- MCMLXVI
- Level: 15 (66%)
- Rank: Nobunaga's Ambition
- Member since: Nov 9, 2005
- Last online: 12/16/09 6:09 pm PT
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My Home-- But You're the Star
The part of MCMLXVI is played by Mark Susskind.
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29Aug 09So, I guess there's no "Going Hurricane" in store for Tropical Storm Danny, and Going Depression isn't exciting at all.
- Posted Aug 29, 2009 9:55 am PT
- Category: Writing
- 0 Comments
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17Aug 09
What have I been doing with myself for the past seven months and change? Hard to say! Certainly nothing deep and thought-provoking, or I would have chimed in before now. I've been spending time Favorite'ing videos on YouTube {marasu66}. I recently joined Twitter {marasu66} and Facebook {id=1547251291}, but I don't know how long I will keep it up; frankly, they leave me a little cold. I still work at Kennedy Airport for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but my workload has been reduced. I still watch cartoons, mostly on Nickelodeon, and the local news, but I have been shutting off the national/international news a lot lately-- the discord over Health Care reform hurts my simple mind. I have not read any good books lately, and I have not seen any good movies lately. I have seen museum exhibits recently, but I was basically unmoved by them. I recently started being treated for yet another medical condition. I still have no girlfriend-- not that I'd been trying for one. I still have no offline friends except for my coworkers, who try to be friendly to me, but I just can't seem to return their friendship. Maybe I need to take up meditation?
- Posted Aug 17, 2009 5:41 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 2 Comments
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1Jan 09
One of my compact fluorescent bulbs recently burned out-- with a real fire. Fortunately, it was a small fire that didn't damage anything but the bulb, and not so bad that I couldn't remove the bulb. At first, I didn't know what was happening when it went dark except for a little wave of light. Then I smelled the smoke. Is it really supposed to do that?! I was airing my room out for a couple hours, and it was cold that night
.- Posted Jan 1, 2009 1:38 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 3 Comments
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3Dec 08
Have some candy! I remembered getting Hopjes coffee candies as a child. And, you know, a child, and coffee? Well, I won't draw you a picture. Instead, I'll just throw on up some wallpaper I found on the web. Have some Hopjes coffee candy!
- Posted Dec 3, 2008 5:06 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 1 Comment
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14Oct 08
Seems I'm having a spot of trouble coming up with new blog entries. It's just that, once I've contemplated Creation and the nature of the Universe, it's tough to build on it. Perhaps I need to go smaller? I probably can't go much smaller than my outside life.
The highlight of recent weeks could only be the time I spent at religious services. The home base of my religious services is The Village Temple
, but many of our High Holy Days services were in the Great Hall of The Cooper Union due to space-- I mean: capacity-- issues. Then, there was the Tashlich service, which took place at The Hudson River Park off Christopher Street. I usually get at least one chance a week to see different faces and hear different people, so I don't wanna' blow it, especially now, when I don't visit the live music scene anymore. Tashlich, Havdalah, and Shabbat services are usually the most fun I manage to have all year.Along with having a small outside life, I usually have the predicament of scheduling annual leave (vacation time) throughout the year, but, still, I postpone it until my Use-or-Lose time becomes a problem. This year, I managed to schedule time off for Passover and the High Holy Days already, but I still had lots of time left over that I didn't finish scheduling until earlier this month. I settled on one-day-long holidays every week for the rest of the year, starting tomorrow. My way of commemorating the holiday this time is to donate platelets tomorrow morning, and then see where the day takes me from there
.- Posted Oct 14, 2008 7:12 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 1 Comment
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11Sep 08Lookee what someone did
; that's not right, right?
- Posted Sep 11, 2008 5:28 pm PT
- Category: Humor
- 8 Comments
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1Sep 08
I played my iTunes copy of Sozin's Comet again, but this time I copied down what the spiritual lion-turtle was saying to Aang. Now I need to figure out what it all means
.Lion-Turtle: The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purified light.
In the chapter The Guru (near the end of Book Two: Earth), the chakra system was briefly explained to me. Afterwards, I went looking for more information on the chakra system. Now, here comes another guru describing what seems like a way to circumvent the chakra system. Instead of having seven pools of energy, enlightenment could be sought from merely two points, as long as they were "true". What would constitute a true mind and a true heart?
Lion-Turtle: In the era before the avatar, we bend not the elements but the energy within ourselves. To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed.
Does this mean that, if Aang practices this energy bending, he could recruit volunteers to become airbenders and rebuild the Air Nomads? I find that idea
fascinating
.- Posted Sep 1, 2008 3:47 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 4 Comments
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21Aug 08
According to astrology, the constellation that our sun was eclipsing at the time of your birth will affect you your entire life, like a rope always tugging on you. But a rope has two ends-- if something so distant has such a walloping effect on me and my fellow Geminis, I wonder how many Geminis it would take to tug the constellation back. If astrology reports tell us we're headed for bad times, but then we find ourselves amidst good times, what kind of affect would we have on Gemini? Would it disrupt the heavens?
Who's up for joining me in a test of our effect on our astrological constellations?
- Posted Aug 21, 2008 3:38 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 3 Comments
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31Jul 08
- Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:58 pm PT
- Category: Fashion
- 8 Comments
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16Jul 08
In the days before my trip to Omaha, I heard a song sung by Cathy Dennis called "Too Many Walls" in two different stores. The first time, I thought Ahh! The second time, I thought Ooh! I went to look for Cathy Dennis songs on YouTube, starting with "Too Many Walls". I mostly remembered her for that song, her pop dance track "Touch Me", and her team-up with a fellow who calls himself D-Mob called "C'mon and Get My Love".
Yesterday, I heard another blast from the past while I was attending a complimentary happy hour at my hotel, a song sung by Tasmin Archer called "Sleeping Satellite". I remember this song the most for the fact that I bought the CD, but found myself only liking that song {not the rest of the CD
}.Well, it's time for another happy hour, and I've missed half of it. I hope the fond memories will keep on coming!
**Youtube glitch? "We're sorry, this video is no longer available," on videos I just watched?
**
- Posted Jul 16, 2008 4:00 pm PT
- Category: Music
- 2 Comments
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8Jul 08
Here I am, using my new notebook computer, an ASUS Eee PC 900 with built-in 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity running a Linux operating system, which is actually what J&R Computer World calls a "sub-notebook", and what CompUSA calls an "ultra-mobile PC". I bought it from J&R's retail store in downtown Manhattan ahead of my business trip to Omaha next week. The last time I was away at training, April 2007, I didn't have a computer to take with me, so I had to use the hotel's complimentary computer to check in with tv.com and my business's webmail system.
It's definitely something I need to get used to using. I can't willy-nilly go updating the web browser and the Adobe Reader, as I am wont to do, because they seem to be coded into the operating system. The keyboard is a little tight, but I have managed to do a little touch-typing on it. I can't really hold down the keys for automatic repeat because its performance is uneven, and then, suddenly, I get more action than I intended. However, it should be pretty good for staying in touch at internet on-ramps.
See you from the road (G-dwilling)!
- Posted Jul 8, 2008 5:24 pm PT
- Category: Technology
- 1 Comment
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5Jul 08
In April, I was informed that I would be joining the employees of my region in traveling the week of July 14-18 to Omaha, Nebraska to train in using a new reporting system. I never used to go along with my coworkers outside of my region (Northeast USA region) for training, but they must have discovered money in the budget to ship me as well this time, or maybe it had something to do with my position being upgraded a couple years ago. I suppose I am overdue for intense new training; there is a part of my job that is still being done the same way it was when I started this job nearly 19 years ago.
This would also be my first flight ever, and I felt nervous. The booking part was easy because my supervisor started me off; she was able to book my flight when she booked hers. Booking the hotel was only a matter of calling them to confirm a room, but I wanted to see what it would take for me to get to La Guardia Airport. I knew where to pick up a bus to go there (the M60 bus along 125th Street), and I knew that the E subway line connects with a bus that goes there. One Saturday afternoon, I took the 6 train to Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street. After several minutes, the M60 bus came, but it was a little crowded. I stayed on the bus until we got to one of the parking areas at the airport, not knowing if the bus stopped any closer to the passengers' entrance. When I got off, I looked around for clues as to where I should walk. I finally decided on something, but it was not the most direct route to the passengers' entrance.
Once inside, I looked around for where I might need to go. I was on the ground floor for a while, and I found the information area. I saw on the counter other ways I could take to get to the airport. After browsing the leaflets, I thought that the SuperShuttle would be the best thing for me to take. Now that I had decided on that, I decided to browse the terminal some more. It was nice. I thought it would be cramped inside, but there seems to be enough room for crowds to move around. The second level had lots of shops, but I don't think I'd be in the right frame of mind to peruse many stores before my flight {maybe I'd feel better after my return?}. I returned to the ground floor, where I got a bus {I think it was the Q32 bus} to the E train; this bus was nearly vacant, since the bus starts at the airport. That night, I booked the SuperShuttle over the Web. So what if I need to be outside my apartment building by 3:50 AM*yawn*?
Now comes the strange part: just about every time I play Freecell now, I remembered my little day of adventure, and I see some bus view in my mind. The thing is, I don't remember if this bus view was going to the airport or leaving it. I am starting to think it's actually my ride toward the airport, but with the near vacancy of the bus leaving the airport. I wonder why I would think that while I was playing Freecell? Maybe I conceived of the idea to travel to the airport while I was playing Freecell? I just think it's funny-- funny-ha-ha
and funny-strange.In other news, I need to watch new shows so I can be a little busier on TV .com. Lemme see if I can find the summer shows again
. Ah, here it is.- Posted Jul 5, 2008 7:31 pm PT
- Category: Travel
- 3 Comments
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1Jul 08
Some of you may know BlogThings.com for their fun
/silly/stacked
tests. Well, I am kept apprised of new BlogThings through their RSS. Today I saw in my mail, "The Fireworks Test", so, I thought, "hey, why not," {for a change
}. I didn't have to think too hard, like, "'If this thing ever happened to me,' or 'If I was ever in that situation,' what would I have done?". Sure enough, I got a satisfactory response {that I didn't have to shoot for}:You are jubilant and easily excited.
While you aren't very intense or passionate, your happiness is abundant.
You can always find cause to celebrate, laugh, or even just smile to yourself.
You find that life is full of things to be happy about!Yesterday, I caught a Something, something like food poisoning, where I couldn't hold some retch, my Number 1, or my Number 2 most of the AM and part of the PM
. However, after taking some over-the-counter stuff, and after sweating it out for a while under my winter blanket, I was much better by evening, and quite well by today. You'd never know how ill I was yesterday if you saw me today-- busy day at work though it was {ahead of my flight to Omaha in less than two weeks}. Yep, my duties are changing, but so is everyone else's in my branch of the U. S. Government. I expect to be blogging some details soon. - Posted Jul 1, 2008 6:01 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 2 Comments
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27Jun 08I've heard of, "as thick as thieves," and "as thick as hasty pudding," but I wonder: which is thicker? thieves or hasty pudding? What do you think?
- Posted Jun 27, 2008 7:19 am PT
- Category: Writing
- 5 Comments
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25Jun 08
I've been cursed. Someone recently greeted me with the following incantation:
"May you lose all your teeth but one so you can still have toothaches."Cheers, Darlings!
- Posted Jun 25, 2008 1:45 am PT
- Category: Writing
- 3 Comments
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14Jun 08
Happy Fathers' Day! This Dan Fogelberg song is the primary song I hear in my head (since the '80s) when I look for a card or a gift for dad, "The Leader of the Band". I've added other songs to my Fathers' Day playlist over the years. The most recent addition is the Will Smith song "Just the Two of Us". My favorite part of that song is, "Throughout life, people will make you mad, disrespect you, and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do 'cause hate in your heart will consume you, too."
The rest of my playlist was conceived in the '90s when I started listening to the radio again after undergraduate college, starting a new job, and working for a Master's degree.
Sophie B. Hawkins, "As I Lay Me Down"
Amy Grant, "Father's Eyes"Another kind of "Father"... Remembering when I started listening to the radio in the '90s reminded me that I was tuned to a music station in Poughkeepsie, NY that probably overlapped into a Christian Music fanbase. Why do I believe that? Because I found some Christian crossover artists apparently following Amy Grant's lead. At first, I didn't get them on the other station that I listened to, a New York City station, or VH1.
Amy Grant started this list in the mid-'80s with "The Next Time I Fall" (duet with Peter Cetera). {I don't remember if this song was also part of a movie soundtrack.}
Michael W. Smith, "Place in This World"
Lisa Keith, "Better Than You"
Kathy Troccoli, "Everything Changes"More Dan Fogelberg... I didn't quite remember him in the '70s with all of his mellow songs. I thought that his material was more like "Leader of the Band" and what I still consider a pop gem: "Language of Love". It's kind-of tough to play this song nowadays with the modern drill-worn, drum-beaten warning, "'No' Means 'No'". That should be changed to something more like, "'No' Means 'No' unless there is a rapport between the parties involved," which doesn't quite roll off the tongue.
- Posted Jun 14, 2008 7:02 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 3 Comments
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10May 08
Happy Mothers' Day! This Roches song is what I've heard in my head since the '90s: "I Love My Mom". Another song I remember hearing was Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys singing Laura Nyro's song "Stoney End".
In other news, I went to donate platelets on Thursday the 8th. They saw that my last donation was more than 8 weeks ago, so they took red blood cells, too. I decided to add to my experience by choosing a different donation center. This center was in Brooklyn near the Brooklyn Bridge and near the MetroTech Center. So, that's about it for excitement for me the past few weeks, except for that thing about me being booked on my first real live airplane flight, which is a blog entry probably for another day.
More Roches-- Here are The Roches goofing around as animated roaches in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "New Character Day".
- Posted May 10, 2008 8:46 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 2 Comments
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24Apr 08
A couple weeks ago, I found that iTunes had lots more episodes of Kim Possible to get. It still looks as if a few episodes are missing from the complete set. It's more fun than Danny Phantom. I finally caught up on the new downloads, and I found some of them hysterical, with Dimension Twist being the most-- lots better than the similar-themed {pulled into cable-tv world} Channel Chasers from The Fairly Oddparents.
A year ago, "Kim Possible" was just a name to me, a passing familiarity, and found listed in the "Similar Shows" section of Danny Phantom. Who knew
?!- Posted Apr 24, 2008 8:31 am PT
- Category: Writing
- 4 Comments
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12Apr 08
It's been six years since the beginning of the end of my regular attendance at live music venues in and around the New York City metropolitan area. I remember that it was this weekend because I wrote about it on the website I used to maintain, and I still have the page saved to my hard disk.
April 12 was a Friday, and I attended one of my regular venues, The Bitter End, to hear Trina Hamlin and the reconstituted M-Five, led by Marilyn D'Amato. I had arrived early for their sets, as usual, and I got to hear another performer, Julie Loyd, play for me for the first time. While Miss Loyd was playing her set, I had invited a lady, a stranger to me, to join me at my table, which is something I don't usually do, and she accepted. As it turned out, she was another performer who said she was sitting in on this show to hear Trina Hamlin by the suggestion of her friend, Emily Curtis, yet another performer, but one I had heard before. The name of my guest was Valerie Gomes {see picture}. She mentioned to me that she was looking for bandmates, so I thought I'd put some of my connections together for her. The people I wanted her to meet were all at The Bitter End that night. I tried to introduce her to Monica Castellanos, founder of ModMusic Records, who was sitting at a table near mine, but I don't know if that went down. What I do remember was introducing her to violinist Lyris Hung and percussionist Jagoda. Lyris and Jagoda had their business cards ready for her, but Valerie remarked that she only had her massage therapy business card with her at this time.You may think that, being involved with all this unusual interaction {unusual for me, that is}, I would remember this night as my finest as a live music fan. Unfortunately, my sleep deficit and my poor liquor tolerance would come together that night as well. I thought I was taking it easy with my drinks, but, toward the end of my night of music, I felt in a hurry to finally go home after hearing what I wanted to hear, and I drank the rest of my beverage too quickly. While I was on the line waiting to use the men's rest room before I left, I passed out and was brought to the back room, where Marilyn D'Amato and several other people, as well as two paramedics, were all watching over me.
I was back there on Saturday, because I had already bought a ticket to hear one of the bands playing that night, Antigone Rising. The management let me stay, but didn't allow me to order any alcoholic beverage, even one that I was confident I could tolerate. That was all right by me since I prefer non-alcoholic beverages anyway, but I usually feel guilty when I don't order at least one at a live music venue that serves them.
The latest news from Miss Gomes is that she has accepted the services of the violinist Lyris Hung, who performed live with her a few weeks ago.
- Posted Apr 12, 2008 10:36 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 3 Comments
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9Mar 08
Income tax forms are finally filed, and "I-O, I-O". Now I have to wait for word of their approval, and watch the money drain from my bank account. The up side is that I can now do things outside again without having 1040 and his pals hanging over my head. What to do?
What to do?There's still that economic stimulus check just waiting for me
, but it doesn't cover the abovementioned I-O's. Just like no energy is actually saved during Daylight Saving Time? I don't know; it's just something I heard on CBS's Sunday Morning show this morning. The up side of Daylight Saving Time is that I don't come home from work after dark until autumn, thus causing me to-- perhaps, maybe-- feel more active in the evenings.That reminds me-- the Daylight Saving Time saying used to be "Spring Forward, Fall Back", but, now that the change happens before spring, I think "Spring Forward" should be changed to "March Forward".
Hmm-- isn't Easter kind-o' early this year? Well, Purim is kind-o' late this year. Hamentaschen are looking especially tasty this year!
- Posted Mar 9, 2008 12:16 pm PT
- Category: Writing
- 4 Comments
