panda place - the public online journal of panda cookie

Panda Place is MOVING!!!!

2006-06-08T02:18:00.000-04:00

Panda Place is MOVING to a better site!!!

Please add this link to your syndicated accounts: http://pandacookie.wordpress.com/feed/. If you'd like, click on the buttons in the left sidebar, and it will automatically add my the new blog's location to your RSS readers of choice.

You can also go directly to http://pandacookie.wordpress.com/; bookmark it in that case!

I have asked LiveJournal for one small favor; to change the link to the syndicated account. As my problems were with the Abuse team and not the Syndication portion of LJ Support, I see no reason why they won't do this for me.

Thanks you guys. See you at the new location!!!

Leaving on a jet plane....goodbye LiveJournal...

2006-06-07T02:30:00.000-04:00

This is to let everyone know that I am leaving LiveJournal. Because even if my protest results in some changes, I just don't feel the same about LiveJournal, anymore. Believe me, I feel sad about this. I loved LiveJournal for a long, long time. To see it turn into the type of product I don't feel right supporting feels bad, what with the lousy Abuse team and the fact that they just introduced advertising to the site (even after they promised they wouldn't. This was documented in an old version of the Social Contract, shown here: ta da!) But anyway, it is this type of thing that made my feelings for my once favorite blogging site change.

I'm sure most of the LJ top dogs are going to be psyched about my decision. None of them really liked me. But fuck 'em. They lost a customer. A customer that was at one time willing to pay for thier services. A customer that once worked on thier Support team. And slowly but surely they will lose more customers. Already, some people are fully aware of the crap that LiveJournal has become.

Please spread around the link for my syndicated account: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/pandacookie/. That's where you can catch my blog updates on LiveJournal from now on. I'm going to try and get a blog hosted through an independent server up and running one of these days, so I can be the boss of my own domain, so to speak. I'll let you all know when that time comes. For now, though, and until I say otherwise, my Blogspot blog (the very blog you are reading) is where I will be writing. Please feel free to comment on any entries any time. Just click on the link that says the number of comments I have, and my blog's comment form will pop right up.

If you wish to stay in touch with me on a more personal level, please do so through MySpace. Feel free to add me, message me, whatever.

I will miss all the friends I made on LiveJournal. That's the part that I'll miss the most about all this; the kind of rapport I had with my friends on LiveJournal. But most of you are already friended on MySpace anyway, so all is not lost!

Thank you all for reading about my crazy life for the past four years on LiveJournal. Now I go forward. And hopefully one day I will be the boss of my own blog.

Panda vs. LiveJournal/Six Apart....UPDATE!

2006-06-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

Today I have received the following email:

Dear Ms. Panda,

Please send your email to feedback@livejournal.com so that the correct people will see it. I'm sorry, but there's no way for me to transfer your message directly from here.

Sincerely,
Anne
Six Apart

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Obviously I have changed the name so as not to reveal my real name. ;)

This email is the result of the following email, which I sent to all important Six Apart contacts a day and a half ago. Warning: It's long! Also, names and phone numbers have been changed to X's where applicable, to protect privacy and avoid problems:

This is going to be a long email. Please take the time to read it all, and please consider everything in this email. I'm going to be as descriptive as possible, and all of my claims can be backed up from past abuse reports.

I'm very angry. I have given LiveJournal tons of support over the years; paying for Paid accounts, working on the Support team, etc. I have been watching as LiveJournal goes slowly to hell.

How, you may ask?

It's all about LiveJournal's abuse team; some of the rudest, hostile, arrogant people I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with! Thier actions affect everyone on the LiveJournal site, not just me. They do not listen to customers, even though they say they want to hear from us.

The abuse team have treated me with nothing but rudeness and disdain in the past. I have been incredibly less than satisfied with the way they handle affairs. They have, as an example, refused to delete a community journal that I once owned (Xxxxxx is the name of it). I had given it to a friend by mistake. They could have easily checked the community's history and saw my story matched up, but they didn't. They refused me, over and over. As a result, I attempted to have the community deleted by faking I was a different user causing a "Terms of Service offense". Yes, I know that what I did was really stupid, but please understand that I felt really desperate. I would never have done such a thing if I didn't feel like I was backed against a wall. If they had not refused me, I would never have stooped to such levels.

While I'm on the subject of rudeness, the abuse team has been flippant and rude toward other users, as well, saying things such as "write in campaigns will never work", "not everyone is going to like you", etc. Is that any way to treat a customer?! On another occaision, I was trying to let the abuse team know I was being harrassed by someone on LiveJournal. They refused to even look into the matter, saying the subject matter was in a "friends only" entry (even though some abuse team members actually CAN see friends only posts). I then asked if that was any way to treat someone that has supported the site for so long. I got a reply from an abuse team member, saying he was "offended and insulted" because he felt that I was rubbing the times I have supported this site in the abuse team's face. I wasn't. I was offended myself that a customer would be treated in this way, so in my disgust I stated that, as a supportive customer, I felt that I didn't deserve to have my issue be treated as a non issue.

The abuse team has also kept offensive, lewd and disgusting material onsite. Recently someone had posted a horrible and disgusting film of a cat being murdered brutally in the syndicated journal Kittenbreak, in the comments. The abuse team did nothing. A friend of mine (user name Xxxxxxx) had brought to the abuse team's attention a community that promotes anorexia and bullemia. The abuse team did nothing. I had once pointed out a community that promoted sex with young teens. Not only did the abuse team do nothing, they said that such communities had "freedom of speech". I'm sorry, but it sickens me that such subject matter is left on LiveJournal servers due to "freedom of speech".

And now, on top of all of this, I see someone that identifies themselves as a LiveJournal volunteer is horribly, horribly rude here: http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=23555257&postID=114936881220849557 . That is absolutely inexcusable! Saying users deserve to be "thrown in the trash" and encouraging people to delete thier journals? That's a horrible way to conduct business! Absolutely horrible!

It is my hope that a new, more professional abuse team is hired, or at least give the existing abuse team some extra training. As of now, I feel so disgusted with the way LiveJournal is being run, I am discontinuing the usage of my journal. I will also no longer support the site with money or otherwise. Why would I want to support a site that is run so horribly?

Thank you for your time. Please call me at 617-637-1234 if you have any questions.

Okay, so mentioning my little problem with that community may not help anything, but it couldn't hurt. ;) Also, the supposed "LJ employee" that I linked to in the second to last paragraph may be a troll, but again, if someone is running around pretending to be a LiveJournal employee, I think LiveJournal/Six Apart should know about it!

Anyway, I did what the representitive from Six Apart asked me to do, and sent my email to the Feedback address. Have I been set up? Will another LJ flunkie tell me off? Or will I get a decent reply? Stay tuned...

Just to let my LiveJournal friends know...

2006-06-05T15:13:00.000-04:00

I have been asked how to stay in contact with me now that I am protesting LiveJournal's Abuse team. I hope things will get resolved so I can come back, but until then, you can stay in touch in one of two ways...

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1) Add my Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/pandacookie. I would say this is the easiest way to stay in touch with me, since most people have a Myspace, anyway.

2) Check out my blog: http://pandacookie.blogspot.com/. Or add the syndicated feed: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/pandacookie/. This way you can keep up with my goings on while on LJ. I will be starting a more personal journal soon. Email me (my email address is on my LiveJournal profile) and I will give you the link to it.

Thanks everyone.

I went on a Hot Dog Safari, today...

2006-06-04T23:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, most of you are probably wondering, "what in the hell is a Hot Dog Safari?"

Answer: this link will explain it all!

Now that you have an understanding as to what the Hot Dog Safari is, we can move on to my thoughts on spending part of my day at Suffolk Downs for this event...

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There was a shuttle bus waiting at Suffolk Downs station when Rich, my son and I arrived, to take us to Suffolk Downs for the Hot Dog Safari. That alone impressed me; giving comfort to the attendees! When we got there, the first thing that I noticed were the people! It was incredibly crowded! In fact, I wondered what would happen if there were a fire emergency! Anyway, most of those people were crowding the hot dog booths, grabbing whatever free food they could. I happened to have four hot dogs in total, one of which I tossed in the trash half eaten because it was a deli style dog; I dislike deli style dogs. I did manage to snag a few of my favorite brand of franks, Fenway Franks! EXTREMELY enjoyable!

Anyway, there were a lot of smaller events taking place during the Hot Dog Safari for attendees. One of those events was a wrestling card, featuring local pro wrestling talent. I recognized none of them, but Rich found a few familiar faces. During the wrestling event, I went in search of some soda. It was a bit annoying that most of the refreshment stands were serving beer only, but I did manage to find a stand that served Pepsi.

When the wrestling event came to a close, Rich, my son and I were sort of at a loss of what to do. After watching one of the horse races, we attempted to snag more food, but by that time, the crowds were extremely overwhelming. So after I bought my son and I two Hot Dog Safari caps, we boarded the same shuttle bus and went back to the train station. We actually ended up playing billiards in Boston, so leaving early had it's advantages.

All in all, a good time. I just wish there was more elbow room...

Stand up to Six Apart/LiveJournal!!!

2006-06-03T23:56:00.000-04:00

Recently, there has been much controversy surrounding LiveJournal/Six Apart, regarding thier stance on what is nudity and what is not (read the details at this link!). More >>

After suspending a LiveJournal user because of her icon - which shows herself breastfeeding her infant child - mothers (and regular LJ users) have been in an uproar, doing all they can to show LiveJournal/Six Apart that people have the right to use pictures of infants being breastfed as thier default icon, from writing emails to making petitions to setting up protests, including the Nurse In, which takes place on Monday, and an online strike, which takes place on Tuesday. LiveJournal volunteers have been hostile, for the most part, basically claiming that the protesters haven't got a leg to stand on, calling us protesters "drama seekers".

Bullshit.

My involvement with this whole thing goes even deeper than the breastfeeding issue. For too long, LiveJournal's Abuse team has treated thier users like utter shit, from lying to it's users by claiming that employees cannot view locked entries (BULLSHIT!) to being downright abusive.

I was at the recieving end of this abuse not all that long ago, as a matter of fact. I had requested for LJ Abuse to close a community that I had once owned. Long ago I had given someone maintainership accidentially. Back then (this was in 2003), all you had to do was check off the required boxes and click a button. No email was sent to the user you gave maintainership to. It was easy to screw up while playing with settings! Anyhow, it could be proven that the community was once mine. All one needs to do is look at the community's history. If one were to look at it's history, one would see that I had indeed once owned the community, and once I gave maintainership to that person, nothing was done with the community since. LJ Abuse would not look at that community's history, however, and had refused my request to close the community several times. So I had to resort to using a second account to create a "TOS violation", so they'd finally close that damned community down. Well, the Abuse team wasted no time in finding out that I was the culprit and sent me an email that made me feel like I was the lowest scum of the Earth. I was so disgusted I deleted that email, but I wish I didn't. It was an example of how low LJ Abuse could stoop. Did I bring it on myself? Perhaps. But don't they see? All of that bullshit could have been avoided if they had just checked out the community's history and deleted the community, rather than refuse me over and over. After all, they bent over backwards to prove I was the person that made the "TOS violation". Certainly, they could check a community's history, right?

I was reluctant to tell my story. I mean, LiveJournal Abuse made me feel like such scum, I was sure people would ridicule me for my actions. But fuck it. I'm an honest person. And I don't have to tolerate LiveJournal's Abuse team and thier bullshit, abuse and lies! And I certainly won't stand for thier stance on "nudity". Please! If actresses can breastfeed on television without the FCC going apeshit, then LiveJournal users should have the right to use a picture of breastfeeding as thier default icon!

I choose to discontinue use of my LiveJournal account, until something is done about thier crappy Abuse team, and I urge my friends and peers to do the same. I would like to see them invest in better training for thier Abuse team! Hire a new, professional Abuse team! And make changes as outlined at this link! Once they do one (or preferrably, all) of those things, I will come back. Until then, I refuse to log into my LiveJournal account. And judging by the way they have treated me in the past, I'm sure they won't miss me, anyway.

Want to read more about LJ Abuse and thier, well, abuse? Go here.

Over The Hedge

2006-06-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

Tonite Rich and I caught the movie Over The Hedge. I loved it, even if I found it a bit predictable, storyline wise. Don't let the cutesy previews sway you; this is a solid movie.

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This movie, the latest release from Dreamworks, is about a group of animal friends that call themselves "The Family". The leader of this group is a turtle named Verne (voiced by Garry Shandling). The group is filled with lovable characters, like Hammy the Squirrel (voiced by Steve Carell) and Stella the Skunk (voiced by Wanda Sykes). These animals awaken from hibernation to discover a huge hedge had grown. After venturing past the hedge, Verne discovers that their forest had been torn down for the most part, to make way for a new neighborhood. Without thier natural habitat, "The Family" have to figure out how to find food to survive. Enter R.J. the Racoon (voiced by Bruce Willis), an opportunist who finds the group of animal friends while trying to figure out a way to repay Vincent (a grizzly bear voiced by Nick Nolte) after stealing the bear's food.

Now here's where the movie gets predictable: R.J. starts out using "The Family", getting them to unwittingly help him score food to pay Vincent back, and ends up falling in love with the group. This makes him feel guilty for using them in the first place. This predictability, however, brings a wonderful opportunity to teach children important values; don't use people to gain something for yourself. Using people causes personal guilt and other negative feelings both for oneself and those you have used. And, of course, teamwork pays off while doing something positive. The movie makes it's point, without being too corny or hokey.

All in all, Over The Hedge is a sweet movie, and is fun to watch alone, or with your whole family. Catch it if you can.

AIM is the name of the game?

2006-05-31T21:57:00.000-04:00

Over the years, I have grown to have a distaste for chat programs like AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. Perhaps it's because I tend to isolate. But it also has to do with the many scuzbuckets I've encountered on AIM over the years.

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I remember the first time I got internet access in my home. I started like a lot of people do; with America Online (or AOL). I remember one of the things that made me enthusiastic about having my own internet connection was the fact that I could chat with people through AIM. It was great...at first. But then I started getting messages from horny bastards, looking to get off through a message program. The conversation would start off okay. But then the chat soon got dirty. I found myself banning more people than I ever dreamed I would. So I made a new username and made it so only my friends could access me.

Then the blinking windows started to get to me. Whenever I paused in conversation or went to do something online, the windows would start blinking with responses. Before I knew it, I had a million people saying "You there?" if I didn't reply within five minutes. This got annoying very fast, and it kept happening!

The day finally came when I had enough and just stopped going on chat programs altogether. Once I did that, I fell into a routine of doing various things online and not getting interrupted with chat programs. I liked that freedom. I also found that I could talk to people through my blogs and never have to worry about leaving someone hanging. And then I began to enjoy isolation while online. As it turns out, I liked having time for myself!

Of course, there are some negatives about living life without chat programs. Sometimes people grow tired of talking to me through my blogs or through other means (like Myspace). Sometimes people feel like I'm distancing myself by not going on chat programs, and maybe I am, unintentionally. But it's all because I enjoy doing things at my own pace, with my own time. It has nothing to do with distancing myself or not liking people. I love my friends, of course. But I also love my time and space. Does that make me strange? I'd like to think not. Different people like different things, after all!

Now, I'm not saying I'll never use chat programs again. There will come a time when I do, but right now I love the easy pace I'm at now; doing fun stuff while chatting through my blog or Myspace, at my own pace, and seeing my friends in person. And despite thier popularity, I'm sure there are others that have found a distaste for chat programs.

Right?

Break time....

2006-05-30T01:01:00.000-04:00

Today I will be taking a break from regular posting to get caught up with some priorities that I need to focus on more than writing a full entry. I'll be back tomorrow. Till then, please have fun reading my older posts. Merci!

X-Men: The Last Stand...

2006-05-29T01:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've seen all of the movies that are part of the highly enjoyable X-Men trilogy as of yesterday afternoon. Each movie has been better than the last. I honestly wasn't expecting to be wowed by the lastest X-Men movie, but I was pleasantly surprised!

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Like each of the movies before it, X-Men: The Last Stand is loosely based on the comic book's storyline; this time, it's the infamous Dark Phoenix saga from the early 1980's. However, the changes made helps the movie rather than hurts it. Comic book purists will not be disappointed. In fact, they will probably be blown away by the action, special effects and the portayal of the infamous mutants that we've come to know and love.

New character standouts include Kelsey Grammar's droll portayal of Hank McCoy a/k/a The Beast and Ellen Page as the teen that can walk through walls, Kitty Pryde. As for the actors making a return, Hugh Jackman is once again terrific as Wolverine. Also terrific are Famke Janssen as the haunted, pained Jean Grey/Phoenix, and Halle Berry's emotional return as Storm. Fans will also be delighted with the dialogue and hidden surprises. Some awesome new catchphrases can be heard. I mean, just try to get Juggernaut's "Do you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, BITCH!" out of your head! Or how about seeing Stan Lee (creator of Marvel Comics) watering his lawn? Priceless!

There are some negative aspects, though. Fans waiting for the return of Nightcrawler will keep right on waiting. Actually, not much explaination is made as to why there is a team of different mutants in each film, which may prove to be confusing to those that aren't as familiar with X-Men storylines. These negatives are small, though. This movie is, as a whole, highly enjoyable, and I would recommend it to both old and new fans, as well as those that are unfamiliar with X-Men in general. It's definately the best movie to come out so far this year.

If you'd like to see a trailer for this film, go here. This link also has some surprises for Myspace users; for instance, adding this profile will enable the ability to change your "Top 8 Friends" to a "Top 12" or "Top 16".

Good friends...

2006-05-28T02:14:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling pretty tired, but I just thought I'd stop on here for a moment to talk about my night.

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Tonite was my friend Dan's birthday party. Most of my friends were there, Rich was there, and I met some new faces tonite, as well. We had such a chill time! For the first two hours, we hung out on Dan's porch shooting the shit, laughing and talking. Since Dan's father was working the barbeque, we had a ton of wonderful food. Hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers and some non-barbeque food like chips and this awesome macaroni salad Dan's wife Jen made.

After we stuffed our faces, we sat around playing this movie trivia game. One of us had to describe a movie or TV show, and the rest of us had to guess the title of the show we were describing. I actually stumped my friends a few times, which was hard to do because most of my friends are big movie and TV fans. I think I'm the only one of my friends that favors books over TV and movies. Anyway, when we got tired of playing that game, we got out the Game Cube and played a few rounds of Mario Kart and Mario Party 6.

I wished the party would never end, but we ended up leaving around 12:30 AM. It's just as well, though. Rich had gone to work early Saturday morning and he was beat.

Tonite was a TON of fun, and I didn't have to drink any booze or anything. I was just in the company of good people. Good friends. If anything, tonite reminded me of what awesome friends I have, and how much I enjoy thier company. I'm truly blessed. I know that a lot of people would love to have the kind of wonderful friendships I have. I always say my friends are like family. Tonite just drove that point on home.

I'm going to bed with a smile on my face. Nite!

Panda babies!!!

2006-05-27T00:42:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd share this. This is a clip of panda babies playing in a facility in China that is commonly known as "Panda Kindergarten". Click on the image to view the clip! Once you've watched this clip, you will see why this clip is one of my favorite panda videos!

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Van Halen: that's what dreams are made of...pipe dreams, that is...

2006-05-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

Before you read what I have to say, you need to check out this article.

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Yes, once again the possibility of a Van Halen reunion is being talked about. Every few years or so, someone from the classic Van Halen line up (Classic line up = David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, and brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen) starts talking hypothetically about getting the old band together and either touring or recording. The last time this was reality was in 1996, when Diamond Dave and company recorded a few songs for a best of, as well as appearing on the MTV Video Music Awards, which led to backstage disaster when egos collided.

Van Halen was one of my very first favorite bands when I was around 12 or so. I had the world's biggest crush on DLR, while my cousin lusted for Eddie Van Halen. But it wasn't just looks that attracted me; I really loved (and still love) the band's music. I played 1984 and Diver Down until the cassettes were practically worn out. And I dreamt of one day seeing them live. I remember the classic line up did come to Boston, but my family were unwilling to take me to the show. Damn. What an opportunity lost! When the classic line up split in the mid-80's, I really tried to get into Dave's solo albums and Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, but it just wasn't the same. Nothing could recapture the excitement of classic Van Halen the same way the classic line up did.

It would be a great, great thing if the boys could bury the hatchet and tour. It would be the biggest reunion since Motley Crue reunited in 2004, in my opinion. But I just don't see it happening. First of all, there's too much bad blood between the band members. Many, many hurtful words and feelings have passed between the four men. Not only that, but there has been talk off and on of another reunion since the last one busted up in 1996, with no results. It would be a dream come true if Van Halen reunited, but I think it will remain just that...a dream. One day we may be pleasantly surprised, but I'm not counting on it. Oh, well. At least we still have thier old albums to rock out to and remember the good old days. Thier albums will forever be timeless. And as Sammy Hagar (David Lee Roth's replacement) once sang, "that's what dreams are made of".

Sorry...I tried to think of a classic Van Halen song that fit...

Station identification...

2006-05-25T01:16:00.000-04:00

Station identification.

We all have seen them. The little graphics that TV stations use to let the less informed know what channel they are watching. Amazingly, Youtube is full of station identification clips. I suppose some people dig watching them for nostalgia's sake, and it's fun to see what one channel used as opposed to a different channel.

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I thought it would be fun to list a few station id clips for you to watch and enjoy, with commentary by me written next to the thumbnails. The clips and thumbnails are from my Favorites list on Youtube. Some of these are for cable stations, some are for local channels, and still others are for channels that are long gone or are from overseas. Just click on the thumbnail images to check each clip out!

This is Station PANDA, over and out...

Scottish Television: This one is a bit eerie looking, with the spinning character in the middle. I can't tell if that's a dragon or a lion, to be honest with you. I believe this one was from the 1960's. If I'm wrong, please let me know!

NBC, "Just watch us now!": How many of you remember seeing this station id while watching The A-Team? The jingle is catchy, and the trademark peacock is present. I believe they used a variation of this one for a couple of years.

CBS...a color presentation!: Haha, how about that? A station id for color TV shows. Back when they used these, color TV was a new concept. It took awhile for most TV shows to catch up with the newfangled technology, hence the "color presentation" notation!

WOR, Channel 9, New York: A lot of us were able to watch this channel through our cable providers, so quite a few people will be familiar with the trademark "9" logo. This one is from the late 70's, with a groovy space theme!

PBS, three P heads: Oh God, who doesn't remember this one?! This station id followed every PBS telecast in the 70's and 80's. I always liked the cute little song that plays during the animation.

HBO in space: Another space-themed station id. This one is from cable channel HBO, and I believe this one aired before each movie. Total 80's fun!

BBC2 station id: This one has no sound and is from the 60's. It also runs pretty slow. Not sure if it's supposed to run slow.

NET, the public television network!: NET was the first public television network, predating PBS by many, many years. The final id on my list is from the 60's, and was tacked onto the end of shows. Gotta love the ancient animation!

The Circus is over...

2006-05-24T00:08:00.000-04:00

Circus magazine has ceased publication. Actually I thought they closed thier doors long ago, which just shows you how much I was paying attention.

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Circus magazine was actually one of my favorite magazines back in the 80's. I was a faithful reader mainly during the magazine's all metal phase. I remember the magazine mainly for it's shitty photography. A lot of pics were shot in such an angle that you could look up the musician's nose without trying too hard. Aside from that, it was a fun read, for the most part. Circus had feature articles, as well as the latest news, back when the internet wasn't around to provide news instantly. I remember that Circus was one of the first to report the Vince Neil/Razzle Dingley drunk driving incident, as an example.

Circus had become so well known for thier pro-metal stance, that it came as a shock when the magazine shifted toward alternative rock during the grunge era of the 90's. It was a sad attempt to keep the magazine current that many people frowned upon, myself included. I remember Kurt Cobain being on the cover many, many times; they even put the poor guy on thier cover regularly long after he died! The magazine actually had re-invented itself a few times in it's history, but the 90's revamp didn't go over well. The magazine was so unfocused that slowly but surely, people just stopped giving a shit and stopped buying.

I hadn't seen a new Circus mag in so long, I just assumed it was no longer being published. I guess newsstands just stopped carrying it. It's too bad the magazine lost it's way and died the way it did, but a lot of magazines suffered the same fate, such as Creem and Rock Scene. All good magazines, all lost thier way, all died. And as they were a part of my teenage years, they will all be missed.

Want to read more about Circus? Go here.

Reunion...

2006-05-23T01:57:00.000-04:00

For a while now, my fiance Rich has been finding all kinds of old school friends on Myspace. I remember the first time I did a search on my old high school, Full Circle, on Myspace. I ended up getting only five or so results. I got similar results on later tries, so I just gave up after a while, but the desire to find certain school friends stayed with me. Of course, hearing Rich go on about the old friends he met made me hope real hard that one day I'd find some old friends from Full Circle.

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Full Circle is an alternative high school in Somerville, MA. An alternative school is basically a small high school for students with emotional, drug and alcohol problems. I landed in there because of emotional problems. Anyway, it was at this school where I met some of my most memorable and adored friends. Friendships that I would always look back on in fondness and love. I had been looking for one of those friends through a Myspace search, when I found a friend I totally didn't expect to find, Alida. Finally, a Myspace search was successful!!!

A little about our history; in high school, we called her "Smokey", and I remember her as being so fun to be with, very compassionate and real. She had to be one of the funniest people in the whole school! She was a true friend; she even told my son's father that I was pregnant for me, because I was so scared of telling him, the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. Oh, and not only did she go to school with me, she ended up going to school with my brother, also, I believe. It excited me to think that there was a possibility I'd contact her after all these years.

Anyway, I sent her a message and friend invite on Friday. I'd have to wait the whole weekend out before I'd hear from her on Monday afternoon. I was so excited to hear from her, I had no idea of what to say at first. I was actually at a loss! I had spent some of my weekend thinking of what to say to her if she contacted me, and I had all this shit planned to say. Funny how all that thought goes out the window once you are in the moment, huh? It's a good thing I wasn't on the phone, too, because I HATE being at a loss while on the phone. We ended up chatting through Myspace, and it was wonderful. I'm hoping she will meet Rich sometime soon. He was one of the reasons that I even had a desire to look for my old friends in the first place!

Have you ever seen this?

2006-05-22T01:50:00.000-04:00

I saw that this was still on my Favorites list over at Youtube.com, and since this is one of the more interesting bits of video on my list, I'd like to share and discuss it a bit.

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Click on the picture to view the video!

This video is by Toni Basil. Most of you remember her for her song "Hey Mickey", back in the 80's. This video is for the single she released right after "Hey Mickey", called "Shopping From A to Z". This single didn't do nearly as well as "Hey Mickey" (not even close), and so Toni Basil went down in history as a one hit wonder.

How does the song compare to "Hey Mickey"? I'll let you be the judge on that. But before I found this on Youtube, I had never seen this video before. I only vaguely knew about the song, if that. I've found that Youtube is a treasure trove of videos not seen often. I mean, when was the last time you saw the commercial for the K-Tel release Let's Disco, or a political ad for Spiro Agnew? And I'll bet you've never seen this clip of New Zoo Revue, before!

Weird memories...

2006-05-21T02:18:00.000-04:00

Some childhood memories to share that are not worth writing a whole blog post over, but I'd like to share, nonetheless:

I thought there was a disco on Broadway. I'm not kidding. Whenever my family would drive past the Post Office (on Broadway in Somerville MA), I would see this storefront next to it. For some reason, that storefront looked like a disco, to me.

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I dismembered one of my Raggedy Ann dolls. To this day, I have no idea why I did this. While I was over my cousin Cheryl's house, we got this crazy idea; to cut apart our Raggedy Ann dolls limb by limb, throw all the parts in a plastic bag, fill the bag with water, tie a knot at the top and throw it under my cousin's porch. My cousin later told me that she went to look at the bags and they were full of worms. Ew.

When friends came over, we'd have to play in the basement. I'm not fooling. My mother always had this thing about bringing people over our house, from as far back as I can remember. But she did make a compromise, and that was it. So on the rare occaision where someone would actually want to play with me at home, I'd have to bring them to the basement, which probably made me look even more like a freak to my peers than ever.

My cousin's word used to be gospel. When I was growing up, there was no one I loved and idolized more than my cousin, Cheryl. I used to sleep over her house every weekend. We went and did everything together. And what she thought of things meant fucking everything to me for some reason. I remember hiding the fact that I was a fan of KISS from her, because I thought she's laugh at me for liking KISS. That's how sad I was. I'm glad I smartened up, later!

I used to cry when I had to stay after school. Up until I was in third grade, I used to have panic attacks over staying after school. I'd sit there and cry, which ended up pissing the teachers off. I couldn't help it. My mom used to walk me home, so I was afraid my mom wouldn't wait for me to come out. My God, how that used to panic me!

I used to love going to the Burlington Mall. The Burlington Mall was one of the first real huge malls in Massachusetts. At least it's the first one I remember, anyway. I loved it there. It seemed so HUGE when I was a kid. Sears had these old, old IBMs on display, and I used to love playing with them, even though I had no freaking idea what to do with them. There used to be a record store with an Atari 2600 demo console, and I remember having a fight with my cousin over playing with that. And Au Bon Pain! I had my first chocolate croissant there! Good times. Good times.

New Super Mario Bros...waitaminute, NEW?!

2006-05-20T23:17:00.000-04:00

So I was over Rich's house last night, watching WWE Smackdown. Or should I say, we were switching between Smackdown and SpongeBob SquarePants. Anyway, during the commercial break, I saw it; a commercial for the brand new Mario game, New Super Mario Bros.

Whaa...waitasec. New?! Yep, new.

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My initial thought was "why call it NEW Super Mario Bros? Especially at this stage?" I mean, they've been making Mario games for the Nintendo line of systems for years and years. Every Mario game that came out after Super Mario 3 had unique names; Super Mario Land, Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario 64, etc. But after checking out Nintendo.com, I kind of understand. The NEW Super Mario really isn't NEW in concept. It looks like the initial Mario games, with better graphics and different stages to play through. Also, when you look at it from a marketing standpoint, calling it New Super Mario Bros. is almost guaranteed money in the bank. People are going to be curious, and thus buy.

I will admit, I am curious, too. I tried to talk my son into getting a Nintendo DS instead of a PSP for graduation, so I can see what gameplay is really like, but my son really wants that PSP. Dammit. And since my local Toys R Us has closed down, I'll have to look for a store that has a playable demo. But till then, I guess I'll have to wait to find out what gameplay is like.

What have you guys heard about this game? Is it getting good reviews? Are there any new characters? How about gameplay? And what do you think about Nintendo calling it "NEW Super Mario Bros."? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Cheap eats; low cost food ideas for all...

2006-05-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

I remember my days being married to Mr. Wrong without much fondness. We were faced with so many hardships. We were flat broke all the time. Fortunately, it was around this time when I learned how to keep our tummies full while spending as little cash as possible. And the thing is, is that my low-cost choices actually didn't taste all that bad! I'm no longer broke as fuck, mind you, but from time to time money can be tight, and that's where my favorite cheap eats come in.

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Below, you will find my top five picks for low-cost foods that one could get at the supermarket. These are not in any particular order. If any of you have other suggestions, by all means post them in the comments. I also hope this list helps those of you that actively seek out cheap eats. Happy reading...and happy eating!

SpaghettiO's - A lot of you will remember this food choice from your childhood years. Remember sitting in front of the TV, watching cartoons with a bowl of SpaghettiO's in front of you? Yeah, me too. Anyway, this cheap eats choice tastes just as good as it seemed when you were young! And there are various versions, too, all listed over at Campbellsoup.com.

Bagged cereal - It actually tastes pretty good, and it works both as a breakfast food and a snack food. There's a variety of different kinds to choose from, too.

Ramen - Ramen is ideal for those of us on a shoestring budget. One measly package costs $.10 in most supermarkets; a box of twenty cost a dollar! There are so many flavors to choose from; shrimp, chicken, beef, oriental, and on and on. There are so many things you can do with Ramen, too; eat it with broth, drain the broth out, add chicken, beef, and the list goes on. No real nutritional value, but you'll have a full tummy!

Macaroni and cheese - You don't need to get the Kraft version, either. Store brands can cost anywhere from $.60 to $1.50, and you need only a bit of butter and milk. You can also get away with using just butter, if that's all you have. It doesn't change the taste, but you will have to deal with little orangy blobs. Oh well. When you're hungry, little blobs don't matter.

Peanut butter - Again, the store brand is sufficient. I have a friend who basically survived on primarily peanut butter. I'm not suggesting you live on it, but it does make for another low cost choice, and it can fill you up real good!

Great googily moogily!!! It's Frank Zappa!!!

2006-05-18T01:11:00.000-04:00

This post is dedicated to a creative, artistic, intelligent, witty, opinionated, and brilliant man, the late Frank Zappa. The man was a genius and was an true innovator, decades ahead of his time. He has recorded albums such as Hot Rats, Apostrophe and at least fifty other timeless forever-classics. Albums that mere words cannot describe with justice. Zappa created alternative music before it was a catchphrase.

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It doesn't stop there! He was also one of the first musicians to take a stand against censorship, appearing on shows such as The Tonight Show to express his views, appearing in front of congressmen to make his point. This is also the man that owned his own record label, Bizzare/Straight, long before it was fashionable for artists to have thier own labels. And he's been producer for many legendary albums, such as Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer by Wild Man Fischer and Permanent Damage by Pamela Des Barres's all girl group, the GTO's.

I have taken the time to do a search on Youtube for Zappa classics, and fortunately I have found several. Check these videos while you can. You never know when these will be taken offline. Once they are taken offline, they'll be gone for good (or at least until the next dunderhead uploads them). Send your senses on a journey...go on...you know you want to!

King Kong. This performance took place on the BBC in 1968. This footage is some of the best early Zappa footage out there.

Frank on Crossfire. Wanna hear his opinions on censorship? You've come to the right place!

Alien Orifice. From 1981. This is from a broadcast on MTV. Just try and not become mesmerized.

Camarillo Brillo. From 1979's Baby Snakes.

Dummy Up. This is from 1973, when he performed at the Roxy. This is one of Frank's shtick routines. Don't quite understand what I mean? Check this out and you will!

You Are What You Is. Some of you may remember this final clip. It was played on MTV's Closet Classics quite a bit back in the day.

Pssst - wanna learn more about Frank Zappa? Click on the picture accompanying this post!

This and that...

2006-05-17T01:03:00.000-04:00

Random tidbits I've seen around the web...

Yes, you are seeing correctly. That is a Boston Red Sox bikini.

I can honestly say that I've never heard of any other sports team that had bikinis as part of thier merchandise line, have you? I mean, if there are others, please feel free to post about them in the comments. And would you believe this baby is $40?! I don't know anyone that would spend $40 on that, and I know a lot of Sox fans. I can understand buying this for a collection of memorabilia, but actually wearing it? In public? :shudders:

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Can you imagine getting ready to get down and dirty, only to have your partner pull a box of these babies out of his pocket? I don't know what would be a bigger turnoff; the fact that they are "tongue lubricated" (ick!) or having to look at Gene Simmons's ugly mug on the box. Not one of KISS's better marketing ideas.

Anyone out there remember this? I sure do! Heck, I faithfully bought Muppet Magazine from the first issue up till a year or two before it ceased publication. This was the magazine to get in the 80's. And the Muppets actually interviewed people like Moon Zappa and the cast of The Facts Of Life, which made for some classic articles. I also remember that some of the Muppets had regular columns, like Statler and Waldorf's movie reviews. Wanna check this magazine out for yourself? Some eBay stores sell old issues, with prices starting at around $6.

Ahhhh, Motley Brue. You know, I've been a Cruehead since around 1984, and I never tried this stuff. I do remember Spencer Gifts selling bottles of these, though. I've heard that the Brue tastes rather sour, and I've also heard a rumor that this drink can turn your shit blue. Anyone care to confirm?

You've heard of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior, but have you heard of Donkey Kong 3? No? Well, you didn't miss much. In this game you play as Stanley, a gardner; the object of the game is to shoot Donkey Kong and his bug friends with bug spray, to keep him from damaging Stanley's garden. Hmmm. I wonder why they didn't just use Mario? Anyway, if you are unsuccessful with spraying ol' D.K. and friends with bug spray, the bugs swoop down and take over the garden. Actually, it looks like the bugs swoop down and eat Stanley alive. I have never seen an arcade console for this game, but I do remember renting it for the Nintendo in the 80's, and it was just really bad. As I said above, you really didn't miss much.

Correction...

2006-05-16T16:07:00.000-04:00

It has come to my attention that I misunderstood the DOPA bill I posted about last night. I took the post down. Really, I should do my homework before posting such things. Anyway, excuse my error in judgement. Sorry.

Getting to knoooow me, getting to know all about me...

2006-05-16T15:10:00.000-04:00

Since I have started tracking my journal with StatCounter, I've discovered that a lot of you have been reading regularly. Damn, I had no idea my little blog would attract anyone, so thank you!

A lot of people do memes in thier blogs. I like to use them so my friends and readers can read them and thus get to know me a bit better. I'll be posting these memes from time to time, so let's kick it off with a simple, twenty-nine question meme. I hope some of you find some common ground, or at least have fun reading my answers to these questions. Enjoy!

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1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I thought, "Damn, I look tired!"

2. When is the next time you will have sex?
I never kiss and tell.

3. What's a word that rhymes with "FUCK"?
Truck, luck, buck, muck. Lots of words.

4. Favorite planet?
I love the planet I'm living on, now. But Saturn looks pretty, too.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your mobile?
I don't have a cellular phone, but I do know who was the fourth missed call at home, my brother Sheldon.

6. What is your favorite ring on your phone?
I don't have any fancy ringtones on my land line phone. I think they should make them available for us land line customers, though!

7. What shirt are you wearing?
A sweater, sweatpants and mismatching socks.

8. Do you "label" yourself?
"Labels are for cans, not people" - Anthony Rapp.

9. Name the brand of shoes you're currently wearing?
I'm not wearing any shoes.

10. Bright or Dark Room?
Bright.

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
That would be Satellite Kid. I think they're cool!

12. If you're alone in a room with two beds, which one do you sleep on?
What kind of question is this?! NEXT!

13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
I was on the computer, trying to make my Myspace profile look decent.

14. What did your last text message you received on your mobile say?
I don't have a mobile, so I don't get text messages.

15. What's a word that you say a lot?
"Goodness"! Especially lately.

16.Who told you he/she loved you last?
Rich, my fiance.

17. Last furry thing you touched?
My cat, Shandi.

18. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
They're all legal; Prozac, Prilosec and Seroquel.

19. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
None. God, I haven't taken pictures in forever!

20. Favorite age you have been so far?
I've actually enjoyed being in my 30's so far. There's been more fun, more love, and I'm a lot more pleasant, especially since I now take the right meds. (There was a period in my life when I was perscribed the wrong meds and was a total bitch to get along with!) Can't pick a particular age, though.

21. Your worst enemy?
Acid reflux.

22. What is your current desktop picture?
It's a Melissa Auf der Maur desktop wallpaper.

23. What was the last thing you said to someone?
"Is this the book you're looking for, son?" My son misplaced a book he's reading in school.

24. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly, which would you take?
I would take the money. Then I would find a place for me and Rich to live in.

25. Do you like someone?
I LOVE someone.

26. The last song you listened to?
After The Fire - Der Kommissar.

27. If the last person you spoke to was getting shot at, what would you do?
Run in the way and take the bullet. I'd do anything to protect my son.

28. If you could punch 1 person in the face who's in your life right now, who would it be?
This girl that lives next door to me. She's such a bitch and always acts annoyed when I'm around.

29. What is the closest object to your left foot?
The left side of my desk.

Miss Pamela...

2006-05-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

I think everybody has big dreams when they are young. Take me for instance. My big dream was to be a rock star and to be married to a popular musician. I never did get very far in either department. The closest I've ever been to being onstage was when I performed "Eternal Flame" in a school talent show in eighth grade, and the closest I've ever been to marrying a musician was when I became engaged to Rich; even though he's not famous, he does play guitar pretty well. But those dreams did lead me to a lifelong fascination with rock groupies. Especially the ones from rock and roll's earlier days.

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I'll never forget the first time I saw Miss Pamela. She was on Oprah with Jackie Collins, (who had just had a book published called Rock Star) along with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS. The subject of the show was rock groupies, of course. Pamela had just seen the release of her first book, the memoir I'm With The Band, and I was awestruck by her. She had actually gone ahead and had been with the musicians she drooled over; Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon. The list was seemingly endless. About four years later I had purchased I'm With The Band after reading excerpts at a friend's house. Her story blew my mind. Not only had she been with her favorite musicians, but she had been in a band herself, The GTO's (or Girls Together Outrageously). I remember buying The GTO's album Permanent Damage when I was around seventeen, and I hoped beyond hope that one day I would record my own album. Reading about Pamela's adventures, it gave me hope that my life would be the same; full of adventures.

As it became more and more clear that my life would not be spent singing for millions or hanging on the arm of someone famous, I became more of a fan of Pamela's. I bought her other books; I was insane with glee when Take Another Little Piece of My Heart was released. It was the sequel to I'm With The Band!!! As I read about her newer adventures, I found myself finding that I had more in common with Miss Pamela than I even realised; I, too, struggled with accepting my boyfriends as they were, trying to change them for thier sake. I, too, struggled as my son grew up, as he had issues that would take years to surface. As I got older, though, I found myself relating with her more as a woman than as an idol. I certainly knew what it was like to be on the constant search for Mr. Right. And even though she went out with famous musicians, that's all Pamela wanted; Mr. Right.

Over the years, I must have read I'm With The Band and Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart a million times. These books, even though they are almost twenty years old, still seem fresh and magical today. They are still a total delight to read. And I still love Miss Pamela. I can still relate to her, also. My life has been full of my own adventures, yet a lot of the issues Pamela dealt with were issues I have dealt with through the years. And I think a lot of women have dealt with these issues, too. That's why, now that I'm With The Band has been re-released, a whole new generation of young women are falling in love with Miss Pamela. She's a remarkable woman everyone can relate to.

Mother's Day...

2006-05-14T00:08:00.000-04:00

Today is Mother's Day.

I became a mom in February of 1992. I'll never forget the feeling of pride that I felt when I looked at my baby son for the first time. I kissed him on the nose, because my mother kissed me on the nose when I was first born, and I wanted to keep up tradition.

It's hard to believe that fourteen years have gone by since I gave him that first kiss. That he and I have been living life together for fourteen years. My son and I have had many adventures together. We've been through so much together, good and bad. We've done a lot of growing together, and we've learned a lot together. He's grown to be a sweet, thoughtful, caring and smart young man, and I'm proud to call him my son.

For me, Mother's Day is a joyus occasion, for I celebrate the day I became a mother, and the fact that I have such a wonderful and brilliant son. I don't need any material gifts. My son and the love we share is the best gift of all.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Internet = love? Read on....

2006-05-13T00:05:00.000-04:00

It's been said before, but the man or woman of your dreams can pop up anyplace and at any time. Fate is funny that way. Because when and where you least expect it, you can meet the person that could change your life forever. I know; it happened to me.

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My brother Sheldon was one of the first people I know that started blogging, and he began on LiveJournal. In fact, in a way, he helped me get started, too. I had logged into his account on LiveJournal (we knew each other's passwords at the time) and swiped one of his invite codes. Invite codes were the only way you could create a LiveJournal back in 2002. Looking back, I know it wasn't cool of me to swipe an invite code from him, but had I not done this, I would never have gotten to know the man that would become my fiance, my Rich.

Toward the Spring of 2002, my brother upgraded his LiveJournal to Paid account status. Back then, upgrading meant that you'd get more invite codes; one code for every month of Paid time purchased. So my brother decided to make a bunch of journals for a bunch of his friends. Shortly after he did this, he logged into my LiveJournal account (told you we knew each other's passwords!) and added all of his friends' new journals to my friends list. One of those friends just happened to be Rich.

Rich's journal caught my eye right away. He was ballsey, he was edgy, he was funny. I liked his style right away, and soon enough we were communicating through comments. Seeing his picture only made me desire him more. Soon enough, we began meeting up to hang out. It was during one of those times when Rich and I kissed for the first time, and it took my breath away.

Now during this time, I was still seeing my boyfriend at the time, Rob. But because we had an open relationship, Rich and I began seeing each other by the early Fall of 2002. My relationship with Rob was on the rocks for a while, even before Rich and I began getting intimate, so to make a long story short, by mid-October Rob and I had broken up and Rich and I had begun our relationship. Actually, we began our relationship the day after Rob and I broke up! And now, here it is, almost four years later, and we are not only still together and very happy, but we are engaged!

As for my brother, in a way I kind of returned the favor for his introducing Rich and me. A couple of years ago, I was looking for new friends to add to my LiveJournal list. I remember looking for fans of Daffney Unger, a former WCW wrestling manager. One name seemed to stand out amongst all the others. The username was Goddessicity, and I ended up liking her right away. Her real name was Cammi, and we were instant friends. It was through my friends list where she met her ultimate man, my brother. They had stayed in touch by phone for quite a long time before Cammi decided to move to Massachusetts for good, to be with my brother. Now if that isn't true devotion, I don't know what is.

You know how some people say that "real" relationships cannot be found on the internet? Well, my brother and I can honestly say that theory is a bunch of shit. Sometimes the internet can end up introducing us to people that can affect us for a lifetime. And we can honestly say that love CAN begin on the internet. We are living proof!

1970's Elvis vs. Classic Elvis?

2006-05-12T23:06:00.000-04:00

This has been a popular debate topic for years and years. What was better, Elvis during his heyday or Elvis during the 70's? Hell, even the US Postal Service couldn't decide back when they issued his stamp years ago; they had the fans vote on which stamp design they preferred!

Personally, I find both eras to be of quality. Allow me to elaborate...

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Classic Elvis
I'll start by stating the obvious; Elvis never looked better than he did in the 1950's, his heyday. Now that the superficial bullshit is out of the way, let's move onto the important stuff - his music. The songs that would become his trademark came from this era; Jailhouse Rock, Love Me Tender, Don't Be Cruel, and the list goes on and on. These songs still sound as fresh and vibrant as they did when they first came out. You can totally see why people got so excited about him back then! Add to that his infamous television appearances. Consider his stage presence during these shows and you have the total package. In thinking of how he was back then, it's easy to see why people called him "The King".

Latter-day Elvis
People love to make fun of how Elvis was in the 70's. He was quite the easy target; he was puffy, on drugs, etc. BUT he produced a lot of quality songs during this era, and that cannot be ignored! Suspicious Minds came out during this time, as did In The Ghetto, songs that are not only beautiful works of art, but are still classic today! He also appeared in concert more often during this time, so quite a few folks got to see him live, which is awesome no matter how you slice it. And of course, his trademark white bellbottom jumpsuit waa a part of this era. He was still a presence onstage at this time. I mean, let's forget the fact that toward the very end, he forgot lyrics. The man was doing the karate kicks he'd become famous for at the beginning of the '70's. He was still entertaining during much of this decade, and that cannot be denied.

The Verdict: Elvis is Elvis. He was a legend no matter the era. He consistantly produced quality songs and entertained us like no other before or since. He is, and will always be, the King of Rock.

Top five celebrity female crushes...

2006-05-11T21:51:00.000-04:00

Anyone that knows me in real life knows that I find both genders attractive. I'm very shy around females I find attractive in real life, but I still have my favorite female celebrities that I find stunning! Women I could spend hours gazing at! Well tonite, I bring you my top five female celeb crushes. I do understand that some of you may agree or disagree; this is just my opinion, after all! I do hope, though, that this post will spark some fun debate! So without further ado, my top five celeb crushes, in no particular order:

Idina Menzel
As soon as I saw Idina in Rent, I was captivated. So beautiful; beautiful eyes, lips and hair. Her jawline may be a bit on the squarish side, but that to me only adds to her beauty. And her body; wow!

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Courtney Love
Whether you love her or whether you hate her, you cannot ignore her. Personally, I found her more attractive before she had all that drastic plastic surgery, but she's still beautiful to me, especially her eyes. Now if only her lips didn't resemble an inner tube...damn collagen!

Bjork
She so exotic looking. She reminds me of a pixie! Her facial features are very sharp, and I like that about her.

Melissa Auf der Maur
She always reminded me a lot of Katherine Hepburn; graceful, beautiful, in control, elegant. The color of her hair is so striking. And she's thin, she's tiny. So cute!

Cyndi Lauper
She's up there in age, but you'd never know it. Cyndi only gets better with age. I love how she eventually went for a more classic look. Those that are used to her 80's punkish look would be in for a surprise!

You've got to climb Mt. Everest.....

2006-05-11T13:01:00.000-04:00

Before you read my latest post, please check this link out! This is especially important if you live in the New England area.

Okay, now that's out of the way, let's go on to more pleasant subjects...

Anyone have $500 to spare? Because I just found this on Postermandan.com. This happens to be one of my favorite posters from the movie Valley Of The Dolls, and is Japanese. If you aren't familiar with Valley Of The Dolls, (either the movie or the book) you should check out Wikipedia for info.

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I've always intended on (but haven't gotten around to) creating a Valley Of The Dolls fansite, since there are very few of them out there. Hell, even the official site over at Fox Movies seems to have vanished. And that really sucks, because Valley deserves more than that. The book has sold 20 million copies worldwide, and the movie was a hit at the time it came out. Even though it has since gained a (very unfair) reputation for being horrible (Patty Duke called the movie "Valley Of The Dreck" in her memoir, Call Me Anna), the movie does have it's die hard fans; myself included.

I actually got to read the book before I saw the movie and I have to say that, in my opinion, the book is better than the movie. I mean, for one thing, the book is over 400 pages, so there is more of an opportunity to flesh out characters and and plot, wheras the movie has only two hours to do the same thing. There are instances also where things are presented differently in the movie than in the book. For instance, the movie completely ignores the friendship seceratary/model Anne Welles had with Broadway star Helen Lawson, which was one of the main storylines in the book's first chapter. Whether this is a good or bad thing is something fans have been debating for years.

That's not to say that the movie doesn't have it's charm, though! For one thing, the soundtrack (adapted by John Williams of Star Wars fame) is brilliant and full of catchy tunes. (Just try to get "I'll Plant My Own Tree" out of your head!) The movie is also very quotable. Who can forget lines like "They drummed you out of Hollywood, so you come crawling back to Broadway. But Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope." The movie is pretty fun all around, and if you get the opportunity, I'd recommend seeing it. I would also recommend reading the book first, but if you either don't have the patience to read a book that has 400+ pages or if you don't get the chance to read it, the movie stands on it's own rather well.

One of these nights I will get off my lazy ass and start that Valley Of The Dolls website. But until then, if any of you would like to chat about the book or movie with other fans, check out The Valley Of The Dolls LiveJournal Community blog.

Ramblings about classic video games...

2006-05-10T01:26:00.000-04:00

Last week, Rich and I went to Goodtimes to have a couple of drinks and play some video games. One of the games I played was Asteroids. I couldn't help but notice the copyright date: 1979. Yes, 1979. Which means that this will be a thirty year old game in a mere three years.

It's hard to believe that video games have been around for thirty years!

There are video games that pre-date Asteroids, of course. Pong is an example of one of those. Take a look at the home console version of Pong and compare it to, say, Playstation 2 or XBox 360. Video game consoles have certainly come a long way since the days of Pong, both graphically and in console design. Arcade consoles have also come a long way. Take a look at the one of the first arcade systems, Computer Space. It's a far cry from the arcade machines we are used to, today. Just try to picture playing Dance Dance Revolution with a machine that looks like the Computer Space one! I would imagine it would be insanely difficult!

I've always been partial to classic consoles. That's probably because I first started playing video games when I was around nine years old. I used to spend hours and countless quarters playing games like Donkey Kong and Pac Man. There were no arcades near where I lived, and my family couldn't afford an Atari 2600, so I had to settle for playing the Ms. Pac Man machine in the local IHOP, using the arcade in Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire (which was about thirty miles from where I live), or playing with my cousin's Atari 2600, which she hardly ever let me use.

Eventually, my family got me a handheld version of Pac Man, which I played to death. They didn't get me the one shaped like an arcade console; I got this one. But it didn't matter; I was a Pac Man nut. When my mother refused to buy me a Pac Man stuffed toy, I made one myself using the lily pad from my See Wees doll, some yellow fabric and a needle and thread. I even collected the little vinyl figures of Pac Man and Ms. Pac Man! And I was ga-ga for the Pac Man trading cards.

It makes sense then, that my love for video games has been passed down to my son. I like to tell him his first exposure to video games was when I would play with the Nintendo for hours while he was in my womb. Anyway, when I see my son playing something like Smackdown Vs. Raw 2006 for the Playstation 2, I remember back when video games consisted of pixelated graphics. These days, the graphics are looking more and more realistic. If only we could have had the ability to see into the future during the initial video game boom in the early '80s; our minds would have been blown!

PSAs from back in the day...

2006-05-09T01:48:00.000-04:00

The subject of today's post will concern some of my favorite PSAs from back in the day. "PSA" is short for "public service announcement". They were basically commercials that were meant to increase awareness or teach you something new, and were often filmed by non-profit orginizations. These commercials were fun and informative.

Many of these PSAs are also part of our childhood memories. How many of us remember sitting in front of the TV, watching some of these commercials? How many of us learned from them or got other impressions from them? How many of us can still remember some of the songs from these spots, or can recite parts from memory? That's what this post is all about; the memories. So let's take a trip down memory lane and check out some memorable old PSAs! Click on the picture to watch them.

We're not candy!
This was a public service announcement that was created in the 70's, I believe, and aired in the New York area. Better listen to those singing pills, kids! Pills are NOT candy!

Mr. Yuk is mean...Mr. Yuk is GREEN!!!
Another PSA regarding ingesting poison. This PSA was known to scare the living shit out of kids, not just with it's message, but with the animation used and sinister sounding music. Listen for the "Muahahahahahaa!" at the end.

I hanker for a hunk-a CHEESE! YAHOO!
Remember this guy? It's Timer! There were a series of commercials featuring this little guy, who was big on healthy eating. This clip, which is probably the most memorable one, was meant to show kids how to make quick, healthy snacks.

PIZZA!!! SPAGHETTI!!!
Many kids from the Boston/New England area will remember this one, which hypes school lunches. Ew. I guess someone's gotta pitch for the underdog.

Water is something we have to conserve and keep clean!
Kermit and Fozzie go fishing. Fozzie reels in a can. Kermit and Fozzie talk about using water wisely. I wonder if the address at the end of the commercial is still valid?

And finally...

People can start pollution, people can stop it.
This one is probably the granddaddy of all PSAs. Litter makes baby Jesus (and actors portraying Native Americans) cry!

For Rob...

2006-05-07T03:13:00.000-04:00

Before I begin, I want to thank everyone for thier well wishes from the bottom of my heart. My son won a gold medal for the 25 meter walk and a bronze medal for the tennis ball throw at the Special Olympics, on Friday. Oh, and this isn't his last Special Olympics, either, as we found out that he could still compete while in high school. VERY cool!

With that out of the way, let's move on to my tribute to someone I love very much...

Whenever I see one of those bulletins on Myspace that ask for help in finding a missing loved one, I always, always repost them. I know how it is to have someone you love go missing. I know how helpless and hopeless one can feel. How the pain can seem endless. How each day drags by until you find that person, again.

Robert Fischer was beautiful, creative, loving and a joy to be around. I had met him in the early part of 2000, right after my ex-husband left me. We began a two year romance after spending an all nighter in Harvard Square with friends. I had never met anyone like him. He was so sweet, so shy, and he had a demented sense of humor, and I loved him with all of my heart. He was my first real love. Our romantic relationship only lasted for two years, but we were best friends always. We were ALWAYS there for each other. Even when we went through a rocky period right after we broke up, we still stayed in touch. We did and went through everything together. Everything. I wish I could go over all the wonderful, crazy and amazing shit we went through, but I'd be here all night.

In August 2004, a former friend called me at my fiance Rich's house to let me know that Rob had gone missing for a week. I'll never forget it. I felt this terrible ache at the pit of my stomach, and my tears flowed nonstop. I did everything in my power to help find him even though I had a terrible feeling he wasn't going to be found alive. I posted flyers all over Massachusetts. I posted his picture and info all over the net. I even tried to get the local news to report on his case. The day did come when he was found, though. He was found at the bottom of a ditch near a quarry in West Roxbury, MA in November 2004. He had fallen to his death. He was only 23 years old. We had actually celebrated his birthday almost two months before he disappeared with a pool party, which is still one of my fondest memories.

Rob may no longer be alive, but the love, joy and happiness he shared will always be here, glowing like the sun. There are times something weird will happen, and I think it's Rob fucking with me. Like the time I was listening to a KISS record with Rich and the needle slowly pushed it's way across the record to the very end. I guess he just wanted to say "Hello".

I love you, Rob. You will never be forgotten.

For my son...

2006-05-05T08:18:00.000-04:00

Being awake this early should be against the law; it's 8:16 AM, and I'm usually not awake at this hour. But today is an exception. Today is a big day for my son, and I'm going to be there for him. What's going on today that's such a big deal, you ask? Well, my son is going to be in the Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics have a reputation for being for physically handicapped children. It's actually for kids with intellectual disablities, and since my son has Asperger's Syndrome, he qualifies. This site has more information on the Special Olympics. I know that some of you may not be familiar with Asperger's. This isn't the best link in the world, but this should give you an idea of what Aspergers is.

Last year he won a couple of gold medals, and the year before he won some bronze. This is my son's third and final year participating, and he's quite excited. And I'm excited for him. And if you are reading this, please root for him. This is going to be quite a day for him!

SuicideGirls, the aftermath...

2006-05-04T21:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, so it's been 24 hours, and I have yet to recieve a reply to the email I sent to Missi, the head of SuicideGirls. I have since found out from others that it is the norm for them to not reply to emails regarding why their applications were turned down. So we may never know whether or not they rejected me because I am plus size or not. I mean, let's just say that they did reject me because of my size, hypothetically. They would never admit it, either in an email to me or anywhere else. Admission to such things could put them in hot water, after all! Any smart company would never admit to such things.

I do understand that thier rejecting me was a business decision. That they had to consider who would be "right" or "wrong" for the site and it's audience. Of course, most sites that use models in this way must think of these things. BUT that doesn't mean I still don't have my suspicions! When I told people about my applying for SuicideGirls, the general reply I got was "Well, good luck! They don't accept many plus sized girls!" So naturally when I was rejected, I immediately went "Hmmmm, maybe they were right!" Hearing from others that they were rejected due to thier size seemed to make the suspicion more valid. We'll never know the truth of it, ever. But I do and will always have my strong suspicions.

For me, applying to the site meant that I'd have access to thier site. It also meant that I could call myself a SuicideGirl. The fact that I didn't get access to thier site without paying sucked. I also didn't get to have bragging rights. That kind of blows. But the very idea that they rejected me or anyone due to thier size made me pissed enough to take action. I'm the type of person to fight for things. But fighting for something I cannot prove is a waste of time. I can have suspicions all day long, but until I can prove my suspicions to be truth, there is nothing to fight for.

I had edited my post last night to make sure people knew that I only suspected they rejected me due to my size. I know that the syndicated feed went out to LiveJournal before I could edit it in time, so if I gave anyone the impression that I was DEFINATELY rejected for my size, I apologize. It sucks that I didn't get my way, but life can and will go on. I only hope that SuicideGirls really don't reject people due to size or anything else, because companies like that went out of style (for lack of a better phrase) in the last century.

SuicideGirls, closed minded?!

2006-05-03T23:50:00.000-04:00

Last night I did something for the fuck of it that wound up getting me pretty pissed.

I was pretty bored while online. No one was around and nothing was going on. Then I remembered that someone on my friends list over at LiveJournal had applied for SuicideGirls and were accepted even though they weren't goth or punk. So I figured, "Meh, screw it! I'm pretty! The application says they believe in diversity, so let's give this a go!" Nowhere on thier application do they state that plus sized girls are not accepted (see here: http://suicidegirls.com/model/), so I applied, stating very clearly and proudly that I would love to represent plus sized models on thier site. Then I picked three of my most adorable pictures and sent it off. I had a feeling that I'd be turned down. And I was right. But what pissed me off was that they didn't give me a reason for turning me down; they just stated that they "couldn't use me for the site". A total form letter.

Now, I had my suspicions that the reason they turned me down was because I am a plus sized girl. And the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me. And when I have a fire under my ass like that, I feel the need to say something. So I looked up the head of SuicideGirls, Missi, and I wrote her this email:

My Suicide Girls application was recently rejected without any reason. I suspect it's because I am plus size. Is that right? If so, it's my opinion that maybe you should state that plus size models are not accepted on your application. It clearly states that your site encourages diversity, which gave me the impression that plus size models were accepted.

Just my opinion, here, but if your site does not accept plus size girls, then I think that's pretty sad and closed minded. There is beauty to be found in women of all sizes, not just thin girls.

Thanks anyway.

I have since posted about this in LiveJournal, and sure enough, other pretty, plus sized girls have been turned down, too. While I am interested in what Missi has to say, (and you can be sure I will let you know what she says, if she does indeed reply) it looks like SuicideGirls does NOT accept plus sized girls, and that irritates me. If it is true, when will sites like SuicideGirls and other modeling agencies drop all the old fashioned, closed minded, judgemental bullshit?! When will they get it into thier heads that beauty comes in all sizes, and NOT just for people that are size 12 and below? When will they see that men and women do not just find thin women attractive? Being a plus sized girl isn't an affliction, for we too are beautiful.

It's also discrimination, as it states right there in thier FAQ.:

I'm bigger. I'm not white. Will you accept me as a SuicideGirl?

We do not discriminate based on weight or race, and are currently looking for a more diverse group of girls to join our ranks, so please apply.

Is it a crock? We'll see...

I will be waiting for Missi's reply to my email. And I will post it here. I'm not expecting much, but we will soon see what the head of SuicideGirls has to say! If she confirms that size is an issue, then that is a sad statement for a website that claims to be for "unique, strong, sexy and confident" women and for "diversity".

Wow. Just wow.

2006-05-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_121200527.html

Please check the article linked above. Go ahead, do it.

If you are a Motley Crue fan like I am, then you will know how crazy this is. After reading about Nikki Sixx and Donna D'Errico's marriage in The Dirt, after seeing them in the media looking very much in love, this is simply mind blowing. And sad. These two had a child together, raised thier kids from other relationships together. They seemed so content, in love, happy.

I guess some things aren't as they seem.

I know that a lot of females are going to be happy about this. After all, Nikki Sixx may be considered one of the sexiest members of Motley Crue. (Check out his section of the Shout board here. He's got the most posts, followed close behind by Tommy Lee's section, so yeah, the ladies love him.) But I cannot lie, I'm not happy. I think it sucks. I mean, I was really rooting for thier relationship to succeed. AND I know how it feels to go through divorce; my first marriage with Mr. Wrong ended in divorce and it crippled me emotionally. I even spent time in the hospital because I felt so depressed. This is going to be Nikki's second time dealing with divorce. I can only imagine what he's going through!

I wish for them nothing but the best, and may God help thier whole family during this time.

Pinwheel, Pinwheel spinning around...

2006-04-27T23:16:00.000-04:00

Rencently, a set of DVDs about the 1980's Nickelodeon show Pinwheel sold for over a hundred dollars. I'm not shitting you. And these weren't even professionally mass produced. They were burned to disc by the seller! Now, if a set of burned DVDs about Pinwheel cost over a hundred dollars on eBay, imagine what would happen if this show were put out officially on DVD by Nickelodeon? Hell, can you imagine if they decided to air this show again! Kids and adults alike would be watching. I know I would. That show is timeless, and I have a lot of fond memories of watching this show as a kid.

I remember the feeling I got when I first saw Pinwheel; it was magical. It was a treat to watch and escape for a few hours to that magical world. The cartoons were mainly imported, and were for the most part sweet, but also a bit strange. One cartoon, for example, featured living creatures that resembled little hats, called Hattytown. These cartoons would air between the live segments that featured humans as well as puppets. OOOOHH THE PUPPETS!!! For some reason, the puppets on Pinwheel were more endearing to me than the ones on Sesame Street. They just had a quality that could not be compared. The puppets were made by a company named Flexitoon. Take a look at some of those puppets and tell me you don't find them lovable! Anyway, the live segments took place in and around a place called Pinwheel House, hence the name "Pinwheel".

Pinwheel remained a favorite of mine throughout my childhood, and well into my teen years. Whenever I stayed home sick from school, I would watch and fall in love all over again with it's charm. The show was aired in four to six hour blocks. I often found myself watching for the duration! When the show was cancelled in 1989, I was actually really surprised. I mean, the show had been on for ten years! I thought it would be on the air forever!

Through the years, Pinwheel became a dim memory, but thanks to sites like Youtube, Retrojunk and Mystie's Place, I have been able to rediscover my love for this fantastic show. But the more I watch the short clips on these sites, the more I want to see! I mean, I could bid for a three DVD set like the one I linked to at the beginning of this entry, because this set in particular has been copied and sold before, but I just don't have the money to spend that much on DVDs. Oh, well. I guess I'm just going to have to hope Nickelodeon releases episodes of this show on DVD. Judging by the response I've seen at the eBay auctions, they're sure to sell!

My luck (or lack therof) with Courtney Love...

2006-04-26T23:13:00.000-04:00

A lot of you already know that one of my favorite all time celebs is Courtney Love. I've been a fan since the early 1990's. I've purchased every CD, the Poppy Z. Brite book, posters, lots of stuff. But when it comes to seeing her live, well, I haven't. As a matter of fact, I've had the worst luck with seeing her live!

The first attempt was in 1994-95, while she was on tour with Hole for Live Through This. I found out through the grapevine that she was coming to the Boston Orpheum. The only thing wrong with this was that I was broke, so I devised a scheme to get the money from my father. Ha ha. Not only would he NOT loan me the money, he didn't want me to go to Boston at night alone. Woe was me. I remember sitting in my front hallway in the house we used to live at in Somerville, and just crying my eyes out.

Then she went on tour with Marilyn Manson, so of course I got tickets! Hole and Marilyn Manson on one bill, I thought. I'm there! Of course history shows what happened there; Hole dropped off the tour. I didn't want to see JUST Manson, so I refunded the tickets and had a ball with the money, with a dull sadness in my soul, knowing I wouldn't be seeing Courtney this time, either.

Flash forward to 2004. Courtney released her album America's Sweetheart (and it's a pity that such a magnificent album didn't do so well, but that's another story), and despite all her legal problems, she was going to tour. A date was set for the Boston Orpheum. I remember going real early for the tickets, thinking people would be waiting. The only people waiting with me were old perverts that wanted to see Courtney flash the crowd in the flesh. I cringed quietly and got my tickets. I was so excited, I drew this chart on the wall, marking the days I had left to wait before I saw real live COURTNEY! It was eleven days before she was due to play when I got the news that the whole tour was cancelled because of all of her legal problems at the time. Woe, again. I cried and cried. And then I felt resigned; I just wasn't meant to see Courtney in my lifetime.

There will come a time when she will tour again, and of course I will try to get tickets. Maybe I like the abuse, who knows? I mean, one day I may get lucky and finally see her live, but knowing my luck, one never knows.

The life and death of Panda Radio...

2006-04-26T01:47:00.000-04:00

Ever since I found out about internet radio through Winamp, I had wanted to run my own internet station. The idea of broadcasting my own stuff was so appealing to me, and I wanted to share my tastes with the world. So I looked into what would be needed to run a good radio station. First I tried to set up a Shoutcast station myself, but found I had no idea what I was doing. So I did more reading on the subject. In early 2005 I found a bit of software called Jetcast, which was a great program for beginning broadcasters. That was the beginning of Panda Radio. I managed to get on the air, but people had a hard time maintaining a connection with my computer. This was because of limitations with my computer and internet connection.

A former friend that I had met through LiveJournal eventually helped me get a Shoutcast station running, with my own server and everything. I was thrilled! People could actually maintain a connection with the station! I was being heard! Eventually I found the site IORSN, which explained that in order to broadcast copywritten music, I needed to obtain the rights to broadcast them. It was through that site that I found out about Loudcity, which helps you aquire the license to broadcast copywritten music for a flat fee. It sounded pretty ideal, so I got Rich to help pay for membership there for my birthday. So I became a licensed internet broadcaster!

I think the toughest part of running an internet radio station had to be promoting it. For one thing, I got tired of pleading with/spamming people to listen. I mean, if people didn't want to tune in the first time you asked, they sure as fuck wouldn't want to listen to the station later! For another, there were a lot of times I got no listeners, so the lack of interest was frustrating. A lot of people just couldn't tune in to my station because I aired too late in the night due to family computer use during the day, and some people really didn't care for the format. (metal and hard rock) Eventually the lack of listeners began to annoy me. I just wasn't patient enough to wait a while for my station to gain a sizable audience. My server kept having problems, too. Eventually I got so frustrated that I washed my hands of the whole thing. I gave up by the beginning of 2006.

Sometimes I think about Panda Radio and the temptation to start anew is there, I will admit it. But I don't want to undertake a project like that again unless I have the patience to make it work, and right now I just don't have the time or patience. It's better that I tried than if I never tried at all, right?

Memories...

2006-04-23T21:29:00.000-04:00

Ever have something that you wish you took better care of? Ever wish you still had a certain something? I do, all the time.

I'll give you a good example; when I was 12 years old, I got these boots that were an exact replica of the glittery boots that Madonna wore in the film Desperately Seeking Susan. I remember buying them with my birthday money at Baker's. I even remember the price; fifty dollars. Well, I wore them a few times, but the sequins easily came loose and started falling off. The boots came with this little baggie of sequins to add, should some of the sequins come off. Well, I got irritated with having to constantly replace sequins, so I did something that I regret to this day; I cut all the sequins OFF, making those boots quite plain, indeed. I actually wore them a bunch of times post-sequins. Bakers sold the knock-off Madonna boots for quite a while; for so long, in fact, that I thought they'd always have them. Well, after a few color variations Bakers eventually did stop selling the boots. When I was young, I thought nothing of this, but as the years wore on, I desperately wanted another pair of those boots. They do pop up on eBay from time to time, but they sell for insane prices, so I've never won them back. But oh, do I want to have a pair of those boots again. And this time, I'd do what I should have done all those years ago; put them in a box and put them in storage!

Here's another example of not knowing what you had until it was gone; while I was married to Mr. Wrong, I managed to purchase a refurbished Atari 2600 at this used video game store. I had wanted an Atari 2600 since I was nine; I bought the console in 1999, when Atari 2600 was extinct, so to say I was lucky would have been the understatement of the year! I got many games for the precious console, from the mass produced E.T. to the not-so-mass-produced Jr. Pac Man. The joysticks used to hurt my hands, but I was still proud to own an Atari. But then my ex-husband and I found ourselves in a situation we would find ourselves in many times during our marriage; we were flat fucking broke. We needed money. So we decided to sell the Atari. I had posted an ad in this local magazine called Want Ads, but I got impatient for offers, so I re-sold it to the used video game store, games and all, for thirty friggin dollars. To add insult to injury, someone eventually DID call me regarding my Want Ads posting, and was willing to buy the Atari and games for a whole lot more than what the used video game store paid me. OUCH! To this day, though, I really wish I didn't sell it. I was pretty proud of owning that console. Just goes to show you that the need for the almighty dollar can make us do some crazy things!

One more example of something I wish I still had is all the autographs I aquired over time. I remember the first famous person I met was Joan Jett. She signed a copy of Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth for me that day after I waited in line for what seemed like forever. Being a kid, of course I didn't take good care of that autograph, and it got trashed. So what did I do? I bought a NEW copy of the album she signed and forged her signature, thinking it was almost as good as the real thing. I don't know what I was thinking. Then there was Marilyn Manson's autograph, which I got after spending many hours in line. I lost that one in another example of my selling stuff for money while my ex and I were broke. Remember what I said about the need of money making someone do crazy things? Yeah. Oh, and then there's all the autographs I got from various WWE wrestlers throughout the years...I just plain lost those. Jeez...

So the moral to all this? Be sure you treasure and take good care of the things you find valuable or have sentimental attatchment to, especially if you're young. Because something that either seems like easy money or is isn't worthwhile today may be something you wish you kept later.

Heroes.

2006-04-23T03:28:00.000-04:00

Most of us have heroes. Some of us have the same heroes our whole lives. My brother, for example, is one of those people. His heroes have been KISS and Hulk Hogan since he was a young kid. He has his reasons why he thinks of them so highly; KISS of course are larger than life, while Hulk Hogan stands for life's better values; exercise, say your prayers, take your vitamins. It's pretty easy to understand why he looks up to these people even to this day.

I, too have had my share of heroes. Tonight I was listening to the latest album from one of my heroes, Cyndi Lauper, called The Body Acoustic. To me, Cyndi is a mentally strong female that struggled to get to the top of her profession. Sure she doesn't have top ten albums like say, Madonna, but she doesn't have to. She has released songs of quality year after year, so it really doesn't matter.

Anyway, The Body Acoustic is one strong, solid album. On this one she gives classic songs such as "She Bop" and "Money Changes Everything" a whole new twist. It is like a breath of fresh air, what with all the Emo bands that are so popular these days. I have to say that my favorite is "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" featuring Puffy Ami Yumi. This track in particular, with it's ska-like bounce, is one huge reason why you should give this disc a spin. And hey, it's great to see someone that I have looked up to since I was twelve is still going strong!

My first post...

2006-04-22T02:25:00.000-04:00

My first post here. I can see why people like it here, but it was a bitch and a half to learn how to navigate on this site!

Anyway, this will be my public journal, I guess. My journal over at LiveJournal is the one that I update the most often, and I get more personal there as well. However, that journal is set to the "Friends Only" security setting there, meaning that I have to add you as a friend in order to see the posts. I will try to write here as much as I can, but there will be times when I may not post for a while. It's all good. Just keep this journal bookmarked or whatever and check it from time to time.

A brief introduction: everyone online knows me as Panda. Hell, some people offline call me Panda! I'm 32 and I'm engaged to the most wonderful man ever, Rich. He shares my sense of humor and crazy outlook on life, not to mention the fact that he's one of the hottest guys I know! I also have a son; I'm a stay at home mom, pretty much.

I run a little group called Rent New England. The group is there so Rentheads from New England can get together, organize gatherings and such. We have so far organized two Renthead gatherings in Boston, and we were also on the guest list for the Adam Pascal show at BU. We plan on having another gathering May 27th, and we'll have a special karaoke gathering sometime in June.

My musical tastes are incredibly varied. I love everything from rap to reggae. My favorite band is Motley Crue, and my favorite solo artist is Courtney Love. Recently I got Frank Zappa's Hot Rats and The Velvet Underground and Nico, and I found both to be outstanding! I also love reading, movies and the musical Rent. Actually I'm head over heels in love with Rent! I got into it after seeing it in the movies last December. In June I will be seeing it live twice in two days! To say that I'm thrilled is an understatement!

I guess that's enough of an intro, huh? :)