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Dr. No wrote a rather hilarious entry about that obnoxious twit, Rachael Ray.
I think the most annoying bit about that twit are her poorly placed giggles. She constantly giggling when NOTHING is funny. I used to participate in an online chat, where one of the participants punctuated every. single. sentence. with an LOL. Rachael Ray is like a human LOL. *smacks Rachael Ray*.
create your own visited country map
create your own visited states map
There's a prisoner exchange happening as I write between Israel and the Hezbollah.
In return for 400 Palestinian prisoners, and a whole slew of terrorists of other nationalities, Israel receives the bodies of 3 soldiers kidnapped during a border patrol on the Lebanese border (right under the watchful and clearly uncaring eye of a UN outpost), as well as a very much still breathing retired army colonel, abducted under suspicious circumstances from Brussels a few days after the abduction of the soldiers. Suspicious, because it's been rumoured that he was involved in rather dicey business dealings, quite possibly *with* Hezbollah.
Two of the prisoners being returned to Hezbollah have been held in Israel for many years, and were considered bargaining chips in the search for Ron Arad, an air force navigator whose plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. To this day his whereabouts remain unclear, and the two prisoners, Obaied and Dirani, are thought to have knowledge of where he might be. The exchange agreement was delayed for many months, because of political backlash regarding their release.
The reason this story is significant to me is that the abduction of the soldiers happened very shortly after I moved to Israel. It was just so shocking and horrible, and as details of the abduction, and the UN's complete indifference to(and possible involvement with) the incident became available, the shock only grew.
Last year, the parents of one of the soldiers visited the school and spoke to some of our students. I got to sit in on the lecture, and it was just terribly sad. At that point, the Israeli government had already declared the three dead, even though they had no concrete proof. The parents refused to accept this, and I wanted more than anything to support their belief.
I guess this exchange is the sad confirmation of something I didn't want to accept.
I'm going to try and submit this picture for 50 States. I took it at Indian Rocks Beach in Florida. Heewig super-hoofed it to get us there in time for the sunset.
EDITED - The picture has been submitted, and can be seen here, along with other awesome pictures.
I've fallen behind on my reading, so it's a couple of days late, but I really liked The Gothamist's Golden Globes recap.
A couple of days ago my CFO asked me to sit in on a meeting and take minutes, since the regular person is sick. I was delighted to hear that for 2 hours of my time, I'll be earning $100 dollars.
Never having done this before, I was a little hesitant, so I decided to sign out a laptop and just type up everything that people said. Well. I've just spent the last several hours writing this thing up, and cutting down 9 pages of notes to just over 3 pages of content. Y'all, this is hard work, but I really want it to kick ass so that they ask me to do it again!
Of course, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to work on this WHILE being paid a regular salary to do other stuff ;)
Big props to my LG peeps for putting up with all my stupid questions, and to Rooroo, for actually going over it for me and not keeling over and dying of boredom.
I was in the car yesterday, and a song about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin came on (from an Israeli mix CD). I don't know if I've ever heard the song before or not, but it just blew my mind that some demented idiot managed to completely change the course of Middle Eastern history with two bullets.
The mind boggles as to where we'd be if it had never happened.
Memorial candles on the eighth anniversary of Rabin's death
Background: The kids have been pissing me off all day today, and I'm quite ready to snap.
A few minutes ago I look up from my desk and see a young guy standing in the hallway. I pointed out to BDI that he isn't a student and probably shouldn't be in the Hall. I knew he wasn't a student because he was CUTE, and wouldn't have escaped my notice otherwise :).
Anyway, the guy is talking to someone that I can't see, so BDI goes over and asks them if they have visitor tags. The unseen guy says "I wasn't making noise" (much like a busted student would say, actually), and then informs her that he's a guest speaker for the next period (which is minutes away from starting).
Then the guy moves into my line of vision, and HEY! It's Michael Landsberg!
It's a good thing BDI went out there, because I would have gone apreshit on him, and threatened to send them to the attendance office :)!
I've removed the "What's Cooking" section on the left because in truth, not a hell of a lot has been cooking. Certainly not in my kitchen. Well, not true - stuff has been cooking, but it hasn't been cooking by my.
I also added a link to in passing. This made me snort:
"I think New Year's Eve is just a conspiracy to make you want Jamba Juice the next day. Think about it: hangovers, resolutions... um... it's winter, so you don't get much fruit in your diet..."
"Do you think maybe the holiday is older than Jamba Juice?"
--Two guys in line at Jamba Juice.
...are always thinking of you. Like, for example, Roo, who couldn't stop jumping up and down at the thought of showing me a fantastic Atlanta landmark...
Hahahahahahaha! *smooches Roo*
I will (eventually) get around to posting my vacation photos. I promise.
Albacore came to visit me this weekend! I'm certain she only came to show off her new engagement ring :). I bought her the first of what will inevitably will be a collection of wedding magazines. Martha might be crazy, but she sure knows how to put a magazine together.
Much fun was had, and much money was spent (mostly by me, sadly), and now I'm planning a return visit up to Montreal next month.
Oh! Albacore gave me a gorgeous necklace that she bought for me in Australia. It's a gorgeous flat rectange in pink (opal?), surrounded by a silver frame. I tried to take a picture without much success.
Apparently, it's quite alright to send Palestinian mothers into suicide missions if they've shamed their families in anyway.
Wow. Is it possible to go through life hating to clean, and then make a discovery that almost makes you change your mind?
Yesterday I steam-cleaned my bathroom ceiling, which I'll admit, was getting a bit mankey, and I had so much fun. I wish I could link a picture of this sucker, but I can't find one. It's a hand-held little steamer, with a long extension cord, and it is awesome.
In other news, we're still in a deep freeze, and not helping matters last night, was an hour-long power failure. Thank god the power came back, because I was freezing even before it started, and I could feel the temperature in the house dropping quite rapidly. I also wasn't enamoured of the thought of burst pipes.
The good news is that it's heating up today, and Albacore and I will be traipsing along Queen Street tomorrow in balmy -13C weather! Woo! Bring out the shorts!
Highwaygirl isn't just an evil genius. She's also an accomplished poet!
This is sung to the tune of Guns & Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine".
Sweet Funk O' Mine (For BDI)
She's got a stench
That it seems to me
Reminds me of bod'ly injuries
Where everything was rotten
As the dead house flies
Now and then when I smell her stink
It takes me away and makes my eyes blink
And if I sniff too long
I'll probably break down and cry
CHORUS:
Ohhhh, BO's a crime
Oh oh oh oh, your funk's a crime
She's got a reek that makes me want to freak
And causes my blood to drain
I'd hate to smell her every day
it causes so much pain
her smell reminds me of a warm moist place
where only bugs would hide
I pray for the fetid malodorousness
to quietly pass me by
CHORUS x 3
Where do we throw?
Where do we throw, now?
Where do we throw?
A Palestinian mother of 2 kills 4 in a suicide bombing.
"God gave me the ability to be a mother of two children who I love so," she said. "But my wish to meet God in paradise is greater, so I decided to be a martyr for the sake of my people. I am convinced God will help and take care of my children."
Welcome to Burger King! May I take your order?
Policeman Gerry Scherlink said the pranksters told one customer who had just placed an order: "You don't need a couple of Whoppers. You are too fat. Pull ahead."
My God! I'm watching this show on A&E and I want to cry.
The premise of the show is to show difficult situations encountered by airport staff at various airports in the US.
So far they've had to deal with keeping a passenger off a flight because he reeked. The poor supervisor actually had to tell the guy he can't get on because he's smelly, and asked him to go freshen up while she got him some clean clothes out of the company's training wardrobe. Her colleague went and bought him some deodorant. The poor guy was almost mute - I don't know if it was because he wasn't right in the head, or because he was utterly mortified, but it was SO sad. They ended up giving him a $12 food voucher as compensation. The supervisor felt just awful about having to deal with the situation. I can't blame her (see every BDI entry ever written).
Then there was a guy who started drinking as soon as he got to the airport, and was denied boarding. I don't feel sorry for him at all.
The third guy was a rather large man, who missed his flight because his rental car was hijacked. At the counter, the agent made him buy a second ticket because of his, um, girth. It gets worse. His flight is delayed about 7 hours due to a storm. Poor guy. OMG! apparently he was on standby, and now he's got no room on the flight. This guy CANNOT catch a break. He's 81st in line to check in. Seriously, I don't wish that kind of travel experience EVER.
Ooh! The next episode is about the day of the big BLACKOUT! Can't wait! *sets VCR.*
The other day I made this rather yummy macaroni and cheese recipe, sent to me by Weight Watchers. I was telling heewig about it, and she said she won't touch it, because macaroni and cheese is one of those comfort foods she can't get enough of.
This got me thinking about what my comfort food is, and the answer is cheese sandwiches. Not grilled cheese. Just some pre-sliced cheese (whatever is in the fridge - generally lappi or havarti), on a bagel with mayo.
I can count on one hand the number of bagels I've had over the last 18 months, so truth be told, I've not had a decent cheese sandwich in a LONG time. Mind you, I've also lost close to 20 lbs, so we can all do the math :). Today I "indulged" a little, by throwing a slice of cheese on (rather too thinly sliced) home baked challah with some light mayo. It still is the bestest thing on the planet, I say, even if it's the somewhat lightened up version.
Tell me: what's your comfort food?
BDI's husband was on "paternity leave" for the past year (read: unemployed), and stayed home with their baby. Every time the baby was sick, however, BDI would take a sick day and stay home to take care him. Huh?
Now, although her husband found a job (unicorns on resume aside), he's off today with the sick child. And yet, she needs to leave early now so they can both take him to the doctor. I normally don't complain about her being away, but for a change, I was going to go out at lunch today to buy some gifts for colleagues who are leaving the school today. Grr.
To wit, the reason that stupid people shouldn't be allowed to have children:
I'm at the drug store yesterday, waiting for a prescription to be filled, so I'm roaming the aisles. There's a little girl (about 3 or 4 years old) sitting RIGHT at the entrance to the hair product aisle. To her left is a display of those sticky lint removers. This child is in the process of peeling off the layers of sticky paper. Her mother passes her, and moves on to the next aisle, while muttering something to her child. The child finishes destroying the item, and then walks off after her mother, who has ducked into another aisle, so the child can't see her. I call out (rather loudly) "Whose child is this?" Everyone turns around looking dumbly at me. Finally, the mother emerges from three aisles down (yes, way to take care of your child in a store full of strangers) and walks toward her. I say (loudly again), "Your child ruined this lint brush and left it on the floor. Are you going to just leave it like that?" The woman walks towards the aisle and picks up the product. I walk further down to look at all the shampoos. I turn around, and I see her WRAP the removed pieces around the roll, and HANG IT BACK on the display. Because, OBVIOUSLY, it can be resold in that condition, no? She does all this with her daughter WATCHING.
I just had to shake my head. Way to set an example for your child that it's ok to ruin products and NOT pay for them. And thanks for causing stores to jack up prices to recover for your stupidity. She might as well have stolen the thing, as far as I'm concerned.
Look at that! I go away for two weeks and my journal disappears.
I have loads to share about my fantastic (and very tiring) vacation, but I'll do it later, just as soon as I upload my pictures at home.
Welcome back me! I've missed you guys!