Beautiful Man was at the Renaissance Festival today.

I now have a gran mal headache. One of those I-just-spent-five-hours-walking-around-in-the-heat-and-humidity type headaches. It was worth it though. Auds and I had a ball.

One new roommate confirmed for July. Weird.

Surprise. Bossman said yes when I flippantly asked whether I could go to New Orleans the week after next. Michael is running front-of-house for the guys, so I figured it might be nice to give him a roadtrip companion.

Hmm... what a weekend. Petra convinced me to go dancing Friday night. Then we went home to watch Big Fish. Home by 3.

Saturday involved laundry and grocery shopping in order to have something for breakfast. Then spent 4 hours at Miss Audrey's dance recital. Angel food cake and strawberries here afterwards with Petra & Connie.

Now we're watching A Knight's Tale in preparation for our excursion to the Ren Fest tomorrow. Woot.

Dancing Queen, Young & Sweet, Only... 17 27
Last night I learned the rumba. How fun. We danced to this gorgeous song: "Obsession Confession", an unlikely Spanish-guitar song from Slash. Yes, that Slash.

You're Welcome
Top-Selling Records of All Time... figured I'd go through the list and see who I helped get to the top with my consumer dollars. (via DanielsJourney)
▪ Thriller, Michael Jackson (vinyl & cd)
▪ The Wall, Pink Floyd
▪ Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin
▪ Greatest Hits, Elton John
▪ Jagged Little Pill, Alanis
▪ Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin
▪ Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
▪ Appetite for Destruction, G'n'R
▪ Supernatural, Santana
▪ Metallica, Metallica
▪ No Jacket Required, Phil Collins
▪ Hysteria, Def Leppard
▪ Ten, Pearl Jam
▪ Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
▪ Greatest Hits, James Taylor
▪ Candle in the Wind 1997, Elton John
▪ No Strings Attached, N'Sync (I don't even want to talk about it.)
▪ Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt
▪ Best of the Doobies, The Doobie Brothers
▪ Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
▪ Faith, George Michael
▪ Nevermind, Nirvana
▪ The Lion King Soundtrack
▪ The Joshua Tree, U2
▪ The Sign, Ace of Base (you know you loved them)
▪ The Best of the Doors, The Doors

Read This
Not light reading, to be sure... but I also feel that it is important to share. I found this link via The Copydesk a couple of weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since. "Stalking the Bogeyman" by David Holthouse is the story of a man who faced the monster who raped him as a child. Heartbreaking, but an incredible story. (And what's more beautiful are the readers' responses that have come in since the story was published.)

Vickie shared the wonderfully funny "Van Helsing in 15 Minutes" a while back. Now the same girl has "Troy in 15 Minutes".

Heavenly Tiramisu: Heaven in Your Mouth

Check out Saute Wednesday for info on artisanal coffee.

Today has been exhausting. Driving around with no air conditioning for two hours didn't help, I'm sure.

I like to read Oh No, the Blog. In fact, I believe it was there that I first learned about the joys of the Thursday Haiku Smackdown. I have only contributed once, but they are darn funny to read.

I missed it the other day, but he was testing his comment system to see if it could handle hosting the Smackdown... which ignited a mini 'Ku Smackdown right there. I don't know why, but this one from Amalah made me laugh out loud:

type type type type type.
comment comment comment yo.
Suck it, HaloScan.
I really don't know what else to say about that.

Reminders for Me
I was looking for places to purchase Anne Keenan Higgins notecards and goodies, because I love everything she does.
▪ cute stickers here
▪ stationary sets and more: mmm... I want!
▪ sets here too

Moving Target
Last night as I was walking back from the mailbox, this huge helicopter flew pretty low over me. No ordinary news chopper either. I'm talking like Airwolf. I found myself ducking the rest of the way back.

The guy who made my coffee this morning thinks he knows me from somewhere. Why does that make me nervous?

A Beautiful Mind was on television last night. Ed Harris, how do I love thee?

Who Me??
Manda: Any idea why my amazon home page would be pressuring me to buy a Frank Zappa cd???
Me: Wow -- that's so weird. *whistles*

Wait a Minute...
When did they decide that it is actually "cleverer" and "cleverest" instead of "more clever" and "most clever"? I can't believe I didn't know that. I also can't believe how weird it sounds.

Public Television
Today while flipping channels, I learned about FLIP -- the non-seasickness boat. (That's my term.) And speaking of, this video might make you seasick, but it shows the giant great white shark shown on CNN this weekend.

And I also flipped past Days... and I can't figure out how no one else realises that "Bonnie" is Adrienne Kiriakis-Johnson. Helloooo.

eBay Etiquette
What are the rules on selling items one has gotten as gifts on eBay? Like a giant seashell with a palm tree carved in it, for instance.

Oh. my. gosh. I am seriously thinking about breaking my phone again. I liked life a whole lot better before people started CALLING ME ALL THE TIME!

So Long, Farewell
I'm officially removing The Rub from the side and have submitted it to F'd Weblog. It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for the memories, Paul.

(A few others about about to get the boot one of these days too... be ye dear friends or nay.)

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet MANDA! Sorry I couldn't be there this year. Love you and miss you lots!

Met with a prospective roommate yesterday afternoon. Seems normal. Works at a company that we deal with often which is good, I suppose. Ugh -- I hate this process. I guess the bright side is that if I end up with people who I don't mesh with, at least I have the capability of never leaving my room.

Sometimes My Humor is Wasted
Me: Hey, we got a box in the mail for you today from [someone].
Paul: A box?
Me: Yeah.
Paul: What do you mean, a box?
Me: You know... cardboard... sorta folded into a square shape...
Paul: Okay.....

I'm newly in love with Vienna Teng. She's kind of Nichole Nordeman meets Tori Amos but not really.

I'm especially loving Harbor...
~sail your sea
meet your storm
all I want is to be your harbor
the light in me
will guide you home
all I want is to be your harbor~

Stayed overnight at Petra & Connie's last night. We watched Seabiscuit... which I enjoyed for the most part despite my distaste for Tobey Maguire. They tend to be talkers during movies though which sometimes requires that I sit on my hands to keep from throwing pillows. I also was bothered by the shots where they were riding animatronic horses... but yeah, what can you do.

Tidbit
Andy Kaufman's Blog is averaging 80,000 hits a day. That is all.

Oh goodness... I know more than a few people for whom I would like to get one of these.

Cute girlie stuff at PurpleSkirt.com.

Blood on My Doorpost
Okay... I just wonder if you Rocky Top Brigaders or really anyone who reads from Tennessee might help me out by leaving a comment on whether you have the cicada plague yet. I don't know exactly where this lady is, but she's got 'em. I keep holding out hope that perhaps there just won't be any here.

That's not a knife...

Feeling nostalgic. Wanna join me even though you probably wouldn't get it? Have a listen.

For My Own Reference
Here is the Pavlova recipe I watched Martha Stewart make on Monday.

I have a problem. It's called eBay. I blame Manda. That's all.

I'm taking little Audrey to the TN Renaissance Fest... but only if she's able to go before the cicadas come, because you know there's no way in the world that I'm going to be hanging out in a wooded area after that.

We're Painting the Roses Red
This is old news, but I just ran across the picture of the red iceburg. Since I'm not boating around in the Arctic very often, the art is sorta lost on me. I could have done that in Photoshop.

Breaking News...
Okay, I can't find anything about this on any of the news sites yet, but something is going down at the freaky Weigh Down Workshop this afternoon. I had to go to our "satellite office" which is on the same road and saw news crews and police cars in abundence. Allegedly there is a warrent out for Miss Gwen's arrest.

Update:
From News Channel 5

Detectives with search warrants in hand entered the Weigh Down Workshop, which is run by Gwen Shamblin, the head of Remnant Fellowship.

Two members of the church, Joseph and Sonya Smith, were arrested in Atlanta for allegedly beating their 8-year-old son to death.

Detectives testified that the couple admitted to using glue sticks to beat their son. It's an idea that a NewsChannel Five Investigation discovered, originated inside Remnant Fellowship, a church that preaches strict discipline of children.

Detectives said they hope the search will yield evidence that may explain what the Smiths were thinking and what role, if any, their religious beliefs played in the death of the child.

More at Channel 4.

I Take That Back
I didn't want to like Switchfoot anymore. I listened to them way back in their Legends of Chin, pre-decent-haircut days. Then everyone started to like them, and you know how I feel about being on the bandwagon when it starts to get crowded. Only they've been having a ridiculous amount of airplay around here lately, and I'm almost tempted to get the newest album. (And "Dare You to Move" (video) makes me so happy for some reason.)

My wonderfully wonderful sweater from anthropologie came last week. Oh, and did I mention it's wonderful?

Motherhood Moment
Hunter left his backpack at my house the other day, so I had to run it out to his school this morning. I felt so maternal. But because of this, I discovered an extremely beautiful road near my house that feels like the middle of Iowa. I passed a field with probably 100 bails of hay... and if you're not from Iowa, then that probably isn't gorgeous to you. It was to me.

New Pedro
You can listen to tracks from Pedro the Lion's new album (coming out next week) at Achilles-Heel.net. Mmm... mmm... good. Mental Note: Don't forget they are playing at Exit/In on June 13th.

Narnian News
I don't know if anyone else is eagerly anticipating the Chronicles of Narnia movies... but I just learned that they are having a real lion play Aslan... which is a bit of a relief in the CGI day and age.

When I see things like this it becomes abundantly clear that I simply do not have enough spare time. I could never do pencil carvings anyway, because I don't think I've owned a non-mechanical pencil in years. It's a shame, really.

I went to Collin & Britney's last night for dinner. Much reminiscing about the hell that was my final 6 months in Michigan. But I also was remembering this amazing used/antique bookstore somewhere down around Kalamazoo, but not in Kalamazoo. It had an old British phonebooth outside. It was the best.

I re-came-across the Payphone Project today. Now I have an uncontrollable urge to call all the local ones. It seems like a very Jack-Bauer thing to do.

Irony
Blogger's spellcheck doesn't recognize the word "blog".

New Music Tuesday
New Steriogramoalbum out today. Check out the videos otherwise. (The one for "White Trash" is a real gem.)

Song for the Day:
Dreams - TV on the Radio
~All your dreams are over now
And all your wings have fallen down~

They blog... with ellipses galore.

It smells like something died in the air vent.

I'm tired.

Message in a Bottle
I'm sure with a little spare time, a little money, and a local Hobby Lobby, one could make these herself, but Timeless Message offers true messages in bottles for your loved ones.

Footprints in the Sand
And just in time for beach season, you can get your message flip-flops... they say either "Make Love" or "Love You" on the bottom of the shoes to leave little love trails behind you in the sand.

Yay for Rupert!

Debate of the Day
To go see Van Helsing despite reports that it is crap... or to not. It is Hugh, after all.

Karl leaves for Baja with the 'boys tonight for the annual motorbike trip. He asked if I would try to spend a little time with Sandra while he's away. Okay... twist my arm. I think we're having Girls' Night tonight, and I'm going to see the children play baseball tomorrow. Woo!

Oh, and Lindy Hop is stinkin' fun. And Chris said I'm the best follow out there. Woohoo!

Song for the Day
Block Rockin' Beats - The Chemical Brothers

Having nostalgia for college days. Sometimes I just want to skip class (I guess it's called work now, hmm?) and go out riding all over the eastern Iowa countryside with Matthew in his Saab listening to Chemical Brothers and Portishead.

Teenage Suicide... Don't Do It
You've heard of Big Fun. (Or maybe you haven't.) Well, now there is DeepFun. You gotta check out the blog.

I Didn't Sign Up for This
I have gained a whole new appreciation for graphic designers. I was given a project with no real direction. "Just give me a few options." So I spent all day yesterday putting those options together. Catchy but simple. Send them off, only to get this as a response: "Those are nice, but for this I think we should just have a solid background and plain text centered in the middle."

Thanks. Couldn't have just said that to begin with, eh?

Video Killed the Radio Star
Needing a place to waste your time? Check out Pause Online's music videos. Quite a large selection including quite a few works from Spike Jonez and Michael Gondry. (via The Copydesk)

Good 'Ol Rocky Top
The new Rocky Top Brigade TailGate Party is up at Medb's. The Scratchcard edition!

Song for the Day
Brand New Colony - The Postal Service
~I'll be the waterwings that save you if you start drowning
In an open tab when your judgement's on the brink
I'll be the phonograph that plays your favorite
Albums back as your lying there drifting off to sleep~

"There even are places where English completely disappears
Well, in America, they haven't used it for years."
-- My Fair Lady

Just for your information, after a lengthy study, it has been determined that "at the end of the day" is the most irritating phrase in the English language.

I also appreciate the work of the Apostrophe Protection Society... attempting to inform the world of "the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark in all forms of text written in the English language."

I'm 100% Punctuation Stickler.

Sympathies
Heather, I keep thinking of you and Nick's family, as the story has been all over the news last night and today. :(

Song for the Day
Slow Down - Morcheeba
~Full of tension
'Cause you love the chase
You just need your
Own space~

Joy is...
Realizing that your computer is logged in as someone else at amazon.com... and then doing really obscure searches to mess up their recommendations page. Lawn mowers and macrame, anyone?

Album to Find
Sudden Death by the Hanson Brothers. A hockey-themed album with a song titled "Danielle (She Don't Like Hockey)". Any leads as to how one might find this would be appreciated.

Site to Peruse Later
danielsjourney.com

Why Don't I Think of Things Like This?
This one took my breath away. It started out as one polaroid picture on a beach... another polaroid was taken of that original polaroid... and the series begins. From the beach to restaurants to the Eiffel Tower to a wedding. All incorporating the previous photo. Gorgeous.

Support the Arts
There are some great shows coming up at TPAC. Larry Shue's The Foreigner is set to start in about a week. I have always loved that show -- brilliantly funny. (Though I'm supposing that down south the KKK scene might be less funny.) Smokey Joe's Cafe is filled with great music. And, hello, The Smothers Brothers are coming to town.

Song for the Day:
Worldwide - Adam Again

~There is a reason
And I don't know what it is
A bloody season
Well, I've heard that these things happen
Worldwide, Worldwide

Don't think I'll ever understand it
Don't think it matters if I do
Three billion people in the world
And I only know a few Worldwide~

An email from the elder Gene yesterday has made me pull out all my AA to relove all over again.

Big illustrating day. Back later perhaps.

I'm not going to complain about this new-fangled Blogger stuff... yet.

Song for the Day
We Walk the Same Line - Everything But the Girl
~We can't run and we can't cheat,
Cause babe when we meet what we're afraid of,
We find out what we're made of.
If you loose your faith, babe, you can have mine,
And if you're lost I'm right behind,
Cause we walk the same line.~

My Reality Is Stranger Than Your Drug-Induced Fiction
I just remembered the weirdest incident I've had in a long time. This afternoon I was waiting to cross the street at a stoplight when I noticed this guy walking towards me who was saying something. He wasn't talking very loudly, though he was looking directly at me as though oblivious to the world around him. I found myself in a bit of a predicament. I was taught it's not polite to ignore people... while at the same time, it isn't polite to stare.

So finally he is next to me at the stoplight, and I determine that he is, in fact, talking to me... though I still couldn't hear him.

"I'm sorry?" I said, as I leaned my ear closer to him.

"The colors will melt away if you don't watch them."

Seriously. That's what he said.

And I just sort of looked at him, as confused as one can be. Then the light changed, and the people on the sidewalk all crossed the street. I just sort of followed and left the man on the corner.

It was the strangest, most bizarro, Twin-Peaks moment. Ever.

I don't know if I've mentioned the Beautiful Man before. I keep seeing him randomly... though most often at 5 Points. I don't know what it is about him, because I normally don't take much interest in blondes... but he's just nice to look at. I don't know if I've ever really seen his face come to think of it. He just has amazing hair. Long Legolas-like blonde hair, and he definitely knows his products.

So thanks, Beautiful Man. You've brightened my day once again.

My Hair is Red
Heard while waiting to cross the street Thursday...
"That sure is some purdy red hair you got there, miss."
-- Older gentleman sitting on a bench eating ice cream.

While in the grocery store today...
"You have nice red hair. Not many people have nice red hair."
-- Gentleman in the frozen foods section.

Tonight we go to the theatre and then dancing. And I'm feeling considerably better after my chiropractor yesterday and my massage therapy this morning. Thanks for the well wishes.

Must. Go. Faster.
I spent far too much time contemplating whether this photo is photoshopped. But then I found some other photos with boats and waterspouts and decided it must not be all that uncommon to find yourself asea when bad weather arises.

RIP Friday Five
We were starting to not miss you anyway.

Ow
I almost didn't come to work today due to some extreme back-pain which is in turn causing serious front-pain and some inconvenient breathing-pain. Bossman already gave me a lecture I didn't need on mattress firmness. My mattress is fine, thanks. I've been going to the chiropractor for the better part of 15 years now -- does that qualify me for "chronic back pain"? The chiropractor I was referred to hasn't called back yet, and it's going to be a long weekend if he doesn't... because the only semi-comfortable position involves having one arm wrapped around my back or hanging upside-down halfway off my bed.

But the good news is that I learned Lindy Hop last night, and it was awesome.

All Alone in the Moonlight
(via BusyMom)
Invent a memory of me and post it in the comments. It can be anything you want, so long as it's something that's never happened. Then post this in your journal so that people can invent memories for you. (I consider the last bit optional if you’d rather not use it in your own blog.)

I think I'm missing The Walkmen tonight.

Apparently tonight also marks the end of an era. Paul's shocked that I don't care. Manda's got the party pack. I only ever watch it if it happens to be on. I have no idea who is married to whom anymore or who is the father of anybody's children. I was sick of that theme song seven years ago. Friends is over.

I had more to say, but I don't have time. I had an interesting, albeit brief, conversation yesterday about vanilla prices. I had no idea. More later.

Song of the National Day of Prayer
Pray Naked - The 77's
~no matter who you are
no matter what you do
there's only one thing
i ask of you
and that's if you pray
then when you pray
be naked prey
pray naked~

FYI
I'm wearing the necklace that always gets tangled in my hair and causes great pain to remove. Why?

I also refuse to say anything in Spanish today.

Stumbled across this post making reference to the old movie phenomenon... the slow clap. I'm desperately trying to think of a movie to add to the list, but the only one that I keep thinking of is Rudy.

I had thought about making a list of weird pub names in the UK once upon a time, but this site has it taken care of. I'd like to visit The Sloshed Frog and the Pitcher & Piano.

Perfectly Unscripted
Last night when I got to my car I realize that Manda had called. So I called her back....

Manda: [cheerfully] Hi.
Me: Whatchu want?
Manda: [beat] Uhh... baby, I got it?
Me: [beat] Whatchu need?
Manda: You know I got it?

Okay. Gotta work now. Spent the afternoon at the studio yesterday and didn't get anything done here. And Bossman's Lady had their baby last night, so I need to create the birth announcement email blast. Fun fun. Woo.

P.S. 24
If they kill Michelle after all this, I'm going to be so upset. However if they can arrange to have something heavy fall on Chloe, I'd be okay with that.

I love First Communications. If you don't use your cellphone for all your long distance, you should be using them. 7¢ anytime anywhere in the U.S. But what I really got it for was the fact that I spent a total of three hours on the phone with my Aussie/Kiwi friends for a mere $22. Be sure to say I referred you if you decide to switch. :)

PacManhatten: from what I understand, people dress up like pacman and the multi-colored ghosts and chase each other around NYC. Looks pretty hilarious.

What Up, G?
What's that about if something seems too good to be true then it probably is? Lance wrote yesterday about his issues with Gmail. I haven't signed up for my promotional account yet, but thanks to the glories of SneakEmail (of which I am a huge advocate), he found that the email address he used to sign up for the account was being spammed by Google. Oh just go read his post.

Oh Rio, Rio Hear Them Shout Across the Land
I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but.... I want to go to Vegas. I just found out that the amazing ventrilaquist Ronn Lucas is playing at the Rio daily. He had this great special on the Disney channel back in the early '90's that my brother taped and watched endlessly. My family can drop quotes from that show into any conversation and get a laugh.

A Poem in My Email
It's been so long since last we spoke.
Apologies - my lips are broke.
Let's reconnect before we croak.
We ought to talk, and that's no joke.

Stapler Update:
The lost has been found. I thought I was going to have to get all Office-Space on someone.

Oh, and I saw the wedding dress auction a week ago when Tommy posted it. Everybody can quit emailing the link to me now.

The Help Danielle Edition

#1. If you were my stapler... where would you be?
Seriously. It's MIA.

#2. I saw a gentleman this afternoon who reminded me of a childhood television show, and now I can't think of the name. It was on public television in the afternoons in the early 80's. It had this guy with salt-n-pepper hair and a big ol' mustache. A voiceover would be him reading some story, and then it would show him illustrating that particular scene. I want to say that chalk or contecrayon was his medium of choice. Anybody else remember this one?

#3. Still looking for roommates.

Ways to Make Me Laugh
Order a Happy Meal at the drive thru when you're on the phone with me. And then try not to laugh as I bust out laughing on the other end of the phone knowing full well the Happy Meal is for you and not the child in your backseat.

Dais[e]y Chain
Throwing out another link to daisey.com. I came across her site first way back when I first started this site, and I check it every now and again. (I think she was the one who told me about the glory that is kettle corn.) Her site is always so cute, and it looks like she's getting married soon. Congrats!

I was going to play BSTommy's song game, which goes like this:

1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. DonÂ’t name the band, nor the album-title.


She crawled back in the ocean again
Typecast juvenile began to swim
It ain't easy; it ain't nothing but a joke
Take cover from the billows of smoke

God knows what I see in you

No Googling Allowed. Which performer performed this song on which album?

But my playlist is made up of my friend's music at the moment, so the odds of anyone knowing it are slim to none. But I figured someone out there might like to play the game on their own site.

I Can't Take Much More of This
I think it is almost time for my Locks of Love haircut. This has to be the longest my hair has ever been. (At least I don't count when I was little and my torso was only 12 inches long -- it's easy to grow hair to your waist at that age.) The longest pieces are 23 inches, leaving it not-quite shoulder length after the cut. Maybe it's just today. I can suffer a little longer.

On the Rocks
I don't think this house can get much colder. Though it takes some super-stealthy slight of hand for me to nudge the thermostat back into a climate fit for most humans, instead of say, polar bears or penguins or my roommates.

This reminds me of the most ridiculous idea ever that Recah or Josefine was talking about... The Ice Hotel. I just do not see the fun in sleeping on a bed of snow and ice covered by a reindeer skin. No way.

My New Favourite Site!
Oh. My. Gosh. I. Love. It. The Projects Section of the JunkMarket site.

T, you'll like this. Look who's front and center... my hockey buddy Michael! Hehe. I just left him a voicemail about it. He's never going to live that down.

Attention Hijacking
This site plays "Clocks" by Coldplay... and though I didn't intentionally go there, I couldn't leave until the song was over.

How cute is this pencil holder and paper weight?

Ebb & Flow
I discovered a strange phenomenon in my bathroom. I think my toilet has tides. It's the weirdest thing. Sometimes I go in there, and it's a regular bowl of water. And other times there is barely any in the bottom. I don't have pets who might be using it for a water dish. It's [fricking] freezing in the house, so I don't think evaporation is a likely cause. And it's not like I have to flush it in order for the water to come back. It's weird. Just wondered if maybe anyone else had experienced that before.

So far this morning at the office, we've had conversations about DeBarge and later Human League. I now have an amazing urge to go rollerskating.