June 16, 2006

TGIF

Tempestuous - stormy, wild, raging
Galactic - having to do with the galaxy/outer space
Iconoclastic - making fun of things people believe in without questioning
Flatulence - the release of a mixture of gases known as flatus produced by symbiotic bacteria and yeasts living in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals. Flatus is released under pressure through the anus, often accompanied by odor and sound. Releasing flatus gases is colloquially known as farting.

Gawd have mercy, I am one tarred lil’ tookas.
(Translation from hillbilly & Hebrew = My butt is worn out.)
(Also familiar to fans of Bender the Robot in Futurama - his famous quote, “Kiss my shiny metal tookas”.)

(You know it’s an interesting post when I start out using big words, talkin’ ‘bout farts and quoting rednecks and space robots)

[Bender has stumbled upon God while drifting through space]
Bender: I was God once.
God: Yes, I saw. You were doing well until everyone died.
God: Bender, being God isn’t easy. If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to use a light touch, like a safecracker or a pickpocket.
Bender: Or a guy who burns down a bar for the insurance money.
God: Yes, if he makes it look like an electrical thing. If you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.

- - -

Bender: Wow, your kid is great. How hard did you say you had to hit him?

A sentiment I understand.
I have many tempestuous rants today. Lemme getcha a chair.
These youngens…who invented children, anyway? Isn’t there a better way for us to repopulate the planet? Could they torment me any more? (That’s just a rhetorical question kids, don’t actually try it.)

The boy. His car. My car. Need I say more? His recently purchased Modus Transportatious is still on the fritz. This means we still “share” my car. And by share, I mean I fill it up with gas and he drives it for thousands of miles. LOL (Just kidding - I steal money out of his wallet to pay for the gas *snicker*)

The girl. Went out with her friends last night, even though it was a (summer) school night. They have a pool. I took pity. She said she’d be home by 10. I was pacing the floor at 11:15. No more pity.

- - -

The cats. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Outside. I can’t take it one more minute…tripping over sixteen little feet, all of which manage to get under one of mine, just as I go to take a step. Having them leap onto my back digging their little claws into my fleshy flesh until they draw blood. I won’t leave them out there forever, but it’s time they started getting a little fresh air. Gawd knows I could use it. The mama kitty (who is doing a very good job - I just peeked out the window and she has them all herded together, as they stumble around in dazed confusion on the front porch) is the most flatulent cat on the planet. She farts incessantly. I am surprised she hasn’t deflated as flat as a throw rug LOL And stinky? OMG! If the government could bottle her farts and fly them over to Iraq, they could build their own Improvised Explosive Devices, such that an unsuspecting terrorist would be sprayed with the nastiest, longest-lasting foul odor known to man.

Oh, but we don’t need any help over there. Everything’s goin’ swell (if you are a manufacturer of prosthetic limbs and have a contract with the Veterans Administration) Almost 18,000 troops have been wounded according the Department of Defense. The US death toll in Iraq hit 2500 yesterday.

Let’s all start singin’ (Apologies to Country Joe and the Fish:)

Yeah, come on all of you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible crock
Over in the desert, down in Iraq
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We’re gonna have a whole lotta fun.

Well, come on Wall Street, don’t move slow,
Why man, this is War-a-go-go.
There’s plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Shares are good in Otto Bock*
Lots o’ lost limbs over in Iraq

And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don’t ask me, it’s just so sad,
Next stop is ol’ Bagdad.
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! We’re all gonna die.

Well, come on mothers, so his arm is a hook?
Pack your boys off to Kirkuk.
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate,
Send ‘em off before it’s too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

*Otto Bock is the global leader in developing and manufacturing prosthetic technologies and devices. Prime buyer is the VA.

- - -

The head arrived. It is broken (been that kind of week)

Broken Blue Head

Now, I sell stuff myself on E-Bay, and I have the good sense not to put something made of GLASS in an old biscuit box with a layer of newspaper around it. Sigh. Yeah, it was insured, but that’s not the point. It is useless as a gift. Grrrr………

On a happier note, I’ve got a little Link Love. Karen over at Write Stuff, has a guest column today by yours truly. I could use a hug, or a nice comment *snicker*.

From the comments: “And tell me, why is Old Horsetail Snake not on your b**groll? Huh?”
Hoss, sugar you’ve ALWAYS been on my blogroll. Like a stain I can’t remove {giggle - just teasin’ ya, you know I love ya and you are a fabulous blog friend}

OK, ‘nuff nonsense outta me. Things to do, rooms to air out, money to steal LOL

Hope all o’ y’all have a wonderful weekend!


Categories: Writing, Family, Blogging, Cats, Rants, cars

June 14, 2006

Husband Wants Head For Birthday - Wordless Wednesday #3

So that’s what he’s getting.

Blue Glass Head

{snicker}

If you’d like to join the WW blogroll and/or grab the blog roll code for your blog, please go here.

If some kind soul could tell me how to reduce this to that neat little list that is in columns instead of one long string, I would deeply appreciate it - Thanks!

Categories: Wordless-Wednesday

June 9, 2006

Hot Wheels

Big wheels keep on turnin’,
Proud Mama keeps on burnin’
(‘Cause she’s havin’ a hot flash LOL)

Well, it’s happened. The boy has purchased himself a car. Gawd help us all LOL

A friend told him of a different friend of a friend (always a reliable way to decide on a major purchase) who desired money more than an automobile, and was spreading the word far and wide. Their means of transportation was for sale.

Middle Son, who is almost as tired of being transported about by his mother, as his mother is of providing transport, heard of this “opportunity” and took the bait…errr, bought the car.

The location of FOFOF (friend of friend of friend) was over in the next county. He and the seller went to a license bureau over there and transacted the deal, with Son handing over the cash (no doubt with trembling hands, as he hates to part with money LOL) and the seller signing over the title to him. Sadly, (you knew it was coming) it seems that an error occurred.

Son took the car for the required state inspection. It didn’t pass. (You knew that was coming too, right?)

He received the title in the mail, while waiting to arrange and finance the numerous and expensive repairs.

Once the car passed inspection, and he had arranged for insurance coverage, he went to get license plates. This was not a simple task.

To get license plates in this state, you must show your personal property tax receipt. Son has never owned personal property, so he has no receipt.

Do not pass go, do not collect plates.

He needed to get a waiver stating that he had no previous personal property and thus has no receipt. The waiver is issued from a separate location from the license plates though (of course). So off he goes to get his waiver.

When he returns to the license plate place, he is certain all will be well and good (poor child).

He hands over the waiver, his proof of insurance, the title and registration, and the inspection certificate. The DMV clerk frowned, (never a good sign) and told him that the Vehicle Identification Numbers don’t match on all of his documents.

Do not pass go, do not collect plates.

Now it really gets fun. He is told that he must take his paperwork and the car to a Highway Patrol office, and have them compare and verify what the correct VIN is, and make any necessary corrections to his paperwork. Oh joy. He is directed to HP office, which is a fair distance away, in the opposite direction of home from the license bureau. He is told that this is only done during certain hours of certain days, neither of which are now. LOL

He comes home in a huff.

He makes plans to travel to the HP office during one of the rare moments said verification occurs. It is Friday morning. He is supposed to be at work at 11. The HP office is a half-hour drive south of home. Work is a 15 minute drive northwest of home. He is prepared to hustle, and departs.

The DMV clerk who told him the VIN was wrong, was wrong. LOL

There was no error on his paperwork, everything matches up. He left the HP office and went to a DMV office nearby, thanking his lucky stars that his mother had looked up the address and printed him a map. He entered the DMV and learned they use a take-a-number system. It was on #37 when he entered. He drew #47 and took a seat, determined to wait patiently. He waited. And waited. 45 minutes later he left, having to return home, change into work clothes and get to French Fry Land. The take-a-number was on #39 when he departed. On his way home, 80% of the traffic signals were red. 15% were yellow. His unlicensed car was followed by local police officers of three separate communities he passed through.

At 10:35 he returns, in a huff.

He dashes in to change clothes. He is sweating profusely. He asks if I can follow him to the garage so he can drop his car off, as the air conditioner doesn’t work, and when he tried to get some fresh air, he discovered that the power windows don’t work.

I say OK. He gets back in his four-wheel sauna, and it won’t start.

He stomped over to my car and released a string of expletives I didn’t know he knew LOL

He is at work now, enjoying the relative coolness of a McDonald’s kitchen. On the way in, he said, “You’re gonna blog about this aren’t you?”

I smiled, the sentences already forming in my head.

Categories: Family, Humor, cars

June 6, 2006

Unfinished

Life’s been powerful busy ’round here lately - I apologize for not posting very often and not gettin’ the chance to swing by and visit many of y’all. I’m having a terrible time finishing anything, from trying to juggle so many things at once LOL

Daughter started summer school yesterday…I still haven’t discovered a way to find that amusing LOL

A friend gave me some boxes of used books out of pity for my horrific financial condition (see details below) and I’ve been trying to get them listed at my Amazon Marketplace Shop.

Hmm, nothin’ funny there either…think, Marti, think. LOL

I visited the professional photographer who took pictures of me to use on the back cover of the book. She was great! We gabbed (gossiped LOL) and she showed me some of her magic tricks for making a haggard old woman look presentable LOL We picked three pictures that she is going to run through the “pretty-up” process again. LOL As soon as I can sell some blood, I will purchase some - LOL

All the rain we’ve gotten has made the weeds…errr…lawn, grow like crazy, so mowing has become a second (or 3rd, or 4th…I’ve lost count LOL) career to keep the front door visible LOL

The kittens! That’ll make y’all smile! I asked daughter to take a picture of them. She said, “They’re too fast!” LOL But we did manage to snap this of three of them.

3 kittens

The excitement was apparently too much for this one:

kitten sleeping in workboot

(Please ignore my hideously ugly, ancient shag carpet - we decided long ago that we weren’t going to replace it until the kids leave the house - LOL)

Then there is the fresh hell from that damnable letter that comes after H, letter that comes after Q, letter that comes after R (Think I’m paranoid? You would be too if they’d put you through what we’ve experienced lately.) Gawd almighty - every greedy agency in the universe is screamin’ for money! Agencies NO ONE in our family every had any dealings with are springing up out of the woodwork, laying claim to our refund. And those very filthy expletives at the aforementioned unmentionable place that collects the unmentionable blood money, joyfully accepts their claims, regardless of validity. (Insert voice of cartoon dog Goofy) “Say there, government office holding funds which rightfully belong to these people, I..uh…I think they owed me some money from…oh, sometime since this country was founded, for…uh, something that I’m just guessing at, but hey, I look trustworthy right? So why don’t you just let ME have their money. If I’m wrong, I’ll…uh, get it back to them someday. Yup, I shore will!”

So the refund our charming accountant worked her fingers to the bone for vanishes - poof! Before I even get to see it! And my futile cries that such a debt was never incurred, give me back my money you very obscene words, will require more work by the accountant, whose fees are now exceeding the refund-that-got-away. In desperation, I am pimping used books in this post, putting a small ad in the sidebar, which I am not allowed to ask you to click on, and I am willing to hire out two healthy young people for very reasonable wages. I must caution though, that they consume vast quantities of food, gasoline and electricity, and frequently turn sullen for no apparent reason.

Hmmm, on second thought…..today is 06 06 06, maybe I better make nice with all my demons LOL

Categories: Family, Humor, Cats

June 4, 2006

Writer Freedom

Ordinarily, I stay away from controversial topics. This site is here for entertainment, so I can write silly stories about silly things.

But I AM a writer, and I believe in the freedom to express my opinion, and for you to express yours. That is why I find this so upsetting.

Almost a week ago, Deborah at Writer’s Blog Alliance, which I am a member of, posted an entry concerning a situation with a well-known writing web site called Absolute Write. 

Absolute Write was forced to shut down after a “literary agent” complained to the site owner’s hosting company. Barbara Bauer of Barbara Bauer Literary Agency is listed near the top of an article titled, Twenty Worst Agents, orignally written by Absolute Write. These “agents” are notorious for charging reading fees, while producing low sales for their clients’ books.

You can find the list at SFWA, and now at a growing number of blogs.
Further reading from Making Light suggests that this might be a coup by a former member of AW and Publish America author, who is trying to build her own writing site. See the backlash she’s received here. If this is true, then this woman robbed 7,000 people out of a much-cherished site.

As for Barbara Bauer, I haven’t seen anyone stand up to defend her. On the other hand, AW and the Writer’s Beware sites have received numerous complaints about her and the other agents listed.

Since then, quite a bit has happened.

Jenna Glatzer, the owner and editor-in-chief of Absolute Write, has resorted to legal alternatives in order to retrieve the AW databases after JC Hosting failed to return them. Boing Boing recently posted an article stating JC Hosting claims he is in a dispute with AW about bandwidth usage and other matters which could be the reason why they are not releasing the databases.

Until the forums are restored, Roger J. Carlson set up The AW Refugee Camp.  You will find details about the google caching project.  If you choose to participate, you must act quickly.

There are several other ways you can help support Absolute Write.  Donations are currently being accepted.  Visit Jenna’s blog for details.  Dawno, an AW moderator, started OhDawno’s Ebil Library and Gifts with tons of merchandise for you to purchase (proceeds go to Absolute Write, of course).  You can also help by simply spreading the word.  Matt Dinniman made a few buttons that you can display on your website or blog (please upload the images to your own server).

Any help is much appreciated.  Hopefully, this situation will be resolved soon.

Categories: Writing

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