Whaddaya MEAN You've Never Heard of Me?!?

Rebecca Black is getting death threats. Really.
This is just one more in a long line of reasons why America is completely fucked.

Yes, it's an annoying song. It's vapid, trite, and will NOT get out of my head
She's not a very good singer. I much prefer to Colbert version.
What? You haven't? Okay...here is the acceptable YouTube version:



I know, Colbert can make absolutely anything awesome.
If he had a spoken-word-off with Shatner, Shatner would run out in tears.
I had no idea who Taylor Hicks was and had to look it up.

Seriously, if you have time to send death threats to a 13-year-old girl because you don't like the song she sang, please do take note of the following:
--If you aren't sure how to avoid the song, let me know and I'll tell you. It's astonishingly easy.
--Teenagers are supposed to want to sing and dance and do stupid shit. Duh.
--Everything that's going on in the world, and THIS is what you make time to worry about and act upon? You should be ashamed of yourself.
--How about spending your time an energy actually helping someone?
--Get a fucking hobby, learn a language, read a book.
--Haven't you heard? We're toning down the violent rhetoric now.
--If you didn't sign your real name to the death threat, you are a coward and should fuck right off.
--If you did, you're an idiot and should fuck right off.
--Where's YOUR one million plus hit vid on YouTube? I'm sorry where? Yeah, thought so.

Experienced my second big baking mishap of the year yesterday. Wasted roughly $35 of high end baking ingredients ruining a double batch of cranberry walnut bread. I used cranberries that we not thoroughly thawed, and as such the whole inside of each bread did not cook. As I follwed the instructions (unlike regular cooking, where I improvise, I tend to use recipes for baking--mainly because math and science are not my strong suits) to a T and the bread looked awesome on the outside, I did not take its temperature. So when it had cooled and I went to dump it out of the loaf pans, it promptly fell apart all over the cooling rack, getting uncooked batter freakin everywhere. Ruined. So now I need more eggs, flour, orange juice, shortening, walnuts and cranberries. Fie!

Last night was my first Sunday night FOX with the HD. Amazing how much better it looks, and it's just a freakin' cartoon. Also got to record with my DVR to free up my hands during the shows. ;-] JoJo stepped on the on/off switch of the surge protector so ALL the media stuff turned off at once, right in the middle of a new ep of Family Guy. So Fie again!

Today is the home-stretch work-wise. Today is really the last day we can promise that standard shipping will reach people in time for Xmas. Even still, we'll have people calling as late as Christmas Eve damanding that we overnight ship for them even though I don't know of any service that will ship on Xmas day. Work Christmas party is this Saturday, followed by H's birthday on Sunday, and the Solstice on Monday. In January begins the attempts to secure reviews for the new book. And I'll likely begin some violin instruction from one of my co workers. Nice. No one has been told they ruined Christmas yet.

Pet Peeve of the day: deleting internet posts that have generated spirited discussion. People do this all the freakin' time. I don't get it. Why bother to have a discussion on the internet if you're going to erase all record of it? And if you don't want to have a spirited discussion, stop posting controversial shit on the internet.
Second Peeve: My new phone company CREDO MOBILE has been less than stellar. So far the phone did not arrive when they said it would, even though out monthly charge began before the phones were even sent. I'm still not able to get on the internet from my phone--which means I can't get any decent ringtones. The reception where I was Saturday night was terrible. The account online still doesn't match the order we placed or the online updates me tried to make; and they wouldn't let me fix it over the phone because apparently being H's wife doesn't allow me to ask questions about our account. I said I would keep everyone informed on this new company, so I am.
Temporary CREDO MOBILE verdict: sucks!

Got my new cord from Apple this morning. Awesome right, seeing as how I ordered it yesterday afternoon. That Apple! They are great. Funny thing though, they didn't send the whole cord, just the boxy part that goes from the middle to the laptop. That's the part I needed, but still...I kind of expected to get all of it. Wild, right. So apparently only HALF the cord costs $72, not the whole thing. Plus they sent it in a box with the most convenient return label I've ever seen.

The camera cord I ordered did not work. I wrote back to the guy and he is sending me a new one ASAP. He doesn't even want the other one back. Nice for me. Eventually I'll get the insurance pics off the camera.

Speaking of things that don't work, it appears that the G peg on my violin is not fucked as I had suspected. It's actually okay and requires some finessing. I'm not usually one for the finesse, so it never occurred to me to do that. Anyway, my goal for the evening is to get this thing in tune, and record myself playing an open E, and maybe an A and post it to my violin blog tomorrow at work. BTW, the chick in my new violin icon is Vanessa Mae.

In re: LOST. Does anybody know if the season 5 finale had a different name in European markets? I've heard two people now calling it "The Accident" instead of "The Incident." Obviously, these words have vastly different connotations, so I'm just wondering if these people I'm encountering are simply morons (it's been known to happen) or if there's something else going on here.

Didn't make it to work today. Couldn't actually sit up under my own steam this morning. After nearly an hour of H pounding on my back with the Homedics thingy, I'm feeling marginally better.

If you can handle another of my animals are taking over the world posts, do take note of the fact that Large Lizards have taken over a public park in Thailand.

Here's a funny thing from the Facebook:

Get it? It's like the remake of Psycho poster.

I have some music icons (such as this one), and I have one for work (the ringing, old-timey phone) but I don't have a musical icon for any of the kinds of music I actually make. Never got around to making a dulcimer icon mainly because I had to put the computer away in order to play the dulcimer in the first place. Anyway, I'm gonna have to find some kind of cool violin icon for myself for when I'm posting about my new musical project. I'm not going to be too detailed here. I'm doing another blog on the www.stringcommunity.com site so all my work peeps can see it. If any of you have any interest in seeing it, I'm over there as...wait for it...Wednes.

I will mention that I got a travel music stand for half price because there was a rip in the carrying bag. I don't plan to carry it around much anyway. I got some books (essential elements, one on note reading, and some other basic stuff), a CD and/or DVD, a shoulder rest we don't carry anymore, a cleaning cloth, and some light rosin. I also dug up H's camera which I couldn't find but was hiding in plain sight. Now I can take pics of all my accessories and post them in my new blog. I intend to also buy a light for the music stand, some kind of chinrest comforter, and a spare set of strings. My discount is only 10% which I daresay is kind of low considering that most of the employees at my work are serious musicians. Even Whole Foods is 20%.

Speaking of pictures, I can't figure out how to get a piccie of my new hair that is actually truthful. For some reason, our living room lamp has a 60-watt bulb in it. I need to go by some 100's or 120's so I can see my hand in front of my face. The hair is quite dark, and a bit blue. H is color blind so he can't see the blue, but my work peeps totally noticed. Happily, they all said kind things. I really love that I so thoroughly enjoy my co-workers.

I was looking for the Wolfman Trailer and saw this thing called Avatar which I had not heard of until just this minute. I assumed it had something to do with that Last Airbender thing from Nickelodeon. I'm not well versed in Anime, but Anime fantasy is certainly the least annoying kind of fantasy (except JK Rowling and Roald Dahl, obviously). But no...it's some other thing from the mind of James Cameron. I can only assume there's a big boat in it. Seriously, though it looks pretty cool. But it was not what I went to Apple Trailers for. I very much wanted to post the new Wolfman trailer for you, but embedding is disabled. So here. 'tis a good looking one. Kind of looks like Coppola's Dracula without Keanu Theodore Logan Matrix fucking it up. I predict that after Jekyll, I will loathe him even more.

Not much going on with me these days. Went to the dentists today only to be told that my flossing skills suck. So I'm gonna buy one of those flossing handle things that people are using these days.

Went to Hollywood video, where I bought Sweeney Todd and Cloverfield for a scant $20. So pleased was I with my savings that I went ahead and ordered Season Three of LOST on DVD from Amazon. I've been wanting to watch the finale again, when Hurley busts in in the VW bus and saves everyone. Such a great episode of a rather marginal season. I also learned that Season Four of LOST doesn't come out until December. Drat. I kind of wish I had taped it, but then I wouldn't want to buy it when it comes out. And the Special Features are gonna be rad. Speaking of Sweeney Todd, I never realized that was Borat who played Pirelli, the mean barber who hit Toby.

I have to give yet another sales presentation at work Friday. This one is on the prevention of Buyer's Remorse, which is a boring topic to say the least. Nonetheless, I made up a game including some role plays, and an informative handout which should cover my obligations. I'm also supposed to find an appropriate tapes call to play to illustrate good technique, but for the life of me I haven't been able to find one. Maybe that fact can illustrate the point that we all need improvement.

So I guess I'll spend the better part of my evening watching Johnny Depp sing and kill people.

By the by, I don't think I'm ever going to put together that Dulcimer I got as a kit. I'm just not motivated enough, and that's all time I should spend writing. Besides, I already have a student dulcimer that I like very much. So if anybody wants it, I'll sell it for half of what I paid, which would be a scant $30. Any takers?

LOST (the parts I saw of it anyway) was weepy and wonderful. How can you not root for Penny and Desmond? And Faraday is turning out to be a compelling character in his own right. Sadly, Jeff Fahey's character is not. One things for sure, I'm keeping my Time Turner with me at all times. You just never know when the world is going to go kablouie on you...
Anyway, I missed the beginning of LOST because my cab was over an hour late. While stomping angrily to the door, I slipped on the ice and fell right on my tailbone. It doesn't hurt that bad, but if memory serves it's going to hurt like hell tomorrow.




I can now play Morning has Broken on the dulcimer.
Take that, Guernica!

Also, if any of you have read A Stabbing for Sadie, can you please go to the site and leave a short review? It would help me out a lot. Of course, I'll be asking you to do even more reviews once the book is listed on Amazon. :-] Anyway, I'd really appreciate it. And I can use snippets of your reviews in my press releases.

Wow, little kids must be saying "fuck" more than I noticed:

TV Reviews

It's high time I had an icon for dulcimer related things. Maybe I'll make one when my new dulcimer finally arrives. I sent out the cheque for it today so I'm hoping I'll have it in 10 days or so. In the mean time, the loaner is coming back today. Woot!

I just realized yesterday that as cool as my book cover is, it doesn't have my pic on it. I sent it in a while ago, I wonder why it didn't end up on the cover. Oh well, the cover looks good how it is. You will all be pleased to learn that my book goes on sale starting April 8th, 2008.

H and I went to Red Robin last night, using the gift card I got for my birthday last year. They have a bottomless lemonade with strawberries in it, which was fairly amazing. H had a 5-alarm burger that he only found mildly spicy but tasty. I had a guacamole and bacon burger because I'm clearly trying to die young. They also had endless fries but we were too full to take advantage of that. We're staying home to watch a movie tonight, probably Citizen X.

Finally it's been revealed that work reviews will be sometime this week. So mine will be totally soon. As you all know, I'm not looking forward to it. But we shall see, no point in stressing.

Now I'm off to watch the trailer for the new M Night Shymalan movie. I love that guy.
Which is your favorite Shymalan movie? Mine is Unbreakable.

Roy Schieder has shuffled off this mortal coil. Sad times. So much for my idea for a Seaquest reunion. I'll have to get the DeLuise kids back on TV some other way.

My dulcimer arrived in the mail today, despite the tracking saying it is going to Brooklyn. They are fast tracking another one to me, so whichever one looks best, I am keeping. I haven't opened it up yet, H is hogging the big table while watching Sarah Connor Chronicles. So far, it's tiny and it's a weird kind of orange color. I may paint it or something, I'll have to research what I can do.

I'm looking for a tabulature of Greensleeves in DAA tuning. I found one in DAd but I'm not quite ready to go to a new tuning yet. Anyway, my new dulcimer seems like a nice, very basic starter instrument, I'm going to have a riotous blast playing on it. I eventually won an eBay auction for a dulcimer kit, so my buddy Steve and I will likely get started on that soon.



I hear that at my work, they use reviews as a means to gank people's bonuses. I just found out what my bonus is supposed to be, should be interesting to see what i actually get. I'm new to the concept of actually making less money for doing a sub par job, which I'm convinced my job performance will be viewed as. My sales are average, but I still screw up on a fairly regular basis. So we shall see.

Tomorrow I have to be up early, but I'm not remotely tired. Fie.

I had my dulcimer lesson today. It lasted a little over two hours and gave me a ton of things to practice on. I got a free booklet on playing and even a loaner dulcimer to practice on while I'm waiting for the one I ordered to arrive. Turns out, it's a pretty simple instrument if you want it to be. It can also be fairly complex in terms of playing chords and picking out melodies. Anyway, it's really cool and I offer up many thanks to peteralway for being so patient with me.

No review at work yet. I wish they'd just write me up and get it over with. The cab company has made me late several times in the last month, so I'm getting a write up for being late. It's a drag, because there's not much I can do about the cabs being late. But I also see where they have to apply the same standards to everyone. So, fie. Other than that, work is going fine. I'll be using my employee discount to pick up some accoutrements for my dulcimer, like a tuner for example.

H and I watched Eastern Promises last night. It was really good, but should have been about half an hour longer. Once you find out the big twist, the movie gets exponentially better (not that it wasn't already good) and you want there to be more of it. He is also naked for a whole big long scene that is not at all sexy. Wild, I know. Viggo impresses the hell out of me in pretty much everything. If there's a bad movie with Viggo in it, I've yet to know about it.

We got a new microwave. Ours broke quite suddenly so now we have a new one.
It costs over $100, yee gods.



In worse news, I didn't come in contact wiht a paczi all day. Frown.

H and I both have the day off today. I can't recall the last time we had a day off together that wasn't a Sunday (when we grocery shop). We thought about seeing a movie and or going to dinner, but ended up staying home and watching TV. We didn't even get anything On Demand.

I managed to finish going over the edits for both books, and do my acknowlegments for Sadie. I'm not sure that Cat's Apprentice will need them, but I haven't decided yet.

Been researching dulcimers and dulcimer kits for my big lesson. It appears that you can spend a crapload of money on a dulcimer if you want to. I'm talking about the lap, or mountain dulcimer, not the hammered kind. I'm talking with my buddy STeve about building one from a kit.

Speaking of my buddy Steve, he got H the coolest present: a Rubik's cube for color blind people. It has black and white shapes instead of colors and it is damn cool. Steve is totally into the cube right now, he just called to see if we needed any silicone lubricant to make it turn faster. I don't think we do, but it's nice to know where to get some should we ever have the need. His is white and black, but otherwise, it's like the one pictured:


I'm off work tomorrow too, and should probably go to the docs to get more blood work done. Apparently my glucose was high, but I also didn't know I had to fast last time. So we shall see.

Three people on my flist have jury duty this week. Have fun doing your civic duty, chumps!
;-]