So many tears... but these are ones of sheer delight.
Thanks, Daniel.
I'm not feeling so blue anymore.

We stayed up to watch Office Space last night after putting the kids to bed. (mm-kay...) On that note, here is where you can find my 20 most recently viewed movies. (It's actually supposed to be for your top 20 fav's, but I can't be bothered making such harsh decisions. Numbers 1-5 are definitely correct, but beyond there it gets a little jumbled for now.)

NZ in 2003: blog with photos. Tash, I'm so jealous of your home! Hope you have a super-great weekend!

Bread Cam... watch bread go stale. (Reminds me of a scene in The Nerd where they watch an apple core turn brown.)

A Penny for My Thoughts
I have established a bit of a reputation around here. A reputation of what... and whether good or bad... I'm not entirely sure. But more and more, people have been asking for my opinion on things, and I am more than happy to oblige.

"Danielle, which artwork do you like better?"
"Hey listen to this and tell me which tracks you like the best."
"We're changing the name of the production company... how do you like this one instead?"

So yesterday we were doing a name search for a production team. Bossman said to call them back and say that names 2, 5 & 6 are available. I laughed as I asked if I was allowed to add that #5 is completely lame. He said in all seriousness that I should.

This conversation evolved into the idea of me starting my own company, Unsoliticed Opinions, LLC. Then he suggested that I write an online column instead. It would have to be completely anonymous, of course, to avoid ever connecting me with my job here... but we all had a good laugh about it. I would start with any band with a number in their name and all bands on T&N. This could be fun.

LOTR Personality Test

You are most like
Frodo Baggins, Son of Drogo

With many acquaitenances, Frodo is deeply attached to a few people, like Bilbo, Aragorn, Gandalf, and Sam. His high ethics come out in his treatment of Gollum and Saruman. Frodo has pity on Gollum and believes that change can occur.
You have a strong personal morality. You are committed to relationships and their growth. You tend to be an idealist, believing the best of the world around you. Time alone is important and solitary activities refresh you. You have a tendency to introspection. While providing compassion and being considerate, you may have the tendency of being soft-hearted or even "too emotional" You like keeping your options open. Closure is probably not one of your strong suits.

Tea(r) for Two
Just when you think you're done crying about something... along comes a nice email from Phil:
"We have very fond memories of our times in Nashvegas with you... We talk about you often!!!!!!! I know that at times things were soured for us all by the bad things that happened, but I know in time that only the good will remain...... It is such a shame that we live on the other side of the world..... Still I am hoping that one of our travels will put us together in the same place at the same time again!"

Song for the Day
I See in You

Last night I was over at Karl's to celebrate Dalton's 6th birthday. At one point I was paid the nicest compliment. Sandra, Connie, and I were talking about how we were going to have to take a trip to Europe together in a couple years. Sandra said that I would have to be the designated photographer for the trip, because "the way [I] look through a camera is such a gift". That was so nice.

Connie said I should see Amandla! (which apparently is a word for "freedom" or "power") while it is showing at The Belcourt. The previews do look really interesting. I may have to get up there for that.

Children were killed. We wrote songs to say to the children: you are strong; you are beautiful; you belong.

I am such a busy girl this week. It almost has me frazzled. I don't plan this much so far in advance ever. Last night was the party. Tonight is Dalton's baseball game. Tomorrow night I'm watching Taylor. Jesse and I are going to see Finding Nemo on Saturday. Yay! Sunday and Monday are not yet spoken for, so claim your quality Danielle time now. Tuesday is a work night out at RoseAnne's.

'Cause You People Are Bastard People
Sometimes I feel bad for people who get paid to telephone other people who will probably get mad at them for calling. Due to the nature of my job, I try to be exceptionally courteous to everyone who calls our office... even the telemarketers who don't have a prayer of getting a return call from my boss.

Then there was the insolent jerk from Canon who just called for the meter reading. The whole issue stems from the fact that we have two copiers... one at our office and one at the bossman's home office. The one here, I obviously have no problem getting the meter read for... but I can't very well drive over to his house every time they call in. So we have it set up that they fax some form to that machine, and it's good as gold.

Well, this guy clearly didn't grasp the concept that I was not in the same building as that machine. Nor could he understand why there was no number for him to call that would reach someone where that machine is. He did not want to leave his number, nor did he appreciate my suggestion that he wait on hold for 35 minutes while I go drive over to the machine. He was being completely condescending, and it was irritating me to no end. My patience quickly ran thin.

Now, I am not easily angered. In fact, hardly ever, as anyone who knows me can attest. But I am still a redhead, and I can reach levels of sarcasm that you've never imagined. It wasn't even fair.

I'm going for coffee.

Congrats to Matty-D and Amy! Though in November, will we have to start calling him "Daddy-D"? Weird.

Out of pure curiosity today, I wondered if anyone has made a hand pointer cursor with the middle finger extended rather than the normal index finger. Yep, they have.

Maverick Times... more music news. In the spotlight is their idea of Great Albums of the 20th Century. Their mention of Songs from the Big Chair and The Stone Roses makes up for their nod to Oasis.

867-5309
God's Answering Service: Woman irked about getting calls after her mobile number appeared in Bruce Almighty.

Have you seen his sunglasses? Had to throw up a link, because anybody who knows about Homestar, ThinkGeek, and WickedCoolStuff has got to be at least somewhat cool.

Bag and Baggage... a blog link, because "baggage" is such a fun word, don't you agree?

A Really Sweet Conversation: Best Understood by Those Who Know
Natro [a dear friend from home]: i got [bb]'s second album today
Danielle: how do you like it?
N: i actually haven't even opened it yet
D: ooo... do you have [their first album]?
N: no
D: so this is your first [bb] experience?
N: i previewed a bit online and i saw them w/ you and krystal and debbie at the [nb] show
D: that's right... aww, it's like introducing my friends for the first time -- I think you'll get along, but part of me is afraid you won't like each other
N: part of the reason i got them was because they are important to you.

Hail Impales
Hail batters airplane from Cyprus. Wow, really glad I wasn't on that one. A little turbulence is fun... that would suck.

According to The Oracle of Starbucks, I am lame. Moving on....

The Pen is Mightier Than the Keyboard
The writings of Albert Einstein can be found online. Of course, knowing German would be helpful.

Shower Power... the game. Disturbing? Decide for yourself.

Read The Jakielo Files, because it is funny. And you know what I always say: what doesn't kill you... makes you laugh.

I'm blogging this.

Wild Kingdom: A Comment and A Question
First of all, I forgot to relay the funny sitcom-esque story from Gatorland. Manda and I were walking through this safari area. All of a sudden she says, "It smells bad here." Seconds later, she asks, "What is that white stuff all over those palm bushes?" It felt like slow-motion while we both looked up to discover at least 20 black vultures in the tree above us. We ran.

And lizards. Salamanders. Whatever they are. There are these little creatures crawling all over everything in Florida. Now supposedly, and I've heard this before, their tails come off if you try to catch them. What I want to know is this: why isn't someone out there selling lizard tails? They sell alligator feet, and I assume that those have to actually be chopped off at some point. But lizard tails... you think they would be an easily accessible and renewable resource. Do people collect lizard tails? Because, I think I would if given the chance. Any insight on this phenomenon would be appreciated.

Song for the Day:
The National Anthem - Radiohead
"Everyone is so near
What's going on?"

National War Dogs Memorial. When I see things like this, it becomes very clear that I am just not an animal lover.

Would you like a little popcorn with your salt?

I Trust Everyone; It's the Devil Inside Them I Don't Trust
I saw a MINI driving around Cool Springs yesterday. With no options, I think I could afford these payments.

Holy Moley

With Manda's permission, I may now explain the whole mole thing. See back when the idea for my visit first popped into her head, she was telling me that she had the whole day off of work and that in the morning she was going to be having a mole removed. So for some reason, I declared that we must have a mole-themed birthday for her... complete with party favors and costumes and the whole works. However, since I didn't finalize my plans to go until Tuesday, there wasn't a whole lot of time to plan -- and there just isn't much out there to work with, so it basically got scrapped. But I gave her some guacamole mix, some dr. scholl's moleskin padding, a pencil from a studio who has the word "mole" in the name, and some Mexican mole. Another couple gave her a gold lamé mole that their daughter had made in high school.

Manda, here's the daisy candle warmer link... and this one is for that lucious caramel apple candle. Unfortunately, the maps don't seem to have a site anywhere.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

Erik, Matt, Alex, and Emily were kind enough to join Jack, Manda, and me for lunch at the airport so that I could make my flight on time and Jack & Manda could still join the gang for lunch. Sat on the plane for an extra twenty minutes while they sorted out some problem and then refueled. Sat next to friendly, talkative, Kentucky guy on the plane. But I'm home and safe and kinda sad, but yet happy that we had an excellent weekend.

I forgot to mention that we drove through Celebration yesterday afternoon. This is the town invented by Disney, and it is surreal. It is beautiful, but creepy. Everything is perfectly manicured. All the garages are hidden behind the houses and accessed through alleys. They have these electric golf-cart-like vehicles that are used around the town. It really is almost cartoonish in a way. Strange.

I babysat bossman's girls tonight. $50. Not bad. Hans called after they were asleep, so we chit-chatted for a while and then planned to hook up online when I got home to play Age of Myth... but it wasn't working, so we're going to try his-tonight/my-tomorrow.

Last Friday's Five
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
that Colgate liqui-gel stuff

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
anything two-ply and quilted... northern?

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
My boss would argue that I never wear any... but I don't have any particular brand that I shop for when I buy shoes. The easier to slip off the better. :)

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Dr. Pepper

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
I don't.

And Now, Back to You...

Yay -- I'm tired, but it has been a great weekend filled with moles, movies, and buffets.

After getting in yesterday, Jack, Manda & I went to see Bruce Almighty. We laughed heartily. We also made cake.

Dinner at the Crazy Buffet was, indeed, crazy. They had to give us a tour ahead of time. Seriously. For a girl who doesn't dig seafood, I had more sushi and other fishy foods than normal, but it was all tastey.

Then it was back here for cake and ice cream. Plus a little wine and Risk. Emily and I (gold and silver, respectively) were the precious metals who dominated the men. And in memory of Phil, I got everybody saying "Bring it" by the end of the game.

Today we went garage-sailing... to my dismay. :)

After lunch at another buffet, we went to Gatorland. It was so incredible. The two things I wanted to do was to see an alligator and go to the everglades. Saw lots and lots of gators, and their swampland feeds into the Everglades, so it was good enough for me.

Tonight Manda and I went to a sneak-preview of The Italian Job, and we give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. It's got Ed-Baby in it, so we were pretty much hooked from the beginning, but I thought it was pretty clever.

I played Halo with the boys for a while when we got home. Now it's SNL and off to bed. Home tomorrow.

So Tina, Chanel and I went to see Reloaded tonight so that I am equipped to have disturbingly long theological discussions with Jack this weekend.

It was good, but I missed a call from oz because of it. *sadness*

Am I packed yet?

Naah, I don't leave for 10 hours. There's no time like the last minute.

All's Well That Ends

Just when I thought I was going to explode with frustration from my computer's lack of cooperation... it's all better. (No thanks to Captain Lets-Reformat-Your-Drive-And-See-If-That-Helps over at Dell tech support. "Erm... yeah, I'm going to have to back some things up first." *click*)

I ran into Michael this afternoon.. at Starbucks, of all places. He wasn't working, and he called my name when I was through ordering. He gestured to his shirt. It was a Sweet Comfort Band t-shirt circa 1984 with 3/4-length sleeves that were baby blue and white checkered. All I could say was, "You must be very secure in your masculinity."

So I'm flying tomorrow, and we're on an orange terror alert. What does that mean anyway? Bleh. Long lines at the airport is what it means.

I do have some interesting Mole finds that I will not be able to report until after the big shebang tomorrow night... at The Crazy Buffet. This place had better be crazy, or I'm leaving.

While I'm gone, go and check out the International Spy Museum... you can play Whack-a-Mole with communist spies there.

Silence is Golden

If you're feeling ignored today, it is because I am, in fact, ignoring everyone/everything. My computer is going into self-destruct today, so any unnecessary programs are not in use. My boss unjustly lost a case this morning, so everybody around here is a little cranky. And I have so much to do before I knock off tomorrow.

If I don't throw this heap of junk out the window, I might be getting back to you later.

Update

Don't ever attempt to plan a Mole-themed party, because... let me tell you... there just aren't a whole lot of mole-related products out there. Where's a Whac-a-Mole when you need one?? I found more hedgehogs than moles. Come on people! Moles are cute little creatures too. Though, I think I thoroughly entertained the guys at Suncoast with my suggestion that, since dogs and bears have been done to death, moles are the animal of the future.

I'm so sad.

Go Ahead, Make My Day

I think I might have made someone's day. (Finally secured reservations to visit for her birthday this weekend.) While someone else made mine! (Sometimes a slow drive through the heartland is just what the doctor orders.)

I think I'm going to go buy a suitcase now. Not that I don't have 10 of them... just none I care to get messed up flying. And my other one broke at christmastime.

Anybody know where I can get a mole in middle tennessee?

While looking for pictures of lake sunsets to make sympathy cards for my cousins and aunt & uncle, I was struck by the beauty of this photograph. I think I should make my way up to Glacier National Park someday. Go snowmobiling with Dad or something. (This is another lovely shot.)

Goodbye, Grandma

She wasn't really my grandma. She was my cousins' grandma on the other side of their family, but whenever we would go up to Minnesota to visit them, we would always stay at Grandma M's lake home. She felt like my third grandma.

Goodness, I have so many memories from that place. After all, we went there every other summer when I was growing up. And I even took a handful of friends up there with me when I got to high school.

There was the time that I was standing on the moss-covered rocks on the shore... just savoring the cool water as it lapped my toes. That is, until I moved a little too close to the edge and fell in -- fully-clothed -- and got a pretty nasty cut on my toe.

Then there was the year that my cousins' other cousins were there at the same time. All of us kids would go out waterskiing and playing on the raft. The song "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard will always, always remind me of that summer.

Did I ever mention that I witnessed an attempted murder? Well, that happened there too. Wasn't as bad as it sounds. More of a domestic violence thing. But I was getting my bag out of the car late one night, when I heard people out on the road fighting. Lots of yelling "I'm gonna kill you", and the next thing I know the man was yelling for help. Turns out his wife hit him in the head with a cueball. I told the cops what I heard. Then we all went for ice cream.

We played Atari in the rec room. We watched my uncle clean fish in the tackle room. We had many a fish-fry with our prize catches in that house.

And Grandma M was always there with open arms welcoming us as though we were family.

I found out that she passed away Sunday morning. At 92, she lived a full life. She will be missed.

One to keep an eye on... BadDentist.com... looks like someone has issues with their dentist.

I have no idea what this site says. But I hope it is something nice, because it really is very cute.

The Ooze: Conversation for the Journey

I am so mad at myself. I have been planning to watch the premier of Travel the Road for a couple months now. And why did I miss it? What was I doing instead? Nothing. I just didn't think about it again until 11:00.

Happy Birthday, Karl! Your family means so much to me!

Allison, I thought of you when I saw the news about Morocco today... :( Glad you had a nice concert though. (And is Josh the Harley-lovin' drummer??) :)

Last night Connie and I went out to her beautiful house. It used to be a hunting lodge, and it is absolutely fabulous. We went for a long walk and then went to get Mexican food. We went back to her house for coffee and dutch chocolate... mmm. (I missed the Angie Aparo show, but Michael called me from the venue to rub it in since he knew I'd appreciate that he was there.)

Tash, I'm insanely jealous that you even have the option of driving to the east coast. Don't let the boys get you down. Someday your prince will come.

There was a great interview on Fresh Air last week with author Eoin Colfer. It was great for a couple reasons. First of all, his name is Eoin (read "owen")... and he writes books about faeries. But beyond that, he has such a great sense of humor. (He says his books have "A-Team violence"... where lots of bullets are shot but no one gets hurt. But he admits that he kills four lizards in the second book.) Do yourself a favour and have a listen.

People going to see the movie PhoneBooth should have to sign a waiver something to this effect:

I, the undersigned, acknowledge that I am attending this movie with the full knowledge that this will be 80 minutes of my life that I will never get back. I also state, for the record, that I have absolutely nothing better to be doing physically or mentally during this hour and twenty minutes.

If I were writing a Four Word Film Review, I would have to say-- "Disconnect and run already." or "Big hype for this?" or "Kiefer has sexy voice." But dang, that should have been a TBS movie of the week or something.

Friday Five
1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
My dad put an industrial-sized distiller in our basement when I was a kid, and I have a hard time drinking anything else now.

2. What are your favourite flavor of chips?
I like straight up potato... non-rippled. Though I can go for rippled cheddar & sour cream when I'm feeling sassy.

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
I like my fettuccini alfredo and my red beans & rice.

4. How do you have your eggs?
I'm not a super egg fan... but scrambled. No runny business.

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
I think it would have to be Karl... with his pasta and veggies. But on Wednesday I made a roast with potatoes and carrots for me and my household. Look at me go with my bad crock-pot self!

Lyrical Email Quote of the Day Part 2:
(I was able to open the MSWorks files that Paul was trying to send to my boss, and he sent me this thanks.)

Why are you so awesome, Oh Danielle, Oh Danielle.
Will my skills one day blossom, Oh Danielle, Oh Danielle.
I tried [bossman] but he lost 'em, please don't tell, please don't tell.
It is you that keeps K-dog flossin', Oh Danielle, Oh Danielle.
I expect that to be on the next album.

Lyrical Email Quote of the Day:
"scheming scheming .. it never got us anywhere really."

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Everyone's favorite contender on The Bachelorette-- Bob --is going to be the next bachelor. I am so applying. (haha... can you imagine?) Come on, we're perfectly compatible. He's from Michigan. I've done time in Michigan. He sings. I listen. He's funny. I laugh. Perfect, right?

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a while. "This guy puts together the drums in each city. He's a nice guy and takes pride in his work." I guess you might have to know Mark to know how hilarious that is. Just the other day he was telling me how this dude from "The Real World" is out taking pictures and updating the website... but how nobody knows his name so they just call him "Real World". Well, apparently "Real World" doesn't know Mark's name either.

institutions of higher learning are often populated by newly liberated teens with too much time on their hands and/or too much alcohol in their systems. With that in mind, I bring you... The Olin Olympics -- featuring events such as Volley PopCase, Wookieball and the crowd favourite, Volleypong. Somehow I think I remember olympic events in my freshman dorm as well... but ours were based more on luck than any sort of skill... except for the MarioKart event, of course.

*sigh* My own mother, bless her heart, just sent me an email forward saying that her computer was infected with the file that has a teddy bear icon. Most people have learned to not send me those emails by now, but only because I usually reply simply with a link to an explanation of whatever hoax we are spreading on that particular day. These are the main sites I use as ammo:
∙ Snopes.com -- if they don't have it no one does
∙ BreakTheChain.org -- they have some ads, but I like their motto -- "Stop junk e-mail and misinformation"

Untitled #1 -- A Sigur Ros video. A little disturbing, I'll give them that.

Song for the Day:
Sarabande in D Minor - Georg Friderich Handel

Only one episode of 24 left? They have an awful lot to clear up next week. But I loved the Lincoln-monument-esque pose by David Palmer at the very end.

The New Color of Money... the treasury department's platform to tell all about the new currency design. I don't know if "ugly" is quite the word that I would use... but it is the only one that comes to mind at the moment. (via The Minor Fall, The Major Lift via Paul)

My favourite part is the Interactive Bill which allows you to discover all the newfangled features. (Though I feel the need to add that the security features are pretty much exactly what we have right now... but nice of them to include that as well.)

Under the "Color" feature, they say, "Different background colors will be used for the different denominations. This will help everyone to tell the denominations apart." That's great for the people who can't read numbers. How ever did we survive with plain old green money for so long? (However, if they insist on doing this, may I suggest that they at least use the colors corresponding with the same denomination in Monopoly money?)

Music Emissions and Personal Emissions. Another someone who thinks about music.

Song for the Day:
A Lesson Learnt - Saso
I am so in love with this song right now, and I cannot pinpoint why. Does it remind me of something? Someone, perhaps? Or maybe just some time.

Nashville Bank in Cool Springs was robbed by a man in a business suit this afternoon. He is still at large. The bossman's wife just called to tell me. They live over there, but the police told her that he headed in the opposite direction. But yeah, when you're on foot, that doesn't make much difference.

Update: News Link... he supposedly got another one in Columbia.

I expect that soon we'll be seeing lots of kids trying to emulate Trinity and Neo, thanks to Hot Topic's Matrix-chic collection.

The Hapa Project: half... mixed... beautiful. (In the "samples", the little 5th grader broke my heart!)

Someone remind Madin about the Jayhawks tonight.

Strangers in the Night
I didn't really give the conclusion to the post on Saturday night/Sunday morning about trying to fall asleep to a tornado watch. Well, I left the news on and tried to stay awake as I watched the storm get nearer and nearer on the dopler radar. I can't remember exactly what time it was, but I want to say it was about 3:00-ish... the lady on the television was essentially saying "If you live anywhere remotely close to Franklin, you're going to die very soon."

So Phebe and I went and sat downstairs for about a half an hour as the wind whipped the rain into the windows. We both had a really eerie feeling. Finally it calmed down, and we check the news before going back to bed.

Turns out an F1 tornado wreaked havoc just two miles from my house. (Granted, that's on the low end of the scale, but anything they are calling a "tornado" that is less than 30 miles from my house is bad to me.) It was absolutely incredible, in the worst sense of the word, to drive through there and see the destruction. Gigantic beautiful trees were uprooted. So sad.

Tonight I took my camera and walked around for a couple hours. And I am dubbing this evening "Talking with Strangers Night". Here are some excerpts in order of appearance:

The Guy from Maryland
      I came upon a house that clearly had a tree fall right on top of it, though they had cleared most of the tree away by then. I could see into the attic. A gentleman was on the drive holding his orange cellphone. He looked up, and I asked as sympathetically as I could whether it was his house.
      He walked up to me and invited me to take a photograph of the house if I wished... which I did. He explained that he is from Maryland, and that it was his mother's house. He pointed out an 80-year-old woman with an ornately carved cane standing by a Ryder truck. "It's a total loss, but thankfully nothing happened to her bedroom."
      He said that it was a blessing in disguise, because his mother needed to be in an assisted living home, but she had been insistant about staying in her home. So he and his brother, who joined us later, were at least happy that she was considering other options now.

The Lady with the Branch
      Down a side road, I came upon a lady who was dragging branches to the curb.
      "Taking pictures for posterity?" she asked as I approached. I told her that I just couldn't believe what I had seen this evening.
      I asked about her experience, and she said, "I didn't even have time to get out of bed. I didn't hear the supposed freight-train sound. It hit us so fast. See back behind the house? We used to have a whole row of trees there. All gone. They're all gone."

Hutchisons Tree Service Guy
      A giant tree was uprooted on Old Liberty. I have never seen anything like it. Uprooted. Like all the roots for a five foot radius around the gigantic trunk.
      I passed a truck where one of the tree guys was stopped to get a drink.
      "How are you doing?" he asked.
      "Oh, I'm fine... how are you?"
      With a wink, he answered, "I'm all right... though I thought these last ten days might kill me."

The Dog Guy
      There was a golden retriever running around the neighborhood as I was walking back to my car. She was obviously spooked by the chorus of chainsaws all around. There was no tag on her collar, so I did not know where her home was. She stayed by me for a little bit, but then she kept running out into traffic. (Though all the traffic was going slow due to crews working on power lines and lots of gawkers looking around.) I kept trying to call her back, but she wouldn't always listen... plus I wasn't exactly sure I wanted her to follow me home.
      At one point I was trying to get her off the road while trying to avoid being hit myself, when a guy in a truck going the opposite direction called out to ask if it was my dog. With a helpless look, I replied that it was not. He just nodded and pulled off the road while I managed to get her collar and convinced her to sit on a lawn.
      He helped me take her around to a few of the houses to see if they recognized her. Sure enough, one couple said that it was their neighbors' and helped us put her back in her yard.
      The dog's name was Goldie. Never did find out the guy's.

Chunk White Guy
      Okay, this was later when I went to WalMart with Tina... but it was still a stranger. I was just way too tired with way too much energy to be in a WalMart, and I was absolutely amused by everything. Plus Tina makes a great comedic outlet, because she laughs along.
      We had a moment remembering salisbury steak from our high school cafeterias. Later I found a ham in a can... and I explained that those would be good to go for if we were on Supermarket Sweep. Then somehow we got to talking about what kind of tuna supposedly tastes better... and I said that I never know what kind I am supposed to get... white chunk, solid light, white light, solid chunk. Tuna is so confusing.
      So Tina went off to look for bacon while I kept the cart from wandering off... when this guy pulls up with his cart right next to me. He rumages around a little bit and pulls out a three-pack of Solid Light Starkist.
      "This is the good stuff," he said and walked on.

So now I'm really anxious to get my photos back. It will be good.

Don't miss The Jayhawks on Letterman Tuesday night.

Official Survivor Memorabilia on ebay. Torches and treemail. Wah-hoo!

Safety Sign Builder -- For... you know... when you need a sign. (via Markomeara)

Transpotting Simulator... apparently incredibly true to life.

I apparently missed the May Day Project... I cannot believe I did not see that anywhere ahead of time. Apparently on May 10th, a bunch of bloggers with digital cameras took one picture every hour to document their day. (Of course, if I had been a part of it, my first twelve pictures would have been taken from my bed!) Reminds me of dear Ben, who took a photo every night at 1 AM while he was out on Festival. Lisa and I were featured in the first two.

This is almost painful: The Eater of Meaning. Put in a URL, and it completely "regurgitates" a mashed up version. The "eat word endings" seemed the most entertaining to me.

Solipsistic -- such a pretty old-fashioned design

Hey... I found the site of the girl who designed the Nanowrimo t-shirt last year. For all I know they link to her from that site, but I stumbled across it on my own.... thank you very much.

Random Trivia
"DVD" stands for Digital Versatile Disc, not Digital Video Disc as one might presume. (I've been doing Trademark applications... can you tell?)

The dude from Manly Thoughts is at the live taping of the Survivor finale tonight. No updates just yet though.

On that note, be sure to check out Survivor Maps. It gives a new perspective on the distance between the locations on Survivor.

Hey Kids, Rock and Roll
Today I was thinking about the phenomenon of the "Celebrity Album". There was a definite surge of celebrity albums in the 80's -- be that good or bad. I think the concept of actor-to-singer crossover is more widely accepted these days, or is it? Is J.Lo the only one to penetrate both markets with any sort of success worldwide? And what's with releasing everything in Japan? What does this imply about our society in general? Is Michael Damien responsible for the catch phrase "rock on"? I ponder.

We all know David Hasselhoff is huge in Japan, but here are some other celebrity albums that I have tracked down:

Alyssa Milano, star of Who's the Boss and Charmed
∙ Alyssa (1989)
∙ Look in My Heart (1989)
∙ The Best in the World (1990)
∙ Locked Inside a Dream (1991)
∙ Do You See Me (1992)

Eddie Murphy, comedian
∙ How Could It Be (1985)
    Includes the hit song "Party All the Time"... my girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiime.

Don Johnson, star of Miami Vice and Nash Bridges
∙ Heartbeat (1986)
    Hit song by same name.
∙ Tell It Like It Is (1997)
∙ The Essential (1997)
    He needs a "best of" album??

Philip Michael Thomas, star of Miami Vice
∙ Somebody
∙ Living the Book of My Life (1985)
    These are apparently not available anywhere... and most likely with good reason.

John Schneider, Duke boy (Bo)
∙ Greatest Hits (1990)
    The title implies other albums, but I cannot find them.

Tom Wopat, Duke boy (Luke)
∙ The Still of the Night (2000)
    He also apparently has a playhouse near where I used to live in sw michigan.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, star of Kids, Inc. and Party of Five
∙ Let's Go Bang (1995)
∙ Jennifer Love Hewitt (1996)
∙ Love Songs (1997)
∙ Bare Naked (2002)
    So you've probably heard that "Bare Naked" song... but who'da thought she had such a lengthy discography.

Michael Damian, star of The Young and the Restless
∙ Love is a Mystery (1984)
∙ Michael Damian (1986)
∙ Where Do We Go from Here (1989)
∙ Dreams of Summer (1991)
∙ Reach out to Me (1993)
∙ Time of the Season (1994)
    No way! He has more albums that Alyssa!

Bruce Willis, movie star
∙ The Return of Bruno (1987)
∙ If It Don't Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger (1989)
∙ Masters Series (1997)
∙ Millennium Edition (1999)
∙ Classic Bruce Willis: Universal Masters Collection (2001)
    Wow... who knew?

Regis Philbin, talk/game show host
∙ It's Time for Regis! (1968)
    And you thought recordings from Kathie Lee were scary...

Joey Lawrence, star of Blossom
∙ Joey Lawrence (1993)
∙ Soulmates (1997)
    Whoa!

Cree Summer, star of A Different World and voice actor
∙ Street Faerie (1999)

Corey Feldman, star of Goonies and Stand by Me
∙ Still Searching for Soul (1999)
∙ Former Child Actor (2002)
    Well, by '99, I suppose he did have a lot of spare time...

Corey Haim, star of The Lost Boys and Dream a Little Dream
∙ You Give Me Everything
    What one Corey does, so does the other.

Kevin Bacon, six degrees from everybody
∙ Forosoco (1997)
∙ Getting There (1999)
∙ Can't Complain (2001)
    He and his brother do the Americana thing.

Milla Jovovich, model, actress (The Messenger, Zoolander)
∙ The Divine Comedy (1994)
∙ The Peopletree Sessions (2002)

Tina Yothers, little sister on Family Ties
∙ Confessions (2000)
    Little Jennifer rocks out with her band Jaded.

Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for everything... you're the best!

Michael and I just got back from the late showing of A Mighty Wind. Destined to become a classic -- to those of us who already love WFG and BIS.

Beaker Blog. Wow. I mean... wow! (found via Tim who calls it the "winner of 'most distracting background image' blog award".)

Now to try to fall asleep to another Tornado Watch. I'm severly weathered out after this week!

A Conversation:
Me: Do you want to put my comcast bill reimbursement together with the money you normally pay me?
Karl: No, just keep that separate so that I don't 1099 you for it.
Me: Couldn't we just consider the rest a reimbursement for my time spent working on the website?
Karl: That's called getting paid.

I hate self-employment tax.

Apologetics?

I went to Dalton's baseball game last night. There is something so sweet about little three-foot-tall kids with helmets the size of basketballs.

Mosquito Update: I'm Losing
Okay, the little rascal is still here. I got a closer look at it when it was on the wall... and I thought, "wow, that's a weird looking mosquito." While looking for pictures of mosquitos, I found this one... and when I looked to see what page it is on, I found that it is featured on the West Nile Virus and the Asian Tiger Mosquito page. Yeah great. So not only is this creature speedy and sneaky, but it really might be deadly. I'm not going down without a fight.

I think I need to go check to see if my eyeballs are swelling. Oh dear... is that a headache?

Btw, got the J-Train remix master in today. Sound so good... then again I can't really remember the original.

Congratulations, Erin!!
The first time I was told about Erin, Jack said, "She probably won't like you. But that's okay. She doesn't like Manda either. She doesn't like anybody." Oh, but she loved us. Deep down, she loved us. She was even the only youth groupie at the inaugural Cheese Fest. Tonight she gets her nursing pin. Go girl!

ModColors.com: Cool site showing off 60's and early 70's Barbie fashion.

Monochrome...
Pretty picture time:
David Houlder... I suppose it's easy to take beautiful photos when you've got all that to work with.
Rob Gray... plain site, but his monoscapes are gorgeous.

Last night Michael went around to see if anybody was playing A Mighty Wind early. The girl at the theatre said, "We only do that for important movies." Well, excuuuuuuse me! She apparently doesn't understand the social significance of this film. It could inspire a real surge in folk music. (It could.) I've heard it isn't quite on Guffman's level... but still. I may try to catch a matinee on Monday -- if I get my work done on the weekend.

Under Attack
All morning I've been battling with this stupid little mosquito. He's a stealthy little bugger. Blood may be shed, but somebody is going down!

Cool Links:
FingerFarm... the May 6th entry about the Bongo is especially amusing
Cereal Curt... another Tennessean. Nice work.

Friday Five
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not? Organization is in the eye of the beholder... I always say. I use a form of abstract organization which drives my boss nuts. It's the old "looks like a disaster but I know exactly where everything is as long as you don't move anything" method.
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly? I use Outlook for really important things. I have two calendars in my room to remember birthdays and major holidays.
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now? See question one. Well, today is worse than normal, but by the end of the day I'll be able to see the surface again.
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter? I used to. For a while I color coordinated everything. Now I realize how anal that was, and I can't be bothered.
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize? Ugh -- Australia 2002. The boys. The wife. The gear. The passports. The visa fiasco. And I didn't even get to go along.

Song for the Day:
Pitiful - Blindside
In honor of Thux & Recah seeing them last night. He emailed to say this about the show: "Wow! is all i can say...by far the best band i have seen in the USA since the U2 concert. No fancy light show, small club, and hard core rock. Just an unbelievably legitimate band oozing with talent and energy."

Here is my website DNA:


(I don't get it either.)

Soothsayer Says Beware
What is this? The fifth straight day with a severe weather warning?

Tornado watch - smornado watch... I just walked to get some lunch. On my way back, I cut across the church parking lot. I approached an elderly gentleman in overalls who was out having a smoke. We smiled from a distance.

"Them clouds are building up again," he said and lifted his cigarette towards the west. I mentioned that we are in a tornado watch until 4:00. "I reckon we are," he replied and went on to say more about how we've had more than our fair share of storms this spring. He said some other things too, but I'm not entirely fluent in Southern yet, so I missed a bit here and there.

I just love old people.

Geezers
And speaking of old, Manda pointed out yesterday that our old youth groupies are graduating from college this year. (Of course, Nate is also graduating this year... haha. Better late than never?) That does make me feel old. But really, we were the young, hip, cool youth group leaders, weren't we? How many other kids got to have the semiannual Rockin' Lock-in_TM?

I CANNOT believe I forgot that May is Beef Month.

I can't remember how it started exactly... something eight or nine years ago... but whatever it was, my sister and I have this unspoken contest to see who can say "May is Beef Month" first after we are actually into the month of May. I think one year she had it on her answering machine. Last year I got her so good. But yesterday, she sent me this:

Subject: Moo
May is Beef Month!!
May is Beef Month!!!
May is Beef Month!!! May is Beef Month!!!
    Have a Happy
    Beef Month!!!!
Love - Your Sis!!!

Yeah, she so got me.

Simon... you know. The game. Small enough to play at work... not that I would.

Delusions of Adequacy... "an online magazine focusing on independent music and entertainment". I think you have to go there strictly based on the cool name alone, but they also have a T&N banner, which makes them even cooler.

Song of the Day
Big Group Hug - Saso

ALLISON! Girl, welcome to the club! I miss you to pieces.

Flash Cards
Q: What's one good thing about all this severe weather we're having?
A: I can now identify all of the counties in Middle Tennessee by shape alone.

Song for the Day:
When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin (with Neil Young)
~ If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break ~

Just when you thought the weather warnings were over... it's now the Flood Warning. Woohoo. It's always nice to keep tabs on the Harpeth. It would have to flood like its never flooded before to prevent me from getting to work... but it's always nice to know. You can check out the stages of other Tennessee Rivers as well.

Banksy's Stencil Graffiti... intellectual vandalism? (via Stereo Dreams)

Addendum:
Miss P pointed out that comedian John Heffron came up with the That Guy! Game which may or may not have served as inspiration for the dude who wrote about how not to be "that guy" as posted yesterday. It looks pretty hilarious. Good bachelorette party game, I'd say.

Believe it or not, there is a corporation called Sick USA. What's better is their merchandise with the corporate logo on it: Sick Stuff. :)

Manda, saw this and thought of you and Jack.

Oh, and this was the best lightning info I could find without looking too hard. I did find it interesting that they say not to stand on the basement floor -- even though tornados are often accompanied by lightning. I think what we can learn from that is that you might want to consider hanging hammocks in the basement bathroom to avoid being on the floor but still be in the lowest, safest room.

Emotion Eric -- request an emotion, and he will take a picture oozing with said emotion. A couple favorites: Intense Playstation Face, Smarmy, Meditative.

Audacious Pranks -- brilliant. this guy puts together "soundboards" with sound bytes from people such as Ozzy, Jack Black, and The Ladies Man. Then he encourages people to use them to make prank calls. Though a bit crass, the third Jack Black prank is hilarious. Here are some more soundboards... with the newly added Mr. T.

Danielle's Battle Imp is

Irid

Backstabbing: 2 Dodgin': 1 Guts: 2 Magic Mojo: 9 Smackdown: 8

Will your battle imp beat Danielle's? Enter your name and fight.

We had a little slumber party last night around the television trying to decide if we wanted to camp out in the laundry room or not. Gran mal storms last night... and more to come this afternoon apparently.

First there was Moby... now Beck. Now all we need is Thom (York, that is) to complete the Intellectual Rocker with Four Letters in His Name Blog Trifecta... erm, or something. (And somehow, I don't think this is it.)

At last! Don't be that guy! My old roommate Krystal and I had a list, but it was not nearly as extensive as this one.

We all love the iraqi information minister... and here is a great 404 Error page inspired by him.

Don't you love it when you've thought about someone and the next thing you know, they are phoning you? Saturday, upon discovery of the HM article, I decided that I really should call Jesse. Last night he beat me to it. We chit-chatted... made plans to go to lunch... and a sneak preview of A Mighty Wind... and he informed me that they have a new song on their mp3 site. You may know them as the musical genius behind The Cheat Themesong on HomeStarRunner.

LetsMow.com -- did any other nashvillians see this on the news last night? It's The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association's official site. Just when you thought you've seen it all...

I'm really tempted to get tickets to Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk... even if it means going by myself. *sigh* Someday I'll have friends who are both cultured and financially stable. These days it seems like I'm dealing with either/or.

Song for the Day: (a tribute to the weather)
Windy - The Association
~Everyone knows it's windy~

I think I am going to feel compelled to stay awake until this storm has ascended into Kentucky. I really do love thunderstorms... but when the wind starts doing it's little wizard-of-oz thing, I really wish I lived in a region where houses with basements were the norm. I think it's quite north of us right now.

Woman Mortgages Home to Pay Off Parking Fines... makes me sorta wonder if Blockbuster late fees accrue interest.

Today is perfect. If I were at my parents' house with this weather going on, I would take a blanket out to sit in the yard. (There are too many creepy crawlies here for me though.) I took the scenic route home this morning. I followed a road that I had never been on but had always wondered where it went. I ended up on the Natchez Trace Bridge. There is nothing like driving aimlessly and then being dumped out on a 155-foot bridge to figure out where you are!

Oh! I almost forgot that we used to have an old water pump like this in the yard of our old house. Nobody else would probably care about that, but I now feel compelled to call my sister to reminisce about our fake lemonade stands we built with lawnchairs around that spout.

Twenty Questions
(I really wonder how long they'll be able to keep up the pace of 40 questions per week over there. Just a thought.)
1. What's the best birthday present you've ever had? Birthday and Christmas presents sorta blur together for me, but I really like my super comfy chair that I got this year.
2. What do you eat for breakfast? Coffee?
3. What's your favourite piece of jewellery? The plain silver band that I searched forever for until I found the perfect one. (Inspired by the ring Milla wears in The Messenger)
4. What's the best book you've ever read? I'm going to have to think about that.
5. Which gadget couldn't you do without? my computer?
6. Which website can you recommend to me? I recommend anything I link to... try out yesterday's, for instance.
7. Do you have any allergies? There is something in Biolage shampoo that makes my skin wacky. And I get the sneezes now and again, but I've never been tested for pollen allergies.
8. Are you left or right handed? Right.
9. Do you have any piercings? Five holes, but I only wear the one in my upper left ear with any sort of consistency.
10. What's your favourite painting/print? I have always loved "Letter" by Michael Deas... which I cannot find anywhere anymore. I also think his "Song of David" is very sweet.
11. What was the last thing you ate? chips and salsa
12. Where in the world would you like to be right now? :)
13. Do you collect anything? If so, what? Vintage Samsonite suitcases
14. What type of books do you prefer reading ( e.g. romance )? memoirs, at the moment
15. Do you have a daily newspaper? Which one? negative
16. Do you use tissues or linen handkerchiefs? tissues for now
17. What's your oldest possession? In terms of something I have from when I was a kid, I'm not sure exactly... but my grandmother gave me a powder case that my grandpa gave her on their first date... which must have been in the late 1920's.
18. Do you use a fountain pen or a ballpoint pen? I love fountain pens.
19. Do you have any pets? No.
20. Do you have any phobias? I'm afraid of falling. I'm not afraid of heights. And yes, there is a difference.

Sometimes I Want to Throw Things
Man... grr. So I waited until the following Friday to deposit a rather sizable check, per the payers request in order that she might deposit paychecks before then... only to have the check returned today, not due to insufficient funds, but because the account was closed. Something is definitely amiss.

Brighter Note
Karl's living room is now caramel coloured. Looks incredible with their new brick-red leather couch. Andrew, Karl and I painted until midnight last night, and I went back to help with the second coat this afternoon. We rule.

Gosh, I think this site is beautiful. The font. The color-scheme. The simplicity. Nice.

*sniff* I remember being at their house when Phil talked about finishing that email. Odd that they didn't publish it until six months later. (Tash, do they sell american publications like that down there? I'm wondering if I should buy up a few copies here to send them.)

WhoLivesHere.com: Apartment The Earth. I want a room!

Okay, I am a Christian, and even I think this is lame. GodsInternet.com... add your name to the virtual book of life. I just don't know what else to say about that.

To go see X2 without Mark or to wait for him to get back to town. That is the question.

A weekend of surprises
Sandra is out of town this weekend.
Karl has recruited me to help paint their living room/hall/stairway to surprise her when she returns.
Sandra has recruited me to purchase Matchbox 20 tickets when they go on sale tomorrow as a surprise for Karl's birthday.
Lucky I'm good at not talking.

Global Network of Dreams -- Helps you find new music/movies/books/websites based on what music/movies/books/websites you already like.

Put in a word; it spits out a picture. I love how "danielle" and "expunge" are both blurred photos.

Bestworst.co.uk -- completely random and a little scary

I stumbled across the beginnings of a blog by a 69 year old man. Not much in the way of substance... talks about the weather, etc. But I think it's cute.

From the Music Desk...
POD's "Sleeping Awake" video is pretty cool looking.

All Record Labels -- Listing of over 9200 record labels. Someone is sure to find this useful. Seems pretty legit too, as all of the ones I deal with -- big or small -- are on there. Not that it offers much in the way of contact information... but anyway...

Went to see Jamie's new band and Steven's band last night. There were all these A&R people there. TSM was decent, but they need to work on the art of the bridge. Segue, people. And get a guitar tech if you think you need to tune between each and every song. Otherwise they were decent for what they are.

Friday Four
1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
"Goodbye Earl" by Dixie Chicks

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
"All My Roads" by Collin Raye
"Trust and Obey" - traditional

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
Pick any three off Massive Attack's Protection

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
"Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane
"Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap
"Hangin' Around" by Counting Crows
"Head over Heels" by Tears for Fears

I decided I am going to start going by "Dannii"... even though it is so lame. Or what about "Ddaannii"? Now I just need to work the work "Minogue" into a post, and we'll see how that ups the hit counter, eh?

Things to remember when dating geeks, nerds, dorks, and various other socially challenged guys.

JoeDonato.com -- snazzy flash site

Song for the Day:
Green Grass of Tunnel - Múm

Back off, Homeboy
I don't answer my cellphone unless I know who is calling. (Although I don't always answer when I know who is calling either. I hate talking on the phone.) At the same time, I do not have a long drawn out message when you get my voicemail -- I think it is something to the effect of "Please leave a message."

A few weeks ago I started getting calls and therefore messages from some guy who apparently had been given the wrong number. Messages along the lines of "hey baby, won't you call me back?" and "I don't understand what is going on. Call me." I suspect that someone deliberately gave out the wrong number and happened to make up mine.

I have answered on a couple of occassions and told him that he does, in fact, have the wrong number and that I do not even know the person he is trying to reach.

You would think that someone with the smallest iota of intelligence would then quit calling this number. But no. Twice on Saturday. Once again on Sunday. Finally last night I answered:
Me: This is Danielle.
Homeboy: Oh, I have the wrong number.
Me: I know. And you keep calling it.
HB: I'm sorry. They gave me this number with the wrong area code.
Me: I see.
HB: Thank you. *click*

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Either that or I'm going to get ticked off one of these days and list his phone number everywhere to see how he likes getting calls from random people.

Law Meme -- for geeky people who work in law offices, like me.

Memento -- "Memento is a lightweight knowledge management system based on the principles of memetics, the theory of memes. Use it to store what you've learnt, and publish what you know - just like a weblog." I'm sure that someone could find a practical purpose for this, but I don't see what it could do for me at the moment.

John Malkovich was on Letterman last night to promote his directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs. He was so adorable. I think that man is amazing... albeit slighty disturbing at times. He called Dave "Sir". :)

Today's Terror Alert Level:


I love that! Found at I Can't Even Float in Water This Deep.