Blogs

Make it magnificent

My super-favorite purchase of the moment: Blondie greatest hits with videos! I had a couple CDs already but couldn't resist getting a DVD of old videos. They're so much fun -- it looks like they woke up and said, "Let's make a video!" And Blondie dresses up in a Hefty trash bag and a bathing suit and some electrical tape and tube socks and Candies and they make a video. So great! Can I be Blondie? No? Damn.

Court's Vices and Musings

April 10, 2006

DISCOUNTANIMEDVD.COM

http://www.discountanimedvd.com/ ....Damn, I just made an order from here a few days ago, and now the final dvd of the anime series Melody of Oblivion has just arrived in stock...early! The sixth volume was not supposed to be released until 4/25...*headdesk* And here I just spent all of my anime budget money (yes, I factor this into my budget monthly ) on discountanimedvd's graphic novel sale...! *Hits head to desk again*

Court Analyst/Strategist

April 10, 2006

Peculiar pinup art

As someone who loves vintage pinup girl art and underwear, this homage to the peculiar illustrations of Art Frahm never fails to draw a titter: http://www.lileks.com/institute/frahm/art1.html "The Shakedown" is my favorite. The illustration alone is absurdly Freudian, and the description of it as being from Frahm's "Edward Hopper period" are spot on, although Hopper is probably rolling in his grave. OK, I just channel-surfed past the Home Shopping Network or QVC, or one of those channels, and they were selling some skank-ho trashy platform sandals that had a peculiar "Carmen Miranda goes to Africa" vibe to them. And they were $150. You know 50ish fat ladies will be tottering around in them, their tubby little toes with toenails pained orange (and always long toenails, because they're too fat to trim them properly) spread wide from the tonnage inflicted upon them from being placed at such an odd angle. Christ, these shoes wouldn't be cute on you adorable young things with really cute feet and skinny little legs. You'd look like you were wearing cement blocks on your feet that were painted in a black-and-white tribal design. Wouldn't it be great to have a goth home shopping network? Or just to have a few good goth merchants show up on QVC? Beth and Puddin' could do a BPAL and BPTP segment. I would pay good money to see it and of course would spend money like a drunken sailor.

April 10, 2006

Fun with homeownership

I mention in my About Me that we have a house with a bad attitude. I opine this because since we've bought the house we've needed foundation work, a new heating/AC system, plumbing work, and now gutters. We were hoping to put this off, but a few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain: 10 inches in one day. Yes, 10 inches of rain in one day. The gutters were literally falling off the house with the weight of the water. So we hire someone to replace the gutters, who of course reveals rotting wood called "fascias." So this weekend has been another guy to replace the rotting wood. They bring down these pieces which aren't really wood, they're pressboard! Like a bunch of pieces of wood molded together. This has been on our house, rotting and falling away, for 35 years. Ugh. In general, I like our house. It was built in 1968, and the neighborhood we're in everyone still has the "original" house -- no one's done the tear-down-and-put-up-McMansion yet. We have a funky ranch layout which we love. These repairs aren't fun though -- it's not a fun new bathroom or great kitchen; it's gutters. No one gets excited about gutters. Gutters are boring and not fun.

April 9, 2006

Random thoughts, all happy

I must start today's post with a moment of love. Thanks to shriekingviolet (I corrected this from the original, where I called her "Ultraviolet." Sorry! If you're going to thank someone, it helps to call them by the correct name. Jeez.) and all the mods who helped get the forum running again and in its new, improved and expanded form, including this little blog corner. You guys are fantastic. I went shoe shopping today. Actually, sandal shopping. I wanted a new pair of black sandals, femme-looking, and I was having a hard time locating such a thing. I like the wedges, but a lot of the wedges with black uppers aren't very delicate looking. Picky, picky, picky... I'd actually purchased a pair of wedges a couple of days ago and hadn't worn them yet. I put them on last night and decided for the price I'd paid, they weren't exactly what I wanted. So I went back and found my usual salesman, who knows an addled shoe 'ho when he sees one, returned my first purchase and started on a new quest. I found what I wanted. I'd include a link to them, except they just don't look as hot in photos the way they do on the foot. They're Kenneth Cole Reaction shoes, the model is called "Float Ur Boat," or something like that. All black, kitten heels, a teensy wedge with canvasy edging, thong-style, and the thong has rhinestones and sequins (all black) on them. Got my toenails painted a nice burgundy, and I am ready to rock and roll. Foot fetishists, watch out. If anyone likes jazz, go buy Cassandra Wilson's new CD called "Thunderbird." The first time that I sampled "O," I was convinced that it smelled like b.o. on me. The scent had to grow on me, and it helped that other people would kind of have their eyes roll up in their heads and go "ummmmm" when they smelled me. A couple of people that I know did such a long "ummmmm" that I thought they were chanting "Ohm" like a yogi or yogini. And now, it's become my comfort scent. I love it alone, I love to mix it. But I'm really excited to get my order with Osun in it... it has honey and herbs, and that sounds OK with me. That CnS should be coming in a few days, since in my classic fashion, I ordered 1 LE bottle and then decided to go on a GC rampage. And then last week I went on another LE rampage. Do you know why I stay in the blogs so much? It's to keep my no-self-control, goodie-purchasing ass out of Retail Therapy. I am rather easily enabled. I have a dear friend at work, a great guy, our brains work in very different ways. He's terribly thorough and literally worries things to death. I am a classic Intuitive on the Myers-Briggs inventory and I will jack around seemingly doing nothing and then regurgitate a lot of work. My friend said to me yesterday: "You tend to read, think and write a lot faster than I do." A couple of weeks ago he walked into my office at the end of the day and said: "It's not that what I was doing today was so difficult, it's just that I had a hard time doing it." You have to love such goofy honesty about one's own self! It's a quiet day around the blogs, I bet you were all out panty shopping, right?

April 9, 2006

Whiskers and Whispers

Popping my wax tart cherry...

...but the tart doesn't smell of cherries! I burnt a tart for the first time yesterday-it was Alternative Breeding's Einstein-and I'm very impressed. They are stronger than scented candles-so strong that not only did my room smell nice, but the whole house did! The smell is lovely too-a refreshing herbal cucumber. And a very appropriate scent to revise my physics work with! I have loads of tarts to try out but since tarts take longer to burn away than candles, I'll have to wait until this one is done... I am so busy trying out new imps that my bottles don't even get the attention they deserve! So today I tried out my bottles of Seraglio and Cairo for the first time. (I bought Cairo in August.) I'm glad Seraglio doesn't have the 'soapy almond' note I got in a recent bottle of Queen of Sheba (which I usually adore) and an imp of Port au Prince-I think that was a certain batch variation that went a bit awry on my skin when the usual almond notes don't do that. But the sandalwood is more pronounced, and I love that. And my bottle of Cairo isn't as lemony as the imps I tried, this one smells more like sweet red wine with myrrh and other fruits, and also a hint of papyrus and lotus, and a dry note that makes me think of hot sand, which is fitting. To be honest, I don't feel bothered to do my coursework. The procrastination bug kicks in again, it seems. I'm getting through it veeeeeery slooooooowly. But maths is an absolute beyatch. Thank goodness I can go and see my tutors every now and then, when they are not at any conferences... My tastes in chocolate are getting more and more expensive. Sure, I love my Cadbury's and have been eating more Creme Eggs than is healthy, I just want something a bit more luxurious for Easter this year. I love all those yummy cinnamon and cardamom chocolates or the ones with strawberries and cracked black pepper and coffee beans and lemon peel and so on. I have my eye on one particular choccy egg or two but they are very pricey...about the price of a BPAL LE bottle each. maybe I shouldn't bother with chocolate and just buy more BPAL-especially if it smells of chocolate.

yeahbutnobut

April 8, 2006

wearing Rage

Yum! After the initial powerspice, it's not as geraniumy as i recall. Almost a year on this 10ml bottle and it's aged to perfection. Little changed from early days but some of the bite and clashing note edges softened. Still a strong one though, herbal touched and turned toward the floral.

KymbaKhan

April 8, 2006

...but then I got a CnS...

My day blew chunks, but then I got a CnS for my Monster Bait: Underbed order, and the dark clouds parted and the moon came out! (The CnS arrived at 8:04 p.m., sun wasn't around.) I am really, really tired after my week at work. A minor rant follows. I work for a state legislature and everyone in my office tends to specialize in certain policy matters. I was assigned a legislative bill last year that has morphed into something that's not within my subject matter specialty. Because it's a terribly controversial issue that keeps morphing, and because the person working with the subject matter that my bill has now become is the newly-hired golden boy in the office, my boss didn't reassign the bill to him. He's making me keep it and I'm going to be the one whose name goes on what may be a controversial analysis document. Now, WTF? Some of my coworkers told me it's because my boss trusts my work, but I don't believe that for a minute. I think he likes to run my butt up the flagpole and spares the men in the office. If the new guy did the work, my boss would have to trot along with him if a senator is upset, because the new guy is a poor little baby and we can't have his feelings hurt. With me, no way. And it's not like I even did that much of the difficult analysis -- economists in an agency did that work. But my name goes on the document, and we do have the ability to disagree with agencies. But I didn't, because it's damn near impossible to accurately figure out what's going to happen. I said there was no basis, at this time, to disagree. How's that for weasel words? And here's the worst part: I was telling my boss today about an obscure part of the bill and he said to me: "I didn't know that was in there... good girl for finding it." Now, WTF? I am not his fucking dog who retrieved a bone, nor am I a girl. I am fucking over 40 years old! Patronizing 'nadless sack of shit. And they all wonder why I have such an attitude. I do need to investigate those TAL blends and see if there's one for my boss. Any suggestions, TAL experts?

April 8, 2006

Work

So, I have a job. I'm an HR admin for an orthodontics company -- saving the world from crooked teeth. This means I send payroll to be processed, get everyone paid and signed up for medical, dental and life insurance. We have stock options and I prepare the agreements and keep track of all of those. I work for the General Counsel (in-house attorney) helping with contracts and litigation. In general, I like my job. We have a main office, but Boss Lady and I are in a different state and work out of our houses. I'm at her place 2-3 days/week, and at home the rest of the time. It's very flexible, in that I can run to the grocery store and do other errands if I'm caught up. I love that aspect -- I can be free for an hour or two, in the middle of the day! If it's busy, though, and we're working on a big project I'm expected to be checking email constantly and by the phone. Because it's a sales company, everyone's very outgoing and energetic. I'm told I have a pleasant phone persona and don't mind answering questions on the phone or emailing all day. The company is doing great (as far as I can tell, but I don't see sales figures). I feel fortunate that Boss Lady (whom I worked for previously) liked me so much she wanted only me for the job. It's exciting to be working for such a young and growing company -- I sometimes compare it to the Lab, in that things seem to have taken off with demand. What's no-so-great about it? Boss Lady can be abrupt and demanding. She likes me to make calls for her, then stands next to me and corrects me during the call if I've misunderstood something. Look lady, if this call was so important to you, and you don't have anything else to do at the moment, why aren't you on the phone? Other people can be demanding too, like I have nothing else to do except answer their vacation time questions over and over. Seriously, our policy isn't that confusing, and no you don't get all your vacation time for the year up-front. I don't care that "every other job you've had" did that -- that's a stupid way to do things, because if you left a week later we'd owe you that unearned vacation time. Does that make any sense to you? Go sell something. It's not an exciting, artistic job, but with DH's job we can pay the bills and have fun money left over. What more can we ask for?

April 8, 2006

littletingoddess' Blog

I won something! And an added bonus!

I won a radio contest tonight!! I had to be the 5th caller (usually, I never get through) and know what #4 and #7 were on the countdown. And I did it! I won this cd: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ETRCG...5Fencoding=UTF8 and a Headbangers Ball poster, and pizza and Crazy Bread from Little Caesar's! Only a minute or two after they played back me answer the questions, my cell phone rings... it's Brad, my big crush! He heard it and wanted to congratulate me! It's the first time he's ever called for something that didn't have to do with work. But then, the call waiting started beeping.. it was the dj calling back to get my info, and I had to hang up with Brad. I'm still giddy, though!

littletingoddess

April 8, 2006

Forum Updates and News

Progress is painful, and the vanguard feel the gre

Oh great googley moogley. It's really good that we hadn't yet announced the feedback, because as it turns out, anyone who has registered (or changed their password) since we upgraded to 2.x wouldn't've been able to log in. Fixed now, but all y'all totally owe emzebel for finding this bug and working with me til it was quashed! Entry Title: Pearls Into The Dirt

ipb

April 7, 2006

Kicking back with finances, y'all

I joke about filing for bankruptcy, but actually have experienced it almost-first-hand: I worked for a bankruptcy attorney for 2 years. It seemed I saw people at the worst point of their lives, but as I've said after working for attorneys for many years, "If everyone was rich and happy, no one would need an attorney." We seriously had a Kleenex budget, because many times we had people crying in the office over their decision. There were straight-up dumbos whose logic was, "I have credit cards I can't pay, so to feel better I'll go shopping!" One couple who made really decent money (over $100K/year) had almost $300K in credit cards and loans. But a lot of people were there for normal bad luck -- divorce, where one person gets stuck with a house payment they can't afford on their own; illness; losing their job; people who owned their own businesses mixing their personal finances up with the business. It drives me crazy, especially with this new "bankruptcy reform," that the general consensus is that people who file for bankruptcy are deadbeats and abuse the system by filing over and over. As I saw it, the system was in fact working fine, with honest judges and attorneys who wanted to be fair to everyone, including the creditors. The attorney I worked for flat-out refused to represent people whom she suspected were lying to her. She was one of the top bankruptcy attorneys in the city, and there was no way she was putting her license and reputation on the line for anyone. What I learned was to be very diligent with our own finances: --Pay important bills in full every month. Mortgage/rent, utilities, car payment & insurance. --Everything else like credit cards that can't be paid in full, pay as much as possible. "Minimum amounts" are for suckers. --If you can't pay off something in one month, try to pay it off the next month. Seriously. If that means less going out, less concerts or movies, do it and catch up. --Pay everything early, not late. Creditors luuuuvs when you pay late, even one day, because not only do they get their money but they have the excuse to charge $25-45! Because you're one day late? Nah, man. --If you don't like an interest rate, change it. If the mortgage is too high, you can refinance after a couple years if you've been good with payments. Credit cards, call them and ask for a lower rate. If not, use one of those 0% interest for 6 months offers with someone else. And keep track of the due dates too -- if it's no interest until June, pay it off or transfer by June. Anyway, I'm going on and on. The point is, take control! Power to the people!

April 7, 2006

Slave1's Blog

I'm going to pull my hair out!

My fur-kids are killing me!!! OK... I'm getting ready for work... and it's finally time to go. I call the pups to put them in their crates. Iggy comes running right away... Berlin doesn't. Berlin! Berlin! After about 30 seconds of me calling her name, she comes around the corner with a "cigarette" hanging out of her mouth. Yeah, it looked funny as hell and I wish I had my camera at that second... but the fact is, she ate almost an entire pack of bubblegum cigarettes... about 5 or 6 pieces. So, I flip out, call the vet. Chris couldn't find the doctor so I put Berlin in her crate, ran to work, called the vet again and they said to just observe her. It's obviously more scary for her than other dogs because she's only about 10 pounds. I quickly did my morning duties and left to get home around 10. Now I'm sitting her watching her. She seems fine, but cripes... what if this stuff gums up her works, creates a blockage and she needs surgery?!?!??! I'm still in the hole with Iggy and I financially can't handle anymore or mentally either. I'm about to seriously just lose it. Please, please, PLEASE think good thoughts for her. She and I both need them actually... And speaking of Iggy. He got his last bandage off yesterday. He had a huge scab, which is good, it means he's healing. The doctor said he'd be fine as long as he didn't lick it. Well, he was good all the way home, then we got inside and within 15 seconds, he had ripped his scab off. Blood everywhere. So I rebandaged him and he is conehead again. If it doesn't start to scab again by tomorrow, he has to go back into the vet. And Spencer might be getting fired today for missing so much work due to his ulcer. His boss says he can't prove it's work related. I think I'm getting an ulcer of my own from all this. Jebus!!!

slave1

April 6, 2006

Starfish & Coffee

My forum Top Ten-ish entries.

Regular catalog: Baneberry Bengal Dorian Gluttony Imp O Snake Oil Ultraviolet Limited Editon/other: 13 Gingerbread Poppet Lick It! Lump of Coal Mitzvah Snowblind Spooky Sugar Skull Aromatherapy/Ritual: Eulegba - ritual High John - ritual Nanshe - aromatherapy (sleep) Sleepy Moon - aromatherapy (sleep)

byrdie

April 6, 2006

Starfish & Coffee

Milk Moon vs. Budding Moon.

After reading reviews of Peony Moon, I decided to layer Milk Moon with Budding Moon. It starts off taffy or ice-cream sweet, as both are sweet oils. The florals of Budding Moon are still obviously there, but they're less shocking with the creaminess of Milk Moon. Similarly, Milk Moon's sour phase seems to get distracted by the florals of Budding Moon. The combo is just starting to get a little musty now, but then I've had it on for almost three hours without a touch-up.

byrdie

April 6, 2006

Starfish & Coffee

eeek!

I won something in the raffle!

byrdie

April 6, 2006

This Old Snark

Home Sweet (Smelling) Home (maybe?)

At the risk of incurring the Wrath of the Gods, Snarky wants y'all to have a peek: The Possibly Maybe Future Chez Snark She's already scheming where the yarn, BPAL, and LUSH stashes will go. She's going to have her own bathroom, finally! No more comingling of her "lotions and potions" (The Mister's term) with his manly toilette. Snarky hastens to add that she decided to wear Clio today. This is another surprise imp in her ammo case that is sorta-kinda spring like (in a deep dark pathouli-ish sort of way). Also, the lavendar is helping her to remain a little more calm and clear-headed given the circumstances.

darkitysnark

April 6, 2006

LunaDragonGirl's Blog

crafty thoughts

Awoke this morning after a night of intense dreams, none of which I can remember, feeling quite moody and as though I could break down sobbing at the drop of a hat. It took me quite a while to actually get myself out of bed; there was a huge part of me wanting to simply stay hidden under my comforter for the rest of my life. (the constant rain is NOT helping my mood, I might add, as much as I love the rain...the smells, the sounds, the way the creek behind my house rushes and gurgles) Decided that today was a good day to find my way to my favourite coffee spot, for a tiny bit of heaven...cappuchino, biscotti and a bit of knitting work on my second pair of fingerless gloves/wrist warmers. I've discovered that the rhythm of "knit 2, purl 2" puts me into quite a meditative state and calms me down a lot. My fav coffee spot happens to be a cart inside of a lovely shop that sells magazines from all over, newspapers, and stationary...they also sell cigars and save the empty cigar boxes to sell to people who might want them. Wandered into the store after finishing my coffee moment and asked to see their current empty cigar box collection. They had three left...one of which came home with me as it was the perfect size for a BPAL box. It's a square box as opposed to the usual cigar box shape (short and rectangular)...perfect for 5 and 10mls. Now I have to decide what I'm going to do with it...and after a bit of thought, I think I'm going to go with an Edward Gorey theme. I have a ton of small Gorey pics from two years worth of "daily desk calendars". I think I will colour some of them with coloured pencils and modge podge them on. Maybe paint the box a shade of grey, or possibly purple. PS: More forumites need to use the chat feature! It's nifty and cool!

LunaDragonGirl

April 6, 2006

Broke? Who, me?

OK, so I mentioned bankruptcy before. I have several temptations other than BPAL that are dying to make me broke: Villainess soaps (Brooke) -- currently I have One-Eyed Willy soap with Sugar Buzz Smooch in the shower. I'm not a bubble bath person feMaledictions (sCara) -- her perfumes are OK, but I really like her soaps, incense, sprays, etc. Goth Rosary (AntiSally) -- her conditioner is great, with interesting scents Dark Candles (Helena) -- strongest candles and simmering oils in gothy scents. I'm an armchair goth; I don't dress like one, but like the themes (and the music). My Lady's Chamber -- I find myself hoarding the incense instead of burning, which I shouldn't do. Really stinky incense, great themes and prices Instant Living -- I love retro culture. Cocktail lounges, '50s decor. I'm not in any "scene" but I like the shopping. Really cute jewelry and home stuff Reprodepot Fabrics -- I have a sewing machine but should really use it more. I still buy fabric though, especially if it's on sale. I'll get inspired every so often Candles and incense -- Pier 1 and Illuminations have good candles in interesting scents. I'm always up for some good headshop incense, wherever I find it General collecting and admiring: Souvenirs -- matchbooks, charms for my bracelet, tablecloths, plates and ashtrays, light-up signs; anything that reminds me of trips or where I've lived before Disneyland -- I'm in love/obsessed with the Haunted Mansion. I grew up 15 minutes from Disneyland and have been there more times than I can count, so the "golden age" of Disneyland is especially nostalgic Old Hollywood, through 1950s -- again, where I grew up in Southern California it seemd obvious that you watched old movies and knew all the big names Old Vegas -- like Hollywood, seedy and glitzy at the same time Are they collections or hobbies? They seem like hobbies, in that the pursuit of them are as interesting as actually possessing them. DH grew up in Cincinnati during the Reds' World Series runs ('75 and '80) so we like Cincinnati and Reds stuff. I love hearing about what others collect too, as I live vicariously.

April 6, 2006

Forum Updates and News

"Are you stupid and naive?" they asked

I think my end of the code mods for the swap feedback is really, truly done. For realz this time - I think I've said that four or five times, but the lastest one hasn't seen any more comments of changes by the beta testers (aka, the mods). Entry title: Idiot Express

ipb

April 6, 2006

The WOW of NOW

I was so busy this morning that I couldn't write in my blog. Horrors! But let's talk about the ebb and flow of energy, or kundalini, or chi, or prana, or the life force. Holy crap, Batman, this time of year is astonishing to me. The vernal equinox is the equivalent of putting me on speed. Literally. I can't sleep, I don't want to eat, I vibrate. I'm not complaining. It makes me feel so fucking alive, I can't tell you how much I love it. I'm just happy that I don't repress this. It's gotten more pronounced since I've been meditating every night, which is something that's gone on for 7 years or so, but it really kicked into drive last year. Somehow, I've become more attuned to the cycles of nature, and there's nothing to complain about there. I may not be very enlightened, but I can feel the cycles of gaia, and that's fine with me. So, you say, how does the above reconcile with the lingerie-obsessed, BPAL-addicted jabbering in prior posts? Maybe I'm whack, but like I told someone last week, this is what it's all about -- we need to enjoy our senses as much as we're able to. We're in this human incarnation and we have the ability to truly understand and appreciate our embodiment. Isn't that fabulous? Why do we try to shut ourselves down, why do we deny our senses, deny our emotions? Why do we avoid connecting with each other? So I'll stop rhapsodizing and end with a couple of quotes from one of my favorite movies (minilux, are you out there??), "Waking Life:" Hey. Could we do that again? I know we haven't met, but I don't want to be an ant. You know? I mean, it's like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continously on ant autopilot, with nothing really human required of us. Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there. All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner. "Here's your change." "Paper or plastic?' "Credit or debit?" "You want ketchup with that?" I don't want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you. I want you to see me. I don't want to give that up. I don't want to be ant, you know? and.... The ongoing WOW is happening right NOW.