June 2002 | Main | August 2002
July 09, 2002
Friends in low places
Lileks just compared Picasso to Garth Brooks. argh.
Posted by denise at 04:48 PM ~ Sundries
July 12, 2002
Recent books
Just finished Elisabeth Elliot's Quest for Love. Excellent, highly recommended for singles. Also recommended: Jabez by Thom Lemmons, a great fictional interpretation of Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez. God doesn't bless us to assuage our lusts, but to meet our needs, restore us, and draw us to him. It was the audio version and was very well read by Jeff David (?), even if he did read a little too slowly for my tastes.
Posted by denise at 06:55 AM ~ Bibliomania
One Door Away from Heaven mini-review
Another book of note is Dean Koontz' One Door Away from Heaven. It's a wonderful celebration of the "sacred nature of life." I have trouble with his assumption that animals can save us, however. "Hope is found in the dreams of a dog," he writes. At the end of the book (SPOILER WARNING) his little band of characters ride off teaching people how to get into the dreams of their dogs. My first thought: This can only be bad for the dogs.
Posted by denise at 02:21 PM ~ Bibliomania
July 14, 2002
Mongeese for nil, Alex!
I've written this 3 times now. First in my head where it stayed for weeks and suffered considerable file degradation. In desperation, then, I backed it up (so to speak) in longhand on paper while at work. (Yes, I have a computer at work but it's not like I'm going to write in the computer where just anyone can read it...sheesh.) Then I typed it into my computer when I got home. Consequently, who ever reads this has to read it 3 times. Thank you.
So, Jeopardy... In February, I signed up online to audition for Jeopardy. Then about March, I get a call at work. "You've been selected to take part in our Dallas contestant search!" Wow, cool! I was informed that I would receive a flyer in the mail and that I should bring this flyer to the Hotel Adolphus at 11 am on April 12 as my ticket to admission.
The fateful Friday arrived. The Adolphus is smack in the middle of downtown Dallas. I've lived in this part of the world all my life, but downtown Dallas is like a whole other country. I parked at the hotel and was surprised by the valet. (AAUUGGHHH!! The Valet!!!) Of course they had valet parking. I hadn't thought of that. I surrendered my car and made my way into the hotel lobby. The Adolphus is a 5-star hotel, so I took a few minutes to wander around the lobby and take in the sights. Apparently the Queen and Prince Philip stayed there once.
We had to come to the try-out in clothes we'd wear on the show so I found the restroom where I could change from the casual clothes I wore to work. I made my way to the mezzanine floor and discovered a long line of people with orange Jeopardy fliers. While I waited, I overheard people who'd prepared by playing Trivial Pursuit everyday. Some played the online Jeopardy game. Some found other sources of trivia to quiz themselves on. This conversation made me slightly nervous. It never occurred to me to prepare at all. I watched Double & Final Jeopardy everyday at break time but that's it. Then I decided that if it's not in there already it's too late.
The wait turned out to be short. A woman (who reminded me of my college dorm mother and who's name I don't remember) opened the testing room and took up our flyers as we entered. We passed a table containing Jeopardy pens & pressed board lap desks. I took one of each and found a seat. Dorm Mom passed out an personal info sheet we had to fill out while another coordinator gave us the welcome spiel and then showed us a video of Alex welcoming us to the tryout. We all felt very welcomed.
Then we proceeded to take a short answer test of about 50 questions. The questions were Jeopardy type questions and were projected on the screen. The whole video operation was run from a Dell laptop, btw. We only had to write our answers in the form of an answer. This test was designed to purge the unworthy. I found some of the questions hard, some easy and I left about 3-4 questions blank. I think we had an hour to do this then the coordinators took up the tests. All 3 left the room to grade them. We were not allowed to discuss the test. When they returned they announced the names of those who'd passed. Out of a room of 30-40 people only 6 passed the test. None of the people who'd "prepared" were numbered among the 6. Fortunately, I was. Whoopee!
So then, the 6 of us (twice the Trinity or half an apostolic complement. You decide.) played a mock version of the game. First Dorm Mom took polaroids of us to go in our files. She joked that people told her that she should work for the DMV because she took such terrible pics. Heck my driver's license picture is better than the one she took. I never look like that.
Anyway I was in the 2nd trinity to play. I played along with the first group as I do when I watch TV. All seemed well; I was feeling good about it. Then it was my turn to stand on the mark and as soon they put that clicker in my hand, all knowledge was sucked from my brain and I entered a parallel universe in which my IQ was about 40.
Dorm Mom gave us instructions about how to use the clicker. As soon as the moderator finished reading the question little yellow lights around the screen would come one and that was our cue to ring in. Early clickers-in were penalized with a 30-second delays. Of course by that time it would be too late to get in on the question.
I only remember one question under the category Plurals. I missed the first one in the category because I thought too hard about the plural for mother-in-law. But I rang in quickly on the next one. Answer: Mongoose. Me: "What are mongeese?"
Someone had to say it and the Fates determined that it would be me. (The plural of "mongoose" is "mongooses.")
It's all a blur after that. I think my chances at getting to play on the actual show are nil, but good luck to John & Krista and the other 3 people who made the final cut.
You'd think at this point that my adventure would be over, but I still had to bribe the valets to get my car back. First I changed back into my casual clothes and went in search of an ATM since I had no cash on me. The friendly people at the desk told me an ATM could be found katty-corner across the street. No problem. Got my money. Came back to the hotel. Finally found where to pay for the valet parking, then waited a few short minutes for my car to arrive. The guy who drove the car seemed to hesitate as if waiting for a tip. I wasn't really sure what to do and wasn't in the mood to tip anyone anyway, so I just drove away. Sorry valet guy!
After that back to work and...freedom.
Posted by denise at 08:40 PM ~ Sundries
July 27, 2002
Blogathon 2002
Yipe! I almost overslept!
Posted by denise at 08:02 AM ~ Sundries
I've hardly started and I'm finding it hard to stay awake. I do have things to write, really I do. But first breakfast!
Posted by denise at 08:31 AM ~ Sundries
I put in my contacts, so at least I can see the screen now. Still not awake though.
Posted by denise at 09:00 AM ~ Sundries
Visit this blog also blogging for the ADA.
A blog in Welsh. Interesting! Too bad I can't read it and find out what they're blogging for.
Posted by denise at 09:10 AM ~ Sundries
Reading e-mail from a friend who rants about the draconian distribution tactics of the film and recording industries.
Posted by denise at 09:32 AM ~ Movies
Link of the half-hour
(This link is rated PG-13.)
Posted by denise at 09:54 AM ~ Geeky
Changed my scrollbars. Woo!
Posted by denise at 10:14 AM ~ Geeky
Since I'm blogging for the ADA, one thing I wanted to do was to post mini-bios of famous people who have diabetes. So first on my list is Gary Hall, Jr..
Mr. Hall contracted diabetes about 1998 and though his doctor told him he'd have to give up swimming, he went on to win gold medals in Men's Swimming in the 50m and 100m events and 4x100m relay event during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia. And he continues to compete.
Posted by denise at 10:33 AM ~ Geeky
Remember when: The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
Posted by denise at 11:18 AM ~ Geeky
Okay, you're right, the mini bios of famous people with diabetes is cheesy.
Instead I'll talk about the other charity I'm blogging for, SA (South Africa) Cares for Life. SACfL is a charity that seeks to meet the needs of abandoned babies throughout South Africa and the need is great! Upwards of 5000 babies are abandoned every year in SA and many of these have AIDS. And these are just the babies we know about, many are abandoned and die without anyone finding them to offer help. You can help by contacting Rose Pylidis at Marchiano Ministries/SA Cares For Life, 6914 S. Redwood Road #104, West Jordan, Utah 84084, Tel: (801) 860-3851. Send money!
Posted by denise at 11:31 AM ~ Christian Life
Ack! I can't keep up!
Posted by denise at 11:57 AM ~ Sundries
This is my favorite picture off the SA Cares website.
One of the biggest expenses in caring for these babies is providing them with medicine to treat HIV, namely, Nevirapine. The SA government refused to subsidize the drug. Just this month though, the SA Constitutional Court handed down a decision declaring that withholding HIV medication infringes on the rights of the mothers and babies and ordered the government to provide the necessary drugs at all state birthing hospitals.
Good for the Constitutional Court!
Posted by denise at 12:20 PM ~ Christian Life
Ok, enough fiddling with the site...
Posted by denise at 12:41 PM ~ Geeky
I just received the Meditations on Mary book that I ordered last week. It's not quite what I expected. It's a gift book filled with paintings of Mary from the old masters and essays by Kathleen Norris who wrote The Cloister Walk. I was thinking the other day about how much Mary is a role model for us. Though no one ever dares to preach about her, she demonstrated complete submission to God and his will. We need her example of obedience.
Posted by denise at 12:59 PM ~ Bibliomania , Christian Life
I was really expecting more of a devotional book about Mary, but this is good. My favorite painting so far is Rossetti's "Ecce Ancilla Domini."
Posted by denise at 01:24 PM ~ Bibliomania , Christian Life
Here's a .jpg of that Rossetti painting, "The Annunciation." I like it for it's realistic approach. (.jpg is taken from the Artchive.)
Posted by denise at 01:28 PM ~ Sundries
Finally got AVIedit to work thanks to the developer. Now I can rip all my video! Well, actually I was able to rip it without AVIedit, but with AVIedit I can eliminate all the commercials. And life without commercials is good!
Posted by denise at 01:48 PM ~ Geeky
Wow. The person next to me in the Blogathon ring is writing about nothing but chocolate.
Posted by denise at 01:54 PM ~ Sundries
No way! My mp3s take up 21gb.
Posted by denise at 02:06 PM ~ Music
Ok, Linda said writing about celebs with diabetes wasn't cheesy so here's another one:
Stephen Furst, the inimitable Vir Cotto, aka Dr. Elliot Axelrod, aka Fish/Trout/Toad/whatever he was in Animal House. I've never seen Animal House so I don't know. Someone clue me in...
Posted by denise at 02:29 PM ~ Sundries
Posted by denise at 02:44 PM ~ Geeky
The current desktop:
Made by my friend John (one of my sponsors) from a photo I took of azaleas around the house.
Posted by denise at 03:04 PM ~ Geeky
Link of the half hour
This link is rated G.
Posted by denise at 03:44 PM ~ Sundries
Ok, it's time to break out the vacation stories.
One thing I did on my vacation several weeks ago was to find the gravesite of Lee Harvey Oswald. I knew he was buried in a cemetary not far from here, I just didn't know exactly where. So of course I began my search on the web, and, yes, there is an entire site devoted to Oswald. (One of several sites, I can only assume.) I was somewhat familiar with the cemetary since I have family members buried there so following the site's map wasn't a problem and finding the grave was relatively easy. I was still surprised when I saw it, though. Starting out on my quest I felt a little excited as if I were going on a treasure hunt, but when I found the gravestone I only felt sadness, sadness for his little girls, his widow, his mom and all of us, really, for that awful thing he did. It was sobering to stand there and think of what happened nearly 30 years ago and to think how we've only just begun to heal.
Posted by denise at 04:24 PM ~ Sundries
Hey! I'm in Welsh!
Artchive
Ar weflog drws nesa yng nghylch y Blogathon, ffeindiais i hyn: The Artchive. Dw i'n jyst dechrau archwilio'r safle. Gawn ni weld...Postiwyd gan Nic Dafis am 10:18 YH
Dweud eich dweud: Sylwadau (0)
Posted by denise at 04:30 PM ~ Geeky
I'm currently listening to A Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose about a company of paratroopers in WWII. They fought at Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and parachuted into Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Ambrose's spare prose and Cotter Smith's dispassionate delivery make the story all that much more stark and graphic.
Posted by denise at 04:50 PM ~ Bibliomania , History
Link of the half hour
Rated G!
Posted by denise at 05:16 PM ~ Geeky
I also went to see Attack of the Clones during my holiday. It was all I expected. Better than Episode I. However, I'm more firmly convinced than ever that Lucas is a hack and Star Wars (the original movie) was just a fluke. Strangely, though, I cared more for the Anakin-Amidala romance than I did the Leia-Han Solo romance. Perhaps because Natalie Portman is a more believable actor than Carrie Fisher.
Posted by denise at 05:40 PM ~ Movies
We also went to see an IMAX film: Kilimanjaro. If you haven't seen an IMAX movie, get jumpin'!
Kilimanjaro itself is fascinating. One starts the hike in the rainforest and ends in the arctic desert. It's a dead volcano, the highest-free standing mountain on Earth. When explorers went back to Europe and told of a snow-capped mountain on the equator, no one believed them.
Posted by denise at 05:52 PM ~ Movies
Another place we visited on holiday was the Cowgirl Museum. Quite an interesting place. It was started years ago, but only just recently attained a facility to house it's collections of costumes, accoutrements and memorabilia. I was surprised to learn that Sacajawea was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame as well as the Ingalls women of "Little House on the Prairie" fame.
Posted by denise at 06:01 PM ~ Sundries
We also took a final ride on the historic M&O subway. It runs from the parking lot on the Trinity River in downtown Fort Worth to the Tandy Center. It's being closed because Radio Shack is moving it's corporate offices from the Tandy Center to the area where the parking lot is now. We walked through the Tandy Center as well and it seemed like a ghost town, a nice place to get mugged. Eh, it's dead I suppose and with Radio Shack moving out, I guess it will go completely.
Posted by denise at 06:29 PM ~ Sundries
Now it's time for LAUNDRY!
Posted by denise at 06:34 PM ~ Sundries
Not funny, IE6! I just surfed away for a minute and my post disappeared. Oh well, it wasn't that important anyway...
Posted by denise at 06:59 PM ~ Geeky
Yay, supper!
(leftovers, woo.)
Posted by denise at 07:03 PM ~ Sundries
A History of Lounge Music (courtesy of John)
Posted by denise at 07:15 PM ~ Music
KWIK! Think of something to write!
Posted by denise at 07:30 PM ~ Sundries
A whole site on klezmer.
Posted by denise at 07:42 PM ~ Music
I was just thinking how that "Roots of Lounge" site should be a book. It is in fact in a book, but it ought have it's own treatment.
Posted by denise at 07:54 PM ~ Music
Links of the half hour (courtesy of Linda)
Posted by denise at 07:58 PM ~ Geeky
Between August 1985 until August 1987, I lived in Switzerland and worked for the French-speaking Church of Christ in Geneva.
Posted by denise at 08:00 PM ~ Sundries
Amazing. I've been blogging steadily for 12 hours now. I'm also reading e-mail, chatting and surfing. Strangely though I haven't listened to that much music or watched any TV, but I plan to watch a couple of movies in a minute.
Well, ok, not a minute, literally, but you know...
Posted by denise at 08:31 PM ~ Sundries
Posted by denise at 08:34 PM ~ Sundries
Ok, people read Roger Ebert's review of Reign of Fire. It's humorous.
Posted by denise at 08:59 PM ~ Movies
So far to go and I'm already sleepy! AUGH!
Posted by denise at 09:01 PM ~ Sundries
In researching people with diabetes it's amazing how many people die from complications of diabetes. What's even more incredible are the numbers of children who live with and grow up with the disease.
Posted by denise at 09:30 PM ~ Sundries
Ok, time to break out the bike!
A propos of nuthin':
Zoom in:
(made by John)
Posted by denise at 10:02 PM ~ Sundries
Texas Cookin': You're arteries will clog just reading the words...
Posted by denise at 10:29 PM ~ Music
Ok, I'm looking at the Times Square Cam and I'm wondering, "What are those hordes of people doing out on the street at midnight? In Times Square?"
Posted by denise at 10:54 PM ~ Geeky
That chocolate blog next door really is DA BOMB!
While it's true that Hershey's lost its luster for me years ago, progressing from Hershey's to, say, Lindt, isn't the same as going from weed to nose candy.
Posted by denise at 11:00 PM ~ Geeky
Ok, I have absolutely nothing to write here, except I can't sit in this chair anymore and there's ice cream!!
Posted by denise at 11:31 PM ~ Sundries
July 28, 2002
I keep writing things and then deleting them as inappropriate or incoherent. It's MIDNIGHT!
Posted by denise at 12:00 AM ~ Sundries
Weblogs of note
Lileks' Daily Bleat
The Flangy News
Wil Wheaton Dot Net
Joyce's Notes
Blather Wodge
And quite possibly the best blog on the planet:
Bruce's Travel Journal
(And, yeah, these are from over on the sidebar. I read them all the time.)
Posted by denise at 12:32 AM ~ Geeky
Oops, I'm reading Wil Wheaton's weblog and almost forgot to post. He posts a warm tribute to Gene Roddenberry.
Posted by denise at 01:01 AM ~ Geeky
Had to remove my contacts, so this should be fun. Currently, I'm watching Vanished a church movie about the rapture.
Posted by denise at 01:30 AM ~ Sundries
Vanished: Bad script, bad acting, bad directing. Would anybody really believe someone so obvious as the Anti-Christ? You'd think he'd be a little more subtle, being the father of lies and all.
Posted by denise at 02:03 AM ~ Movies
These apocalyptic movies truly baffle me. Every single one of them I've seen (Left Behind, Omega Code, Apocalypse) have been truly execrable. Bad writing, bad acting, bad theology. And yet people flock to them. People are saved through them. I don't get it.
Posted by denise at 02:30 AM ~ Movies
The stock footage used to show disasters in these movies seems exploitative.