Hey, it's me

More My Job Is Jerry Springer Live

2009-07-09T16:12:30Z

Perhaps in hotter weather the deal would have made more sense, but an Indiana woman's offer of her above-ground pool and $200 in gas money just wasn't enough to lure an undercover FBI agent into a plot to kill the Hoosier's ex-boyfriend.

Heidi Friedburg, 30, and her current boyfriend, William C. Alexander, 31, of New Carlisle, Ind., were arrested Monday as they unloaded Friedburg's disassembled swimming pool to seal the deal with the would-be hit man in a south suburban parking lot, Chicago Breaking News Center reported.

Ross Rice, the FBI spokesman in Chicago, said he believed it was the first murder-for-hire case that began with text messages -- and without a doubt the first time a pool had been offered as payment.

"How low can we go?" Rice wondered aloud.

The swimming pool, he said, had been seized as evidence.

-from nbc.chicago

And here they were bitching in court just last month that we were taking her children away. I wonder why?

Inappropriate Icon Usage

2009-07-01T15:37:55Z

I usually don't do ABC Felony court, only D Felony Thefts, Batterers, and Drunk Drivers, but because of the holiday upcoming we did a few initial hearings for the Big Criminal Court and, joy of joys, we had a 51yo guy who'd just got arrested for raping his mother.

0.0

Merlin on NBC in Entertainment Weekly

2009-06-25T13:14:03Z

To the TV Guide reviewer gave Merlin low ratings, but Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly has this to say:

NBC's new medieval adventure poses a question that has no doubt been puzzling Arthurian scholars fofr centuries: What if Merlin, the bearded old wizard, was actually way hot? The rollicking U.K. import is more O.C. than Camelot, reimagining its hero as a young undercover warlock working as a manservant for the cocky Prince Arthur. Cheesy? Sure. But there's enough sword-clanging action -- not to mention homeoerotic tension -- to keep viewers happily entertained for a spell. (B+)

I'm surprised they didn't compare it to first season Clex. *g*

pant pant pant

2009-06-24T12:41:47Z

It's going to be 105* today with the heat index and humidity. It'll feel like getting slapped with a sticky, wet towel in the face the moment you step outside. Which means it'll only be 101* in our air-conditionless house.

joy

Grammar Lesson - Or What I Learned Today At Work

2009-06-22T15:17:41Z

• You assure a person.

• You insure your car.

• You ensure everything else.

Eyeshield 21 Ends

2009-06-15T20:07:45Z

Alas, Eyesheild 21 has come to an end and it, like PoT, was worth every sports second (even though we never did get to find out about Hirima's dad). Jyumonji ended up being my favorite character with Hirima the insane second. I thoroughly enjoyed its run. One can only hope that the manga-ka will write a side story like The New Prince of Tennis!

For those of you who think I went nuts

2009-06-14T12:52:56Z

The third annual Zombie Apocalypse Day was yesterday. And I blogged (badly) like it was the end of the world.

If you're reading this, thank goodness you're still alive

2009-06-13T13:20:25Z

I'm here in my basement, using up the last few minutes on my dying laptop battery to tell you you're not alone. Movement seems to draw their attention, so try to get somewhere with as few windows as possible. I've got well water and a toilet and I can only hope that the main power doesn't go down. I've been listening to the news on the emergency radio and it's not good. They're everywhere, multiplying like rats, spreading their infection like a plague. Do not go outside. Do not draw their attention. Stay safe. And remember, you're not alone.

For now.

Alligator!

2009-06-03T17:01:53Z

There is an alligator in Pine Lake in LaPorte, Indiana. An actual alligator. 0.0

Apparently, there is more than corn in Indiana.

Thriller Bark fully subbed

2009-05-22T19:02:08Z

One Piece Thriller Bark arc is fully subbed, and has been for quite a while now. I am a shamed One Piece fan for not checking for months, when I've been waiting for the entire arc to be subbed to watch.

But it is subbed, and thus I need to have a fifty-five episode(!) marathon. Good thing it's a holiday weekend.

Crazy Dream

2009-05-20T20:23:50Z

titti is not allowed out of my sight in San Fransisco, or else "Big Leslie" shall kidnap you in your HP garb at a boardwalk amusment park and I will have to sneak-rescue you through a broken wall that leads to a hallway with four doors, with you in a thankfully not locked room. I made sure to also grab your iPhone upon rescue.

And it's right at the movie theater to get back to the con hotel.

Movie: Star Trek

2009-05-19T13:41:26Z

Fan-freaking-tastic. Even the Man was all \o/ - a rarity these days because movies tend not to take the time to build a plot and characters. Star Trek took its time with the actual story, throwing in fights and big booms as sprinkles on top.

Of course, I've talked to people who have hated it because they felt it -didn't- have a story and it was just explosions, which makes me go yay diversity! at the same time marveling over how people view the same thing differently.

Vacation Pics - Fish!

2009-05-14T19:19:13Z

Got the vacation pictures back and I scanned the fish ones in, because I had the most fun fishing on the trip.

My catch: yellowtail grouper off Belize

My catch: the hot Belize fishing tour guide.

Chuck 4-27-09

2009-04-28T19:45:29Z

I really enjoyed the season finale of Chuck, mainly because it closed off the central story satisfactorily if it doesn't get renewed while still leaving an anticipatory option if it does. I also liked the fact that Chuck chose the intersect and, with it, the spy life, giving us a heroic conclusion. Plus, Jester performed and Morgan remained made of win.

If it does get renewed, can they maintain a show with the new Charles Carmichael? The Man and I were coming up with scenarios they could do, like maintaining the Buy More as their cover/base of operations thus keeping the other Buymorians included in the storyline. We figured Chuck might have bugs, since the new intersect, according to his dad, was reconfigured specifically for Bryce. He also might have a huge learning curve on how to access things vs. things being unconscious reactions (kung fu accident on the Buymorians anyone?). Spy shenanigans can continue, as well, as Chuck still isn't spy and hasn't gone through any training. Finally, you have the Awesome knows but friends and sister doesn't stuff still to explore.

So season finale: *thumbs up*
Hope for renewal: *fingers crossed*

New Tennis!

2009-04-24T19:02:45Z

Thanks to bronzetigress I have learned that there is New Prince of Tennis chapters! It looks like it'll be similar to the current Eyeshield 21 'all star' arc, which is fine by me. I get to see all the favorites battling together against a new foe - high schoolers!

Best part: even though Akutsu left the Yamabuki team prior to Nationals, he's playing in this all star camp. (It's post-nationals, but before the school year ends. Probably a summer break camp.) I've only seen him and Sengoku so far from Yamabuki, but wherever Akutsu is, Dan isn't usually far behind... and hopefully my PoT muse won't be far behind that!

*dance of joy*

Vampire Dreams

2009-04-22T14:22:02Z

誕生日おめでとう tangledaria-chan!

I had this great dream last night starring a bald Michael Rosenbaum and Colin Morgan. Set in lovely cinematic style, MR played a serial killer/vampire who spies CM one night and decides he wants CM to be his new Renfield due to CM's not-so-nice actions in a club. So MR offs his elderly Renfield - a big surprise to the old codger - and entices CM with money to work for him. CM agrees.

Now, normally, MR doesn't care about his Renfields and easily kills them off if they do something wrong and/or end up anti-vampire, or simply don't want to be the Renfield anymore. His past Renfields have been of various ages and are all now six feet under. But naturally, CM is pro-vampire, does his job very well, and also acts like Merlin to Arthur, and therefore MR falls in love with him and wants him to be around vampire-forever.

And then CM dies abruptly from a stroke, outside in the snow, one random day.

MR is devastated. Cue anguished scene of MR clinging to CM's lifeless body and howling in despair.

Later, there is a cemetery funeral in the grayness of pre-dawn, with MR and the priest the only ones in attendance. MR is in all black suit with sunglasses on. The priest leaves after the sermon. Alone, MR stands there for a long time before he touches the dark wood coffin, whispers "Goodbye," and leaves.

A new Renfield, another elderly man, is standing by the tinted-window vehicle on the cemetery road. MR snaps at him that they're leaving and gets in the back seat car. The new Renfield gets in the driver's seat and drives down the winding road of the cemetery. In the vehicle, the camera focuses on MR's patented blank face with emotionally damp eyes before blurring past him out the rear window to CM's coffin being lowered into the ground.

The movie fades to credits.

amazon rank

More First Grade Jokes

2009-04-21T19:43:38Z

Your legs!

teeheehee

Top Gear Caravaning

2009-04-17T20:03:48Z

So we've hit the episode in Series 8 where the boys go on a Caravan holiday. You can see the results of their holiday by the icon. *snicker*

This was our second go around on this episode, and this time we were defending caravaning instead of simply yukking it up. Stuff like "you'd go faster in a bigger vehicle, but Britain doesn't seem to have trucks" and "to reverse into a campsite, you put your chin on the steering wheel and look into the rearview mirror to steer correctly." We also had many "remember whens" with the million-point turn on the highway, the knocking into poles (without damaging things, thankfully), and we've had a flat before on Short Round himself.

But we've never set fire to our Airstream, or the neighbor's.

Dates to Remember

2009-04-14T18:39:54Z

June 13 - Zombie Apocalypse Day ("Blog like it's the end of the world.")
September 19 - Int'l Talk Like a Pirate Day - yar!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T16:22:09Z

Three blondes died and are at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question.

St. Peter asks the first blonde, "What is Easter?"

The blonde replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful and stuff..."

"Wrong," replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second blonde the same question, "What is Easter?"

The second blonde replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and drink eggnog."

St. Peter looks at the second blonde, shakes his head in disgust, tells her she's wrong, and then peers over his glasses at the third blonde and asks, "What is Easter?"

The third blonde smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, "I know what Easter is."

"Oh?" says St. Peter, incredulously.

"Easter is the Christian holiday, that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper. Then the Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then the third blonde continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."

Books, Vacation, and Stuff

2009-04-01T16:09:02Z

I logged in on the right day to be able to say Happy bday jenpo!

My ninja vacation is over, and I am cursing the Indiana cold after a week of sunny, 85* weather. While out of town, I caught a yellowtail, kissed a stingray, visited Hell, and bruised my bum on The Man-driven jetboat.

But, more importantly, I read books. I'd recommend the following for those who enjoy YA literature:

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry
Geek Magnet by Kiernan Scott
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

I come back to work today to find new furniture, 85 email messages, 14 voicemail messages (despite voice mail saying not to leave a message), a stack of work, and people again telling me I'm not allowed to vacation anymore. I was only gone for eight days. How will they survive in July, when I'll be gone for nine days?

OMG ICHIGO

2009-03-19T22:15:33Z

Bleach 350 - what I have been waiting for since Ichigo's battle with Byakuya in the Seireitei arc.

*flail*

EQ2 Fic: Sastre's Journey 7

2009-03-17T23:36:06Z

Sastre sat on the floor in his room, his knees pulled to his chest, staring at the iron bars of the open Cage in front of him. It had been a bunch of days since Alyeka had killed Sastre’s not-friend and had gotten hurt again. Sastre didn’t have that strange stuff in his head no more, but it had still been his fault Alyeka had gotten attackeded and had been sad and afraid, because he was stupid.

But he’d thought that he was getting smarter now. Alyeka had taken him to all the guilds in Kelethin where he could learn stuff. Sir Koreg had taken Sastre on as his a-princess and was teaching Sastre all about animals without Sastre having to read no books. (Trying to learn to read last time has broken Alyeka and Sastre was never, ever, ever gonna do it again.) Sir Koreg had even taught Sastre how babies were made in mammals – Alyeka and him were both mammals, too – and how the baby would grow inside a female until it was ready to be born and that the females made milk to drink.

Sir Koreg hadn’t told Sastre that the baby would kick Alyeka, though, or make her sick. Alyeka said Sastre couldn’t drink the milk, either; it was only for the baby. Sastre didn’t like it. The baby was hurting Alyeka and taking things from Sastre. Sastre wanted Alyeka to himself and he told her that, but she got mad and said that the baby was most important and she didn’t want nobody to pay for the baby to take it away.

Sastre clutched his knees closer to his aching chest and stared at the Cage. He’d been bad. He’d forgotten that he was a slave and slaves weren’t allowed to want things. He could learn stuff from Sir Koreg, but no matter how much he was taught, it wouldn’t change what he was, and neither would woowheeing Alyeka. He was stupid to believe that being a mate thing really did mean something different. Stupid, stupid Sastre.

Sastre dropped his forehead to his knees, curled in on himself, and vowed never to be bad again.

SPN & Castle & SGA

2009-03-14T13:16:54Z

tangledaria, they used your icon as script and I had to pause the show because I was laughing so hard that I couldn't hear.

SPN: I shall force my child, when child happens, to watch The Karate Kid.

Castle: The Man & I really enjoyed this. It was, as they reported, to be in the spirit of Moonlighting. Let's cross our fingers that they keep it up

SGA: I miss SGA.

EQ2 Fic: Sastre's Journey 6 & It

2009-03-13T20:44:45Z

If I tell you what to do, you don't understand that you don't -have- to do it. You've got a lot more to learn.

How can I learn if you aren't gonna tell me to do nothing?

Well, you can learn to read. There's a book for just about anything you want to learn.

Falania had agreed with Alyeka. Sastre had to learn to read. He needed to learn fast, too, so that he knew what to do. He didn't like not knowing, and Alyeka wasn't gonna tell him no more. But if he could read, he could find out the right way to do the mate thing.

Alyeka hadn't been home, so he gave a boy a gold coin to tell her he'd gone to the book place in Neriak. Sastre reckoned he'd find a way to read there. He made sure he took all his coin and went to the druid ring. A nice druid person opened a portal for him and he went through to Darklight Wood.

It was easy for Sastre to sneak into Neriak. He took the same route he'd gone the last time he'd needed a lesson, but turned off the path before he got to his old teachers' house.

There were people standing outside the book place, talking excitedly. Sastre slipped past them and went inside. He looked over the people in the room and picked one at random to talk about reading. "I need to learn to read fast, please."

The Tier'Dal looked down his nose at Sastre. "The Library of K'lorn is for serious scholars, not for you arasai."

Sastre bit his lower lip, then held up his coin pouch. "I have coin. I really need to learn."

"Pah." The Tier'Dal shut the book he was reading and put it into an empty spot on the rows of shelves. "You do not have enough coin in all of Neriak for one of us to teach you."

Sastre looked crestfallen, before an idea hit him. "Is there any other way I can pay you? I'll do anything."

The Tier'Dal's finger stopped on the spine of the book and he eyed Sastre measuringly. "Anything?"

Sastre nodded. He had to learn to read.

The Tier'Dal smiled, turned around, and folded his hands. "Well, then, I think we might be able to accommodate you. Come with me."

Relieved, Sastre was quick to follow the Tier'Dal into the depths of the Library of K'Lorn.

Disturbed from his reading, Neeval scowled at the scream that reverberated throughout the halls. He wished the Spurned would do their experiments elsewhere. This was a library, for Christanos' sake.

It (he?) became aware slowly and opened its (his?) eye. The others' overlapping questions and demands hummed in the background. The Spurned, with anticipatory gleams in their thoughts, stared and waited.

With several jerks and twitches, the arasai body rose and staggered with halting steps to the pile of books on the table. The hand groped clumsily for the book at the top, picked it up, and opened it to a random page. The Eye read the words on the page with ease.

Finally, it -- he -- was free.

Testing done on Sastre by the Order of the Arcane in the aftermath of his visit to the Library of K'Lorn in Neriak. Though they cannot tell what has been done to him, they list the following things in an letter:

Possession: zero - can find no signs of current possession.

Magical abilities: Body and mind manipulation.

Languages: Three standard (Common, Thexian, Faerlie), ten nonstandard (Gnollish, Orcish, Fayefolk, Krombral, Goblish, Thulian, Words of Shade, Chaos Tongue, Death's Whisper, Druzaic). Fluent in all. Note: Subject does not appear to know what language is being spoken and moves between tongues depending on two factors: 1. What is being spoken around him and 2. if there is magic involved.

Intelligence: Very low. Does not understand most of what he speaks about when questioned intensively. However, the answers are all correct.

Wisdom: Extremely low. Shows signs of past slavery before it was confirmed. Will do what others tell him if he believes they are of a higher "rank". Possible danger.

Magical aptitude: Extremely high. Can perform magic at will when asked to do specific tasks related to body and mind manipulation.

Recollection: Does not have any conscious memory of what occurred to him, other than identifying the Spurned. Mind blocks prevent probing, to an extent that high-level acolytes passed out from exertion in their attempts.

Volatility: Extremely low. Does not pose a danger to self or others, except if there is a threat to subject: Alyeka. Then, volatile level increases from high to extreme.

Threat level: Extremely low - subject: Alyeka exception.

Oddities in Observations: Shows little fear in face of true threat due to possibility of low intelligence/wisdom. Does fear being called or acting like a "monster", however, gets volatile/defensive if suggestion of his harming Alyeka is given. Shows deep grief over the death of subject: Kae. However, provocation/threat towards subject: Kae does not affect volatility. Has a fondness for turtles bordering on obsessive. When questioned about why, subject cannot give direct answer, though the ability to retract into a hard, protective shell seems to be key.

Recommendations: Continued observation until a successful mind probe can be completed.

Signed, Emrys, Senior Acolyte, Order of the Arcane

A neophyte has been assigned to observe Sastre when he is in public on his daily business. He has noted the following in his journal:

This observer posits that subject: Sastre's abilities are triggered more by emotions than purposeful intent. This observer further posits that the visible aura produced is an uncontrolled manifestation of said abilities. Said manifestations have been noted to have varied colors dependent upon subject: Sastre's emotions. This observer has noted the following color/emotion pattern (unverified):

Gold - Healing
Red - Anger
Yellow - Warmth
Blue - Coldness
Green - Mental
Violet - unknown
Pink - lust
Orange - unknown
Black - unknown (seen most commonly with Red, posit: correlation)
White - unknown

The neophyte makes a new observation in his journal:

Seeing subject: Sastre doing something all men do, in a place unfit for such activities, this observer remained scientific and posits that his prior entry of aura color variation was in error. Subject: Sastre shows no visible pink as he goes about his "business". This observer posits that the pink may be in re: desire, not lust.

This observer does make a conclusion that subject: Sastre needs to be taught about public indecency.

(End Sastre's Journey 6)

It

It hovered with the Others in the cage. The Spurned, Its captor, were experimenting with the Eyes. The experienced ones shielded their thoughts, but the young were easy to read. The Spurned were attempting to give the Eyes physical bodies. It did not know for what purpose, but It wanted to be chosen to be free of limitations and slavery to others, to be in control once more.

It watched, and waited. The Spurned brought many races into the laboratory, some struggling, some docile. Others were chosen, but not It. At first, the Chosen did not survive, dying before the implantation was complete. The Spurned persevered and the Chosen began to take hold of their hosts. It could hear the joy of freedom from the Chosen and the longing of the Others in the cage with It.

It waited, and finally It was chosen. The host was neither young, nor old; an Arasai with a simple mind. It took hold easily, shedding its maw for a new body. It could feel the spirits buds of others inside the host’s head, but It did not care. It – He – was free.

He read everything that He could, using hands that were now His own. He wanted the knowledge He’d only briefly glimpsed from sorcerers and hunters traveling through His home. He desired to know it all.

But it was not to happen. The spirit buds that He had ignored began battling against Him, and the fight expended His energy and loosened His hold on the host’s mind. The host became aware again and He was unable to defeat three spirits. Sapped of His strength, He retreated deep into the host’s mind to heal.

And He was an It once more.

The host unknowingly tapped into Its abilities as It rested and waited until It could take control again. Its defenses kept It safe from probing minds, expelling them with a burst of power that weakened It and delayed Its re-exertion over the host. The spirit buds knew It was there, but they were also depleted from the battle and could do nothing.

Then, a new mind appeared, probing Its defenses. It used Its powers to repel the mind, but the mind would not give up. It was forced to take control of the host. It needed to survive. It wanted to be free. It—

End