Ultrablog

2007-06-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Blogbreak.

Officially bored here. See ya around Blogovia.

2007-06-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

The mutters have moved.

To Cupcakes, Cats & Shooz. See ya over there!

2007-06-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

My iGoogle tabs.

Right here. See how convenient this makes everything? (Those are not my bookmarks, btw.) I can see new mail and blogposts at a glance and click on them, or not. For my fellow cat-lovers, I highly recommend Cat of the Day -- the pics are incredibly cute and you can click on them to get the kitty's tale. They also have Dog of the Day for those who go the other way.

"What can be shared, should be shared." -- Sour Grapes

2007-06-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

The importance of being cheerful.

I sat through an 8th grade (aka middle school aka junior high school) graduation ceremony yesterday afternoon in the broiling sun, listening to the principal go on and on about how unbelievable everything was and that the future is in front of us. All rather ordinary, but I found one item of interest: the kids who won awards (perfect attendance recipients excepted) were invariably described as being "always in a good mood." Well, I had no idea that cheerfulness was a prerequisite for the PTB to acknowledge your special talent in math or basketball or whatever, but there it is. God knows it wasn't a prerequisite back in 1978, ahem, but times have changed.

Teach your children to be perky!

(Failing that, make sure they're on the good drugs.)

2007-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sex on the roof.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Police on Wednesday were investigating how a naked couple fell 50 feet from the roof of a downtown office building to their deaths. The bodies were found on the road by a passing cabdriver around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Be careful out there.

2007-06-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Lunatics!

NEWARK, N.J. - Fade to black? Not a chance for fans of "The Sopranos." Almost two weeks after the series finale, the addiction to the show seems stronger than ever, with legions of fans making a journey to Jersey to see real-life remnants of the hit TV mob drama. [...] Some fans are flocking to a "Sopranos"-themed bus tour. With 47 sites, it's one way fans can still connect with the show. The cost is $42 per person, which includes a cannoli (a nod to "The Godfather"). Afternoon tours for the next two weekends are already sold out.

Good lord, people. Get a freaking grip.

Oh, but you know what would be fun? To get a box of those nummy looking macaroons Tony brought to his mom at her nursing home I mean retirement community and have a pizza and macaroon party while watching the Sops on DVD.

2007-06-21T07:07:00.001-07:00

Is it just me?

When a man disappears, he's a missing man, right? But when a woman disappears, she's always a missing "mom" or "co-ed" or "pregnant woman." This is bugging the hell out of me right now for whatever reason.

2007-06-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

She's bad, she's nationwide.

Check out my Google Map! Idea from Sour Grapes.

2007-06-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

"Not your average moggy."

Scotland Yard tries to help Jemima Khan find her kitty.

He defended the decision to send officers to help find the celebrity's pet, saying: "It was not treated as a 999 call but because of the high value of the missing property - a Bengal cat is not your average moggy - we feel that the response was perfectly normal and proportionate to the value."

[Cross-posted at Cupcakes, Cats & Shooz.]

2007-06-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Weasels.

My friend Fundoc and his band have a Wiki entry now and a MySpace page where you can listen to a sample of their songs.

2007-06-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Eco-posting.

Check out this funny article by Mark Peters. I especially love the definition for eco-porn.

2007-06-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wiki for wackos.

Andy Schlafly was appalled. He was teaching a history class to home-schooled teens and one student had just turned in an assignment that dated events as "BCE," before the common era — rather than "BC," before Christ.

And so "Conservapedia" was born.

Yes, Andy's the son of that woman.

2007-06-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Starting over.

We watched the very first Sopranos episode last night. Wow, I hadn't realized that Tony was once a normal-sized guy. Funny how the characters who put on a lot of weight (Tony, Silvio) appear to have aged much more dramatically than the ones who didn't (Paulie, Artie). And I never knew Hunter was Silvio's kid! I thought she was just some random school friend of Meadow's. I really liked the scenes with Tony's mom, especialy the one in the car with Uncle Junior. What a great character she was.

Cocoa watched too and purred the whole time. I never knew she was such a fan. Tiki paid attention only when the ducks were quacking -- she'd freak out and run to the window. Very fun.

2007-06-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoon round-up.

1. Fantastic post by Joe the Troll. Most of us who've been online for a while see a bright line between combat prose and taking things to "meatspace." Let's not enable those who cross the line, 'kay?

2. Dirty Bitch Society has some commentary on comments. I try to be a good commenter, though I don't comment here to every comment received. Feel free to speak up if I've slighted you.

3. Archer wrote a funny about the Nifong kerfuffle.

4. Thinking about buying pet insurance? Read Panthergirl's post.

5. The Webmiztris is holding a way fun contest!

2007-06-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Wells Fargo.

Saturday afternoon I charged a bunch on my Visa buying summer clothes for my daughter, the iPod car thingie for my other daughter online at Apple, shooz for me, etc., and that night I casually told Jeff I'd be doing some errands after dropping S and her friends at a party. I was in search of the first few seasons of The Sopranos on DVD for his Father's Day prezzie. Target had nothing earlier than season four, so I went to Barnes & Noble (needed to get Al Gore's book for my dad anyway -- isn't this fascinating? Shaddap, it gets better) and found the second season (sixty bucks). Then I hit Blockbuster and, voila, grabbed the last season one (previewed, thirty bucks). I was all happy thinking Jeff would be surprised cuz we told him his new grill was the gift, but now we had a Secret Gift, woo!

So I get home and Jeff's on the phone. He turns to me. "It's the bank. They're concerned that your Visa card was stolen."

Huh?

"Did you spend a hundred bucks online at Apple today?"

Yeah.

"Eighty-something at Barnes & Noble an hour ago?"

Yeah.

Etc.

All charges confirmed. Surprise ruined. Big Brother is watching.

Pay cash, people!

2007-06-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Five reasons why I blog.

[Tagged by Badaunt.]

1. Because I love writing.

2. Because I love colors.

3. Because I like an audience.

4. Because I want to read your blogs.

5. Because it's a cool way to interact with new people.

I tag Joe, JennyJinx, Babs, Ole Blue, and Tiger Lamb Girl.

2007-06-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Ludlum diet?

The next time you feel fat, skip the gym; hit your local bookstore and pick up a thriller. A new health study commissioned by UK bookstore Borders, claims that reading a fast-paced novel can help you lose calories equivalent to a sinful meal at McDonald's. [...] A few hours spent engrossed in a book can double your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), scientists say.

Awesome! Forget working out, I'm cuddling up with the latest Dean Koontz novel. Or ... could this be a sneaky way for Borders to get us to spend more money on books???

"Utter rubbish!" [Dr Girish Gadkari, obesity consultant] says emphatically. "This study is pegged on the fact that any activity that does not involve lying flat on your back, for example, standing and talking on the phone, can help you burn calories. However, this weight loss is marginal and temporary," he maintains.

Dammit. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

2007-06-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday Mutters.

[Via Unconscious Mutterings via the Daily Meme.]

Riding ::
Actress ::
Flowers ::
Making ::
Robot ::
Enjoy ::
Identify ::
22 ::
Busy ::
Forward ::

***PLEASE MUTTER IN THE COMMENTS BEFORE READING MINE!!***

Riding :: horse
Actress :: fat
Flowers :: hallmark
Making :: love
Robot :: r2d2
Enjoy :: every sandwich
Identify :: yourself
22 :: skiddoo
Busy :: bee
Forward :: tackle

2007-06-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hopeless addict.

Okay, so there was this thing about PJ's blog (doesn't exist, no link) bla de bla that reminded me about my old blog, Orange Frosting (doesn't exist, no link), and how I should try to recapture the address before some freak grabbed it for pornification purposes yada yada so I did. Naturally I couldn't just leave it there, no. I had to come up with a name, futz around with the layout and colors for a hundred years, make some posts, etc.

With that irresistable intro, I present ~flourish!~ Cupcakes, Cats & Shooz!

It'll be mostly pics, I think. I yap enough over here.

2007-06-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Big kerfuffle!

Right here. Nothing to do with me, don't worry. So, what do you think? Would you delete a post if a bunch of readers complained it was offensive? I suppose I might, but more likely I'd just clarify in comments or in an update that I was sorry I'd worded the thing poorly. It's never happened though, so I guess I don't really know. Sure, I've deleted posts, but for other reasons, and I've conceded on being in error without deletion, but that's different. Of course, I don't have ads or make any money from this thing of mine, and I guess that stuff has to be factored in for a Big Blog.

And what do you think about making the (presumably factual) statement that X-group of parents aren't as involved in the schools as we'd like? To me, it depends on intent. If the intent is just to rag on these parents, then it's a bad thing. But if the intent is to find ways to encourage them to become more involved, then it's okay.

In my limited experience, it works out just fine for certain people who can't be bothered with one-upmomship to simply mail in a check, and for the "alpha moms" who get off on applause at events and their names in the newsletters to do the actual work. No one's complained about my checks yet anyway.

2007-06-15T14:51:00.001-07:00

Reminder!

Don't forget to check out my shared items once in a while. (The link is permanently on my sidbar too.) Some good stuff in there. :)

2007-06-15T10:28:00.001-07:00

More Sopranos speculation.

Here. Total spoiler. Do not read if you want to be surprised by the ending. Interesting!

2007-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

A kiss is still a kiss...

At 159 calories per ounce. But watch those restaurant portions.

While three-quarters of chefs believed they prepared regular-size servings, the portions they offered were two to four times larger than a typical person should eat [...] only 16 percent of the chefs, mostly from casual or fine dining restaurants, were strongly influenced by how many calories were packed into a serving. Instead, they were much more concerned with how the food looks on the plate, cost and customer expectations.

I don't expect a chef to nanny my portions, but knowledge is power, so it is good to know about this stuff if you eat out frequently and care about achieving/maintaining a healthy weight. Remember when the carb-craze started in the 1980's and people were gobbling up giant bagels and piles of pasta expecting to lose weight? I think most folks are a bit more educated about that now.

More weighty chat from a different perspective at Fabulously Flawed.

2007-06-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Angie and irony.

Angelina Jolie's true colors came out Wednesday as she promoted a film about freedom of the press and then tried to censor all her interviews. [...] Her lawyer required all journalists to sign a contract before talking to her, and Jolie instructed publicists at first to ban FOX News from the red carpet of her premiere.

Yeah, I know it's Fox, but it's a funny article.

2007-06-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

A different take on the Sopranos.

Here. (No spoilers -- safe to read if you haven't seen the last season.)

Well! I've met people who didn't watch the show because it never grabbed them, and I know of at least one woman who disliked the gratuitous boob-shots, but until reading Tony Hendra's article I hadn't encountered anyone who actively despised the thing from start to finish (he apparently watched a bunch of it though). Some of what Hendra says I agree with: the Sopranos didn't have any deep and important meaning. It doesn't reflect our hidden psyche, American society, or whatever. It was just fun (or not). At least that's what he seemed to be saying at first:

The pandering, pretentious, overblown, over-wrought, over-interpreted, over-rated series about a loathsome subculture of brutal cowards who feed off the poor, the weak and one another, who despise anyone not of their race and express their displeasure with baseball bats (provided the odds are solidly in their favor) and manifest their manliness or loyalty or code or some such drivel by bravely shooting, stabbing or garroting their (preferably unarmed) victims from the rear.

Okay, fine. I can see someone thinking that, though I totally disagree with his next bunch of ranting that Gandolfini is untalented. Then Hendra goes on to say how the Sops is derivative yada yada Analyze This bla de bla. Some interesting insider gossip in those paras. THEN! He goes on to analyze and interpret the show in his own way and take shots at Bush.

But that brings me to my real beef. The Sopranos could only have come to media prominence at a time when a brutish and criminal and above all unaccountable administration was in the White House. The Sopranos was supremely a Bush-era phenom and I mean that in the worst way.

WTF? I thought it was a stupid, unoriginal homage to violence that didn't mean anything? Make up your mind, Tony.

The comments are fun too (there don't seem to be spoilers, but I haven't read them all.)