Dancing & Sickness & Crime .. oh my!

It's been a busy two weeks. Two Sundays back I went to a Flamenco performance in Boston with my Mom. That night I got sick. I dragged myself into work that Monday and survived. *g*

I came home early two Fridays ago to play with my little neice before my sis picked her up. The little one was getting over an ear infection and wasn't eating as much as usual. When my sis arrived, she (my sis) had a headache which required aspirin. The next day, my sis was sick (no fever but weakness, dizziness & nauseau). On Sunday she was better but weak, achey and tired. Saturday night into Sunday it was my Mom's turn, so I spent Sunday running errands for ginger ale, bread and crackers to help settle my mom's stomach. She, too, was better Monday but achey so she opted to stay home from work. I find out at the end of the day that my brother-in-law (my sis' husband) was home sick, with the same thing that my sis and Mom had, Monday. So what happens to me Monday night? Yep, you guessed it.

No fever, but boy! does this thing take a lot out of you. All of a sudden I was sooo tired .. then shortly after, sick. Something similar happened that first Sunday (though the tiredness had been accompanied by a killer headache that time & I literally couldn't move for at least a half hour that Sunday). So, Tuesday morning, I call in sick promising that I'll be there as soon as I feel better. I dragged myself into the shower around 2pm on Tuesday and hauled myself into work for two hours. The dizziness had passed so I figured it was safe.

You might be wondering why I went into work at all on Tuesday. I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't have Jury Duty on Wednesday. On the busiest day of the week, made even busier by the fact that it was the first day my boss was back from his mini vacation in Florida, I had to go into Jury Duty. I've been called once before for Jury Duty and was excused before the afternoon began so I had no reason to think this time would be any different. So I made sure all the records were ready and all the insurances had been checked for Wednesday's work day Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday morning I left my house, still tired, two hours earlier than usual to trek over to the court house. It was a busy day at court, too, it seems, and I ended up being chosen for a jury on a criminal trial. I still went into work after wards, but one of the patients had to be rescheduled because I wouldn't make it back in time for her appointment to help with contact lens fitting/training. I arrived at work around 4pm; the last patient left around 7:30pm, and I remained there until 10pm preparing the records & insurances for Thursday, and reviewing everything that had happened while I was out.

Then Thursday's court day came & went, with a bit of delay in the beginning (well, three hour delay), and I returned to work again around 4pm. I only stayed about an hour this time, you see, because my coworker was distressed that I wanted to get coffee to wake myself up. In the hour that I was there I was fixing mistakes that she brought to me and helping her with her work and answering her questions. I hadn't even gotten to preparing anything for Friday yet, including gathering up the tax info. for the bookkeeper. She reminds me that I had a lunch earlier in the day while serving on the jury, and I remind her that I am not legally obligated to come into work at all. Then she starts to yell at me, and I realize that I don't need to do that to myself, so I tell her goodbye and head home (picking up coffee along the way).

Friday was the final day, and then it was over. Exhausted (and stressed) I stopped by work, ever so briefly, to let my coworker know that it was finished, head home and experienced a brand new work day Saturday.

Oh, and I read Jo's account of her drive down to a convention in D.C. That definitely put a smile on my face. *g*

Flash!

I'm trying to learn some Flash, and I decided to see if there were any more sites like my favorite Flash puzzle site, The Secret Garden of Mutabor. I found a fun surprise called Treasure Box. Feel free to check it out. :)

Oh, I also submitted a photo to this week's Photo Friday challenge: Distorted. It's actually more of a .. fuzzy than distorted, but it's what I found that was already in my computer. *g* If you're interested, please have a peek here. Comments are always welcome. :)

Normalcy Defined

It's funny, when you think about it, what the general public considers "normal."

Waiting for hours on a chilly day outside the football stadium for the football players to arrive? Normal
Waiting for hours on a sunny day outside a television studio for the actors to take a cigarette break? Abnormal

Wearing your favorite sports team jersey and cap while cheering loudly in front a news camera? Normal
Wearing your favorite science fiction inspired t-shirt while shopping in a comic book store? Abnormal

Paying a lot of money for tickets to a game, food & drink, and souvenirs? Normal
Paying a lot of money for tickets to a science fiction convention, food & drink, and souvenirs? Abnormal

Shouting obscenities at the opposing team while at a game? Normal
Clapping enthusiastically during a Q&A at a sci fi convention? Abnormal

Discussing the game from the night before and reciting the scores for a game that was played years ago? Normal
Discussing a tv show from the night before and reciting lines from an episode that aired years ago? Abnormal

Doing the wave at a game? Normal
Greeting people with the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" sign at a con? Abnormal

Painting your body in the colors of your team? Normal
Wearing Spock ears? Abnormal

Decorating your room with your favorite sports team paraphanelia, including posters, newspaper clippings and tickets from past games that you've collected and saved? Normal
Decorating your room with your favorite tv show paraphanelia, including posters, magazine articles and tickets from past cons? Abnormal

Getting a baseball autographed? Normal
Getting a headshot autographed? Abnormal

Traveling out of state to watch your favorite sports team? Normal
Traveling out of state to watch your favorite tv personality? Abnormal

Taking a day off from work/school to stand in a large crowd for the opportunity to applaud, support and see players from your favorite sports team go by? Normal
Taking a day off from work/school to stand in a long line for the opportunity to applaud, support and shake the hand of your favorite actor? Abnormal

and in case anyone was wondering, ..
Go Pats! =)
Daytime Emmys! =)
Watch Farscape! =)

Hm, what does that make me? *g*

David: Update

David's funeral was yesterday. We weren't given the news of that until after the fact last night. It would've been nice to know beforehand so we could have made the decision ourselves to attend or not. That's just the way things are, I suppose.

It was confirmed that David had had a heart attack, died in his sleep. His father didn't even know that David was having heart problems. Supposedly they spoke often, and David had never mentioned it. Many people do that - keep those little details from others so not to "worry" them. As for me, I would prefer knowing the little details before something happened and not find out about it after the fact. My family has a tendency to "hide" such information from each other. I wonder if all families are like that.

Photo Friday: Youth

I just posted my entry in the Photo Friday challenge, "Youth." If you'd like to see it, go here.

Some of my favorites from those that were entered by others:
photoloukey
alphabunny
javajive: innocence preserved
dragonballyee
shutterware
shutterberry: stuffed lamb
shadow mirror
orange

All of the entries posted are awesome, by the way. I just happened to choose a handful as examples. You can see them all by clicking on the links on the Photo Friday site.

The Mysteries of Production

I'd always read that the best resource for the small, independent producer for getting a film out there and seen is to submit to festivals. You raise the funds; you hold creative control on the film. Distribution deals come after unless you're a bigger name producer in which case a studio will fund or partially fund the film. I've also read or heard that presenting your film at the American Film Market (AFM) and/or the Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM) is important in getting it picked up for possible distribution in theaters and overseas.

I started reading John J. Lee, Jr.'s "The Producer's Business Handbook" and his advice is the opposite. He suggests that the independent producer should not rely (solely) on the festival circuit. Too many producers max out credit cards and borrow money from friends and family to make their films, then submit them to festivals. Only a small percentage of the films are ever accepted at the larger, more prominent festivals (like Sundance), and of those films shown at the larger festivals, maybe one or two will actually get picked up by a distributor. Mr. Lee suggests seeking funding from a distributor and getting a distribution deal before the film is completed.

I haven't gotten far enough yet to discover how he thinks the indie producer should go about doing this, or what other avenues of funding are available, but I find what he says interesting. An independent producer will rarely or never make any profit on a film that is presented this way (self-raised funds, festival circuit). True enough, it does makes sense, but if you're a beginning filmmaker, how do you get your films seen if not through the festivals? (or online like Atom Films or self-distribution/DVDs on demand?) I'm curious to see if he offers any concrete advice and examples in his book.

As a comparison, I think I'll read up on any articles posted at http://www.ifp.org/as well.

House of Flying Daggers

I finally got to see House of Flying Daggers on Saturday since we were staying in because of the blizzard. The cinematography, special effects and action were everything I expected from director Zhang Yimou ("Hero"). The visuals were gorgeous. The casting was pretty cool, too. Taiwanese pop idol Takeshi Kaneshiro plays Jin. Hong Kong star Andy Lau Tak Wah plays Leo. Beijing born actress Ziyi Zhang (or Zhang Ziyi) plays Mei; American audiences probably recognize her best from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hero" and "Rush Hour 2". It's a Romeo and Juliet-style tale set during the decline of the Tang Dynasty and focuses on the mysterious rebels House of Flying Daggers. It's an action-packed (tragic) romance; I enjoyed it a lot.

------

Last night we watched Aladdin's Magic Lamp, which was visually intriguing, almost like watching fairtyale paintings come to life. It's a Russian film of the well-known tale of Aladdin and his Magic Lamp. The first time we tried to watch the movie, we ended up watching it in French with English subtitles. That was interesting. lol This time, we got it to play in English (dubbed).

David

I just heard the news that a cousin in Washington, D.C. has died. I'd only met him two or three times; he was my mother's first cousin, the youngest of two brothers, not too much older than myself. It's sad. My great aunt, his mother, died on September 8, 2001, three days before the collapse of the WTC in NY. My mother is understandably shocked. She's waiting to compose herself before calling her 92 year old aunt who was close to David. It's another reminder of the fragility & shortness of life.

It's a reminder, too, that we need to visit my great aunt again, preferable before her 93rd birthday, and to arrange a visit for my little niece with her surviving great grandmother.

The Loot

Assorted gifts from this weekend:

From my Dad
- Peter Gabriel Secret World Live DVD
- Peter Gabriel Growing Up Live DVD
- House of Flying Daggers DVD

From my Mom
- winter coat
- sweater

From my younger sis
- Birthday breakfast (jointly with oldest sis *g*)
- pic of my niece
- drawing by my niece

From older sis
- ecard =)

From oldest sis
- The Sims Vacation (Mac)
- Space Colony (Mac)
- Ursula K. Le Guin's "Tehanu"
- John J. Lee, Jr.'s "The Producer's Business Handbook"
- Eve Light Honthaner's "The Complete Film Production Handbook: Third Edition"

From L.
- card
- assorted chocolates *g*

and lots of ecards and well wishes from friends and family. =)

Yes, it's been a good couple of days. =)

I'm very excited about the film books, too, since they both contain a wealth of information that I don't already know and that will come in handy for research and for working on Equinox and SG with S.

LJ Down

Live Journal is down. They had a major power failure and are trying to get all the servers back online (according to the message that pops up). It's disappointing since that's the main way I keep up with what certain friends are up to, by reading their Live Journal posts. Ah well.

***
I just heard a statement from President Bush trying to explain his Social Security reform ideas. He mentioned that something (preferably his plan) must be done because as it stands now there will be no more funds left for Social Security payments by 2018. Just the other night on the news, however, I heard it reported that the Social Security Administration claims they have enough to function as is until 2042, and if nothing is changed, then after that date, they'll have enough to pay almost 75% of promised benefits to each person. This is a completely different statement from what President Bush said. Either he's confused, they're confused, someone is spinning facts to suit his (or their) purpose (aka misinformation), or I just don't understand all the details and specifics (which is probably the case).

Both President Bush and the SSA are saying changes need to be made, but President Bush seems to know something about the SSA's funding that they do not since he's claiming we'll be in the red by 2018. The SSA, from what I understand, is stating that the incoming funds will be negative compared to what they're paying out (which might be what President Bush means when he stated they'll be in the red) but they will still have a positive outflow of cash.

The SSA has a FAQ set up which answers common questions about Social Security's future.

If anyone can point me to sources which do a better job of explaining it, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Yuletide Lads a.k.a. "Creepy Santas"

My friend L. forwarded me an email from the Icelandic Tourist Board and in it was this little gem of a media quote:

ABC - Good Morning America
December 19, 2004
“… In Iceland, there are 13 Santas. Instead of bringing gifts, they take turns sneaking into town and creeping out the locals. The 13 Santas live in the mountains with their troll-like mother and her giant cat, which eats all the children who don't receive new clothes for Christmas. They party for 13 nights, and then things really get interesting. "That's when people come out of their graves," said Iceland native Hoffy Steingrimdottir. "Seals take on human form. And cows develop human speech." The moral of the story? It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe. The other moral of the story? They've got some good hooch in Iceland.

***
Those "creepy Santas," by the way, are actually called Yuletide Lads and have fascinating names (translated) like Gully Imp and Pot Licker. To learn about Iceland, go here: http://www.goiceland.org/

A very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it and best wishes for a happy & healthy new year to everyone!

Random song lyrics meme

I so love this meme that I've done it two times now.

First one is here.
Second one? Right below. Put your guesses in the comments. Same with the above two.

Step 1: Get your playlist together, put it on random, and play
Step 2: Pick your favorite lines from the first 25 songs that play
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song the lines come from
Step 4: Cross out the songs when someone guesses correctly

1. "The devil came and I swear he made me do it."

2. "I can say that I don't know what I'm doin' but I can't say I have the time, yeah."

3. "Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky"

4. "She's the one they're going to miss, In lots of ways"
"Our House" by Madness (guessed by James)

5. "And we still haven’t walked in the glow of each other’s majestic presence"
"Ana Ng" by They Might Be Giants (guessed by James)

6. "All that I have is nothing when it compares to you"

7. "Woo, woo, to relieve my bellyache, I say"
"Coconut" by Harry Nilsson (guessed by James)

8. "Here she comes like a brand new day"

9. "this guilt trip that you put me on won't mess me up, I've done no wrong"

10. .."All their voices can be heard, Long past their woodland days"

11. "He's jammin' down the pedal like he's never comin' back"

12. "Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday"

13. "Playing dead and sweet submission, Cracks the whip deadpan on cue"

14. "I love the way you laugh when I try to be funny."

15. "It's not such a beautiful day, but I'll stumble through all the same"

16. "But my heart got heavy and my hair grew long"

17. "If you wear this sweater, all the kids will love you better."

18. "A cavern gasps, a dragon screams"

19. "I wish we could dress in only happy cloaks"

20. "Colored lights can hypnotize, Sparkle someone else's eyes"

21. "I pray my wish will come true, For my child and your child too"

22. "Like the leaf clings to the tree, Oh, my darling, cling to me"

23. "Rhinestone fools and silver dollars, Curdle into bitter tears"

24. "Here she comes like a brand new day, Belly dancing across the room"

25. "On a long lost ocean wave of light, Submerged and unafraid"

“Humpty Dumpty saw it too,” the White Queen went on in a low voice, more as if she were talking to herself. “He came to the door with a corkscrew in his hand --”

“What did he want?” said the Red Queen.

“He said he would come in,” the White Queen went on, “because he was looking for a hippopotamus. Now, as it happened, there was’t such a thing in the house that morning.”

“Is there generally?” Alice asked in an astonished tone.

“Well, only on Thursdays,” said the Queen.

-- Through the Looking Glass

Fun with Food and Color

The most popular color in the world is .. blue. That's very cool. My favorite color happens to be green (notice the color of my blog? *g*), but I definitely like blue a lot as well. In fact, I like most colors except for some varities of yellow for whatever reason, but that mostly applies to clothing. ;-)

The other fun color facts are great, too. I'll have to remember to get a silver car.

Anyway, I received the following as a forwarded email. I thought it was funny. Hope you do, too.

Holiday Eating Tips!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? 
It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's  a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's
later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes.  Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother?   It's like buying a sports carwith an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is  to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between  now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need  after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted  Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near  them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of  attention.  They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,  you're  never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each.  Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:  "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid  in  sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Festive

This week's mood on Moody Monday is Festive. There are a few pics I could use for this one, but I decided on one that I'd used for a Baker's Dozen awhile back because I really like how it came out. Anyway, I posted it over here instead of using an old link. The funny thing is, it posted twice, which is supposedly impossible with the account type I have on fotolog.

Reflections

For my contribution to this week's Photo Friday challenge, Reflections, I thought I'd use one of the photos I already have online and debated between two very similar entries. Although I really like the color in this one better, I opted to go with the photo I'd posted in my fotolog instead. The reflections in the little pond are easier to spot in that photo.

On a side note, although I have the free account on fotolog which only allows one photo per day to be uploaded on my account, I still somehow managed to load two of the exact same pictures today. I've got ten minutes after the initial upload to delete or edit the pics, and I didn't notice the error until much later because I was at work at the time. I just find it very interesting that I was able to upload twice without receiving any sort of error message.

Madness Meme

http://mmadness.blogspot.com/

1. How did you choose a name for your blog? I took it from my favorite poem, "Jabberwocky."
My first post, explaining my name choice, is here.
2. How many times have you changed the name of your blog? Never
3. How many blogs to you update regularly? Three: this blog, my photo blog and my Live Journal.
4. How many times have you moved in your life? Never
5. On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is moving (in your opinion)? I've only helped other people on their moving days, but the stress rate leading up to the actual move day seems to be pretty high.
6. When moving, do you/would you rent a moving van/truck? Yes, I would rent a moving van/truck.
7. Do you wear glasses? If so, how old were you when you needed them? Yes, and I was in the third grade when I got my first pair. So I guess I was around nine years old at the time.
8. What one question would you hope someone running a meme, would ask? That is a great question, but I don't have an answer at the moment. That's what I get for doing this meme while watching The Perfect Storm. I'm very distracted. :P I'll have to tackle this last question at a later date.

Ninjai

I'm deleting old emails, and I came across the links for Ninjai: The Little Ninja. The home page gives you information on how Ninjai was developed. If you want to skip the main page and go straight to the chapters in the story, click here. Also, check out the game page. It's been awhile since I've visited this site. In fact, I don't think all the chapters were up the last time I'd stopped by, so I think that's as good an excuse as any to rewatch them all. Don't you?

**

Have you seen the snowflake website?

Baker's Dozen, Take Two

Well, I couldn't resist. The other night, I did a second Baker's Dozen entry. This time I stuck it on my photoblog. The original one is in the previous post. I also stuck a so called "posed" photo from the breakfast here. Most of the photos I took last weekend were fuzzy or too far away. If I'd used my digital camera, the photos would still look decent when I resized and cropped them. As it stands now, with my film camera, the photos, when zoomed in & cropped under Photoshop, look okay. Oh well. The weekend was fun regardless.

Also for fun, check out this really cool optical illusion.

Lastly, I'm wondering if I should put up a site (or have my sister do it) to replace the missing Boston Scapers one? No one uses it, but it was a way for new members to find the yahoo list. *sigh* And I thought that I could become less active in the group and pay attention to the things I'd neglected this past year (oh, like "Shades of Grey", classes, work, non-Scaper friends, writing projects & submissions, film & video projects, my finances, my health, just to name a few things) to help with Scaper-related things & to keep up with Escapade (also a missing site now). It'd be a shame if it all fell by the wayside now. *hm*

Winona Forever!


Ben Browder at the Creation Entertainment Thanksgiving Convention, NJ, 28 Nov. 2004

Baker's Dozen:

1. Scooby Doo and Hong Kong Phooey distracted us, but we didn't get lost! (yet)
2. Poor Jo desperately trying to finish the con books in time for the breakfast .. Then bringing them to breakfast and having to say, "These are for you, but you can't have them yet." (btw, the books came out great!)
3. Meeting Twich, shaking her hand and then being told that she'd just shook Ben's hand. Per Twich, it's "six degrees of Ben"! *snicker*
4. Pool in the bar Saturday night. Meeting up with other Scapers there. Having Anth recognize me from my silly little photo and message. :D
5. Hey, it's Tucker Smallwood on the elevator. "I'm so tired .. need sleep." He nods in agreement.
6. Talking to Gerry, Steve and the lovely woman who was with them.
7. Riding the elevator with Gigi and friend then trying not to invade their space while waiting to check out of the hotel. Getting a big smile from Anth at breakfast, at the photo op & in the autograph line. Being mesmerized by Ben's blue eyes at breakfast.
8. Sunday night dinner in the bar & Monday morning breakfast in the restaurant .. little white roses, pictures, laughter, food, fun!
9. Signal Room (acoustic performance) Sunday afternoon & listening the CD on replay during most of the drive home
10. Ben recites a few lines from Jabberwocky! :D Can I get a HELL YEAH?!
11.Jo & I decide to stay an extra night. Trish decides to do the same. Best decision ever!
12. "Wow, we're in Rhode Island already?"
"Did we miss the exit?"
"Are we going the wrong way?
"I can't believe we're stuck on the Braintree rotary." (as we circle for the fifth time) *g*
"Hm, south .. or north?"
"I don't know how to get home from here."
"All roads lead to Norwoodopia."
"We can't blame Scooby Doo this time."
much giggling ...