Fish Sticks and Green Jello

Here's some stuff I picked up off the site and the message boards, FYI:

UPDATE 4/29:- The set times have been released! Here are just a few of the conflicts I'm feeling pained over:

Bloc Party vs Bauhaus
Chemical Brothers vs Coldplay vs Fantomas
The Bravery vs The Futureheads

This year they have the Coachooser, which allows you to customize a schedule of who you want to see, pretty sweet! Looks like I may miss Bloc Party how can I NOT see Bauhaus?! Jumping back and forth can be pointless too, they're not THAT close together, plus the crowds are huge at the bigger shows so you don't want to wade through that each time.

------------------------
4/27

- The set times will be release one to two days before the show. So Thursday or Friday we'll be able to see who's playing at the same time we want to see someone else play. That's always fun.

- The Doves cancelled. I guess the lead singer has throat problems. Bummer!

- There's a rumor that The Bravery got dropped off the bill but I still see them on the lineup so I assume they're still playing.

- Here's the VirginMegaTent autograph/cd signings schedule:

Saturday, April 30

2:30pm - Sage Francis
3:00pm - Secret Machines
3:30pm - Mercury Rev
4:00pm - Amp Fiddler
4:00pm - Jamie Cullum
5:00pm - Zap Mama
5:30pm - M83
6:00pm - Bloc Party

Sunday, May 1

2:30pm - Z-Trip
2:30pm - DJ Krush
3:00pm - Stereophonics
3:30pm - Futureheads
4:30pm - British Sea Power
5:30pm - Dresden Dolls
6:30pm - Sloan

- Bauhaus is playing a special "secret" show at a small venue in Pomona Thursday night. If you want to know where, they go peruse the message boards!

- There's a Coachella music player on the website if you want to hear songs from the lineup.

- There's usually a suprise performer every year. 2003 Perry Farrell showed up to DJ, whoopity doo. Not sure what else happened. I read that there may be a secret "campground show". Sounds interesting!

- Apparently it will be the whole Prodigy crew, Liam, Keith and Maxim, yay!

- The weather will be mid-80's, best weather yet! Last year I heard it was around 100+. Year before last it was definitley 90's. HOT, TOO HOT. Mid 80's though... GREAT!

- Woah, apparently one of the singers for Thievery Corporation killed themselves. Yikes! I read about this on the message boards. They played year before last. They'll be playing in SF weekend after this one.

I'll keep updating this as I sift through the message boards for interesting news.

I was never a huge powerpoint whiz but I knew how to make a presentation, albeit a basic one. Tonight I decided to tinker around and make a graph, just for fun. The only part I had trouble with was learning how to change the numbers on the value axis. It's been awhile! Rust anyone? With a little online assistance it didn't take my long to figure that out. I made a little mood chart to polish up my long gone chart making skills. I think as long as I'm doing something "constructive" I'm not dwelling on bad stuff.

So as you can see last summer, not so bad. June was a good bday month. July was great. I had a great 4th of July weekend in Seattle. August was a bit moody but ok. September started out great but by October things were really going down fast. By January I was in a complete hole and in February I made some changes to help things go up. Unfortunately March and the beginning of April went into the toilet but now and as we're going into May I am finally starting to feel better than I have in a very very long time.



It hasn't been easy but I'm trying. Believe me I have some low points here and there but I'm trying to focus on the big picture. Sometimes people really aren't a great help but I have to manage this on my own, obviously. Let's hope this coming summer puts me back where I started from.

My friend Jenn uses Xanga, so she may have some more tips for me. Here's the issue at hand though... Xanga allows users to add particular users to a list which allows those users the ability to view protected blog entries. Otherwise the average user would see all the rest of the posts with the exception of the ones that had an approved user list.

Here's what Blogger says about that:

How can I password protect my blog?
"We do not currently offer a password protection service for Blog*Spot blogs. However, if you host your blog on your own server you may be able to do this, since many hosting providers include this service. Check with your system administrator for information on how to set it up."

The only bummer about that is that you cannot password protect particular entries. Instead you can only allows users with the password access to your blog. That's not very user friendly.

So, does Xanga allow you to publish via your website? Is there another blog provider or is there blog code to enable this yourself?

You know, Blogger could do this too. You have to register to leave your name with comments and blogger allows you to choose to require everyone to sign in before they comment or just allow anonymous posts. So you could effectively allow only your blogger friends access to certain posts. Blogger is always ten steps behind everyone.

I had to add code to the template and use an outside program to collect comments until they finally added those. The repercussions of that is that now, I keep the old comment system around so I don't lose those comments and the old posts from way back when don't have blogger comments enabled on them automatically. Once they added the new comment system it wasn't backwards post compatible. If you want a really old post to have comments you have to dig up that old post, allow comments on it and republish it. Considering I have hundreds of posts that seems like a huge waste of time.

Frustrating! I used to have two blogs, one private and one public but that was a pain as well. I'm really getting tired of censoring everything I write here though. I'd like to have some things I can write about that just vent at times without having to worry about the ramifications of those posts. Just recently I had to archive a bunch of posts for exactly that reason. It just bugs me though because there are definitely certain rules I abide by when blogging. I don't blog about work, I really truly try not to name names when writing negative posts (initials anyone?) and I don't post personal info such as email addys, phone numbers, addresses etc.

I get the most visits when I write dramatic posts, yet I can't leave them up because they're inflamatory. But when I read other blogs do you think I really want to read about how nice and normal and blah everything is? People love the drama! They like to think they're being let in on something personal and they find ways to connect with that. You know what? I write this blog as much for me as anyone else. I like being able to write and maybe connect with people on common ground, start an interesting dialogue, let people know about something entertaining etc. It's a way for me to get out what I'm doing or thinking about as much as it is a way for people to read about what I'm up to. It's therapeutic for me really.

I'm just frustrated right now. It IS a good question though.

Wow, I've immersed myself in music lately. I've discovered so many new bands to listen to that I finally feel really excited about music again. K and I were going to see Rooney tonight but we weren't up to it. Instead I ran some errands and worked on converting my music files over to mp3's as well as do my second favorite pastime of late which is to re-watch Season 1 of Arrested Development! I love that show! Plus watching my favorite shows, going out with real friends and listening to music tends to cut the drama factor out of life by about 1000%.

Also, it looks like I AM going to be able to catch Oasis in September after all and I got an early birthday present given to me in way of my Fischerspooner ticket, yay thanks K! My birthday dinner this year will be a smaller affair so we don't have to yell table to table and have one minute snippets of conversation. Instead of 22 people it'll be more like 12. We'll be hitting a nice french restaurant that can be pricey or er.... less pricey, depending on what you order I guess. We'll follow up an early dinner by heading to the Fillmore for Fischerspooner then after, who knows! And no you don't get to know the name of the restaurant until we've gone! Then I'll write a full review.

Also I got complaints about the Oasis file not working. I put an mp3 up there instead of the .wma file that wasn't working. The only weird thing is that you can no longer control the volume on the embedded player. Can anyone tell me why the volume control is now missing? There's no reason why the control should disappear just because it's an mp3 file. Does it have something to do with the encoding? Help! Be sure to let me know if this file's a dud too. Thanks.

I'm going to be taking the motorcycle proficiency riding class in May or June (at the latest). There's one offered at the local adult ed place. Once I've taken the course if I pass I'll automatically get my moto license. I already have all the gear I need to ride, the best of everything, so I know I'll be well protected. I also don't plan on riding for much more than just fun little trips here and there. No major freeway, road tripping excursions since I know how dangerous they can be. I'm looking forward to doing something new like this though so it should be a lot of fun. You know how I love hobbies! Which reminds me. I should consider signing up for some jewelry making classes in May. They all fill up so quickly!

Here's what I have so far:
Nolan Modular Helmet in Silver
Held "Galaxy" Racing Glove
Dianese Nylon/Textile Jacket with built in body armor and optional back armor slot (this jacket is awesome! But I have yet to find a pic anywhere. If I find a link I'll include it)

Next to buy once the class is over:
- back armor (maybe)
- Sidi boots

My ex told me to get the Honda CB1 as a first bike if I like riding. Those are so hard to find though, so we'll see. The bike below was something I read about in an article on bikes for shorter women. I'm 5' 3". Apparently this bike works well for women of my height. I'd like to try one out.

Anyways, if the class works well for me, which I hope it does. I'll be saving my pennies up for one of these suckers! Or so I'd like. We'll see. Look how well this bike goes with all my gear though! Haha! Nothing wrong with coordinating. I'm the queen of it.


Ducati Monster 620 in Silver

Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of it's own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

-------
"Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone" was quoted in the movie "Old Boy" which I talked about in an earlier post. I had to look up the whole poem though. I like it very much, it's very representative of how I'm feeling right now.

The Butterfly Effect wasn't a great movie per say, but it was entertaining. Anyways I got the dvd of it via Greencine the other day in order to see the alternate ending. I saw it originally at my ex's house and he only had a vcr so I wasn't able to see what the directors cut looked like. By the way, the original ending is WAY better than the Director's Cut ending. In my opinion I felt that it was more plausible.

While watching the ending of the orignal again tonight I realized that it had a GREAT Oasis song from the album Heathen Chemistry called 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' playing over the last part of the movie. They've always been a band I've loved. So as part of my newly re-discovered passion for music I'm including a link here for you to listen to the song via an embedded popup player. Enjoy. I'll only keep the link there for about a week. I'd really like to see Oasis when they tour through here in September. We'll see who wants to go! (Note: The song is gone now, sorry!)

Breathe by Erasure is still up from a previous post as well. I figured maybe at some point I'll do a song of the week feature on here so people can listen to songs that I am into that week and maybe I can convert a few folks over to some other bands. For example last night I listened to about three Le Tigre albums before I went out and I found a new appreciation for that band that I didn't have before. So at some point I'll include Le Tigre here as well.

I added something new as well. I am now posting the lyrics to the song in the popup window. So you can sing along if you like!

It was a real pain to figure out that I needed to change my.js script to make sure the popups now have scrollbars in them, figure out what size to make the width to eliminate left to write scrolling then having the realization that all my old photo popups from back in the pre-hello photo posting days aren't quite sized right anymore. Since those are so old I don't care that much. I'm just glad I got this working finally. PHEW. Anyways, fun isn't it?

I've really missed this type of webpage tinkering in the last couple of years. I'm having so much fun with this stuff again!

Over the past month there has been lots of drama. Lots of issues and lots of problems. I spent awhile venting via posts then I finally stopped, archived those posts and moved on. Yesterday I went to a party and ran into lots of different people. A few of those people were people that I had issues with.

What I realized from all this though was this: People really like to hear you say you're sorry but they don't have to say it themselves. What I know is this: I'm tired of telling everyone I'm sorry. I have said I'm sorry to just about everyone that I should have. My crime? The crime of saying anything to anyone ever. Because honestly, people talk and when they talk, someone somewhere will find out what was said by whom and then you become the scapegoat for whatever may have happened. Logically, you should think about what you've done wrong or been doing wrong in the first place. Not about how to place the blame on someone else.

I bring this up because I have a friend that I apologized to. They accepted, things were okay. Then something happened to bring that up again. They freaked out on me. I was offended. I then realized maybe this wasn't the type of friend I should have anymore. I see said friend at a party. I bring up the situation and let them know, hey, I'm not happy about what happened. They say, well get over it, let's just pretend it never happened. This bothers me. Hey, where's the I'm sorry I was a jerk to you? Where's they hey, yeah that sucked. Instead its like oh just forget it. I have another friend with similar issues. His deal is he can't take any sort of serious talks or critcisms. If I say hey what you did to me was really disturbing/hurt my feelings etc. He gets angry and defensive and won't talk about it.

I'm worn out. I want to have friends where if things go wrong we can discuss it and come out of the situation a little wiser and treat each other better. I don't want to have to say I'm sorry for every little thing yet never hear I'm sorry back for anything anyone else does. It's time to take responsibility for our actions here! Forgive those that hurt us, and hopefully be forgiven by those we hurt. Plus saying I'm sorry always helps. Truly.

Which brings me to what made me write all this. I saw a movie the other day called "Old Boy". It was a disturbing dramatic Korean movie. It's not horror, but maybe more like psychological terror with lots of violence. I liked a lot of the movie, but there were parts that would never end. Like the last segment of the movie before it finally ends. I also wound up questioning the motivation of the main character Oh Dae-Su a lot... anyways, I'm not sure if it's a must see. More like a 'see'.

Okay this next part is a SPOILER. So don't read any further if you don't want to know anything about this movie and plan on seeing it.
*
*
*
*
*
*
So a lot of terrible things happen to Oh Dae-Su with a total time span of a little over 15 years. Someone wants revenge on him and he has to figure out after being imprisoned by this person for 15 years without being spoken to, why? What did he do that was so bad? Well what he did was he said something that he saw. He saw something in school one day when he was young that wasn't right. He told his best friend about it then moved away to a bigger city to go to a new school. What he said was repeated by his friend to many others. As a result the parties involved were damaged irrevocably.

Years and years later after Oh Dae-Su has a wife and a young child he is taken one night on the street. He finds himself imprisoned in a room, with a fake window, wallpaper, a bed, a bathroom and shower and a tv. All in all, its a comfortable room. He has pen and paper to write journals and so on. But what he doesn't have is human contact or anyone to talk to. Meanwhile his wife outside is murdered and his daughter sent away to a foster home in Sweden. He is implicated in the murder even though he's trapped in this room. This goes on for 15 insane years. Until one day he's finally released. At this point the person who wants revenge on him sets into motion scary/creepy tactics of revenge on Oh Dae Su telling him he has 5 days to figure what he did and why this person wants revenge on him or someone he is close to will be killed.

Anyways, watch it if you want to see the full story. What was appalling to me about all of this is the person who was seeking revenge did something really wrong. But because Oh Dae-Su saw it and repeated it to one person, his best friend, who couldn't keep a secret all of these terrible terrible things happen to Oh Dae Su. He must be punished for seeing it, for not keeping his mouth shut about it. That's pretty extreme. By the way they're going to do an American remake of this. Old Boy was originally a japanese comic book. It has some graphic storylines in it that I wonder if filmakers will add into the remake. They really should because that's what drives the whole story. I don't think they should chop apart the plot.
*
*
*
*
*
*
While I don't see anything particularly bad happening to me for what I said, I do see the issues that are caused by it and I feel the hatred that people have for me for saying anything at all. So one day I'm hoping these things die down but until then I continue to cherish the good friends I do have and look for new friends to forge new friendships with. I am a believer in the idea that things do work themselves out eventually and that despite how bad things may be now they will always get better. Plus I know with me out there seeking new things, others will have to look elsewhere to find someone to blame for things. I won't be around to be blamed anymore.

Yes I've done wrong things too but I've said my peace to those that deserve that being said to. I've said my I'm sorry's. If I missed any I hope those people will let me know. In the meantime I'm not going to wait around for certain I'm sorry's I'm owed. I'm just going to move on. So here's to forward momentum!

Have you heard of an Erasure song called Breathe from their last album Nightbirds? This is actually a fairly recent album which came out in January. The album version of Breathe is very pop'y and electronic'y. I just bought Ultra Chilled 05 the other day and there is the most beautiful version of it on this album. It's an acoustic version and I can't stop listening to it.

I haven't been into Erasure in years and years, but I used to love them in high school and I saw them live during the Cowboy tour. What a tour! Andy Bell in a black super shiny patent leather cowboy outfit riding a giant swan with glitter raining down everywhere. They sure know how to do it up right. If you haven't already read this online somewhere lead singer Andy Bell announced back in December that he has been living with HIV for the last 6 years. He doesn't have AIDS and he says his life expectancy shouldn't be any less than anyone else's. I love his voice so much and I'm glad he's doing well.

Btw, I'm too lazy to link every single reference in here so either I'll do it later or else you can suffer OR you could look them up yourself! Amazing!

Here's an excerpt of the lyrics....

Breathe and I breathe
Hollow without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you

Breathe I believe
Empty without you I can't live without you
And I'm in love with you

Not much to them but when you hear the song you just can't help singing along. It's perfect car driving/showering sing along type music. I'll provide a 1-2 day embedded stream in a popup window right here for you to listen to if you're interested. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about the song. (Note: The song is gone now, sorry!)

I always say leave a comment and hardly anyone ever does... come on you lurkers! Well... okay, I had this one post awhile back where I got a ton of comments... it's because no one knew what the name of a certain song in a certain movie was and if you combine the words "song", that movie title and the word "main" that post comes up as the first hit on Google. Neat huh? I typed something about dating and it sucking into google and my blog post about that topic was the second highest hit. Pretty cool. Weird, but cool.

Okay the Cocteau Twins canceled... BOOOO! BOOOOOOOOOOO! I really wanted to see them again but they weren't going to tour so that was a big indicator that this was iffy to begin with. Particularly since they love to fight and break up. The lineup seems to have changed a tad too.

My picks are marked with **. If you have any recommendations for me please leave a comment. Also let me know what YOUR picks are, even if you're not going! I'll be going both days. Oh and just because I picked the bands on here doesn't mean I'll necessarily see them all since Saturday we'll most likely go later to the show then we will on Sunday. I just realize how "indie rock'd" out I'll be after this weekend. Like one long episode of the O.C.! Sweet!

Finally, does anyone have any info yet on the lineup and times? I assume that this list is a rough idea of how the lineups will go but since there will be multiple shows going on at the same time it may be tricky (i hate that part. you'd be watching one must see show while another was going on. i jumped between the white stripes and thievery corporation year before last, they were both great though!)

DAY 1 - Saturday April 30th

Coldplay ** (I don't care what you say I really like coldplay)
Bauhaus ** (absolutely MUST SEE!)
Weezer **
The Chemical Brothers ** (must see! haven't seen them in years)
Wilco **
Keane **
Snow Patrol **
Rilo Kiley **
Cafe Tacuba
Doves **
Sage Francis
The Raveonettes ** (they're great)
Bloc Party ** (must see! 3x to SF and they keep selling out)
Mercury Rev
Fantomas ** (love mike patton! weird band though)
Hernan Cattaneo
Spoon
Zap Mama
Dj Peretz
Jamie Cullum
M83
Ambulance LTD
Four Tet
MF Doom
Josh Wink
Amp Fiddler
Tiga
The Kills
UNKLE - James Lavelle ** (wow cool but alas a maybe)
The Secret Machines ** (umm any good? can't recall)
Boom Bip
Swayzak
Dj Marky
Immortal Technique
Jean Grae
Razorlight
Katie Melua
Radio 4
Buck 65
Nic Armstrong And The Thieves
Gratitude
Eisley
The Sexy Magazines
k-os

Day 2 - Sunday May 1st

Nine Inch Nails ** (3rd, maybe 4th time seeing NIN, can't wait!)
New Order ** (why not! haven't seen them since high school)
Bright Eyes ** (love to see!)
Gang of Four ** (take it or leave it but maybe)
The Prodigy ** (Definitely! Saw them years ago, LOVE them!)
Black Star
The Faint ** (they are touring with and play for bright eyes which is basically one guy)
Roni Size with Dynamite MC ** (take it or leave it but maybe)
Armin Van Buuren ** (take it or leave it but maybe)
The Arcade Fire ** (must see!)
Pinback
Roots Manuva
Dj Krush ** (Love him!)
Z-Trip
Thrice
Junkie XL
M.I.A.
British Sea Power
The Dresden Dolls ** (any good? I can't recall)
Miss Kittin
The Fiery Furnaces
Ben Watt
Aesop Rock
The Perceptionists
Jem **
Autolux
Donavon Frankenreiter
Sixtoo
Tegan and Sara
Stereophonics **
The Bravery ** (missed their recent SF show)
Matthew Dear
Diplo
Subtle
Beans
Shout Out Louds
The Futureheads ** (may see them in June anyways)
Sloan
Kasabian ** (saw them in march, they were great!)
The Blood Brothers
Matmos
Wolf Eyes
The Locust
Gram Rabbit
Smokestacks
Zion l
Midlake

Here's your pink set FINALLY DONE! I swear I'm mailing it today or tomorrow via priority mail. I even got a nice box for it at the beadshop and finished the earrings tonight. Honestly I wanted to box it and then I was like, sheesh I should try and get these earrings done. They're not perfect but I think they'll be okay. Just adjust as you need to, little bend here and here won't hurt them. Beware though of bouncing around with them in. I lost one earring at a show last month doing that!


Ta da!

Brought to you by... David Lynch!

If you go to http://www.davidlynch.com you'll see a link for the Daily Weather Report on the bottom left. Allow popups, click on this link and wait a couple of minutes for a quicktime to load where David Lynch will tell you the weather report for THAT very day!

He's just as kooky as ever too. I love David Lynch.

Once again I can't sleep. So here are some quotes that I really like.

"Retribution often means that we eventually do to ourselves what we have done unto others" - Eric Hoffer

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours." - Wayne Dyer

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." - Mahatma Ghandi

"Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on." - Alice Miller

"Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation" - Roberto Assagioli

"Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another" - Jean Paul Richter

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." - Bill Gates

"Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated." - George Bernard Shaw

"In revenge and in love, woman is more barbarous than man" - Friedrich Nietzsche

"The superior man blames himself. The inferior man blames others." - Don Shula

"Whatever one of us blames in another, each one will find in his own heart." - Seneca

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them" - George Bernard Shaw

"You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else" - Anonymous

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." - Kahlil Gibran

"What we do is never understood, but only praised and blamed." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." - Anonymous

"If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I will." - Anonymous

Oh my gosh! I just found this post about voting to save shows on another blog.

USA Today is doing a survey that they're submitting to the networks to let them know what shows people want to keep or drop. I don't watch any of the shows on this list except for Arrested Development. One of my all time favorites shows! This show must NOT be canceled. Please GO HERE and vote to KEEP Arrested Development! It's one of the smartest and funniest shows on TV and deserves a third season. It's so horribly underated yet it's the best thing on TV there is, aside from Aqua Teen Hunger Force that is... anyways...

HURRY before it's too late!

My domain name turned 8, March 2nd! Happy Frickin' Birthday! And no, I'm not selling it, unless you offer me one trillion dollars!



Btw, I found this great birthday picture via google and someone's profile on myspace. I love this picture! Why? Well, it's from one of my all time favorite games, Animal Crossing. It also features the "lovely" furniture set which was one my favorites in the game.

Here's a picture of the "lovely" wallpaper you can get for your desktop via the animal crossing website.



Yes yes, mock away...

Your Tuesday Horoscope Marian!

Good relations are possible today; as your every word is accepted with pleasure by the people you most need to convince. This happy chain of events could lead to you taking chances on romance, which is also favored.

- OR -

Quickie: Write out your thoughts, and you'll have a clearer idea of what you mean.

Overview: For the next month, you'll need to be more discreet than you like. In other words, even if someone asks you a direct question -- your favorite -- you may need to respond with an extremely indirect answer.

Daily singles love: Don't expect the cutie patootie you've got your eye on to be a mind reader. Sure, they're talented, but ESP is too much to ask. Why not try asking them out -- ASAP!

Weekly romance: Sweet little notions translate easily into action on Monday -- go ahead and ask that cutie out or slip a love note into your honey's lunch. Ignore the gossip and chatter on Tuesday and Wednesday, choosing instead to organize your nest and your head (cobwebs out, freshness in). Thursday, Friday and Saturday are made for romance (lucky you!). Birds are singing, bees are buzzing and your heart's going pitter-pat, whether you're coupled-up or developing a new crush every five minutes. Cultivate some deep-soul awareness on Sunday, and you'll be rewarded with a heartening insight.

----------
Sometimes this stuff is right on and sometimes it's just plain silly! I like today's horrorscope. Can I have this one please? Thanks!

You know, where are the comments about interesting fun stuff? Or the hey how ya doin' comments? Where's the comments about art, music, movies, etc? I only get tons of comments about the negative dramatic stuff. Give me a break! I don't mind the "hang in" there comments, but it would be nice to start a dialogue about something interesting and enriching versus a comment war about why this that or the other is the right or wrong thing to do/say. Come on people! Help me out here! Although I have to say, I don't mind the comments about thought provoking general stuff like relationships etc. I just want to stay away from the more direct personal topics.

And don't leave me some crappy comment about how I don't write about anything interesting otherwise. If that were true then why the heck do you keep reading, huh?

Sorry, just a little public service announcement there.... Oh btw, did I mention that last night I dreamed I went to India with the circus, and everyone kept saying how hot it was but I felt fine in long pants? Also my dream revolved around some huge drama with lots of swimming out to barges, on my part, and rescuing cute elephants that loved me. So what the heck does THAT mean? I have the weirdest dreams... seriously.

So Personal Stories is the current leader in my poll about what people want to read about. I mentioned this in an earlier post. Yes people like to read about your life, particularly your inner workings and dramas.

At this time though I have to say that personal posts/dramas/issues etc. have gotten a wee bit out of hand. So if you're perusing my blog you'll notice that some posts have been archived aka removed from my blog. They will stay removed for an indefinite amount of time which most likely means a very long long time. It was pointed out to me by a friend that such posts could be very inflamatory. I know I meant some of them to be inflamatory at the time but those times have come and gone.

Now is the time to start writing about something new and different. So no your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, there are missing posts. Yes, they will stay missing for awhile. So no, no need to keep checking back anytime soon for them to reappear.

Jess posted about this song by Lamb in her blog. You can read a bit more about it there. I realized when listening to this song tonight that Nicole Kidman sings the first line or two from this song in Moulin Rouge. I'm not sure if that little tidbit is on either of the Moulin Rouge soundtracks and I can't remember what scene it's in but I know it's in there.

Anyways, the lyrics to this song are incredible. If you've never read them you should and if you've never heard this song you should download it. It's so damn sappy. I love it. Thanks Jess for posting about this. You have the BEST taste in music. I'm so glad you're making cds for my cousin because I know she'll be getting great music.

Here ya go:

Gorecki by Lamb

If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
Still my heart this moment
Or it might burst
Could we stay right here
Until the end of time until the earth stops turning
Wanna love you until the seas run dry
I've found the one I've waited for

All this time I've loved you
And never known your face
All this time I've missed you
And searched this human race
Here is true peace
Here my heart knows calm
Safe in your soul
Bathed in your sighs
Wanna stay right here
Until the end of time
'Til the earth stops turning
Gonna love you until the seas run dry
I've found the one I've waited for

The one I've waited for

All I've known
All I've done
All I've felt was leading to this
All I've known
All I've done
All I've felt was leading to this
Wanna stay right here
'Til the end of time 'till the earth stops turning
I'm gonna love you till the seas run dry
I've found the one I've waited for
The one I've waited for
The one I've waited for

Wanna stay right here
'Til the end of time 'till the earth stops turning
I'm gonna love you till the seas run dry
I've found the one I've waited for
The one I've waited for
The one I've waited for

I made this quiz about me. If you think you know me well enough take this quiz and see what score you get!

The Marian Quiz!

Remember, all the questions are about me.

It's such a nice day out. A slight chill is in the air but the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and flowers are blooming. How cliche huh? I like moments like these. I feel content, at peace and generally happy.


Bottlebrush tree on my patio, taken just now...

I'm watching this movie today. It's strange, yet melancholy, sad and lovely. I really like the soundtrack too. Primarily the instrumentals and the main instrumental theme. If you haven't seen this movie there are some quotes in it that are recited by Kirsten Dunst. I found this article with the quotes and I'm excerpting it here for you:
-----
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind revolves around two quotes. The first is from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard," in which the poet takes on the voice of a young woman at war (as all of Pope's protagonists seem to be on some level) between feelings of love and religiosity:

How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

The second is from Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, Part VII: "Blessed are the forgetful: for they shall have done with their stupidities too."
-----

I love these quotes and the moments they are said during the movie. Particularly the first quote, a very melancholy moment with warm memories.

This movie makes me wonder... is it a good idea to "erase" someone from your memory? If it's meant to be would you wind up possibly meeting and connecting with them again at some point in the future? Do you learn something from the people you go out with, no matter how bad the relationship might have been? Are the things you learn important in your own personal growth? Would erasing those things limit how you progress?

Sometimes I wish I could erase my last few relationships from my memory. But then I would have never known Chris 1. We may have not worked out relationship-wise but we're friends now and I love talking to him. He makes me laugh all the time and we love a lot of the same things. He's still my buddy. Honestly though, I think I learn from my mistakes. I learn from the ones I wish I could forget. I learn where my weaknesses lie and where I need to do better for myself.

Would I erase my last relationship? I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Who knows though, I'll probably get positive things from that one as well. As I said above, I learn from my mistakes. I really do. I just need to remember what I've learned and stick by it!

I wanted to see this movie in the theater because duh... there's a ton of hot guys in it! Eric Bana! Orlando Bloom! Brad Pitt! Seriously! My friend Dave saw it though and said it totally sucked. Well I FINALLY watched the DVD of it tonight. While it wasn't the best movie ever. I seriously had to rewind multiple Brad Pitt scenes. Holy crap was he HOT in this movie. He was ON FIRE. Man, poor Jennifer Aniston. Gosh I'd stay married to him just to stare at him naked periodically. Woof!

Oh well he's probably annoying or something in reality. I read he likes to sing and play folk guitar or something fruity like that. Neat. Anyways, if you like bronzed muscled out men than this movie is for you. If anything any scene where Achilles/Brad Pitt has to kick butt is SO cool you'll want to rewind those as well to see him do his "thing". This movie's a keeper based on those bits alone.

Don't you just love my movie reviews? So insightful, so detailed. Hey I'm just getting to the point here. Hot guys, kind of annoying dumb characters. Hot Guys. Hot Brad Pitt. Cool Brad Pitt Fight Scenes. Errr 3 out of 4 stars based on the Hot Guy factor? Yup, hot guys. Uh huh. I think I need a new boyfriend soon... Phew, it's hot in here.

Here's a message from friend Theo, who works for Gearhead Magazine. The new issue's out and I DEFINITELY plan on picking one up! It looks great!

---------------------------------------

Hey All,

As you may already know the new issue of Gearhead is out. This by far is one of the best ones ever. If you're interested in picking one up go to

AXIS RECORDS AND COMICS
2877 Chapman St.
Oakland, CA 94601
(510) 534-5269
http://www.AxisRecordsandComics.com
or go to
http://www.gearheadmagazine.com

Also if you or any one you know is interested in advertising email me at theo@gearheadmagazine.com

Cheers,

Theo

COVER STORIES: Ed "Big Daddy" Roth tribute, AFI's Davey Havok ARTICLES ON: The Asphalt Invitational, a veritable mountain of Roth stuff REGULAR FEATURES: The Editor Speaks, The New Editor Speaks, Big Nate's Video Roundup, Bobo Tech, Sniffin' Glue w/Chas, The Guitar Whore, Record Reviews CAR OF THE ISSUE: The Beatnik Bandit (Center Spread) OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST: The first issue after nearly four years absence!
First advertisement from one of the Big Three. First issue w/ Dave at the helm, and only the second issue in history to be entirely laid out by one person. First issue since the massive famousness of The Hives.
FIRST APPEARANCE OF: Davey G. Johnson, The Guitar Whore NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN: The 90’s!
PICTURE OF MIKE KISSING: Davey Havok of AFI SOUNDTRACK OF THE ERA: Neko Case, Million Dollar Marxists, Articles of Faith, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Smokey and the Bandit Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
AVAILABILITY: You know it! $5

I was having trouble sleeping so I thought I'd post a photo of all of us in bed. Minus the kitty of course who hates Toby. As we all know.


Curly Bunny, Toby, Me and My Retainer (hehe)

Well it's been 72 hours since the end of Mercury Retrograde, hallelujah! Things are seemingly getting mellower and mellower for me (I hope). Yes, I know it's hard to believe. I got lots done today and I'm in a pretty good mood.

Here's Friday's Horrorscope for your amusement. The romance ones are hokey but sometimes I like to include them. Once again, this is a GEMINI horrorscope. Thanks.

Quickie: Face it: You can't always get what you want. Try not to take it so personally.

Overview: You can come out now. After days of wondering who the stranger behind your steering wheel was, you're suddenly feeling more like your old self -- and beginning to think about how to make compromises between the new and the old.

Daily singles love: Money and material things are on your mind, and you may feel cranky if you can't get what you want right now. Don't let this attitude spread to your love life -- patience will serve you much better.

Weekly romance: Something that's been limiting your heart in a most frustrating way can be banished at the beginning of the week. How? Just by doing what you do best -- meeting people, talking your head off and generating amazing new ideas in the realm of romance. Your powers of flirtation are superhuman from Monday through Wednesday, so use them for good. Don't be cranky if you get left out on Thursday or Friday; it's better that way, and you'll get included in (or create) even more fun this weekend. Engage your intellect along with your seductive sparkle, and you're unstoppable through Sunday.

I saw this list on someone's blog and thought I'd do one myself. Yup, up late again and yup, I need to be up early tomorrow to take my car in to get a part fixed on it due to a recall of all models of my car from '03-'05. Woo!

Okay here goes:

THE FIRST...

First best friend: Melissa Allen (now Avesian), first grade, Flint, Michigan.

First car: '75 or '76 (?) Red Saab. It was my mom's.

First real kiss: I think his name was Matt Burton. Total new waver, sophmore year of High School I believe.

First break-up: David Stein. First real boyfriend when I was 16. We lasted 6 months. I broke up with him. He just got married a week ago actually! Yup, we're still friends after all these years.

First screen name: Violet

First album: Sesame Street Fever. The first one that I remember loving to death at least.

First funeral: My mom's.

First pet: Sheba. Half german shephard, half white mutt. She died of Strychnine poisoning when we lived in africa. She didn't make it past 6 months.

First piercing: My ears, when I was 9.

First credit card: Amex Corp Card at my first job out of college way back when.

First true love: Probably Sam, no last name please. I can only embarass myself so much on the internet.

THE LAST...

Last cigarette: 4 years ago this November.

Last car ride: Today, drove myself home from Albertsons after a food buying extravaganza!

Last good cry: Monday night.

Last library book checked out: It's been awhile. Probably something about gardening?

Last beverage drank: Iced Tea. I just love the stuff!

Last food consumed: Strawberries.

Last phone call: Theo and Shawna. On the phone with one, then the other called.

Last time showered: This morning before work.

Last shoes worn: Black rocketdog flats.

Last CD played: Morrissey - You are the Quarry.

Last item bought: $244 worth of groceries at Albertsons. I won't have to eat out for awhile!

Last annoyance: Some stupid girl that f'ed me over.

Last disappointment: The same stupid girl that f'ed me over.

Last time wanting to die: Errr.

Last shirt worn: Citrine green off the shoulder flash dance style t-shirt.

Last word you said: "Toby".

Last song you sang: "I Have Forgiven Jesus" by Morrissey, this evening while blogging.

What is in your CD player?: Killers, Green Day, Beck, Morrissey, Kasabian, The Hives (6 disc cd player in my car)

What color socks are you wearing?: None. Generally I hate socks.

What Color underwear are you wearing? Green.

What's under your bed?: Under bed storage bins with about 600 CDs in them.

Okay I'm listening to Morrissey tonight. No I'm not buring candles, and writing in my journal in the dark. Um. I'm blogging and the light is on okay?

Anyways, the album is his latest called "You are the Quarry". This is an excellent album and I think if you like this type of stuff you should go out and buy it now.

My particular faves are "I Have Forgiven Jesus", "The World is Full of Crashing Bores" and "I'm Not Sorry" which I'm listening to now. You know, the whole album is just great regardless. The lyrics are so good too.

"This world is full, oh oh oh, so full of crashing bores, And I must be one cuz no one ever turns to me to say, 'Take me in your arms... Take me in your arms and love me'"

Dear Marian,
Here is your horoscope
for Tuesday, April 12:

Quickie: Patience is learned, not inherent. Next time, take a deep breath before you speak.

Overview: That long, strange trip you've been on? It's about to come to a rapid-fire close -- over the next 72 hours. Doesn't sound quick -- unless you consider the past three long, strange weeks you've been enduring.

-----------------

Mercury Retrograde ended at 12:45am April 12th. So it's finally over. Wow, what a horrible ride it's been. Time for some real changes now.

This is my love muffin, porkpie, Toby pooch. I have a cat too, but she's mean and not very cuddly. So Toby gets to be the spoiled one.

Note how his little tongue is poking out of his mouth. This is in anticipation of the treat that I'm holding up above the camera in order to get him to sit up and look my way. All he really cares about is food. Honestly.



Yup, that's a teacup tissue holder posed next to him. Har. Too bad his yellow ribbon doesn't show up so well. He got groomed today and my new groomer likes to put ribbons on him. So very fruity for a boy dog.

Thanks to Chris the first (otherwise known as Chris 1 or Chris the only 1 as I like to call him now) for passing on this wonderful link to pet hair dye products.

Pet Esthe, for those moments when you want to clown out your dog.

Don't think I won't be contacting my friends in Paris to get me some of this crap. I mean Toby does have some white on his legs, face and butt. It's workable!



March 2007 Update:
Apparently Pet Esthe doesn't sell pet hair dye anymore. Although you can get some lovely pet hair and nail products from them now. I got an email inquriing about this, hence the update. I did read somewhere though that a woman in Australia was succesfully dying her pets hair with Fudge hair color. That's the stuff I used to use to dye my hair red before I switched to Special Effects and started doing my hair purple. It's considerd semi-permanent hair-dye and is pretty mild to humans at least. I'm sure that whatever they were selling to dye dog hair with was probably somewhat similar. I'd be careful using any type of dye on your pooch though. Maybe do a test patch first.

Labels: dog

I forgot to wish my blog Happy Second Birthday on the 4th of April! Two years of ramblings by ME! How lucky are you guys? HUH?

Oh how I wish you could see how beautiful those earrings turned out. They were fabulous. Unfortunately first night out wearing them I was at a show bouncing around and one fell out. The other one I left at someone's house who I'll never see again so I doubt I'll get that one back. So very sad. They were great though and this lousy pic is the best I have of it. I am going to try and re-create them though! I have a visit to the bead shop planned tomorrow to make a new kind of necklace so I'll pick up some more of these earring beads.

The second image is the necklace I finished for Michelle. It's a bit twisty but once it's on it will lay fine. It's also about an inch and a half shorter than my original but the original one I made was a bit long. This one is probably just her size.

Michelle! If you're reading this I emailed you about your addy and I'm still waiting to hear back on where to send this to! Thanks!!


Silver spiral heavy gauge wire around gold/pink shimmer abstract bead

Peacock necklace in gold with pink swarovski crystals for Dave's sister Michelle

Short post. GO SEE IT NOW! AMAZING! My friend Jeremy said he'd sit through it all over again once it was over. It was that good. Don't listen to those crap reviews! It was so good... I'll definitely be seeing it again!! It was so much fun seeing it on the digital screen with like 8 of us. Awesome! Lots of people to hash it over with when you're done! Definitely lots to talk about. Great comic too. Read it AND see it!

I really liked my horrorscope for today. So if you're a gemini, enjoy. If not at least I've posted it here for posterity. That is until AI and machines take over the planet and human life as we know it ceases to exist including any records of our lives. Hah.

Marian's Daily Gemini Forecast

Quickie: Everything is happening all at once, when all you really want is a nice, hot bath.
(If only I had a bathtub! Maybe I should hit a hot tub place?)

Overview: Don't worry about being too serious. Everyone will be feeling that way. If you have to worry, worry about your reaction when someone plays an April Fools' joke that's a bit too close for comfort -- because they certainly should.
(Not sure about the april fool's joke but the everyone too serious bit is oh so true lately)

Daily singles love:
Your restless heart makes you an impossible romantic mess. April fool! Anyone who can keep up with you gets a free-spirited romp, and anyone you'll take long-term is a lucky lover indeed.
(Eh guys suck anyways. Nice sentiment though.)