Category: Oddities

Ten Things that Make Me Happy

I finally lost – and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Since I joined the Twitter revolution in earnest this past January I have been patiently … well, patiently as in drumming fingers on my keyboard and tapping my toes in frustration(!!!) … waiting for someone to “tag me”  for one of those “reveal yourself” blog challenges. I think I can safely say it’s the first time in my life I’ve been so excited to lose a game of tag (well … except for when I was 10 and let Danny *blush, blush* tag me out during a game of hide-n-seek just because I had a pre-teen crush on him).

A robust online and social media presence is a great way to get to know like-minded individuals you might not otherwise have the chance to meet… especially for someone who works from a home office and spends her days buried in research and writing (two lonely but rewarding undertakings). So when I saw that Karin had tagged me on her blog It’s All Good If You Can Laugh I actually let out a “squeeee!” … which led Husband to jump up form couch demanding to know what the cat had dragged into the house THIS time! *snort*

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Off the Edge of the Map: Cat Poop Coffee

What coffee drinker out there hasn’t stopped at the local convenience store to grab a quick cuppa joe, only to take a sip, spit it out and exclaim “this tastes like crap!” while tossing the offending item into the nearest trash receptacle?

Piece of advice … next time, hold on to your $0.99 cup of crap because it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the world’s most expensive cat-poop-coated coffee beans.

Yep. I said cat poop. And yep, God help me, I am serious.

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Twitpoll: Movies we watch over and over

This is how madness begins …

When the writing gets tough, my mind tends to wander. (Well, my mind tends to wander no matter what … but especially when the writing hits a snag. But, I digress ….) I long ago formed the habit of having the television on in the background because, well, my mind begins to wander if it’s too quiet. Of course I subsequently discovered that if I have on the news or TNT or HBO, I end up watching the television. Yes, dear readers, my mind wanders a lot.

My solution? Put a movie I love but have seen 100s of times in the DVD player and put it on a loop. Today, as I do quite often, I put in Resident Evil.

Somewhere around the third time through the zombie-with-the-axe-limping-towards-our-heroes scene I wondered exactly how many times I’ve seen the darned thing. Like any good #twitteraddict I promptly tweeted the thought out. And, yes, my mind started to wander …. #lesigh

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And the TwOscar goes to ….

Every once in a while my curiosity gets the better of me. You know – like the spooked collegian who insists on going up the darkened stairs unarmed, wearing nothing but an oversized  t-shirt, tube socks and thong to investigate the thumping noises? Yeah … that never ends well.

Yesterday was a fine example (well, minus the thong ….).

“Somehow” (*she grins*) my followers and I ended up voting in an Oscar-weekend movie poll. Actually it’s all @JeremyCShipp ‘s fault. A tweet came through my twitter stream Friday afternoon from the aforementioned offender “what are your favorite five movies?” I answered and then couldn’t get the question out of my mind.

So last night Twitter, I asked. You answered. Oh, boy, did you answer! Dozens responded to the call. In the end the individual movies mentioned as favorites topped 240. A very diverse bunch of amazing films! Everything from Finding Nemo and Aladdin, to Jaws and Jurassic Park, to The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Continue reading And the TwOscar goes to ….

Social Media: Heroes on the Campaign Trail

One of the most wonderful things about social media tools like Twitter and Facebook is the ability to locate and connect with people who care about the same issues as you do – and try to do something about them.

The Twitterverse is loaded with great individuals and groups hoping to raise awareness and campaign on everything from human trafficking to health care, from sports teams draft choices to saving favorite television shows.

(Yes, #heroes fans, I’m getting there!!!)

Here’s just a sampling of my evergreen favorites:

  1. Women’s issues/rights: @safeworld4women, @thewip, @GlobalFundWomen and @Womens_eNews are just a few of the tweeters out there raising awareness on women’s issues
  2. Rare Disease: @GlobalGenes and @rarediseaseday are among those raising awareness about #raredisease and what families face in battling rare, debilitating conditions
  3. Autism Spectrum: @autismtoday and @AutismMomExpert are among hundreds campaigning for #autism awareness and acceptance
  4. HumanTrafficking: @27millionslaves and @TrafficInPeople are among those campaigning to end #humantrafficking
  5. Human Rights: @witnessorg , @EnoughProject, @AmnestyUK and @jonhutsun  

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A new front in the Fat Wars?

Here are my questions for the day …

  1. should director Kevin Smith be getting an apology from Southwest Airlines because he was pulled off a flight for being too large?
  2. And if he did deserve the apology – why him and not every other fattie who has ever been pulled off or charged extra for taking up too much space?
  3. And more broadly, what do we all think about airline plans to charge obese people more for air travel?

I mean seriously, at a time when a higher percentage of Americans, Europeans and Asians are overweight than ever before, these are questions that get some seriously emotional responses.  

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Saints not the only winners on Super Bowl Sunday

Honestly, what is Danica Patrick thinking?

Patrick has an impressive racing resume as the most well known female contender in the Indy Car series and the ARCA Racing Series in recent years. She was the first woman to win an Indy car race with her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan Race and her 2009 third place finish in the Indianapolis 500 was the highest finish in the event’s history for a woman. Patrick is on track to make her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this coming weekend.

In that respect she is a great role model. She’s a capable, determined, gutsy lady breaking down barriers. And she and/or her managers are smart enough to market Patrick elsewhere while she’s a hot commodity.

But beside her late night talk show guest spots, most of her appearances outside the racing world – including two Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (like this one from 2009), numerous racy photos shoots and the GoDaddy.com commercials – seem more apropos to a centerfold wannabe than a race car driver.

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Systematic Failure: Perils of Living in a Fast Food World?!?!

So a few not-so-random thoughts as a follow-up to my post: Perils of Living in a Fast Food Nation.

 According to this Der Spiegel article from Germany, governments across the European continent are examining legislative ways to trim the fat out of their nations’ diets. Like residents in the U.S. and other regions, Europeans are seeing an explosion of expanding waistlines. Proposals on the table reportedly include more taxes on chocolate in Denmark and fast food in Romania, limits on the use of trans fat in Spain and an end to advertising of sweets to children under 12 in Germany.

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Systematic Failure: Perils of Living in a Fast Food Nation

If there’s one thing guaranteed to foil my best attempts at a healthier lifestyle, it’s not remembering to stock the fridge with better-for-you snacks; and it’s not getting in a 30 minute walk at least 3 times a week — it’s fast food (following very closely by rich, chocolate desserts). It’s a battle I’ve fought – fairly unsuccessfully – for years, … and one that society in general also seems to be losing.

But not anymore!!! Two really gross stories this week may finally tame my FF addiction.

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Fangtasm!

As a devoted fan of all things bloodsucker, I was delighted to read about all of the bloody creatures snapping up honors at last night’s Peoples’ Choice Awards.

The New Moon installment based on the Twilight saga phenomenon sucked up four awards, including favorite movie, franchise, on-screen team and breakout male actor for Tayler Lautner. My other current favorite fang-fare, HBO’s True Blood (based on Charlaine Harris’ series) grabbed favorite television obsession, while CW series The Vampire Diaries won for new television drama.

My joy in this news is twofold. One, it means we’re likely to see more bloodsuckers soon rising to feast in contemporary literary fiction works, on television and in the movies. Two, the popularity of these walking dead – who tend to either glory in the hunt or live in eternal torment – means that I am definitely NOT alone in my not-so-secret infatuations. (phew!!!!)

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