NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM! we figured a movie theater was a good place to spend the evening being duly frightened. alien::director's cut was just the ticket. i was 19 the first time i saw it at the theater... aside from a few aching joints and being unpreventably spoiled, i enjoyed the ride just almost as much as then. i wondered how alien's "fear factor" would hold up in light of 20+ years of cinematic tech advances. it is a well-spun tale and filmed at a creepy pace - almost too slow, but never without gratification - and was able to make me jump after all these years. honestly, though, the lingering closeup of the alien after he burst through "kane"... well... i couldn't help but laugh at the absurd little creature who looked more like flipper's mutant cousin than a monster born of unearthly seed. my favorite "new old" scene?... a marvelous little cat fight. ;-) my only regret was not driving the distance to see it on a bigger screen. all in all, i enjoyed ridley scott's "nip and tuck" version. check it out for yourself. playing at a theater near you.
October 2003 Archives
see the other 3 hours and 27 minutes @pixelicious v2.1
i got a new teapot! i love all things tea and my pots are no exception. i needed this one (honestly!) to replace my old favorite teapot - a navy "brown betty" from pristine pottery in staffordshire - whose spout was unfortunately traumatized by my favorite 15 yr old girl who shall remain nameless *wink*.
my new pot is a chantal 1.5 quart tea steep in semi white matte... lovely... feels like silk! it's not a british "betty" but i like it a lot and it is BIG so i can make plenty of tea for the whole family.
California Chalks Up a Spam Win
The Golden State wins its first antispam judgment, against marketing firm PW Marketing. The company is fined $2 million under a 1998 statute; the state expects spammers will be easier to prosecute under its tougher new law.
effrontery
ef front er y
n. pl. ef front er ies
Brazen boldness; presumptuousness.
[French effronterie, from effronté, shameless, from Old French esfronte, from Vulgar Latin *effronttus, alteration of Late Latin effrns, effront- : ex-, ex- + frns, front-, front, forehead.]
example: She had the effrontery to register my cool domain name idea before I did! :-P
honestly! i DID renew my tags online today, printed the dmv receipt out, stapled my registration to it and put it in my glove compartment. good thing, too, because i got pulled over (AGAIN!) on the way home from kinship tonight. i was in a much better humor (since i couldn't be charged again) and after miss cop ran my info we chuckled a "good night" and went our separate ways. hope those darn things get here in the mail soon. i sure don't want to being doing the blue light routine for the next few days. :-\
things can only get better today. i finally ventured out of my house
to get some work done at the church office. long story, short...
i got pulled over and ticketed for having expired state tags... oops!
truly an oversight due to being administratively discombobulated lately.
does anyone hear that ka'CHING?!!
{pained sigh with much eye-rolling}
the girls and i spent another lovely day in the past today in williamsburg. autumn is still out of reach, which seems so odd for the end of october in virginia. the weather was stunningly beautiful. the bees are all but gone (although the mosquitoes were out in force in the evening) so we were able to eat our picnic lunch outside wren chapel in peace, save one cheeky squirrel who was expecting a handout and wandered a little too close for comfort... but he finally gave up on us... whew!
today we visited musicians, theatre players, blacksmith, printer, and bookbinder, as well as a lovely little garden stroll... we learned much and enjoyed all.
my personal favorite was the heavenly music and illuminating conversation made by two musicians playing the viola de gamba and baroque flute (as well as recorder and whistle). the viola de gamba is a six stringed instrument looking like a cello at first glance, but NOT from that family at all. it is tuned in major 4ths with a major 3rd thrown in there somewhere (huh?!). the baroque flute (transverse, wood, 17th century, perhaps actually preceeding baroque?) had 6 holes and a single key. both instruments were lovely, very lovely, and played expertly by their masters. aaaah... "after silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." ~ aldous huxley
two in one...
my submission for photo friday's "body" theme
my gratitude to the unidentified subjects... ;-)
aaaah.... my favorite form of relaxation
window at the old broad street station in richmond, virginia
(once aka union station of richmond)
building designed by john russell pope 1917; completed 1919
built for atlantic coast line and rf&p railroad...
now home to the science museum of virginia.
submission for theme thursday's "windows" theme
If I wasn't already hitched, you could call me the next Mrs. George Mason!
Stats: Wealthy Southern Plantation Owner (money talks!), Father of the Bill of Rights,
Moral Conscience, Rebel Streak (it's a southern thing, you wouldn't understand),
All-Around Hip Founding Father, and WHO couldn't LOVE that WIG?!!
the girlies and i spent the day in williamsburg so we could grieve in a "comfort place". we went to wren chapel to hear an 18th century sermon - the chapel was beautiful - the acoustics were difficult, though, especially with so few bodies in the room, and hearing clearly was a challenge. the sermon targeted the growing grumblings against the crown's management of the colonists versus the virtue of being peacemakers. i enjoyed it and was convicted by some of the reverend's admonishments, as well. the weather was comfortable with some cloudiness and the last couple hours we enjoyed a gentle sprinkle. we were SO glad that we spent our first day without abby in this lovely gentle place. we walked through beautiful gardens and lanes, sharing our sorrow and conversations about puppies in heaven and how abby would want us to live joyfully like she did. we came home with a pretty sunflower bundt cake pan from williams-sonoma at merchant square. abby was our sunshine girl and we all agreed that it reminded us of her... so we will make sunflower cakes in it and remember our abigail sunshine. jordie found a little angel ornament with a hanging heart that says "abigail" so that came home with us, too. at the end of the day we were very tired, but in a peaceful and contented way. miss you, puppy-gail.
i am in shock. abby is gone.
her condition spiraled down and
we made the decision to let her go.
i kissed her sweet red head goodbye
and told her to go chase squirrels and birds
and sleep in peace.
my heart is heavy.
abby is my miniature dachshund and she is not doing well.
abby suffered a ruptured disc last tuesday,
which resulted in the sudden paralysis of her back end.
it seems like her disc pain is mostly under control and
the back spasms are occurring less often.
she is not eating, although she has begun to drink a bit.
the only food she is getting is the tidbit of cheese or peanut butter that her pills are hidden in every six hours.
she is on prednisone (to reduce inflamation), a muscle relaxer, a pain reliever, and an antibiotic (to avoid a UTI).
abby is one sick puppy. we are heartbroken and very stressed.
the other day i said i was stressed to the nth degree... ha!
that was candyland compared to the following 48 hours. :-(
the next few weeks will be a big investment into her hopeful recovery;
whether that means regained mobility remains to be seen.
if her back end remains paralyzed you will eventually see her zipping around in her own little chariot!
and so does my dog... leaving ME the victim.
when i got abby up to take her to her surgery appointment,
i carried her downstairs and outside to go potty.
and when i put her down she could barely use her hind legs
by the time i got her to the vet she was really stressing
somewhere between fear and pain she yipped loudly and bit me a good one
i was in complete shock... for one, it hurt like #%$!
two, it was gushing blood
and three, i was suddenly terrified of demon doggy and feeling immensely guilty for being afraid of her when she is in such need of comfort and love
later she was tested for deep pain response and had none
more to tell but duty calls...
i am very sad... abby is going to the vet right now for urgent surgery on a hernia which happens to be in a not usual place and is protruding since monday. she is feeling very badly and this morning, much to my horror, she has lost the use of her back end... i put her down outside to go potty and her legs gave in from side to side as she tried unsuccessfully to walk... she couldn't even relieve herself... her surgery is sometime today and we'll retrieve her this evening... probably spending a third sleepless night caring for her
she looks pitiful and i am stressed to the nth degree {sigh}
this is a beauty! i hope i win it! ;-)
don't know why this title... just feeling goofy and thinking about the blues brothers behind the chickenwire... whatever.
oh, now i remember why i came here... SCHOOL OF ROCK rocks!
we all went out to see it last night and, along with the rest of the (very enthusiastic) audience, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. more about it later... gotta run
