the skies over Floral Park, about 5½ miles from the airport, would be about the point where a pilot would routinely start lowering a plane's landing gear in preparation for arrival. The South African Airways flight had originated in Johannesburg, but made one stop in Dakar, Senegal. AP-ES-06-07-05 1500EDT �

Yuck

in what can only be described as madness Chinese citizens are having themselves surgically stretched. height is believed to gain advantages in work and romance, spurning on a trend in surgical procedures and home bought stretching machines.

Another Photographer

Jon and I met with another wedding photographer last night.

All I can say about this guy is WOW!!

Here is his website. Be sure to check out his art photography as well.

Ion Zupcu.

He prints your proofs in his dark room and his prints are spectacular. The website doesn't do them justice. The whites are creamy and rich and the details are so there. He showed is three samples of wedding albums and, and, and . . .I could go on and on.

I liked this guy.

Monday

Eyes open. Check.
Clothes on. Check.
Face clean. Check.
Bag packed. Check.
Ready to go. Check?

I am not ready for Monday. Can we have lazy Sunday back?

Hottest Day of the Year So Far

Today was the hottest day of the year so far. According to the hour by hour prediction on www.weather.com it's only going to go down to 70 degrees tonight which might mean an uncomfortable night. Just a couple of days ago it was nice and cool and rainy and now it's hot, sticky and gross. Today was not a good day to bake anything, so I did not use my new Artisan mixer. Rats. But I am cooking and defrosting my freezer which resembles Siberia on a bad day. What am I cooking? Why chicken, of course with Vidalia onions, plum tomatoes and currents.

Today has been a relatively lazy Sunday with the exception of that hour at the gym. I used the sauna and the shower and I indeed dared to go naked in the locker room although I don't yet feel comfortable slathering lotion all over. I was only bare for a second. It wasn't so bad. The gym provides a shampoo and condition that smells fruity so now my hair smells like fruit.

60 minutes is playing a news story about bears in people's backyards. Yawn.

The Artisan

I present to you the KitchenAid Artisan Mixer. It has long been my dream to own a KitchenAid standing mixer and now I do. Thank you to my lovely aunt for the wonderful present. I am not surewhat to prepare first. Maybe I'll bake some whole wheat bread. Any suggestions?

Friday At Last!!

This has been a busy four day week. Yesterday I had to run an errand from my office to LI City. Not a big deal, right? I got from my office to my final destination in about 20 minutes. Very easy. On the way back it took twice as long. Gosh darn NYC MTA!!!!!

MTA closed the 5 stations leading to Queens Plaza on the 7 line. I needed to take the 5th one. Because the station was closed I had to go further into Queens, get into a train running express to Queens Plaza and transfer to the N. So I had to wait for the N. I did. It took a while. Then, when I got to 34th Street . . . you guessed it!!! I had to transfer for a local so I could get my stop at 23rd Street. I had to wait there too.

It sucked!!!

Happy June!!

Today is Wednesday, June 1, 2005 - 20 more days until the summer solstice. Already, the mercury is rising and the air is becoming saturated with moisture. I was at the dreaded 34th St. N subway platform last night. It's starting to get warm down there. The smell of pee and humanity and impatience is becoming more and more prevalent as I find myself passing through that station more and more on a daily basis. How do I always end up there?

These mild springs are deceiving. They lull is into a false sense that our summer will be mild as well. But what really happens is that as the summer solstice occurs we instantly have 90 degree weather with 93% humidity and hardly any relief at all.
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I went to Tuesday Trivia for the first time in ages last night. I played with Caren, Punka, Barry, Jill, Mike, Nick, Kory and Kory's friend whose name I can't ever remember. The five rounds consisted of one on Bruce Willis (who knew you could make a round out of him?), current events, a top 10 list on best selling movie soundtracks with The Bodyguard at the top of the list (surprise to me. Another surprise - West Side Story was nowhere to be found). After these first three rounds we were in a dismal 8th place. The visual round consisted of group shots of people from 80's television shows. The audio round were 10 songs by Burt Bacharach recorded by popular artists. Our team had enough strength in these two rounds that we were able to pull ourselves up to second place. Wahoo. Now that American Idol and the Amazing Race are finished, I'll be going to trivia regularly.

Deep Throat - Not A Woman

Deep Throat finally came out of the closet and not a moment too soon. I saw footage on Channel 2 of W. Mark Felt waving at reporters from inside his front door. He looks like he could expire any moment. This guy is old, really most sincerely old. He kept his identity a secret for over 30 years. That's remarkable. I am probably the only one of my current friends old enough to remember when Nixon was President, barely. My memories start coming clearly into focus around Ford, but that's neither here nor there. My understanding of Watergate is that the coverup was the scandal. What was covered up wasn't necessarily so bad. The scandal was complicated and resulted in the impeachment of a President who was a big fan of McCartheyism. Nixon wasn't cupcake but he wasn't such a bad guy either. It's important to remember that all politicians are crooked and probably all have some kind of Watergate like scandal in their closet. The trick is that their closets are locked a little tighter and are better guarded.

Home town parade

This weekend was great. You already know about Saturday. Sunday, I picked my china pattern and flatwear and crystal etcetera at Fortunoffs. My parent's neighbors threw a picnic which we were all invited to. Jon and I finalized our invitations - my dad is printing them.

And then on Monday the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Jon and I attended the annual Memorial Day Parade in Long Beach. My father organized it this year. Here is my dad marching with the AmVets.
He's the one on the left in the navy jacket.

It was like any home town parade, every organization in town was represented. The Long Beach Public Library had five people walk with a huge banner and the post office touted all 5 of Long Beach Post Office's official mail vehicles.


The most fun was watching the kids in the parade, especially the Long Beach High School band. I marched in the parade from 4th grade to my senior year as a flautist so I started to get choked up when I saw the flag twirlers leading the pack.


When the band pulled up behind them, there were a couple of tears, especially when I saw the flutes. Later, I broke out into full tears when I caught up with former flute teacher who now teaches music in Long Beach and directs the elementary school marching bands.


Here's one more shot of the band playing at the band stand. Notice how cool and stylish their berets look. When I was in the band we had to wear enormous Q-tip style hats with tassles. You've seen them. They are featured in every teen movie in the segment with the marching band as a tribute to most people's awful experience with those uncomfortable polyester uniforms.

Saturday Highlights Figuratively

Lazy Saturday survives although yesterday I wasn't completely lazy. I was at the gym for two hours. 40 minutes on the treadmill, the remaining time was spent working on upper body. Of course I threw in a little leg and ass work but you have to do that every day to some extent.

The rest of the day I watched TV and went food shopping. That's it. Well, I didn't watch TV exactly. I watched an episode of The Amazing Race Season 2. I watched Public Enemy and programmed the remote so it controls the TV, the VCR and the cable box. Now I can turn everything on just by using one remote control. It probably doesn't surprise you that I made dinner last night - salad with avocado, apples and Newman's Own low calorie raspberry vinaigrette. It was good.

When Jon came home from work, we watched The Wizard of Oz which still holds up after all these years. I NEVER get tired of that movie- great special effects, great acting and great writing. Judy Garland's sweetness in The Wizard of Oz stands in sharp contrast to the not-so-innocent performance she gives in A Star is Born. In that movie, she's already fallen apart. She's too thin, drunk and ashen. She plays the has been that she was.

I much prefer the younger Judy.

What a Waist!!

After 4 months of working out I'm seeing results. This morning, I found my waist line. It's been a while.

In honor of this great accomplishment, I am going to the gym this morning. My personal sessions with Brandon ended on Wednesday night, but I learned so much from him that I can make it on my own without him, although I'll miss him. I don't know if I'll be able to match the intensity of our workouts on my own. I sure will try though.

Today's Disturbing Icons

Disturbing. Clearly that horrible show with the talking baby resonated deeply with the advertising agency that thought up this campaign for Quiznos. It's not so much that the baby talks. It's more what he says. Babies should not be ironic.



When did the Blue Man Group sell out? Apparently The Blue Man Group is some kind of theatrical franchise that can be seen in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Berlin and Toronto. So why not in a Centrino commercial? Because there is no connection between computer chip technology and alternative theater.



This unfortunate icon is what happens when Mardi Gras meets Madison Avenue. Would you really eat anything this giant head handed over? No. Because only a deranged man would wear something like which means he could have put poison in anything he wanted to feed me.



I couldn't find an image of this most disturbing icon of all but I was able to find an image of a child wearing the Great Adventure weird guy costume. Is there anything more unsettling than watching that old guy dancing? Yes. Yes. I know it's a young man in an old guy get up, but still. I never want to go to Great Adventure again in fear that I might see this guy and he asks me to dance.

Mister Rogers Watches Me

September 13, 1996, my friend Jane gave me a postcard of Mister Rogers wearing his golden sweater. It hangs over my desk and whenever I look up, there he is. In the card she wrote, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Happy, Happy Birthday Valerie! Love, J." I really liked Jane. We lost touch over the years. She was very interesting. She was the editor for the Occupational Health & Safety line of books for the publisher I was working for at the time. 10 years my senior, I thought everything she did was cool. She believed in recycling everything, so much so that she owned a used clothing, jewelry and furniture store. Cool. When she went to Bali with her boyfriend she came back with a bad case of Malaria. Cool. When she went to her assistant's wedding to an FBI agent, she thought for sure they all knew her because of her various anti-estblishment activities and attitudes. Cool. She was an Italophile and an expert in Italian literature. Cool. I left that job for a better one as a direct mail marketing manager for a conferencing company and when I left she gave me a picture of Mother Jones's tombstone with a private inspiration thought. Cool. Sadly, I lost touch with her. In the last message she left me, she told me she married a police officer and was having a baby which was cool because well everything she did is cool. That child is probably 8 or 9 years old by now.

Jane. If you find this, I would love to hear from you.

Sarah and me

Thank you to Caren for sending this picture of Sarah and me.

A Storm Called Burt

BIG NEWS FOR WEATHER GEEKS. A MONTH OF MAY NOR'EASTER IS HEADING OUR WAY. IT'S GOING TO RAIN ALL WEEK!!! YAHOO!!!
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Spent the evening contributing to the ratings for May Sweeps. I hit all the finales. From 8 - 9, I caught the big showdown on American Idol. From 9 - 10, I watched two men beat the shit out of each other on The Contendor and from 10 - 11, I watched Rob and Amber exchange their wedding vows. Oy Vey!!

Then from 11 to 11:03 pm, on CBS news, I watched footage of Burt Reynolds slapping a producer at a premier for The Longest Yard. He slapped the producer because he admitted to Burt that he never saw the original movie starring Burt Reynolds. After the slap,Burt asked him what kind of man he was that he never saw that movie. He didn't look like he was kidding. But his publicist released a statement that something to that affect - that Reynolds gave the guy a gentle tap as a joke. It sure didn't like a gentle slap. Reynolds seemed genuinely upset.

As soon as I can find the story, I'll link to it.
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More Subway Fun

Here is a picture of me on the train last night. Notice the unhappy look on my face. Got in the train at 6pm. . . the absolute slowest to Astoria. Every five minutes the announcer said "Please be patient. We have a red signal. There is congestion up ahead."

There was congestion. It took me until about 7 to get home from station to front door.

S. Korean Cloning

So. . .the South Koreans have made advances in cloning human cells. Not suprisingly President Bush did not receive the news well.

"I am very concerned about cloning," President Bush said in response to the news. "I worry about a world in which cloning becomes accepted." If Congress manages to pass a bill it is considering that would lift some of the restrictions on stem-cell research in the U.S., the President promised to veto it.

It would easy to pick fun at our President's point of view. Because it seems almost backwards to some people that others might find cloning unethical.You have to admit it is kind of weird, especially when you start to really think about it. Granted, the kind of cloning the South Koreans are advancing is the type that would provide the most benefits - from replacing organs to repairing nerve damage and replacing parts of the brain damaged by Parkinson's or Alzheimers. It's called therapeutic cloning and the South Koreans have started with growing skin.What does it mean to grow human organs in a petry dish? Clearly, this would be something that is living but is this question relevant? If I need a kidney and a doctor can grow a kidney from my own DNA and then puts it in my body where is the ethical dilemma? I think the ethical dilemma comes into play when people start fantasizing that cloning specialists want to grow fetuses in large cylindrical fluid filled containers for the purpose of harvesting organs.

I do not support this sci-fi fantasy. What I do support is the former suggestion, that organs can be created from the DNA of the people that need them. And therefore I support the research that goes into making this idea a reality.

Birthday Fun

Thank you to Sarah for hosting a fun party last night. It was a great opportunity to celebrate with you and to catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!
Happy Birthday Eric!!
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Last night, I was reminded of that lesson I learned in Elementary School about thinking before speaking. Always be mindful of how what you say to others may sound to them. I said something last night, to someone that I should not have said because I didn't think first. I ended up hurting that person's feelings but at least that other person felt comfortable enough to tell me right away and didn't let it fester giving me an opportunity to apologize now. Hopefully, it will be forgotten. I'm sorry.

Washington DC

When Jon and I were in DC, we went to see the White House.

We saw my favorite painting in the National Gallery.

(picture linked to more information)

And we saw grasshoppers humping in the Insect Zoo at the
National Museum of Natural History.

Sad Day for Saddam

That picture of Saddam Hussein in his underwear almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost. Showing those pictures are an invasion of his privacy. It is my understanding that there is going to be an investigation into who leaked those photos to The Sun. But honestly, is there really a need? I'm guessing that this was done under some directive to show a defeated Saddam in order to lower the morale of the continuously rising insurgency - both the taking of the photos and their release to press.

"But wait" you say, "Doesn't that fly in the face of the Geneva Convention rules on the humane treatment of prisoners of war?" Yes. It does. The conventions say countries must protect prisoners of war in their custody from "public curiosity".

It is probably the same directive that allowed those photos released from the Abu Grahib prison and that also made sure those soldiers thoroughly and completely humiliated the prisoners there. Soldiers aren't known for their creative thinking. They are broken down in boot camp and rebuilt to follow orders without question.

Am I suggesting that the US military is somehow behind this? I am actually although I'm not sure how something like this would be done, I think somehow they are doing this. Could I back any of this up? I don't know. . . but I don't necessarily disagree with it.

Something Special

I got to do something special tonight. I helped a friend celebritate a special occasion.

That was really nice. Thank you for letting me celebrate with you.

Wha Happened?

It's Thursday already. Wow.

The week is going by fast, probably because I took Monday off from work.

My maid of honor bridesmaids have ordered their dresses. So, that's one more thing off the checklist. Also, we selected a flower girl and ring bearer.

Right now, we are considering hiring a Long Island dee jay who actually drove from Patchogue to our apartment in Astoria (a considerable schlep) to make his pitch. He showed us a DVD of a party that just looked like so much fun and he is really enthusiastic. He can pipe music into the sanctuary for the ceremony and we're considering a pianist for our cocktail hour.

The scale is continuing to cooperate. With all my setbacks which probably weren't really setbacks, my weight loss is actually on schedule. I'm amazed this is working. I should make my goal weight by the time of the wedding.

Yahoo!!

Thursday

Today is Thursday.
Tomorrow will be Friday.

This post is more boring than Sarah's post.

Dulles Int'l Airport

Jon and I spent two days in DC. We flew in Sunday morning and flew back last night.

On Sunday, we left NY from LaGuardia at 7 in the morning and arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport around 8. That was easy. We checked into the hotel and spent the day, walking around, looking at the White House, visiting the National Archives, and looking through the National Gallery and National Museum of Natural History. We were staying near the White House and walked everywhere. We walked for 6 straight hours and the only time we rode the Metro was to get from the airport to the hotel. It was a great day.

On Monday, we visited the Renwick Gallery, the Corcoran and the mall. We walked around the WWII memorial and enjoyed it this time. Last year, when we went it was 97 degrees and way too hot to really appreciate the memorial. This year it was a cool and breezy 70 something degrees. Much better time of year to visit. We walked along the Reflecting Pool toward the Lincoln Monument and took a closer look at the Korean War Memorial.

Then we started back. We picked up our bags from the hotel, took the Orange line to West Falls Church and a shuttle to the airport. That was easy. Dulles was difficult. There were people everywhere crowding and pushing. We found a line, checked in but it tooka while to figure out what was going on. Of course, our ticket counter was the furthest away from where we were dropped off. Then we waited on a confusing security line. There were 6 or 7 lines that all wrapped around each other and somehow, airport security employees were able to manage them and direct everyone.

After we went through confusing security we had to take a shuttle bus to our departure gate.

Long story short, I was pooped by the time we boarded our plane, which taxied for half an hour before taking off. Arriving at JFK seemed easy after all that work.

But we made it back and we had a good time and it all that travelling was worth it because DC is a great place to visit.

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle is taking some kind of sabbatical, postponing the third season of his hit show on Comedy Central. What I find hard to believe is that he's 31 years old. I thought for shizzle he was older. I know that he's alive and okay because the article I linked to above and several news stories that I've heard put him in South Africa. He's been working pretty hard for a long time. He's always been funny. The LA Times article said that he's been in 12 pilots that have failed and that finally he's had some success with the Chappelle show on Comedy Central.

My guess is that after struggling for so long, a great success like his probably came with a cost. It was a shock to his system and he needs some time to come to terms with it.

I'm sure after a few months of rest and relaxation . . .

Baby Story a Hoax?

Upon going back to the news story at the below link, I found that it's been pulled.My friend and I have been going back and forth on the possibility that the news story about the 12-year-old Maryland girl that looks like a baby is a hoax.

Here is the result of the search I found on my friend's site, which pulled more results than mine, which is why I'm using it. Her search found 56 links to news websites that printed the same article. All 56 links have been taken down. If you go to any of the above you will find the article is not available.

Jon and I have been searching this morning for any other mention of this girl and her strange syndrome which, according to yesterday's article, only she suffers from.

There is nothing. . .

A Strange Story Indeed

I found this story on Drudge's front cover and found it sad and compelling so I want to share it with you here.

The story is about a 12 year old girl who hasn't aged since she was a baby. She looks like a toddler and seems to be stuck in time and developmentally speaking she hasnt' come very far at all - her skills match those of a toddler.

As far as anyone knows, according to the article, this girl is the only person in the world suffering from this strange ailment.

She is in poor health and professionals attribute the love and support that she receives from her family with her ability to thrive

My Brother

Yes. It is true. My brother is the author of NYC MTA STINKS!! He is as irate about the subways as I am if not more so. I was inconvenienced on the subway this morning, but I'm saving that story for his website as I have been given writing privileges.

Today is Friday the 13th. I hope everybody packed an extra vile of holy water this mornign to fend off the evil demons, bad omens and oncoming wickedness.

I added Andrew Sullivan's blog to my list of media blogs. He's funny.

NYC MTA Stinks

Is the title of this blog God's honest truth or is it a fantastic new website by a very frustrated new blogger?

It is both.

Visit NYC MTA STINKS and comment freely. He makes some very good points.

Happy Mother's Day

. . . to my mother and my adopted mothers. To my mother especially, I would like to thank you for bringing me into the world because without you, I wouldn't be here. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I'm celebrating Mother's Day with you.

What are WE doing today? Well, since we spent Passover with my family, we're spending Mother's Day with Jon's. We'll be going down to Princeton, meeting his cousins and then joining Jon's mom and aunt for dinner a little bit later.I'm looking forward to seeing Princeton again. It's very pretty down there.

Here's Spit In Your Eye

Now that winter is gone, I was looking forward to a season or two of NO SPITTING. December 21st in the city is not only the beginning of winter, it is also the beginning of SPITTING SEASON. But no. This year, the end of spitting season is overlapping with the beginning of Spring.

What is WRONG with people?

It seems as though men and women alike in Astoria and other parts of the city are so full of spit once the mercury dips below a certain temperature that the spit just flies out of them. And you know it's just not spit, right? It's some horrible substance SPITTERS produce that comes deep from within the most secret places of their lungs. You see it everywhere, if you look closely enough - going up the stairs in very cold winter you can see frozen spittle hanging off every step in front of you. But it's not very cold winter anymore, so I'm confused. Perhaps allergy season is taking ever the responsibilty of SPITTING SEASON from winter.

The absolute worst offender of this crime against being a good neighbour is the person 5 feet in front of you who spits and leaves their mark in your path. Because now not only have you had to suffer the indignity of having to accidentally watch somebody SPIT, but now you have to walk around their spit, making walking in the city even less relaxing than it already was.

Spit and dog piss covered sidewalks are a good reason to adopt the practice of removing your shoes at the entrance way to your apartment or home. I know people who do this and I admire them. I'm really trying to get into the practice but even as I speak my sneakers are at my socked feet awaiting my departure for my early Sunday appointment at the gym.

Here is my plea to spitters every where. JUST SWALLOW IT and spit later when you get home OR YOU CAN SPIT INTO A TISSUE OR NAPKIN AND THROW IT AWAY IN THE GARBAGE. DUH!!!!!!!

We have to live here also. So you and your nasty SPITTING friends should just think about this.

The Reviews Are In

The reviews are starting to come in anyway, as Lucas completes the mediocre prequel his exciting Star Wars trilogy.

Variety gives the movie a tepid review but finds it much improved over the first two in movies in the three part prequel.

T.G.I.F.

I'm ready for the weekend. Are you?

I sent my mother an azalea plant for Mother's Day at her office. She received it yesterday. Infinitely more fun than sending someone flowers at home, because everyone loves to receive flowers at work.

I'm worn out and can't think of anything to write.

Oh yeah. My BuffBride workouts on Wed and Frid have been moved to 8pm from 6:30 am , so I'll be going to the gym on Friday nights now. Sorry to all the people out there, who wanted to hang out with on Friday nights but I'll be tied up for a while - actually not too much longer since the program is almost over.

I'm done.

Mitch Hedberg Passed Away. Sad.

I was sad to learn this morning that comedian Mitch Hedberg passed away. He was only 36 years old. You may not have heard of him. I barely knew who he was but I'd seen enough of his comedy on television to appreciate his humor. He was funny, really funny, f-ing hilarious.

He died back in March. The reason I found out is that someone did a search for his obit and it led that person to my page because I posted something about him well OVER a year ago. It is also a little jarring because he is around my age and I probably would have been friends with him in high school had we gone to the same high school.

Rest in peace, Mitch Hedberg. My heart goes out to your family.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy 5th of May.

You can read about it here. Wikipedia is GREAT!!!

The Zonkey (Zeedonk)

Last week, I wrote that Jon had a byline but it was only in the early edition. In the late edition, in the place where Jon's headline had previously appeared was a story about a ZONKEY. A pet zebra in Barbados became friendly with a local donkey because her partner had fallen ill. The above Zonkey is the result of this union. When Jon first told me about the story, I thought of The Island of Dr. Moreau. On this fictional island created by H.G. Wells, a mad scientist interbreeds several species, splices their DNA or something to that effect, in order to create entirely new species. I guess zebras and donkeys aren't really that different and it's not the first time in history that zebras have bred with another equinesque animal. It really isn't too much different than blending breeds of dogs in order to create new breeds, like the Peekapoo and the Labradoodle. Maybe the ZONKEY will catch on and soon we all can own one.

Yet Another Non-News Story

The big non-news story of the day seems to be that Paula Abdul allegedly had an affair with an American Idol contestant several years back. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter since the judges don't pick the winner - millions and millions of interested home viewers pick the winner - making this in an ABSOLUTE NON-NEWS STORY.

IN OTHER NON-NEWS
Now available - 15 pound hamburgers. 10.5 pounds of beef, 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, a cup-and-a-half each of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers - and a bun.

New Blog Template

As if I don't have enough to do in the morning, I started looking for a new template for this blog. I didn't see anything else I liked. Argh. I guess I'll need to play with this one.
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My bath is waiting for me; my nice, hot morning bath awaits. I am still a little bit achy from Sunday morning's workout. My scale has decided to cooperate once again. I hope my scale is right.
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Jon and I are starting to meet with DeeJays. Our first appointment is Wednesday morning. I am looking forward to the Wed. am meeting because this group will bring in other professionals to suit your wants. For example, they would bring in a jazz trio for us if we wanted. Then on Thursday night, one of those guys is coming to our house I am not looking forward to this meeting, because this guy in particular is an extremely high pressure salesman who has followed up with me four times, to make sure I got his package, to see where we are, to check what we are eating for dinner - and Jon won't be here and I'll miss Survivor a second week in a row.
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If you haven't noticed, Sarah is back and is posting picures of her Paris adventures. I am particularly fond of the picture that should be entitled "WOMAN ADMIRING DILDO". Because it is just that. That title tells you exactly what you need to know about the picture and so does the picture by the way.

May Day

May is here. That means that we're one month closer to summer, which means that the weird muggy, uncomfortable weather isn't too far behind. Am I alone? Am I the only one that thinks summer in New York City is overrated?

The weekend flew by so quickly because it was full of ANTI-MISANTRHOPIC activities. Saturday morning I performed a clutterdectomy on our apartment. Inspired by TLC's Clean Sweep, I went threw my collections and got rid of stuff. For example. I had about 100 playbills that I collected from Broadway shows I worked when I had a parttime theater job. I only kept the Playbills whose (notice the proper use of the word whose) covers were in color. Those are traditionally used for the first season a play is out and have some value I think. I had so many including about 20 from Chicago, which I was keeping because of the changing casts. I also threw away flute music I haven't looked at in 10 years. That was tough but it was also music that a friend lent me 20 or so years ago and that I never returned. Heck. . .I was only friend with the person for 2 months. There was no emotional or financial investment in that pile of music and I have no idea at all why I was keeping it.Granted, our house isn't any where near as cluttered as the people they feature on Clean Sweep but it still felt good to get started. Next weekend I'll tackle something else - perhaps get rid of some my old CD's that I don't care for anymore.

The rest of Saturday was devoted to preparing for our dinner party. We had our friends over and it was lovely. Of course, I went overboard with the food, as usual. I realize now that four people can not possibly consume a 14.5 pound turkey in one sitting. Leftovers were abundant and I won't have to cook for a few nights. Our guests brought us a bottle of wine with a really cute name. Goats Do Roam. Aside from being a great pun the name also sums up how this wine maker discovered the grapes for his wine. Turns out, their goats were left to pick a grape and that's the one Charles Black chose. It was yummy. Between the trytophan and the tannens (sp?) we were all feeling pretty relaxed, so much so that we all last track of the time and ended pretty late. I know one of my guests had to be up early for work. I had to wake up early for the gym. It was nice to have people over.

Sunday, I worked out, relaxed most of the day and had dinner at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in Manhattan with Jon and his friend and wife and wife's dad and wife's cousin. Nice people, glad to have met them but by 8:00 I was done. I abandoned them after dinner and went home to get some rest and to finish up some work I was doing for my office. Jon continued on with the group and had a good time.

How was your weekend?

English Genius

It's nice to know that my English skills are still up to snuff.

Take the test and see how you do.

Via Vidiot

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 93% Expert! You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.