tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22162977178964369942024-03-13T15:49:36.920-04:00The Famous Last WordKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-39583721102255102342016-03-21T21:16:00.005-04:002016-03-21T21:16:37.668-04:00Fergaliciously Nostalgic 2: The Remix<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">So, after a first successful attempt at guest blogging, it's time to keep the momentum going</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(<u>NASA is still relevant people</u>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">As such I shall continue to discuss nostalgic points from my youth. Tailgating from the last post, it is time to tackle educational shows that masquerade as game shows! The #1 culprit has to be</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">That's right, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Sure it had game show qualities like a competition, prizes and questions that if answered correctly you advance. You know what else has questions and answers that if correct you are rewarded... geography quizzes. I'm onto you educational system!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(She's onto you as well)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">But really, the show was quite informative and I imagine helped encourage my thirst for knowledge. It was also perfectly set up to go an almost unlimited number of seasons (given good ratings).</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Darnit Chuck, you were on the upswing)</span></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Carmen had potentially countless minions and they'd only get caught if the player figured out everything. I feel like everybody can use more of these type of shows. Trickery that educates people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Or was it all an illusion, Michael)</span></u></span></span></div>
RandomDoughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06995957200469205972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-78178941098182411692013-01-03T13:15:00.000-05:002013-01-03T13:30:43.779-05:00This is 30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another year, another compilation. And I know it's been forever, and I'd like to make this one all about me and the flattering things you've said to/about me since my last birthday--</span></b><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i can feel the vitamins coursing through me!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"KATTTIIEEEE SMAAASSSHHHH"</span></span></span></span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(for some reason you're the Hulk in my fantasy)</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read this in your voice</span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocAfXmC--IM/UOUNRDgWqHI/AAAAAAAACYI/55Pe2LX33sw/s1600/bruce-wayne-and-the-bat-signal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocAfXmC--IM/UOUNRDgWqHI/AAAAAAAACYI/55Pe2LX33sw/s320/bruce-wayne-and-the-bat-signal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mary: Can I note that David just came up on my "People to follow" on Twitter because we're both following The Real Adam West</span></b></span></span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3615748952142894" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me: well</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i was on o2 three times last night</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so i suspect it will be a quiet weekend</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kaz: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was trying to figure out the superhero terminology</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and then went oh, periodic table</span></b></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: haha someone just called that their toilet is bubbling</span></b></span></span></b></span><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">it's really hard to not laugh at that</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i would run out and call ghost busters</span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: with that thing I can be all like PEW PEW PEW DEMONS!</span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"></span></span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: oh, I forgot to tell you he showed me his nunchucks</span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: who knows though, we all make some poor judgement calls when we're younger</span></b></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I did all the shit I wanted to do when i was a kid, I'd be driving the Ninja Turtle Van right now</span></b></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: so oceanport has hired hot garbagemen</span></b></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: haha, totes and now I have to have coffee with her!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maybe I should say drinks</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me: hahahah or you can go for coffee and you can just spike yours</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> haha I like that too</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she'll be all "I'm a doctor" and I'll be all "I'm drunk"</span></span></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ryan: i think i have that disease where you're a lottery winner who hasn't won the lottery yet</span></b></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: I made an excel graph: number of monitors versus number of eyes</span></b></span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one of the lines was surprisingly flat</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: his mom was a potter</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katie: as in beatrix?</span></b></span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: so i was going thru my texts trying to delete them</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as i have well over a thousand</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and it's slowing my phone down</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and i was so drunk i kept hitting RESEND instead of delete!!!!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OMG</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HORRORS</span></b></span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ryan: it's amazing how many results i get for a gchat search of "whiskey slurpee"</span></b></span></span></b></span></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David: it's never a good sign when you're watching keeping up with the kardashians, and you're like "I feel you khloe"</span></b></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /></span>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: My entire family just broke into "irish rover" on the trolly back from the wedding. The other family was horrified.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: then my mom starting singing the Boston College fight song with my cousin</span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></span>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2bTmzoJdLYU/TpdAXPKxG-I/AAAAAAAACJA/_En34eQMlmY/s1600/-irish-tattoo-design-tattoos-celtic-o-h-tattoodonkey.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2bTmzoJdLYU/TpdAXPKxG-I/AAAAAAAACJA/_En34eQMlmY/s200/-irish-tattoo-design-tattoos-celtic-o-h-tattoodonkey.com.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; font-weight: bold; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ryan: i always wanted to say in confession that i honored another god over my god but i never had the balls</span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: haha and it'd be wonderful aside from i always feel really dumb around sal </span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: he once told me i needed to learn to listen to context clues in stories</span></b></span><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: Yea, I went 100% magic</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but I miss some of the neat little effects you get from the melee combat</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I married a guy and traveled with him as a companion and I eventually had to send him home because I kept accidently hitting him with lightening and slitting his throat with my conjured sword</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: I told Nathan not to read too much into that</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bre: I think I may need to quit the online dating scene. Today I realized I was messaging a homeless, schizophrenic drug addict who I mistook for a sensitive writer.</span></b></span></span></b><br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></b>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cEEJRZ6-zGM/TrPswUDDefI/AAAAAAAACEg/L0gxdFol-pA/s1600/snooki_Michael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cEEJRZ6-zGM/TrPswUDDefI/AAAAAAAACEg/L0gxdFol-pA/s320/snooki_Michael.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katie: i'm hungry</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i want to be sitting at home in my corner eating something involving cheese</span></b></span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"></span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: you realize you just described yourself as a mouse right?</span></b></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cat: sometimes, when i'm bored, i think up ways to torture people</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maggie: clouds ain't nothing but bitches and hoes, man</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.756311570527032" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me: ooooooooh SNAP </span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Éamonn: (I haven't arrived at a point yet)</span></b></span><br />
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-42966227301399605202012-08-31T15:04:00.002-04:002012-08-31T16:43:56.255-04:00Not much of a joiner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
I've never been one for big groups. You can ask David, who frequently laments my tendency to "hide" when we "have people over" (quotes make everything sketchy), or even the athletic trainer at my high school, who, when I asked his opinion on whether I should go to Brown or UVA, pointed out that UVA has a very active Greek life and that I was "not much of a joiner."<br />
<br />
I got indignant.<br />
<br />
Then he pointed out that I was sitting on an overturned ball bucket, the same spot from which I had watched every home game in my three years of varsity play. And it was true. I hated watching from inside the dugout. Even when softball girls aren't being mean (I say that with love), they are chatty, and I don't like to be distracted.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nFbeOrskCNo/UEEF6CzrJoI/AAAAAAAACX0/rxfc-7EiP04/s1600/league1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nFbeOrskCNo/UEEF6CzrJoI/AAAAAAAACX0/rxfc-7EiP04/s320/league1.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So why am I telling you all this?<br />
<br />
Because starting on Tuesday, I'll be reporting to you from the Democratic Convention. My boss is speaking there, and so we'll all be going down partially as support and partially to run some programs about social justice. We were supposed to go to the Republican Convention as well but we couldn't get credentialed. Words can not express my disappointment--- I have a feeling going to the Republican convention would be akin to when I visited Adelaida in Austin and people would eye-ball me and immediately ask where I was from. It was awesome.<br />
<br />
Not that I'm trying to cast Republicans as the almighty Other or something. I've worked for Democrats for all of my professional life, but I've always been registered independent and I tend to cast a skeptical eye towards anyone (and there are many) who views party politics as a team sport. Or any type of sport. And with that as the criteria, I'm quite confident that the convention down in Charlotte will sport an enviable cast of normies and crazies. <br />
<br />
Although perhaps nothing as amazing as Clint Eastwood talking to an invisible Obama. A girl can dream.</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-19668348065194873722012-08-23T14:50:00.002-04:002012-08-23T14:53:54.273-04:00Michael Higgins kicks some ass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This clip is a little old, but it's new to me and so I post it here. Not only is it nice to hear some cut-the-bullshit from a credible source, but it's done with such <i>style</i>. Michael Higgins here is the current President of Ireland and also went to school in these United States.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also, I love his Limerick accent. Dropping the "h" off of every "th" combo just makes me happy. </div></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-39712223133534345892012-08-21T14:03:00.004-04:002012-08-21T18:33:37.173-04:00Fergaliciously Nostalgic<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There has been a debate (with myself) on how to get back into guest blogging and what I could bring to TFLW. It is what would keep me up at night if I didn't pass out immediately upon getting in bed. I considered going the topical route and give my two cents towards the big or little issues of the day. This could be a soapbox to expound my views and attempt to justify those views. Or this could be an opportunity to pull a </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V2sBURgUBI&feature=related"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Seinfeld</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, and talk about nothing of importance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">About 2 weeks ago there was a trending topic on Google+, #TakeMeToYourChildhood, which is a much <em>creepier</em> way of saying #Nostalgia. I can get very nostalgic (full disclosure - iTunes playlist with <u>over 200 theme songs</u>). I'm known to get nostalgic about Rumors (great D.C. hotspot by the way) and that place still exists. Idealized walks back down Memory Lane (no Minnie Ripperton) are the way to go. In my youth I was heavily exposed (indoctrinated) to Nickelodeon; PBS and other television programs geared towards my age group which leaves me with knowledge of cartoons, live action game shows, and educational shows that pass as game shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ladies and gentlemen, for my first entry I've decided to talk about a show from 2 decades ago (<em>late 80's - early 90's</em>) when cartoons had implausible storylines, but just seemed better. I'm sure people of all generations will say the same thing, but guess what, this isn't their entry. Ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment, I present Denver The Last Dinosaur. How does a prehistoric guitar playing, english understanding human-size dinosaur seem so well adjusted to the 1990's... who cares, he is my pal and can be yours as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh those were the days, before cynicism kicked in and everything had to be examined. But really, shouldn't we care? After sharing this entry to the trending topic steam I received a comment from a random person which is what happens when you make things public, "He's my friend and a whole lot more.... hmm...wonder what they meant by that." I mean his point is valid by todays standards, but in yesteryear, we wouldn't even pause</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110527164012/kongregate/images/d/de/Reg-NES-COntroller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110527164012/kongregate/images/d/de/Reg-NES-COntroller.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So I say that to say this, listen to theme songs, talk about the shows you grew up on and remember them fondly, but under no circumstances really take the time to examine what you use to watch. It ruins things! Childhood is a magical time and we are really losing magic people. Kids are growing up too fast and arguably worse, the programming is terrible with the exceptions of <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/young-justice/">Young Justice</a> and <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/the-avengers-earths-mightiest-heroes/">http://www.tv.com/shows/the-avengers-earths-mightiest-heroes/</a>. So in reviewing what was written, I did decide to make this a soapbox.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'll leave you all with some theme songs to some random shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So audience of The Famous Last Word, has there been any nostalgia that has been ruined or almost ruined by going back and re-examining your past?</span>RandomDoughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06995957200469205972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-6080496873433376502012-03-02T10:11:00.000-05:002012-03-02T10:11:44.219-05:00Please see HR to claim your boxers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Oh, you know, just another one of those days where you go to the ladies room and there's a random pair of men's worn boxers in the hallway.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our HR girl has dreamt of this day since she began a career in this industry...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J6TlCN0LfUk/T0_PMAOfJyI/AAAAAAABElk/HtGekQXl48Y/s1600/officeunderpants.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J6TlCN0LfUk/T0_PMAOfJyI/AAAAAAABElk/HtGekQXl48Y/s400/officeunderpants.JPG" uda="true" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Ensuing Company-Wide Staff Email</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>To:</b> Office Staff</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>From:</b> Lisa</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Subject:</b> Found</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A pair of men's Tommy Hilfiger boxer briefs was found near in the hallway near the elevator. Please see me to claim them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-HR"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's the little things that make a day great. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03069716117273083876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-22505791871220625162012-03-01T12:33:00.003-05:002012-03-02T10:27:38.571-05:00Top 100 "challenged" books of 2000-2009 and why I've never done cocaine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The American Library Association publishes a list of the most banned/challenged books by decade. (Side note: referring to a banned book as "challenged" is a bit like the Irish habit of referring to forty years of sectarian violence as "the Troubles," and World War II as "the emergency.")<br />
<br />
I stumbled across the list during one of those Internet tangents that happen to the best of us.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Mary: </b>I remember Go Ask Alice<br />
<b>Mary: </b>Not a lot about the plot, but definitely remember that it was kind of "controversial" book and so we were all into it<br />
<b>me: </b>there's a song by Jefferson Airplane called White Rabbit that came out in 1969<br />
<b>Mary: </b>right<br />
<b>me: </b>I was reading the lyrics, I think it's definitely where the title came from<br />
<b>Mary: </b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Ask_Alice">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Ask_Alice</a></blockquote><br />
<div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">Right.</span><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"></span><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"> So as long as I'm being all Captain Obvious-</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ENlMjRpGvUk/T0-OAkGsdRI/AAAAAAAACXA/WGtRVBU5bf4/s1600/Captain_Obvious_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ENlMjRpGvUk/T0-OAkGsdRI/AAAAAAAACXA/WGtRVBU5bf4/s320/Captain_Obvious_medium.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">-I'd like to point out that the only reason I read <i>Go Ask Alice </i>in the 7th grade was because it was banned, and that was reason enough for me. In case you haven't read it, <i>Go Ask Alice </i>is the "diary" of a young girl who slowly becomes involved with drugs and eventually (spoiler alert) dies. </span><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">At one time, it was required reading in our public school. </span><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">It was banned, presumably because there is drug use, sex and rape. Parents complained. And I get wanting to protect your kids, but 1) I do not support banning books for any reason and 2) by the time we were in 7th grade, one of the hot topics was about how Eddie cheated on Meg with Nina and they went to third base, so unfortunately kids at that age are a little more aware than we'd like them to be, so throwing something like <i>Go Ask Alice</i> at them isn't exactly going to get the same reaction as when they found out about Santa Claus. Granted, we were still using bases to talk about sexual acts, but hey, who doesn't? </span></div><div class="kk"></div><div class="kk"><br />
<span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">Anyway, <i>Go Ask Alice</i> is obviously much more of a warning against drugs than an advertisement, probably because, like another popular young adult book of our times, it was written by a Mormon With a Social Agenda.</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WrJUuJMyyV4/T0-oS8SRFEI/AAAAAAAACXI/Ba7l5QQ6RyE/s1600/mitt+gives+thumbs+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WrJUuJMyyV4/T0-oS8SRFEI/AAAAAAAACXI/Ba7l5QQ6RyE/s1600/mitt+gives+thumbs+up.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Not that one.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_IqirExZDzc/T0-ol86ijVI/AAAAAAAACXQ/RMpx4GZFxmM/s1600/moviepremiere2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_IqirExZDzc/T0-ol86ijVI/AAAAAAAACXQ/RMpx4GZFxmM/s320/moviepremiere2.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>There it is. Stephanie Meyer, author of Twilight. With Seth Green? </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="kk"><br />
<span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">Which brings me to another ridiculous Young Adult series, <i>Sweet Valley High.</i> </span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">I started reading <i>SVH</i> when I was something like 11 years old, and it featured all sorts of amazing story lines. I mean, check out the mustache on this guy. LOOK AT THE MUSTACHE:</span><br />
<span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">The twins were kidnapped, solving murders and almost-raped at least 50 times through the series. There was even an evil twin (triplet??) who shows up and tries to take over their lives. (And yet, <i>SVH</i> has never made that banned books list.) <i>Anyway</i>, in one of the books, deaf beauty Regina Marrow tries cocaine <i>just once</i> and dies due to an undetected heart murmur. <i>Dies</i> on a couch, asking for stupid Elizabeth Wakefield who has eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean and all-American good looks. Also, I think she had just become not-deaf like, the book before.</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIFUgn4qzk4/T0-sSLaEILI/AAAAAAAACXY/VmnTa5x09Xg/s1600/svh040-182x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIFUgn4qzk4/T0-sSLaEILI/AAAAAAAACXY/VmnTa5x09Xg/s1600/svh040-182x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yes. Because she dies.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="kk"><br />
<span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">This book scared the crap out of me and hence I became the coke-free blogger I am today. Thanks, Francine Pascal and your army of ghost writers.</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy">So without further ado, I present the ALA's Most Challenged Books list of 2000-2009. Use it as a check list. (Particularly #34 and #35.) I put a star next to the ones I've read so that you can compare, and also because I'm a show-off.</span></div><div class="kk"><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span dir="ltr" id=":1gy"><br />
</span></div><div class="kk">1. <i>Harry Potter</i> (series), by J.K. Rowling* <br />
2. <i>Alice</i> series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor* <br />
3. <i>The Chocolate War</i>, by Robert Cormier <br />
4. <i>And Tango Makes Three</i>, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell <br />
5. <i>Of Mice and Men</i>, by John Steinbeck* <br />
6. <i>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</i>, by Maya Angelou*<a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/331284/saturday-night-live-maya-angelou-prank-show" target="_blank">* </a><br />
7. <i>Scary Stories</i> (series), by Alvin Schwartz <br />
8. <i>His Dark Materials</i> (series), by Philip Pullman* <br />
9. <i>ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r</i> (series), by Myracle, Lauren <br />
10. <i>The Perks of Being a Wallflower</i>, by Stephen Chbosky <br />
11. <i>Fallen Angels</i>, by Walter Dean Myers <br />
12. <i>It’s Perfectly Normal</i>, by Robie Harris <br />
13. <i>Captain Underpants</i> (series), by Dav Pilkey <br />
14. <i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i>, by Mark Twain* <br />
15. <i>The Bluest Eye</i>, by Toni Morrison* <br />
16. <i>Forever</i>, by Judy Blume* <br />
17. <i>The Color Purple</i>, by Alice Walker* <br />
18. <i>Go Ask Alice</i>, by Anonymous* <br />
19. <i>Catcher in the Rye</i>, by J.D. Salinger* <br />
20. <i>King and King</i>, by Linda de Haan <br />
21. <i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i>, by Harper Lee* <br />
22. <i>Gossip Girl </i>(series), by Cecily von Ziegesar <br />
23. <i>The Giver</i>, by Lois Lowry*<br />
24. <i>In the Night Kitchen</i>, by Maurice Sendak <br />
25. <i>Killing Mr. Griffen</i>, by Lois Duncan* <br />
26. <i>Beloved</i>, by Toni Morrison* <br />
27. <i>My Brother Sam Is Dead</i>, by James Lincoln Collier* <br />
28. <i>Bridge To Terabithia</i>, by Katherine Paterson* <br />
29. <i>The Face on the Milk Carton</i>, by Caroline B. Cooney* <br />
30. <i>We All Fall Down</i>, by Robert Cormier <br />
31. <i>What My Mother Doesn’t Know</i>, by Sonya Sones <br />
32. <i>Bless Me, Ultima</i>, by Rudolfo Anaya <br />
33. <i>Snow Falling on Cedars</i>, by David Guterson* <br />
34. <i>The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things</i>, by Carolyn Mackler <br />
35. <i>Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging</i>, by Louise Rennison <br />
36. <i>Brave New World</i>, by Aldous Huxley* <br />
37. <i>It’s So Amazing</i>, by Robie Harris <br />
38. <i>Arming America</i>, by Michael Bellasiles <br />
39. <i>Kaffir Boy</i>, by Mark Mathabane <br />
40. <i>Life is Funny</i>, by E.R. Frank <br />
41. <i>Whale Talk</i>, by Chris Crutcher <br />
42. <i>The Fighting Ground</i>, by Avi <br />
43. <i>Blubber</i>, by Judy Blume* <br />
44. <i>Athletic Shorts</i>, by Chris Crutcher <br />
45. <i>Crazy Lady</i>, by Jane Leslie Conly <br />
46. <i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i>, by Kurt Vonnegut* <br />
47. <i>The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby</i>, by George Beard <br />
48. <i>Rainbow Boys</i>, by Alex Sanchez <br />
49. <i>One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</i>, by Ken Kesey <br />
50. <i>The Kite Runner</i>, by Khaled Hosseini* <br />
51. <i>Daughters of Eve</i>, by Lois Duncan* <br />
52. <i>The Great Gilly Hopkins</i>, by Katherine Paterson <br />
53. <i>You Hear Me?</i>, by Betsy Franco <br />
54. <i>The Facts Speak for Themselves</i>, by Brock Cole <br />
55. <i>Summer of My German Soldier</i>, by Bette Green* <br />
56. <i>When Dad Killed Mom</i>, by Julius Lester <br />
57. <i>Blood and Chocolate</i>, by Annette Curtis Klause <br />
58. <i>Fat Kid Rules the World</i>, by K.L. Going <br />
59. <i>Olive’s Ocean</i>, by Kevin Henkes <br />
60. <i>Speak</i>, by Laurie Halse Anderson <br />
61. <i>Draw Me A Star</i>, by Eric Carle <br />
62. <i>The Stupids</i> (series), by Harry Allard <br />
63. <i>The Terrorist</i>, by Caroline B. Cooney* <br />
64. <i>Mick Harte Was Here</i>, by Barbara Park <br />
65. <i>The Things They Carried</i>, by Tim O’Brien* <br />
66. <i>Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry</i>, by Mildred Taylor* <br />
67. <i>A Time to Kill</i>, by John Grisham* <br />
68. <i>Always Running</i>, by Luis Rodriguez <br />
69. <i>Fahrenheit 451</i>, by Ray Bradbury* <br />
70. <i>Harris and Me</i>, by Gary Paulsen <br />
71. <i>Junie B. Jones</i> (series), by Barbara Park <br />
72. <i>Song of Solomon</i>, by Toni Morrison* <br />
73. <i>What’s Happening to My Body</i> <i>Book</i>, by Lynda Madaras <br />
74. <i>The Lovely Bones</i>, by Alice Sebold* <br />
75. <i>Anastasia</i> (series), by Lois Lowry* <br />
76. <i>A Prayer for Owen Meany</i>, by John Irving <br />
77. <i>Crazy: A Novel</i>, by Benjamin Lebert <br />
78. <i>The Joy of Gay Sex</i>, by Dr. Charles Silverstein <br />
79. <i>The Upstairs Room</i>, by Johanna Reiss <br />
80. <i>A Day No Pigs Would Die</i>, by Robert Newton Peck* <br />
81. <i>Black Boy</i>, by Richard Wright* <br />
82. <i>Deal With It!</i>, by Esther Drill <br />
83. <i>Detour for Emmy</i>, by Marilyn Reynolds <br />
84. <i>So Far From the Bamboo Grove</i>, by Yoko Watkins <br />
85. <i>Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes</i>, by Chris Crutcher <br />
86. <i>Cut</i>, by Patricia McCormick <br />
87. <i>Tiger Eyes</i>, by Judy Blume* <br />
88. <i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i>, by Margaret Atwood* <br />
89. <i>Friday Night Lights</i>, by H.G. Bissenger <br />
90. <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>, by Madeline L’Engle* <br />
91. <i>Julie of the Wolves</i>, by Jean Craighead George* <br />
92. <i>The Boy Who Lost His Face</i>, by Louis Sachar <br />
93. <i>Bumps in the Night</i>, by Harry Allard <br />
94. <i>Goosebumps</i> (series), by R.L. Stine* <br />
95. <i>Shade’s Children</i>, by Garth Nix <br />
96. <i>Grendel</i>, by John Gardner* <br />
97. <i>The House of the Spirits</i>, by Isabel Allende <br />
98. <i>I Saw Esau</i>, by Iona Opte <br />
99. <i>Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret</i>, by Judy Blume* <br />
100. <i>America: A Novel</i>, by E.R. Frank<br />
<br />
UPDATE:<br />
<br />
<b>Mary: </b>You haven't read, "What happening to my body book"?? Unacceptable.<br />
<b>me: </b>hahahha no, i know, it explains so much right<br />
<b>Mary: </b>CHALLENGE<br />
<b>Mary: </b>I suggest you read everything on this list.<br />
ISSUED.<br />
<b>me: </b>CHALLENGE ACCEPTED </div></div></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-7878203781177129962012-02-29T15:02:00.000-05:002012-02-29T15:02:42.220-05:00Davy Jones was the grooviest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-dZPRbR4SI8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
Davy Jones 12/30/45 - 2/29/2012</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-65494365293002824382012-02-28T15:58:00.000-05:002012-02-28T15:58:00.475-05:00Been working on other projects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hang in there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J76vTa3qjC8/T00_yILCRbI/AAAAAAAACW4/R__TNkhFSAM/s1600/4e78v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J76vTa3qjC8/T00_yILCRbI/AAAAAAAACW4/R__TNkhFSAM/s400/4e78v.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-862153574021168022012-02-17T13:48:00.000-05:002012-02-17T13:48:37.725-05:00In which I have been sick all week and too lazy to come up with something good, but you should read most of these. Or look at the pictures.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span id="goog_669872124"></span><span id="goog_669872125"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j7waouHJHSI/To8HSgb59LI/AAAAAAAAB8M/lo8x0JC-x6c/s1600/dogOnPaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j7waouHJHSI/To8HSgb59LI/AAAAAAAAB8M/lo8x0JC-x6c/s1600/dogOnPaper.jpg" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
Yo, read these.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<i>This article isn't nearly as good as how awkward the author is: </i><br />
<b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/arts/television/house-of-lies-revenge-and-others-at-the-strip-club.html?ref=television" target="_blank">Pole Dancing and Pasties Again? Get Me the Remote</a></b><br />
<i>The New York Times</i><br />
<i> </i>First let me say that I yield to no man in my fondness for naked women. I have seen several in person, though none recently, and rank them right up there with a good sunset or a crisply turned double play on my list of things worth looking at.<br />
<br />
<i>but the pictures in this one are dreeeeeeeamy.</i> <br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204059804577225311327315998.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read" target="_blank"><b>How Dreamy is the Dreamliner?</b></a><br />
<i>The Wall Street Journal</i><br />
The Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" is supposed to revolutionize air travel: better cabin climate, less airsickness, reduced jet lag, fewer headaches—and even babies that may not cry as much.<br />
With the 787 at its three-month anniversary in service, these promises were put to the test on an 11½-hour flight from Tokyo to Frankfurt earlier this month. Overall, cabin comfort was clearly better, and big windows and voluminous overhead bins are definitely cool. But make no mistake—it's still an airplane.<br />
<br />
<i>Same goes here.</i> <br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/ready-set-gorge-dcs-ultimate-food-challenges/2012/02/14/gIQA3aiTGR_gallery.html#photo=1" target="_blank"><b>Ready, Set, Gorge! DC's Ultimate Food Challenges</b></a><br />
<i>The Washington Post</i><br />
While BGR owner Mark Bucher said each location serves up a few 9 Pounders per week, only one person has conquered the thing solo: competitive eater Sonya Thomas. "I had to dunk the bun in the water so I could eat fast, and then I separated meat and bun," Thomas said. She accomplished the feat in less than one hour, far better than The Washington Post newsroom, which only managed to make it through half of the burger before throwing in the towel. <i> </i><b> </b> <br />
<i> </i><b> </b><br />
<i>I hate Charles Dickens, and this guy potentially loves him too much, but still, worth reading.</i><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/magazine/dickens-world.html" target="_blank"><b>The World of Charles Dickens, Complete with Pizza Hut</b></a><br />
<i>The New York Times</i><br />
Dickens World, in other words, sounded less like a viable business than it did a mockumentary, or a George Saunders short story, or the thought experiment of a radical Marxist seeking to expose the terminal bankruptcy at the heart of consumerism. And yet it was real. Its existence raised a number of questions. Who was the park’s target audience? (“Dickens-loving flume-ride enthusiasts” seems like a small, sad demographic.)<i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>Christie is too big for irony.</i><i> </i><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/nyregion/veto-awaits-new-jersey-bill-allowing-gays-to-wed.html?_r=1&hp" target="_blank"><b>Gay Marriage, Passed, Awaits Veto By Christie</b></a><br />
<i>The New York Times</i><br />
On Thursday, Mr. Christie declared the Legislature’s action merely “an exercise in theater.” <br />
“I’ve given them an alternative,” said Mr. Christie, who spent the day holding a news conference to announce that WrestleMania was coming to MetLife Stadium in 2013...<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><<insert obvious joke about WSJ being written by grouchy old men>> But seriously, great and accessible piece on the neurology of human development.</i> <br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577181351486558984.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Darticle" target="_blank"><b>What's Wrong with the Teenage Mind?</b></a><br />
<i>The Wall Street Journal</i><br />
Recent studies in the neuroscientist B.J. Casey's lab at Cornell University suggest that adolescents aren't reckless because they underestimate risks, but because they overestimate rewards—or, rather, find rewards more rewarding than adults do. The reward centers of the adolescent brain are much more active than those of either children or adults. Think about the incomparable intensity of first love, the never-to-be-recaptured glory of the high-school basketball championship.<i> </i><b> </b> <br />
<br />
<i><<insert obvious joke about WSJ being jingoistic>> But seriously, once we get past the panicked protests about not loving France, this is an interesting look at cross-cultural child-rearing.</i> <br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577196931457473816.html?mod=WSJ_hps_RIGHTTopCarousel_1" target="_blank"><b>Why French Parents are Superior</b></a><br />
<i>The Wall Street Journal </i><b> </b> <br />
Rest assured, I certainly don't suffer from a pro-France bias. <em>Au contraire</em>, I'm not even sure that I like living here. I certainly don't want my kids growing up to become sniffy Parisians...<br />
<br />
Frédérique had recently adopted a beautiful redheaded 3-year-old from a Russian orphanage. At the time of our outing, she had been a mother for all of three months. Yet just by virtue of being French, she already had a whole different vision of authority than I did—what was <em>possible </em>and <em>pas possible</em>. <br />
<br />
<i> </i><b> </b><i>And I do love a list. </i><br />
<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2012/02/14/japan-australia-singapore-top-most-expensive-list/" target="_blank"><b>The World's Costliest Cities</b></a><br />
<i>The LA Times</i> <br />
While Zurich took the top “honor” from Tokyo in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s most recent world-wide cost-of-living survey, the Japanese capital was runner-up. The survey, which is published twice a year, uses prices of goods and services such as food, transportation, utilities, private schools and domestic help to calculate scores for each city, using New York as its base with a score of 100. Zurich and Tokyo scored 170 and 166, respectively, indicating that they are about 70% and 66% more expensive to live in than New York.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b> </b></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-90102504928200310462012-02-16T14:44:00.000-05:002012-02-16T14:44:19.445-05:00thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">JOSS surely would have killed off Daniel.<br />
<br />
And if you understood that statement, we are tv soulmates.</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-39851955503897689602012-02-13T12:31:00.000-05:002012-02-13T12:31:28.600-05:00Karmin, Karmin, Karmin, Karmin, Karmin Chameleon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">It’s fitting that my first blog post here (like <a href="http://zombieunicorn.blogspot.com/2009/08/500-days-of-sucking.html">my first blog post ever</a>) would be the result of Zooey Deschanel—that short, dark glass of quirk. Now that we’re getting older, Katie and I have started watching <i>Saturday Night Live</i> again to stay on top of what the kids are talking about. Or at least we DVR it and watch it on Sunday afternoons.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708662878890149106" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xRc679SEQsw/Tzk-pH60xPI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/mjC9CXs34tI/s320/old%2Bfarmers.jpg" style="display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Second from left.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: small; font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;"><br />
This week’s show was hosted by Ms. Deschanel and included at least three skits that lasted the right amount of time as well as an appearance from Nic Cage which further proved that he is awesome at playing Nic Cage.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then the musical guest arrived—Karmin. Here I have a confession to make. In my darker moments, I consider myself a musical snob. Not that I have high standards for what qualifies as art of the musical variety. I just think that I know more about music than you. This belief stems largely from the fact that I read pitchfork.com on the reg and once hosted my own college radio show (like I said, my darker moments). Due to my fleshy physique, my lack of tattoos, and my ability to enjoy Jersey Shore non-ironically, however, I’ve never been accepted by the truly hipster elite.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708663864258903378" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gB1i2H7-gGc/Tzk_ietCvVI/AAAAAAAAAQY/7d2ev95eQKU/s320/hipster.jpg" style="display: block; height: 208px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 308px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I totally knew this post when it was just a Google Doc.</i><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: small;"> </span> </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Either way, I was shocked that I would have never heard of a musical guest on SNL. Lana del Rey? Please. Played it for Katie in the car back when I still had a car (See, that comment is funny because my car was stolen). Sleigh Bells? Totally bought <i>Treats</i> like eighteen months ago. But Karmin? Nothing. I panicked for a second. Where did they come from? Apparently I need to spend more time on Reddit and Youtube.</span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708665459659884674" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K0vjdfGJl-I/TzlA_WCRyII/AAAAAAAAARI/EHEcOc7t8PY/s320/dog%2Bducky.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 238px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You had me at hello, Imgur.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Karmin performed one of their originals, an upbeat number entitled “Brokenhearted.” As the lead singer bopped around on-stage, the place in my soul where I put my hands up because they’re playing my song started to stir. An eyebrow was raised when she broke out into a rapid-fire rap in the middle of the song, but by the end, I barely even reacted when she ended several lines with “Cheerio!” and put her fingers in the shape of a monocle over her eye. The second performance was equally bouncy. After the dour and dreary del Rey performance or the overwrought Coldplay experience, it was nice that people seemed genuinely excited to be on stage. I figured I might check out a clip of the songs on Itunes, but that would be about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shortly afterward, however, I found the following <a href="http://gawker.com/5883775/the-haters-guide-to-karmin">Gawker article</a> which gleefully proclaimed: “The Hater’s Guide to Karmin!”</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708664964902327346" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gK7clF84lVo/TzlAii64lDI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/ztqtu2lxs9Y/s320/karmin.jpg" style="display: block; height: 225px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 225px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Is that what the White Stripes look like?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Written by Max Read as a mock interview in which he gets to enact his dream date and ask all of the questions as well as provide all of the answers, the article attempts to eviscerate Karmin for being… too cutesy? Too internet-y? Too plastic? If that was it, I could let the article slide. People like some types of music and hate others. For example, I think that people who like the song “Pumped Up Kicks” exist on the musical spectrum between those who collect DMB concert tickets into scrapbooks and those who put Pink songs on mixtapes for potential significant others because of their emotional impact. So I get being judgmental when it comes to music.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">But Max Read couldn’t stop at just knocking down these Berklee College of Music graduates for their “cutesy covers of popular rap and R&B songs.” And it wasn’t enough that he trashed their physical appearance: “What’s wrong with her face? ‘Experts tell me that Heidemann [the lead singer] suffers from a tragic syndrome known as ‘theater kid’ that manifests itself as extreme and frequent facial and gestural tics.’”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708664953158329730" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jBYuM8xSlwc/TzlAh3K5ZYI/AAAAAAAAAQw/qEwm_kZJ-Fg/s320/glee.jpg" style="display: block; height: 253px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 365px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finally, someone knocks those bully theater kids down a peg.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Side note: It seems problematic that critics still go straight for commenting on a female artist’s physical features as a sure fire of discrediting them. Lana del Rey totally has plumper lips than she should! Kelly Clarkson has weight problems! Madonna looks like ET!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then Read slammed in what I thought would be the final nail in the coffin: “Yeah. It’s kind of horrible, isn’t it? The way they’re desperate for you to like them, and you’re desperate to (sic) for the song to stop playing so you can set fire to the entire planet for having provided an opportunity for something like this to exist.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh snap! Someone must have been <i>that</i> editor at his college newspaper! You know. The one who thinks being a newspaper editor in college is actually something worth putting on a resume. So far, the article is Gawker-esque in all the right ways—snarky, vengeful, and poorly edited. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then Read reaches out for the journalist gut shot: “I don’t want to guess at people’s motives for liking this cover, because that would require me to think about this cover, but isn’t it kind of shocking that so many people who claim to hate rap or R&B suddenly like it when it’s performed by approachable young white people playing ‘real instruments’? Just something weird to think about.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">That is something weird to think about. I was under the impression that since Obama was elected, racism doesn’t exist, but I was willing to go along for the ride. The real instruments part seems odd as in most of their videos and in their performances, the couple stuck to microphones, a cowbell, and a keyboard, but I suppose those instruments can be classified as real. Does it matter that all of the songs that Karmin covers were already Billboard hits and largely accepted by the mainstream? Or that they also cover such non-rap standards as “Firework” and “King of Wishful Thinking”? What makes them approachable? Because they’re white? Because they smile? Oh well, maybe he was just trying to flavor up a throw-away piece with some of the gravitas that invoking racism can bring to the table. He wouldn’t be <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/id/6894586/imagining-michael-vick-white-quarterback-nfl-espn-magazine">the first</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">But does Read really think the people who like Karmin are racist? Back to Mr. Read: “No, not at all. Just that you, know, for some people, there may be some unspoken cultural biases at play. Like racism.” </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708664948366669586" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2CnrGNtm-w/TzlAhlUedxI/AAAAAAAAAQk/oZKAbaPt9cQ/s320/say%2Bwhat.jpg" style="display: block; height: 168px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 299px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What he said.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well now that you bring it up. I did think there was something Klan-y about their performance. In the sense that both groups start with a K and are theatrical. So people who like rap covers by white people are racist? To be fair, Read supports his case with zero evidence—even of the anecdotal nature. Both he and Maura Johnston, a music critic from <i>The Village Voice</i> who calls Karmin’s music a “pile of garbage and fronting,” seem very concerned that Karmin lack street cred, having come from Berklee and not making their way up the musical totem pole the real way—ie car commercials or being born in Brooklyn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wonder if it’s not threats of racism but that conservative urge to criticize intelligentsia which drives these snide dismissals of Karmin. If Amy Heidelmann and Nick Noonan weren’t engaged white folk from Berklee’s ivory tower but strung out heroin addicts or vegan chefs from Williamsburg, would they have more street cred? Both Read and Johnston attack Karmin for their name which stems from a Latin word carmen meaning "song" with an altered spelling to “hint at ‘karma’” (Thanks Wiki!). Johnston’s response? “The only thing I can say to this…is ‘Shut up, college.’” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shut up college? C’mon Maura, that seems downright Coulter-esque of you. I know all the really good names like Lady Gaga and Hanson were taken, but what’s wrong with a little Latin now and again? Where would Gawker and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Village Voice</span> be if it wasn’t for overly educated liberal arts majors with a bastion of cultural allusions and a dearth of real world skills?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe it’s that chimerical notion of authenticity in music. Willie Nelson has it. Taylor Swift doesn’t. Or at least that’s what music critics might want you to think. Is it that when Heidemann sings “You're so misunderstood/ Cause you're so complex,/ you and your complex/ and you claim you’re so low key/ Well you coulda fooled me, Mister TMZ,” she must be “fronting,” but when Miley tells us about not getting the memo, we really feel it? Is Rihanna’s “We Found Love” deeper lyrically because we know what happened with Chris Brown? Would Karmin be more musically “serious” if they wore meat on their clothes and had less of an internet following?</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708662876394478978" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ff-v58vACQ/Tzk-o-nz3YI/AAAAAAAAAQA/-RwqpPCA3TY/s320/lady-gaga-vampire.jpg" style="display: block; height: 312px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Has anyone actually read my lyrics?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why do I care about Karmin you ask? Why have I been listening to “Brokenhearted” and “Crash Your Party” for most of the night/today? Maybe it’s because Karmin samples the beat from Black Sheep’s “The Choice is Yours”, and I would listen to anything sung over those bass lines</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">—</span><span style="font-size: small;"> even Max Read’s sloppy, race-baiting piece of fronting garbage. Or maybe it’s just that I don’t mind enjoying music contrived to make me enjoy it. Because that’s the beauty of pop music. Sure, it’s bred in a factory, and yes, it’s formulaic, but man is it ever delicious.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLoFm0_CfF0/Tzk-RyXKqdI/AAAAAAAAAP0/AZo-qXt8PE4/s1600/lady-gaga-vampire.jpg"><br />
</a></span></div></div>Granite Countertopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09264246532933125268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-47207864811628050912012-02-11T21:32:00.001-05:002012-02-11T21:33:34.807-05:00Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It was the night of April 24, 2010. We are in Falmouth, Massachusetts. <br />
<br />
And by we, I mean me, because I am at Maggie and Matt's wedding and David has chosen to go to Hawaii for someone else's wedding. <i>Someone not nearly as cool</i>, Maggie and Matt would have me add.<br />
<br />
I was feeling a little sad about David's absence: he is a great wedding date, and also, I like him. All the speeches had been made, and people were wandering back to their tables, for that traditionally awkward time between food and outright ridiculous dance time.<br />
<br />
And then I heard it.<br />
<br />
<i>I wanna dance with somebody</i><br />
<br />
Someone else beat me to the floor, but Bre and I weren't far behind.<br />
<br />
<i>I wanna feel the heat with somebody</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Shoes were off.<br />
<br />
<i>I wanna dance with somebody</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Hips were shaking.<br />
<br />
<i>With somebody who loves me.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Somebody who? I didn't know, didn't care. David may have been in Hawaii but I was here, with all the friends I love, and this song is a call to dance.<br />
<br />
So dance we did, and dance we shall.<br />
<br />
To you, Whitney Houston. To your voice, to your songs and to the legacy you left behind. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qFzeyC3PiY8/TzcixqZy-iI/AAAAAAAACWw/53Z7BNJOr2c/s1600/whitney-houston-i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-clip-videoclip.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qFzeyC3PiY8/TzcixqZy-iI/AAAAAAAACWw/53Z7BNJOr2c/s320/whitney-houston-i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-clip-videoclip.jpeg" width="231" /></a></div><br />
<br />
8/9/63 - 2/11/12</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-39959571735111608762012-02-10T14:38:00.002-05:002012-02-10T14:45:27.638-05:00Jobs, Home Ownership and Other Crazy Things People Do<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNT-2_b8Z80/ToTIkbvH7LI/AAAAAAAAB6U/TT0h3z6pu_Q/s1600/kid-sitting-in-toilet-426x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNT-2_b8Z80/ToTIkbvH7LI/AAAAAAAAB6U/TT0h3z6pu_Q/s320/kid-sitting-in-toilet-426x600.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br />
I manage to kiss up to David AND make fun of Katy Perry all while reporting on the news in this week's edition of <i>Stuff You Didn't Read When it Came Out and Still Won't Read Now. </i><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20120210,0,5294365.column" target="_blank"><b>For the pro athlete, it's just a job</b></a><br />
<i>The LA Times</i><br />
Here, let me write it again for that Patriots die-hard who still hasn't slept, for that Lakers lover who is suffering from a stress disorder, for any professional sports fan who has literally cried in his beer while assuming his heroes are doing the same.<br />
<br />
The players don't care as much as you do.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RPFj5B3Z-w/TzVuDX7CvPI/AAAAAAAACWA/Jdmq6k86STo/s1600/around+the+horn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RPFj5B3Z-w/TzVuDX7CvPI/AAAAAAAACWA/Jdmq6k86STo/s320/around+the+horn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>He disagrees. Down two points for Plaschke.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i> </i><b> </b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tv.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/arts/television/kevin-smiths-comic-book-men-on-amc.html?hpw" target="_blank"><b>Men of Steel, Fanboys of Paper and Ink</b></a><br />
<b> </b><i>The New York Times</i><br />
Actually, everyone involved in “Comic Book Men” is a bit of a jerk in his own way, which is what makes the show, despite all the reality-TV staging, one of the more authentic portrayals of aimless post-collegiate American life that you’ll see this side of Richard Linklater. It’s diverting, a little sad, a little boring, full of geeky macho posturing and ultimately pointless, much like a Wednesday afternoon in a comic-book shop. <i></i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbtseWeHk8Q/TzVvzqMLQRI/AAAAAAAACWQ/VXPiyl-cMxo/s1600/clerkszombie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbtseWeHk8Q/TzVvzqMLQRI/AAAAAAAACWQ/VXPiyl-cMxo/s320/clerkszombie.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From zombieroomie.com</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><br />
</i><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/arts/television/full-metal-jousting-gear-no-its-not-tinfoil.html?ref=television" target="_blank"><b>Try Medieval Hot Pants? Surely, You Joust</b></a><br />
<i>The New York Times</i><br />
It was a balmy 72 degrees, room temperature, when a squire — or “ground crew,” his title nowadays — crammed me into this gear. (No way you’ll ever get it on by yourself.) At the 5-minute mark the temperature hit what seemed like 200, and now, at 10 minutes, it’s 350, the roasting point for a turkey. Hmm; perhaps that is no coincidence.<i> </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gmVFbqxStCw/TzVw_E1mJCI/AAAAAAAACWY/5c2A-N9_S5E/s1600/wonder-sauna-hot-pants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gmVFbqxStCw/TzVw_E1mJCI/AAAAAAAACWY/5c2A-N9_S5E/s320/wonder-sauna-hot-pants.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Honestly, this is what came up when I googled "medieval hot pants."</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i> </i><b> </b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/k-street-the-route-of-all-evil-or-just-the-main-drag/2012/01/26/gIQAAnKdsQ_story.html" target="_blank"><b>K St: The route of all evil, or just the main drag?</b></a><br />
<i>The Washington Post</i><br />
Think of K Street as the medulla oblongata of Washington — the reptilian part of the brain stem that automates circulation and breathing, contributes to overall sentience and, when malfunctioning, causes imbalance, dizziness and vomiting.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqLQN8LhOHY/TzVvUnS6KrI/AAAAAAAACWI/vD8SDmsJLDw/s1600/lizardsuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqLQN8LhOHY/TzVvUnS6KrI/AAAAAAAACWI/vD8SDmsJLDw/s1600/lizardsuit.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/granite-why-every-homeowner-wants-a-piece-of-the-rock/2012/02/01/gIQANBN4uQ_story.html?sub=AR" target="_blank">Granite: Why every homeowner wants a piece of the rock</a></b><br />
<i>The Washington Post</i><br />
Laminate was a countertop. Wood was a countertop. Granite is . . . what? A pursuit. An ambition. A glossy, reflective surface that allows us to gaze at ourselves and know where we stand (we stand in front of the computer watching videos on eHow.com about how to clean countertops).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYkzEcoBgEI/TzVxOEO0erI/AAAAAAAACWg/J5UraltBDn0/s1600/agrocrag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYkzEcoBgEI/TzVxOEO0erI/AAAAAAAACWg/J5UraltBDn0/s320/agrocrag.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An alternate piece of the rock. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/us/california-housing-market-braces-for-facebook-millionaires.html?_r=2" target="_blank"><b>If Silicon Valley Costs a Lot Now, Wait Until the Facebook Update</b></a><br />
Silicon Valley has been good to Mr. DeLeon, a former lawyer, who said he sold $275 million worth of homes last year, and who is finishing up a memoir about overcoming illness, injury and loss that he calls “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Sexy People?” <b> </b><i> </i><b> </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UHW7DvHpNOM/TzVxjouWkRI/AAAAAAAACWo/8rtohs3r2iU/s1600/katybranddivorce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UHW7DvHpNOM/TzVxjouWkRI/AAAAAAAACWo/8rtohs3r2iU/s320/katybranddivorce.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b> </b> <br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-65949552626676048702012-02-09T16:25:00.002-05:002012-02-09T16:25:57.585-05:00Stop Colbert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This is the first bit of smart media messaging that I've seen the Dems do in a while. Kinda.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lLH0fT3mbe0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br />
</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-84826545633009061942012-02-08T10:15:00.001-05:002012-02-09T16:26:36.239-05:00The Internet Knows Where you Live<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Let’s establish some scope here. The objective of this article is to help you prevent third parties from obtaining information about you using legal methods. Out of scope is protecting you against those using illegal means: phishing, viruses, worms, etc. Hopefully everyone knows how to protect themselves from the latter category: run anti-virus, don’t give out your password, update/patch all software, and drink plenty of fluids.<br />
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With the upcoming IPO of Facebook it seems that online privacy is the topic du jour. I’ve been hearing a lot of talk and some mischaracterizations in these news pieces. It’s occurred to me that a lot of what’s being discussed about online privacy is not widely understood by most of us. This being (the) one topic I’m somewhat qualified to speak on, I’d like to take a crack at helping those unfamiliar with this subject understand it a little better (and protect themselves in the meantime). <br />
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This is a huge topic, and I could easily write pages about each of the items I touch upon so distilling them into something brief yet understandable is difficult. Some of what I’m writing is a significant simplification, but done so as to make this more digestible for everyone. Additionally, I broke each section into “What it is” and “How to stop it” sections in case you want to skip to the important parts. <br />
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The way I see it, <u>most</u> of the information you’re hemorrhaging to third parties on the internet is coming from about five main sources:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Cookies </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">What it is </span><br />
Cookies are pieces of data that your browser sends to a web server whenever you request a page. They are specific to a web site, so any cookies you have for <a href="http://www.google.com/">www.google.com</a> will only be sent to pages in google.com. They’re a slight of hand to make the stateless internet feel stateful. It’s okay if that sounds like nonsense, the point is that its data <u>your</u> computer is sending to a website every time you type in a URL. It was told to store that data by some webpage within that site on a prior visit. <br />
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Here’s an example of a cookie: <br />
<ul><li>www.SomeSite.com username=JSMITH </li>
</ul>Every time you request a page from www.SomeSite.com “username=JSMITH” is sent along with it. That’s really handy when you have a login form on your website and you don’t want people to have to keep typing in their user name. <br />
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Cookies are also exceptionally good at helping companies track your movement across the internet. Here’s how: <br />
<ul><li>You type in a URL, let’s say it’s www.SomeSite.com</li>
</ul><ul><li>That website returns to your browser a webpage. It’s really only sending back text and information on how to display it (no images or videos usually). Within that text are the URLs to other resources you’ll need to view the web page (like pictures, videos, and scripts). Your browser will go out and download them all. Every time it requests one of those items, it’ll pass all the cookies it has for that website with its request. </li>
</ul><ul><ul><li>Pretend one of those resources is “www.MeanNastyWebTracker.com/SomeImage.gif” </li>
</ul></ul><ul><ul><li>When you request that image, part of your request header tells the website you’re requesting the image from “www.SomeSite.com” </li>
<li>Mean nasty web tracker notices you don’t have a cookie for their website, so they create a random identifier for you (say, 293), puts it in a cookie, and returns it to you along with the image you requested. </li>
</ul></ul> www.MeanNastyWebTracker.com UserId=293<br />
<ul><ul></ul></ul><ul><li>Now you visit another completely unrelated website. “www.SomeOtherSite.com” and the same process happens again. The page they return also refers to that image. Only this time when you request SomeImage.gif, MeanNastyWebTracker sees your ID (293) and now knows whoever 293 is has visited both these web pages. </li>
</ul>Do that over and over again and MeanNastyWebTracker begins to learn a lot about you. In this example, both SomeSite and SomeOtherSite are in cahoots with MeanNastyWebTracker because they enjoy learning things about the people visiting their site. This becomes even more evil and pernicious when MeanNastyWebTracker knows that 293 is actually John Bumbletuck. Google and Facebook do exactly this. Facebook knows about every webpage you ever visited that has a “like” button on it. <br />
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Something you may not realize, is that even if you don't have Facebook or haven't signed into it on your current computer/browser, Facebook still tracks you through these sites. Instead of associating the traffic to you, John Bumbletuck, they create a placeholder account and log the traffic to that account. I heard an NPR commentator refer to it as a "shadow account" which has just the right sinister fear-mongering tone I think.<br />
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</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">How to stop it </span><br />
Let’s start with your first line of protection: AdBlock. AdBlock is available for <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom">Chrome</a>, <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/">Firefox</a> and probably a bunch of other browsers you shouldn’t be using. Remember when we typed in the URL “www.SomeSite.com” and got back information with the text, layout information, and the list of other resources needed to display the page? AdBlock culls through that list of other resources first, and removes requests to advertiser content. No more ads on your pages and MeanNastyWebTracker never knows you visited SomeSite. AdBlock maintains a giant list of URLs of advertisers and trackers, so they know what resources to shoot down and which to allow. <br />
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It’s also expandable, you can custom block certain sites if you’d like or use some others have made. Go into options for AdBlock, then to Filter Lists, and you can enter this URL: <br />
<ul><li>http://www.squirrelconspiracy.net/abp/facebook-privacy-list.txt </li>
</ul>This one stops Facebook from tracking you through websites with Facebook “Like” buttons (i.e. every news site on the planet). You can still use Facebook, but Facebook won't know about anything you do outside their site.<br />
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Most modern browsers have a second line of defense as well: private mode (Firefox)/incognito mode (Chrome). Among other things, this tells the browser not to persist these cookies. It’s a big hammer because you lose the good stuff cookies do (like remember passwords) but a lot of the time you don’t need this. If you’re planning on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/facebook-is-using-you.html?pagewanted=2&hp">researching divorce procedures and don’t want your credit to suffer</a>, this will guarantee privacy. Google and Facebook will see you doing stuff, but without those cookies they won’t know you’re the same person.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Network Sniffing </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What it is </span><br />
Network sniffing is using tools to inspect web traffic. Google and Facebook wouldn’t do this, but your employer or ISP (Internet Service Provider) probably does. Let’s introduce an inappropriate metaphor: if the internet is the US postal service, your unencrypted HTTP web traffic is a post card. Anyone who handles your postcard can read its contents easily (like your ISP or the Gateway/Proxy Server at your office). </div><div><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">How to stop it </span><br />
When you request web pages using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) it becomes more difficult (but not impossible) for anyone handling the message to actually read it. If we’re extending our USPS metaphor we’ll say that your message is now in an envelope. You know you’re using SSL because the URL will be suffixed with “HTTPS” and usually they’ll be a lock icon on your browser somewhere. The only information those handling the SSL messages can easily see is the address of the recipient. <br />
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There are ways to view encrypted web traffic, but they require some money and effort (some ISPs do them already). See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_packet_inspection">Deep Packet Inspection</a> for more info. For those of you with tinfoil hats, there are tools that can thwart even these tools, like VPN tunneling. This is basically an arms race, and you have to decide if not letting your ISP know you’re Googling <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bronie">Bronie</a> literature is really worth it. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Extra reading: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer">SSL</a> does more than just encryption, it also verifies a site is who it says it is, preventing a “man in the middle” attack. It also uses an encryption technique called asymmetric encryption which is very interesting. </span><br />
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So now you’re saying “SSL sounds great, what am I supposed to do with this? I want actionable information!” The solution is to use SSL as much as you can, whenever you can. Thankfully Google is now SSL by default for most people (you should make sure by looking for that “lock” and HTTPS prefix). It becomes very difficult for your employer or ISP to tell what you’re Googling when you use SSL, and exceptionally easy when you don’t. Many public libraries and schools block access to Google over SSL precisely because it is so difficult to censor content delivered securely. <br />
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For those users using Firefox you have access to one of the coolest browser plugins available, <a href="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere">HTTPS Everywhere</a>. Basically, this notices whenever you’re about to request an unsecured page and checks to see if it knows about a secured version of that page. For example, all requests to <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/">http://www.wikipedia.org/</a> are rewritten as <a href="https://www.wikipedia.org/">https://www.wikipedia.org/</a>. It makes sure you’re always using the secure versions of many popular websites. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Extra reading: The organization which makes HTTPS Everywhere is the <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>. They’re a non-profit trying to (among other things) protect you from all these tracking techniques I’ve been talking about. Go to their website and learn about how they’ve already protected you. Give them lots money. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">IP Address Locations </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What it is </span><br />
Ever been to a website and noticed an advertisement which seemed to know where you were (approximately)? This bit of magic is achieved via your IP address. A(nother) quick lesson in how “teh intenetz” works: <br />
<ul><li>You type in www.SomeSite.com into your browser. The host “www.somesite.com” is translated into an IP address which is basically a unique identifier for a networked computer (in this case, the server for SomeSite).</li>
<li>Your request is sent to that IP address.</li>
<li>That server now needs to reply! Luckily in you sent your own IP address with the request so this server can reply back to you. </li>
</ul>Turns out those IP addresses are not completely arbitrary or untraceable. Translating those IP addresses into cities is pretty trivial. Don’t believe me? <a href="http://www.ipaddresslocation.org/">Go here</a> and scroll down to see the city you’re in right now. The good news is that by using proxy services and anonymizers they’re pretty easy to trick. Of all the tracking techniques I’m outlining this is probably the least evil; most of the time this information is used to localize ads. Some online banking sites use this as a part of fraud detection schemes (you’re not logging in from Serbia?). If you’ve ever tried to stream video from television network sites from outside the United States you’ve likely encountered an issue. The server for Hulu saw that you had an IP address outside the United States and put the kibosh to your plans. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Extra Reading: </span><a href="http://www.ipaddresslocation.org/" style="font-size: small;">That page</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I linked above did something else a little deceptive you may or may not have noticed. It knew other stuff about you too, like the type of computer you were on and your browser. Although the page is named “IPAddressLocation.org” it didn’t get any of that other information from your IP address. When your browser sent the request for that web page it also sent some information about itself in the header of the message in a location known as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent" style="font-size: small;">User Agent</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (the browser is an agent of you, the user). It sent information about the browser and computer so the remote server would know what features your computer/browser supported. There are privacy implications to this, but since it’s difficult to track people based on this info we’ll call it out of scope. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: large;">How to stop it </span><br />
If you’re uncomfortable with those websites knowing where you are (approximately) or merely looking for singles in a different area, they’re not too hard to trick, the services which help circumvent these are usually referred to as anonymous proxies. They receive all your internet traffic and re transmit it so it appears as though the traffic is coming from them. These services have legitimate uses, for one they can help people circumvent government restrictions on the internet (I've heard about Iranian bloggers using these services). <br />
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In the interest of full disclosure, modern browsers also have functionality to allow websites to know where you are more precisely (via HTML5) but the browser will usually ask you before it will disclose that information (so far I’ve only seen it used on mobile browsers). Visit Google on a mobile phone and you’ll likely get one of these prompts. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">User Names </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What it is </span><br />
Many people share a common user name across many services, and usually a quick Googling of that handle will yield all sorts of interesting information about a person. The more unique your handle, the more effective this technique is. E.g. not too long ago the public execution squad known as Reddit (deservedly) got its claws into to some marketing guy who sent flame e-mails to a customer. The details of the incident are not important, but if you’re curious<a href="http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/27/ocean-marketing-how-to-self-destruct-your-company-with-just-a-few-measly-emails/"> Google “Ocean Marketing.”</a> Armed with nothing but Google and a user name Reddit user used the technique I just mentioned and discovered that the marketing guy had posted on a forum for users of anabolic steroids. </div><div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How to stop it </span><br />
I guess the moral of the story here is if you’re going to create an identity somewhere that you don’t want connected to your other online identities, use a different handle. <span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Yourself</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What it is </span><br />
You feel compelled to disclose your entire life on social networking sites. </div><div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How to stop it </span><br />
Stop posting on Facebook so much. <br />
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Those are the big ones; there are scores of others I didn’t cover: <br />
<ul><li>Opting out of marketing with service providers (<a href="http://www.google.com/settings/ads/preferences/?hl=en">to opt out of allowing Google to share your info, you can go here</a>).</li>
<li>Actually reading privacy policies. This is probably a good thing, but since I haven’t passed the bar most of the time these don’t help me.</li>
<li>How cell phone carriers gather information about you. Sometimes they take it without telling, as is the case with smart phones running <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/01/carrier-iq-what-it-is-what-it-isnt-and-what-you-need-to/">CarrierIQ</a> and sometimes they hide opt-out procedures. Look around.</li>
</ul>Let me know in the comments if you think of any others. <br />
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</div></div></div>15 before 30http://www.blogger.com/profile/12030166991350862190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-72309959833061270992012-02-07T03:54:00.004-05:002012-02-07T04:17:45.635-05:00A Blog Post In Which I Discuss Not Writing Katie a Blog Post While Avoiding Writing Katie a Blog Post<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span>Katie hasn’t had a drink in four months. I feel bad for her. Otherwise I might never have written her a blog post as I’d promised to do way back in October. (At the time, I had my own blog, which I started when I moved to Doha in August. I took the blog down when I found it a) interfering with my manuscript, b) possibly being taken the wrong way during some administrative changes at the school where I teach, and, most importantly, c) too often causing me to look for experiences to write about, rather than writing about experiences and things that just happened [good writing being a shit substitute for a good life, after all]. Oh, and d) I’m lazy and didn’t feel like writing it anymore. Which also explains why it’s taken me four months to write a post for <i>The Famous Last Word</i>. Until KD suggested today that I write about the alienation of watching the Super Bowl in a foreign country where the locals don’t care about the game or American football in general. Capital idea, I wrote [on gchat]. The problem is, I am so alienated from American culture that I missed the game completely. I slept right through it. [The game began at 2.30 in the morning here.] I woke up to find the Giants had won, which was nice, though I’m a Jets fan by virtue of the fact that at the age of [too young to know any better] I decided I liked green more than blue. We watched a recorded version of the game this evening, but mostly we sat around, bored, and talked about long distance relationships, new relationships forged out of mutual loneliness and resignation, whether or not we’d sign contracts for another year, and vacation plans for Spring Break. [I have not yet succumbed to loneliness or resignation and I am debating the respective merits of Istanbul and Beirut for Spring Break.] That’s how I watched the Super Bowl. But honestly it doesn’t bother me. I watch lots of sports. I watch lots of basketball. I play tennis and squash and basketball too, when I can find a game. Sports are not a problem. [As it turns out, there isn’t much I really miss. Except for one thing, though it isn’t really a thing exactly. I miss an organic social life. There are things to do socially in Qatar, sure, but unless it’s going camping or someone’s throwing a party, most everything is a production, a manufactured cultural event. Latin night. A film festival. Multicultural fest. Stadium rock. A sponsored talk at an institute. This is all fine and well in and of itself, but often I find myself missing just paying ten bucks and seeing a show. Or getting stir-crazy and walking down to an honest-to-God pub or dive. Things to do here too often scream THIS IS A THING THAT WE ARE DOING rather than just doing it, and often this THING is the ONE THING that is going on that night. People give opening remarks and closing remarks and they thank other people for making this THING WE ARE DOING possible and everyone smiles and pats themselves on the back for being there, for being conspicuously<i> cultural</i>. {This phenomenon does not, however, apply to eating. Good food is a casual enterprise in these parts. As is overeating. And as are carbs. So. Many. Carbs. The mountains of rice and bread are really impressive. I gained some serious weight in my first few weeks here.} As a result of this privileged sort of alienation, I find myself engaging in other privileged activities, like spending a lot of time on music blogs or streaming documentary films. It’s my way of staying connected to a world in which I can no longer take part. But it's not really that world--it's more the obnoxious idea of a past life I wasn't ever really leading in the first place. {And of course, like most English speakers here, I stream a lot of American and British television. Really into <i>Revenge</i> right now. And I’m happy that<i> Justified</i> is back. And I can’t wait for <i>Game of Thrones</i>.} So if you ask what it’s like watching the Super Bowl in the Middle East, that’s my roundabout answer.] On the subject of sports, I recently quit smoking, and that’s improved both my wind and given me significant chunks of time to fill now that I am no longer lighting up as I gaze listlessly off the balcony or try to appear disaffected and #overitdotcom for the cute Australian girls at the end of the hotel bar. Hopefully at some point I will use that time to write Katie a proper blog post.) I promise, I will write one soon.</span></div>Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209810077264500260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-72148188709922439442012-02-06T13:41:00.002-05:002012-02-06T13:43:26.995-05:00Did you read?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="kn" title="mfred.deacon@gmail.com"><b>Matt:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":254">so how did you discover the article about Dave and Beth?</span><br />
<div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span class="kn" title="caitlin.donovan@gmail.com"><b>me</b>: </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":26j">actually i was looking for articles for the blog and saw the caption "i just remember being really, really happy"</span></div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26k">and clicked on it</div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26l">and hence the discovery</div></div><div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span class="kn" title="mfred.deacon@gmail.com"><b>Matt</b>: </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":26m">because evidently you found it before they even knew it was up</span></div></div><div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span class="kn" title="caitlin.donovan@gmail.com"><b>me:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":26o">hahahahaha</span></div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26p">wow</div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26q">well i read a lot of news</div></div><div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span class="kn" title="mfred.deacon@gmail.com"><b>Matt:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":26r">didn't know you were such a Wash. Post fan</span></div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26s">i like trashy news like NY Post</div></div><div class="km" role="chatMessage"><div class="kk"><span class="kn" title="caitlin.donovan@gmail.com"><b>me:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":26t">hahahah i mean, it's my job</span></div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26u">so i read the nyt, wsj, wp</div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26v">and then for fun, the la times</div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26w">and of course CQ and all the hill rags</div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26w"><span class="kn" title="mfred.deacon@gmail.com"><b>Matt:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":29f">http://www.youtube.com<wbr></wbr>/watch?v=P7VgN<wbr></wbr>QbZdaw </span> </div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26w"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/P7VgNQbZdaw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="kl" dir="ltr" id=":26w"><br />
<span class="kn" title="mfred.deacon@gmail.com"><b>Matt:</b> </span> <span dir="ltr" id=":29y">take that, nerd!</span></div></div></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-72256833240630244932012-02-06T12:16:00.002-05:002012-02-07T09:38:48.034-05:00Calvin and Hobbes, 26 years later...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIdeJa5689I/TzAKeAnvrSI/AAAAAAAACVg/wpv7-4c0PYU/s1600/2011-05-10-Hobbes-And-Bacon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIdeJa5689I/TzAKeAnvrSI/AAAAAAAACVg/wpv7-4c0PYU/s640/2011-05-10-Hobbes-And-Bacon.png" width="472" /></a></div>Click to enlarge.<br />
<br />
Still hard to read? Click <a href="http://www.pantsareoverrated.com/archive/2011/05/10/hobbes-and-bacon/" target="_blank">here.</a> </div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-59021425561062356772012-02-03T15:30:00.000-05:002012-02-03T15:29:52.193-05:00Vote for me! (until Sunday at midnight!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Hola lovers,</i><br />
<i>Just wanted to let everyone know that <b>we will be posting every day as per usual</b>, but, in the words of one Mr. Bruce Springsteen, we take care of our own around here and will be leaving this post on top to encourage as much voting as possible for the incredibly talented Miz Bre Duffy. (Also check out her webpage here at <a href="http://breanneduffy.com/">breanneduffy.com</a>.)</i><br />
<i>"Rockets" is being displayed in Chicago, and the winner of a round of voting this week will have their artwork used as inspiration for a play. You can read Bre's message below. </i> <br />
<i>Besos,</i><br />
<i>Katie</i><br />
<br />
Good Afternoon, blog readers. I'm abusing my blogging privileges today for selfish reasons. Please vote for my artwork here: http:<a href="http://livewirechicago.wordpress.com/vf4-gallery/">//livewirechicago.wordpress.com/vf4-gallery/</a><br />
<br />
This is the artwork:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DdWs4VR_c0Q/TyWtPoe8h3I/AAAAAAAAAeI/gcTBfq7wiP4/s1600/Breanne.Duffy.3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703154987211458418" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DdWs4VR_c0Q/TyWtPoe8h3I/AAAAAAAAAeI/gcTBfq7wiP4/s320/Breanne.Duffy.3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 218px;" /></a><br />
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Thanks!<br />
<br />
Me</div>Brehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13380700511978672712noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-348052353819559412012-02-03T15:29:00.000-05:002012-02-03T15:29:01.534-05:00This week: a whole bunch of reasons not to be friends with people<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j7waouHJHSI/To8HSgb59LI/AAAAAAAAB8M/lo8x0JC-x6c/s1600/dogOnPaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j7waouHJHSI/To8HSgb59LI/AAAAAAAAB8M/lo8x0JC-x6c/s1600/dogOnPaper.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">In this week's rendition of all stuff-that-made-me-giggle, there are a whole lot of people in the news who nobody wants to play with. We've got a group of moms who can't count, another mother who prefers her sons make their own chicken stock when they cook her dinner, an Alabama senator who wants to keep teacher's salaries low "for the kids" and a man who actually graphs out his friendships. After the jump.</span></i></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-ellendegenerestre8111q4-20120202,0,3999907.story" target="_blank">One Million Moms to JC Penny: Fire Ellen, she's gay</a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Chicago Tribune</i> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the million (or so) moms write on their website. "DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there."</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">DeGeneres' daytime talk show has more viewers than the American Family Association has moms. Between January 16 and January 22, "Ellen" averaged 3.38 million viewers -- or 2.38 million more people than the AFA has moms.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NTpkzklxM6c/Tyw_CC62hDI/AAAAAAAACVI/aOk5_AbxNYg/s1600/can%27tmath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NTpkzklxM6c/Tyw_CC62hDI/AAAAAAAACVI/aOk5_AbxNYg/s320/can%27tmath.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/dining/a-mother-lets-her-sons-do-the-cooking.html?ref=style" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">My Sons, the Sous-Chefs</span></a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">The New York Times<br />
</span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are a few ground rules. They must make a complete, balanced meal. It needs to be more healthful than not, so deep-frying is out. I try to steer them away from heavy meat or cheese dishes; simple fare, like soup and sandwiches, is fine by me. And though I dream that they will end up more like Alice Waters than Rachael Ray, I have not banned timesaving processed ingredients like canned sauces and broths. I just lobby against them.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">For quality assurance, I have to approve each meal plan. When my older son, Sam, proposed making creamy carrot soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, the concept was good but the balance was wrong: too much dairy. We settled on a salad with nuts and pears as a better accompaniment for the soup.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/fashion/fashion-changes-and-so-do-the-magazines.html?ref=style" target="_blank">Fashion Changes, and so do the Magazines</a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The New York Times</i><b> </b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">What’s missing, then, is that sense that while Glamour’s higher purpose was always to empower women, it mostly just talked about sex. It was so fascinating to read about masturbation, dirty texting, Facebook flings, frustrations with fellatio and Obama fantasies (all in the June 2009 issue). Well, the sex talk has not so much gone missing as it has been repackaged, now a little more provocative and a little less instructional. An example: One article asks, “Is everyone kinkier than you?” </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Read this book.</i></td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/fashion/its-not-me-its-you-how-to-end-a-friendship.html?pagewanted=1&ref=style" target="_blank">It's Not You, It's Me: How to End a Friendship</a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The New York Times<br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The passive approach works with friendships in which the bonds are tenuous, said Jeff Newelt, a social media consultant in Manhattan. In his line of work, he considers it his job to make friends, but a couple of years ago, decided he needed to prune the overgrowth.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">His solution was to divide his social base into two categories: “linear” friends (lasting relationships based on a deep connection) and “nonlinear” (situational friends based only on shared past experience, like an old job). </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577181320148513432.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read" target="_blank">Radical Videogamers Go Nonkilling Spree</a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">The Wall Street Journal<br />
</span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 21px;">Mr. Mullins, 19, is the creator of "Felix the Peaceful Monk"—his character in a videogame called "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim." The game gives players wide latitude over their on-screen characters' appearance and actions. Felix, who is half man, half cat, has become a small-time Internet celebrity for his steadfast refusal to kill.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 21px;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/02/alabama-politician-only-wants-poor-teachers.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Alabama State Senator Wants to Keep Teachers Poor, for the Children</b></span></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>New York Magazine</i></span></div><div class="parbase section entrytext"> "If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren’t called to teach," he said.<br />
Seriously though, to be fair, McGill is also in favor of keeping the salaries of state senators nice and low, so that only those truly called to political office will serve.<br />
</div><div class="parbase section entrytext"> Nah, just kidding. He thinks the 62 percent pay raise the Alabama legislature gave itself in 2007 was totally justified. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-67595848251686640202012-02-02T16:49:00.001-05:002012-02-16T09:44:42.579-05:00Awkward moments that kind of make you either want to cry or laughhysterically.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">1. When your headphones aren't plugged in and the entire office hears you start playing Salt & Peppa's "Push It" on blast<br />
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2. When you take said iPhone to the Apple Service and the first song that comes up to play is Britney's Hit Me Baby. (Even better when the second is that ridiculous joke song, "I know my<span id="goog_334223378"></span><span id="goog_334223379"></span> <span id="goog_334223371"></span><span id="goog_334223372"></span>calculus, it says you + me = us" )<span id="goog_334223376"></span><span id="goog_334223377"></span><br />
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3. When you admit the more embarrassing additions to your iPod to an entire blogging community.<br />
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4. When you take the dogs out wearing a pair of fleece pants, glasses, and bed hair at 3am and the most beautiful man in the world watches you trip over their leashes.<br />
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5. When you try to use a q-tip and have your earbuds in (oh wait, that's <a href="http://www.thefamouslastword.blogspot.com/2012/01/signs-my-future-is-doomed.html" target="_blank">another post</a>)<br />
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6. When you fall off of a pyramid (hahaha, oh right <a href="http://www.thefamouslastword.blogspot.com/2011/11/further-reasons-my-life-is-farce-or-my.html" target="_blank">another post</a> :P)<br />
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7. When you think a guy is leaning in to kiss you because it may or may not have been a date, and then you lean in too and he doesn't. (Seriously, I'll <a href="http://thefamouslastword.blogspot.com/2011/10/on-street-where-you-live-girls-talk.html" target="_blank">stop now, I promise</a>)<br />
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8. When you receive an email from one of your contractors, not in reference to your work, but with a "your boss said you were single, and so is one of my reps, and we thought you'd really hit it off... Can I give him your number?" and you realize that your office is trying to pimp you out. :P<br />
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9. While mobile app text typing this blog post on the metro, you nearly miss the metro doors closing and have to make a beeline to get off, mowing people down so as to not have to take the Greenline into ANACOSTIA. <br />
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10. When you get an urgent email FROM YOUR MOTHER with info about the Pfizer birth control recall and the subject line is not, "Does this affect you?" which would be embarrassing enough, but <b>"Do you think you're pregnant??"</b> <br />
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<b>Doom. </b><br />
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</div>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03069716117273083876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-69823138265331819832012-01-31T22:38:00.000-05:002012-01-31T22:38:03.469-05:00The WSJ Thinks Your Wife Should Shut Up and Make You a Sandwich<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Ken MacDougal feels victimized. His wife, after she <i>made him a sandwich</i>, stuck a note in his lunch reminding him to stop by Home Depot after lunch.<br />
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Even years later, he remains traumatized and "peeved" about the situation: "I didn't need a reminder in the middle of my sandwich," he says.<br />
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Nagging, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577180811554468728.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read" target="_blank">earnestly reports</a>, is even more common than adultery, and yet can be even more toxic to a relationship<i>.</i> I'd like to helpfully remind you that adultery is traditionally considered a male attribute (although recent studies have shown that women are starting to cheat at almost the same rate as their male counterparts). According to Howard Markman, a professor of psychology, nagging can be a prime contributer to divorce when couples start to argue about the nagging itself. And of course, in that type of toxic relationship, who can blame a man for straying?<br />
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Women are much more likely to nag because they are "conditioned to feel more responsible for managing home and family life" and are "more sensitive." Still, the <i>WSJ</i> rushes to assure us, men also hold a share of the blame.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Sure, a husband might tune his wife out because he is annoyed; nagging can make him feel like a little boy being scolded by his mother. But many times he doesn't respond because he doesn't know the answer yet, or he knows the answer will disappoint her.</span></blockquote>In other words, his share of the blame is really still her fault, because women are too sensitive, and he is only trying to spare her feelings while he rationally assesses the situation. It's also his mother's fault, who has been nagging him since childhood. <br />
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Back to Ken MacDougal. His wife, sensitive to his tense "thousand-year stare," started signing her notes with extra hearts and smiley faces, trying to soften her words so as not to seem too threatening. She even left out her own signature from the notes, instead signing them from "your faithful bathtub drain," or whatever appliance was low enough for him to step all over.<br />
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<i>WSJ </i>leaves us with some tips to save our marriages. Sometimes it is best to avoid the conflict altogether. In the most dire of circumstances, perhaps hiring a handyman would be best. Don't try and do it yourself, ladies! That's still a man's job, even if your man doesn't feel like doing whatever chore is distracting him from the big game. No matter what, be sure to avoid direct conflict.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"As long as I am not putting pressure on him, he seems to respond better," Ms. Pfeiffer says. Mr. Mac Dougall agrees. "The notes distract me from the face-to-face interaction," he says. "There's no annoying tone of voice or body posture. It's all out of the equation."</span></blockquote>Finally, <i>WSJ </i>suggests adjusting expectations, asking wives, "Does that lightbulb need to be changed immediately?" Maybe not ladies, but your attitudes certainly do.</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-88073745893499601192012-01-30T11:00:00.000-05:002012-01-30T11:19:36.246-05:00Signs my future is doomed.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Reasons that I'm convinced I am headed for senility, or Alzheimers, or Huntingtons, or some kind of mad cow disease:<br />
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1). Last week I flipped out because my glasses were missing. I had lost my brand new, $1,000 Chanel glasses! These were my first new glasses since college, because I tend to not wear glasses as I feel they make me look too Asian. (It's a thing. Leave me alone). I looked for them and looked for them. Did I leave them in the bathroom? Are they on my dresser? Nightstand? Did they slip into a drawer? It's not like I wear them out in public, so they must be in the house someplace, right, RIGHT? Growing more and more anxious, I started to get really agitated...<br />
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...and then I realized: I WAS WEARING THEM. Not on top of my head where they could have been misconstrued as a headband... Oh no. ON MY FACE BECAUSE I WAS USING THEM TO SEE. <br />
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2. While lying in bed. Couldn't find my cell phone, and it dinged letting me know I had a text. I reached next to me, nope, not there. Not plugged in, not on the dresser, not anywhere in visible sight. Okay, but it had to be closeby, because I could hear it ping. <br />
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So, I then proceeded to take all the covers off of my king size bed. I lifted pillows. I went to my roommate and made him call it. Oh, it was IN MY POCKET.<br />
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3. Couldn't find the dog. Now he's a little fellow, and he tends to nest in little dog made caves like under the bed, or behind the couch. <br />
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I called him. No response. I call him again. No response. I, using my alpha voice, tell him that I'm going to count to 3 and he better show up. Nothing. I tell my german shepherd to, "Go find Mickey. Where is he?" She stares at me blankly. I walk to the other room and look under the bed. Come back to the room. Where did I not look? In his little dog bed. Where he has been lying there, staring at me the WHOLE TIME, like "Why do you keep calling me? I'm freaking right here."<br />
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Sigh.<br />
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4). Today, I tried to use a qtip, and I had my earbuds in. <br />
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What is wrong with me sometimes??<br />
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My only explanation? Impending doom.</div>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03069716117273083876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2216297717896436994.post-62961589059104045912012-01-27T11:14:00.000-05:002012-01-27T11:14:16.467-05:00Google Thinks I'm an Old Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So I have my preferences. If you have spent time with me socially, you've probably heard me proclaim my preference for "old man bars." <br />
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Last night David and I were watching 30 Rock, and Liz Lemon, during her search for her new best friend, realized she needed to go to someplace where people with similar interests to her would hang out. She goes to the bathroom of a local Barnes & Noble. David lovingly patted my arm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Time for cookie pants!</i></td></tr>
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So yesterday morning I received an email from Google outlining its new privacy policy. Unlike most of you, I read it. And honestly, I don't see what the fuss is about. It's only sharing information about you amongst the Google products you use, which they kinda already did. I use a lot of Google products. This doesn't particularly bother me. They're not sharing outside of Google. And I keep denying them my phone number or the ability to make a public profile to a minimum of hassle.<br />
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So, here's the fun part. If you go exploring into your account, you can find exactly who Google thinks you are, based on your searches and preferences, right <a href="https://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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The conclusion? <br />
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Google thinks I'm a 65+ year old man.<br />
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</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08471029977859116101noreply@blogger.com3