Thursday, June 30, 2005
Venice Beach Blog Bash
I fly to LA tomorrow and Doc and I are trying to figure out the time for Sunday's Blog Bash at Venice Beach. I'm not sure I'll be able to post it here, but try Doc's blog for the most immediate updates.I think we're looking at 12:00 noon at Venice Beach on Sunday ... yes, I know it stretches for miles, but we'll give you all the correct coordinates soon.
Halley Tailbone Newswire
Jeneane tells me my tailbone is now a tag. Get outta here!?! I wish everyone would just get off my ass.
Love Hate Lunch With Jimmy
I have to say I just love Jimmy Guterman a whole bunch, which is good because I could hate his guts easily enough, since he's going to be in The New York Times Book Review this Sunday and I'm not. Not that I should be or have a book worthy of such laud, but still ... check it out because he's written this cool book about Springsteen (already cooler than cool) and nice that it's getting noticed.Also at lunch yesterday in Cambridge, he was much more amusing than me -- and I just HATE that -- and ordered a much more interesting dish, something I didn't even know they made at Legal Seafoods -- a Chinese take-out box of stir fry stuff. It's with some annoyance, I must admit, he rules. And he's got a blog for his book here.
Speaking of blogs -- and WHO ISN'T?!? -- by the end of lunch, he had more than a few salient words on the subject of how this blog (which he refers to as "THE COMMENT", not Halley's Comment) is sucking out all my words and they might be better vacuumed up and spit out on the pages of a real live book, and not on a really lively blog.
Okay, I hear you. Jay Atkinson has been telling me the same thing for a while. Okay, Jay, I hear you too. And Seth Godin, thanks Seth, yes, not only have you been telling me that, but you also told me the book I should write and you were righter than rain. I'll get cracking.
Citrano At Lunch
It sounds like something good to eat, but it's a person named Anthony who I ran into at lunch yesterday at MIT Legal Seafoods. Nice to see you man and the two blondes, we like them.
Adding Insult to Injury
I've noticed with my tailbone injury, I'm often in pain throughout my day and therefore in a surly mood lately. I feel a bit like a wounded animal. If someone messes with me, I'm fast to bite back. You venture into my lair and poke me gently with a stick, you will not like my reaction.Since I almost never feel like this, but usually feel very well and happy in my body, and rise above most conflicts, it's an interesting perspective on the world. This week is called, "No More Mrs. Nice Guy" and it's a bad idea to tangle with me.
It makes me wonder about the physical fitness of unhappy, nasty people. Maybe their nastiness starts with a wholly uncomfortable physical presence in the world.
Why?
Someone asked me why I've been blogging a lot here lately in the mornings and it occurred to me yesterday -- it's because I've hurt my back and I'm not working out in the morning. Not good news on the health and fitness front, but it does make me realize that the limited resource of time does have a hold on us all and in my case, the mornings are a mix of writing and exercising and the time for one often is forced to yield to the time allotted for the other.Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Funny Huffington Girl
It was great to meet Arianna Huffington briefly in New York for the Personal Democracy Forum. I love what she wrote about the Bush speech last night, as she was playing a drinking game (take a shot every time Bush repeats the same old crappy phrases) and getting sloshed on POMegranite Juice! She's funny as hell. I like her.
Hello?
Since I hurt my tailbone a week ago and I've had to stay off my feet, at home, reclining, the most hilarious thing has been happening.Ready ... yes, I've been actually answering the phone!
I am terrible about almost never answering the phone on a regular basis, it's true. But suddenly it's become my new sport to PICK UP THE PHONE AND SAY, "Hello?" and people are nearly STUNNED, not just to hear me answer my phone but hear anyone answer their phone.
I think it's a swell new thing, answering the phone. I'm gonna keep doing it, too ... for a while ... or maybe for a few days, at least.
Blogging Shoe's On The Other Foot
I have a friend here in my town, a mom of one of my son's friends, who's started a blog and it's a very good blog and she's a very good writer, so FINALLY at long last I have someone to personally bug about not updating her blog when she is busy. I gotta say, I love doing it.We all had lunch together the other day (last day of school) and I really gave her a hard time about making me wait SIX LONG DAYS since her last post.
The shoe is on the other foot now that I'm not the only blogger around these parts. Now I can be the "BUGGER" instead of the "BUGGEE" -- not that she specifically bugged me a lot to keep writing, but many of my local readers ask me what's wrong when I get busy and haven't blogged for a few ... days, hours, minutes.
Big Comet Weekend Heading Your Way
Deep Impact is this weekend. Don't miss it.BOULDER, Colorado - Late Sunday and early Monday, skywatchers might be treated to celestial fireworks unlike anything witnessed before.
Like some Space Age equivalent of WrestleMania,
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is double-billed to tangle with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4. The mission is a two-part project: A "Flyby" vehicle will unleash an "Impactor" probe that will slam into the fast-moving comet.
The comet and Impactor will collide at about 23,000 mph.
Deep Impact is the first mission to make contact with a comet's surface. The hope is to produce a crater in the large comet and reveal what is underneath the surface.
I know the most amazing person involved with this project. I'm so glad I met him.
John Irving's New Book: Until I Find You
This is going to be some amazing book I suspect. Haven't read it yet, but will soon."Until I Find You," is the story of Jack Burns, who survives a childhood of sexual molestation at the hands of older girls and women to become a world-famous actor and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.
An Avenue To Her Underwear
Couldn't have said it better myself. Some helpful hints on kissing:Many guys think of kissing as the prelude to heavier making out or sex. It certainly can be, but while you're kissing, you have to stay focused on the moment. She will know if your mind is wandering or you're trying to figure out to how to get her bra undone. Think of the kiss as an end in itself, not an avenue to her underwear.I had a dream once like that, I was on an avenue in my underwear ...
Sleep It Off
Over at Chez Huffington, there's a guy who can't sleep and a guy who can sleep through anything, even while he's getting a ... well, you read it:
I wish I could say I understand Larry’s problem falling asleep. (There’s probably a lot about Larry I wish I could understand, especially the part about how to create a long-running hit television show.) I seem to have the opposite sleep problem. I can sleep anywhere, at any time, for any length. I sleep during takeoffs and landings, after six double espressos, doing downward-facing dog… Once, I even fell asleep getting the most fantastic --
But I’ve said too much.
Jesus Really Annoyed People
Yesterday at church, my minister, Judy Brain and I had a most interesting conversation about how Jesus really annoyed people by going his own way, being his own man, being singularly unimpressed by convention, heirarchy, "the powers that be" and instead walked his own path, embraced his own joys, embodied his own witnessing of the true power of love and compassion.In my life, I find pursuing my own goals, my own joys and being enormously alive to all of life's possibilities can seem extremely irksome to people who would rather have me live a half-dead zombie life like they do. To these well-meaning folks who would have me be someone they've decided I should be and not myself, I suggest they hold their breath and wait for me to change.
Happy Birthday Baby Boy
Yes, it's my kid's birthday and he's not much of a baby anymore! Have a wonderful day!Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Live 8
I bet you've been reading about this. Here's a super fun thing -- bloggers can win tickets to go to the Live 8 concerts.
Kerry On Happy Talk Tonight By Bush
Check it out:TONIGHT President Bush will discuss the situation in Iraq. It's long past time to get it right in Iraq. The Bush administration is courting disaster with its current course - a course with no realistic strategy for reducing the risks to our soldiers and increasing the odds for success.
The reality is that the Bush administration's choices have made Iraq into what it wasn't before the war - a breeding ground for jihadists. Today there are 16,000 to 20,000 jihadists and the number is growing. The administration has put itself - and, tragically, our troops, who pay the price every day - in a box of its own making. Getting out of this box won't be easy, but we owe it to our soldiers to make our best effort.
Our mission in Iraq is harder because the administration ignored the advice of others, went in largely alone, underestimated the likelihood and power of the insurgency, sent in too few troops to secure the country, destroyed the Iraqi army through de-Baathification, failed to secure ammunition dumps, refused to recognize the urgency of training Iraqi security forces and did no postwar planning. A little humility would go a long way - coupled with a strategy to succeed.
So what should the president say tonight? The first thing he should do is tell the truth to the American people. Happy talk about the insurgency being in "the last throes" leads to frustrated expectations at home. It also encourages reluctant, sidelined nations that know better to turn their backs on their common interest in keeping Iraq from becoming a failed state.
Why It Used To Be A Good Idea To Be A Republican
I guess you could say there are "wannabes" and "usedtobes" and here's a Republican grieving over the fact that all the good reasons to be a Republican are gone. James Chaney on why the PARTY is over:My Republican Party was the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, and George H.W. Bush. It was a party of honesty and accountability. It was a party of tolerance, and practicality and honor. It was a party that faced facts and dealt with reality, and that crafted common-sense solutions to problems based on the facts as they were, not as we wished them to be, or even worse, as we made them up. It was a party that told the truth, even when the truth came hard. And now, it is none of those things.
This the kind of disheartening commentary you can thank Karl "Win-At-All-Costs" Rove for. The integrity and credibility of the Republican Party has proven biodegradable.
Maiden Names
A male friend (who's divorced) asked me what I thought about asking your ex to change her married name BACK to her maiden name.I had no clue really, despite being divorced, since I never changed my name and never changed it back.
Behind his question is his desire that she change it -- essentially release HIS name -- and return to hers. She doesn't want to.
I'd never thought of it from a man's point of view, that he might want his ex to stop bearing his name. And that she would want to retain it.
If I had changed my name, I would want to go back to my original name ... but it's moot as I can't now and couldn't then imagine changing my name anyway.
Going to think more about this over here at Misbehaving.Net. You can comment there too.
Scrushy Acquitted
The remarks HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy made on the steps of the courthouse were all about thanking God and Jesus and how Jesus wants us to love one another and thanking all the people who prayed for him.I'm big into prayer as well. But many business people are turned OFF by such language.
Yesterday's Supreme Court decisions related to the separation of church and state came to mind today for me, as Scrushy spoke. He seems to feel there should be no separation of church and work.
Please Pray
If you have a minute, please pray for me today. I'm having an argument with someone and we both need some grace and understanding. We've known one another a very long time and I hate to see our disagreement sour our long-standing bond.I saw my minister, Judy Brain, at Pilgrim Church this morning to talk to her about it. She is so terrific and helped me pray my way through.
Can you imagine anyone not agreeing with me? It seems pretty amazing to me. (Just kidding.) I'm sure I can be just as much a stubborn, self-righteous pig as my other buddy pal -- the person I'm arguing with.
BTW, Judy got my whole church praying a few years back for my friend Dave Winer's dad when he was ill and I know it helped. We have one amazing churchful of prayerful folks.
Reebok Tames 50 Cent Just A Lil Bit
Piece in the Boston Globe today about 50 Cent and the almost-too-hot-to-handle "I Am What I Am" commercials.
Extra-pair sex
And this is not about having an extra pair of socks ... although those can always come in handy:"Extra-pair sex (i.e., sex outside a current, ongoing relationship) is one form of short-term, opportunistic mating. If women evolved to desire men with greater heritable fitness (independent of the investment and resources that men provided), more symmetrical men should have more extra-pair partners (see Benshoof & Thornhill, 1979; Smith, 1984). Gangestad and Thornhill (1997b) found that men’s FA does predict their number of extra-pair sex partners, r = -.17 (reflecting a latent correlation between extra-pair partners and developmental imprecision of about -.36; Gangestad & Thornhill, in press). Once potential artifacts were controlled (e.g., social status, SES in family of origin, anticipated future salary), the correlation between FA and extra-pair sex increased slightly. Neither men's social status nor their resources (as indexed by their SES and their anticipated future salary) predicted their frequency of extra-pair sex. Although Perusse (1993) has found that men with higher status report having more sex partners than men with lower status, this effect did not hold for married men in his sample. Thus, it is unclear whether men with higher status (e.g., wealthier men) have more extra-pair mates than men with lower status."
How Do You Really Look In Your Bathing Suit?
Most studies say women tend to underestimate their attractiveness while men overestimate their attractiveness.
The Big Question
So can life be sustained on Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee? It's all I seem to eat/drink these days. Too hot for anything else. (Actually I drink DECAF Iced Coffee.)
Shark Attacks
So sharks seem to be the "next big thing" around here this summer.Time to rent Jaws and pop some popcorn.
Want to blow your mind. Do a quick cost accounting for
1. Driving to the movies (don't forget high gas prices);
2. Parking (possible parking tickets?)
3. Movie Tickets
4. Candy Cost = hardly possible to get a soda and popcorn under $5.00
5. Babysitter = 3 hours at $5 - $7 in our neighborhood.
COMPARED TO:
1. Stay home,
2. Microwave popcorn,
3. Rent movie or view one you already own.
Monday, June 27, 2005
WSJ Grokster Roundtable
Nice to see all our blogger friends hanging out here including John Palfrey and Denise Howell.
Eagles Kindof Day
Thinking of the West today and on the radio as I swilled an iced coffee I heard:"I like the way your sparkling earrings lay,
against your skin, it's so brown
and I wanna sleep with you
in the desert tonight
with a billion stars all around
'cause I gotta peaceful easy feeling
and I know you won't let me down
'cause I'm already standing on the
ground
And I found out a long time ago
what a woman can do to your soul ..."
Yes, I have a peaceful easy feeling today.
Blogging Tool With Time Release Functionality
Anyone know if there's a blogging tool that might let you write about a dozen blog posts, say early in the morning, and then publish them every hour throughout the day, without having to be there? Email me about it at halley at gmail dot com. My comments is busted here.
Gnomedex Post-Mortem
Chris Pirillo's written a funny post-Gnomedex dictionary:Aggragavator /n/ - 1. A faulty news reader; 2. An overzealous syndication evangelist.
Top 5 Male Traits Per BEST LIFE Magazine
Don't rush to get that piercing done if you thought that's what would turn women on. Guys, you'll be pretty damned surprised at what the women they polled considered the big alpha male traits -- I'm not surprised, but this list sounds awfully old-fashioned!I love Men's Health Magazine and I think I like their "more mature" older brother publication Best Life even more.
The list will tell older guys they have it made in the shade, because so many of the traits are what older guys are best at! Sorry, young studs, you'll take a back seat on this one.
Being A Parent: Putting Yourself Out Of A Job
I loved this piece from The Yarn Harlot. I discovered it by reading a link in my referrer log (the thing that tells me who's reading my site, what they read before jumping over here).It's about letting your children grow up and become more independent and the real job of being a parent is "putting yourself out of business."
Thanks to Rod for tracking it down. I'm a bit absent-minded about these things. I read the thing, copied the link, sent him an email saying, "You'll love this blog post" forgot to put the link in the email ... he inquired ... "about that link?" and then I couldn't find it again, at all. Lost, gone for good, I thought. Darn! He managed to coax enough words about the piece out of me to search it down and FIND IT! and send ME the link back!
The Letter
Remember the old song, "My baby, she wrote me a letter." Been thinking about that over here.
Next Bond: The Name is Bond ... James Bond
And now very important news from ET: Who will be the next Bond? I shouldn't even be speculating, as I'm always wrong about these things, but here's a list of possible next Bond's.But first let me say, I think they are crazy to replace Pierce Brosnan frankly ... but ... whatever.
Some of those actors whose names have been bandied about to don the 007 tux include JUDE LAW, EWAN McGREGOR, COLIN FARRELL, ERIC BANA ('Troy'), IOAN GRUFFUDD ('Fantastic Four'), DOUGRAY SCOTT ('Mission: Impossible 2'), HUGH JACKMAN and most recently "ER" doc GORAN VISNJIC, who was rumored to have screen-tested for the part. There's even been talk of doing a "young Bond" movie series to coincide with the recent release of Silverfin, which chronicles the character's formative teen years, with ORLANDO BLOOM a prime casting candidate.I vote Ewan McGregor, but ... can he keep it from dominating his career? Even if they offer it, he'd be smart to turn it down. It seems like playing Bond is career-making, but getting over playing Bond isn't that easy.
Copy Editor Wanted
Is it me, or are their errors on this page from The Sunday Times referring to the Downing Street Memo ... like them mentioning several times that the memo was written on 23 July 2005. Last I checked, that day in history had not yet happened.These three documents include the now famous “Downing Street Memo”, which contains the minutes of a meeting of what was effectively Tony Blair’s war cabinet held in Downing Street on 23 July 2005.
Don't they mean 23 July 2002?
Something Sexy
Okay, so someone told you I wrote something sexy here over the weekend but you can't find it?Oh, okay, it's here -- about that burning question, can men and women really "just" be friends?
Rove Rove Rove Your Boat Gently Down The Stream
Always like to read what Andrew Sullivan has to say about Karl Rove:Rove is a brutal operator. But to my mind, the hysterical attacks on Durbin and now this outburst (and the White House's subsequent endorsement of it) are an indication of some level of panic. We face at least three more grueling years of warfare in Iraq with our current troop level, and it's not at all clear that the public is prepared to go along with it, given the incremental progress we are making. Rove knows this. He also knows that the haphazard way in which the White House prepared for the war, its chronic under-manning of the occupation, its failure, as Abizaid conceded yesterday, to make any progress against the insurgency over the past six months despite the enormous psychological boost of the January election: all these have made the administration unable to really shift the blame. Rove's strategic decision to make social security reform the center-piece of the second term has also, shall we say, not gone according to plan. So what to do? You do what you always do. You create a scenario in which you cannot be out-demagogued. You deflect from the awful fall-out from the decision to exempt terror suspects from bans on cruel and inhumane treatment to a senator's analogy to the Gulag. And instead of leveling with the country about the real difficulty of the war we're in, acknowledging error and sketching a unifying vision for winning, you divide the country into good folk and "liberals" and hope it works as well as it always has. If you want to know how well the administration really believes the war is going, listen to their rhetoric. And start worrying.
Search Engines: Monier
John Battelle writes on Louis Monier "Why He's Going To Google"What are you most interested in right now in the field of search?Note to me: Battelle has two "t's" and two "l's" and two not-next-to-one-another "e's" -- I can never seem to spell John's name right.
Just to be clear, I think that Google has plenty of search experts, so I may actually never touch search. But since I have the mike in hand, what I find the most interesting problem in search is to think of it as a dialog rather than a one-shot thing: enter query, get ten links back. The search engine needs to do its part to keep the dialog going. That's what I said at Web 2.0 last year.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Gwen Stefani: Cool
It's hard to remember how it felt beforeNow I found the love of my life
Passes, things, get more comfortable
Everything is going right
And after all the obstacles
It's good to see you now with someone else
And it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
We used to think it was impossible
Now you call me by my new last name
Memories seem like so long ago
Time always kills the pain
Remember Harbor Boulevard
The dreaming days where the mess was made
Look how all the kids have grown, oh
We have changed but we're still the same
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
Yeah, I know we're cool
And I'll be happy for you
If you can be happy for me
Circles and triangles
And now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend
So far from where we've been
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
C-cool, I know we're cool
I know we're cool
Don’t Go There
When I ended our affair, he asked for it – not me. I didn’t want to hear it. “Can we still be friends …?” I just hated hearing it. He was asking for trouble. Not to be a brat, but I knew I’d find a new lover faster and he didn’t need to know about it. It would only hurt his feelings.“Can’t we still be friends?” he kept at it. Because, we’re all grown-ups here, aren’t we? Yeah, right, sure.
Well, he thinks he is, but I know I’m not. I don’t want to think about him kissing some other woman. I don’t want think about him undressing her the way he expertly undressed me.
I don’t want to wince thinking of her enjoying that perfect pleasure he showed me, that moment, he was so good at that, my knees strongly but pointlessly clamped together, pretending I didn’t want it, him prying my legs open slowly, with sweet whispers, a slow path of kisses, persuasive and seductive, under my swirly girl skirt, me acting the reluctant virgin, but having already removed my panties mid-dinner, so as he approached, tossing up and back one layer of summer skirt, then white silk below this – a permission slip of sorts -- silky slip to invite him, bead of sweat, path of wetness, the obvious yes of thonglessness on a hot summer night, and now it was getting serious and he was gaining speed and getting a firm grip around my waist, he was great at grabbing buttocks, a matter of positioning my vertebrae and then that way he had of forcing entry unapologetically just when I was wanting him so much, a shutter of his largeness entering me, the breathtaking hardness filling me up so pleasantly, the perfect homecoming. I don’t forget easily. I don’t forget anything. I didn’t expect to forget him any time soon.
Friends?!?
I wouldn’t talk to him or call him but he persisted and called me and talked to me about being “friends” and it dawned on me … he didn’t even mean what most guys meant, you know, that messy “friends” with benefits b.s., occasional slip-up fuck-by-accident-late-some-night-after–too-much-wine ex-lovers type friends. He really meant “friends” which I found stunningly innocent and crazy. Was it a fatherly type, “I want to keep an eye on you, protect you” thing? Go figure. I still don’t quite get it.
But in the end, I yielded to him, something I always liked to do, but unlike before, not at all sure of the outcome. I gave in to “friends” and we continue and there well may be an upside. I’m waiting, I’m watching, but I’m never going to tell him about any other men. I won’t go there.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
C Minor
The lyrics go like this:"C Minor ... put it in C Minor ...
Where have all the good men gone?
And Where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?"
-- I'm Holding Out For A Hero
Is Technology Inherently Sexy?
Well, not yet, but it will be when more and more women are involved in designing it.
She Was Gonna Shake Her Ass On The Hood Of White Snake's Car
You gotta admit the lyrics to this song are pretty funny.Debbie just hit the wall, she never had it all
One Prozac a day, husband's a CPA
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned twenty-four
Only been with one man
What happened to her plan
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass
On the hood of White Snake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
And nothing has been alright ...
Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Top Ten Movie Quotes
Yahoo's Buzz Log says the top ten movie quotes are below. The number in parentheses is AFI's (American Film Institute) rankings. The order is the Yahoo Search order of most hits.1. Star Wars (8) -- "May the Force be with you."
2. Wizard of Oz (4) -- "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
3. The Godfather (2) -- "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."
4. Gone With the Wind (1) -- "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
5. Casablanca (5) -- "Here's looking at you, kid."
6. Taxi Driver (10) -- "You talking to me?"
7. All About Eve (9) -- "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
8. On the Waterfront (3) -- "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."
9. Sunset Blvd (7) -- "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
10. Sudden Impact (6) -- "Go ahead, make my day."
Bless Me, Howard Stern, For I Have Sinned
Yes, father, I kneel before you and ask forgiveness that I don't listen to your show and I don't even know when it's on and a new friend had to tell me that you guys do a schtick called something like, PICK THREE -- where you pick three people and then someone has to admit:1. Which one they would like to mate with ...
2. Which one they would like to marry ...
3. Which one they would like to murder ...
MATE MARRY MURDER I think you should call it but I think you call it something else.
What Time ... Haven't Decided
Sean Bonner reasonably asks what time our Venice Beach Blogger Bash might start. I've wandered the length of the beach, hit Jodi Maroni's for chicken sausages (is it still there?), rollerbladed (won't be doing that next week, since I nearly killed myself last week doing it) and watched the day melt into night, so it's hard to decide. I think we might start some time after 12 noon and end ... not sure when.Are there fireworks that night Sunday July 3 -- or are they the next night? The big existential questions that are hard to resolve.
Thanks to Jessica Mae Stover for pointing out Sean's post.
Hey, JMS, like all sexy lady bloggers, we should have a start time for our stalkers and a real start time for our friends, doncha think?
Studio Lots
I was on the Paramount lot when the LA riots began. My husband told me on the phone, "Get home as fast as you can. Crazy shit going on." We hid out for Tuesday, Wed, Thurs watching it on TV and then strolling to the window now and then to see downtown's palm trees smoldering. People were looting to get Pampers ...I spent lots of time wandering the lots -- Sony, Culver, Fox (running Motor between the two of them and stopping off at Versailles for killer Cuban Garlic Chicken ... mmmmm) and then up to the valley hauling my ass at hellish speeds running the gutter lane of La Brea over the hill to Universal, Warner Bros., Disney, with those funky 7 dwarves pillars, rather macabre and sinister on the Exec Building, hot hot afternoons, near the cemetary ... was that Forest Lawn next to NBC in Burbank? I'd kill time between meetings there. Death and Disney, always a good combo to remind you to HAVE FUN NOW! Those priceless original cells on the walls in the Disney Animators Building. Beautiful. The big wooden shutters to keep the building cool and the sun out.
And Paramount, at lunch I was a table away from Sharon Stone, very fun, but not what I was there for. I was pitching some deal to someone and focused on hunting them down, hot afternoons wandering the lot loving the older buildings named after old directors, being stood up often as not. Didn't he say Lubitsch? Lots of plump old guys in insanely expensive casual clothes riding bicycles, as if they were the small town afternoon paperboy on a summer's day, pretending not to be millionaire producers with 3 ex-wives.
What I Love About Los Angeles
I love a lot about LA. Ah, hell, I love just everything about LA. It's so American! It's so OUT THERE. It's so tolerant of insane dreams -- a LOTTO TOWN -- bet all your little Yankee Dollars on some crazy dream and sometimes -- way too often -- you WIN! Heady stuff. Makes you crazy.Has the most pretty and handsome unemployed population in the world. (Or should I use Rageboy's excellent terminology: "Self-unemployed" he invented to describe most of us bloggers and confuse the IRS.) Going to Starbucks there is like visiting a frigging movie set. And sexy folks in all colors -- mocha and cocoa and malted and vanilla chai skin of gorgeous men and women -- some born with tans, some spraying them on.
Okay, I lived in LA from July 4th 1990 to July 4th 2000 and my son was born in good old 90210 Cedars Sinai Hospital around July 4th 1995. Simple math. What's with all the focus on Independence Day -- beats me, but it seems to be a key LA event for me. The big one.
Venice Beach Blog Bash
Next week -- Sunday, July 3 -- be there or be square. Tony and I will be there. Okay, Xeni, what about you girlfriend? I'm sick of just meeting you for 2 minutes of hugs and kisses in some conference lobby.And Wil? Ole, whattabout you? You gotta be there.
And Hugh? You can represent the ... what are they called ... those folks that swarm in O.C. ... oh, the Republicanos!
And Doc, can you drop by? It'll be just as much fun as Paris, I swear, but probably not as good croissants.
And Mary, you must be there and we'll vlog the shit out of the day, n'est-ce-pas.
Friday, June 24, 2005
New Marriage: Time-Limited and Renewable
I've been thinking about the exact same thing -- falling in love and getting a new, improved "Time Limited Marriage":
So who's in? We just need a few couples to choose a TLM over the traditional route and soon we'll have a wave of converts. I can hear the ceremony now: "Do you, Jack, take Jill to be your lawfully wedded wife for at least 3 wonderful years with the best intention of more, but with the mutual understanding that these forthcoming 3 might be all?"
Really Hot Kissy Dreams: Oh Yeah
I have dreams like this now and then.And sometimes ... well, some of the kissing is for real. Really real.
Another Thing About Spending Lots of Time In Bed
People are completely AMAZED that when they call, I pick the phone ... it doesn't go to voice mail ... and I have lots of time to talk and don't do my loathsome "Gotta Go!" thing.Spending time in bed doing nothing but healing up a bruised tailbone has a lot going for it in the telecom department.
You can hear people stumble when they hear a real ME pick up the phone. They really were ready to leave a message (some even ask me to hang up and just let them call back to just leave one), they are so NOT ready to TALK to me.
A dear old friend just talked to me for an hour. I've known her since we were about 12. She reminded me that when we were high school friends, at my house, NOBODY EVER ANSWERED THE PHONE, we just let it ring and ring. I had even forgotten that. It's genetic I guess. I learned early not to be interrupted. Maybe that's why I ended up being a writer. If I'm thinking, dreaming, pondering, wondering or writing, I don't let anyone interrupt me.
What A Day!
Just so worn out after trying a no-meds-day after 5 days of ibuprofen popping to keep the pain and agony at bay -- thanks to my rollerblading spill. Are you sick of hearing about it? I am! Too bad, feel like writing about it.Actually, last night I slept with no medication and then this morning, after a week of seriously painful lower back, pelvic, butt, thigh and general all around pain, I thought, well, it can't get worse.
Careful what you say. I got cramps and my period to make it even worse.
The strangest thing about hurting your tailbone is what normal "no-big-deal" activities end up hurting like hell -- much to one's surprise -- and which activities you think might be painful are not. You are really thrown off.
For instance, climbing stairs is excruciating -- even one small stair step, I don't know why. Some sitting positions are hellish, some are not. Driving is easier than walking.
Still I hate being on medication of any kind so I toughed it out for most of the day, just taking a little bit of Advil late in the afternoon.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Give Up Give In
I really did injure myself at the beginning of the week by falling so hard on my tailbone after rollerblading. I've had to take the time to STOP DOING EVERYTHING and just lie around, not moving, not trying to get things done, just resting and letting my body heal.I just can't stand it. I realized this week that I am always on the go and having to downshift to doing nothing is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do.
But today something happened and I decided to just give up and give in and really listen to my body and actually construct my day around DOING NOTHING. I took it reasonably easy (still way too busy) but even managed to take a long nap in the afternoon. There's something mind boogling for me about people who are forced to have bedrest for months on end. I can barely manage a whole day resting in bed.
Surprising ...
Readers of my blog often email me about something they liked or didn't like and they are often SURPRISED that I reply and I'm like ... a real person. I am!I'm often surprised that they're surprised. I mean, heck, this is not HALLEY SUITT ENTERPRISES or something. It's me. I'm a writer. I write things and believe it or not, writers do appreciate it when people read what they write and take the trouble to actually contact them. [Okay, it's true, sometimes I'm really slow at replying, sorry, but between raising a kid, traveling, falling and hurting myself, I do get a little busy.]
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Another Satisfied Customer NOT
Jeff Jarvis is a bad person to have as your very UNHAPPY CUSTOMER. He certainly is succinct and direct:
DELL LIES! DELL SUCKS!
If I were Michael Dell himself, I'd go to Jarvis's house to fix his new computer and shut him up!
'
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
In Case You Thought Astrology Was In Any Way Accurate
Great, my horoscope says I'm really lucky and that if I fell down, I'd fall on a $20 bill. Yeah, right. And into the arms of someone devastating. Not exactly.Okay, let's try a little reality check. They got one thing right -- I did fall down yesterday -- but as for good luck, no $20 bill in sight. Instead I landed in a pile of mud, dirt and weeds and the only devastating part was how damned painful it was ...
"If you were a cereal, you'd definitely be Lucky Charms, that's how expansive your good fortune is right now. Put it this way: if you tripped on a curb, you'd fall onto a twenty dollar bill -- or into the arms of someone totally devastating. That doesn't mean you should look for patches of the sidewalk to fall over, however. Just proceed with your normal plans. Leave the lucky twists up to the cosmos."
Tailbone Injury: Several Weeks To Heal
Yes, you can find anything on the net, including everything you ever wanted to know about injuring your coccyx.I did not like reading a tailbone "needs time to heal." Good golly, this will be such a pain in the ass!
How is it treated?
An injured tailbone needs time to heal. A bruised tailbone may take several days to several weeks to completely heal. A fractured tailbone takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal. In either case, people sometimes have pain for a long time.
While your tailbone injury is healing it is very important to use a doughnut cushion when you are sitting. A doughnut cushion may be purchased at a medical supply house or you may use a child's swimming inner tube.
You should place an ice pack on your tailbone for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for 2 to 3 days or until the pain goes away. Your health care provider may prescribe an anti-inflammatory or pain medicines.
It is important to avoid constipation while your tailbone is healing. Drink plenty of fluids and increase the amount of fiber in your diet.
Girls Dating Girls
Fish has been talking about how fun it is to go out with the girls. She's sure right about that.These are smart, strong, gorgeous women. They have ambition, common sense and unbelievable flair. Were I meeting men of this caliber, I’d be head over heels, humming wedding marches and plucking the petals off of daisies in the classic, he loves me, he loves me not fashion.
So, where are the men that match these women in status, intelligence and looks? Oddly enough, I do not care. The big white wall calendar behind my desk is filled with hastily scratched notes: Drinks with Stephanie. Brunch with Penny. Elisa CD Release.
Who has time for real dating, when I’m spending my evenings in complete social comfort with people I already know I like? Don’t misunderstand me. I love men. LOVE them. They’re just so… complicated. And I will get back to that racket one of these days. Because if not… well… I mean, I can just see my future unfolding before me.
Black Eyed Peas: Sexy -- We Look Better Undressed
Sexy
I took your picture...
with one particular...
reason and it’s to...
capture your character...
I like to sit and stare at ya'...
and nothing wrong with staring at ya'...
girl don’t get scared of the fact...
that I envision us getting married and...uh...
I ain’t trying to rush nothing...
cuz I ain't Russian...
we could take our time like-
what’s them things that move slow? You know them?
damn
I can't think cuz you're on my mind...
and when you're on my mind I can't find...
anything that rhymes with the word rhyme...
so I gotta rhyme rhyme with mixture...
and speaking of mixture...
with you I wanna be mixed up...
your a record and I’m like a record...
so lets let the dj mix us...
your like an elixure...
that got me tipsy...
this is just like Ripley's
Believe It or Not but I love you...
(pre hook)
girl you really got me going...
out of control...
I don’t know what I’m doing...
let’s let it go...
and do what we do best...
take off our clothes...
we look better undressed...
(chorus)
yes to sex
yes to sex
no to war
no to war
cuz fighting is frightning
fighting is frightning
yes to sex
its so much more exciting
yes to sex (mm hmm)
yes to sex (mm hmm)
no to war (mm mmm)
no to war (mm mmm)
cuz fighting is frightning
fighting is frightning
yes to sex
its so much more exciting
(vrs2)
for you I’m a fanatic...
I’m an addict.../forget all my ethic?
your sexy antics..
turn me on like automatic...
no need to get dramatic...
but I gotta have it...
gimme gimme gimme
gimme some of them sexual acrobatics...
sexy kamasutra girl...?
anything that suitts ya girl...
stuff that you ain’t used to girl...
come over here and let me show ya just how will I do it...
I'm a freak and you knew it...
you're a freak and I knew it...
baby lets get into it...
cuz girl...
(repeat pre hook)
(vrs3)
you take me to ecstasy...
without taking ecstasy...
its exactly like ecstasy...
when you're laying right next to me...
I’m sexing sexing you...
and you're sexing me sexing me...
it feels so damn natural...
what we're doing so naturally...
I’m liking you rubbing me...
and you're liking me rubbing you...
the passion's immaculate...
while you're loving me loving you...
I put l.o.v.e in you...
I love putting ME in you...
love making love to you ...
just like Sergio Mendez plays the piano...
SPOKEN: "you make me feel beautiful"
Drink, Drank, Drunk
I've given up on drinking alcohol, but that wasn't so tough since I never cared all that much about it. I did it mostly because it made me waste time chatting up silly people at conferences or parties and then made me feel crappy the next day and would throw off my working out time.My ex and I used to joke about how if someone came over and gave us a 6-pack of beer, it was a little annoying, because it would sit in the fridge taking up space for months on end.
Excessive drinking surely is unhealthy, and if you're doing it, I'd encourage you to try to stop, but that wasn't my reason for quitting. Drinking was just a big waste of my time.
So, not only did I completely stop drinking this year, but I stopped drinking SODA. And I have written about this before, but it continues to baffle me -- simply that giving up SODA has proven way more difficult in ways than giving up alcohol.
Also, I've realized the caffeine in soda is terribly addictive and terrible for you. And in diet sodas, truly frightening stuff, the phony sugar is probably cutting little holes in your brain, turning it into swiss cheese.
As for walking away from soda, wish it were that easy. No news to you parents, the damned stuff is EVERYWHERE you go -- EVERYWHERE you take your kids and it's just vile shit -- not at all good for you adults -- but truly disgusting for kids.
My dad used to really go on and on about how bad it was and he was right. He used to show us how the teeth we lost as kids could be put in a glass of soda overnight and be GONE BY MORNING.
But what is strange as summer begins is how hard it is to replace the habit of ordering a soda with ordering SOMETHING HEALTHIER. The barrage of marketing and the agressive elbowing in of soda marketers to dominate the shelf of available things to drink is glaring when you stop drinking soda. Walk through a supermarket aisle sometime and notice in "BEVERAGES" how much of it is soda.
Often at kids' birthday parties, all they serve is soda. At fast food joints, you have to search to find anything decent to drink other than soda. Even when they do have iced tea -- it's the super sugary kind I hate. At the beach, at a ball game, at a barbeque, it's everywhere. It feels like an invasion sometimes.
Here's a list of things I drink: iced tea, iced coffee (decaf), milk, water, club soda, Gatorade. I wish they served Gatorade in bars. With the bright blues and lavendars and reds, Gatorade cocktails would be awesome for non-drinkers. Oh, yeah, I drink unBeer too.
If quitting soda's been tough, it's had a big upside for my health, but someone else's too -- my kid's health. When I used to drink it and tell him he couldn't, he was too wise to that hypocrisy to listen to me. I really didn't have a leg to stand on. But now, since I don't buy it and it's not around, he's stopped drinking it as much. He always goes for my homemade REAL iced tea -- the kind that tastes like TEA not sugar-water.
So, I throw down the challenge -- try going a week without soda and see how it feels. You might be surprised. You might not be able to do it. Good luck, it's tough.
I Might Just Blog A Little
I'm trying to remember what normal people do when they have a sick day and stay home.But I can't remember.
I guess they ... oh, no, not that! THEY WATCH TV ... don't they?
Ugh, that will definately NOT make me feel better.
Besides I don't have a TV in my bedroom anyway.
I do have my laptop here in bed with me ... I guess I might just blog a little.
Dancing On Nicole's Grave
Come on, the reason people think Cruise is a jerk, is because Cruise is a jerk. He's particularly a jerk as he jumps up and down about his newer, younger model, dancing on Nicole's grave after dumping her.Does Cruise really think women who love Nicole -- and there are many of us and many MEN who adore her -- are going to get all giddy about Katie Holmes? Get a life, Tom.
I'll always wonder what Stanley Kubrick whispered in Nicole's ear. Everything changed during that movie -- everything for the better for her, and everything for the worse for him.
The best thing about Cruise was always Nicole.
Ice Time
I'm not exactly enjoying lying around in bed putting a blue ice brick on my lower back all day. I guess since yesterday's rollerblading spill, I might say I'm a little better, but I'm not exactly convinced of it.I can stand not being fit and mobile and energetic and able to run around with no problems. Hope I heal fast. This is really annoying.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Ouch!
I spent a glorious hour rollerblading today and just at the end as I was coming down off the bike path that runs from Lexington into Arlington into Cambridge, right near my car where I was about to change out of my skates ... I fell really hard and hurt myself pretty seriously.Ouch!!!
This seemed completely crazy since I'd put on my knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, I looking like an armadillo for God's sakes. I was laughing when I started out at the fact that I was so much more protected than most of the skaters who seemed to be wearing nothing more than a tank top and shorts. For goodness sakes, I even had sunscreen protecting the places I hadn't wrapped up with pads.
Somehow, I managed to slip and my feet went out from under me and I landed ... NOT ON MY ASS THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH ALL ITS HELPFUL PADDING ... but slightly above it ... my tailbone whacking the ground with a spectacular thud.
It hurt like hell and then there was the matter of whether I could get up and whether I could walk ... at least it was in a semi-forested area where no one got to watch me clobber myself ... but then I thought, what if I'm stuck here?!
Luckily, had the old cell phone.
But in the end, I slowly checked to see how my legs felt -- they were there, but smarting -- and if I could bend and move my back -- I could -- and then very slowly, managed to get my skates off and stand up.
I could hobble, not walk. I got back in my car. My lower back was numb. I managed to drive home (a very short distance), then lay in bed for a while and called the doctor. Ice and Ibuprofen was the recipe. And I had to go in to see if I needed xrays.
I spent another summer (two ago) hurt and unable to do sports or swim, so I was already really worried this might be a repeat performance.
Luckily not this time, in fact, the doctor didn't even think I needed xrays. I'm so sore though and I'm the lousiest patient -- not at all patient, that is. And I do not want to spend weeks getting better. In fact, on Wednesday, the parents play against the Little Leaguers and I don't want to miss that game. I'm praying!
Celebrity Love Island: Hot In UK Not In US
Isn't it odd that a show called Celebrity Love Island is hot in the UK and we know next to nothing about it.Check this out. It's all about people I've never heard of and couldn't care less about.
It definately is CeleBRITy Love Island. Big for the Brits, not for us Yankee Bastards.
What Matters
The most important feature of blogging is that I decide what matters.It's Monday morning. If I were in a "real" publishing company and we were all sitting around the table, shooting the shit, and coming up with story ideas, I might say, "You know what really matters -- talking about the bullshit we're publishing here -- these pictures of skinny models that no woman can ever look like -- and how that is so damaging to women's self-images and self-esteem."
And the editor (often a man) and a bunch of the other guys around the table would either say, or make some crack about the fact that that doesn't matter at all and it's a pointless subject to write about. What matters is "Supply Chain Management" of course.
And I'd say demurely, "Oh, yeah, that's what matters. Thanks for clarifying that."
Carrying Angle
I've been writing over at Misbehaving.Net about how women are constantly served up visual images in women's magazines and tv and all media that they should look like skinny little girls.As you know, most of the models are literally skinny young girls. Grown women, thanks to hormones and child birth, can NOT look like skinny young girls. But that doesn't stop the tyranny of this obsessive young-oriented media flood coming at us 24x7 to look like little girls.
Are little girls acceptable because they are not powerful, competent women? Are powerful, competent women unacceptable? You can ruminate on that as you wish and feel free to comment over at Misbehaving.net.
This is a link to a physical description of how boys and girls mature into men and women. It's the first time I've even read the scientific jargon on why men's arms and legs look more "straight" and their bodies appear more plank-ish than women's. I've always noticed it as a writer, and wondered about it. The "carrying angle" is the term for how our arms and legs are more straight (men) or curvy (women) and also, you'll see at that link they also site the obvious statement that men's muscles are more prominent than women's muscles, which are more "padded" with fat.
Think of Kate Moss -- as a "biological mature woman", she's sub-par because she looks more like a skinny little boy. She does NOT have that aspect which mature women SHOULD develop as they grow -- their shoulders should be more narrow than their hips. But as a model, she's a raging success. Of course, tell me about the art directors who choose the pictures. I'm generalizing, but aren't a few of them gay men? Is there possibly a reason they prefer women who look like skinny little boys?
Marilyn Monroe Was A Size Sixteen
I read an interesting fact over here at the GIRL ZONE where they talk rationally about how girls' bodies change and grow into women's bodies. Yes, Marilyn was a dress size 16.
Pretty Boy
I wrote about the tyranny of being model-thin and pretty for women in our society over here and I'm getting a few comments (posted) and emailed to me that men feel this pressure to look good a lot more than I know.Sunday, June 19, 2005
Happy Divorced Father's Day
Just like Happy Divorced Mother's Day, the irony of the day when you have kids and are divorced is that you are essentially the one helping your kid celebrate their other parent -- that person you divorced.For starters, there's the logistics of the day. The weekend in which the holiday falls may not belong to the dad. The kids might be fairly with the mom this weekend. In divorced families all over the world today, the kids are being shuttled from the mom's house to the dad's possibly, bringing up one more fight about custody, unless your agreement anticipated this. Whenever the "who's got the kids this weekend?" issue must be raised -- it's no fun for anyone.
And no matter how well you get along with that person you divorced -- don't kid anyone, they are not your favorite person. You DID divorce them, right?
So you have a moral dilemma and you must take the high ground for your child's sake -- to help your kid give your ex the best day, the best gift, the best experience on that special day.
And frankly, sometimes you are really not in the mood. Like buying gifts for this delightful person, while grinding your teeth, knowing your ex is either late on your alimony or child support, or has been up to some other nasty shit on your behalf.
So you just grin and bear it and some how muddle your way through, always focusing on your kid's desire to have a good day with the other parent.
But it's rough. You'll be shopping and your kid will say enthusiastically , "Let's get Dad the ------------ (fill in the blank with Star Wars Trilogy on DVD or a $100 gift certificate or A New Corvette) and you're thinking ... "Yeah, get him some new DVD's to go WITH ALL THE OTHER ONES HE STOLE FROM ME, YES, LET'S IMPROVE HIS COLLECTION SINCE 90% OF THEM ARE ONES I PAID FOR, and $100 gift certificate, right to match the $15 GIFT CARD THE CHEAP BUTTHEAD GAVE ME FOR MOTHER'S DAY, or right, A NEW SPORTSCAR FOR HIM TO MATCH THE OTHER EXCELLENT SEDAN HE TOOK WHEN HE DUMPED THE CRAPPY STATIONWAGON ON ME IN THE DIVORCE SETTLEMENT" (all fictional here, not the actual details of my particular divorce, BTW).
Weirdly, you manage to resist the urge to do something really shitty to the old man ... again, because you know that making life better for your kid is all that matters. You also have to come to terms with the fact that the better relationship your kid has with both his parents, the better your kid will turn out.
These happy holidays aren't so happy or easy sometimes.
Being Someone's Wife
I was not particularly good at being someone's wife. As I told a friend recently, given the opportunity to be Batman or Robin -- I'd be Batman every time. Not keen on being someone's sidekick.As for being someone's wife, I don't know why it turned out the way it did. I guess I don't mind the idea of being married to a partner ... but within a few minutes, days, weeks, months, there is this burden of expectation of what "someone's wife" does and is and says and how they act that is very hard to dodge. It's like an oncoming car heading for you, bearing down on you, hard to avoid.
When I got married the first time, and had a child, I found I was becoming NOT me, but someone's wife and I didn't like it at all. I think my ex would have said too that he was becoming someone's husband. And he didn't like it either. Perhaps it's all about having kids, I'm not sure.
I still can't imagine his experience of being a husband was as difficult as mine of being a wife. What your wife does for you as a man and what your husband does for you as a woman, well, the two sets of expectations seem unequal. I felt like the "being someone's wife" part had much to do with helping the husband become himself and less to do with me becoming myself. Seemed the wife's needs and life and career were often as not a secondary consideration, especially once we had a son.
Do women do this to themselves? Do we yield to the majority rule of husband and kid? Do we give up on ourselves too willingly?
When I see marriages with kids, I rarely see the man compromising as much as the woman. It's like watching a free democratic nation (pair before kids) becoming a third-world nation under an unpredictable tyrant (pair after kids).
Oh, you say, WAIT! You disagree, you see lots of happy marriages where the man is pulling his weight at home in terms of laundry, cooking, childcare. Fine, sure, right. And don't give me the old argument that he does the big work of the world and earns all the money so it only makes sense that he shouldn't have to do any work at home. Talk about b.s. The day a fancy business lunch in an expensive suit with your esteemed colleagues is the SAME PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE as cleaning up a poopy diaper and fixing a clogged toilet -- call me. In fact, don't call me, offer to switch places with your wife if it's the same. That's equality. Go for it.
I'm just not the kind of person who can wake up one morning and notice I've been losing track of who I am and what I want and it's okay. That didn't work well.
I expect I will get married again, but I don't think it will be the same as the first time. I won't go around using the word "wife" so casually for one thing. In fact, if I get married again, I don't plan to use the word "wife" at all. I can't stand the word.
I like the word "partner" despite the non-heterosexual overtones. Maybe gay marriage will teach us all a thing or two. It may be the best thing that ever happened to heterosexual marriage. It's a union based on some sense of equal partners. Radical.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Los Angeles July 1-7
Looking forward to being in LA during the first week in July. Maybe we should do a blogger dinner ... thinking about it.Friday, June 17, 2005
Friday Night
Friday night is often pretty darned fun. Have a good one.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
This review is pretty crazy. I mean people are always getting all upset about videogame violence, but this is okay?! I haven't seen the movie yet, but it sounds like it might put marriage counseling back 1000's of years.Mr. & Mrs. Smith--about a bored married couple who find out they are trained killers gunning for each other--is a thoroughly enjoyable ride from start to finish. Honestly, nothing says loving like blasting a shotgun hole through your spouse's insides.I do hear good things about it.
Pink Boxing Gloves
Saw the most beautiful pair of pink boxing gloves this week. Still can't get over them. Very cool.Wednesday, June 15, 2005
48 Degrees
Okay, it's very dangerous to complain about the weather in Boston because God comes down from on high to fix your wagon.Tuesday it was nearly 90, tonight it's 48 ... SCARY!!!!!!
Look at the Red Sox tonight at Fenway -- they look like they have their long johns on.
Acute Omphaloskepsis
My sister fears more and more bloggers will die of Acute Omphaloskepsis in the next few months.
And About Yogurt
And my sister says, "Who gives a shit about what you ate for breakfast?!" She has a point.
Kill The People Who Don't Make You Laugh
So, it's easy to start a new world -- just kill the people who aren't funny, don't make you laugh and don't have good jokes.They need to go.
There's so much sad and bad news.
Jon Stewart is the king of this new world.
Bigger Looser Lighter
So my sister tells me my blog sucks and it needs to be...
bigger
...
looser
...
lighter.
I Need A God-Box
You know there's a lot of great technology around -- hand-held devices that keep track of your calendar, let you get email and text wirelessly, do all sorts of lovely things -- but they really aren't tackling the big technology challenges. They don't see the big picture.I want technologies that have some TEETH and can really kick ass, for goodness sakes.
I need a God-Box!
My mobile wireless God-Box would have some life-changing features and work a bit like a videogame controller. It would turn an out-of-control world into a veritable paradise.
For instance, I have a big deadline on Friday and here it is Wednesday, I could dial up EXTRA DAYS on my God-Box and put a Wednesday-1, Wednesday-2, and a Wednesday-3 -- three full days between today and Thursday. Now that's technology I'd get excited about -- changing time and space.
Also, for us idiots who live on the East Coast, we are always suffering through too hot or too cold weather. My God-Box would have a WEATHER CHANGER feature and I could change this crappy 90 degrees and 100% humidity to a reasonable, sunny 70 degrees with a workable 32% humidity. Just type in the numbers and you've got it.
The God-Box would have a full set of relationship-management features. It would, of course, locate and acquire perfect mates on a continuous basis. Or, if you had a mate, it would give you full MUTE feature, together with FULL FREEZE FRAME when your mate started to get cranky or decided to start nagging you about something.
It would certainly give new meaning to the plea, "Honey, can we talk about this later?" You could freeze your mate and leave them standing there in the den, as you went about a pleasant Saturday, getting in that golf game, or going shopping and then joining them later in the evening when you felt ready to unfreeze them.
Yes, I've decided the God-Box is the next big thing. The ultimate videogaming platform. Now to find some of those narrow-focused venture capitalist and convince them to expand their vision, and then fork over some dough. I only need a few million dollars to build the thing.
Busy Or What?
I always forget how crazy busy the month of June is -- but I'm getting a reminder. Is it something to do with the end of the kids' school year? Between that and Little League and a hundred other things, it's been one heck of an intense month.Making some meeting plans yesterday, I found it rather shocking to see the 4th of July is nearly upon us. HOW did that happen?
Wednesday Thing
You have to wonder who came up with that unpleasant term "Hump Day" to describe Wednesday. It's just not too swift.
Shhh .... It's A Secret
This very strange blog was profiled in The New York Times a few weeks back.It's truly addictive to read these strangers' secrets scribbled on postcards with funny collages.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Shakira's Chakras
If you've seen Shakira's new video from her new album Fijación Oral (Spanish for Oral Fixation) you've witnessed one amazing midriff -- which she is able to wave with crests and troughs like a churned up Pacific Ocean -- she is so hot!Also, in the video, she gets covered in a lot of black paint which looks more like motor oil all over her and dances like an undulating snake girl. You must see this video. Her dancing is amazing. She does an interesting dance move that might be called "fanning your way too hot butt with the intention of cooling it down" since she seems to be nearly combustible.
But with a name like Shakira, may I mention, she sure knows her Chakras. You know -- those special locations according to Yoga, in the body where certain types of energy reside. Check out the chakra chart.
This woman sure has a lot going on in her Third Chakra, aka the Manipura Chakra (Solar Plexus Chakra). Holy heck!!! I think she's amazing.
DADDY YANKEE
Getting crazy for reggaeton!"Gasolina"
Zumbale el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Zumbale el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Zumbale el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Que se preparen q lo q viene es pa q le den, duro!
Mamita yo se que tu no te me va' a quitar (duro!)
Lo que me gusta es q tu te dejas llevar (duro!!)
To los weekenes ella sale a vacilar (duro!!)
Mi gata no para de janguiar porq
A ella le gusta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina)
Como le encanta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina) x2
Ella prende las turbinas,
No discrimina,
No se pierde ni un party de marquesina,
Se acicala hasta pa la esquina,
Luce tan bien q hasta la sombra le combina,
Asesina, me domina,
Anda en carro, motoras y limosinas,
Llena su tanque de adrenalina,
Cuando escucha el reggaeton en la cocina.
A ella le gusta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina!!)
Como le encanta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina!!) x4
Aqui nosotros somos los mejores,
No te me ajores,
En la pista nos llaman los matadores,
Haces q cualquiera se enamore,
Cuando bailas al ritmo de los tambores,
Esto va pa las gatas de to colores,
Pa las mayores, pa las menores,
Pa las que son mas zorras que los cazadores,
Pa las mujeres que no apagan sus motores.
Tenemo' tu y yo algo pendiente,
Tu me debes algo y lo sabes,
Conmigo ella se pierde,
No le rinde cuentas a nadie. x2
Subele el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Subele el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Subele el mambo pa' q mis gatas prendan los motores,
Que se preparen q lo q viene es pa q le den, duro!
Mamita yo se que tu no te me va' a quitar (duro!)
Lo que me gusta es q tu te dejas llevar (duro!!)
To los weekenes ella sale a vacilar (duro!!)
Mi gata no para de janguiar porq
A ella le gusta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina!!)
Como le encanta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina!!) x4
Temperature Diving!!!
I had a great series of meetings today with really fun and fascinating folks, but started the day in the hottest, most humid mess of weather, then when I got home tonight, stepped out of the car to feel ....WHAT WAS IT?
I haven't felt one for a long time! I could barely identify the phenomenon!
IT WAS ... YES!!
IT WAS ... A COOL BREEZE ... hell it was even maybe ... COLD!
It's hard to explain what a shocking difference it makes in one's mood.
I am literally prancing around my kitchen like a pony, kicking up my heels -- hooves -- whatever. I'm happy!
Hands-on Blogging
Is word processing dead? I find I hate writing in anything but blogging software.Been ranting about it over here at Tom Peters.com. Check it out.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Bloggers: Careful What You Say
The EFF (Electronic Freedom Foundation) has drafted a Legal Guide For Bloggers. Check it out here and you'll see what you can and can't say, I mean write.Whether you're a newly minted blogger or a relative old-timer, you've been seeing more and more stories pop up every day about bloggers getting in trouble for what they post.
Like all journalists and publishers, bloggers sometimes publish information that other people don't want published. You might, for example, publish something that someone considers defamatory, republish an AP news story that's under copyright, or write a lengthy piece detailing the alleged crimes of a candidate for public office.
The difference between you and the reporter at your local newspaper is that in many cases, you may not have the benefit of training or resources to help you determine whether what you're doing is legal. And on top of that, sometimes knowing the law doesn't help - in many cases it was written for traditional journalists, and the courts haven't yet decided how it applies to bloggers.
But here's the important part: None of this should stop you from blogging. Freedom of speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn't use the law to stifle legitimate free expression. That's why EFF created this guide, compiling a number of FAQs designed to help you understand your rights and, if necessary, defend your freedom.
To be clear, this guide isn't a substitute for, nor does it constitute, legal advice. Only an attorney who knows the details of your particular situation can provide the kind of advice you need if you're being threatened with a lawsuit. The goal here is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected.
Admit It: Things You Love About Your Job
Admit it, when really dicey things happen at work, it certainly spices things up a bit. Here's the top ten list of things that make life at work more interesting:Things You Love About Your Job
1. Finding out someone at work is having an affair with someone else;
2. Finding our someone at work is going to get fired before they know;
3. Going out for coffee and gossiping about people you don't like at work;
4. Seeing someone being arrested at work;
5. Finding nakedy pictures in the Xerox room recycle bin -- some people just don't know how to operate a shredder;
6. Finding out someone you really don't like, who fired a lot of your friends and nearly fired you, is getting canned;
7. Getting a promotion over your rival and watching them go green with envy;
8. Treating them magnanimously after you got the promotion, even though everyone knows you're privately gloating;
9. Finding money in the hall at work -- don't knock it, it can make for an agreeable Monday;
10. Sitting outside your boss's office, a resignation letter in your hot little hands, announcing you want to quit with 2 weeks notice, but FIRST FINDING OUT from his flirty secretary that they're closing the company and you will all have a year's severance pay. It's amazing how fast you can learn to operate a shredder.
Why Blogs Are So Fun To Read At Work
Yes, it's the riddle of the sphinx, a complex and complicated mystery to be solved. Why are blogs so fun to read at work?Best broadband connection obviously -- you should see the Monday morning spike in blog traffic and of course -- work is so boring and blogs are so interesting.
Political Animal: Bow-tie Guy Carlson Has New Show
So I guess we'll all have to watch and see ...With the real Tucker Carlson sitting beside him in a conference room, MSNBC chief Rick Kaplan grumbles at something the televised Tucker Carlson says on a taped run-through of the new prime-time talk show "The Situation."Now what's the word for bow-tie pasta ... I can't remember. I'll need to cook up some tonight.
"You disagree?" Carlson asks his boss.
"You're just wrong," Kaplan replies.
They make an odd couple. On the right, the bowtied conservative. On the left, the friend of Bill Clinton now running his second cable news network.
But they're longtime pals whose fates are now linked. Carlson's talk show, which debuts 9 p.m. EDT Monday, is MSNBC's first new prime-time program since Kaplan took control in February 2004, his most visible chance to place his stamp.
...
Before leaving the now-cancelled "Crossfire," Carlson sat through an on-air lecture by comedian Jon Stewart about how the argumentative show was doing little to advance the cause of democracy. The irony was that Carlson had privately concluded much the same thing. He had already decided to leave the show and CNN.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
National Emergency: Your Fitness
There's been so much written about the national emergency that Americans are facing -- we're dangerously overweight. But it's hard to bridge the distance between the entire population and your mouth.As hurricane season starts in Florida with Hurricane Arlene this week, we can all get a handle on the notion of a "national emergency" and how to prepare for one. There are agencies to help us. There is a community effort to support families, kids, all of us. Floridians are, unfortunately, old hands now at coping with their particular local weather disasters.
But how do we take a National Fitness Emergency and make it personal -- just about you and how you eat and how you move your body? It's paradoxical.
I guess I can tell my story. How about that? A few things contribute to why I'm so crazy about working out. A few ordinary things, a few painful things. Also, btw, I'm no Skinny Minnie. I actually don't own a scale so, I kindof don't know what I weigh, but I can guess.
I'm 5'8" so I'm blessed to be tallish, because I think it's a nightmare for short women to keep trim. My hats off to any of you who've mastered it. I can get away with murder in that respect -- eating junk I shouldn't because it doesn't show on a tall body. If I were shorter, I'd have to be super careful with everything I ate and how much I move.
So what do I weigh? Let me think about it. I have a range that runs from a woman's dress size of 8-10-12. I'm REALLY skin and bones (according to me) when I'm 130 or so (size 8). When I'm in a reasonable weight I'm around 140-145 (a size 10). When I'm pudgy and round I'm around 150 (size 12). The highest I've ever weighed (not related to pregnancy, during, pre- or post-) is around 160.
I probably weigh ... 145-150 now. I really don't like women obsessing about their weight. I'm fine however with them obsessing about being STRONG AND FIT AND HEALTHY.
The number one reason I'm keen on being fit is that I'm 49 and I have a 9 year-old. Do the math -- I have to stay in shape to take care of my boy as he grows up and simply to be there when he's older. No choice. I'll be 61 when I see him graduate from college. I plan on being a very fit, foxy 61, believe me.
I didn't realize it when I had my baby at 39, but kids want you to play with them all the time and do SPORTS with them all the time. So you miss a lot as a parent if you can't do sports with them. My kid has gotten me into downhill skiing, more xcross country (I always did that), rollerblading, sledding, skateboarding, diving, more swimming (always swam) just to name a few things. So I've been more fit than ever thanks to my son. I wasn't this strong or fit in college -- nowhere near. In fact, I wasn't in very good shape in college and probably the fattest I ever was -- too much late night cookies and milk.
Another reason I'm fit. I watched my mom and dad die of lung cancer and heart disease respectively (in their 80's) and I was up close watching the nursing home experience and it was really NO FUN. But get this -- their generation had Social Security, a good ratio of caregivers to geriatric patients and in my family, five kids to care for their two parents in their old age. And it still was fairly MISERABLE. I don't think I'm divulging any secrets here -- but our generation will probably have NONE of this. Wellness and fitness in your life now will make your old age 100X more bearable. I hope to drop dead quickly while working out, dancing or just before someone tries to give me a speeding ticket when I'm a little bit over 100 years old, not waste away in a nursing home.
If none of these reasons appeal to you ... let me think of some more reasons to be fit. Did I forget IT FEELS GOOD?!? There's one. And how about YOU LOOK BETTER -- especially without your clothes on. It feels so good and makes you want to do things -- run around, take trips, make love, cook dinner, live a full life.
And how about the fact that your body is a great input/output device for your emotional life -- the more fit you are (the more in touch with your body), the more you can quickly read feelings of stress, danger, love, sadness, excitement and react appropriately. And this reminds me of the other BIG THING about exercise -- mental fitness.
Everyone who works out knows that it's often as not a 50% physical and a 50% MENTAL fitness work-out as you're lifting weights, trudging up that last mile of Heartbreak Hill, swimming your 100'th lap, landing an awesome double axel on your local rink's ice. Physical fitness makes you mentally fit and strong. It's so important. It makes all the stress in your life loom NOT so large.
But what about YOU ... let's just bring our big national emergency back to you, your table, your waistline and the street outside your house or office. You don't have to be a marathoner. You don't have to be an award-winning figure skater. I'm not asking you to be a superstar athlete. Here's all I'm asking today, all you need to improve your fitness.
Go outside and walk. If the weather stinks, go to a local mall and walk. If you can't walk, swim. Just do some sort of activity today. It's a place to start. And you'll have done your work as a citizen to end our national disaster.
Oh yeah, and one more thing, do it tomorrow too. And the next day, and the next day ... etc.
Always Public
I can't imagine what it must feel like to be famous and so everything you do is scrutinized in the press and by mobs of strangers.For instance, Kylie Minogue's recent bout with cancer. It must be excruiating enough to experience what she did, but then to have it be so public, to have to worry about your privacy and safety in the hospital, to have everyone telling you their 2 cents and just to have go through every thing so publicly.
Same with all these movie star couples' marriages, affairs, divorces. I can't imagine how vulnerable they must feel. Imagine reading something about your lover having an affair and it's the first YOU hear of it and it ends up being fiction, it can't be easy.
How did we get to the point where we believe these people belong to US and not to themselves and they don't deserve some privacy? It's really sick. Surely it's a measure of how dull our lives are.
Kylie: Can't Get You Out Of My Head
La la laLa la la la la
La la la
La la la la la
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy it’s more than I dare to think about
La la la
La la la la la
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy it’s more than I dare to think about
Every night
Every day
Just to be there in your arms
Won’t you stay
Won’t you lay
Stay forever and ever and ever and ever
La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can’t get you out of my head
Boy it’s more than I dare to think about
There’s a dark secret in me
Don’t leave me locked in your heart
Set me free
Feel the need in me
Set me free
Stay forever and ever and ever and ever
La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la
I just can’t get you out of my head
I just can’t get you out of my head
I just can’t get you out of my head...
Blondie: Call Me
Color me your color, baby.Color me your car.
Color me your color, darling.
I know who you are.
Come up off your color chart.
I know where you’re coming from.
Call me on the line.
Call me, call me any anytime.
Call me, my love, you can call me any day or night.
Call me!
Cover me with kisses, baby.
Cover me with love.
Roll me in designer sheets.
I’ll never get enough.
Emotions come, I don’t know why.
Cover up love’s alibi.
Call me on the line.
Call me, call me any anytime.
Call me oh my love.
When you’re ready we can share the wine.
Call me.
Ooh, he speaks the languages of love.
Ooh, amore, chiamami (chiamami).
Oo, appelle-moi, mon cherie (appelle-moi).
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, anyway!
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, any day, anyway!
Call me my love.
Call me, call me any anytime.
Call me for a ride.
Call me, call me for some overtime.
Call me my love.
Call me, call me in a sweet design.
Call me, call me for your lover’s lover’s alibi.
Call me on the line.
Call me, call me any anytime..
Call me.
Oh, call me, ooh ooh ah.
Call me my love.
Call me, call me any anytime.
Ugh This Weather!
I guess it happens every year, the hot weather suddenly arriving full force out of nowhere, but I forget after 365 days, the way you end up forgetting what childbirth feels like and make the insane decision to get pregnant a few more times.But after having such a cold and wet spring, very little weather above 35-40 degrees it seemed in April and even into May, we're in the Vietnamese Jungle all of a sudden -- very very HOT and very very HUMID.
You might recall a month ago, I was freezing without hot water a few mornings. Now I'm in a pot of boiling hot weather that makes getting anything done feel impossible.
It takes a lot of getting used to. And we New Englanders don't seem ready for this yet.
And after a 90 degree afternoon and (800% humidity afternoon may I mention) at a Little League game yesterday, (and they played so well, so hard and then LOST! poor kids!) all I wanted to do was get back here, hide in my air conditioning, lie around like a very tired out, languid, languishing river rat.
I had a late night drink date set with a mom friend who can never seem to get a minute for me and her to girlchat, so was I was keen on catching up with her at the swanky joint in town. Her husband was cool with taking care of their 5 boys for the evening, so the coast was clear ... I thought.
She always teases me that I can NEVER stay up late and never go out late -- which is mostly true. But last night, SHE pooped out, and then I did and it was early snoresville for both of us. Darn! I was getting excited about being a person who stays up late and hangs out for some night life. So much for that. Also was waiting to talk with someone in another time zone out West ... so much for the best laid plans. (California friends stand a better chance of talking to me at their 1:00am and my just awake and fresh 4:00am!)
This weather makes you feel like a melted down Gumby. And as soon as I was out of the heat and into some cool air ... I was a goner, sleeping like a baby by 9:30.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
What Women Can Do
There is a lot we can do. Of course, in the big scheme of things, we can make babies, you knew that, but we can make dinner too, and make a bed and lie in it. And make civilized dinner conversation and build civilizations, that is, we can people houses with people, little people who grow into big people.We can invite people over and single one out we particularly like -- one like you. You might take us by the hand and ask us to dance. Because you want to feel our round and fleshy girlishness next to you, pressed up against you. And for all this kingdom building we need you too. Can't do it without you. We love to take your measure, man. We wonder -- secretly -- how we'd fit together.
We need to feel your enthusiasm. We can see it in your eyes, yes sir, but as you lead us to the dance floor, we love the way you encircle our waists, above our bottoms, which might be just so slightly elevated and riding high in your direction, as we look up to you, stealing a glance. Our high heels help that nice "S" curve, bosoms pushed up and out in front and buttocks rounded up in back, to say in a word, "I'm game."
The way I trot asks, "Do you like my skirt?" My little girl cover-up skirt and like a silly girl I want to yank it up and play show me, but no, no, no, not yet. Later, later, yes, I calm my girly self down and save it. All good things come to those who wait.
And when the music swells, we want you to press up against us, and slowly, you do it with this spin, that grab, that dip. I'm imagining the whole dance without these cumbersome clothes, guessing how your chest might rub my breasts, your hips might grind my belly, and all the rest.
And then that great "Thumbs up!" happens. You-man press against me-woman and tell me the secret YES! Actually not-so-secret for you and me, a flush of delicious welcome, your hardness pressing against my party dress. What a compliment to feel your eagerness pressed against me. Thank you. It can make a girl's knees quiver and forget the most studied dance steps.
You're at my door and you want in, I know. I love that male enthusiasm. But would it be ladylike to let you know how much I want you back, the wetness you make between my lips, upstairs (kiss me) and downstairs (come in). I'm ready to put out the welcome mat, believe me boy, the one that says, "Home Sweet Home."
But the music can end just like that and some ... something ... can happen to pull us apart. Some "she" needs to rush off to the ladies room with me, some "he" has to show you his new blue car out in the driveway. I feel our hands pull apart, disconnect in air with a thud to my side, creating a weighty sadness like an old building demolished downtown, crashing to the ground. It seemed so solid moments before. What happened?
Later, but not much, you find me, messing about with the ice cubes floating melty in the red splash of punchbowl, and some other Mr. Wrong trying to chat me up who doesn't see you coming. You're fast, grab my willing hand, you take me away, lead me out of the swirl of people and party dresses in a flash.
Outside, we are polite animals in heat, in your car. You think I might say no, but it's highly unlikely. We begin, but suddenly I say, "Slow down, not here!" I want more. I want it all. You understand. You need to find a soft place for us, very private, where we will not be disturbed, where the night will be long and maybe dawn light will remind us we're still on earth. But maybe not.
