Random Questions

These are the things that run through my head on a daily basis.

Who are the Teen Titans' parents?

Where are Ruby and Max's parents?

Why no white shoes after Labor Day, but plaid is okay?

Did the iPhone alarm glitch screw up Steve Jobs' appointments?

How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie-pop?

Why is everything so fake in "The Real World" on MTV? Fake hair, fake tans, fake pecks and boobs? That pretty much covers it right?

Is it possible to teach dogs and cats to take a "fart walk" instead of killing us with their rare attacks of gas?

Who shot first? Han? Griedo? And just how much back child support did Darth Vader have to pay after revealing he was Luke's father? Was it worth it to avaiod "baby-mamma drama?

Why isn't there a Twilight Zone channel? We have Lifetime sobby movies 24-7 but we can't get nonstop Twilight Zone unless it's a holiday?

Was Harrison Ford's character in Blade Runner an android?

Any and all speculations or answers to these questions are welcomed in the comments here or on FB.

Best Year Ever Part 2:Moving In Stereo

For Christmas 2009, my darling husband got me an iPod Touch and I have cherished and savored it's very existence. I have been through 3 pairs of ear buds because I use them so much. I currently have 650 songs on it, and about 150 more in iTunes that will not fit.

It's really nice to have such a large selection of music, but I do admit that I have my favorites and only break out the others on special occasions. I have a cleaning mix that gets me jumping around, and I have a road trip play list full of hubby's favorites, then I also have a play list for work in the morning in case some of the boys want to plug it in to the stereo.

I thought it would be fun to list my top 10 played songs of 2010:

10. "I Don't Like Mondays", Boomtown Rats, play count:62
9. "A Day In The Life", The Beatles, play count:67
8. "Song Of The Shrimp", Frank Black, play count:78
7. "Iron Road", The Old 97s, play count:80
6. "Another Velvet Nightmare", Frank Black, play count:84
5. "Truckin'", Grateful Dead, play count:90
4. "Ripple", Grateful Dead, play count:98
3. "Atom In My Heart", Frank Black, play count:357
2. "Mariner's Revenge Song", The Decemberists, play count:386
1. "Across The Universe", The Beatles, play count:1545

Now, just to figure out how to reset the counter so I can do this again next year.

Best Year Ever Part 1: Movie Madness

In the great tradition of bloggers from centuries back, I have composed a "best of..." list for 2010. *If something in this list is from a year other than 2010 it's because I just discovered in 2010 or because I am old and the years tend to run together when you are on the downward slant.

Favorite movies: This one I would like to break into categories because there were so many that I loved, but hell, I'm OCD so I would love to break everything up into categories. Well, screw it! How about a top ten format.

Top Ten Movies
10. Winter's Bone (Good flick, ya see a lot of those characters around here)
9. The Town (Was good, but I though there would be more to think about)
8. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (The A-list of yesterday meets the A-list of today.)
7. Alice In Wonderland (Saw this at midnight on Kyle's birthday. Good memories!)
6. The Lovely Bones (Beautiful sepia washed melencholy story of tragedy.)
5. The Runaways (Dakota Fanning as a filthy hot chick...awesome!)
4. Scott Pilgrim vs the world (Saw this on DVD, well worth my time.)
3. True Grit (Jeff Bridges was awesome, but Hailee Steinfeld stole the show)
2. Inception (The top is not Cobb's totem)
1. Leaves of Grass (Edward Norton is so freaking awesome!)

Movies I missed:
10. Exit Through the Gift Shop (I just love Docs!!!!)
9. The Black Swan (Aronofsky, The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream.....)
8. When You're Strange (probably straight to DVD and will have to dig it up on Amazon)
7. The King's Speech (Unless I drag my mom out, I will have to rent this.)
6. The City of Your Final Destination (Sir Anthony Hopkins, who wouldn't want to see him)
5. Machete (I forgot about it. Wait for the DVD release)
4. Catfish (Hmmm...couldn't tell if this was an internet stalking tale or what)
3. The Social Network (Jesse Eisenbergh not trying to be Micheal Cera.)
2. Howl (A movie I will have to catch on video and likely have to snag from Amazon)
1. Rabbit Hole (I will rent this, because it will make me cry)

Movies I am looking forward to in 2011
10. Hanna (Check out the trailer for this and you will see what I mean.)
9. Captain America (FINALLY!!!)
8. Transformers (This just for the kick ass-ness of the Drive-in)
7. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Jim Carey, and I read this with my son when he was little.)
6. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Daniel Craig, 'nuf said.)
5. Thor (YAAY)
4. Green Lantern (Comic movie!!!)
3.Mix Tape (Has the little girl from Kick Ass in it, Chloe ?)
2. The Adjustment Bureau (Looks very Phillip K. Dick)
1. Red State (Kevin Smith has been building this one up all year!)

So, yeah those are my top tens for 2010. Can't wait for more movie goodness in the coming year.

Coming soon...
Best Year Ever Part 2...

Things I learned this year

As I sit here writing this on the last day of 2010, I can honestly say I have no regrets. I have not taken any steps backwards, nor have I burned any bridges that did not desperately need burned. I have learned many things this year, some of which I already knew but never allowed myself to put into practice.

I learned that work is just work and that you should not take it home(unless it's a pizza you bought with your totally sweet employee discount), nor should you take home to work (unless you want to get free drinks from the soda fountain, then you should bring a cup from home with your name on it). I feel there is a balance now, spend more time at home and less time at work. Above all, be where you are.

Another lesson I learned this year. The judgment of others is just as fucked up as yours is, so live by your opinions alone. You have no reason to fear criticism when you can defend your decisions, so make sure they are YOUR decisions. There's nothing worse than following the advice of someone else and then having it backfire on you only to find out that you should have follwed your own instincts. Our brains know things that we do not consciously know, "Follow your gut" has survived as a bit of advice for a reason.

This one I learned awhile back then got lazy on. Wal-Mart is evil! I don't care if you believe me when I say this, but Wal-Mart has ruined our economy. Who cares if something costs a few cents more at Family Market and it adds up to $50 by the end of the year. At least you get good service there and you know what's in the meat and can look at it before you buy it. If you do not understand why I say Wal-Mart has ruined our economy, do your own research to find out why Rubbermaid went out of business (check sources to see that they are not owned by Wal-Mart).

Everybody poops. This thought is the only thing that consoled me during the approximately 125 times I cleaned my bathroom (not to mention the 100 times I cleaned bathrooms at work). That means I uttered this very thing under my breath approximately 225 times over the course of 2010, not counting the times I though it when my 6 year old ;who is fascinated with poop and fart jokes, started his little comedian act.

Date night rules! Since Paul has started working the midnight shift now, I am often at work while he is sleeping. As the seasons changed, he wants to hibernate. I figure that's great, he works hard at a very stressful job so it probably does him good. However, I find that I need some adult conversation and this will culminate unless I get alone adult time to have conversation with another intelligent adult at least once a month. Date night is usually dinner and a movie. Good conversation over a meal I did not myself cook and that after which I do not have to clean up, then a thought provoking movie that serves as fodder for more conversation throughout the month or weeks between (if we do get a few precious moments to not talk about farts and poop).

Those are just some of my random thoughts I thought I would share as the clock ticks closer to 2011. Times does fly when you are having fun, so now I am off to make some nice snacks for our private McKinney family New Year's Eve bash. The entertainment will include a showing of the A-Team, Cats and Dogs (insert sequel name here if you know it), and then a sampling of Aiden's comedy act (everybody poops).

Happy New Year everyone. Remember, if you drink don't drive Johnny Law will get you!!!

Would be activist settles for unnoticed civil protest

I have often entertained the thought that in another life I might have been a huge activist who organized sit-ins, protested, toted petitions, and organized union drives. My upbringing seemed to have gone against any chance of me being any such person in this day and age yet I still seem to have a rally girl spirit. If something is not right and it's close enough to me I will stew and brood until I just have to say something or do something to point it out. There it is, the war protesting pacifist side (never of the radical persuasion, mind you) of me peeking out.

Just one example of passive-aggressive protest follows. (Here is where the casual uninterested blog stumbler begins to think this whole spiel is about how I withhold sex from my bed partner to get my way. Sorry folks, a typical cunniving woman I am not. I would gauge this example way lower on the spectrum than withholding carnal pleasures.) There are a number of televisions in the restaurant where I work. As I am server, I not only am in charge of turning them on in the morning, but I also field complaints and requests about what chanels they are tuned to. Also; occasionally, a customer will engage me in conversation about what may be happening on the screen.

There are rules about the televisions. They have predisposed channels each one is to be tuned to, and must always stay muted. These are based on preferences set up by the owner and the manager jointly. One of these televisions must always be tuned to Fox News. Mind you, it is the one that is most viewable to patrons of the establishment. This is the television that is most often the subject of attention and comment from the customers. How do I say this nicely? Engaging in conversations about the opinions expressed by the personalities on the Fox News Chanel can easily be the difference between me getting a tip or a disapproving glare and religious track in place of the former.

I like to make sure this television is tuned to either HGTV or the Travel Chanel just so I don't have to think about it anymore. On a lucky day, no one with remote privleges notices. I'm just saying. The owner of the restaurant seems to be intent on forcing his views on customers as they ingest reasonably priced Italian food. NO, I must retract the last point because I happen to know it has never once entered his mind that the folks in his own back yard would not have the same views and opinions that he has. In fact, the main reason why I am so annoyed by the news channel is because of one such incident where a member of his management mentioned something I felt was borderline racist when we had barely just met. What kind of person starts even an employer-employee relationship with something like that unless they assume there is zero chance of disagreement.

Yes, this is the part where I curse the conservative land in which I live. I am finding it harder to bite my tongue any longer. The fact that the popular opinion is the only one that is unquestionable causes me to slip in little nuggets of anti-conservatism to the young minds that wander in my midst. Why should it be all Jesus and conformance all the time? I am in some cases a more compassionate, loving, and law abiding person than those who stand steadfastly on the cross. I would say that means that we do not need a fear of god almighty to do the right thing. All acts good and evil are a result of human nature and not the direct influence of good or evil forces. What is the difference? Intent and rationalization. Intent is what you thought the result of the action was going to yield. Rationalization is the motivation you reason out after the results of said action are in so as to prove intent in favor of the questioning party or whatever party you fancy might question your motivation or intent.

Just so we can cut trough the crap guys, I will just let it be known that the only reason anyone does anything is sex. I learned that by watching MASH and so far, it holds true. I have no plans to become or adopt Tyler Durden and begin splicing images of penises into popular news channels, but I can fantasize about a world where such things are possible and settle for my minor little quirky ways of introducing chaos.

Get Rosewater

Currently reading Vonnegut's "God Bless You, Mr Rosewater" and starting to realize that even in my own simplistic effort to love everybody, there is room for more unconditional-ness in my affection. Elliot, the main character truly loves everybody. He is literally filthy rich and the world was handed to him on a silver platter yet he rejected it. Money is nothing to him and not just because he has been there and done it. He doesn't pity his proteges of Rosewater, he just gives them a break because he wholeheartedly believes everyone deserves one.



Here is a character that has all the makings of a rebellious youth. The only thing missing? Intent. He drives his father mad with his (in the father's opinion) nere do well ways without even thinking about it. He upsets the natural order of things in a way that is almost poetic. He is the chairman of a foundation that was supposed to be a mock set up for tax reasons and he helps people. He doesn't make them fill out paperwork or jump through hoops, he just listens, then helps them. Sometimes it's with money, sometimes he just gives them a pat on the head a glass of water and sends them back to bed.



Wouldn't we all love to be bold and openly oust economy and society? Think about it. How does economy run? Some people have a lot (more than any one person should need or consume in one lifetime in some cases), they run things. Some people have a little, we call them middle class (if you're lucky enough to be lower middle class, you get to be the one who pays for everything) these are your intelligent folk who have blue collar/white collar jobs. Then you have those who have just barely more than nothing. They are the lowest, the undesirables in the opinion of the establishment. What if someone in a high position treated them all the same? Chaos! Anarchy! In internet speak WTF! (The kind of shit that pisses off the elite of the world, they call it terrorism sometimes.)



Elliot Rosewater is regarded as mentally ill, and IS mentally ill but I don't think it's a bad thing. I would love to have the naivete it would take to love unconditionally like a child. To be able to care openly for even the most undesirable person or animal. The poor ragga-muffin halfbreed, half-wit bumbling morons of the world that we are predisposed to pity and look down upon rather than cherish as another life. I would love to be motivated to give them the break that no one has ever given them and to do it without mentally chalking a line on the cosmic karma wall for having done so (hell to even evade chalking one of for having thought of doing so). Alas, I am only human, and humanity is full of blood, semen, scabs, and filth none of which can we ignore or deny, so I succumb to my instinct and curl my lip without a second thought.



In short I guess all I'm saying is, we are all born and we all die. The shit that happens in between is really up to you. Forget class, race, religion, fashion and all that other shit. Just decided who you are, and be you. Oh, and try to remember that it takes all kinds to make this ginormous rock go round.

I am a crafting fool!

Manic? Maybe. I have had about 10 projects going this past month some of which I have finished. There were paper beads, fimo beads, paper mache beads, building the jewelry projects from the beads. Then there were the crochet projects. I made a bunch of granny squares, a poncho, half a blanket, and I am working on a Mizzou blanket now and I am just itching to try making some felted wool beads.

I have always liked crafts and little projects but normally I love the planning process and the end result more than the work. So what is it lately that has me plunging in and finishing the projects? I have no idea. Maybe I hit some weird manic phase, I don't really know. Perhaps two years of working full on and producing nothing tangible has manifested an obsession.

All I know is that my fingers are tired, but I go crazy if I am not working on something. I even ruled out some of the enjoyable projects I had done because I was afraid they might be too much on my hands. I guess I am in a phase of trying to decide what my hobby is.

The cool thing is that I am seeing myself growing as a person, which is a very satisfying epiphany to have on the day after your thirtieth birthday, don't you think?