Originally I subbed to Smithsonian Magazine out of wanting to support one of our national treasures, and get a nice shopping discount (the shopping is amazing) and member privs on our next visit, that was three years ago and we haven’t had a chance to go back yet but I just LOVE this magazine. This is another stellar month for them.

Did you know that other than primates, CATS are our closest genetic relative? There’s a great article on the feline genome project and the fascinating unlikely discoveries they’ve found. It’s really great stuff.

Every issue has something I read at least twice or am just fascinated with. I have informed Mr Man that it’s on our “over my dead body do we stop getting this” list.

So, take this as a suggestion from your Swanky Hostess for the upcoming holiday season, for yourself or others, $30 is cheap and it’s really worth every dime. Plus helps support the finest Museum in the country.

Did I mention it’s the perfect bathroom reader too?!

I was just reminded of Orisinal.
They make flash games that are fun, pretty, original and sugar-coma inducing. I am totally hooked. This one in particular is extremely habit forming.

The Pet Shop is this weird little NYC-based show with a weird little NYC guy and 30 animals of every species imaginable all together on a table top full of aquariums. Kittens, puppies, birds, chinchillas, rabbits, chickens, doves, snakes, hamsters, rats, even a prarie dog all nimbly prancing around together and even playing together as the Host continually talks, demostrates, and answers caller’s pet questions, all the while moving the animals around to keep them in line, and out of trouble. The result is hilarious.

It’s like watching someone herd cats, and I have to say the show is addictive if you like animals. Seeing a Chinchilla nibble a parrot’s feet or wing is funny let me tell you. It’s absolute madness and I love it. We just laugh out loud.

The site has showtimes, see if you can’t catch it locally, you won’t be sorry. Honest, it’s like watching a train wreck, only cuter.

Mr man and I have been discussing some long range plans - how to avoid the surely sickening, ht-squeezing the media and “el Presidenté” Bush is going to be doing on 9/11.

Special after special, after preemption after preemption. And I have to bet more than one incomprehensible Bush speech. Count me out.

Not that I want to forget what happened, but it’s time we got over it. And the press and networks milking it for every melodramatic drop does nothing but cheapen every damn death.

It’s not that I’m cold hted or insensitive, it’s just that some things just should be left alone. I don’t like them erasing the towers out of old movies like it never existed either. Nor, the “families” petitioning a removal of the “two Towers” from the title of of the Next Lord of the rings movie because it’s more than stupid - it’s crazy talk. It was there, it’s gone. Don’t rewrite history - grow from it. Don’t be held back by it. I think that’s the largest problem with our country right now, we’re overly squishy, feely-feely and PC.

So, we are planning on not turning the TV on for a few days there, at least till the twelfth. Instead we’re going to rent a bunch of DVD’s, or go see a movie or two.

What are you guys going to watch instead of the melodramatic pabulum?

Damned marketing people, I keep hearing those obnoxious Fanta commericals in my head. (This is what happens after you watch Nimoy’s eyes spin for hours)

On the Fanta site you can ln all about the lovely and leggy “Fantanas” (sw to god) - Nina, Calli, RaQuel and LeeLee (not kidding) and even see those damned obnoxious, god-awful commericals.

Now, I know Fanta is WAY bigger in South America (and the commercial obviously shows it), and they seem to be pretty much anywhere BUT here, so I see this as Coca-Cola (the main company) trying to break it here too. Except I dont think fruity flavors do well here.

I went to the Coke site a few years ago now and they had a Fanta “guess where this flavor is from?” thing and a list of like over 50 flavors from around the world , most prety odd like “Tamarind Coconut” and some fruits I’d never even hd of (and I shop at international markets).

I wish them luck and the hottest, deepest, darkest part of Hades the instant they die, but PLEASE - let me have a moment’s peace so I can cl the “Wanta Fanta! Don’ choo’ wanta, wanta Fanta! Mmmhmm!” rythms in my head.

I think what I really wanted to do was make sure I wasn’t alone into my decent into madness and make some other people nuts with me. Welcome to hell!

I have two of these - one for the G4 PowerBook and the G4 tower. The laptop one I will truthfully attest that I drop it everyday about 3 feet to the floor without fail, and have for the last y. As of yet has not showed any sign of loss of functionality, or so much as rattle. My next mouse will be a Logitech optical too, you betcha!

I’m really sorry, but Spock has mystical powers.
(link from Dynagirl)

Scroll down this page and you’lls ee some changes… what do folks think of the new grahic headers on some posts?

I originally was making them for the categories but I kinda relaly liked how they aren’t so LONG as the others and swapped them in across the board onthe posts. I do plan on keeping them in the catogories (thanks to rengirl for wrangling the code for that!) but wanted feed back if you like them or want the old ones back onthe posts.

To see the others, go to each category page via the links on the left. (I’m really happy with the Haiku one and a few others… heh)

Does this really surprise anyone?

Not much to say today, so instead I’ll put up a lazy kick-back song on this lazy Tuesday morning.

Pick a Klas is salot of fun, be sure to checlk out “Future Klas” - you have to have flash (who doens’t anymore?)

Here we go again, kiddies, another th-shattering round of important questions to alter the very makeup of the universe:

PB&J:
1: Peanut Butter - crunchy or smooth? Brand?
2: Jelly or Jam - what flavor?
3: Bread - white or what? Toasted?

(Please feel free to comment your answer or comment your url to your answer, and may God have mercy on your souls.)

Asian Bastard is back and blogging. We’ll see how long this lasts.

Oh, Oh You’ve discovered my secret! Prepare to die!

Now you know where I got my KryoZap 6000 Super Freeze Ray. They also have a writings for the discriminatiing evil-minded set - Dr. DeSpayr’s Blog

Excellent.

About $20.

Accentix, Inc. (which is a fairly local plce to me) apparently doesn’t even have that much.

What says “amature” more than anything else? How about having a stock-photo scifi on your homepage picture… your MAIN picture - large as life.

They didn’t even TRY to brush it out or cover it up… How very sad. It’s one thing to steal stock photos, (Hell, it’s practically standard practice) but then not possess the graphic skills to know how to cover the fact up - sad really.

This site is asking via petition for Adobe to reconsider making ATM Deluxe for OS X.

Everyone is slamming Suitcase. I have never used it since system 7.5 until I switched to OSX becasue it was the only font management choice. I admit I was hestitant, the last time I used suitcase it was painful and I swore I’d never touch it again, then luckily ATM Deluxe was released.

Am I nuts or does Suitcase for OSX not suck? I find it easier to use than ATM and I LIKE being able to scan my fonts visually FIRST and choose which I want. IN ATM Deluxe under 9. I had all sorts of troubles with trying to view fonts, most of the time it would say it couldn’t and I could only see them one at a time if I could talk it into it. And I have a Gig and half of RAM. it’s not like I turned on a half a bazillion fonts, usually about 50 tops, nothing heavy, honest. With Suitcase I have not had those problems. In fact, it seems to work damn near perfect.

Suitcase is very easy to use, in fact I had no trouble making the switch, it works like ATM only better, easier and prettier. Everything is right there on the front window, you don’t need lesson to use it and you can scroll through visuals of the fonts and even tell it what you want them to say so you can judge better. I just like it. I’ve told all my friends to get it. I can see why Adobe backed off, Suitcase just seems the superior product.

Have any of these complaining folks USED the OSX version of Suitcase? I can’t believe they have. What am I missing they seem to think is so crappy in the about 6 flawless happy months I’ve used it?

The X-MEN 2 Trailer has finally gone online. More Hugh Jackman is never a bad thing.

It’s no secret to those who visit here enough, I am a scifi fan. Unlike most typical fans I abhore anything in the Star Trek vein after Next Generation. Every since Roddenberry died it’s been run by a pair of GenX idiots who seem to cast women for dating potential (both I believe are married to female hottie Voyager stars).

The newest vergence into desperation for the days of NextGen gone by is Enterprise, with Scott Backula at the Helm. How bad is it? It’s bad. Way bad.

I thought Seven of Nine (1, 2, 3) on Voyager was bad but this new Alien sexpot, T’pol (1, 2, 3) has jugs the size of small Eastern European Country. It’s almost like having two more actors on the screen - and the bad thing is they have better screen presensce then the woman playing T’Pol. She seems to think “Vulcan and unemotional” means “sleepy, mopey, and pissed off”. Someone get her a copy of SPOCK on ST:TOS (”the original series” to us s), and take away her tapes of the Vulcan guy from Voyager, who also a graduate of the “Vulcan-Acting School for Sleep-Deprived Zombies”.

How can you make a bad show worse? Give it a theme song like this.

Rod Stewart? What kept the moron twins from just putting on some Barb Striesand or Celine Dion, or equally VO (vastly overated) pop-singer? Hell, a good old 80’s hair band “Monster Ballad” would be better than this.

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are so gonna get a big slap across the back of the heads from Old Gene when they meet up in the great beyond. I hope he’s haunting them now, making thier lives hell.

It’s shows like this that make me wish Babylon5 was still on the air. It redefined my expectations of scifi.

I wanted to get back to starting my Cab Calloway Music Series, and since Dave whined originally about wanting this song, I thought I’d do it next, thought his most famous, I dont think it’s his best. More from Cab in coming weeks.

So having to unpack the truck, we drove it into the back yard and locked the gate behind it. In cleaning it out I left the door open, Maggie was fast to jump inside and show her enthusiasm for going anywhere. After an hour, she finally figured out we weren’t going anywhere. Silly dog.