A skewed view

The romanticized Scottish Higlander hero.
Their stories make us readers swoon, sigh and inspire us to dream and wish that we'd find our own . Actually, he'd sweep us off our feet before we knew what grabbed us.

Usually, these take place a couple of centuries ago.

Times and men change, don't they?

Flash forward to the present.













Ah, the civilized modern Highlander.

He still enjoys the wild and rustic outdoors along with all the amenities of the 21st century.



It's not a wonder that we read romance, eh?

Beauty - in the eye of the beholder

My favorite personality quirk in Gil Grissom from CSI Vegas is his penchant for bugs and critters.

Not that I hold the same fascination or appreciation.
I do, however, agree that they have a place in society.









A Place Somewhere FAR from me ....

Crazy

What is one person's definition of crazy is another person's genius.
How do we see ourselves?
Do we see ourselves as other's see us when they see us as ourselves?
Does anyone truly see the real self that is us even if we let them?


Hmmmm.

Bubble Gum

What mental picture comes to mind with the word Bubble Gum?

Kind of reminds me of Bazooka. Remember all those inane jokes that were wrapped around the candy? How many did you save for you to be able to send away for that magical item? You know, that very cool and hi-tech Person to Person spy phone that was attached by a really long string? The only metal component was the cheap tin cup that resembled the ear piece of your parent's phone.

At least the gum blew some decent bubbles.

If I don't mean the candy, what DO I refer to?

LOL! Music, of course.

Did you know that there is music labeled "Bubblegum Rock"? - ( btw- the link states the Bubblegum rock is rejected by people over the age of 15 - Guess I'm 15 permanently folks, because I LOVE these songs!! [39 & holding, LOL] )

I bet you'd like some examples, right?

I'm happy to share a few.

" Yummy Yummy Yummy, I got love in my tummy and I feel like loving you. "

"Tracy, when I'm with you, something you do, bounces me off the ceiling. Tracy ,Day after day,
when you're this way, I get a lovin' feeling ..."

"I thought love was only true in fairy tales, then for someone else but not for me
... ah love was out to get me, that's the way it seemed.
Disappointment haunted all my dreams, then I saw her face,
now I'm a believer,
Not a trace of doubt in my mind... I'm in love ...."

" Hey girl whatcha you doin' down there,
dancin' alone every night while I live right above you,
I can hear your music playing,
I can feel your body swaying,
One floor below me, you don't even know me, I love you.
On my darlin', Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me,
twice on the pipe, if the answer is no ...."

" Children behave!
That's what they say when we're together.
And watch how you play,
They don't understand,
and so we're running just as fast as we can,
holding onto one anothers hand,
trying to get away into the night
and then you put your arms around me as we tumble to the ground and then you say,
I think we're alone now, there doesn't seem to be anyone around ...."

" My baby love,
my baby loves love,
and she's got what it takes and she knows how to use it ...(twice)
I was lonely once in this great big world ..."

" Sugar.
Ah, Honey honey,
You are my candy girl,
and you got me wanting you.

Honey,
Ah, sugar, sugar,
you are my candy girl.
and you got me wanting you.

I just can't believe the loveliness of loving you ( I just can't believe it's true) "

Do you recognize any of these lyrics?
Can you sing some of the melodies?
If you can - then you understand the appeal of pure bubblegum music.
These tunes stay in your head.
You find yourself bopping to a mental doowop.
Your hips shimmy and shuffle to the rhythym in your mind.

Bubblegum - whether candy or music, both are sweet and are a joy to savor.

I had some cool pics but Blogger is being uppity again. Hence the links. Hope you had fun visiting today!

Did you ever imagine yourself in a movie?

Blogger erased the first post.... I originally left this sentence , "will post again when my brain recovers from the screech of denial. "

I was using understatement - I was beyond screeching - try howling, ranting and throwing my hands up in disgust only to slap on a "stay tuned" on this blog and walk away for a few HOURS.

Here I am - trying again. (10 PM)
Taking the question above at face value tends to be a cut and dried answer of "yes" or "no", but that's not what my question is all about. My focus is a bit more playful than that.

Seems I'm on a thematic roll - thinking about my past.

This question stems from the same well of inspiration. I didn't get it by myself however. Bailey(click) has a fun post today that had me laughing, acting silly and just enjoying myself. This blog is a direct result of participating in the zany comments ( on an aside - sad to hear about Aaron Spelling - man was pure genius - kind of reminds me of Gene Roddenberry)

So, have you ever imagined yourself in a movie?

NOT acting in, but BEING one of the characters? Something about the cast, setting, theme or clothing catches your imagination and you dream dreams of "If only it were me, I'd do/say this or that."

Have you ever stopped watching for a moment and wondered :
"If I could step into the film, what scene would I chose to experience?"

My personal favorite is musicals. Remember - Paint Your Wagon, The King and I, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Finian's Rainbow and Brigadoon? The sets were grand, the music heartfelt and emotional while the clothing was scrumptious and ultra-feminine - mostly.

I wanted to dance with the King ( The King and ME) , walk amongst the corn that's "as high as an elephant's eye".
You'd find me wanting to " wash that man right INTO my Hair (any man- remember I was a hormonally influenced teenager, LOL)- from South Pacific and visit also the haunting Bali Hai. I wished to have that magical leprechaun from Finian's Rainbow fall in love with ME ( any leprechaun looking like Tommy Steele was a candidate) and I yearned to experience finding a magical and mystical Scottish town that was full of ancient Highlanders a la Brigadoon.
To hear men singing to me of the emotions of their heart with such earnestness and talent it raises the goosebumps on my goosebumps in romantic thrill.
I secretly thrilled to the thought that I'd be a female JET from West Side Story.

Close your eyes and let the music take you places.

You can you know , with those old musicals.
Why do you think that is?
Easy.
You can understand every word of the lyrics.
You can hum the tunes - even years later.
In fact , at times throughout your life, you'll suddenly become concious that you've been humming your favorite tune, for instance - "A Wand'rin Star" from Paint Your Wagon , and it's stuck in your mind like a burr.

I imagine: that I'm the girl left behind - the wind called Mariah whispers the lament sung by my love so very far away. He'd left to find the means to afford us a better future - and now feels so lost. Alone. His words touch my heart and I cry out my response but Mariah's breezey attention is fickle at best and he'll never know I feel the same.

Isn't imagination a wonderful thing?

Come play!

It ain't heavy - I need a break

Intellectual questions are well and good, but they don't often bring smiles.
Time to correct that. Let's visit my email and share a few that brought ME smiles.

WORLD'S SHORTEST FAIRY TALE

Once upon a time, a girl asked a guy, "Will you marry me?"
The guy said"No",
and the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook, stayed skinny,
and farted whenever she wanted.
The End

Some examples of why our
country is in trouble!

No kidding!! (After reading these, you hope they ARE)

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that
her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an
airplane!)

2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown.
I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport
information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you
look stupid, but Cape town is in Massachusetts," Without trying to make
her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts,
Capetown is in Africa," Her response - click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida
package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando.
He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's
not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied,
"Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!"

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to
see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so
close on the map."

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent
a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had
only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to
rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will
need a car to drive between gates to save time."

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how
it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got
to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of
Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones.
Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your
physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to
whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I
checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said
"FAT", and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting
her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing) I
came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT), and the
airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii.
After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to
fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked,
"How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he
meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but
none of these planes have numbers on them."

10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida.
Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if
she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah,
whatever, smarty!"

11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he
needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about
passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've
been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double
checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him
this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they
have accepted my American Express!"

12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to
go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words.
Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" Yes, what
flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came
back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the
country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh,
don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" So I
scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't
mean Buffalo, do you?" The reply?
"Whatever! I knew it was a big animal."

Now you know why the
Government is in the shape that it's in!


No visuals tonight - too many words already.

Have a great Thursday!

Does being a childhood bully predict their future?

I'm serious about this question and worried by my inner answer.

If you are in a rush and not in the mood to read a long blog, pass today. This is not a fluffy post.


Last week I had to drop off lunch to one of my sons at his school. (special day required a special kind of lunch - you know how it goes, they give you the "notice" the morning of ?)

There was this young boy about 12 years old. He sat in the main office waiting for who knows what. What I saw was a sullen, angry, bitterly self-contained, frozen in rage, young man. My youngest recognized him, and being as young as he is, didn't clue into body language - there went the bright and chipper " HI ---!" he said "How are you?" and as we were leaving he said, "Bye ---." At no time did the other child's eyes move, shift or blink. His head never moved in acknowledgement of the hello or goodby greeting. He sat hunched over, frozen with a tense, contained look on his face. Anger. It was damn scary seeing that on the face of a 12 year old.

Know this.
This same boy shares the bus ride with my kids and all I've heard about this boy is negative. Three years of negative. No one likes him. He's been suspended from the bus a few times every year. He targets younger kids. Sets them up and then takes advantage. He taught my eldest about spit balls (bombs they're now called?) and got my son in trouble. Mine thought he was so cool. Taking him under his wing - so to speak. Trouble is cool to those that are younger - until they are faced with the consequences. How often does the duped youngins get the brunt of punishment as the true perpetrator gets off scott free? ( they've had enough practice to know how to work the "system")

I'm actually scared for this boy. Not my kids, but the "bully".

The last post was delving into the past. How does an event in your youth affect the present, remember?

I ask this: What kind of future does a bully have? How does being a bully now affect their future life path?

I have one scenario that I lived through. Please allow me to tell the tale.

As young as third grade this boy was a "trouble maker". Yes his family was incredibley dysfunctional. His brothers and sisters all had different fathers. It was a large clan and he was the eldest. What did he see that twisted him at such a young age? He ended up being belligerent, harsh, agressive and unforgiving. Contained rage. Third grade.

I made the mistake of doing the old "pull the chair out from behind him as he sat down" gag. Not funny. For him or me. It may have been funny with the Three Stooges, or cartoons but in real life, it's not and there are consequences. Granted, I'm talking third grade here - not rocket science. I WAS angry at him and I thought, clever me, I'd get back at him.
I never claimed I was a smart third grader.

Yep, the principal "talked to me". No need to explain further - you get the gist. It's what happened on the playground during recess that sticks in my mind.
Recollect that boys and girls were segregated during those days. Didn't stop him. I was far on the other side of the grounds, hunched in the shade drawing pictures in the sand. The sudden silence from the kids around me kind of let me know something wasn't right. It was one of those moments of perverse and morbid fascination that humans have with the thrill of viewing imminent violence while knowing they are safe from any fallout themselves. Kids start young.

There he stalked, his face a grim and furious cast of hate and intent. He never wavered from his path or took his eyes off of me. You know that "deer caught in the headlights" phrase you read about all the time? It exists. I'm sure I wore it because I was frozen to the spot by the shock that I was a target, that I wasn't safe on the "girls" side and no one was stopping him. Three steps away, his fist was brought up and back. On the final step it was coming around and slamming into my stomach. I stood there and watched it coming, hitting and being amazed at the pain.

He stepped back, looked arrogantly at me, his eyes still blazing with internal emotion then he turned and walked away. No words were said, before, during or after. Silence. Again, no one stopped him. No one came to me - to give comfort or concern - or alert the so called "recess aides". I was given a wide berth by all the other students around me. It was damned freaky.

I stayed away from him after that, but he left me alone too. I call that lucky.

Decades later I read the newspaper. This same boy who was now a man, stabbed and killed the mother of his three year old daughter - while his daughter was present.

So you might ask "Why write this post and ask these questions?"

Remember that boy sitting in the main office I first told you about?

He wears the same look on his face. The same intense anger - internalized and festering.

What is in store for HIS future?

Yes , I am worried - for the bully.

Happy Father's Day !!!

Phobia by Environment

My question again delves into the past that affects the present.

Is there a traumatic event in your childhood that has left it's mark as a motion, action or belief in your adult life?


I'll admit mine if you'll admit yours - well, no - you don't have to , that's invasion of privacy. I'm willing to share mine though. It came to me a few nights ago and I found it fascinating.

The past - as a child, I had my tonsils and , I believe, adenois (sp?) removed. It was my first time away from home and it was traumatic on a few levels. The surgery wasn't the big deal. What affected me was the night. There were liquid med's that I was supposed to take. Being as swollen as you can imagine, they didn't make it down my throat. I remember the nurses holding me down, holding my nose and forcing me to swallow the congealed mess that had dribbled out. Not fun.
Then, it was the feeling of vulnerability, the aloneness, the coldness. I was not allowed any sheets or blankets to cover me. That was the worst.. Somehow I managed to dislodge the fitted sheet and had enough to cover my feet up to my shins. That was all.

The present - the result of that one night stay? Even as an adult, on the hottest of hot nights, when humidity hangs like a liquid cloak upon my skin , I absolutely must, unequivocally have , a sheet covering the bottom of my legs or at the very least , one leg. My guess would be that an "action" has taken root in my childhood that affects me as an adult today.

Isn't it amazing what thoughts come to you in the middle of the night?


On a lighter note, a good friend sent this to me via email. I LOL'd so much I wanted to share!


President Bush deploys the ultimate border protection

Clothing Statement - What are they thinking

Now what could I be talking about today that may or may not have to do with clothing which would inspire your curiosity?

I'll get back to that.

First I want to toot my personal horn.
Me and my club members put on a rather snazy 50th Annivsary of Ordination reception yesterday. More than eighty people showed up to celebrate - many from past parishes that he served. Not only was Father Peter quite pleased and thrilled (he's now wheelchair bound) but our parish priest, Father Adrian was so grateful for our efforts. He thanked us individually - which is a first. He's a man with subdued/reserved emotional displays -hey, he's a guy - so for him to make the rounds to ensure we understood his appreciation - that was saying it loud and proud.
Gratifying day.

Now, as for clothing - during my Google jaunts, I come across uniquely expressed clothing statements. Figuring out what are they trying to say is a challenging puzzle.
Maybe you can help?






Desert Wizard






Gold Standard Excitement




Its' Super Duct-Man!!


















Oooh, Leopard Toe Fetish
Time to Purr for Toes












Sometimes,
Hair decorations just don't feel like co-operating.

So, are these clothing choices the wave of the future??

Friday Frolic Or Cosmetic Journeys

No, I didn't go anywhere near as interesting as would warrant a frolic. I can imagine it. Want to go with me?


The Land of the Avid Carpenter.














The Land of Flash - The more your colors clash, the more famous you are. Notice the sneakers are also color coordinated.





Meet his designer.






Of course, you can't go out in the high temps of the desert without taking care of your skin. Men are more prone to forget about their pores and collagen -hence -facials for men:
























Of Course, There's always a wise guy in the bunch. I suppose this IS one way to protect the delicate skin of the male face:





Of all the many ways to take care of your skin, with dermabrasion, sloughing, moisturizing, chemical peels, cleansing, Botox and the like, I can recommend one thing not to do.

One thing that I believe has no benefit to beautify man or woman.
Animal, mineral or vegetable.

A process of pore cleansing or skin tightening or alignment that I highly discourage - Can you blame me?

















I know that acupuncture is popular, but this?

SQUEAL!!! MY COMPOSE MODE IS BACK!!!!

OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOODNESS ! OH GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY - MY COMPOSE MODE AND ALL MY LITTLE BUTTONS HAVE RETURNED TO MAMA!!!!



Can we say Parrtay?!!!

Your Emoticon Is Laughing

You've got a wicked sense of humor. You're everyone's favorite IM buddy... at least today!

'>What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatemoticonbestrepresentsyourightnowquiz/">

What Emoticon Best Represents You Right Now?

Going to a party




I want to party with






















Life of the party

Your Outrageous Name is:

Jenna Talia

'>Outrageous'>http://www.blogthings.com/outrageousnamegenerator/">

Outrageous Name

Generator

Hope you have a fun day too!

HTML Queen

Yessiree Bob. I found two ways to post pictures, Picasa and Photobucket.
I'm golden.
I can make links using my HTML short cut, as well as bold and italics for stressing certain emotive points. The only thing missing is colored writing and font size. I can live with that.

So, I'd like to share a link. Deirdre Knight has a wonderful and funny take on some recent SPAM that was sent her way. Interested in a giggle?
LOL at SPAM Proclamation

For my picture of the day, I give you:



And a joke:


Painted Floor

IMAGINE YOU ARE AT A PARTY....

YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING...... (not that you would...)

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO VISIT THE BATHROOM....

You open the door....

OH My!


KINDA TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY..... DOESN'T IT?

IT IS JUST A PAINTED FLOOR




Have a great Hump Day Everyone!!!!!

A delightful pout - hard to ignore or not let him have his way. What would you let him do?? 

Picasa to the Picture Rescue

When Blogger doesn't work right, doesn't it put you in a funk?? Thank goodness I have Picasa as a back-up. Forgot about it actually. Can't do fancy writing with colors..but I LUURVE my pictures!  

I put in a third complaint to Blogger,but this time, I clicked on the little yellow triangle that appears at the bottom of my screen. I guess if you click it, it shows you an error report. I copied the info and sent it to blogger. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
As it is ... Picasa doesn't do size options with the pictures, but I'll take what I can get.
Right now, Kitty pic here kinda shows how I feel right now.
Hrrumph.

Blogger is Broken -Still!

It has been four days now. I do not have access to all the lovely options that usually appear on top - you know, font style, size, link, photo upload, italics - and it makes for a very dull post. I emailed a complaint but who knows when I'll get fixed?
In the meantime, I had to go look at some of my saved emails that only has words so I can share that.

I will say this. Wed. Night I saw The Divinci Code. Hey, I liked it. I think the uproar is a load of horse manure. Although, I've been going to scripture study for five years, so I was more amused than anything. I thought it was much like National Treasure, but NT was done much better. Tom Hanks wasn't very emotional during it, did you notice? Did you also notice that Nicholas Cage played his role the same way? They must have been watching the old Dragnet series too much.

Today we saw, Over the Hedge. Cute. Short and cute. My DH almost went to sleep, kids loved it and I LOL'd a few times. So, all and all, if you can pay the matinee prices, it is worth it. BTW- the strange and obsessive nature of the president of the Homeowner's Association was scary. Not that the character was truly scary, just the fact that there ARE people that warped out there. *shudder*

I just finished reading the whole Lori Foster series that started with Say No to Joe? and ended with Jamie. Can we say "YUM!"

And a link to share - I was doing that Next Blog Button and I got an eyefull. Warning, really, heed the Warning - no kids present if you click, if you are a guy, you'll be oogling, if you are a girl, you'll be hurling or just shaking your head in despair for our youth and future happy marraiges. I found a site that listed at least , AT LEAST 60 pictures from a bachelor party thrown in the back of a stretch limosine.
BTW- I think they're silicon.

http://bachelorpartypics.blogspot.com/

Oh, since I CAN"T post a true link, you may have to copy and paste it into the addy line - but perhaps my telling you about this is enough and you don't feel the yen to gawk. That's OK, your choice. I was just astounded and didn't want to be astounded alone.

And for your reading pleasure :


A Blonde enters a store that sells curtains.
>
>
> > > >> She tells the salesman
>
> > > >> "I would like to buy a pair of pink curtains."
>
> > > >> The salesman assures her that they have a large
>
> > > >> selection of pink curtains. He shows her several patterns, but
> >
> > > >> the blonde seems to be having a hard time choosing.
>
> > > >> Finally she selects a lovely pink floral print.
>
> > > > The salesman then asks what size curtains she needs.
> >
> > > >> The blond promptly replies, "Fifteen inches."
> >
> > > >> Fifteen inches???" asked the salesman.
> >
> > > >> "That sounds very small, what room are they for?"
>
> >
> > > >> The blond tells him that they aren't for a room,
> >
> > > >> they are for her computer monitor.
> >
> > > >> The surprised salesman replies,
> >
> > > >> "but Miss, computers do not need curtains!"
> >
>
> > > >> The blonde says,
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > > >> "Hellllooooooooo. I've got Windoooooows


That's all folks!
Darn, I miss my pics or at least writing in color. Geesh!

Thursday Laugh

THE PICTURE ON THE NIGHT STAND


After a long night of making love, he notices a photo of another man on her night stand by the bed. He begins to worry.

"Is this your husband?" he nervously asks.

"No, silly," she replies, snuggling up to him.

"Your boyfriend, then?" he continues.

"No, not at all," she says, nibbling away at his ear.

"Is it your dad or your brother?" he inquires, hoping to be reassured.

"No, no, no!!!" she answers.

"Well, who in the hell is he, then?" he demands.

"That's me before the surgery."