Well, the good news is that I got yesterday's song out of my head.

The bad news is that this is what replaced it:



I'm afraid for tomorrow...

Labels: music, video

.*.*.

  I don't know why, but I've had the Christmas song "Ding Dong Merrily on High" stuck in my head ALL DAY!

In case you're not familiar with it, here's a pretty standard arrangement.


And a bell choir:


The same song on that ginormous organ in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City:


A somewhat hilarious, somewhat horrific version featuring French and Saunders:


This one's on the banjo, cause, well, why not?


There, I hope it's good and stuck in your head now, too!

Labels: holiday, music, video

.*.*.

  Sorry I've been away so long. It was a busy weekend and then we had co-op signups, and I just didn't have a lot of time.



OK, maybe this video isn't that funny, but it hit me just right because I was actually trying to do this with the shed fur of a Norwegian Elkhound who visited us the other day. I made about 6" of yarn by hand, just as a proof of concept, then gave up because it was labor intensive.

I was all ready to say how I think it's weird, but then I remembered that we have a jar full of cat fur that my kids harvested from our soon-to-be-put-down kitty. So, since I know *we're* not weird at all, this must be OK. Just nod politely.

Labels: crafting, pets, video

.*.*.

 

Miss Universe Australia in "skinny" controversy

Australia's Miss Universe contest was thrown into controversy on Thursday with doctors and dieticians complaining a leading finalist was "skin and bones" and dangerously malnourished.

Sydney model Stephanie Naumoska, 19, was one of 32 contestants from more than 7,000 hopefuls to make the glittering final at an event promoting "healthy, proportioned, bodies."

I am wondering how they didn't notice this when they were culling her out of the over 7,000 hopefuls?

One of the doctors interviewed believes that they should impose a BMI cutoff of 20 on their contestants (hers is 15.1, the cutoff for malnutrition is 18). I wish they would do this for modeling, too.

I'm donating platelets later this week, while I'm there I'll see if I can donate some adipose tissue for the needy as well. I'll let you know how it goes...

Labels: newsworthy

.*.*.

  10 years later, the real story behind Columbine

They weren't goths or loners.

The two teenagers who killed 13 people and themselves at suburban Denver's Columbine High School 10 years ago next week weren't in the "Trenchcoat Mafia," disaffected videogamers who wore cowboy dusters. The killings ignited a national debate over bullying, but the record now shows Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold hadn't been bullied - in fact, they had bragged in diaries about picking on freshmen and "fags."

Over the years, a lot of people have asked me if I homeschool because of the attack at Columbine, and other school shootings. The answer is not that simple. We'd been considering homeschooling since before we even had any kids, but I have to admit that this event was a factor in our decision.

When Columbine happened, Anya was 4 and Maya and Sage were 2. I watched the news all through the day, just not believing. This was happening right here in town, in a "good" school, in the district both Davin and I had graduated from.

(To make things weirder, I'd also attended the middle school right next door to Platte Canyon High School, so I turned on the TV not long ago and saw another school related to me being evacuated.)

Of all the horrible things that happened the day of the Columbine shootings, the one that pierced me the most was seeing all the parents waiting outside the school looking for their child throughout the day. The police were releasing the kids in waves, and as each group came out there would be a spate of happy reunions, then those parents would scoop up their kids and leave. Everyone else would wait for the next wave, hoping.

Late in the day, they said that no more kids would be coming out. All of the parents still standing outside KNEW there was no hope, and that there was nothing left to do but go home. Without their children.

That was the thought that nearly killed me. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to know your baby was not only dead, but had died afraid and confused, and you couldn't be there even after the fact.

As I said, I had already been thinking about homeschooling by then; Columbine merely helped me make up my mind.

I know that school shootings are mercifully rare. Besides, people get mowed down at McDonald's, which puts my family in grave danger (if the food doesn't kill us first!) My kids could be involved in a violent encounter anywhere, it doesn't have to be in a school.

But, I think that since I'm with my kids a far larger percentage of the time than if they were in school, we'd most likely face any danger together. Davin and I wouldn't be with those scared, hurting parents standing outside the building, wondering if our kids were coming out or not. That, among a million other blessings, make all the sacrifices involved with homeschooling worth it for me.

Labels: crime, homeschooling, newsworthy

.*.*.

  We are snowed in. There is somewhere between 18" and 2' on the ground, and that's deceptive because it's wet snow and it's compacting as it lands.

We were supposed to having friends over for dinner last night, but there was no way they could come because of the roads. Today we're supposed to get out and see some other friends, but the snow's coming down so hard that we almost can't see the neighbors' houses. And we live in a cookie cutter suburban neighborhood, so we're not talking Little House on the Prairie-type distances here!

We have food, and the power's on, so it's all good survival-wise. But DANG it's boring! I'm starting to get a little twitchy.

We're supposed to get a break late this afternoon or tonight. That's a good thing, because I'm just about at this point:


Maybe I'll work on that novel I've been meaning to write.

All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl.

Labels: stephen king, weather

.*.*.

  I was searching all over the internet this morning for a representation of either the empty tomb, or of the Christ rising from the tomb for an Easter post. There are a LOT of images out there to choose from!

This one struck me because this Jesus really looks he's been dead for 3 days. Not to mention the crucifixion before that, which must really take the wind out of guy's sails. This guy looks like he's been through the ringer!



Most of the risen Christs look pretty refreshed, like 3 days underground does a body good. I really think Jesus was probably more like this at first.

I found this over at Bible Paintings. Here is their commentary on this painting:

Date: 1490

Artist: Bramantino

Comment: The Resurrected Christ
Bramantino (circa 1465-1535) was a Lombard painter and architect whose real name was Bartolomeo Suardi. His works were noted for their fine architectural backgrounds - though there is little evidence of this in 'The Resurrected Christ'. If anything, it is the face, body and cloak that have an architectural quality, evidence of careful draughtsmanship.

It seems to me that Bramantino was trying to capture the image of a perfect man - perfect in form, in intellect, and in compassion.
At the same time, his 'Resurrected Christ' is a man who has passed through death and is now detached, no longer part of the world that we, the Living, inhabit.

The cloak that Jesus wraps around himself has an almost metallic sheen to it, mirroring the pallor of the skin. And yet when you look at the painting, you notice that the face itself has quite a different color to it, as if there is more life in it than there is in the body.

The skin is luminously pale, unearthly, even though it shows the marks of violence and the raised veins of a living body. The eyes are sad, looking through and past the viewer. They are the eyes of someone who is somewhere else. These eyes have seen things the Living have not seen. They are disquieting, perhaps because they make the viewer seem irrelevant.

Happy Easter, everyone! I'll see you next week.

Labels: art, holiday, link

.*.*.

  I'm crabby and moving slloooowwwwwly this week, thanks to the fibro/migraine double whammy. I'm trying to keep away from civilized folk, on account of I want to keep my friends.

Taking drugs and going back to bed...

Labels: can't blog, fibromyalgia, migraine

.*.*.

  I was getting a new service hooked up recently, and for the online portion I had to give an answer for a security question, in case I forget my password.

The question the guy asked was, "Who is your favorite author?" Immediately I said "Stephen King." He high-fived me and said that was his favorite author, too! (He was an awfully cool guy the whole time, but this sealed his coolness for me.)

We finished up the transaction and I headed out. I was telling a friend later that day about this cool guy Davin and I had met, and some of the funny things he'd said and how his favorite author was Stephen King, too. Then I realized, well duh! Stephen King is a tremendously popular author, probably a HUGE number of people would answer that. So, it's probably not the best security question for me to choose, since just by playing the statistics people would be likely to guess my answer.

And then, if the person trying to hack my account actually knew me, which would make it much easier for them to know stuff like my full name and address, it would be a complete no-brainer! I might as well take out billboards and full page ads in the paper offering up my social security number, and all my vital statistics.

So now, I need to call them back and either pick a different security question, or change my author to someone no one would guess but that I'd remember if I needed to. Any suggestions?

Labels: genius, stephen king

.*.*.

  You know how I had that horrible gum graft here recently?

That was a vile and unpleasant experience. And, to make it worse, for only a little more money I probably could have just had my whole body rebuilt to make me better, stronger, faster. It seems redundant that I should be in such pain *AND* have to pay a whole bunch of money, too.

So, I was thinking. I should search the fetish sites online and find a dentist who is also a sadist, and maybe we can work out a deal. We can exchange services! He can fix my gums, and I will let him hurt me for free. It's a win/win situation, right?

I know, you're thinking that any dentist could be a sadist and used to hurting people plus getting paid handsomely to do it. I mean, how can you know how much your dentist is enjoying the procedure? Maybe that's why he became a dentist?

So, to make it worth his while, too, I'd be willing to go the extra mile. Instead of keeping myself under control the whole time, I'll just scream and yell and cry, which is what I want to do at the dentist's anyway. I'm such a wienie! I'd even be willing to let him use some creepy old dental tools on me, if they're clean.

But if he gets something like this out, I'm outta there. I do have some standards...

Labels: dental, geek, movies, random

.*.*.