Tuesday, September 27, 2005

The holy grail

At 6:08 p.m. tonight, I officially lost my Jacksonville City Nights virginity. I had managed to avoid all the leaks on the internet, hearing only the live versions of the new songs at the two shows I attended as well as on the two bootlegs I have from the tour.

It was an epic journey to attain the CD. I thought for sure that the Best Buy in Aberdeen would have it, so I headed over after work. No such luck. The sales associate (he was not even close to qualifying for the Geek Squad) was unable to help me find the CD. In retrospect, and after hearing from the LMGC that it was filed incorrectly at his Best Buy, I should have had the sales boy check the computer. But I did not. Instead, I left Aberdeen, drove the 18 miles back to Raeford, then 20 more up to Fayetteville to Best Buy. I did call the store before heading out, to check if *they* had it in stock.
Geek Squad fellow: What was the name of the artist again?
Dix: Ryan Adams. The CD is titled "Jacksonville City Nights."
Geek Squad fellow: OK. Bryan Adams.
Dix: NO. RRRRRyan Adams. No B. Not Bryan. Just R Y A N.
Geek Squad fellow: OK. I'll check. (twenty seconds pass) Is the CD called "Jacksonville City Nights?"
Dix: Did you not listen to me? (in my head)
Dix: Yes, that's it. (what I really said)

For the record, the guy in the first Best Buy did the same thing. Asked if I meant Bryan Adams. No I did not, thank you very much.
I know how much it ticks me off when people can't spell or pronounce my name. And today I had an inkling of how incredibly disgusting it must be to live your live being confused with a sappy 80's rocker Canadian.
On a good note, the long drive home allowed me to listen to the entire CD. It's very country - old school country. But I like it. It is a little strange to hear the studio versions of songs you have only heard live, and I'm not sure that I've warmed up to a couple of the studio versions yet, but it's a strong CD, and worth many listens.

Happy Birthday!


Just what do you get for the website that has everything?

Saturday, September 24, 2005

We do what we're told

This report released by the Human Rights Watch is absolutely horrific. Of course the parties involved are playing the blame game.
“Everyone in camp knew if you wanted to work out your frustration you show up at the PUC tent. In a way it was sport..."

That statement goes well beyond not understanding the application of the Geneva Conventions. It's a mindset where the Geneva Conventions don't even exist. It's a complete violation of basic human rights.
“The administration demanded that soldiers extract information from detainees without telling them what was allowed and what was forbidden,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch. “Yet when abuses inevitably followed, the leadership blamed the soldiers in the field instead of taking responsibility.”
“Trends were accepted. Leadership failed to provide clear guidance so we just developed it. They wanted intel [intelligence]. As long as no PUCs came up dead it happened. We heard rumors of PUCs dying so we were careful. We kept it to broken arms and legs and sh*t.”

The first thing that came to my mind was Stanley Milgram's experiment, and it's discussed in this article.
I can not begin to imagine what it's like to be a soldier in Iraq. But where are you in your head when you reach a point where the torture of another human being is stress relief?

Friday, September 23, 2005

Afraid not scared

Two times in two days I've felt sharp, intense, stabbing, sudden pains in my right flank, aka the location of my problematic right kidney. The pain I had today took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. I really wanted this to be over. I've been so spoiled in the last month or so, living without daily agony. I don't want kidney stone version 2.0 anytime soon.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

It's almost like spam

The subject line in the email from Ticketmaster reads "Don't miss Stryper"....
Uh, yeah. Thanks for the heads up on that one, guys.

Random update

Had a most delicious dessert today....strawberry margarita cheesecake from Chili's. Lunch was good, at the time, but it's come back to haunt me tonight. Don't think I'll be finishing up the leftovers.
Shopped at Hobby Lobby for the first time today. They have a large selection of items, craft and non-craft, but the prices seem a bit steep. Also, the customer service at checkout was seriously lacking. To the point where I went to their site and complained politely. Don't know that it will change things, but I feel better having screamed, don't you? (Brownie points if you get the reference, and y'all that will know who you are.)
Had to emergency sub in a classroom the other morning and the talk turned to the weather, and then, to Hurricane Katrina. One of the students, who I'd taught last year, pipes up with "George Bush let those black people die. If them had been white, they wouldn't have died." Thank you mini-Kanye.
Edit - I had posted about work, but those of you who know me have already heard the story, and I'm not going to get "dooced."
Edit part 2 - I am doing very well on my "don't touch the salt shaker" diet. Although I'm not to the point of checking labels and such for sodium, I have almost completely eliminated adding extra table salt to my food. I've been going strong for a little over a month now, and can count on one hand the number of times I've added salt to my food. Which I think is great, considering I was of the habit of tossing on the salt before I'd even tasted a bite. Excessive sodium can cause kidney stone formation, so this is my little preventative measure.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Avast ye scurvy curs!

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

You are a Pirate Second Class

Do you remember the last time you took a chance? I do. It was when you decided to leave the security of your mother's womb and headed for the bright light. It's time to head for the next bright light, my friend. Creativity is not your strong suit. You are good at doing what you are told to do and that, in itself, is a gift. It's not a gift to you, mind you, but rather a gift to those who will be there to tell you what to do. You like long walks on the beach and cuddling, but would never admit that to your guy friends who think you are okay but can't always remember your name. Tapioca pudding seems a bit extreme for a fellow such as yerself, what with all the bumps and stuff. It's a good thing ye be on a pirate ship, otherwise, ye'd would be walkin' because ye be positively pedestrian. Have a nice day.


What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Thinking...

About taking my old LiveJournal and adding it to this blog. It would be a backwards add-on. Opinions?

Saturday, September 17, 2005

And here's his friend from down the street

Who is just as optimistic...
"If we get power, we can bring the dancers in and start working," said Javier Rosado, who's been helping clean the Big Daddy's strip club so it can reopen.
Even though business will not be as it was before the storm, Rosado said, the opportunity to make money still exists in the near-desolate city. "The soldiers keep passing by and asking when we'll open," he said. "I'm sure we'll make money."

Apparently, this guy's been to Jacksonville before.

You know his mom is proud

Wouldn't you just love to be quoted in a CNN.com article like this?
Jason Mohney, the owner of four strip clubs on Bourbon Street, told Reuters that he saw a unique opportunity ahead.
"It'll be better than ever," he said. "A lot of federal money will be coming in here. Big-time developers will come, too."

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Irony, thy name is weather

Hurricane Ophelia, or as the LGMC has called it, "the drunk, teenage hurricane that wouldn't go away," soaked the NC coast in tons of rain this week. The LGMC has had flood damage to his home and won't be living there for the forseeable future. :(
Whoever picked the name for this drenching storm that, dare I say, drowned parts of the Old North State knew what they were doing.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

He's got a point

In this CNN article, author Jason Berry asks a pertinent question:
Do we want to go back to a place that's been poisoned? ... You think I'm going to go back because the Bush EPA says, 'We've cleaned it up'?

Given the administration's track record on other things, I'd have to agree.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Weekend update

Minus Dennis Miller.
Took Maggie to the vet Saturday morning. Maggie is not people-friendly, but behaved well (for her) in the lobby and exam room. When I tried to hold her for her heartworm test, it was all over. I had muzzled her for safety, and she thrashed and jerked around, knocking the glasses off my face. The vet gave up and issued me tranquilizers to dose Maggie up with before the next visit. After hearing Maggie's story, the vet concluded that she probably has "disinhibition syndrome" caused by the anesthesia when she was spayed. The vet says in some dogs, the anesthesia triggers an overstimulation of the "fight or flight" response, as we see in Maggie. Of course, when we got back out to the car, she was fine.

Got home and took a few doggie pictures. Brought Cerberus inside, turned my back for a minute, and Archie went out the not-so-closed back door. I took off after him. I ended up following him all through the woods, like some scene out of The Blair Witch Project. There were times when I couldn't follow him because the foliage was so dense. He went through the woods behind my house, behind my neighbor's house, and up through the woods beside her house, across the creekbed...and to the road. I was almost in tears from fear of him being near the road. A car went by, and I knew if I heard a dull thump, I would vomit. But luckily, Archie didn't chase the car. He did run along the road for a bit, and darted across to another neighbor's yard. They were making some kind of noise that attracted him. When I realized he was running their way, I yelled, "He's friendly! He got away from me! Grab him if he comes near you!" and thankfully, they did. By the time I caught up with him, I was in the throes of a full-on asthma attack. I put a finger through his collar and led him back home, coughing and wheezing the whole way. As we rounded the back corner of the house, we were met with a BARRROOOOOO from Lily, who had run out the open door as I had bolted after Archie. But she had stayed put, or at least had come back to the house. There she was, sitting pretty as you please, waiting for Mommy and her big brother to come home. Of course I had to ask Archie, "Why can't you be more like her?"

So after all THAT hullabaloo, I managed to make it to Chapel Hill to the "No Depression" 10th anniversary show at the Cat's Cradle. Sally Spring opened, and I enjoyed her so much, I bought a CD. Chris Stamey performed next, and was a good listen as well. Tres Chicas' beautiful harmonies gave me goose bumps. And the Two Dollar Pistols honky-tonked my sandals off. Funny quote of the night from TDP singer John Howie, who has THE deepest voice I've ever heard (the LGMC says "his voice makes my testicles vibrate): "We were gonna play an Alex Chilton song, since he was missing in New Orleans...but they found him...so nevermind."

Did a little shopping on Franklin Street and around the Hill with the LMGC. Favorite purchase of the weekend, moonshine crunch from A Southern Season.....yum, that stuff is good.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Farewell....


Cerberus says "aloha" to the summer....

Precious


Murmurs is having an informal pet contest, so as I try to figure out which pictures of Cerberus to post, I thought I'd share two photos of "Big Lil" that were taken during Thanksgiving weekend, 2004. I adopted Lily on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving, so these are pics when she was still quite new to me, and I to her. Thanks to the LMGC for the photos.

Big shot (with apologies to Mr. Joel)

One of the most succinct critiques of Smirky McFlightsuit I've read in the last week or so. Thanks to Steve for the link.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

The golden years

I was having a nice conversation with my grandmother this afternoon in the dayroom at her nursing home, when she abruptly turned to her roommate. The following ensued:
G'ma: Do you know what we forgot to do?
Roomie: No, what?
G'ma: We forgot to check that thing off.
Roomie: Well you know, we sure did.

And they sat and nodded at each other in agreement. I don't know what "that thing" is, and I'm willing to bet they don't either.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

I thought I was free from parent phone calls

"You know, my child has problems, she has that hypertension, that ADD, and she has problems learning."
Uh, yeah. Sure.

Long time, no blog

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. Last week was busy. There were "I hate my job" days, and "this isn't so bad" days. A kindergartner hollered "Hey Coach!" at me when I came to help in his classroom, and that made me smile. Also on the funny list, a little kindergarten girl who giggled "That looks like me!" and pointed to the monitor where she saw the picture I'd taken (of her) with the webcam for our Waterford reading program. Uh, sweetie, that is you. ;)
My mother went into ICU in the wee hours of Sunday morning, bleeding heavily as a complication from a colonoscopy on Friday. She's much better now, has been moved to a room and will hopefully be home in a day or so, but it was scary for a while. Big thanks to the ER staff and Daddy for saving her life. Also, big thanks to my friends for supporting me through yet another crisis.
I tried to get the week started off right, going to bed earlier, and NOT falling asleep on anyone while chatting on AIM or YM. I was even done talking to the LMGC by 10:45 and drifted off to sleep. And I woke back up at 12:49 a.m. So here I am. I've got to follow up with my doctor about the leg pain that's hanging around from the surgery ordeal, so maybe she can give me something to help the quality and quantity of my sleep.