The funny thing about having an unplanned, somewhat forced, absence from blogging is that you realize how much work it is to get back into the swing of things. Not just from this end, but visiting all your regular haunts. I haven't yet run through the HNT list, and Wednesday night is less than 48 hours away! I wish I could say I have lots of stories to share, but I'll just bore you with the mundane.
EDITED: I just deleted most of this post, as I realized that, even after 6 days of not blogging, I had absolutely nothing interesting to share. Trust me, you'd thank me if you'd been able to read it.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Six HNT
If you've been by since last week, you'd know that this blog celebrated its 6th Blogoversary last week (actually, last Wednesday, but I spaced it out). So all this week I've been reposting some of the first writings of this blog. As I said when I started that, I think I was a better writer back then. I'd like to get back to where I was. I hope you'll check the reposts back to last Friday.
I wanted to do some sort of celebratory HNT for the 6th Blogoversary, especially since I spaced it out last week. Something based on "six". Possibly six pictures? Nah...that's overkill. Painting a big "6" on my body somewhere? Nobody would want that. Ooh! Take a picture of something I've got six of! Think about that for a minute... There's not really a whole lot, if anything, that we have SIX of. God seems to have figured that we don't really need more than two of anything, other than fingers and toes. And then it hit me!
But first, a story. When my nieces were growing up in the 90s, we used to tell them that their Uncle Os was born with six toes on each foot, which were amputated as a baby. This was always a source of fascination for them. And in the summer months, during the days of flip flops or bare feet, I'd let them inspect my feet. And there it was. I have what seems to be an unnaturally large gap between my big toe and the rest of the toes. I haven't really seen anyone else with quite the same gap. And my big toes work almost as well as the opposable thumbs on my hand. I can grab things, twirl them, toss them, and all sorts of other things. I'm a freakin' freak of nature!
Anyway...my nieces would come and check out this gap, get all grossed out, then run off to grab Uncle Os another beer. Which was the real goal anyway. So what better way to celebrate this blog's 6th Blogoversary than to show off my foot, and the gap where my 6th toe was "removed" (trust me, the gap is much more prominent than it appears here!)?
I am a woman. So strange to type that word. Woman. When I think of the word woman I think of those who are in their later years with a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience. Those who have been through so much more than myself. So I rarely refer to myself as a woman and think of myself as more of a girl. A girl who is living and learning about life. I come here to write about the “chaotic clutter” that goes on in my head. I am also a girl who will grab her camera or use her cam to take photographs. Sometimes of myself. Sometimes of other things. I am an overly sexual girl who is going through a continual journey and I enjoy expressing the way I see my adventures through words and photographs. My eye is drawn towards erotic photography but I see beauty in so much more.
Our bubbly, but secretive Mystery Guest will be revealed on Thursday afternoon. Be sure to come back to find out who it is!
This week's MG is The Secretive Writer! You need to stop by and see why exactly she was needing to take a bath (and shame on you if you've never been there)! Say hi while you're there too!
Lots of nekkidness over at "...the Other HNT" this week. Be sure to support your fellow HNTers and leave some comments, OK? NSFW, as usual!
A new development as of this afternoon. The new chairs for the orchestra arrived today, as well as the rest of the music stands. And since we have a concert this weekend, what better time to show them off? This of course, means I have to assemble, unpack and load the new equipment. And transfer the old stuff to a different storage area, since it won't all fit in our current one. With that in mind, I'm assembling rolling chair racks tonight, and doubt that I'll get around to see anyone until sometime Thursday. Hope you're all looking good this week!
I wanted to do some sort of celebratory HNT for the 6th Blogoversary, especially since I spaced it out last week. Something based on "six". Possibly six pictures? Nah...that's overkill. Painting a big "6" on my body somewhere? Nobody would want that. Ooh! Take a picture of something I've got six of! Think about that for a minute... There's not really a whole lot, if anything, that we have SIX of. God seems to have figured that we don't really need more than two of anything, other than fingers and toes. And then it hit me!
But first, a story. When my nieces were growing up in the 90s, we used to tell them that their Uncle Os was born with six toes on each foot, which were amputated as a baby. This was always a source of fascination for them. And in the summer months, during the days of flip flops or bare feet, I'd let them inspect my feet. And there it was. I have what seems to be an unnaturally large gap between my big toe and the rest of the toes. I haven't really seen anyone else with quite the same gap. And my big toes work almost as well as the opposable thumbs on my hand. I can grab things, twirl them, toss them, and all sorts of other things. I'm a freakin' freak of nature!
Anyway...my nieces would come and check out this gap, get all grossed out, then run off to grab Uncle Os another beer. Which was the real goal anyway. So what better way to celebrate this blog's 6th Blogoversary than to show off my foot, and the gap where my 6th toe was "removed" (trust me, the gap is much more prominent than it appears here!)?
As an added bonus for this picture, I took it this morning in the brilliant sunshine.
The same sunshine that's kept us in the mid-40s for almost two weeks now
and has melted just about all the snow.
I do this for my friends back east. I knew you'd appreciate it.
ETA: NO comments about needing a pedi, please.
I never realized how truly dorky looking my feet are!
The same sunshine that's kept us in the mid-40s for almost two weeks now
and has melted just about all the snow.
I do this for my friends back east. I knew you'd appreciate it.
ETA: NO comments about needing a pedi, please.
I never realized how truly dorky looking my feet are!
I am a woman. So strange to type that word. Woman. When I think of the word woman I think of those who are in their later years with a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience. Those who have been through so much more than myself. So I rarely refer to myself as a woman and think of myself as more of a girl. A girl who is living and learning about life. I come here to write about the “chaotic clutter” that goes on in my head. I am also a girl who will grab her camera or use her cam to take photographs. Sometimes of myself. Sometimes of other things. I am an overly sexual girl who is going through a continual journey and I enjoy expressing the way I see my adventures through words and photographs. My eye is drawn towards erotic photography but I see beauty in so much more.Our bubbly, but secretive Mystery Guest will be revealed on Thursday afternoon. Be sure to come back to find out who it is!
This week's MG is The Secretive Writer! You need to stop by and see why exactly she was needing to take a bath (and shame on you if you've never been there)! Say hi while you're there too!
Lots of nekkidness over at "...the Other HNT" this week. Be sure to support your fellow HNTers and leave some comments, OK? NSFW, as usual!
A new development as of this afternoon. The new chairs for the orchestra arrived today, as well as the rest of the music stands. And since we have a concert this weekend, what better time to show them off? This of course, means I have to assemble, unpack and load the new equipment. And transfer the old stuff to a different storage area, since it won't all fit in our current one. With that in mind, I'm assembling rolling chair racks tonight, and doubt that I'll get around to see anyone until sometime Thursday. Hope you're all looking good this week!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
They make a pill for that, right?
This is the last of my reposting from six years ago. Even then, as a new and avid blogger, there were...issues...
Well, heck.... - 01/27/11
Even though I'm fairly new to the blogging experience, tonight I've come up with my first case of blogger's block (say THAT ten times fast!). I can't think of anything to write. I'm not able to put out in my normal way. I feel somehow inadequate. I've never had this problem. I know that my readers don't mind--"it happens to everyone" at some time or another, BUT IT'S NEVER HAPPENED TO ME. Maybe it's the stress. Maybe I'm trying too hard. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about bad experiences in the past. Maybe I've been doing it too much over the past week. Or maybe I'm just tired. I suppose I could take one of those pills they advertise on TV, but then I run the risk of being up for 4 hours, then I'd have to call a doctor....
I'm just afraid of what is going through your mind. I don't want your pity. I don't want you to say it's alright and that you understand. I've heard of this happening to other guys and they get laughed at. Hopefully that's not going to happen here. I'd like to think that our relationship is stronger than that. I guess the only thing to do now is to try to fall asleep and not think about it. Yeah, right.
No, I think the better thing to do is to not try again for a couple of days. Yeah, that's the answer. I'll be a new man! And no alcohol to screw things up. Come back strong after a couple of days and be primed and pumped and ready to go! By golly. that's what I'll do! I'll be back on Sunday. Until then...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The NEXT BLOG Button
The fifth of my post reposting series. When I first started blogging, I had no idea what the next step was. I posted. Surprisingly, people read and commented. But how was I supposed to find anyone else who might pique my interest? I hadn't really lurked among the blogs to build up any favorites yet, so I spent a great deal of time with that NEXT BLOG button up there. Interestingly, I think that if I were to write this post today, it would be vastly different. Mostly due to how blogging has had to make way for Facebook and Twitter. There might still be six types of bloggers, but I think the categories would be have to be changed quite a bit. For as much as the prior posts could have been written today, this one is definitely outdated...
Six Types of Bloggers - 01/27/05
In spite of my prior comments about not spending a great deal of time checking out blogs, I find that I DO like to hit that little button in the upper right corner that says "NEXT BLOG>>". The randomness is wonderful, and I've done it enough to determine that there are six basic types of bloggers. Here they are in no particular order:I would highly urge you to take a chance on that little button in the corner. There's a whole lot of world out there that you should experience! Hopefully this little post can help you figure out what you've found!
- THE TEENAGER--By far, one of the largest groups out there. These people shouldn't be allowed near a computer. If their parents read this stuff, they'd blow a major artery. Both for language and content. There are no happy teenagers. No teenager can write a paragraph without using some of the most graphic profanity imaginable. Apparently, high school English teachers are telling them that if you can't expand your vocabulary, use profanity instead. It's much more effective. Teenage girls are the worst. They're all virgins, but all their friends are sluts. Guys suck, except for Billy. He's different from the rest. Really! He just keeps her picture in his locker to remind him how badly she treated him.... And when did they all decide that they might all be lesbians, or like to be? The biggest sin amongst this group? Thinking that they are gangsta. Nothing worse than a wannabe gangsta. I hate to break it to them, but a 15-year-old, blond-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader named Sally from Pigsnot, Iowa isn't going to impress anyone with their attempts to come off as a ho' from da 'hood!
- THE SPAMMER--It's nice to know that there's someone out there so concerned about the size of my penis that they'd go to the trouble of setting up a blog with information on what I can purchase, or where I can go to get that taken care of. Granted, it's long been a concern of mine, but I never bothered setting up a blog specifically for that! There's blogs out there for just about any ailment, problem, or subject you can think of. And they appear to have someone that modifies their site on a daily basis! While SPAM appears to be here to stay (and you have to credit someone for coming up with the idea that a blog site would be fertile ground for that), blogs seem to be relatively free of old-fashioned hardcore porn. At least I haven't found, er, run across any yet....
- THE INFORMANTS--No, not like a narc. These are blogs that are similar to SPAMMERS, but are more informational. There's two main types--the sites that simply list a number of links based on a subject (such as: "Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About North Dakota"), or sites that are actually manned by a real person, who chooses to enlighten the reader about various topics (such as a particular crackpot religion, the philosophy of some unknown 17th century Icelandic pacifist, or by posting their doctoral dissertation on whatever boring, mudane subject they got their degree in). Generally, these sites are harmless, because most people will haul ass out of there as soon as they realize what they've stumbled upon, so that none of the information actually gets out!
- THE FAMILY GUY--This is the blog where you, and Uncle George, and Cousin Willie, and Grampa Smith can all go to find out what happened at the family BBQ from June, 2002, since you weren't there yourselves. The site hasn't changed since it was originally published in December, 2002, when it was used as a common, but lame, excuse for a Christmas greeting. And all the pictures were taken with Aunt Betty's brand new 1.2-megapixel digital camera. Blown up to 300%. The audience for these pages is limited to about 10 people, max. No one else is really invited to see these pages, but when geeky Uncle Phil made the page, he made it public, and no one, including geeky Uncle Phil, knows how to get rid of the page, or restrict it. Then again, it should stay up, just in case Bobbie Jo's ex-husband makes parole--he really had a good time at that BBQ!
- THE NORMAL BLOGGER--These are the ones that are the best, but also the rarest, out in blogdom. There might be a nice picture or two, some nice links, maybe some humorous posts. There's generally a little ranting going on, but nothing that would offend anyone. Often there's some personal stories that are interesting, but not a great deal of crisis, or mind-numbing blathering (is that a word?). If you're lucky enough to run across one of these, make note of it!
- THE NON-ENGLISH BLOGGER--This is often the scariest of the bunch. Mostly because you have no idea what you've discovered or landed in. They actually fit into one of the types from above, which is scary enough, but there's usually no way to tell which! Depending on the country of origin, your experience could be either good or bad. There appears to be alot of Brazilian sites. And Nordic sites. And Indonesian sites. Occasionally you'll get a nice picture. If you run across an Asian one, then the page is usually filled with non-Western alphabets. I have to admit that Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc. blogs are quite beautiful. Who knows what's being written, but who cares? It LOOKS good! Same with Middle Eastern writing. Say what you will about what's going on in that region these days--when you read about it in their own writing, it LOOKS good. Once in awhile you'll run across one of Blogger.com's headings ("About Me" or "Archives") in the midst of all these foreign languages or characters. Sort of gives you an anchor of sorts--letting you know that this, too, is just someone's blog!
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Explanation
Number 4 of my repost series. Probably the most frequently asked question posed to me over the years is, "What does osbasso mean?" I invented it around in the early 80s, I believe. I definitely know I used it for my vanity plates as early as 1985. It's just something that's stuck for over a quarter of a century (wow!). Here's the post where I tried to explain it to an unsuspecting blogosphere...
The Derivation of Osbasso - 1/26/05
What exactly is Osbasso? Well, it's sort of an invented word (actually two words--I usually separate them: os basso) made up of two Latin words. Definitions below:So, literally, bone bass. Those of you who have bothered to check out my profile, you'll see that I play the bass trombone, or, using hip jazz lingo, the bass bone. And keeping my 9th grade Spanish in mind, I seemed to recall that in almost every language but English, the noun comes first, then the adjective. Therefore, bone bass, or in Latin, os basso.
- os n. pl. os•sa
A bone. (think osteoporosis or osteoarthritis)- bas•so n. pl. bas•sos or bas•si
An instrumental part written for a bass instrument.
I've used the term since the mid-80s as a password (sorry--I don't do THAT anymore!), on my license plates, as a username, and all sorts of other things. Only twice in 20 years have people figured it out on their own. Both were musicians, both were also medically inclined. Explaining the origins of it have never gotten me out of a speeding ticket, but the highway patrolmen generally just shake their heads as they're writing it. In that "Man, that's so sad. Go get a life." sort of way. Actually, if I explain it to just about anyone, I get that head shake. Sort of like how you're doing it right at this moment.....
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Little did I know...
#3 in my blogoversary repost celebration! Little did I know how prophetic this post really was. Written in the days when everyone had a Myspace page, Facebook was available only on college campuses, and Twitter wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye, blogs were still an enormous time-suck. Apparently, from the very beginning, I was making apologies for not getting to everyone's blog, and worrying about what the heck I'd write on my own site. Just like my previous post...the more things change...
Blogs--The Secret Evil - 01/23/11
Blogs are the evil secret of the internet. They are time consuming, addictive, and will ultimately destroy society as we know it. Well, maybe not that bad, but I'm sure spending more time in front of my computer screen than I should be! I started this blog about 4 days ago, and I can already see two problems arising.
The first problem would be the feeling that I need to come up with a new post on a daily basis. I don't think I've got the time to do that. Or enough original thought that could keep it interesting to myself or anyone else. And I don't want to get into making it a daily journal of my thoughts or activities. But at the same time, I find that I enjoy writing down random thoughts. Even if it takes me longer than I think I can spend on it. I've never really taken the time to do it before, and I find that it's sort of a mind-clearing activity. But I think I need to accept the idea that I can't force my thoughts, and that there's going to be days that I won't be posting.
The second problem is also partly related to time-consumption, but also with the state of society. I could very easily spend hours surfing miscellaneous blogs, and checking out all the links, and finding myself getting interested in the lives of others. Sort of like getting hooked on a soap opera (One Life To Live, by the way). Not that people's lives should be trivialized like a soap opera. But as I explore, I find that there are some truly unhappy people out there! My life is not one that I would suggest others to emulate, and there's certainly alot that has happened that could get me down, but it would be a far better life than some are living as described in their posts. And there's so many of them!! On the positive side, it appears that my life isn't quite as bad as I might think.
I would love to check all the links and read all the journal entries and comment on everybody's site. But then the time factor comes in, and you just can't do it! I had the same problem when I first got access to the internet. I was bound and determined to read every page of the internet. Or at least look at the pictures! Took me awhile to realize that you just don't have time in this life to do that. So I have to limit myself. If I don't run across your blog, I apologize. I'm sure it's a good one. And that your life isn't all bad. And if I DID run across yours, you'd never know it--no time to comment. But heck, you found mine, so that's a good thing!
Anyway, those are the two problems I will be working on. I'm not going to force myself to write if I've got nothing to say, and I won't feel guilty about it. And when I DO check my blog, I'm not going to spend too much time checking out the random links and journals and blogs to see how bad everyone else's life is. I just don't have that much time on my hands!
And, to prove my prior point, I've spent more time writing this post than I had planned. I'm outta here! Blogs are evil, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Song Remains the Same
This is #2 out of 6 of the early post re-posting. It's funny how, as time goes by, things remain the same. I had almost the exact scenario happen today. Ugh...
The Dumping Grounds - 01/21/05
Back when I was growing up, I remember very cleary the day that I was riding in the car with my mother, going to the store or coming back from my grandparents house, or some such thing. It was memorable because I got to ride in the front seat, and my sisters were in back. These were the days when the typical family had only one car, and wives/moms were expected to stay at home with the kids, while the husband/father took the car to work. Whenever the kids got to be in the car, it was usually a family affair, and the parents would be in front, and me and my cootie sisters were in the back. But on this day, for whatever reason, Mom was driving, Dad wasn't with us, and I was in the front seat.
At some point during this ride, I rolled down the window and casually tossed out some sort of litter. I don't remember if it was something small or something large, but it didn't matter. All of a sudden, my mother stops the car, and in a moment I won't likely ever forget, ripped me a new one about the sins of littering. With the car stopped in the middle of the street, and traffic trying to get by, she made me get out and pick up whatever it was. My sisters, after the initial shock had worn off, took great glee in the fact that my butt had been royally chewed! That's all it ever took. Never again, in the next 4 decades, have I ever tossed litter out of a car window.
I bring this up now, because of a disturbing trend I've seen over the past couple of years. And it happened again this afternoon. A carload of kids (apparently from a multi-car family!) was stopped at the light across the intersection from me. Someone in the back seat rolled down their window, and tossed out a full bag of empty McDonald's remnants. Didn't even bother looking around to see if someone was watching, in case it was something they shouldn't be doing. Then someone from the front seat hands him another one to toss! The light turns green, and I don't even move. They pass by me, without the slightest hint that they might have done something remotely wrong!
Now I'm generally the first one in line to defend the maturity of teenagers today. I've seen plenty of them getting the short end of the stick, just because of their age. But at what point did the youth of today figure out that it's OK to just dump out their garbage in the middle of the street?? Between my mother, and that hokey public service announcement of the Indian chief crying over the smog, litter and pollution, the thought of littering hasn't crossed my mind since that fateful day so, so many years ago. Have we raised a full generation or two of parents who don't teach their kids anymore? I can't imagine a parent of my age allowing their children (or grandchildren) to do such a thing!
God bless my mother for teaching me things at a young age. This is just one of the many things she did well for me in my life. She still made a mistake by not forcing me to take piano lessons, but that's a subject for a future discussion...
Friday, January 21, 2011
Starting My Seventh Year!
Anyone who's known me for any length of time knows that I'm usually pretty good with dates. Birthdays, in particular. So it might come as a surprise that I totally missed my 6th Blogoversary. I dipped my toe into all of this on Jan. 19th, 2005. And here we are, 1564 posts later. I went back and read some of those first handful of posts tonight. I wrote better back then. Long before understanding that not everyone plays nice out here. Long before half-nekkidness became commonplace. Long before knowing if anyone was reading anything I wrote. Actually, I did have a very small handful of commenters then. In particular, Moose, Lightning Bug's Butt, and Lizabeth. Moose and LBB are still around, and I keep up with Lizabeth through FB now.
To celebrate six years of doing this, I'm going to repost six of those earliest writings. I think you'll like them. And it takes me off the hook from coming up with something new!
To celebrate six years of doing this, I'm going to repost six of those earliest writings. I think you'll like them. And it takes me off the hook from coming up with something new!
Jury Duty - 01/20/05
So last week, I get a summons for jury duty. Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 at 8:45 AM. But call us first to make sure it's not cancelled. So I get up early, call, and get a pre-recorded message saying to be at the Courthouse no later than 8:45. Knowing that parking was going to be tight, and the roads were all slushy messy, I head down early.
Outside of the Justice Court office are a couple of uncomfortable benches. People were sitting there, drinking the free coffee, and just waiting. I check in just ahead of a musician friend of mine. At least I'll have someone to talk to while waiting for court. So we sit on the uncomfortable benches and start talking about music. Everyone else got to hear our opinions too, since you could have heard a pin drop out there before we started.
The door to the courtroom opens, and anyone who was NOT a juror, but there for a criminal proceeding, were to go into the courtroom at this time. Almost everyone gets up and goes in! We're sitting amongst criminals!!!! No wonder they were all quiet. Trying to figure out their "arguments", or how they're going to pay their fine, or trying to work up some sympathy tears.....
Mark & I continue as more of the jury pool shows up. Still not very social, but noticeably looser. Mark & I try to guess what sort of case we'll be getting. Guns? Drugs? Probably not--this is just justice court. DUI? MIP? Traffic? Maybe. Then the courtroom doors open, and the jury pool is asked to come in. We move to a new set of uncomfortable benches, and the judge proceeds to inform us that everyone is there and ready to go, except for the defendant! She has 10 dog tickets. No indication of what that means. Were they abused? Were they running around loose in town chasing cars? Whatever it was, she didn't show, which means she forfeited her right to a jury trial. But thanks for coming. Thanks for coming?!?!
Mark headed back to a construction job. Don't know about anyone else. Did anyone feel anger towards this woman? For having 10 dog tickets? Or for causing a hassle to our routine? Did anyone feel the need to get together and discuss their feelings towards all of this? Apparently not, because we all scattered like cockroaches. But now I have a blog, which a great place to vent about things like this!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Dinner and FB Junk
Dinner last night with No One Special (I'll just refer to her as NOS...) was wonderful last night. It's the third time we've actually met, which in a state this size is sort of silly. The first time was that awkward just-met phase, and I had to get back for a gig, so time was somewhat limited. The second time I surprised her at work, while on my way to the airport, so it was even less time and less conversation. This time though, we were able to have dinner, have some great conversation, and quite a few laughs. Montana politics, HNT, marijuana, photography, Crimson, blogging--just a few of the subjects touched upon.NOS was here to address the Montana Legislature, regarding their attempts to overturn the medical marijuana law that the people voted for by initiative. I don't quite understand how the Legislature can do that, but it's happening. NOS has been using medicinal marijuana (after a great deal of research and hesitation) to help with her frequent migraines. Contrary to the bias of the wacko soccer moms (apologies to the normal ones out there), she's not an old hippie getting stoned every day on her MM card. Hell, she used to be in law enforcement! She had hoped that she could give testimony during a committee hearing. Alas, she ran face first into the political machine, and came away somewhat discouraged. It's a daunting, scary thing to step inside the halls of the Capitol. And there's a reason that lobbyists are well paid to do what they do.
Anyhoo...she did send me a link and urges any and all (particularly Montanans) to click a few keys and get their opinions noted:
- Vote not to repeal Medical Marijuana:
- http://leg.mt.gov/css/
sessions/62nd/legwebmessage. asp - Fill in name/address/etc.
- Select the "committee" button
- Select House Judiciary, Senate Judiciary, and Joint Subcommittee on Health and Human Services (three different committees--you'll have to do this three times)
- Enter: HB 161
- Click against.
- Add a note as to why… or just state that you do not want it repealed.
The rest of this post is stuff I stole off of FB...Ever wonder what happened to that kid that was on the cover of the Nirvana album? Click the picture and see! (safe for work)
Let me make it perfectly clear that I despise Oprah. She's the first of those who have found fame, without having any discernible talent. She opened the door for the Paris Hiltons, the Kardashians, and the plethora of hacks that keep the tabloids in business. I do not choose to celebrate her 25 years, or her decision to close down her show. Johnny Carson she ain't!
I've just been Oprahfied! Now it's your turn. Help The Oprah Winfrey Show celebrate its 25th and final season. Go to http://www.oprah.com/oprahfy to get started.
I wish I had this woman's ability to talk. The stream of consciousness is wonderful! She's got a couple other Youtube videos, but this one's the one that caught my eye.
Sonofabitch
(HNT below this one)
This is the second year in a row that I've missed linking to this in a timely manner. Even later than last year. I suppose that means it's gotten easier... And harder...
It's the Little Things HNT
It's been one of those weeks. Nothing significant--just a lot of little things that pile up and get under your skin. Or my skin, at least. Why can't things just work the first time? Or in a logical manner?
Miscommunication with this week's Mystery Guest, so we have none this week. Remember, if you're interested in being the MG, just email me for the 'complex' details! And if you've done it before, there's nothing that says you can't do it again!
No problem in getting new pictures over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Stop by and see which of your fellow HNTers are over there! Leave lots of comments, too! NSFW, as usual. Ed. note: For reasons mentioned below, OHNT might be posted later than usual.
Stop by and check out the latest adventure of the OsShirt. Legs, water, bocci balls, oh my!
As mentioned above, time (or lack of it) has made me a bad blogger. Stuff that should have been written, but weren't include:
- Digital cable box--With the fancy new TV, I figured it was about time to go digital, even though I don't watch much TV (though that could change). Plugged everything in, and it works perfectly, with the exception of NO AUDIO. Spent an hour and a half going through all the settings on the box and the TV to make sure there wasn't a weird setting. Yes, I check the 'mute' button. Finally broke down and spent half an hour with customer service, who were hit with an error message they'd never seen. Swap out the cable box for a replacement one, and everything will be peachy. Two cable boxes and two HDMI cables later, and 45 minutes with a nice man in India from the TV manufacturer, and I have to wait for up to two weeks for a service rep. The TV works fine with the cable plugged directly in, but not with the cable box.
- The less hours at work that I mentioned last month has been a little bit of a blessing, as I've had symphony stuff up the wazoo taking up that time. Unfortunately, the time spent at work has been non-stop work, and my usual routine of an occasional email, chat or blog surfing has been severely limited. Certain individuals are fully aware of that.
- Did I mention that someone dropped many thousands of dollars to buy the symphony new music stands and chairs? Someone (no names) has to find the time to assemble racks and stands... That's not so bad. We also got stand lights for those music stands. Whose brilliant idea was it to ship a majority of them in ONE box--totally unnecessary, and impossible to handle. Couldn't be split into TWO smaller boxes? And then to send the remainder from back order in another box?
- And those same stand lights--after unpacking them, I open one of the cartons and right there on the front of the box, "bulb not included". So now I have to find a cheap lot of specialty bulbs. Glad I checked ahead of time!
- I won't go into my continuing problems with the router at home.
- I switched to Progressive Insurance when I got the new car last summer. I got my renewal notice, and found that it rose almost $100. Then I realized that the coverages were different than I signed up for (that whole 'name your own price' thing). Why can't they just assume you're going to renew for the same coverage as before? Still, I really like Flo!
- iPhone or iPad? Don't know what to go for next. Though my current financial situation implies that it's not something I need to worry about any time soon...
- The dome light in my car. Won't turn off. Because there's a sensor that says a door is open. It's been like this for a week. Best advice I got from the dealership is to WD-40 the door latches, and hopefully the offending sensor will fix itself. Uh-huh. It's not so noticeable during the day, but it's sort of exposing while driving down the street at night.
Miscommunication with this week's Mystery Guest, so we have none this week. Remember, if you're interested in being the MG, just email me for the 'complex' details! And if you've done it before, there's nothing that says you can't do it again!
No problem in getting new pictures over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Stop by and see which of your fellow HNTers are over there! Leave lots of comments, too! NSFW, as usual. Ed. note: For reasons mentioned below, OHNT might be posted later than usual.
Stop by and check out the latest adventure of the OsShirt. Legs, water, bocci balls, oh my!
As mentioned above, time (or lack of it) has made me a bad blogger. Stuff that should have been written, but weren't include:
- NFL playoffs--The Patriots won't be in the Super Bowl. That grants the Jets my "favored" status going into Pittsburgh. Though I still dislike the Jets. Actually, none of the AFC teams do anything for me. On the NFC side, the Packers/Bears should be a great game. Too bad that can't be a Super Bowl game... Rooting for the Pack. My Super Bowl prediction: Packers 38 - Jets 21.
- A truly happy moment on Monday--I got a postcard from Hawaii! Shizzle is over there right now, and might very well never leave! What a convenient reason to visit!
- Another high point happens tonight. I won't be around because I have a dinner/beer date! With No One Special (you might need an invite to get on there)! She's #21 over there in my sidebar if you don't know what she looks like. She's in town for a couple of days, so we had to get together!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ducks/Tigers HNT
You might have noticed that I closed comments all day here Wednesday. Or maybe you didn't (I have to quit thinking that everyone comes by to check things here 2-3 times a day...). Symphony stuff has unexpectedly piled up on me for January. But in a good way. I may have mentioned in an earlier post that we are performing a children's concert on Thursday for the local 4th & 5th graders. Usually, the concert is in March, and for some reason I didn't realize it was this week until a staff meeting last week. Oops! It's an important outreach activity, and I am amazed every year that we can get a full orchestra to take time off from their day jobs to do it. Of course, it means that I lose TWO days, since I have to deal with this concert like any other--equipment moves, set-up, etc. The music is rarely satisfying to the musicians, but I think we all look at it as an important opportunity. This will be the only exposure that some of these kids will ever have to a live orchestra. That is, unfortunately, a sad fact of life...
The other thing that's hitting unexpectedly was the year-end anonymous gift from one of our sponsors. His corporation has dropped thousands of dollars on us for the past few years, which is a tremendous gift already. But, after some informal talks with one of our musicians, he's bought the orchestra new chairs and music stands. New chairs cost over $200 each (ergonomically designed for optimum musician performance and comfort), and the various accessories add to the total. Delivery of the music stands and storage carts was this week. Of course, they just deliver this stuff. Someone has to assemble them when they get here. You can just imagine who gets to do that, right? So I've spent the past two days assembling the carts (about 90 minutes each), and am now starting on the stands. Fortunately, those are far less cumbersome. I'm not sure when the chairs and their carts are expected to show up, but you just KNOW that there's some assembly required there, too. And the rush is to get them all ready for our second concert at the end of the month. It'll happen. I just have to make sacrifices, which means my time around here will be sparse for a bit.
So what does that have to do with my HNT? Absolutely nothing. I'm just kicking back and watching the Ducks and the Tigers battle it out Monday night while taking a break from cart building. Half-nekkid, of course.
I feel badly about what this sudden rush of work has done for this week's Mystery Guest. I usually can grab a poem or lyric, but I just haven't had the time. So I have to wing it here. Of course the first thing to notice is that the 'mystery' part isn't quite a mystery, except to the newer participants around here. This MG has been around for many years, though not so much over the past year and a half or so. She's had a rough year in 2010, similar to mine. But she's making a comeback. Still a spitfire to the end! Sorry I don't have the time to be more eloquent--I'll have to make it up to you.
Be sure to come back on Thursday afternoon to find out who she is, if you don't already know...
This week's MG is Stealth from Cookies and Porn. Go check her out!
With symphony set-up today, and rehearsal tonight, I'm not going to be able to post "...the Other HNT" until after midnight. Be sure to stop by though! Some great pictures this week! NSFW, as always.
New adventure over at the OsShirt site!
The other thing that's hitting unexpectedly was the year-end anonymous gift from one of our sponsors. His corporation has dropped thousands of dollars on us for the past few years, which is a tremendous gift already. But, after some informal talks with one of our musicians, he's bought the orchestra new chairs and music stands. New chairs cost over $200 each (ergonomically designed for optimum musician performance and comfort), and the various accessories add to the total. Delivery of the music stands and storage carts was this week. Of course, they just deliver this stuff. Someone has to assemble them when they get here. You can just imagine who gets to do that, right? So I've spent the past two days assembling the carts (about 90 minutes each), and am now starting on the stands. Fortunately, those are far less cumbersome. I'm not sure when the chairs and their carts are expected to show up, but you just KNOW that there's some assembly required there, too. And the rush is to get them all ready for our second concert at the end of the month. It'll happen. I just have to make sacrifices, which means my time around here will be sparse for a bit.
So what does that have to do with my HNT? Absolutely nothing. I'm just kicking back and watching the Ducks and the Tigers battle it out Monday night while taking a break from cart building. Half-nekkid, of course.
I feel badly about what this sudden rush of work has done for this week's Mystery Guest. I usually can grab a poem or lyric, but I just haven't had the time. So I have to wing it here. Of course the first thing to notice is that the 'mystery' part isn't quite a mystery, except to the newer participants around here. This MG has been around for many years, though not so much over the past year and a half or so. She's had a rough year in 2010, similar to mine. But she's making a comeback. Still a spitfire to the end! Sorry I don't have the time to be more eloquent--I'll have to make it up to you.Be sure to come back on Thursday afternoon to find out who she is, if you don't already know...
This week's MG is Stealth from Cookies and Porn. Go check her out!
With symphony set-up today, and rehearsal tonight, I'm not going to be able to post "...the Other HNT" until after midnight. Be sure to stop by though! Some great pictures this week! NSFW, as always.
New adventure over at the OsShirt site!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Lots o' Random
So much to write, no time to write. It's cut into my surfing, too. Grrr... Of course, none of it's terribly earth-shattering...
I wasn't going to write anything about the shootings in Tuscon, but what passes as "journalism" is not good. And that's partially due to the media giving what the public "wants" (I don't recall ever wanting reality TV shows, but apparently I do).
Loving the Facebook statuses from the southerners and their snow. I realize it's a novelty in some parts, but geez! It's just snow! And snow days?? I don't think there's a district in the state that has such a thing. It's cute.
I have seen more snowman pics than ever. Have you noticed that the best snowman pics come from places that never get snow? Like it's a ritual they think they have to do? People up north don't build snowmen! They did it once as a kid, and that's good enough! It's lost its appeal up here. Though, honestly, the snow up here isn't conducive to making snowmen--too cold and too powdery.
On a weather related note, speaking of cold... It's been sub-zero here again for the past few days. But it's also been bright and sunny with no wind! I had to spend time outside working yesterday (and later this afternoon) in 4° weather. It was gorgeous! Of course, once the sun set behind the mountain, my opinion changed drastically! But for a few hours, it reminded me of why I love it here!
Watched the big football game last night. Really thought the Ducks would pull it out. Lord knows they had the chances to win. Though I suppose that if I needed to boast about our national champion, Tigers sound far more intimidating than Ducks! I was disappointed in how Brent Musburger had an obvious woody for Newton and Auburn all night. And his "all the Tostitos" line before the last kick? Really? Isn't there some sort of mandatory retirement clause we can invoke?
Just got an official notice from Facebook that I will be upgraded to the "new" FB profile in a few days. Should I be wary of the fact that it's taking them this long for me? Or should I rejoice in the fact that I don't have it yet?
What's up with all the birds dying in mid-air?
At what point did the rules of English spelling change? I grew up with the rule that if you adding "-ed" or "ing" to the end of a word that ended in a consonant, preceded by a vowel (not a diphthong) , you doubled the consonant.
I wasn't going to write anything about the shootings in Tuscon, but what passes as "journalism" is not good. And that's partially due to the media giving what the public "wants" (I don't recall ever wanting reality TV shows, but apparently I do).
Would interest in this shooting be as high if the Congressperson shot wasn't an attractive, young female?Dana has a good post today about people and their "worth". Go check it out.
Was it necessary to mention that her intern, who's credited with probably saving her life, is 'openly gay'? Does that mean his gayness saved her life, or that if he were straight she would have bounced up and helped others?
Would there be as much interest in the 9-year-old girl who was killed if she weren't born on 9/11? And what does that say about kids born on 9/10 or 9/12? Are they somehow not as important?
Our friends from the wacko church in Kansas (avoiding searches here...)says they're going to show up for funerals. Perhaps if the media quit acting like their PR agents, then they might fade away?
Loving the Facebook statuses from the southerners and their snow. I realize it's a novelty in some parts, but geez! It's just snow! And snow days?? I don't think there's a district in the state that has such a thing. It's cute.
I have seen more snowman pics than ever. Have you noticed that the best snowman pics come from places that never get snow? Like it's a ritual they think they have to do? People up north don't build snowmen! They did it once as a kid, and that's good enough! It's lost its appeal up here. Though, honestly, the snow up here isn't conducive to making snowmen--too cold and too powdery.
On a weather related note, speaking of cold... It's been sub-zero here again for the past few days. But it's also been bright and sunny with no wind! I had to spend time outside working yesterday (and later this afternoon) in 4° weather. It was gorgeous! Of course, once the sun set behind the mountain, my opinion changed drastically! But for a few hours, it reminded me of why I love it here!
Watched the big football game last night. Really thought the Ducks would pull it out. Lord knows they had the chances to win. Though I suppose that if I needed to boast about our national champion, Tigers sound far more intimidating than Ducks! I was disappointed in how Brent Musburger had an obvious woody for Newton and Auburn all night. And his "all the Tostitos" line before the last kick? Really? Isn't there some sort of mandatory retirement clause we can invoke?
Just got an official notice from Facebook that I will be upgraded to the "new" FB profile in a few days. Should I be wary of the fact that it's taking them this long for me? Or should I rejoice in the fact that I don't have it yet?
What's up with all the birds dying in mid-air?
At what point did the rules of English spelling change? I grew up with the rule that if you adding "-ed" or "ing" to the end of a word that ended in a consonant, preceded by a vowel (not a diphthong) , you doubled the consonant.
For example: travelOr did the nuns steer me wrong in the old days?
Old days: travelled, travelling
New days: traveled, traveling
Another example: cancel
Old days: cancelled, cancelling
New days: canceled, canceling
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Can You Sense the Excitement? HNT
Ooh, look! A blog!
Haven't been overly gung-ho about being online a great deal in 2011 yet. Partly because I just got slammed with all sorts of symphony stuff. I've been spending my evenings in brain-sucking committee meetings running phone interviews for our choral directing position that's open. There's nothing worse than having someone interview who can't use the alloted 30 minute slot to ask questions, give decent answers, and show some indication that they're actually interested. Even more fun when English is not their main language (in some cases, not even their 2nd or 3rd...). So that's taken care of my nights this week.
Next week we have a concert that I wasn't aware of... Well, I was, but it's a concert that's usually in March. We play for all the local 4th/5th graders. So next week is shot to hell, with rehearsals, set-ups and a midday performance (sure, I'll take time off from my job that I'm getting my hours cut back on already...). But it's worth it (at least that's the official line...).
The hall we play at is a city-owned facility. It's the only decent-sized auditorium in town, so they get to make the rules. One of which: they book the auditorium three years in advance, on the first business day of the new year. And since they're really the only game in town, organizations line up at the door to be first to claim their dates. So I got the phone call on Sunday--would I be willing to show up early to grab a place in line? The woman who would actually be getting the dates is on the elderly side, and didn't want to stand in line in the dark and cold. Oh, sure, why not? What I didn't realize when I said that is that I needed to be in line by 6AM. Six o'fucking-clock. When the temperature would be a cozy 0°F. Though it did warm up to a balmy 5° by the time I left. At 8AM. Which is the time she showed up to relieve me. And still half an hour before the doors to the building would open.
So here I am, early in the cold morning, just before leaving. Note the puffy, light-sensitive eyes. The unshowered hair doing something funky (which was OK--I put on a cap immediately after this). Unfortunately, you can't see my breath in this particular picture. Trust me...it was quite visible. I was at least smart enough to take along a canvas beer-drinking chair (sans beer), gloves, scarf and down comforter. She was smart enough to bring her own chair, but I offered her my comforter and told her I'd pick it up at the office later. "Oh, that's right. I'll see you at the staff meeting at 9..."
It should be noted that someone else snuck in a side door and beat us to being first in line...
Skittering Skattering
(unkown)
"Skittering skattering
I dash under the couch
Skittering skattering
I find my little house
Skittering skattering
I found a piece of cheese
Skittering skattering
It is a moldy piece of cheese
Skittering skattering
It is a yummy piece of cheese!
Who am I."
This one should be pretty easy to figure out, but come back on Thursday to find out who the Mystery Guest is!
When she shows her face, it's sorta hard not to know who she is, unless you're one of the really foolish ones who hasn't actually been to her site before! Of course, it's Chickie, from over at "Skittering Thoughts". Be sure to stop by, and if you've never been there before, go nose around in her archives. She's a keeper!
Go check out to see the first to join in on "...the Other HNT" in the new decade! There's a good selection of your fellow HNTers over there. Be sure to stop by and leave some comment lovin'! Of course...NSFW.
Haven't been overly gung-ho about being online a great deal in 2011 yet. Partly because I just got slammed with all sorts of symphony stuff. I've been spending my evenings in brain-sucking committee meetings running phone interviews for our choral directing position that's open. There's nothing worse than having someone interview who can't use the alloted 30 minute slot to ask questions, give decent answers, and show some indication that they're actually interested. Even more fun when English is not their main language (in some cases, not even their 2nd or 3rd...). So that's taken care of my nights this week.
Next week we have a concert that I wasn't aware of... Well, I was, but it's a concert that's usually in March. We play for all the local 4th/5th graders. So next week is shot to hell, with rehearsals, set-ups and a midday performance (sure, I'll take time off from my job that I'm getting my hours cut back on already...). But it's worth it (at least that's the official line...).
The hall we play at is a city-owned facility. It's the only decent-sized auditorium in town, so they get to make the rules. One of which: they book the auditorium three years in advance, on the first business day of the new year. And since they're really the only game in town, organizations line up at the door to be first to claim their dates. So I got the phone call on Sunday--would I be willing to show up early to grab a place in line? The woman who would actually be getting the dates is on the elderly side, and didn't want to stand in line in the dark and cold. Oh, sure, why not? What I didn't realize when I said that is that I needed to be in line by 6AM. Six o'fucking-clock. When the temperature would be a cozy 0°F. Though it did warm up to a balmy 5° by the time I left. At 8AM. Which is the time she showed up to relieve me. And still half an hour before the doors to the building would open.
So here I am, early in the cold morning, just before leaving. Note the puffy, light-sensitive eyes. The unshowered hair doing something funky (which was OK--I put on a cap immediately after this). Unfortunately, you can't see my breath in this particular picture. Trust me...it was quite visible. I was at least smart enough to take along a canvas beer-drinking chair (sans beer), gloves, scarf and down comforter. She was smart enough to bring her own chair, but I offered her my comforter and told her I'd pick it up at the office later. "Oh, that's right. I'll see you at the staff meeting at 9..."
It should be noted that someone else snuck in a side door and beat us to being first in line...
Skittering Skattering(unkown)
"Skittering skattering
I dash under the couch
Skittering skattering
I find my little house
Skittering skattering
I found a piece of cheese
Skittering skattering
It is a moldy piece of cheese
Skittering skattering
It is a yummy piece of cheese!
Who am I."
This one should be pretty easy to figure out, but come back on Thursday to find out who the Mystery Guest is!
When she shows her face, it's sorta hard not to know who she is, unless you're one of the really foolish ones who hasn't actually been to her site before! Of course, it's Chickie, from over at "Skittering Thoughts". Be sure to stop by, and if you've never been there before, go nose around in her archives. She's a keeper!
Go check out to see the first to join in on "...the Other HNT" in the new decade! There's a good selection of your fellow HNTers over there. Be sure to stop by and leave some comment lovin'! Of course...NSFW.
Friday, December 31, 2010
The Highs and Lows of 2010 - The Highs
Interspersing my "Highs" of 2010 from work. I actually found 2010 to be a pretty good year, other than that whole death thing hovering over the family. Lots of visits, new friends online (and in person), traveling, and some good music. And a full year of learning how to cope with my diabetes. Since that's a year-long endeavor, it's not part of the list. But I'm learning what my personal boundaries are regarding food, insulin, meds, etc. Other than my weight still being heavy, and lack of any real exercise (think those might be related?), the rest of my numbers and lab results look pretty good.
Be sure to read the post below this one first!! It's my "Lows" list. Makes the "Highs" list much better (most have links back to posts).
Be sure to read the post below this one first!! It's my "Lows" list. Makes the "Highs" list much better (most have links back to posts).
"The 10 High Points of 2010"
(from less high to highest of the high)
(from less high to highest of the high)
There you have it. My "Highs" for 2010. Many of you are probably already at parties as I'm posting this. I'm staying home and watching movies all night. I hope that everyone is having a safe but fun NYE! Looking forward to a great 2011!!10. Date w/My Niece - In late January, I took my niece to see the touring show of Jesus Christ Superstar in Missoula. It was nice to have a dinner conversation with her outside of the family setting, and I scored cool uncle points when we walked in and were ushered to the front row, absolute center, seats!
9. Carroll College Fighting Saints - Despite the disappointing season of the Griz, we were able to cheer on the Saints as they won their 6th NAIA national championship of the decade. They defeated the University of Sioux Falls, who won the other 4 championships of the decade. And it looks like the streak may continue well into the next decade!8. CHS 35-yr Reunion - My high school class celebrated its 35th year this summer. We had a one-night reunion, which I wasn't really looking forward to. But it was a great time, I got to see a number of people that I hadn't seen since graduation, and was happy to realize that we weren't all the old farts that I expected. Well, most of us weren't! Actually makes me look forward to the 40th!
7. OsShirt revival - After some stops and starts, the OsShirt got back on track this year on its travels across the country (and across the Atlantic!). I was even reunited with it in August for a weekend! Even though it's currently hung up again...I'm confident that there's going to be some great adventures in 2011! Is it sensible to be envious of a shirt??6. New Toys! - By necessity and/or by choice, this was the year of new toys! Including a new (used) car, a new phone (OK, I got it at the end of 2009), and a new TV. Of course, I can't really afford all of this, but like I said, necessity and/or choice. And I'd like to upgrade the computer, and Michelle could really use an overhaul. Those will have to stay on the back burner for now though. To wrap this all up, I was able to text people about the new TV in the back of my car on the day I bought it!
5. Visits By Friends - I got to see my three main beer drinking buddies a few times this summer. Even though my beer drinking has pretty much waned. Moose was my roommate for almost a week which was wonderful! I got to see Kamey a couple of times when she was here (and at her brother's wedding), and Rachel came down a couple of times (including Ray's funeral). I also got to see my favorite adult movie star Tara Tainton when she passed through town on a road trip! Actually, she was supposed to be my date for the class reunion, but she got delayed. Man, that could have been a lot of fun!
4. Music Man - No, not the musical. I played in two different bands this summer. The newer of the two bands is the soul band, logically called, Big Soul Band. Eight white guys and a white chick singer from Montana playing soul. Yeah, it works! But I was forced to write dozens of arrangements in a short amount of time. High stress? You bet! But I thrive on that! The other band is the one that broke up in 2007. We played for the wedding reception of Kamey's brother and wife. It was only the second time in 36 months that we've played together, and while it wasn't as smooth as I though it might have been, it was still great. Hopefully we might consider getting the band back together for real in the new year!3. Symphony Stuff - Beyond the regular symphony stuff that I deal with on a regular basis, I was hired in an additional capacity for 3 special concerts. That of production manager. The one guy with the answers. The one guy where the buck can be expected to stop. The one guy that gets to boss the conductor and everyone else around (judiciously, of course). It's an aspect of the performances that I thoroughly enjoy, and am pretty good at. Depending on the concert, I might have to give up the musician side of me, but so far, I've been able to juggle them pretty well. The biggest of these concerts is our free outdoor concert in the summer. With a crowd of well over 15,000, fireworks, construction of a stage, and transportation of equipment from all over town, it's right up my alley. And I love it!
2. Nashville - One year from this very moment, I was packing and preparing to fly out to Nashville on New Year's Day. I was there to meet up with M to go see Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and to meet some of the Nashville bloggers/HNTers. After meeting up with 13 Messages on New Year's night at Hooters, we were joined on the next night by M, Shizzle, and Bat. It was colder in TN than it was in Helena, and we didn't get the people that lived nearby to make the trip. But those of us that were together had a great time! I stuck around for a couple of days, which were spent exploring. Nashville might very well be my favorite town!
1. BTExpress' Pool Party - For as much fun as Nashville was, BTExpress' pool party takes the #1 spot this year. Not because it was better, but because it happened at the end of a very busy summer for me. The break was definitely needed! As mentioned in the "Lows" list, the turn-out was disappointing, but the rest of us had a great time! It was a very laid back evening for BTE, Lori, Shizzle (twice in the same year!), Hubman and Veronica. In addition, I was able to meet up with an old girlfriend during my layover in Minneapolis, and had lunch with Minority Report before leaving New York! And as a total bonus, I got a $400 ticket voucher to use by next August! OsTour '11 plans are soon to be made!
The Highs and Lows of 2010 - The Lows
Once again, it's time for my annual recap of the year. Other than two really, really low points, this year wasn't too bad. But those two pretty much swayed the pendulum towards the "this year sucked" side. This is my fourth year of doing this, and as I've found in the past, it's hard to come up with ten real "lows". In fact, one or two on this list will make the "highs" list, I'm sure! Of course, there were some terrible things that happened in the world, but these are things that affected me somewhat directly. And they don't necessarily mean they were bad things, or that life as I knew it changed. There's some definite bad things listed, but mostly just things that brought me down or perturbed me during the year. Most of these won't have a link to a specific post. This is what makes my "lows" list (the "highs" list can be seen above...):
"The 10 Low Points of 2010"
(from least low to lowest of the low)
(from least low to lowest of the low)
10. Montana Grizzly Football - I hate to put my beloved Griz on this list, but they really let me down this season. Granted, they had a new head coach this season, but the expectations were quite high, as usual. They lost games they shouldn't have, and beat lesser teams by only a few points. Then they had to go and lose to the Bobkittens, at home! And we all saw what happened because of that! Griz, I hope 2011 is a better year for you!So, that's the downer list for 2010. Some not so bad, some really bad. But as I said at the top, the year really wasn't monumentally bad. Fortunately, there were lots of good things that happened too! You can check those out in the "Highs" post above this one. Go. Now!
9. Technology Failures - This is a fairly generic category, but I didn't know how else to say it. My wireless router and my computer have been at odds for most of the year, which means I've been fighting with both of them. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which to blame. Online, I was disappointed with Blogrolling.com shutting down. At one time, it was a great way to build your blogrolls, without having to add your favorites by hand. And it was less hassle than having a lot of blogs in your reader. It was by chance that I got on to their site to find a notice that they would be shutting down in two weeks, and there was no way to save your lists without doing them individually, by copy/paste. Their reason for shutting down--"no one left in the company who built the service to keep it running". No one that I'm aware of has stepped in to offer the same thing, so now I have a file with hundreds of blogs listed, and no way to add them to my site. After last year's failure with Haloscan, I'm reluctant to try anything new. Funny...it seems like Blogger has finally shown the most stability, even moreso than Wordpress!
8. Facebook/Twitter/Blogger - Which is a nice segue into this topic. I'm disappointed in the noticeable decline in blogging/bloggers this past year. It seems like Facebook and Twitter have elbowed their way in. While I like what Facebook is (despite its disregard for privacy and constant changes that no one really wants), I think it's lessened the online experience for many. As a friend mentioned yesterday, people only think in short blurbs anymore, rather than writing as a craft. Anything longer than a paragraph will soon no longer exist! Twitter, on the other hand, is the spawn of the devil. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about it. And the people who use it like texting can rot in hell. Remember that the public is reading your crap. And they don't really want to be. Remember the old days when you'd just text one person about personal stuff, rather than broadcasting it to all? And what's up with this "following" contest? Or even worse...worrying about who "unfollowed"? It's back to junior high again!
7. Sage Saga - I purposely avoided saying anything about the "outing" of Sage, and his subsequent disappearance when it happened. It's no secret that I didn't like him, but as I said at the time, I wouldn't wish his situation on my worst enemy. (Secretly, I might have considered including the whole thing on my "Highs" list...) But why this made the list is because of how people I generally respect and like reacted to it. The name-calling, the blog posts, the all-out attacks on both sides of the fence--it was worse than schoolyard fights! And the number of weeks that it dragged on! Geez! For a lack of a better term, it was embarrassing. A new low for our community...
6. OsTours '10 - This will appear in the "Highs" list as well. The part that was terribly disappointing was not who I met or what I did, but those whom I didn't meet. It's probably quite selfish of me, but if I haul my butt thousands of miles to where you're at, is it really that hard to meet up one night? Granted, there were extenuating circumstances in Nashville (these people have no idea what to do when they see a snowflake!), but BTExpress' pool party had been planned for well over a year. And many of his RL friends and blogfriends indicated they'd show. Food and booze had been purchased. In the end, four of us showed up. Again, is it really that difficult to come out for one night? Fortunately, I've got great memories to fall back on, even without the people who said they'd be there...
5. Job situation - This is something that I haven't mentioned online. I basically work two half-time jobs. The symphony gig is probably less than half-time, but I do all my work in a concentrated time frame (one weekend/month, a handful of evenings, and flexible days). My "day" job is also half-time, allowing me great freedom for gigs, symphony, travel, etc. I'll never get rich, however. I was informed just after Thanksgiving, that I was going go be "indefinitely let go" as of Dec. 15th, due to a bad economic year. This coming after Dad's death, and right in the middle of the December symphony work. Because of that symphony work, I had planned to skip a day so I could set up. One of the owners took over my job that day. Apparently, I do more than they realized. So for the time being, I still have my "day" job, though my hours have been cut almost in half (so I'm now quarter time). They want to be able to bring me back to my previous hours, but it's a wait and see thing. I'm OK with that right now, but we'll see what it's like in February. Not sure how long I can go with the current situation.
4. Fire at Phain's - The night that Phain's apartment building went up in flames is still vivid in my mind. She had dropped out of blogging for the most part, and even many of her old fans had no idea where she'd run off to. Fortunately, we have kept in touch, so I knew about the fire as soon as someone put it online. At the time, it was thought that there was nothing salvageable, and I wanted to go into full rescue mode. As it turned out, she was able to salvage a great deal. And that rescue mode hit her friends and church, as people opened up their hearts and pocketbooks to help her out. While I still feel that I was pretty much helpless, it's good to know that the good karma fairy was on her side that week.
3. Rachel and other families - While I have been mourning all the death in my family for the past half year, I tended to forget that I'm not the only one who's seen his share of sadness. Rachel (for the newbies--one of the original HNTers and one of my beer-drinkin' buddies) had to deal with the death of her father early in the year. And then, after spending a summer in the mountains of Glacier Park, her longtime companion Midget (a cute little ratlike dog) was run down a day before they were to be reunited. Many others lost parents, kids, relatives, pets and friends. A friend sent me an email saying that she was sort of down this Christmas, but that she felt she had no right to say that after the year I've had. I said to her, "horse feathers!" (well, I used a different set of words, but you get the gist...) Sadness is as deep for each of us as it may be at the moment. No one individual's sadness should be more or less than anyone else's. So while I'm sad in my own life, I'm sad for Rachel, and the many others over the year who have expressed their sadness online, regardless of how you might think they "compare"...
2. BIL2's Death - Ray's death at 47 came totally out of the blue. He is the one who exercised, who ran, who actually watched what it was that he ate. He was active in the community. He was a great father. He was well-liked in the community. His death cast a dark cloud over the summer, though that's not what he would have wanted. It took months, but my sister (who was a rock) finally got past the daily condolences from well-meaning colleagues and workers. By the fall, some sense of normalcy was returning. Then Ray's father died (somewhat expected, and a bit of a blessing). She was able to survive that pretty well. We knew Thanksgiving would be a bit rough, with Ray not being at the table with us, but none of us was prepared for...
1. Dad's Death - I think I've said all I want to say in previous posts. This is a no-brainer.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Favorite HNT 2010
Dec. 30th - Favorite HNT
This is your chance to show off which HNT that you posted this year is your favorite! Not someone else's HNT, but your own. And tell us why it's your favorite! Newbies are encouraged to do this as well, even if you've only posted a handful. It can be your favorite for many reasons--because of the circumstances, or because you had "help" taking it, or because you're smiling--whatever... But most important, it's got to be one of YOUR HNTs.
Like most of you, you probably had more than one picture that you considered a "favorite" this year. What struck me was the number of pictures that really didn't impress me in the least! In my mind, there were maybe six that stood out over the others. As Emmy told me in a chat, "We are our own worst critics." I suppose that's right. Of the six, I was able to narrow it down to three, so here they are...This is one from January. In one of those "I don't know what to do" moments. God bless photo manipulation at those times! In fact, this same picture was used the next week, but in a variety of psychedelic colors, alá Warhol. I'm particularly impressed with this one though, as there seem to be more wrinkles and lines than what we realize exist in a regular picture. The details just jump out at me. And the eyes are sort of eerie too. All in all, pretty cool!
Another black & white picture (as opposed to grayscale) from September. Another of the "I don't know what to do" pictures. I didn't write any sort of missive as I usually do. Instead, I posted a variety of quotes using the word "future". Which, in turn, elicited all sorts of questions and concern about what I was thinking about.As I said, it was just a way to get through the week. Little did I know that it actually WAS somewhat prophetic. Since mid-November, there's been a lot of looking towards the future. Not so much in front of that window, but some looking ahead, nonetheless.
For someone who usually doesn't use Photoshop or some other program, I find it interesting that two of my favorites were, in fact, manipulated!
This one is definitely my favorite, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, because it was sort of a tribute last year's St. Patrick's Day Mystery Guest. Trust me, her Guinness/St. Patrick's Day picture was much better than mine! You can go looking for it in the archives, if you're so inclined.I like the apparently freshly shaved head. I like the colors. I remember liking the beer afterwards (and lord knows I do miss my beer...). But I think the thing I like the best is that this is raw, right out of the camera! No manipulation of any kind. The bottle and my thumb almost seem to be badly added to the picture. No adjustment to the lighting. And I believe this was the first use of a black bed sheet for a background (I HIGHLY recommend the purchase of a black bed sheet--for photographic purposes only, of course!).
So there you have it. My favorites of 2010. If you want to check out the rest of mine to see if you agree, you can check them out over here. I'm looking forward to see what each of you chose as your favorites!
"She'll come, she'll go.She'll lay belief on you
Skin sweet with musky oil
The lady from another grinning soul
Cologne she'll wear. Silver and Americard
She'll drive a beetle car
And beat you down at cool Canasta
And when the clothes are strewn
don't be afraid of the room
Touch the fullness of her breast.
Feel the love of her caress
She will be your living end"
Excerpt lyric by David Bowie
Check back Thursday afternoon to find out who this week's Mystery Guest is!
It wasn't too hard to figure out who our MG was this week. It's Lady Grinning Soul! Stop by and see what her favorite HNTs of the year were, and say hi!
A noticeably larger group of fellow HNTers joining in on the last OHNT of the decade! Be sure to stop by and leave some comments! As usual...NSFW.
I've got no plans for NYE this year. No parties to go to. And the weather won't be cooperating--bitter cold and snow. Sounds like a recipe for staying home if I've ever heard one. For any of you planning to go out, be safe, don't drink & drive, and behave! I hope all of you have a great new year!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
End of year stuff
I suppose I should write something... Must be on a post-Christmas lull. Christmas was actually a very good weekend. Nowhere near the sadness that I anticipated. My two oldest nieces even got to talking about picking lint out of their father's belly button as kids. I know...sorta disgusting, but lots of laughs, and it seems that we're all coping with death pretty well.
- Don't forget this last theme for the year! Choose your favorite HNT that you posted in 2010. If you're like me, you might have a couple, so cheating is allowed. :-P
I don't generally post a recruitment for OHNT, but this will be the If you've never done it before, or haven't in awhile, NOW is the time!!! It's as anonymous as you want it to be. Only those that you tell will know it's you (unless it's obvious by tattoos, backgrounds, etc...). Don't wait any longer...it's the end of the decade!!!
Might also note that I don't have a Mystery Guest for this week. First one to claim it, gets it! Email me!
- Don't forget this last theme for the year! Choose your favorite HNT that you posted in 2010. If you're like me, you might have a couple, so cheating is allowed. :-P
I don't generally post a recruitment for OHNT, but this will be the If you've never done it before, or haven't in awhile, NOW is the time!!! It's as anonymous as you want it to be. Only those that you tell will know it's you (unless it's obvious by tattoos, backgrounds, etc...). Don't wait any longer...it's the end of the decade!!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas to All!
So...it's Christmas Eve. Sad to say, I'm not feeling it this year. Slowly, and somewhat under the radar, the sadness of the family situation has crept in. Certainly not unexpected, but it's still taken me by surprise.I've had the Christmas music going constantly at work (where I'm at right now, btw...), but very little at home. In fact it was just yesterday that I realized that I'm missing about a dozen Christmas CDs. The only place they might be would be at my sister's, where I took them TWO YEARS AGO. I think it's telling that I've got so much Christmas music that it took me two years to realize I'm missing a dozen CDs!
I usually class up the blog with a variety of Christmas/winter pictures. Maybe it's because of "new" blogger, but I just didn't have the desire to mess with it this year, other than what you see right now.
I have seen a few of the Christmas 'standards' on TV, but frankly, my heart wasn't into them. Though it was good to see "Scrooged"--but only the first time (I dislike these movie marathons. Sure, run them a couple of times, but not ten times in two weeks!). I even watched "Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas" and it hardly elicited a chuckle.
I had grand plans of getting Christmas cards out this year, working on them right after Nutcracker was done. Didn't get to them. Might try for an end-of-year card, but I'm not holding my breath. On the other hand, I've gotten a number of Christmas cards from you people, and every one of them has brought a smile. One definite bright spot right there.
I didn't do a tree this year. I think that was a mistake. But not because I wasn't "into" it. This new TV (and furniture changes) didn't allow room for one. At least not without spending a lot of time on even more changes. Which I didn't have. I'm thinking now that I would have liked one.
Other than going out for beers with Kamey, her brother and SIL earlier this week, I've avoided any social situations. Not that there were that many to choose from. Maybe an avoidance of constant condolences? I don't know.
The funny thing is...it's not a matter of hating Christmas, or even worse, stressing out over it. People who know me, know that I come off as a bit of a Grinch around Thanksgiving, but warm up to Christmas after the symphony stuff is done. It just didn't happen this year. And yet, I probably have a bit more spirit than some of you have, based on some of your posts and FB statuses. Some of you feel so defeated, especially at this time of year (or because of it). And I get down because, for as much as I'd like to be holly and jolly this year, there's nothing I can do to help you reach that point yourselves. Maybe it's not my place to try, but it's who I am (but don't tell anyone!).
With all of that said (did anyone read down this far?), there's been a few bright spots. The weather cooperating with me during the two weeks of orchestra moves--bright and sunny and relatively warm (as opposed to the snowy, windy, sub-zero temps of the previous 3 years!). The national championship brought home by Carroll College made for a great Saturday afternoon. The aforementioned Christmas cards (and Gucci's caramels--OMG!). And I really like how the Three Wishes HNT was played out by you guys. Definitely our best year of doing that, I believe.
I DO want to wish every one of you a very happy, very merry Christmas! Whether you're at home or traveling, with the ones you love or away, with your family or with friends, be sure to make it a memorable one (preferably in a good way!). The Os clan will get together tonight, Mom and I will go out for a Christmas brunch, then she's going to host Christmas dinner. Not as many plates at the dinner table anymore, but I think it's going to be a good weekend.And because I can, let me share one of my greatest fantasies--Scarlett Johansson playing the trombone. Really. There's only one way it could be any better...
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Three Christmas Wishes HNT 2010
This week's theme is, by far, the hardest theme of the year that I come up with. It's the one I hear the most complaints about, as well as the most compliments about what a great idea it is! The premise is simple (or so I thought)--pick three bloggers/HNTers that you'd give Christmas wishes/gifts to, with unlimited means and resources. The catch--don't pick three of your closest blogger buddies. You'll be sending them ecards/chats/texts/emails to send your Christmas wishes anyway. No, the hard part here is to pick three that you might not even read, other than on Thursdays. Three that strike your fancy enough to let them know they're a hair above the rest of the masses. It also requires a bit of research into that person's blog so that your wishes/gifts are at least appropriate. This was a whole lot easier in the old days when there were so many doing HNT. But I think I've picked three good ones...
The first person I thought of was Biscuit over at "Diary of a One Biscuit Hound". I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we miss her. Almost always funny (whether intentional or not) in her writing, always classy with her HNTs, and just a joy to visit every day. I'm going with two things for her. Ultimately, she gave up blogging because of a lack of time. So first off, I'd give her an extra two hours in the day. But being selfish, those two hours would be spent online with us--not for chores or anything! Secondly, I know she's been wanting a bigger house, so I'd give her a monstrously big house. With the appropriate number of maids, pool boys, gardeners, chefs and handmaidens. Certainly don't want her spending her extra hours in the day cleaning the place herself! We miss ya, Biscuit!
The next person on my list would be Cher. Some of you might remember her simply as ~C~. She's a young single mother who has had to put up with a great deal of crap in life. And is still up to her pretty little neck in it. Blogging has pretty much fallen by the wayside, though she does Facebook somewhat regularly. Out of privacy, I won't get into details, but she's still dealing with some major stress in her life. So my wish for her would be a honkin' big pill that she could take that would miraculously take care of all that is troubling her so that she can get on with her life. And since it's a big honkin' pill, there's no reason it can't be a colorful one! Hang in there, kiddo!
Third on my list is the remarkable Ashly Star. Anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows her. She's led a far more colorful life than most of us, despite her young age (ok, she's definitely young to me!). She's spent much of her recent months unemployed, though not for lack of searching. She's been living with her boyfriend in his parent's basement (I think that's correct...). Money is not something that she's been swimming in. She has never whined about the lack of money, other than the occasional bitch about the lousy job market. She's a survivor, and will do whatever needs to be done to live life. And yet, every Christmas, she scrapes together what money she does have, and purchases toys to be donated to Toys For Tots. Money that could go towards new clothes, a little partying, or a car. These past two years she's asked us to join her, and we've delivered. And when she's through spending our money on toys, she spends a little more of her own. (be sure to check her site to see the toys she bought this year!) She's on the short list of bloggers I absolutely MUST meet someday (not sure why that didn't happen when I was down there...). Anyway, my Christmas wish for her would be a pile of money ($100s, of course). Not talking millions here or anything like that. But a good chunk of change for her to spend on herself. Not on toys, not for rent, not for food. But for a nice house, maybe four years of college, a car. The things that many of us take somewhat for granted. Allowing her to put herself at the front of the line. Not that she's looking to be there, or needs to be. But the good karma she's building up for herself is going to pay off for her someday, and I might as well be the one to gift it to her!
For the rest of you (how could I forget the rest of you?), I wish you the very happiest and merriest of Christmases. Might prove to be a tough one around here, but could also be one of the most memorable. Safe travels, if you're doing that. I look forward to our last HNT/OHNT of the decade next week!
"I bring a gift of Winter Roses to thee,
And offer a kiss 'neath the Mistletoe tree,
And adorn your hair with Holly berries,
In this celebration of Winter's Solstice."
Excerpt from "A Gift Of Winter Roses"
By Harry Boslem
This week's Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon. Be sure to come back to see who she is!
Today certainly did not suck! Our MG this week is the lovely slice of sunshine known as Maggie! Stop by to say "Merry Christmas" to her!
Lots of people wanting to get in on the last OHNTs of the decade over at "...the Other HNT"! Be sure to check out your fellow HNTers. And don't wait for an invitation--if you want to get in on the last one of the year, feel free to join in! NSFW, as always...
I finally got caught up on gathering up all of my HNTs in one spot! Two-hundred eighty HNTs, with all the click-throughs and mouseovers (#281 was last week's picture--it's not posted yet). Every week possible (not counting the December themes weeks, or that awful week in Jan. '07). It's going to make it easy to go back and pick my favorite for next week's ! (click on the tab below the header at the top of this page) Now I just have to get the OsShirt site current!
Gotta leave you with a song...
The first person I thought of was Biscuit over at "Diary of a One Biscuit Hound". I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we miss her. Almost always funny (whether intentional or not) in her writing, always classy with her HNTs, and just a joy to visit every day. I'm going with two things for her. Ultimately, she gave up blogging because of a lack of time. So first off, I'd give her an extra two hours in the day. But being selfish, those two hours would be spent online with us--not for chores or anything! Secondly, I know she's been wanting a bigger house, so I'd give her a monstrously big house. With the appropriate number of maids, pool boys, gardeners, chefs and handmaidens. Certainly don't want her spending her extra hours in the day cleaning the place herself! We miss ya, Biscuit!
The next person on my list would be Cher. Some of you might remember her simply as ~C~. She's a young single mother who has had to put up with a great deal of crap in life. And is still up to her pretty little neck in it. Blogging has pretty much fallen by the wayside, though she does Facebook somewhat regularly. Out of privacy, I won't get into details, but she's still dealing with some major stress in her life. So my wish for her would be a honkin' big pill that she could take that would miraculously take care of all that is troubling her so that she can get on with her life. And since it's a big honkin' pill, there's no reason it can't be a colorful one! Hang in there, kiddo!
Third on my list is the remarkable Ashly Star. Anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows her. She's led a far more colorful life than most of us, despite her young age (ok, she's definitely young to me!). She's spent much of her recent months unemployed, though not for lack of searching. She's been living with her boyfriend in his parent's basement (I think that's correct...). Money is not something that she's been swimming in. She has never whined about the lack of money, other than the occasional bitch about the lousy job market. She's a survivor, and will do whatever needs to be done to live life. And yet, every Christmas, she scrapes together what money she does have, and purchases toys to be donated to Toys For Tots. Money that could go towards new clothes, a little partying, or a car. These past two years she's asked us to join her, and we've delivered. And when she's through spending our money on toys, she spends a little more of her own. (be sure to check her site to see the toys she bought this year!) She's on the short list of bloggers I absolutely MUST meet someday (not sure why that didn't happen when I was down there...). Anyway, my Christmas wish for her would be a pile of money ($100s, of course). Not talking millions here or anything like that. But a good chunk of change for her to spend on herself. Not on toys, not for rent, not for food. But for a nice house, maybe four years of college, a car. The things that many of us take somewhat for granted. Allowing her to put herself at the front of the line. Not that she's looking to be there, or needs to be. But the good karma she's building up for herself is going to pay off for her someday, and I might as well be the one to gift it to her!For the rest of you (how could I forget the rest of you?), I wish you the very happiest and merriest of Christmases. Might prove to be a tough one around here, but could also be one of the most memorable. Safe travels, if you're doing that. I look forward to our last HNT/OHNT of the decade next week!
"I bring a gift of Winter Roses to thee,And offer a kiss 'neath the Mistletoe tree,
And adorn your hair with Holly berries,
In this celebration of Winter's Solstice."
Excerpt from "A Gift Of Winter Roses"
By Harry Boslem
This week's Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon. Be sure to come back to see who she is!
Today certainly did not suck! Our MG this week is the lovely slice of sunshine known as Maggie! Stop by to say "Merry Christmas" to her!
Lots of people wanting to get in on the last OHNTs of the decade over at "...the Other HNT"! Be sure to check out your fellow HNTers. And don't wait for an invitation--if you want to get in on the last one of the year, feel free to join in! NSFW, as always...
I finally got caught up on gathering up all of my HNTs in one spot! Two-hundred eighty HNTs, with all the click-throughs and mouseovers (#281 was last week's picture--it's not posted yet). Every week possible (not counting the December themes weeks, or that awful week in Jan. '07). It's going to make it easy to go back and pick my favorite for next week's ! (click on the tab below the header at the top of this page) Now I just have to get the OsShirt site current!
Gotta leave you with a song...
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