WWJE?

What'samatter, Pookie? New diet not working? Well, maybe you should try this one. It's the What Would Jesus Eat Diet.

WHEW!!!

It's been a crazy few weeks!! I went home (Philly) to visit my family for a couple of weeks and have been shooting for Car Design News at the Auto Show. My office moved while I was on vacation and I had to play catch up all last week. But, they also gave me a big raise in the interim, so I guess I can't complain!!

So, speaking of the Detroit Auto Show, I was there A LOT last week. The exhibits are all set up to attract your attention and dazzle your senses – and that’s EXACTLY what happened to a guy walking next to me. The floor levels switched and he wiped out. I know it’s not nice, but I couldn't help but laugh! I felt SO mean, but I just couldn’t stop as I helped him up from the floor. The more I tried not too, the funnier it got. I explained that the only reason I was laughing was because I’m usually the one who trips and falls, and had it not been for the keen eye of one of my colleagues earlier in the day, he’d be laughing at me right then!

He seemed to buy my story (which was true, by the way), but I still felt guilty for laughing. Why is it wrong to laugh at a person if they’re not hurt, but okay when it is labeled “slapstick” comedy?

Birthday Hangover...

Yeah, I know you think that I'm dead or something; too much fun on my birthday just wiped me out. WRONG! Well, not completely! I'm still here, but I did get a bit caught up in all the parties and then the holidays, housewarming parties and family visits. But, I'm BACK! (well, kinda)

I'm working on a few new blogs, but here's a little something to tide you over until I get back: hee hee!!

Vroom VROOM!!!!

Happy Birthday

uhhh... to me! Yep, today is yet another birthday. Just wanted to publicly say thanks to all who sent birthday wishes and the flowers! That was very nice of you! I hope you can all make it to the party too! Watch your e-mail boxes!!

Rest In Peace

Run DMC's Jam Master Jay
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/4409441.htm

That’s Gotta Suck!

From News of the Weird: A 55-year-old condemned murderer-drug dealer, who suffered a heart attack just as the hangman's noose was placed on his neck, was revived, hospitalized and rescheduled for execution (Khomeini Shahr, Iran).

Take Off - eh!

Canadians... they're a hoot!

Bumpy Cake Brown

Recently, I had dinner with JSL (see Archive: 09/09/02). After our meal, our friendly waitress cleared our plates and asked if we were interested in dessert and then proceeded to list the dessert specials for the evening. I stopped her when she got to Bumpy Cake.

“Bumpy? Did you say BUMPY cake?”
“Yup! It’s fantastic!”
“Okay, (turning to JSL), I’ll bite. WHAT is bumpy cake?”
“You know, Bumpy Cake – like the song!”
“Oh, yeah, like the song…”

Needless to say, I had no clue what she was talking about. I didn’t feel too bad though because JSL didn’t know what bumpy cake was either. I thought it sounded like something I definitely would NOT be interested in eating! Bumpy cake sounds like a cake with a weird, itchy rash or something! JSL thought it sounded like a blues singer – Bumpy Cake Brown. I couldn’t stop laughing after that!! “Bumpy cake. I wrote a song about it. Wanna hear? Go a lil’ somthin like this…. Wah nah nah nah NUH!”

Last week, we had brunch at a little cafe near JSL’s house in Birmingham. The cafe has its own bakery. While waiting for our seats, I looked over at the bakery’s list of offerings. Guess what was listed prominently at the top of their list as one of their specialties – that’s right, Bumpy Cake. At least NOW we know what bumpy cake is!

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Busy...

I apologize for not blogging in such a long time. With all that's been going on I haven't even had time to secure an Internet connection at home yet! Things have been EXTREMELY crazy in my home life with moving into the new house; redoing the wood floors; getting unpacked; classes and a "revved up" social calendar. And if that isn't enough, things have been even more amped at work! I'm not complaining though; I LOVE this stuff!!

I promise to dig up some great stuff and write shortly. Thanks to all who have continued to visit daily anyway! You ROCK!

Engrish Music

This one is pretty funny. It arrived as an e-mail from Modern Humorist.

Popular Songs Translated Into Japanese and Then Translated Back into English Using AltaVista's "Babelfish" Translator by Sharon Dynek

Eminem, “Without Me”: “There Is No I”
P. Diddy, “I Need A Girl (Part Two)”: “As For Me The Girl Who Is Needed (As For Section Two)”
The Calling, “Wherever You Will Go”: “As For The Place Where You Go Being Wherever”
George Strait, “Living And Living Well”: “To Live Well, Existence”
Pink, “Don’t Let Me Get Me”: “Me The Fact That I Am Obtained Does Not Have To Be Permitted”
Ludacris, “Move Bitch”: “Portable Female Dog”
Darryl Worley, “I Miss My Friend”: “I Let Escape My Friend”
The Hives, “Hate To Say I Told You So”: “I So Called To Hatred You Who Are Said”
The Strokes, “Hard To Explain”: “In Order To Explain Eagerly”
Bruce Springsteen, “Born To Run”: “It Can Withstand The Fact That It Moves”

Superhero Luva
I saw this the other day and was curious about what your responses would be…

Which superhero would make the best lover?
(a) Superman. More powerful than a locomotive, and ready for action in two seconds!
(b) Spiderman. Dark, brooding, sensitive - and agile to boot.
(c) The Incredible Hulk. Just look at those muscles.
(d) Batman. Imagine getting down in the Batmobile.

UGH!

The move is almost complete. All of the major stuff was transported on Saturday. I have a few small loads left for this week.

Thanks to all who helped!! If you took part in the move, you know who you are because you were at the sushi thank you dinner Saturday night! Again, thanks! I really appreciate it!!

Moving is SUCH a pain! However, I don't hate everything about moving, just the actual packing and transporting part. The unpacking/setting up shop part is fun!!

I Seee You...

Thanks to greengrl for digging this one up! Microsoft TerraServer provides aerial and topographical images of pretty much anywhere in the US. At first, I thought it was pretty cool, but after playing around in it for a while, I'm not so sure.

And hey, stop looking at me!!

Virgin Sharks


The Belle Isle Aquarium here in Detroit has witnessed what could be considered an immaculate conception of sorts. It will take a while for the genetic test results to confirm whether or not the three newly hatched bamboo sharks are the result of parthenogenetic reproduction, or if there is some other explanation as to how two female sharks produced three baby sharks (two hatched in July; and one last week). I'm sure there are a lot of people hoping to get to use the parthenogenetic excuse, which is common in snails and other common species, but not seen in "higher" species, to explain their own unexpected situation!

Apologies All Around

I know, I've been rather remiss in blogging daily. I apologize to all of you, especially those of you who have checked back every day to see if I've updated. I've got a million excuses (super busy at work, moving, I HAVE A LIFE!) and all that, but I promise that I will write again soon!

And yes, I finally found a house!! I signed on a little bungalow two days ago that's perfect for the hound and I. Now on to remodeling! First thing is to pull out the carpeting and refinish the beautiful oak floors underneath! (Why they put carpet over them is beyond me!) Any of my local readers looking for a fun demolition time (and a few free beverages and good food!) are welcome to stop by and lend a hand. Refinish work starts tomorrow and goes through the week. If you prefer to lend a hand with the move, show up at the old place a week from tomorrow. Any assistance gets you a VIP pass to the party in November!

For all readers, near and far, I promise to post something in the near future!! Until then, check out some of the Other Barkers' blogs listed on the left side of the page.

OH NO!


It appears that some lil’ Punk Kittens have taken up my theme song as their own! Thanks Jason for ruining my day! Now every time I hear that song, I’ll see those kittens!

...well, they are pretty cute...

In Memoriam

“Every time I see the images of the plane crashing into the building, I am forced to watch my mother’s murder again…”
-Daughter of a woman killed in the 9-11 attacks


I wasn’t going to write about 9-11. I thought it was just a little too much as everybody else would be writing about it. Some of us just want to move past it. Yes, it was horrible; and no, we haven't forgotten it. How could we? For the last week, we’ve been constantly bombarded by information from everywhere about 9-11, whether we wanted to think about it or not.

However, after this morning, I thought otherwise. I woke up VERY sluggishly, to a dead cell phone. I got out of bed, turned on the radio and headed for the shower. WDET (the local NPR college station here) was apparently mid-way through a replay of their radio broadcast from last year because all I heard when I turned on the radio was, “Detroit Metro Airport is closed. All Detroit schools are closed…” I thought, “Oh no! Not again!” Last year, I was awakened by reports of the attacks and, when I tried to contact my family in Philadelphia, I was met with a dead cell phone network.

I soon learned that the rebroadcast was part of WDET’s memorial report on the attacks of 9-11. Soon, my thoughts were, like so many others', filled with what happened a year ago today. It was a national tragedy that gave birth to as many personal stories as there are people in the world, leaving everyone wanting to tell his or her story.

I thought about this site and the new people I have “met” because of it. And, while I believe I am getting to know a number of you somewhat well, I don’t feel as though I KNOW you. I’m a fan of face-to face interaction, but that’s not always possible, so... Anyway, now I’m rambling….

Today, as my own sort of memoriam, I’d like to kick off a sort of “getting to know you/me/us” line. It’s all sort of up in the air at the moment, and any suggestions are more than welcome. Sooner or later I’ll get a “real” host and somewhere to upload pictures so we can see what we look like. I’m in the process of drafting a list of questions so we can get to know one another better. Let me know what you want to know about me and the other readers (all six of you! *smile*) It may sound kind of sappy, but I guess that’s happens sometimes, huh?

Why Didn’t You Call ME?!


Yesterday, I attended the Battle of the Brits Car Show and almost purchased a 1964 Triumph Spitfire (which possibility is still not fully ruled out!) Anyway, we met up with some friends and then went to a local favorite brewery to hang. We, unfortunately, ended up at a table under the air conditioner which seemed to have a problem with it’s fan and was making a weird whirring sound - sort of like the core reactor on Star Trek or something! Of course, this made it difficult to converse. Instead of switching to another table like normal people would have, we decided to stay and laugh at our completely misheard and misinterpreted conversations. “Do you see in black and white?” “WHAT?” “Do I see in black and white?! Well…” “What?! No, where did you get that one from?” "I SAID...."

Conversations continued on like this until we got on to one of my favorite grrl topics (this is when I turn all grrlie and lose all tomboy credibility) – SHOES (I’ll admit that I bought 6 pairs last month!). The cool grrl next to me was wearing a t-shirt from the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Who knew?! A whole museum devoted to SHOES!! This conversation took on incredibly hilarious proportions when it turned to a boy who was dissed by the Shoe Playa at Kenneth Cole.

My friend, the Jilted Shoe Luva, and I were shopping the week before when he informed me of a pair of shoes he saw and wanted to get from the Kenneth Cole store. Apparently, they didn’t have them in his size on a prior visit the week before and the salesman, T-Money, was going to order them and give my friend a call when they came in. I swear he sounded like a jilted lover when we went into the store and he asked the saleswoman if T-Money was in. She told JSL that T-Money was not in and asked if there was anything she could do for him. He said “Well, he was going to order a pair of shoes in my size and then call me when they came in. He never called me! Do you know if they came in?!” I had to walk away from the counter at that point to keep from laughing!

We had a good laugh at the brewery when we tried to create further scenarios. My friend, JSL, would find out T-Money’s home address and start to drive by, honking his horn and waving his fist: “Where are my shoes?!! And WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME?!”

Or, he’d have the guys from the Sopranos go to the store and show T-Money photos of the riverbanks, littered with empty cement bags and say “You know, we had to give the last shoe playa a new pair of shoes when HE never called…”

Ahhhh, lazy Sundays and goofy friends… ya gotta luv ‘em!

*Judo Chop to the Neck!*

Tyrone Germaine Hogan had to be thinking, “This is just NOT my day” when he met resistance in his attempt to carjack a minivan full of tourists. Resistance, kids, is also know as getting your ass kicked by a college varsity judo team in town for a competition. ouch!

Grrl Cars Are Better Than Boy Cars Anyway, SO THERE!

Following Jason’s link to the Car Talk site on The Worst Car of the Millenium, I found a pretty cool article on what people across the country are saying on the topic of Guy Cars vs. Chick Cars.

I had this same discussion a couple of years ago with a group of good friends. I was informed that my VW GTI was DEFINITELY a chick car. The guys insisted that my car was not “manly” enough to be a guy car. “Really, it’s sooo…. cute! What guy would drive a little thing like THAT!?”

”A cool one.”