During my trip to Michigan for the holiday, I took some video of my sister Marie ice skating. Figure Skating Programme of Marie Marie on Ice 2004
Marie is an adult amateur competition free style figure skater in her spare time. (About 6 days a week.)
Snow & ice, covering all the ground except the landing strips, at the Cincinnati Airport on December 24th 2004.
Apparently quite a few people flying Comair over the holidays had some 'interesting' travel experiences... Scranton Times Tribune - Comair fliers endure frustrating weekend
When you fly Delta Airlines out of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport (which is really in Avoca), just about anywhere you go, you will have to transfer at the Cincinnati Airport (which is really in Kentucky), because Cincinnati is a Delta hub. So if there's a problem in Cincinnati...
I transferred in Cincinnati on Friday on my way from Scranton to Detroit, and the snow was unbelievable at the Cincinnati airport. The snow was compacted on the ground in ice all over the airport; Only the runways were clear & dry.
Upon arriving at the Cincinnati airport and disembarking from the small commuter jet, we passengers had to trudge though snow on our way from the airplane to the gate.
Then, my flight from Cincinnati to Detroit was delayed because after we finally boarded the plane, the pilots had a tough time getting the airplane to the runway, because it was STUCK IN THE SNOW. The pilots had to rock the airplane forward and back, to try and get the wheels out of the snow & ice on the ground! I'm surprised the pilot didn't come out of the cockpit and ask the passengers if anyone had a bag of kitty litter with them.
My own Comair flight from Detroit to Cincinnati was cancelled, but I got a later flight, requiring me to hang about at the Cincinnati airport for about 3 hours before my connecting flight to Avoca.
Nativity Scene on a Styrofoam Cup (Holiday Styrofoam Cup Art)
I would like to say "Merry Christmas" to all!
And a most specifically directed 'Merry Christmas', not just to Christians, but to all Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, Wiccans, and most especially my fellow Pantheists.
Chloe's Christmas tree sporting a Nativity Scene on a Styrofoam Cup courteousy of 'the Jesus face on a styrofoam cup guy' artist
This greeting is specifically designed to help me avoid the no-fly list this holiday season, as I'll be transferring in the Cincinnati Ohio airport (in Kentucky), where they've been known to confiscate even such benign items as chainsaws. You see I've heard rumours that the all-inclusive greeting "Happy Holidays" is now considered blasphemy that leads to things like terrorism, drug addiction, a baby Jesus crying even though his nappy is clean, and rampant willy-nilly partial birth abortions of potential baby Jesuses.
(To be very clear, that's espanol 'Jesus' pronunciation, just so nobody gets the idea I'm referring to the infant Christ or a potential Second Coming.)
If you don't 'get it' (the joke), then here's some recommended links that'll clear it up for ya: NPR : Pondering Today's 'No-Fly' Objects Spiritual Journey |Magickal Musings: Have a PC Holiday? Media Matters - "Somewhere Jesus is weeping"
And just to be very clear, I'm all for putting more spiritual significance back into the holiday season, and curbing commercial excesses at the holidays. All holidays.
The ornaments on my tree are chock full of nostalgia!
A Nativity Scene Religious Styrofoam Cup Art by 'the Jesus face on a styrofoam cup guy'. This one has not only baby Jesus, but also the Madonna. (Joseph is depicted on the cup, but he can't be seen in the photo.)
An itsy bitsy Christmas stocking, which originally contained licorice flavoured candy that looked like a chunk of coal. My friend Leslie gave me that back in 1992.
The pear ornaments Leslie & I bought this year, and split the package.
The chick in the hat and ear muffs was from a set of ornaments Leslie gave me for Christmas in 1991. That year I put up the tree given to me as a hand me down from my sister Marie, with nothing but lights on it. Some of my friends made paper snowflakes as ornaments for the tree. And Leslie gave me a set of little plush animal ornaments. Upon my cat Nikita's arrival on the scene in 1997, I realized, or rather she realized, how much those ornaments resemble cat toys.
The little wooden duck with wheels was given to me by, I believe, by one of my teachers in perhaps 1981.
Not seen are the glass ornaments I made as a Girl Scout in the 1970s, and a red ornament given to me by a priest/teacher in the late 1980s.
I know my mother probably would disapprove of mixing silver and gold garland together on the same tree, but I kind of like it.
Nostalgia Boulevard (root around in old funny junk)
Something reminded me recently of the first time my silly writing was published, in 1990. It was a comical, scathing rebuttal to another reader letter in a music magazine. I don't recall which one. I was reminded because I was reminded of the guy who was almost a stranger to me until he approached me in public to ask me if I was 'the Chloe from Wilkes-Barre' who wrote the reader letter in the magazine. (Apparently he found it impressive somehow. Y'all can blame him for encouraging me, I suppose.)
This guy was also responsible for the very first time, but unfortunately not the last time, I was misquoted in a printed publication for the purposes of sensationalism, in April 1992.
I really hope that the reader letter in that music magazine isn't archived somewhere, waiting patiently to haunt me in my old age. But I, myself, actually found a copy of the printed publication when I cleaned junk out of my attic before moving to Scranton last spring. It was one of the few things that wasn't hauled away. So I dug it out of a box that contained some Star Trek: Deep Space 9 action figures (including Jadzia Dax), some medical school class notes from the mid 1990s (not in my handwriting, obviously), an old "instamatic" camera, some publications featuring my photos, and this publication where I was wildly misquoted.
So in a fit of xradiograph - foundlings-esque motivation, I decided to immortalize the front cover & inside cover, here: Watermelon Punch - Photo Album - Zine (full size)
At the time I was "interviewed" for the 'Tube Talk' piece, I wasn't informed or aware that I was being "interviewed". I was asked a ridiculous question, and gave a ridiculously silly answer... And my answer was egregiously and exaggeratedly expounded upon, for the sake of comedy.
To set the record straight, I will say that in 1991 & 1992, I didn't have cable, and I worked the graveyard shift, so the only television I really watched was late night on nights I didn't work but was up... and so the only television I really watched aside from the news, were the shows Forever Knight, Sweating Bullets, and Baywatch (pre Pam Anderson). And from the moment I watched the Berlin Wall come down on television in 1989, from my dorm room at college, I became fascinated by David Hasselhoff's musical popularity in Europe. (I hadn't known of it previously.)
I decided to post this because, you know, it wasn't enough for me that I once, in 1999, unwittingly made available on a file-sharing network, an mp3 of this same guy's basement band cover of 'Mama Said Knock You Out': Watermelon Punch - Audio & Video - 'cover' of 'Mama Said Knock You Out'
I didn't find out until a couple of years later when my friend informed me that she had downloaded the mp3 off of someone else, on a different file sharing network. So what the heck, it's all over the internet anyway.
As I previously promised... WP | How about a Jesus face on a styrofoam cup?
I finally tracked down, and commisioned some religious styrofoam cup art from, 'the Jesus face on a styrofoam cup guy'. What's more is that it's an original which the artist thought out, planned, and executed especially for my request. And the artwork was completed, start to finish, in my presence.
I believe this piece of styrofoam easily trumps any and all other food related religious icon objects.
The artist, known here, fondly, as 'the Jesus face on the styrofoam cup guy', is named Marc, and he resides in or near the city of Scranton, in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
I've been told that a few, select, others have collected other Biblical related scene styrofoam cup art by this artist. But as I've heard they've been using them as candle holders and the like, you won't find another such collectable example kept in as pristine condition as this one I have recently secured. And remember, with a half-life of at least 100 years, if not infinite, a styrofoam cup never need be stored in moth balls.
Mike Zellers' Weblog: best explanation...
Mike Zeller's photo of The Promised Land Baptist Church Sign in Ohio which reads: "Who needs healthcare when you've got Jesus?"
That is, in fact, a real photo, taken by Zeller himself. I didn't see the sign in person myself, of course. But while Zeller seems to have difficulty dating and labeling his photos, he has a photoblog just full of them, and the photo quality looks similar. I've also not seen him try to run any hoaxes, or pass off anything over the top - indeed he's been known to rebuke any wild speculations posted in his comments. Best of all, there's a glare from the glass covering the sign, and if Zellers has the lengthy time it would take to fake that, I'd be amazed. And well, let's face it, signs outside of churchs seem to sport all manner of peppy little bromides, dubious phrases, and ambiguous cliches. Pito's Blog has a photoshopped an altered text version of Zeller's photo, but it's not at all convincing. (Sorry Pito, I've been spoiled by a friend of mine with true soviet-esque photoshop skills!)
Pito was bandied about the idea that Zeller's photo could possibly be a "blue state propaganda" ploy. But I think Pito may have a bit of a fixation with that electoral map stuff, that has been such the rage among many bloggers... Pito's Blog (comparison of Cosi store locator map & 2004 U.S. Electoral map)
Being proud to live in a "Cosi state", I may be biased. (The best sandwich I've ever had is the smoked turkey & brie w/ honey mustard at the Cosi in Old Town Philadelphia.) But since Zeller's photo was taken in Ohio, and Ohio is a "red state" on the electoral map, but also a "blue state" on the Cosi map, I think we can rest easy that Zeller's photo is an unbiased unaltered photo of a "red state" church in a "Cosi state". And if you've got that one worked out, you can help me figure out what these other real church signs mean! WP | So the one who rows the boat... steers it? WP | Got Jesus? - Um...
And another church sign, I took a photo of it, and then forgot about it, and when I was reminded of it, I told my pal Gene what I remembered it as, which was "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Gene didn't believe me, he's familiar with the church and its sign. Turned out to be pretty much the same thing though... WP | If you can't be with the one you love...
Thanks to Chasing Daisy's link, I found out I could make my own though! Church Sign Generator
They also have a section of other real church signs: Church Sign Generator - Real Church Signs
And Lee Ann also has a collection of signs, including several interesting church signs: theblackcloud.com - 'The Sign Project'
I don't know if I'll have anymore again from Dunmore... the last time I passed it, the sign was gone! But I think they may have paved the driveway recently, so maybe it was just taken in temporarily.
Lisa of Loyalville Dog Training You can't even see the cell phone itself, but most of us 'these days' can quickly & easily recognize that she's talking on one.
Why on earth do people respond to their phones ringing like Pavlov's Dogs?
I've noticed that a lot of people, perhaps even most seem to be under the impression that they must answer their cell phones when they ring, or at least have an incredibly good "excuse" to make not answering it somehow legitimate. But why? The logic, and even the etiquette, escapes me.
Why just because you have a cell phone with you, must you keep it turned on? And even if it does ring, why do some people feel obligated to answer it? Why would someone feel it necessary even to answer the phone at home?
Of course I have known various people who have been 'on-call' at times and truly must answer their phones when they are, including a psychiatrist, a pharmacist, and a computer technician. And I have known some self-employed people, including an architect and a house painter, who have had to occasionally take business calls on their cell phones at times other than business hours. And of course there are those life situations where one waits for a call... perhaps a loved one is hospitalized, for example. But even those situations are generally unusual and infrequent for most people.
And the bottom line is... even with the possibility of business calls and personal emergency calls, since the advent of answering machines, voice mail, and caller-ID, the "it might be something important" doesn't wash as a reason a person must answer the phone every time it rings, or even most of the time.
One person I've known once got rid of their cell phone, on the stated grounds that it was a ball & chain type thing, because they had to answer business calls when they had it. The logic there escapes me completely. If answering the cell phone was compulsory for their business, how could they get rid of the cell phone altogether? And if it wasn't necessary, why did they have to answer it when they did have one?
And then there's the people who answer the phone, simply to tell the caller they don't have time for them. Or that they're waiting for a call from someone else. Again, with the presence of caller-ID, answering machines, and voicemail, this seems highly unnecessary. And indeed, I think it comes across as more polite to simply let the machine take the call, than to answer just to tell the caller there's something more important, which can very possibly come across giving the impression they are not important. Or is that the objective of such seemingly illogical answerings of the phone? A delusional ego trip at the expense of the caller?
Another aspect of this is the popular notion that people who call someone's cell phone are doing so to pester them. This is a skewed perspective that naturally follows from the belief one must answer their phone every time it rings. If someone calls when the recipient doesn't want a call, the caller is somehow blamed for doing something wrong. The logic with that is even further lost.
Of course there are those who are completely inconsiderate and will call people in the middle of the night, or during some other time that they've been asked not to call. But first of all, has the recipient made those wishes known to callers? If not, the caller cannot be blamed for not being a mind reader. But yes, there are those who are domineering or clingy, who will advance the idea of a person being somehow obligated to answer their phone by becoming irate or accusatory when their calls are not answered or not returned quickly. But if someone doesn't respect someone else's wishes on the topic of phone usage, there are likely larger issues going on in the relating of between those people. And there are always recourses if someone will not cease and desist with phone calls that venture into the realm of harrassment. But a simple phone call is not harrassment, and most people don't make phone calls with the express purpose of pestering the recipient.
Could it be that humans have been trained somehow, with some type of reward system, to answer the phone every time it rings, and to fear some type of punishment for not answering it? Frankly, the way people behave, with an attitude of irritation about their cell phones, it sounds like they're more fearing punishment. And even dog trainers in this age favour positive training methods. And despite the disdain many people pour forth about cell phones... they still can't get enough of them.
Cell phones are meant to be convenient not inconvenient.
Your cell phone will not explode if you don't answer it every time it rings.
It's not rude, to not jump to, every time the phone rings.
And if you're salivating when your cell phone rings... you obviously have even larger issues.
Play at being a witness with a police sketch artist on-line
Ultimate Flash Face
A Flash tool supposedly similar to those used by computer police sketch artists when interviewing a witness to a crime. The nonist wasn't too terribly impressed with the options, but suggested that people could use this thing to make composites of their dream date, for use on dating service web sites.
So I had a go at it, but for some reason mine kept coming out with a uni-brow and a pencil mustache, not to mention mad scientist hair. Clearly this is a problem with the functionality of the tool.
But this isn't my only grounds for criticism, of course...
composite sketch
passport photo
I tried my hand at the self-portrait thing, and I thought I'd use my very bad passport photo as a guideline, since it looks like a mug shot or a bad rendering anyway. The hair was the first problem. The eyebrows & nose weren't so bad, but not too close either. Perhaps someone else would have better luck because I'm not objective enough. But I don't think it looks like me at all, and I really tried.
Of course I've been told I look very different in various photos of myself. I'm not sure why that is. But all of these self-portrait photos (below) were taken in the past year and I'm much happier with them than I am with my passport photo. (Heck, I'm happier with the composite sketch for that matter.)
(Thanks for the tip - the nonist, who thinks the tool can be used for religious figures as well)
superficiality >>If the facade is what's important to you, all you wind up with is an illusion. Disillusionment is the gift of substance.
-- Chloe<<
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