NinjaRobot Thoughts

Cat I'm a Kitty Cat!

2011-06-19T20:30:00.004-06:00

I think it's going to be a particularly good week to be a cat; providing you live in my house and your name is Inigo. We brought Inigo home back in November. We had intended to adopt a dog. In fact we had one picked out and accessories purchased, only to find that our townhouses did not allow dogs over 14"; and as we don't consider ourselves the 'toy' dog set we scrapped the idea altogether. That was the end of our doggie dreams. However our desire for a pet did not dissipate and one fateful day while shopping for material for Malcolm's Home Ec project, in a mall we don't normally frequent . . . . we found ourselves amidst a cat show & sale. Still, we had no intentions of buying or adopting a cat, but what harm would come over ogling some kittehs?

We headed over to a cage full of active little jet black and sable kittens where the woman was allowing passersby to play with and pet them. She told us she had a special deal for us. These kittens were destined for the local pound; where they do their best but still manage to euthanize more animals than they adopt every year due to the sheer volume of animals abandoned in a city this size, so on that day she was giving away those kittens free of charge. In fact they weren't even her kittens, an elderly friend had been keeping them after their mother had been run over before they were weaned. She had bottle fed them to keep them alive and now that they were 6 weeks and into more mischief the lady could not continue to tend to them. Sadly the decision was made to find them proper homes or let them go to the pound. You can't fault the old lady, she did what she could and was probably making the right decision to part with them as she had cats of her own to tend to. At any right Malcolm's mind was made up right then and there and it didn't take much effort to convince the man-thing and I either. We were getting a kitten.

We set about purchasing the necessities for our new little friend while Malcolm selected the perfect specimen from the litter (or rather our new pet chose him as they often do). The cat lady examined and proclaimed our choice to be a male, and we were off to the car with huge fluffy flakes of snow falling down upon him as he huddled into the fabric we had purchased for the school project. After some discussion we settled on the name Inigo. Of course as these things usually go . . . we began to have doubts about the cat lady's assessment that Inigo was a male. . . . in fact she was wrong. Inigo is definitely a female, but the name is still funny and it's still hers. We quickly discovered a few other things about our new family member as well. She was, and remains an extremely active high energy cat. The kind that likes to sit on your shoulder (earning her the nickname 'parrot kitty') & make robotic bird-like keening noises as opposed to the standard meow. We began googling for ways to keep her entertained as the usual kitty fare was not cutting it. We found many articles talking about cats with greater needs for play, those that tended to be rougher and more demanding of their human counterparts. One breed in particular was noted for these traits and also having strange vocal patterns and even riding around on their owners shoulders, greeting them at the door. . and a number of other weird things we had attributed to Inigo's particular upbringing. It was the Bombay. We googled Bombay kittens and hit the images tab. Sweet baby cheesus! That's our cat!

Inigo; severely pissed off at my attempts to capture her with her eyes open :P

With the exception of a few wrongly placed images on that page. . . yeah. Bombay's are known as black patent kitties with copper eyes. They are extremely high energy, needing constant attention from their owners and often behave more like dogs than cats. They're densely muscled hunters of the domestic landscape that attach themselves to their people like velcro, and it's the truth. I cannot walk anywhere in the house without Inigo being under foot. Which has led to me nearly breaking my neck on the stairs more than a few times in the dark of the night as she slips between my legs. She is now approximately 10 months old and though physically nearly fully matured she is still more active than the average kitten. Constantly stealing objects from around the house to hunt and fetch, and finding trouble whenever boredom sets in. It's a challenge to keep her occupied, not because she loses interest in her toys but because they still never seem to be enough activity for her. When she's entertained and fulfilled she's docile and friendly. . but when she's bored and under-stimulated. . there is hell to pay. The claws come out and every movement in the home must be tracked and attacked. She is not behaving in an aggressive vicious manner. She is playing and interacting the only way she knows how, but that doesn't make it hurt any less when her claws sink into your ankle from under the cover of your bed. She climbs on any and everything and jumps about like a kitty possessed. She needs near constant entertaining.

So this weekend we devoted some time and research to finding ways to better fulfill Inigo's needs. We started by purchasing a new litter box to handle her aggressive kicking and digging and some more kitty treats, while on the hunt for the two items we had settled on as necessary habitat requirements for our active little friend.

#1 - A cat tree. A nice tall piece of furniture all her own for scratching, climbing, chewing, jumping, and sleeping upon.
#2 - A new interactive toy for high energy cats.

Cat trees are found plentiful in pet stores across the city, but they come with some pretty hefty price tags. We've seen them in the size we want anywhere from $200 and up. This weekend the best we found was on sale for an incredible half price and still $119 plus tax. I had brought some shipping tubes home from work so the decision was made . . . we would make our own. So far we have spent $10 on sisal rope for the scratching post and $12 on a ridiculously dense shag carpet to cover the platforms. We will scavenge the platform and base from discarded wood and build the supports from pvc the man-thing can salvage on the cheap from work.

in progress material shot

I promise more pics will be posted as the project progresses! So far the materials seem to be a hit with Inigo. The rope was immediately attractive and she's fascinated by the deep pile of shag. Hopefully the finished cat tree will give her a healthy outlet for energy and save us a good couple hundred dollars while we're at it.

Of course with the extra savings from the cat tree we were able to splurge on item #2, the toy she needs to keep her entertained and active while the humans are working and schooling all day long. Enter the Bergan Turbo Track! This thing is the internet darling of cat toys! Even the negative reviews of this toy are rated 3 stars and favorable to say the least. I had to search high and low to find a couple of reviews stating that it just wasn't a hit with any cats. We were unable to purchase this specific toy at any local retailers so we ended up ordering 3 of them from Amazon.com. It was a little pricey to have them shipped from the states but we are really anticipating great returns of enjoyment & entertainment from this one!

This toy looks epic!

I cannot wait to get this thing in the mail and set it up in any one of it's many configurable fashions, fun for the whole family; but most importantly . . . fun for Inigo. If any thing can keep her busy while we're not around this thing will! Anything that moves is infinitely fascinating to her, tracking., chasing, wrestling. . . . check, check, and check! Even if she uses it only 5 minutes out of every hour, that's 40 minutes of all out play while the humans are away! Cannot wait to see her go at it! It's going to be a good week to be a cat in this house!

Shades Of Scorpius! Why Didn't I Think Of That Earlier?

2011-06-06T21:26:00.001-06:00

I just realized right this very minute that I missed out on a golden opportunity . . . twice. I have two sons. Caleb, and Malcolm. Plenty of thought and care went into choosing the right names for them, and I'm happy to say that they're both thoroughly satisfied with the result. However. . . . I really missed out on a pretty good opportunity to name either of them Daedalus. What was I thinking? How frikkin' sweet would that have been? Have you met my son; DAEDALUS?!! Ugh! Boy the fun I coulda had!

Daedalus intent on wreckin' up Herc's day . . again!

I used to watch The Mighty Hercules every morning before school, along with Rocket Robin Hood, and of course let us never forget The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein. You had to get outta bed extra early in order to see these gems but it was so worth it. I have my official Frightenstein Fiend Club shirt and pin (thanks to Steve) and I wear them proudly. I wonder if I could get a Daedalus shirt? It wouldn't make up for missing out on naming my son but it sure would be a sweet conversation starter.

Daedalus vs. Hercules. . who will win?!

I couldn't find clips of some of my more treasured memories from the show, like the episode where Newton falls asleep and dreams that a new centaur is hanging out with Herc. Of course the new guy is wayyyyy cooler than Newton and everyone likes him much better. His name is Notwen, and when he finally wakes up Herc & friends have a real good laugh at Newton's insecurities because of course everybody knows Notwen is just Newton spelled backwords. Ha ha ha. . . ha. . . . ha. Yeah. Herc kinda was a jerk.

Rocket Robin Hood!

I never was much of a Robin Hood fan but anytime you strap a jet pack to a guy's back and stick the word 'rocket' in front of his name; you've created a recipe for awesomeness. The show itself was pretty horrible; and since you probably just watched a pretty pathetic clip of the intro you're likely wondering how much worse it could get. Trust me. It sucked. Tiny little vignettes were sandwiched in between the ridiculously short episodes, and they were always the same ones, recycled again and again. Somehow though. . . that damn jet pack made up for all the sins of having to watch Friar Tuck eat the same damn chicken leg every single episode.

Of course my real reason for getting outta bed so early was always Frightenstein. This show was the very best that tv had to offer to adolescent me. I adored everything about this show. Vincent Price, the Wolfman, Igor, Grammar Slammer Bammer, and of course the Professor single handedly gave me a love for all things science. It probably explains a lot to say that I was a loyal viewer rabid fan (who am I kidding?), even though none of my friends watched this show. Not for any lack of proselytizing on my part about the wonders of this gem, I assure you.

Recent airings and dvd collections are sadly lacking the original skits of the Wolfman and Igor dancing in front of the psychedelic screen, licensing, music rights blah . . . blah . . . blah . . . . enjoy this youtube goodness while you can! And should you decide to procreate any time soon . . . consider Daedalus . . . no really. you might regret it later if you don't.

Man this show was the best!

Damien in Vicar Street Last Night

2011-06-01T02:15:00.002-06:00

Damien in Vicar Street Last Night

News of these occurrences absolutely kills me :( What I wouldn't give to run away to Ireland and see these two perform together. *sigh* That is all lol.

Le Butcherettes & Facebook's Scarier Points

2011-05-26T21:11:00.001-06:00

Some musical goodness brought to you by the fancy-schmancy Blog This! button hanging out on by my browser bar. This is it's first official run at helping me to remember to post more often, and I almost didn't do it. Instead I was about to post it to Facebook; a place I'm going to post less to since it is becoming more like a sanctioned stalker than a handy way of staying connected. Besides weeding out certain feeds from friends of it's own accord FB has become uber creepy in the last few months. It is constantly scanning the text of all posts and updates made in order to better predict which pages, ads, groups etc will appeal to the user. It even goes so far as to use colour matching as an attempt at suggestive selling. When Derby Baby showed up in my feed multiple times a day celebrating the impending release of what is to be an epic derby documentary. . . their pretty pink promo pic prompted FB's algorithm creator to determine that pink must be the colour for me! All the pages and ads suggested for me we're hot pink! I reloaded my page a minimum of ten times before it ran outta hot pink things to throw at me. Of course anyone who knows me for real is well aware that me and pink do not mix. Pink does not reside within my wardrobe. . . with the exception of a hot pink outline of Angus Young. Similarly when a friend underwent brain surgery recently, posting up progress pics of herself in the usual sick green hospital gown, FB noted my interest in her photo's and colour matched some beautiful ads for bridesmaid gowns. . . . . . in hospital green. Really FB? Puke green and hot pink? I can accept the fact that creating a status update about Alien nation causes me to have things like the Star Wars, and Alien fan pages suggested to me. . . . but seriously! Just because I view hospital recovery pics of my friends does not mean I wish to purchase sickly party gowns. You've gone too far. Anyway enjoy some music :)

The Rapture . . . . That Did Not Occur and My Hometown

2011-05-22T02:28:00.002-06:00

It's the end of the world as we know it . . . and I'm bored as hell. May long weekend, nothing doing, just an over whelming sense of boredom. Got up & cleaned house today, did the shopping, and made some potato salad for dinner earlier this evening with the man-thing's father. Obviously this is not a normal occurrence as the man-thing's parents live back in Trenton; but being a truck driver sometimes lands his father out west. This time he was travelling from Maryland to Calgary. Which technically puts us as an outta the way unpaid detour, but I guess maybe he just wanted to see his son and hang out with some family this long weekend. (Even though I'm sure man-thing would argue otherwise) So we had some barbecue, and the men had some beer. I watched some live east coast derby action on Canuck Derby TV (I adore what these guys are trying to do for derby) and then the man-thing called it a night. So here I am . . bored, blogging.

Awhile back I was going to post one of those super cheesy 'hometown' posts for the Saskatoon peoples to ogle my roots. . . but then I started scouring the web for awesome pics and realized that most of the places I wanted to share. . . had darker images attached to them within my mind and catalogued on Google. Images of violence, and murder that seem to have proliferated in the last decade. The post never happened, much like the rapture that was set to occur today. (Nice work people who quit your jobs to fund billboards LOL) So, in lieu of earthquakes, floods, ultimate pain and suffering . . I give you sinners the bleakly nostalgic hometown post!

A little viewing music to set the mood

As it happens I actually don't have any of my own photo's here. They were one of the 'luxury' items we left packed in my mother's basement to be retrieved at a later date. So you'll have to make do with images procured through Google ;)

Downtown core at night. . looking particularly nice (more photo's and video's from owner's site here ) You can see 'Smoker's World' just on the other side of the crosswalk here. . a mainstay of Trenton retailers. . the place to procure magazines, cigarettes, and the occasional lotto ticket.

Another shot looking downtown from on the 'doughnut bridge'. We have two bridges. . the doughnut bridge, named for it's former proximity to the old Timmies location just left of this photo, and the 'chicken bridge' named for it's proximity to the KFC. (of course they have actual names but what fun is that?)

Some links to some very artsy pretty photo's . . . the old Coke sign . . .right around the corner from Jonzie's tattoo. . in case you wanna get inked by a guy you went to high school with. Night shot of the rear of the 'new' library/ city hall building (it will always be new to me) including the one thing you never go a day without seeing in Trenton, much less an hour. . . airplanes. Shot of the corner where the 'Hollywood North' sign is located. . also known as one block from my parents house.

Will S. . . has gone to the trouble of compiling an awesome Flickriver of Quinte West at large, complete with photo's of the Skyline Diner & Blue Room, and even the pallet yard where Tony used to build every day on Aikins Rd. Images from atop Mt. Pelion and even of Domtar. The only photo's I couldn't seem to locate to share here were ones of the 'doughnut bridge's' remarkable predecessor. As a child one of the thing's that stands out most in my memories of my hometown is the multispan swing bridge that originally sat at the mouth of the bay. With it's open grating and single arm to tell you not to enter; the bridge was going to swing and allow large vessels access into the Trent-Severn Waterway and it's many locks. Eventually traffic demands forced the city to do the unthinkable and replace the old swing bridge with a new higher arched bridge. One which was built adjacent to the old swinging bridge and 'slid' into place after the old one had been demolished. We all got to 'skip' school for awhile that day and watch this historic event with our class mates. I really would have thought someone would have a well documented series of photo's of this unique circumstance posted up somewhere on the net, but all I could find were citations in engineering documents. I'll keep looking though. . they're out there somewhere.

Anyway, this post could go on forever while I add any & everything about CFB Trenton. . but you can find a million pics or youtube videos online without any help from me regarding that subject. Though admittedly you'll also be dredging up the dark side of our sleepy little town's recent history as well.

The Remorseful Blogger Redux

2011-05-20T00:41:00.000-06:00

Ok, so we've been here before; and although I'd like to promise you that it'll never happen again. . . I won't. The truth is it will happen again, many, many times. Sometimes life just sucks all the time and energy away from me, and though I may be vegetating with laptop at the ready. . . blogging is often just one more thing I wish I cared enough about to keep up with. I mean maybe that sounds a touch harsh, or as though I feel it's a chore. So why bother having a blog at all then? The simple answer is because I can. I want to blog when I'm feeling the persuasion to write and I want to ignore it when life is just too damn hard to deal with as it is. Sometimes it seems the more I have to say the less I post at all.

Since I last posted I could have told you a million things. Posts that never happened could include, my new laptop, craft swapping, craft projects for friends and family, a million derby bout posts, the frikkin Reidell Vixens I recently purchased, the usual work craziness, some silly photo adventures, or even the anxiety that currently consumes . . man-thing's upcoming interview. Which could potentially lead to a better career for him. . . . a move to another city, and of course that would mean I have to start all over again. Find a new job. . . again. I could tell you about my own indecisive struggles, my total inability to decipher the correct path for me at this stage of things. The pervasive feeling that any decision I would make would amount to no better than simply flipping a coin and running with the outcome. Sadly I won't go into details here about most of those things.

I guess a good part of the reasoning behind this is that while my blog is fairly random and largely ignored (unless I have made a recent Craftster post) I know that there is at least one person who is something of a secret voyeur of these posts. Never commenting here or in real life, but nevertheless reading anyway. Following my online doings in a shadowy fringe way. This doesn't upset me or make me angry at all. It simply prevents me from giving full disclosure of my life and the events that are transpiring. It shouldn't . . . and I know that best of all; but the fact remains that it does.

Anyway, I installed the Blog This! button tonight and I'm planning on making use of it in the coming weeks. It's my goal to get back in the habit and maybe even a new template is in order. For now I leave you with this:

There’s a reason I said I’d be happy alone.

It wasn’t cause I thought I’d be happy alone. It was because I thought if I loved someone and then it fell apart, I might not make it.

It’s easier to be alone. Because what if you learn you need love and then you don’t have it? What if you like it and lean on it?

What if you shape your life around it, and then it falls apart?

Can we even survive that kind of pain?

Losing love is like organ damage.

It’s like dying.

The only difference is death ends.

This?

It could go on forever.

Grey’s Anatomy – S 7 E 22 – “Unaccompanied Minor”

Teh Robot Overlord Race is Coming!

2011-02-22T12:02:00.000-06:00

Personally, I think this is absolute frikkin' genius at work and cannot wait to see how far they can take this. However . . if you are in fact staunchly Vegan. . . please do not clicky the linky.

Quick Pic

2011-01-11T08:50:00.001-06:00

Greg took this pic some time ago downtown so I thought I'd share it with you. . . gives me teh giggles

Alien VS Predator

First Post Of The New Year!

2011-01-03T09:06:00.001-06:00

Well as per usual, real life sucked all the energy out of me and as a result I haven't blogged in a century! So now that Christmas is officially over and things are settling down I figured this blog is well over due for some attention.; and since it's been neglected for so long I have lots to share! Except I'm technically on my way to work so I'll start by posting up the pics of Lexi's Christmas baby. Or at least the pics I do have since as per usual I forgot to keep taking in progress shots while I was crafting. Go me!

Of course this 'before' shot is technically after I had begun to craft. See. . . I forgot before I even started! Really, how hard is it to take a decent before pic? Anyway, you get the gist, cute little baby.

Here you can see I've got his base coat down and attached the wire which will support his dangling eye ball. Yes, I said dangling eye ball. Ohhhh c'mon you knew something was up from the first shot where his eye was laying on the table all nonchalantly beside him.

Slightly blurry shot, nevertheless, here you can see I've added his teeth and affixed his 'eye' to the wire.

Add some bloody paint for the gore effects and to turn the wire into something slightly more plausible. Here's where I stop remembering to take the progress shots! *insert eye roll*

I finished layering in the shading and added two horrible bloody scabs; scabs which are at that horrible stage where the margins are all lifted and picky. You desperately want to pick them off but the centers are still firmly attached and they'll bleed like crazy if you do it. . . . but you just can't resist the lure to pick at them!

Anyway, as you can sort of see from this shot his ribs are slightly protruding from his chest as well. I gotta run off to work so mebbe I'll come back later and post up a happy little Chrimbo picture of him for you. Won't that be nice :)

Awwwwww!

My Boss Is Awesome!

2010-11-09T14:52:00.001-06:00

Last week my boss called me into her office *cue the ominous music* Just kidding! It's never scary in Becky's office; unless she's been up all night decorating the store with Debbs and is now cycling through the giddy delirium of sleep deprivation. Anyway Becky loves to shop, and with the holiday season nearly upon us she's been keeping her eye out for awesome gifty opportunities to spoil the staff. Hey wait. . staff. . .that's me! Wanna see what I got? I bet you do!

HOLY CRAP! It's zombie cross stitch!

Complete fun-ness including an undead MJ!

Bahaha mmmm . . . brains. . .

So. . yeah, Becky told me she brought this home and her hubby was somewhat aghast until he was informed it was a gift for me. At which point I'm sure it all made perfect sense 'oh yeah that weird girl at work who makes me kinda uncomfortable' Poor boy. I'm sure he was greatly relieved it wasn't going to be Becky's new hobby. Maybe I should get her into crafting oddities. Muahahahaha *rubs hands together evilly*. Think of the fun she could have!

Anyway, isn't that just the best 'gift from the boss' you ever did see!? Go now. . be jealous. It's ok.

Makeover Monday!

2010-11-08T00:32:00.000-06:00

Why does that say Makeover Monday? Possibly because I am once again here to apologize for being a bad blogger. Yep. You may have been expecting another installment of Celluloid Sunday to be posted up yesterday; and rightfully so since it was Sunday after all, only to find no posts from me . . . again. I swear I meant to post up in my usual fashion just before midnight. I had the movie all picked out, knew what I was gonna say, found you a nice clip. . . . and then I decided to do my dishes. So by the time I remembered my original plan, my clock on the microwave read 12:04. *face palms repeatedly* Go me!

Anyway I figured I'd post you something in lieu of my ~~regular feature~~ mostly neglected somewhat bi-weekly feature. So please except this awesome 'makeover' of Aqua's Barbie Girl. Yeah you heard me, Barbie Girl. C'mon Barbie let's go party!

Bahahahaha. . . this guy has talent. I love it when he cracks himself up towards the end but keeps going anyways. He has a few other cover tunes and some original material on YouTube, you can find that here; but this one was definitely my fave.

Glen Hansard - Say it to Me Now

2010-11-04T02:34:00.000-06:00

Hallowe'ekend Fun

2010-10-31T23:41:00.000-06:00

Well we didn't do too much this weekend; despite it being Hallowe'en. The man-thing and I did the pre-requisite shopping and run around Saturday afternoon; unwisely deciding upon the purchase of one pumpkin to carve. Then we headed off to SRDL's* intra-league bout between the Multiple ConVixens and the Misfit Mafia. The man-thing likes to cheer for the Convixens, whilst I have decided upon the Mafia as my team. (They wear purple and black and have Forna Kate and my new fave Fireweed) There was a little costume contest action at the halfway point. I still say Magnum PI and Hit-Girl were robbed; they had the best costumes there for the adults, both completely home made as well. My team of course won the bout last night, because they rock. 198 - 162 I believe was the final score. With a large number of those points scored by Fireweed. That girl can skate.

Next we headed back home; both the man-thing and I had somehow forgotten our cell phones at the house before heading out *insert eye-roll here*, only to find a text from Kayla reminding me that her band the Seahags was playing downtown at Erotic Encounter Boutique. So we headed back out in hopes of catching their set. Luckily as things usually go, they were late getting going so we didn't miss a thing. We got to meet Kayla's friend and band-mate April. (She seems super nice in a 'not a phony' way) The Seahags were dressed for the occasion, rockin' a group costume of the Royal Tenenbaums. Timothy O'Doran and Friends started the evening out (I'd give you a link n all but I googled the boy and came up with not but his very private facebook-y page . . . no linky for you Mr. O'Doran) The boy can play but I have to admit the accompanying accordion was a trifle heavy handed and droning at times. Then the Seahags took the stage and they were pretty damn good actually. I don't go in for the gospel stuff, so maybe I could have done without that portion of the set; but I can see where these girls could really tighten up if they had the opportunity to devote more time to their art. They can really play.

If I had one constructive point of advise for them. . . .it would be to colour up their set by varying the tempo of the tracks. Toss in a slow number or two, throw in a harder take here and there. Riki took a fairly good run at Jolene for their closing number but I always find it hard to listen to a cover by someone as recognizable as Dolly. Unless you've really gone over the arrangement and made it entirely your own I still here the original in my head, and nobody wants to be compared to Dolly. ( Well maybe Whitney but that's another story. . . yikes) The White Stripes do an interesting version you can find here. Susanna and The Magical Orchestra gave it a passable try though it still seems to be missing something. In my head I guess I hear it as a mix of the two, the pared down breathier singing style married with the heavier hitting sound of the drums et al when the chorus comes in. Let the instruments take care of the 'power' instead of belting it like Dolly does, and convey the raw emotion, the desperation of the piece through the anguished sound of the singer's voice. Cover songs are dicey business.

In honour of that fact I'm gonna give you a little video of a truly great cover. . . .or two.

Billie Jean ~ Foy Vance. I've heard him do this better but this is the cleanest youtube copy out there.

Damien Rice ~ When Doves Cry. This is freakin' incredible. . .so listen to it quick before the audio gets pulled like every other copy I found posted up on youtube. He pulls off the most incredible segue mid-song, you just don't wanna miss it.

Anyway, Kayla. . .you kick ass girl! . . .and you're cute doin' it.

So today we took it easy, carved the pumpkin. . . .into a pea shooter from Plants VS Zombies!!!! . . .hunted around for a second pumpkin to carve into a zombie, to no avail; everywhere was clean sold out. Set it up outside and waited for the trick or treaters to come. Which they did not. We had like four kids show up, while it was still light outside no less. They didn't even get to see the full effect of our pumpkin. Is Hallowe'en completely defunct in Saskatchewan as well? WTF? Seriously! So very sad. . .luckily we have a very large bowl of candy for me to console myself with; but man, if I had known nobody was gonna show up I'd have bought some higher quality diggs! *super sigh* I'd post a pic of my carving along with his accompanying paper zombies but I totally lost all love for the event when I realized nobody was coming for my sweet, sweet candy. :(

So . . .I guess that about sums up Hallowe'ekend. So glad we got to see the Seahags play, and enjoy some derby action!

*I'd give you the link to the SRDL's website but it's been under construction for some time now and there just isn't a lot to see.

The Remorseful Blogger Post

2010-10-27T22:03:00.000-06:00

Mea culpa! I have been neglecting this blog as of lately but I swear, I was very busy and slightly unwell. It's not because I don't wanna blog anymore. So I'm promising to do a better job of blogging in the coming weeks. I don't actually have a post planned out tonight but I figured an update was long overdue so tonight I give you the awesome video round up.

I absolutely love that video. Nothing pushed the anxiety levels over the edge quicker when playing Yoshi's Island than that screaming baby Mario.

Twelve! This one's for Kayla ;)

And a bonus piccy of the clucking egg laying hen machine that was to be found dispensing ~~cheap plastic mass produced shit from China~~ wondrous rare treasures back in my squandered youth.

The Incredible Manic Man Post

2010-10-09T03:37:00.000-06:00

I am well aware that my taste in many areas is questionable at best, and well outside the norm. I've never seen the allure of Brad Pitt; with or without shirt, and the People's Sexiest Man Alive issues always leave me questioning just what it is I'm missing that all these other ladies are so obviously seeing. Not that this is a source of angst for me. Simply a point of mental ponderance.

The man-thing knows no pretty face or tight set of abs could ever turn my head. No metro-suave hipster wannabe with bedroom eyes would tempt me from his side. . . . but a manic man might just make me drool a little while. These musical boys brimming over with passion, conviction, and talent; they have the power to make me stop and look, but mostly to listen. So I figured I'd share some manic men I love with you.

New to my list of interesting manic men is Marcus Mumford. Not exactly the kind of pretty faced boy who finds himself on the cover of TigerBeat but man, this guy's for real. Like all the men on this list he's a multi-tasker; singer, song writer, guitarist, drummer, and he plays the freakin' mandolin.

Finding decent live footage of Brent Knopf playing in his Ramona Falls incarnate is not easy. There are so few videos off of Intuit, most of which were shot in seedy little pubs with atrocious sound. Absolute philistines walk around drunken and disrespectfully chatting through his performances; completely unaware of the musical genius being laid before them. Therefore I encourage you to also view the official video for this song. (Unless your one of my FB friends who already had to endure my rant about what a freakin' genius this man is and viewed it last year :P)

On to the original, and arguably most manic man in music today, Damien Rice. This is where the drool wiping really begins to get crazy. This boy should probably charge a nominal fee with every performance for the therapy session he provides. His songs are an absolute catharsis. This extended version live footage for 'I Remember' blows my mind. That boy must be utterly exhausted by the end of every show, he truly leaves it all on the stage.

Lastly, the man whose voice has never been absent from my Ipod over the last five+ years. Whether it be from his solo work, his old band or his new; Glen Hansard has always held my attention. Possibly my first encounter with his work was in the movie The Commitments as Outspan Foster wayyyyy back in '91. I rarely heard or saw anything of him during the next decade. The Frames have somehow never 'made it' in North America. This suits me just fine though. Being played on popular radio and tarnished by big time record producers might have spoiled my love affair with their music. Though it was exceedingly nice to seem him win the Oscar, even if nobody else even knew who he was.

So unless Glen decides to leave Marketa and wanders aimlessly onto my door step in Saskatoon. . . .I think it's safe to say the man-thing's position in my life is pretty secure. Besides, when the mood strikes and he picks up his twelve-string, he can get a little manic all on his own ;)

Celluloid Sunday!

2010-09-26T22:14:00.001-06:00

Ha! Bet you figured I'd forgotten all about my commitment to developing a regular feature within the confines of this blog! The jokes on you 'cause it's Sunday again folks and we're gonna look at some celluloid goodness!

Honestly, I want to encourage you not to watch the preview for this film as I think it gives too much of what the movie is away; and in some cases (like this one) the viewer is better served going into the story without preconceived notions of where the film will take them. So don't click the link unless you absolutely have to or you just won't see the film.

Frozen River is an austere tale of hardship and it's filmed that way. In fact the print is so grainy at times one can be forgiven for thinking they are watching a vhs copy filmed off an old aerial feed. It's that bad in spots. . . but if I'm being honest. . . it was probably largely intentional. It lends a grittier almost more real sense of bleakness to the lives of the characters. It gives credence to their struggle with poverty, legality, and ultimately morality.

Melissa Leo turns in a very believable performance as Ray; a wife, mother, and employee, on the brink of losing it all despite her best efforts. The lines between right, wrong, and survival become blurred as we walk with her and Lila through dark and challenging issues of morality. At times the film does feel a bit contrived and disconnected from emotion. The fact that the film received two Oscar nominations, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen, being one of them comes as no surprise. Writer/ Director Courtney Hunt is far from seasoned but there are seeds of enormous promise being sown in this film.

On a purely personal note I enjoyed the regional thrill of Ray and her boys excited by the prospect of going to the "Chopper". While I wouldn't say I myself was ever truly "excited" to go to the Chopper it was a nice reminder of Ontario; and though it is filmed and set in upstate New York, along the border on Mohawk territory. . .it's an area that so closely resembles my home in every way it's practically indistinguishable from Tyendinaga.

I tried to find you a nice video on youtube of Tyendinaga territory, so you could have a visual frame of reference but every link that came up (with the exception of a few squalid 2 minute drive through videos of Deseronto ) had something to do with protests, road blocks, or Shawn Brant. So instead I give you this picture of Smokin' Joe's Drive-Thru Smoke Shop. I think it's an apt choice in accordance with Frozen River's subject matter. Enjoy :)

Shhhhh . . .it's a secret!

2010-09-19T23:20:00.000-06:00

I know she won't see this post, so now that it's ready and being shipped in the morning, I'll let you all have a sneak preview of Lexi's crafted gift this year. I like to try to make her special hand crafted items for her birthday in particular. She truly appreciates having unique one of a kind items with a dark sense of humour. So this year I decided to try my hand at a OOAK custom doll; and since Walmart had these pretty awesome "candy dishes" they were selling, it was a no-brainer as to what the doll should become. This post is going to be epically picture fat! Forewarned!

What do we have here?

Dead Demon Baby Doll !!!

Yep, I took an innocent, cheery, plastic baby doll and turned him into the scourge of the earth. Most of these photo's had to be taken without flash to avoid the glare of the flash off of his pasty, dead pallor; so I hope you can still get a good look at the little beastie!

Awwww, so cute. . . bye bye!

Full body repaint to achieve pallor and texture of flaking, decaying skin.

Still kinda cute though. . . .

And what self respecting demon leaves the house without horns?

More textures, shading, and decomposition spots.

A little blood :)

Not too much now. . .

Just right. . . .blood from the ears and eyes. . .

Ooooh. . .dead demon baby bum!

A dead ducky, and monster robe to complete the ensemble.

There you have it. . .and he's off to Ontario to live with the rest of Lexi's collection of oddities and horror memorabilia! I hope she loves him, I think he turned out pretty good; even if I am slightly biased. LOL

2010-09-14T01:12:00.002-06:00

I really haven't been blogging lately. . .no random good posts, no stupid silly posts, and no Celluloid Sunday. You may be asking yourself exactly "why is that?" Well I'll tell you why. . . .my computer has been behaving like a dirty, dirty @#!&%. I have been suffering a nightmare myriad of BSODs! All with random causes, and none with any cause that can be directly tied back to one problem and thusly be solved! SERIOUSLY! So very frustrating! I have even had to wipe my drive and reinstall my O/S to no avail. The problem must be hardware you say; except that the man-thing has thrown every conceivable test at it and it comes away clean. Total freakin' anarchy reigns supreme within this beast. I kid you not. . it has blue screened whilst doing nothing. That's right, nothing. I have walked away to watch tv leaving no programs running and come back to find it has crashed.

Shhhh let's not tell the computer. . .but whatever the man-thing did last before heading to bed for the night is holding up! 3hours without my friend the BSOD and counting. . . . .running a little slow, kinda choppy at times but NOT turning blue. LOL

I had to blog you up a link to this though; Hallowe'en preparations have begun in earnest and Kelloggs did not want to be left out this year. Thusly they have released some special limited edition Pop-Tarts for their happy consumers to . . well . . .consume. Check it out over on one of my all time favourite blogs to read ever x-entertainment. One can only hope that they will be made available to those of us north of the border.

Speaking of Hallowe'en and not blogging recently. . . look what I found over at Michaels the other day.

OHH YEAH!

Yep, that's a close up lit shot of my glowing, flashing skull string of Hallowe'en lights . . which plays. . wait for it. . . .John Carpenter's Hallowe'en Theme! Yeah, they're not Michael masks, but I think I can live with it coz it's still pretty cool.

Things I Don't Understand . . .AT . . .ALL

2010-09-03T00:49:00.000-06:00

Yankee Doodle: Did he name his horse 'Macaroni' or was he totally nuts and mayhaps thought a feather was indeed pasta? It's never entirely been clear to me.
Braille on drive through ATM's: No, seriously; braille. . .on. . .drive through. . . atm's? Pretty sure those blind folks don't do so much driving, let alone multi-tasking while behind the wheel. Although that would explain a lot of things I've seen on the roads. If I were less lazy I would have taken a right nice picture for you but I said "IF".
Superman* / Clark Kent: Alter ego my ass! C'mon, not even Lois catches on?

*Read through a hundred or so of these gems.. totally worth it!

Toast Swapiness! Part 2

2010-08-29T11:35:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know it's Sunday and you were expecting Celluloid goodness. . . maybe later. MAYBE . . . . I make no promises! Courtenay finally received my toasty swap goodness down in Louisiana so it's now safe to post up the pics of the sweet toasty crafts I made for her.

Group shot!

***Mid post rant**** Ok seriously . . . uploading that photo almost killed me, stupid blogger picture uploader! Stop reading my metadata and just do what I tells ya! UGH!

Okay back to the super sweeeet toasty goodness! Courtenay, my partner, is a Cajun; or more aptly calls herself a Cajun hillbilly lol! So I made her an evolution of toast tote bag.

Some super kawaii "toasters" . . . coasters but toast ;)

A doubled sided keychain with moldy toast charm.

And for good measure I threw in some cotton perle DMC she was wisting after (living in a very small town she can only get her hands on white, black, and red) and a little toaster love card!

Craftster is seriously the best little crafty place in the world! So many very talented artists and craftsters posting over there it's impossible not to be inspired by them! Stay tuned for my next swap goodies post. . . . . LEGEND!

My New Favourite TV Commercial

2010-08-24T23:24:00.000-06:00

We never did bother with getting "tv" after we moved, we just rely on the warm glowing love of the internets for our entertainment now. However; if I could have only one channel to view for all eternity it would probably be A&E TV. I could happily live off of the oldest of reruns of American Justice, Cold Case Files, Law & Order, and their ilk for all of my remaining days. A&E is to tv what a warm blankie and a good book are to a rainy grey day in October. If I could only watch one commercial for all the remaining hours of my tv viewing. . . it would be this little gem right here. I hope those Spanish language countries where this commercial for Direct TV airs appreciate the insane awesomeness of it.

Celluloid Sunday!

2010-08-22T23:30:00.002-06:00

Almost didn't make it . . . again! Yeesh, it's been a rough week, with really no weekend to speak of. I really needed more than the one day off right now. Still overly exhausted by everything and accomplishing next to nothing. I didn't even manage to finish reading my book this week, how sad is that? Though friday night we did go to the race track with the man-thing's work people and bet on some ponies. We even managed to win a bit of cash at the end, thanks to my superior horse picking method of "I like this name". Highly scientific I tells ya. Then it was home for a couple of hours before heading off to the Broadway to meet up with Kayla and her "man-thing" Shawn for a midnight showing of Nobuhiko Obayayshi's Hausu.

This is a must see for the independent horror fans. Absolutely priceless; in fact I procured a copy last night just so Malcolm can see what he missed out on while he was away. It has total missed-birthday movie viewing potential when he finally returns this thursday! I read on the Facebook page for the event that this film could be described as an episode of Scooby-Doo directed by Dario Argento, and they weren't kidding. It's an esoteric romp through Japanese horror, viewed through the lens of a '70's esthetic. A little too self-aware, and far too colour saturated to be truly considered 'scary' by any stretch of the imagination; Hausu definitely has to be seen to be appreciated.

Thanks again for inviting us Kayla! It was awesome!

P.S. I think I'm overdue to send some happy mail back to a certain lovely lady in Ontario ;) Just might have to include some movie goodness!

Celluloid Sunday!

2010-08-15T23:52:00.002-06:00

I almost skipped out on Celluloid Sunday today. Been feeling fairly craptacular this week and today certainly hasn't been any better (physically). Though it was a good day for many other reasons, including the discovery of the beautiful brand new Bulk Barn currently under construction over by the Confed Walmart Supercenter! I cannot wait for opening day, sweet bulky goodness; how I've missed you! Then the man-thing and I went all in and made our own gnocchi for dinner. . . completely by hand. . . from the potato up! We kind of ended up with mixed results there, but it was more than edible, and definitely something we'll be revisiting in the future. In the end I decided it would be fairly defeatist of me to allow my second posting of my only 'recurrent' feature to flail and die before it had even begun. So while this post might be slightly lackluster, I find it totally in keeping with this week's offering; The Puffy Chair.

Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass shot this film back in 2005, with a budget somewhere around 15K, (it's probably safe to assume they had to beg, borrow, and steal every penny of it just to get the movie made) and it definitely looks it too. I'd liken it to a very high quality home movie stock, but that never prevents me from viewing a film, and sometimes even lends itself to a higher degree of realism. The premise here is an atypical road trip movie focused on the main character Josh's relationships with his long term girlfriend Emily, and brother Rhett.

This film suffers from a very slow start, and never fully recovers; making it a bit of a hard sell to those who aren't comfortable with the nuances of indie films. The Puffy Chair has the distinction of being one of the first films branded under the then newly coined terminology 'mumblecore' that I referred to last week. Even though some of the scenes feel a little stilted and the acting occasionally leaves something to be desired. . . Mark Duplass' writing is what propelled the film to win an Audience Award at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival. It was a fresh look at topics that have become the mainstay of mumblecore in the intervening years.

Duplass's own relationship with co-star Katie Aselton served as the catalyst here, giving their character exchanges that necessary sense of authenticity which carried the film. Without giving anything away here, again you get the abrupt ending with far less of a sense of closure than even The Vicious Kind affords the viewer. It's almost as if you've finally arrived at the central conflict of the plot, only to be told the ending was never written. Nevertheless The Puffy Chair leaves you wanting more from Duplass; which he subsequently delivers with films like The Intervention, Baghead, and most recently; Cyrus (a film I'm dying to see) .

Hallowe'en is Coming!

2010-08-14T23:47:00.002-06:00

I don't even care about the colossal blunder they made pairing John Carpenter's 'Hallowe'en' theme song (possibly because the theme is open source) with the plastic Jason-esque hockey masks. I WANT these lights so bad! I could totally MacGyver me up some sweet, sweet Shatner head mask replica's and have me a beautiful tribute to Michael all year round. They could replace the multi-colour changing strand that currently resides above my bed with of course . . . my Michael figurine. (P.S. he got to lurk in the boughs of the Christmas tree this past Christmas as well) Though I'm fairly certain these were sold through American retailer CVS and as such were possibly not available here in Canada; I'll be keeping my eyes open for them this coming Hallowe'en and if all else fails there's always Ebay!

Somebody Loves Me

2010-08-13T20:25:00.001-06:00

No, it's totally true! Somebody really loves me; and as such has sent me awesome birthday loot style objects of affection! It couldn't come at a better time, this week has been harsh! Rainy days, less than stellar news, and feeling sick with a sore throat has been ruining my week. So getting a sweet pair of brand new size 38 black china flats (and cool birthday card) from my lovely lady Erikka on Wednesday was really helping stem the misery!

Yayness!

These are the perfect shoes. Don't let the uber low price tag at the market stall fool you. . . seriously, so comfortable. You never have to go through that horrible 'breaking them in phase' with these babies. They always just fit perfect! When I left Ontario, I rashly reasoned that my old worn out pair would last me until I found a new vendor here in Saskatoon. I mean a quarter of a million people live in this city, and it's a fairly ethnically diverse area. Still after being here nearly a year my search has proven futile. Even the ladies in the Asian markets are unable to find a supplier for them. Luckily for me . . . someone loves me.

As if receiving those perfect gems wasn't enough; today I returned home from a long day at work to find another package waiting for me! More goodness from my lady!

All your base are belong to us!

That is the awesome new messenger bag I shall be draggin' my junk around in! (It totally goes with my self made robot wallet) Crafted by Etsy seller Happy Family it's been hanging out over on my Wist* with all the other things I am currently coveting. . . but now. . it's mine! Allllll mine, I shall covet it no more! Thank you sooooo much Erikka! I loves you crazy and I can't wait until we can have date night again!

*What do you mean you don't have a wist? C'mon how can I efficiently stalk you people if you don't post up pretty pictures of the items you covet? See how well it turned out for me? Get on it!

Celluloid Sunday!

2010-08-08T02:12:00.002-06:00

I've decided what this blog needs is a recurrent feature. . . or two. Therefore this post is the first in what will become a *hopefully* recurring series aptly named Celluloid Sunday! So let's start with the best film of 2009 that you've never , no really. . . you've NEVER seen. Heck, you may never have even heard of it, unless you really dig Brittany Snow, or indie films. Not being much of a Brittany Snow fan myself, (sorry Brittany I'm just not that familiar with your work) that leaves me firmly in the indie film fan category.

Brittany Snow is shocked & mildly disgusted by ninjarobotsthoughts blatant disregard for her career.

Thusly, I give you my deep and abiding passion for The Vicious Kind. This awesome little film has won several indie film awards and was nominated for many more but will just never find a large commercial market. It sits on the edge of what trendy movie people call "mumblecore" blending offbeat humour with dark dramatic passages of character growth and inferred plot expositions. These are the kind of films that are either deeply personally satisfying to you, or lull you into a semi-comatose state of WTF is happening here? and why did I agree to watch this? A feeling which is immediately compounded by the increasingly popular abrupt endings most of these films espouse.

Hollywood's big budget movie making machine has taught it's viewers to expect all plot lines to be wrapped up into neat little packages with pretty bows by the end of every film. All character issues are resolved to the extent where viewers can walk away satisfied that they know how the story ends. We know how it all works out for the characters. Their lives are better, their problems are solved; and Hollywood has your money, and you have a false sense of serenity. Big time movie directors sell you on the 'happy ending' every time. . . and on the odd occasion they don't the critics write it off as being "artsy". . . or "making a statement".

Indie film makers regularly employ the abrupt ending because that's precisely how life is really lived. We all come into this world somewhere in the middle of the story and leave it much the same way. We are all works in progress. Nothing is ever truly resolved. The best we can hope for on any given day is growth, and that's what these films showcase. The characters persevere, they endure; and with any luck we get to follow along on their journey and watch them grow. Sometimes by only the smallest of margins, but small changes often foster profound results.

If you can abide by that . . give The Vicious Kind a shot. It's worth it.

Toast Swapiness!

2010-08-06T01:46:00.000-06:00

After 16 days of transit between Louisianna and Saskatoon my toast swap goodies finally arrived! And they're super cute! So even though I really ought to be asleep right now (work in the morning as per usual) I am in fact still wide awake and choosing now as an optimum moment to post up some right purty toast pics to this here blog! Check it out!

Toasty charm bracelet goodness, so cute.

French toast wall hanging. Which I must say as "franch" toast in my head every time I think or say it. If you've seen the uber sweet 80's film Better Off Dead you know what I'm talking about here! If you haven't seen the movie. . . what the heck are you still doing here! Go, find the movie and view it! NOW! (promise I'll wait for ya)

See that beauty right there? That my friends is ninja toast! Huh? Super sweet. . although . . the thought of a robotic toast to go along with him is now tickling the dark recesses of mind.

Ok. . enough. . . it's nearly 2:00, I best go make an attempt at sleeping.

Got bombshell?: Golden Girls : Sex and the City :: the egg : the chicken

2010-07-31T18:17:00.001-06:00

Quick blogger link to an awesome post I stumbled onto : Got bombshell?: Golden Girls : Sex and the City :: the egg : the chicken Soooo frikkin' true! Touche Got Bombshell? ! Well played!

My New Obsession

2010-07-30T22:35:00.001-06:00

So with the man-thing being gone all week and Malcolm out of town I was forced to entertain myself! (I think we can all agree that this is a recipe for disaster when it comes to me) I went to work every day . . came home and ~~made dinner~~ ate something resembling dinner* . . . and watched cheesy documentaries about my current obsession.

Roller derby. Yep, Saskatoon has a roller derby league.

Unfortunately their next scheduled bout isn't until September :( Boo-erns. I so want to see these chicks in action! (youtube half-ass obliges http://www.youtube.com/user/saskatoonrollerderby) In the meantime I've been trying to find somewhere in the city which might possibly sell quad skates; much like these beauties right here. . .

oooh smexy

To no avail. I may just have to break down and order them online. You know. . so I can skate around. . and . . not. . . I mean NOT join the SRDL.

But if I did. . . what should my derby name be??? I mean the name alone may well be the single most important part of being a roller derby girl.

Incidentally . . I blame this obsession on subliminal messaging. Just yesterday I noticed that a vehicle I pass every day on my way into work has 3 bumper sticker/decals on the rear window. One for Sockdreams http://www.sockdreams.com/_pages/index.php whose socks I absolutely adore! One for the SRDL . . and one last one that says:

EAT. . . SLEEP. . . DERBY

*may actually refer to a bag of dill pickle chips

Carl Sagan: A Universe Not Made For Us

2010-07-07T19:35:00.001-06:00

Carl Sagan was the man . . and very few have ever been able to place things as firmly into the proper perspectives as he did. Carl was never an inflammatory speaker; seeking to belittle or anger his detractors. He simply put forth the truth of our circumstances here in this world as it is supported by empirical evidence. This universe was indeed, not 'made' for us. We are simply lucky enough to inhabit it and all of us ought to do better by it and preserve the natural state and balance of our universe as best we can, whilst continuing to grow and benefit from the 'forbidden fruit' ~ knowledge.

{If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library. ~ Frank Zappa}

The Bird and the Bee - Rich Girl (Album Vers., HQ)

2010-07-06T02:42:00.001-06:00

From the what am I listening to lately files . . . the ridiculously pop album tribute of the century. . . The Bird and the Bee ~ Interpreting the Masters Volume1: A Tribute To Hall & Oates. Yeah it's all a little syrupy, but if you grew up in the 80's it's pretty hard to pass it by LOL. Yeah there's no video, so listen anyway. I think the real question here is : if this is volume 1. . . which former 80's super pop group will they be covering next?

Night Ride!

2010-04-10T20:59:00.000-06:00

I had no choice but to blog away about this little gem!

If you grew up back in the good old 80's and watched late night tv in Ontario than you'll remember this clip. One of a series of three clips used to end the programming day over at Global Television; it's loaded with classic shots of a night time ride down Yonge Street, Toronto! This thing brings back endless memories of a time when television channels actually stopped airing programming because it was night time. . . yeah. . . tv used to shut itself off kids. Twenty-four hour programming is not the way it's always been. Test patterns, colour blocks, the playing of O Canada as a shot of our flag waved in the breeze all signaled the end of the viewing day, but first you watched Night Ride.

Thanks again to my lovely lady who found this clip for me!

2010-04-09T12:54:00.003-06:00

Ok. . . as promised. . . the picture of the uber-sweet ride Malcolm and I saw while walking over to Kenderdine Rd yesterday!

ECTO 1

Sweet baby cheesus! It's the Ecto 1! Seriously, this car rocks. Even if the Ghostbusters theme song probably doesn't pump out of the ~~empty computer casings~~ high tech speaker system mounted on the roof as it rolls down the streets of Saskatoon. To the owner of this sweet ride : you sir are a genius!

And, NO. . this doesn't have anything to do with what some might call my unhealthy attraction to Dr. Egon Spangler.

Ok. . . . maybe it kinda does. . just a little.

Wow, haven't been here in awhile!

2010-04-09T04:29:00.000-06:00

Yikes! It's been over a year since I last updated this thing. So much for diligently blogging huh. Ah well. . . 'twas a very busy year. What with moving cross country and all. Anyhow. . .figured I'd come clean things up a bit and get back to posting.

Tomorrow (or later today as some people may hasten to point out after looking at the time stamps lol) . . I will endeavour to transfer the exceptionally sweet picture I took while walking with Malcolm earlier! I promise it's worth viewing! Here's a relative teaser pic for your viewing pleasure:

When Is It Over?

2008-11-25T17:33:00.003-06:00

I'm not much for country music (truth be told that's a wee bit of an understatement), but whoever wrote that exes live in Texas song was on to something. If I could lump all these special people from my past in one special spot. . .I'd make it somewhere hot and arid too. Only I'd make sure they also didn't have phone or internet access. That way they couldn't happen upon perfectly good days and ruin them for me.

Really, is it too much to ask that 2 years after a break-up the other party might move on. . .finally!? Apparently the answer to that one is yes, it's far too much to ask. Upon finding out that I am actively trying to work out my differences with my current SO, and still planning on moving to the North (my dream since back when I was with the ex), my ex decided to put on his special @ss hat today and take me to task about my life. MY LIFE! Apparently he feels like he should have a say in any and all decisions I make about my personal life; where I live, whether I go back to school or not, and even WHO I live with, needs to be discussed with him before even preliminary decisions are made. Seriously! You'd think if he was so interested in calling the shots in life he'd go out and get one of his own. . .get a job maybe, stop living with his Grandma, date other women. . .it's only been 2 years.

Granted we have 2 beautiful children together, and yes, he has been given every opportunity to participate in decisions which directly affect his childrens lives. Even when he's made some very horrible decisions which landed said beautiful children in the hospital. Still, there are some things that while affecting his children; are just none of his business! Primarily those related to my own schooling and love life. Unless he can demonstrate to me that these choices are in some way going to place the kids directly in harm's way. . . .then why exactly should I be obliged to include him in my decision making process?

As far as the whole moving issue goes, I can see why he'd be upset. I can sympathize, really, but the fact remains . . . .it's what I want. With 2 teenagers at issue here, it's not unreasonable to think they would be able to fly home to see Dad for extended periods of time. Most notably in the summer months. When told of this option the ex was notably unimpressed as "he can't afford airfare", not that anyone said he'd have to pay. . but a JOB might help in this respect. Since the moving topic is something we're still working out as a family (and by family I mean the people who actually live in our house) it would have been nice if he'd waited to over-react to this issue when a decision had potentially been reached.

Oh, and did I mention that all this wonderful discussion of whether I have a right to make my own decisions came about because he decided to snoop through my Facebook profile? A profile which he is not able to see as he does not have his own account there, and can only see by having another of his relatives access my page for him. Yes . . there's nothing quite like knowing your ex is still maintaining a stalker-like vigil over the inner workings of your life and that of your friends! So. . .on the off chance he should stalk his way over to my blog here in hopes of gleaning more ammo in the war on freedom. . . . .MOVE ON ALREADY! IT'S OVER!

I think that's clear enough. . .then again I thought it was clear enough 2 years ago when he moved out of the house. . . .sigh.

Here's The Deal

2008-11-11T21:51:00.003-06:00

So even though I have in effect broken up with my SO, I thought I'd just say again. . . it's still my plan to move to Whitehorse in the next few years. Yeah I know, there are plenty of you who disagree with this plan. (Ok disagree is putting it mildly. . .you think I'm nuts) The fact remains; it's what I want. Whether or not we reconcile doesn't come into my consideration the way you might have thought; and quite frankly, it shouldn't come as such a surprise from a girl who has been suffering from a severe Northern Exposure fantasy since the early 90's.

This isn't about moving away from something or someone. . . it's about me. It's about who I am, and how I feel. I realize it's hard for some of my family, and friends to understand this decision. I get it ok. I get that to you guys it looks like a ridiculous thing to do. Who moves to the Yukon?! Right? The answer is easy, people like me move to the Yukon.

Think of it as a plus, you guys can come visit me and tell everyone you went to see your crazy friend/relative in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Now that's a conversation piece!

So just to reiterate. . . I'm gonna keep planning. . . I'll keep telling you stupid facts I've learned about how Whitehorse has a Domino's or a Liquidation World; and you. . . you get to be hurt, you get to be fed up with my banalities. . . and at the end of the day, you get to love me still. You get to be happy that I'm going to follow my dreams. You also get to be loved by me, with the added benefit of knowing that if you ever plan on doing something EVERYONE says is stupid. . . at least I'll be there to support you :)

Pocket Full of Sunshine???

2008-11-09T21:47:00.003-06:00

So. . . on saturday, I went into Liquidation World; thought I'd browsillate. Didn't find any treasure much worth purchasing, with the exception of some cute little metallicy purple and black hair clips. However, while contemplating the over-priced area rugs I was treated to a rare display of somewhat creepy generational crossing, musical appreciation. There was an extremely old man propping himself up on two (that's right, so old he needed two) canes, hobbling through the furniture department along with me, and whistling along to Pocket Full Of Sunshine with more fervor than a toddler who has just discovered his first light switch. Although I never truly enjoyed this song, I never cared enough to dislike it either. . . until now. It's still the same sugary sweet, bouncy little groove it was before and yet somehow now it feels. . .tainted and just plain creepy. I don't begrudge the man his enjoyment of pop music, and if he had been grooving to Santogold I probably would have adopted him as my new family. There's just something about the combination of the two elements which becomes all the less endearing the more I think of it.

I got a pocket, Got a pocket full of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine
Oh, oh, oh
Wish that you could, But you ain't gonna own me
Do anything you can to control me
Oh, oh, oh
Take me away (take me away)
A secret place (a secret place)
A sweet escape (A sweet escape)
Take me away (take me away)

Captain's Blog. . .

2008-11-07T22:16:00.002-06:00

Why is it that the more I have to blog about the less I blog at all? I mean I could have blogged away about the fact that I broke up with my SO on Hallowe'en. . .could've blogged my angst at finding out I have skin cancer. . . or even the history making appointment of the first black president in the U.S. Perhaps the reason for my total lack of blogging in the past week is precisely because these things did occur. It's not as though I needed any extra incentive to think about or discuss these things. I guess I would have prefered to have less topical fodder for this blog; thus allowing me to bore my readers with the mundane randomness I set out to provide.

2008-10-30T00:25:00.002-06:00

Bing would like to take this opportunity to remind you all that there are only 55 more days until Christmas.

So get out there and get that shopping done. Dust off your copy of White Christmas; and just in case you've got some folks who fall into the 'NAUGHTY' category. . . .remember to pick yourself up a sack of Valencia oranges.

A For Effort?

2008-10-28T22:30:00.004-06:00

I'd really like to know why people insist on making no effort in any given situation, and yet somehow continue to expect to have affected change! Seriously? Do people really think that doing nothing will lead to a different outcome than it has time and time again? I just don't understand that kind of behaviour, and to be honest I'm more than a little tired of having to put effort into situations where the other invested parties simply cannot be bothered.

So if the old saying "A" for effort is true . . .how come I'm putting in all the effort and still coming away feeling like a total failure?

Welcome To My Very First Post

2008-10-27T19:19:00.003-06:00

Ahhh. . .virgin blog territory! Now to sully it with the garbled random noise created deep inside my brain.

*chirrup*

That is not the sound of emptiness. . .it's caused by technical difficulties. Yeah, that's it technical NinjaRobot difficulties.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.