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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
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Do you have a flag?
 

Entire GC Swap Reviews - Kakiphony Package #1

Cross-posting to Reviews forum and my LJ journal.   I got the first package from kakiphony, which incldues Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Hymn to Propserine, Jazz Funeral, Jolly Roger, and Juke Joint. Here are my reviews.   Ave Maria Gratia Plena - Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris. At first this smells mainly like lemon, but that fades into a strong floral. I can't really smell any sandalwood, which is too bad. I think there's some musk under there, but the florals are so strong I can't really tell much. I do think this is pretty, but it's not my style. Too floral for me. Lots of throw, and pretty strong.   Hymn to Prosperine - The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine. The first time I tried this, it went wonky after 20 minutes. This time, it's staying mostly perfumey amber that doesn't go powdery, and the dark fruits aren't starting to smell like rotten fruit. I'm blaming hormones for that first failure trial. This time it's dark, ambery, and only very slightly fruity. Fades pretty fast though; it's almost completely gone in an hour, leaving just a trace of amber.   Jazz Funeral - Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss. At first I can mainly smell the dirt, but it has a very sweet floral overtone. It turns into a sweet floral with a really lush, rich background. It smells humid to me and reminds me of a hothouse. This might be the only GC blend with a dirt note that I would wear. (I specified GC because I sometimes wear Queen of Clubs.) Good throw for only the first couple of hours, but it's still faintly there for several hours after that.   Jolly Roger - Sea spray with an undercurrent of leather, Bay Rum, and salty, dry woods. At first it smells salty and grassy to me. It's pretty green. Then as it's drying it smells more like an aquatic/grass combination. I like the scent, but as a perfume it fits my hubby better than me. Good throw.   Juke Joint - A bawdy, gleefully wicked and unruly scent: Kentucky Bourbon, sugar and a sprig of mint. The first scent I can pick out in this is mint. Then it turns into a sweet boozey scent with the barest bit of mint... blends like this are what makes BPAL the paragon of perfume excellence that it is. I have never smelled anything like this. It's like springtime, but it's a fun spring day -- like one of the days when you have a few drinks with good friends and you all end up skinny-dipping in the lake. The scent that I can tell is bourbon reminds me of my grandmother, which is kind of weird. Makes me wonder if Grandma was in the habit of taking a nip from a hip flask when I wasn't looking. Wears close to the skin; not a lot of throw.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

0
Do you have a flag?
 

Grrrr. Women who shouldn't be moms.

I was at the airport yesterday picking up my husband, and I was sitting in one of those rows of chairs. A woman and her child sat down behind me, facing the other direction. For the next 20 minutes (until I could no longer stand it and got up and left), this woman lied to her kid, made him cry, berated him, and basically told him he sucked. Not only that, but she had this whiny nasal voice with a pitch that could bend steel, and she spoke very loudly.   Apparently the kid (probably 3-4 years old) had just gotten a Spiderman toy less than an hour ago, and he threw it into some baggage bin or something, and they had to sit there and wait for airport personnel to retrieve it for them. So the woman ran through the list of other things she could have bought with that $8 instead of wasting it on a toy for the kid which he then "threw away." She told him that his dad works hard for that $8 and it was not nice of him to throw Daddy's money away. She told him that when she told Daddy about what he did with the toy, Daddy would probably never buy him another toy again. She pointed to a policewoman and told him that she was going to go over and tell the policewoman what he had done and she would come over and arrest him and take him to jail. This is when the kid started to cry. The crying just spurred her on, she then described how miserable he would be all alone, without Mommy or Daddy and no toys at all either.   All of this because the kid had a toy and did what kids do when they have toys that look like superheroes who fly through the air: He threw it. She sat there and let him throw the toy repeatedly, and then when it landed in a bad spot she berated him for 20 minutes in public, doled out the "wait until Daddy finds out" threat, and then told him he's going to jail. Of course none of this is her fault, it's all the kid's fault. Unbelievable.   I have no idea at all what gave that woman the idea that it's acceptable to talk to a little child like that. I honestly can't imagine that it would be natural to anyone, so I guess she must have seen someone else do it and figured it was a good idea. Which sickens me even more.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Pictures from my garden - Flowers!

Because the forum limits the number of pictures per post, I had to split it up.   My miniature roses: I had a bad aphid infestation while these buds were forming, so these flowers are a little ratty looking, but there are a ton of new buds that should look beautiful when they open!   My pot of morning glories and moonflowers: I planted 2 of each, I'm planning to grow them up the balcony railing. I planted them kind of in the 4 corners, but I guess some sloppy watering moved them around a bit. The two little sprouts are the morning glories, and the two moonflowers are sprouting as we speak!   My moonflower seeds breaking through the soil: How awesome is that?!? I feel like I'm in 1st grade again! I am planning to take more pictures of them in a few hours to see how far they've come   My moonflower seeds 24 hours later:
antimony

antimony

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Pictures from my garden - Edibles!

My strawberries:   My Habanero pepper:   My hanging basket tomato: I swear it's growing so fast I can almost see it happening!   My "Experimental" tomato: - I'm trying it out in a self-watering container made from a 3 liter bottle. I know it won't produce well or have the best-tasting tomatoes, but it amuses me. I'm going to wrap the container in mylar to keep the roots from burning.   My herbs: Thyme and basil
antimony

antimony

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Your fave romantic movie?

If you had to pick your favorite "romantic" movie, what would you pick?   Romantic is indeed in the eye and mind and heart of the beholder. If you look up "romantic" in Webster's, you'd find definitions that include: "consisting of or resembling romance," "having no basis in fact," "imaginary," "marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious or idealized," "marked by expression or love or affection," and "conductive to or suitable for lovemaking."   Indeed, what some call romantic, I might call sentimental and almost maudlin, and thus, unromantic as hell. And I'm sure others might watch my favorite "romantic" movie and wonder what was so romantic about people who were all confused, drinking a bit too much and acting snarky most of the time. But I do love "The Philadelphia Story." First of all, it's too damn funny and witty. It has Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart zinging lines back and forth at each other. The snappy repartee is delicious. But what I really find romantic about that movie is that for some people, when you meet your match, when you meet someone who can both dish it out and take it, you just can't let it drop. Ever. Finally you just give it up and give in to what's going on. But the fight is fun and it makes giving in even more delicious. That's a very romantic notion of mine, and "The Philadelphia Story" has it in spades. Sigh...   So tell me your favorite romantic movie, and tell me why...
valentina

valentina

6
cranberry's Blog
 

Spacekitty #1 - reviewed and shipped

Picked up my first package it the General Catalog swap last night and am testing my first oil tonight.   Contents included: hamptons - reviewed black forest- reviewed jabberwocky - reviewed la petit mort - reviewed mock turtle lessons - reviewed megaera - reviewed psyche - reviewed shango - reviewed   wahoo! I can't wait to try these!   ETA: ok, I've tested these all. I'm awaiting a new tin and then they are ready to send off to cordia. Woot!   6-2-06: ETA, I've sent these off to cordia - the tin that spacekitty used was just fine so there didn't seem to be a need to wait.
cranberry

cranberry

8
Sourball Ho!
 

ID & package theft

inkdarkmoon posted about a shipment she was afraid was lost/stolen, and luckily she found it, but since we all do quite a bit of shopping and online ordering I wanted to toss in one experience I had last year.   I believe the problem started with a local beauty supply store with a member loyalty program, where you sign up and get a membership card, and they'll send you mailers with coupons and sale notices. No problems by itself, but my mistake was after I used my mailer with the coupon, the salesgirl asked if I wanted to keep the mailer. I said no and didn't give it another thought. Unfortunately (and this is total speculation) I believe the salesgirl kept the mailer with my name and address, and since I paid with a credit card she had my credit card number too.   I didn't know of any problem until my credit card statement, when I saw a charge for almost $250 to a clothing store at a local mall. I hadn't been to that mall in a couple of years, and had never shopped at this store. It was a week or so after my trip to the beauty store. I disputed the charge and paid the rest.   About a month later I got "proof" of my purchase from the clothing store: they had a screen shot of my name and address, and UPS "delivery" to my house that of course wasn't my signature (it looked like Cynthia something). I called bullshit and disputed this "proof," as they didn't have my scanned credit card, just the number manually entered (the credit card company can tell), the store didn't have my signature on file, and UPS' delivery proof wasn't my signature. I also tracked the UPS shipment online and sent to the credit card company, because it showed that right after shipment the "customer" called and rerouted the package to Will Call! So UPS showed the package signed for at my house, but if you brought tracking up it clearly showed the package was diverted.   A month later the credit card company said I wasn't responsible for the charge, mainly because of my UPS tracking proof which the store conveniently didn't include. My guess for all of this is that salesgirl at beauty store called the clothing store and used my info, maybe with an accomplice at the clothing store, charged my card and shipped the goods, but then called as the "customer" and picked up the package at UPS later.   The kicker is that when I was going through receipts, the clerk at the beauty store was "Cynthia." Coincidence? Part of me wanted to call both stores and raise hell and get people fired, but I have no real proof it was even the beauty store salesgirl. I've never gone back to the beauty store though.
dawndie

dawndie

3
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Pie hole

Calling someone's mouth their "pie hole" has always amused me considerably. As in: "Shut your pie hole." It's even better when said with a Andy Griffith/Mayberry accent, as in: "Shuhut yer pah hawl, Barney. Ima thankin' 'bout sumthin.'"   I work with someone who is apparently a monument to oral fixations. If she isn't talking at a very high volume, she's eating at a high volume. This person likes to hear herself smack, schlurp and snort as she eats. She is a professional person, but she is a grotesque eater. She also makes little murmuring and yummy sounds as she eats. And she feeds her pie hole all the time. Often she has food smeared on her face when she's eating because she virtually sticks her face in it and slops like a hog. Astonishing. Disgusting table manners are truly one of my pet peeves. If she had french manicured toenails, I would probably lose my mind.   And have a look at this, I pull this site up and play it every now and then. It's good for a titter.   http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/piehole.php
valentina

valentina

5
Gone Batty
 

WTF?

I am absolutely and completely befuddled. I could swear that I had ordered Dragon Moon along with Eat Me and Obatala and Hymn to Proserpine but after looking through my emails and Paypal I can't find any evidence of such an order. I went back to look at the description of Dragon Moon and there's just no way I would have passed that up ::scratches head:: How freaking frustrating to miss out on Dragon Moon as well as realizing that yummy things I thought I had on order aren't and now I have to wait all over again. I'm so annoyed with myself   Seriously - wtf? This is from the Dragon Moon thread:     I knew I didn't imagine that order! The only thing I can think of is that I never hit the final pay button on the paypal page. Gah
miss apple

miss apple

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Vegas!

I started responding to the Las Vegas thread and realized I have too much to say We go to Vegas usually once a year. We're not big gamblers, but we end up having a blast without spending (or losing ) a lot of money. Our tried-tested-true tips are:   --Go during the week instead of the weekend. Hotel prices on weeknights can be less than 50% of what you'd pay over the weekend. --Don't just look for the cheapest hotel rates, think about what else you want to do and see. A cheap hotel isn't a bargain if it's way off by itself and you have to take a cab to do anything else. --Everyone should try a huge Vegas buffet once. Rio has a great one, and like the others, lunch is cheaper than dinner for the same food. --Don't forget about free drinks! If you're gambling (even at the penny or nickel slots) cocktail waitresses will walk by and bring you whatever you want, even mixed drinks (although notoriously watered-down and in teeny glasses). Bottled beer or water is best to avoid the teeny glasses. --There's technically an "open container" law, but you'll see people walking around all the time (especially downtown) with their beer or crazy half-yard drinks so it's no big deal.   Fun free stuff to do: Rio (west of the Strip) has a Mardi Gras carnival, with floats that hang from the ceiling where people toss beads. Oh! The last time we were there they had both male & female cocktail people who would intermittently hop up onto stages above the slots and dance, then hop back down. It was SURREAL and HILARIOUS --Flamingo has a bird sanctuary, nice to walk through --Mirage has a nice tropical walk-through, lots of waterfalls, and you can see the white tigers --Treasure Island has big pirate boats in front, and at night they'll put on a show. It used to be an "arr, matey" pirate show but the last time we were there they were switching it around to "Sirens of the Sea" or something like that; we haven't seen it --Venetian has the canals with singing gondoliers --Tons of window shopping: Forum Shops at Caesars is the hugest, but Aladdin has a nice-sized mall too, with a Sephora --Downtown is great, especially at night -- a bunch of older, smaller casinos within 3-4 blocks. Plus light shows at night, and a few huge souvenir shops that are cheaper than the Strip hotel gift shops. We bought a pseudo-neon Welcome to Las Vegas sign that was $30 downtown, then back at the Flamingo it was $40!   OK, now I want to go again
dawndie

dawndie

4
Birdsongs
 

Careful, they'll see you!

My younger brother just made a Myspace page lately, and he's gotten caught up in new-blog-excitement. I remember this from when I first made my LJ & was posting all the time - then people found it & I got all self-conscious & now it's pretty much just quizzes & random musings.   My brother's first few entries were about music, movies, his disenchantment with modern baseball - all well & good. His last entry started out talking about the finale of some show he watches, then ended with this:   "I realized a few nights ago when I stopped talking. I figure that I was pretty normal in Mountain Home (K-2) and again in Staunton (3&4). But I completely shut down after we moved to Haleyville (5th grade). I've been drifting these last 14 years. Was this change as marked as I'm remembering? or was I never normal?"   My brother never says anything introspective. Never! I simultaneously want to hug him & tell him he'll be fine, and am thinking, No! Anyone can stumble across stuff you put on the internet - cousins, family ... We are a reticent, secretive people (he doesn't talk much, really, but many people talk too much - we're just quiet and he's the quietest), and I'm suspicious of any opening up. Maybe he'll think better of it soon & edit the entry - I did that with several blog entries myself when I realized more than two people had found it.   He'll be moving up here in a couple of weeks. Maybe switching locales will help, & he'll start feeling more adventurous & positive. That's another reason I really wanted a four-bedroom house, even though some friends of mine thought it wasn't a good idea. He gets along with the other two people we'll be living with, and if he was going to get his own place he would have done it already. This seems like a good first step ...
spanishviolet

spanishviolet

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Another Prophet Raoul-ism

Last night another saying that I've only heard said by The Prophet Raoul -- if you don't know who I'm talking about, read my entry from a couple days ago -- came out of my mouth. Whenever Raoul was discussing something or someone that he found to be particularly unsightly, he liked to say: "If _______ was a dog, I'd shave its ass and make it walk backwards."   What a visual.
valentina

valentina

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

My mother decided to leave my father when I was 14 years old, an idea that I supported. Unfortunately, the method was all wrong. Instead of going through an attorney, she packed up the car and we rode off into the sunset. It was a whole big ordeal.   I was never one of those kids who was afraid of her parents getting a divorce. I occasionally prayed for it, even as early as 8 or 9 years old. I don't know- possibly before then.   When we left town, it was several days before he noticed. Days. He called my sister (from his first marriage), who was in her late 20s at the time, I believe. He was frantic about who was going to take care of him. It's always all about him. Most two year olds are less self-centered, and that's not hyperbole.   We eventually came back.   My mother's health is declining. Living with him has gotten progressively worse. So... she's decided to leave him. Finally. My fiancee (husband in less than a month!) talked her into seeing a lawyer and doing this right. It's just dredging up a lot of shit for me. There's SO much more that I can't process yet. But yeah. If I'm all over the place, that's part of the reason.
smallvoice

smallvoice

3
Diplomatka
 

Flying the Unfriendly Skies

I hate flying. Don’t get me wrong, I am not afraid of a terrorist attack or mechanical problems or the plane being shot out of the sky; I hate the process of flying. Going to the airport two hours before the flight, checking in bags, going through security, standing in line at passport control and customs, sitting around in the waiting area. And then, once I get on the plane, having to deal with people standing in the aisle putting bags away (unable to move for three seconds for me to pass), sitting next to the middle-aged Indian guy who farts and snores the whole ten hour flight, dealing with the toilets at the end of the flight with pee all over every possible surface and used tissues sticking out of every nook and cranny. The crying babies with the parents who act like I should give a shit that their kid is crying, while I put in earplugs and wait for the Xanax to kick in. Then getting off the plane somewhere in Europe, sitting around an airport for five hours and then doing it all over again.   And while I absolutely hate flying for these reasons, my hatred has suddenly become acute. Why? Ariana Afghan Airlines. Now if these three words do not make your blood run cold, consider the facts: in its 25 years Ariana has had one hijacking (in 2000 five Afghans took an internal flight to London—you probably heard about this on the news recently as all of the hijackers were granted asylum) and five crashes. Since moving to Afghanistan last year, I have been forced, repeatedly, to take Ariana Airlines when I want to get the fuck out of Kabul and each time has been a terrifying, humiliating and life-changing experience.   I must say that I am no light-weight when it comes to traveling. I have flown on Yak-40s, Tupelovs, and planes decommissioned by the Democratic Republic of Congo for christssakes, but nothing prepared me for the deep, irrevocable fear I feel when flying Ariana. This fear emerges when you first get to the gate. When traveling from Dubai to Kabul, you must go to Terminal Two. Terminal Two has none of the restaurants, shops and aesthetic touches of Terminal One. Indeed, Terminal Two is at the gateway to hell; a small hallway that looks like a series of trailers slapped together. The flights that leave from Terminal Two are only to god-forsaken places like Afghanistan: there are flights to Baghdad, Djabouti, and remote areas of Iran from Terminal Two, but never to any place with consistent electricity, running water, or a lack of armed conflict for the past 5 years. While purchasing alcohol at the one duty free shop in Terminal Two, I ALWAYS see the Russian pilot of my plane (he’s wearing an Ariana badge) buying vodka, which I pray he does not consume in-flight, but realize it might not be a bad idea. While checking out with my liquor stash the Phillipina behind the register asks me with wide eyes, “where are you going?” and “is it safe there?”   The atmosphere of Terminal Two is a microcosm of the situation in the Middle East and Central Asia: there are fatties from the Midwest with their “Operation Freedom” shirts, African American men wearing jeans and sneakers, white women who look like they took a flight from Wal-Mart to the UAE, Afghan men in their shalwar kamezes and wool caps, and Arabs in traditional headdresses. I always try to bury my head in a book and distance myself from the Americans, they are so culturally inept and embarrassing. I mean, you are going to the Middle East for fuck’s sake—do you think it is a good idea to wear a “Christ’s Gym” t-shirt?!?!   Once you check in it’s every woman for herself. In the waiting area, you will hear stupid British mercenaries go on and on about what happened recently in Kandahar while the Afghans (all male) sit and stare at everyone in silence. Once the airline worker walks through with a radio you know you’d better jump-the-fuck-up and run hell for leather to the door to be sure that you are the first motherfucker on the bus to the plane. Once on the plane, I notice that I am only one of about three women—all foreign—of the 150 passengers. The plane is hot, it smells like body odor and three-day old dahl. It’s an old Soviet plane, probably built in the 1960’s or 1970’s and it appears to be held together with duct tape. As I walk down the aisle the Afghan men eye me in fear that I will sit down next to them. Invariably, my assigned seat is broken, so I usually park it next to some pasty old Western dude. The Afghan men all stare at me like I am going to jump up and take off my top as we taxi.   Once in the air, I dare not look out the window at the jagged mountain tops mere feet below us. If I do, I start wondering how in the hell we could make an emergency landing if we needed to and every small tremor of turbulence makes me put a death grip on the armrests. I take more Xanax and try to sleep. Soon the food is brought around: a greasy chicken leg, a half a lemon, a hot pepper, some potatoes, and Afghan naan. I eat the hot pepper in naan and wonder, did they prepare this in Dubai? Before realizing that in fact the food had come from Kabul the day before and had been transported across Iran twice before it reached my folding tray.   The decent into Kabul is sharp; there are mountains all around and it is a quick two minutes till the plane is on the ground. As soon as we touch down, five Afghans stand up and open the overhead compartments while the crew yells over the loudspeakers in Dari for them to sit down. After we stop, I put on my head scarf and maneuver as quickly as possible to get off the plane. I have spent two hours in passport control before (a supervisor slapped a border worker, causing a work slow-down) and I wish never to repeat it.   Once I am off the plane, it doesn’t all seem that bad. We made it. But I know it is just a matter of time before the inevitable happens with Ariana; after all, it has happened five times before. So next month, on my way to Bangkok, you can bet your ass I will not be flying Ariana. I will be safe and sound on a UN plane.
Confection

Confection

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Let's watch some sports! *cheer*

Yes, the title is sarcastic. I do not understand the excitement of cultivating your ulcer around some dudes running around. DH isn't a huge football fan, thank goodness -- his drug of choice is basketball. So 5 guys running up and down the court dictate not only his mood for the evening, but it dictates our evening:   --we have to watch the pregame yakking about what a great game this will be. But I can understand anticipation (Update Speculation thread, anyone? )   --then it's the game, 2-3 hours of tense up-and-down, back-and-forth *yawn* At least DH isn't yelling at the TV during all this.   --don't forget, after the game it's post-game commentary! Oh goody. Lots of yakking about how the game went. If the team won then everyone played great against formidable opponents. If the team didn't win then it's the refs' fault.   I'm just bitter because I want to watch CSI reruns instead.
dawndie

dawndie

3
Emain Macha
 

Hungry Ghost Moon T-shirt

done!   (sorry, you can't see it yet.)   But I'm very happy with it. And may I give a brief nod to the drama-loving, bitter and spiteful folks over at the LJ BPAL anonymeme? Thanks to them, I had a healthy dose of hate and malice to channel into my art, and I'd like to think this shirt design reflects that.   What good is being an artist if you can't turn lemons into lemonade, right?
Macha

Macha

4
Gone Batty
 

Is it time to go home yet?

Oh my god am I tired. Lots of tossing and turning plus some freaky dream where I was married to David Haselhoff (who had long hair, wtf?!) made for a poor night's sleep. The night before was like that too only with a different weird dream. I wonder what my subconscious is trying to tell me. Maybe I don't want to know.   My husband has to go to Vegas for work in July and was asking me if I wanted to fly out towards the end of the week for a mini vacation. I like Vegas but I don't know if I want to go out there when it will be so beastly hot plus I'm not sure if I want to use more of my leave. We haven't figured out if we're going to Europe or Morocco in the fall yet so I don't want to take time off that may be better spent then. It also might make more sense to save up and go in the spring and take a few local trips.   I can't wait for the three day weekend to get here, even if I am on call.
miss apple

miss apple

2
Gone Batty
 

Dobeedobeedooo

Ok, I admit it. I went shopping yesterday. I didn't need to but I did it anyway. It was the MAC thread that made me do it. I just had to see the new lines and I haven't bought any thing new for a while...er, yeah. I thought I was going to get off easy with a couple of pigments and one of the new cheek stains but then I saw the new liquid liners and - swoon! They had aqua and lime, how could I turn that down?! After that I went down to the book store to pick up the last two Southern Vampire books that are available in paperback. Then I went to Urban Outiftters to check the sale rack because lately I've been finding some amazing deals there. Yesterday was no different and I scored a black lacey 80's style skirt that kinda looks like it got caught in the car door because it has an uneven hemline. Original price was $68 marked down to $4.99! Score!
miss apple

miss apple

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Lady Day and Mister

Billie Holiday simply rocks my world. I was listening to her a bit this morning. Her music simply hits you in the heart. Even when she's singing a happy song or a love song, there's always a little pathos in her voice and I love it. Billie isn't my only favorite jazz singer, I also adore Ella Fitzgerald, and if you asked me to pick my favorite version of "The Way You Look Tonight" it would be Ella's, and not Billie's or Tony Bennet's.   But I digress. Billie loved dogs, and she had a Boxer dog named Mister that she loved like crazy. Since I have a Boxer named Mugzy (or Mister Mug, as I like to call him), I know why she was so devoted to him. A lot of people enjoy Billie because it's cool to say you like her or because she was an such an iconic beauty in her time. Actually, she had a tiny little voice that wasn't that pretty, especially compared to Ella or Sarah Vaughn or other great female jazz singers of her time. However, her style was incomparable.   And Billie also made some great comments about life in the course of her time here on earth, so here are a few:   “Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain." "If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling." "You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation." "You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave."   I love that last quote. Amen, sister!  
valentina

valentina

3
Do you have a flag?
 

Shutting down alchemylab?

Hunh. I didn't know they could do that. I mean, I guess somewhere in the back of my head it must have registered that maintainers can shut down comms, but I was totally surprised by the announcement. To be honest I didn't know that Beth started alchemylab, I figured that some people started it with her blessing and she jumped in from time to time to make comments or suggestions.   It seems a drastic step, which makes me wonder how bad it's gotten for Beth and the Lab. I seriously bet there are times when she just wants to scream at everyone for being such nitpicky demanding dumbasses. (I just hope she's never wanted to scream at me for being said dumbass.)   Personally, I think that shutting it down is a great idea. Hell, if I ran a business and maintained a comm associated with my business, and the comm was full of people jacking up the prices on my products and selling them to make profits, and talking trash about my business and each other, I'd want to shut it down too.   I know that some people are upset because they feel like they'll lose touch with some folks they had gotten to know, but for the most part I think those of us who like to talk to each other are over here on the forums anyway. Hopefully the people who like the "community" aspect of alchemylab will come on over.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

5
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Brain exploding

Trying to focus on other things... meh. I hate when life gets turned upside down, even when it's best in the long run... But this..? This is just dredging up awfulness from the past and present. It'll get better, but... man, it sucks right now. I'll go into more detail when I can. I'm paranoid at the moment.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Diplomatka
 

Panjwayi

Man, shit. I posted this then learned about an IED explosion in Wardak province that hit the vehicle of an organization that does humanitarian medical aid. A doctor, two nurses and the driver were killed. Remote controlled IED--hit the car head on and only the transmission is left. In Wardak? What the fuck is going on?   Usually it is only the military that is targeted, I guess that is all changing now. Gee, you might wonder why people are getting so pissed off:           mounts over civilian deaths in Afghanistan 1 hour, 1 minute ago   KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Villagers have insisted that dozens of civilians were killed in a coalition strike in Afghanistan, as rights groups voiced concern about mounting civilian casualties in days of fighting.     The governor of southern Kandahar province, Asadullah Khalid, said Monday that at least 16 civilians were killed early Monday in an air and ground strike in the province's Panjwayi district.   But a teacher in nearby Tulakhan village told AFP by telephone that he saw the bodies of 40 civilians, including children, and that about 50 others had been wounded.   The US-coalition said up to 80 suspected Taliban had died in the raid targeting Azizi village in Panjwayi, adding it was investigating claims of civilian casualties.   The teacher, named Abdullah, said he had assisted in burying 28 people and saw the bodies of 12 others being returned to their home village from other areas.   Eight houses in his village were destroyed in the bombing, several damaged and scores of animals were killed, he said from the area, which was still off-limits to journalists.   Other residents told AFP at the main hospital in Kandahar city on Monday that they had seen scores of dead and wounded.   An elderly man, Attah Mohammad, said he had lost 24 members of his family, including some children.   The strike was the latest incident in nearly a week that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan since the Taliban were removed in 2001 -- clashes that have left around 300 people dead, most of them rebels.   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations expressed concern about reports of civilians being caught up in the violence.   The ICRC urged "the parties to exercise constant care in the conduct of military operations," describing the situation in the south as "worsening".   "At all times they must take all feasible precautions to protect civilians against the effects of any attacks," it said.   A UN spokesman in Kabul said Monday that "it is clearly important that everything possible is done to ensure the safety of civilians, as well as ensuring safety for UN and other humanitarian workers."   The insecurity was hampering the world body's work in the south, spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters, but noted there were no plans to evacuate the area.   The coalition said it had targeted only compounds harbouring "extremists".   It said Monday it had called in warplanes after troops who were trying to capture insurgents in the area came under fire, while the governor said some of the militants had hidden in local people's houses.   There have been several major battles with insurgents during the past week, including a clash in Panjwayi last Wednesday and Thursday which Khalid said left 100 Taliban dead and netted some senior Taliban commanders.   The fighting has also claimed the lives of about 50 Afghans, besides those killed in the latest coalition raid, most of them from the fledgling police and army.   Five foreign nationals have been killed: two French special forces soldiers, a Canadian female soldier, an American soldier and one US civilian killed in a suicide bombing in the western city of Herat on Thursday.
Confection

Confection

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