Maybe I’m Doing It Wrong

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Tags: Dilbert, cartoons, friendship, depression

Quote of the Day: On One’s Destination

“One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.”
– Henry Miller

Tags: Quote of the Day

Movie Review: The Insider

I watched The Insider last night. It was one of those movies that’s been traveling up my Netflix queue for awhile. O.K. It’d been on there so long that I’d actually forgotten pretty much what it was about. My vague recollection was that it was about a whistleblower who went to 60 Minutes. That’s a really boiled down summary of what it is.

One man told the truth. Another reported the story. Both paid the price. The Insider — a true tale about a Big Tobacco scientist (Russell Crowe) who exposed industry secrets, and the newsman (Al Pacino) who fought corporate forces that would have squelched the story — offers a glimpse into power, media and money in America. A thought-provoking and thrilling film. [Netflix]

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Tags: The Insider, Netflix, Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plumber, movie, 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace, Jeffery Wigand, Lowell Bergman, tobacco industry

The Klobuchar & Kennedy Show?

Yesterday morning, I watched Sunday’s Meet the Press with this strange sense of déjà vu.  I found myself asking, “Haven’t I seen this already?”  Is this a rerun?

It couldn’t be, of course, because the show had started with a discussion about the fact that North Korea had announced it tested a nuclear bomb, which had happened after last week’s show.  So they couldn’t be re-airing the previous week’s show.

Still, I felt as if I had heard it all word-for-word before.

Then I realized who it was that Tim Russett was talking to.

Minnesota Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar (D) and Representative Mark
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Tags: Minnesota, politics, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Kennedy, MSNBC, NBC, Meet the Press, Tim Russett

Matt Damon’s Women

You know what I was wondering the other day? How come you always hear about Ben Afleck’s girl friends/ fiances/ etc, but you never hear about Matt Damon’s?

I mean, they’re in almost every movie the other has made, even in tiny roles. They grew up together. It’s plain odd that we always hear about Ben’s women and never Matt’s escpecially since it’s clear that he’s the one that’s more attractive and more talented.

I’m just saying. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck

Monday’s A Bitch: Randomness

1. If you could have a view of anything you wanted from your bedroom window, what would you choose? I was a true city girl before I moved to Maine, but now I really like seeing trees outside my window; I like knowing what season it is by studying their branches. This week there’s been this soft natural orange glow filling my room from the changing leaves outside. That’s something I didn’t get with the view of the canal in New Orleans.
2. Have you ever tried Red Bull? Did you like it? I’ve never tried it.
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   Tags: Monday's a Bitch, meme, bloghopping, friendship

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Quote of the Day: On Protecting Your Country

“If you had a country which was very valuable, which had always belonged to your people….and men of another race came to take it away by force, what would your people do? Would they fight?”
– Chief Gall, leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux at Little Bighorn

Tags: Quote of the Day

Another Weird ESP Moment

So, yesterday I was driving back from getting my hair “done” — where the ladies at the spa were very upset that Pugly was sick at home. Awwwww…

Anyway, so as I was driving I suddenly had this out-of-the-blue thought that I hadn’t seen Overboard in ages. And for some reason I flashbacked to that scene where he first brings her home and he’s pretending to try to get her to “remember” the kids’ names and she guesses that Travis’ name is Roy. Then I was wondering why in hell I was thinking about that. After all
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Tags: Overboard, ESP

The Scarf So Far

O.K. This is like 40 rows…it’s taken me all week to get this far. I’m still not real happy but I’ve taken it out and redone it about fifty times. I’m doing something wrong on the ends. They’re always too loose. I end up going back and picking at the stitches trying to even things out. I just don’t like the fact that things don’t look all that consistant. I don’t know if I’m doing it right. But everywhere I’ve been where I’ve been knitting, I’ve got lots of compliments on it, mostly
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Tags: knitting, scarf

Leaf-Peeping Pugly-Style

Tags: Pug, the puppy, Autumn foilage, photo blogging

Calling All Maine Bloggers

I’m stilling looking for Maine Bloggers to join my Maine Bloggers webring. I’d love to read blogs from other folks in the area!

Here’s the webring code and how it looks:

Hopefully, I’ll see some fellow Mainers joining up so I won’t be all lonesome.

Tags: blogging, blogs, bloghopping, webrings, Maine

Quote of the Day: On Living In A Man’s World

I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman i it.
– Marylin Monroe

Tags: Quote of the Day, Marylin Monroe

Quote of the Day: On Reality

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.
– Philip Dick

Tags: Quote of the Day

Top Ten Things To Say When Caught Sleeping at Your Desk

10.) “They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen.”
9.) “This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in the time management course you sent me to.”
8.) “Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got here just in time.”
7.) “I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the Mission Statement and envisioning a new business strategy.”
6.) “It’s true what they say about all that harmful radiation that these monitors put out. My eyes started stinging and I got real dizzy.”
5.) “I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are
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Tags: joke

Discombobulated Thoughts — 10/13/06

• Happy Conspiracy Day! Friday the 13th — unluckiest day for the Templars ever, I think.
• I’m having my CT Scan (with contrast) of the lung shortly. The machine at the clinic I was supposed to have it in is “down” so they’ve called and asked me to go to the “Big House” (the main hospital) instead.
• It wasn’t so bad without the contrast, but I’m admittedly nervous after all the talk about possibly shutting down my kidneys.
• I wish I’d brought my lorazepam today.
• I wonder if binding my hands and elbows with Ace bandages would help reduce the pain. Ice cold seems to help.
• Pugly wants to chew on the ends of my knitting needles while I’m knitting and the cats want to play with the yarn — finally a hobby we can all participate in.

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Tags: discombobulated, knitting, kidney biopsy, CT Scan of the lung

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Friday Five First Sentences — Back By Popular Demand

So, I used to try to do “this thing” every Friday way back when (before I knew what memes were) as a writing exercise.

What’s “this thing“, you ask?

Is it some weird cult thing? (That’s a fair question from the few people who know I grew up in New Orleans and went to a few Voodoo rituals.)

Naw, it’s fairly safe, though mentally challenging. It’s good for the writer’s soul.

A long time ago, in a city far far away, I had a writing circle where I encouraged the group to write five sentences that could be the first sentences of a story or novel. The intent is to draw readers in, to make them want to know more. The first sentence of short stories and novels and articles should grab the reader and make him or her unable to close the book and toss it away.

So, the object of this exercise or meme is to write five sentences that could be the first sentences of different stories each Friday and share them by posting them either here in the comments or on your own blog and post a link in the comments that you did so.

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Tags: Friday Five 1rst Sentences, meme, bloghopping, writing, fiction, NaNoWriMo

Quote of the Day: On Success In Life

To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.
– Mark Twain

Tags: Quote of the Day, Mark Twain

50 Questions Answered By N. Mallory

I got this meme from James.

1. How tall are you barefoot? 5′ 1-3/4″
2. Have you ever flown first-class? Yes, once. During that horrible travel day last Christmas season trying to get to my parents’. One of the flights I got rerouted on happened to be a first-class seat. It would have been enjoyable if I hadn’t had to wait 100 years in the Boston Logan airport first.
3. One of your favorite books when you were a child? Charlotte’s Web.
4. A good restaurant in your city: Bibo’s Madd Apple Cafe.
5. What is your favorite small appliance? my yogurt maker.
6. One person that never fails to make you laugh? A person? What about a dog? My Pugly makes me laugh all of the time even when he doesn’t mean to. I can’t think of a person who does that.
7. What’s your favorite Christmas song? “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
8. What was the first music that you ever bought? Mickey Mouse Disco. Don’t laugh. I loved that albumn. It was vinyl too.
9. Do you do push-ups? No.
10. What was one of your favorite games as a child? Lava. You know, where the floor is lava and will melt you so you have to stick to jumping from furniture to furniture piece to keep from getting eaten by the lava.

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Tags: meme, bloghopping, 50 Questions

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What My Cats Think About My Dog

Yesterday was the day my cats go to the vet for their annual check up and shots.  They’re indoor cats so they never leave the house except to go to the vet or to move.  So…so far, I think their experiences leaving the house probably haven’t been all that spectacular.

By the time we got to the vet, poor Needy had completely peed all over himself and his carrier.  As the vet said, “How embarrassing.”  Overall though, Needy was fairly tame getting his check up and his shot once he got cleaned up despite having spent the entire trip to the
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Tags: the cats, the puppy, the vet

Thursday Thirteen Favorite Recipes (#8)

O.K. This is both a cheat and a shameless plug for The Weekend Chef. I am neither ashamed nor apologetic. I love cooking and I love sharing my recipes. So, this week this is what you get.

Thirteen Things about N. Mallory

1. Aunt J’s Easy Crispy Sweet Pecan Granola — I recently visited my aunt and she made this fantabulous granola for breakfast. It was so fantabulous in fact that I just couldn’t wait to try it out for myself and was completely surprised at how simple and easy it is to make. Now I have homemade granola to mix in with my homemade yogurt every morning.
2. Baked Ziti Casserole — I picked up this one from a Weight Watchers cookbook. It’s low-fat but full of wonderful flavor and texture. Plus, it’s simple and easy to make.
3. Puttanesca Sauce — I first had puttanesca sauce in a restaurant in New Orleans and couldn’t resist hunting down a recipe so I could have it whenever I wanted it at home.
   

   The name originated in Naples after the local women of easy virtue. Pasta Puttanesca means “The way a whore would make it”, but the reason why the dish gained such a name is debated. One possibility is that the name is a reference to the sauce’s hot, spicy flavour and smell. Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a house of ill repute. According to chef Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet, its name came from the fact that it was a quick cheap meal that prostitutes could prepare between customers. [Wikipedia]

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Tags: recipes, Thursday Thirteen, bloghopping, meme

25 comments See also in Geekery, Blogging & Other Blogs, Thursday Thirteen, Memes