tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62532333680175413962024-03-12T18:07:36.965-07:00A Pinch of NightshadeNightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-75348357564652626252016-12-11T12:39:00.001-08:002016-12-11T12:39:39.315-08:00This will not be over quickly and you will not enjoy this.I, like the majority of individuals in this country, watched with astonished disgust as Donald Trump was declared the winner of the presidential race in the wee hours of the morning on November 9. I've attempted to put my thoughts down multiple times since then, but I didn't because I was too disappointed and infuriated in not only my fellow American's, but many of my own family and friends who gleefully and ignorantly put this piece of shit into office because they erroneously believe that other people achieving equality somehow diminishes their own and that by throwing others under the bus, they won't get hit by it. I didn't because I knew I couldn't rein in my anger enough to be fair and calm. I still can't. But fuck it. I need to say it, and this is far more responsible than hurling expletives and duking it out over the Thanksgiving table. Although, probably not as quite as cathartic for me. <br />
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While I try to focus on the fact that an overwhelming majority of Americans DID NOT vote for this racist, misogynist con artist.....an unfortunate amount still did. And thanks to our electoral college system, the person the majority of Americans wanted will not get the job. Our nation is once again being held hostage by the conservative minority. And while they were screaming their heads off about how horrible and undemocratic the electoral college was when they delusionally believed that they were the "silent majority", they are ever so grateful for it now.<br />
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To everyone that honestly believes that Donald Trump won the popular vote because 3 million of Hillary Clinton's votes were from illegal immigrants.....you are too stupid to be helped. I'm truly sorry for your affliction. <br />
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And to all the asshats who say that they took Obama's election gracefully and didn't protest or cry about it and Clinton supporters should too. Fuck you in your amnesiatic ear. No you did not gracefully accept Obama's election (<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">who, by the fucking way, was elected with both a majority in the electoral college AND the popular vote...so piss off with your false equivalence</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">). And what's more, you had absolutely nothing to rationally fear from Obama's presidency. Donald Trump and his basket of deplorables are a genuine threat to many citizens in our country. There were over 400+ hate related instances of assault in the first week after Trump was elected because all the misogynist, racist pieces of shit who felt emboldened by their new white-nationalist loving president-elect came out of the woodwork. But I'm sure possibility of being fired because you just couldn't refrain from calling someone in the first family the n-word on Facebook is super scary and should be taken with equal consideration. *<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">insert eye roll here</span></i>*</span></span><br />
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Ironically, most of of those close-minded people who let their identity politics (<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>yeah, I said identity politics....."white working class" is an identity that they are clinging desperately to just as surely as the liberal groups they are trying to screw over. Even though the working class had NEVER been just white, labeling yourselves "white" working class means your issues and concerns warrant more understanding and action than those "lazy entitled brown people" who, when they are complaining about the lack of well-paying jobs and benefits, are considered to be looking for a handout. More on that in a later post.</i></span>) cloud their judgement are about to get screwed in ways that they have never dreamed. Trump is not going to bring back manufacturing jobs. He can't. And it was never his goal. He just told you that so you'd elect him and he could spend the next four years to eight years (<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>his base is a little slow, so it might take both terms for them to catch on to his con</i></span>) making as much money as possible for he and his corporate friends. But hey! White people can feel more empowered again! That's something to hold onto while he dismantles our education system, our environmental protections, our foreign relationships with anyone not Russia-approved. We'll just cross our fingers that someone doesn't hurt his fragile ego enough for him to start a nuclear war.<br />
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So yes. I'm angry. I'm angry that our country is being control by a megalomaniac dead set on destroying my children's futures. I'm angry that people so blinded by their own racism and misogyny chose to screw themselves and everyone else for the satisfying sensation of having your white privilege reinforced. <br />
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Final note: If you are one of the short-sighted ignoramuses that voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, you share a portion of the blame for whatever happens to this country because you weren't willing to do your part to keep a facist piece of shit out of office. Hillary Clinton was the most qualified person to ever run for President and you allowed the media's inherent misogyny to fool you with narratives of false equivalence in the candidates' behavior, character, and qualifications. Shame on you. Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-37825629605314365712013-06-30T22:38:00.000-07:002013-06-30T22:38:18.600-07:00This is so awesome!!So, I write. Quite a bit. I have quite a few stories going right now as I seem to have some sort of writer-specific ADD. Some are on the longish side, some barely count as short stories. Some are funny-ish; one is developing into a pretty decent fantasy novel; and a couple are:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not ashamed of my talent for erotica.</span></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But regardless of what I happen to be inspired to work on at the moment, I <b>HATE</b> having something I'm working on read before I'm ready. </span>Combine that with a family who cannot grasp the concept of privacy in any way, fashion, or form and I'm constantly looking for ways to shield my projects so that prying eyes don't see them and immediately think, "She doesn't want me to read that.......I must read it now!"<br />
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So. Prior to my old laptop dying a hero's death, I simply placed them in a password protected folder/file and went on about my business. It wasn't perfect. I inevitably got questioned about what exactly I was hiding that I would need to password protect files on my computer with a password that I hadn't shared with everyone who uses my laptop. But after I reminded the inquisitive little shits that I don't actually have a life outside of my imagination, everyone would go on their merry little way. (<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Or wait until I turned my back and try desperately to break my password</b></span>)<br />
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Now I have fucking Windows 8. I do not like it. At all. I might get there one day, but right now it's the bane of my existence. And to add insult to injury, you cannot password protect your files and folders in Windows 8. (<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Yes, I even googled it<span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span></b> <br />
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So I did a bit more googling and found a geek site that showed me how to do a neat little trick that not only allows me to password protect my Projects folder.......it then makes that bitch disappear entirely! Fucking A! No more questions, no more undeserved suspicion, and no more bruised egos because I won't let them read my stuff! <br />
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This shit is the bomb!! <br />
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I can now write a little easier knowing that my horrible unedited works aren't being scrutinized before they've reached appropriate levels of readiness. And my family can live in blissful ignorance that I have a continued hobby that I don't immediately share with them on demand. <br />
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<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-90551706380708952962013-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:002013-06-16T14:28:08.838-07:00UpdatingSo....I got a job. It's a great job and it's at my children's school. I didn't take to the sitting at home alone all day with nothing to do as well as I thought I would and so I volunteered everyday until they started feeling bad that they weren't paying me and hired me out of pity.<br />
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Meanwhile, school's out for the summer and I am now the mother of a middle-schooler. Fucking hell. I aged ten years just typing that shit. <br />
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His "promotion ceremony" was Friday and it was great. I cried like a baby. Seriously. It was embarrassing. I did ok until the principal declared them the class of 2020....and the music was playing....and...and....cue the "ugly" cry.<br />
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I honestly cannot rave enough about the teachers that we have had since coming to Maryland. Every single one of them has been absolutely spectacular. I wish I could pack the whole lot of them up and take them with us when we leave.<br />
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My oldest will no longer be in the same school that I work at, but my youngest will be moving up to into it. Which means that he will no longer have to go to daycare. Yay! I really like our daycare provider, and he did too. But it will be wonderful to have that money to put towards other stuff from now on.<br />
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Soooooo.....<br />
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there is my update. I've got a lot going on for the next three weeks, but it all should be fairly blog-able. My mother is renewing her vows to her husband of 25 1/2 years, so we're going down home for that. Then I'm leaving my rugrats with my mother and heading to my best friend's house!! Then it's on to my dad's and back home for more working. I might throw all my guys out at the end of the summer for a visit with my MIL while I stay home in the peace and quiet and watch all the episodes of Game of Thrones and read until my heart grows three sizes larger and I'm ready to deal with a house full of guys again. <br />
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Yay summer! <br />
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<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-23310036877477737212012-08-01T21:05:00.000-07:002012-08-01T21:06:56.013-07:00People make me sadToday massive amounts of people ran to Chick-Fil-A to order (an admittedly delicious) chicken sandwich and show their support for a company that they think is being discriminated against or persecuted.<br />
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Chick-Fil-A has not, in any way, fashion, or form been discriminated against or persecuted against because people chose to boycott them over their CEO's son's incredibly stupid business moves. Dan Cathy has every fucking right in the world to be the biggest bigoted homophobe bastard he wants to be. He has every fucking right in the world to broadcast that fact on every media outlet he can find to broadcast it. No one is denying him that right. No one issued a warrant for his arrest, closed his very popular food chain, fined him, or infringed on his 1st Amendment rights whatsoever. Dan Cathy has exercised his free speech.....<br />
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And those boycotting Chick-Fil-A have exercised theirs.<br />
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Whether the boy-cotter's simply didn't realize that Chick-Fil-A was a conservative Christian owned chain (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">really though?? They are the ONLY fast food chain that isn't open on Sunday<span style="font-size: small;">), they didn't automatically assume that the owners were bigots simply because they were Christian (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">which is idealistic and sweet, please don't let these douchbags take away your rosy outlook on life<span style="font-size: small;">), or they knew that they were conservative Christian and probably privately held bigoted beliefs but didn't realize they translated those beliefs in to the donation of huge portions of their profits into several organizations that actively (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">and successfully</span>), <b>TRULY</b> persecute and discriminate against gay people (i</span></span></span></span>ncluding the Family Research Council, which has been officially deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) doesn't matter. Dan Cathy let his self-righteous sense of superiority override his good business sense and let the cat out of the bag. And the people that feel strongly about marriage equality, and equal rights and just treatment for all homosexuals have decided that they don't want to continue to give money to a bigot who is just going to turn around and give that money to lobbyists that write and fund legislation that keeps homosexuals as second-class citizens.<br />
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The 1st Amendment protects your right to free speech; it does not protect you from the civil consequences of that speech. (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Just ask the Dixie Chicks.<span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span><br />
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<b>Chick-Fil-A's rights have not been infringed upon IN ANY FUCKING WAY.</b><br />
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<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-73238813245559373032012-07-26T12:12:00.000-07:002012-07-26T12:12:02.031-07:00T-Minus 9 DaysRemember my previous blogs about the road trip I was dragging my two best friends on? <br />
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That was a nice dream. <br />
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But all is not lost. I still had the money and determination to get at least myself across the country and so I pulled together a new plan and my husband and myself are leaving in 9 days for 2 fun-filled weeks on the Northwestern coast. (A shout-out of thanks to my mom for holding down the fort for me while I'm gone. I'm leaving you alone with three kids, five dogs, your husband and my grandma.....I'll totally spring for the tranquilizers and Valium, plus a case of whatever wine you are preferring these days)<br />
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I'll be taking tons of pictures and have lots to blog. It will be called either "Nightshade and T-Rex's 2nd honeymoon" series or "The demise of my 11 year marriage" series. I'll only know after it's done. Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-70280146367821346082012-06-21T13:49:00.000-07:002012-06-21T13:49:22.368-07:00ConundrumsI have a very beloved uncle. For the most part, he is made of awesome. Unfortunately, stupidity makes up the rest of him. I'd say he's 75% awesome, 25% stupidity. And I've been very fortunate to only have to witness the stupidity from afar. I've never been on the receiving end of his antics; quite the opposite, in fact, he's always been very supportive of me. <br />
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About a year and a half ago, he gave his stupidity full reign (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">seriously, FULL reign<span style="font-size: small;">) and literally destroyed his life over nothing. He left his family, lost his job and every hope of ever entering his career field again, and landed himself in prison for 18 months. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">His wife, who is either the biggest saint ever or the dumbest chick ever (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">it's a toss up really. I fucking adore her, but sticking with my uncle after his history is masochism on a level I have never seen....and I can't even begin to figure out what effect all of it will have on their children.<span style="font-size: small;">) is sticking with him. They have children who are around the same age as my children, and they are really struggling with everything. My grandmother......is not helping (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">to put it very mildly<span style="font-size: small;">). </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I said all that to ask this: What the fuck am I supposed to write in a letter to him?? Seriously. What do you write to someone in jail?? I know that he knows he fucked up on a nuclear level and is devastated by how everything is now. I don't want to bum him out. He's definitely paying for his actions. My family wants me to write him....and I WANT to write him. But I keep starting letters, realizing that they sound utterly ridiculous, and throwing them away. </span></span></span></span></span></span>I'm completely at a loss. Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-30464081537062733602012-06-01T17:55:00.000-07:002012-06-01T17:55:57.324-07:00Snow White and the Huntsmanwas fucking awesome. <br />
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I have been looking forward to this movie for a while, but I was seriously doubting my ability to stay awake. The Chinese food we had for dinner did not help at all. But me and the hubs watched the first installment of Hatfields & McCoys on the History Channel to pass the time, and it woke me up pretty well. <br />
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At 11pm, I hopped in our car and jammed to Florence + the Machine's "Breath of Life" from the SWATH soundtrack all the way to Columbia. The theater smelled. Like old people and popcorn. It was not a pleasant "Granny's baking cookies" old people smell either. <br />
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But then the movie started and I forgot all about the funky smell and being tired. <br />
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Visually, this movie is pretty awesome. It is an epic fantasy with quite a bit of very well done CGI, incredible costumes, these odd and awesome obsidian soldiers, and most of the cast was very easy on the eyes. It also stars Ian McShane as one of the dwarfs so it had a leg up on most other movies auditorily too. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Spell check is saying that I spelled auditorily wrong....but Dictionary.com says that I'm spelling it right. Hmmm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It also has a nice twist on the love story aspect that <i><b>I</b></i> appreciated, but I'm pretty sure is going to cause purists to groan. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is has been one of the only Snow White movies that I could appreciate at all (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">the other being Once Upon A Time's version on ABC<span style="font-size: small;">). I absolutely hated the Disney version. </span></span></span></span>This version is going to be a staple in my household. I can't wait to watch it again. <br />
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And can I just say, Charlize Theron is a goddess. Seriously. And chick knows how to bring the crazy. <br />
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Also, for your listening pleasure:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/J2t-vquuT7k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-72786861539649562512012-05-31T05:45:00.000-07:002012-05-31T05:45:59.447-07:00And the Darwin Award goes to.......this guy:<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gty_pastor_mack_wolford_rattlesnake_ll_120530_wg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gty_pastor_mack_wolford_rattlesnake_ll_120530_wg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/serpent-handling-west-virginia-pastor-dies-snake-bite/story?id=16459455#.T8dl9sX4Jhw" target="_blank">Idiot pastor in West Virginia dies in idiotic snake-handling "test of faith".</a><br />
<br />
Ironic quotes from said pastor:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Snake-handlers point to scripture as evidence that God calls them to
engage in such a practice to show their faith in him. Mark 16: 17-18
reads, "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall
take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
</blockquote>
Also,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Anybody can do it that believes it," Wolford (aka: Idiot pastor) said. "Jesus said, 'These
signs shall follow them which believe.' This is a sign to show people
that God has the power."
</blockquote>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-41662756935589605372012-05-30T12:56:00.003-07:002012-05-31T05:47:09.913-07:00It's Night of the Walking Dead down there...<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
My husband has taken to reading the news and keeping himself generally up to date on most of the goings on of the world. And while he is reading stuff, he's still generally apathetic about everything he reads. So when he came home the other night excitedly asking me if I had read about the man who chewed off the other man's face, I had to see what the hell he was talking about. </div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<a href="http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/miami-police-confrontation-men-leaves-1-dead-1-hurt/">Miami police shoot, kill man eating another man's face.</a> He even ate the man's nose and eyeballs, y'all. What the fuck? </div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Although it is believed that the two men were on some sort of drug (called "bath salts"....really? Way to forever fuck up a Mother's Day gift basket assholes), the jokes about zombies started almost immediately. As they totally should have. </div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But you have to feel horrible for the face-eaten victim. Seriously, how do you come back from that? He will always be known as the guy who survived the zombie attack in Miami. However, if the man is so inclined, he could always segue this into a lucrative career as a zombie porn star. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: xx-small;">Yes, that shit exists. Google it. Or just take my word for it, because it's rather disturbing and cannot be unseen. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sh6Cx_HQYT8/T8Z7SWWw1BI/AAAAAAAAATg/tqUNY91Ua3c/s1600/zombie1_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sh6Cx_HQYT8/T8Z7SWWw1BI/AAAAAAAAATg/tqUNY91Ua3c/s320/zombie1_0.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-84107617143522969602012-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:002012-03-20T10:20:44.607-07:00This two-step is getting a little tiredOn my last update, Psycho had just been arrested after coming to my house with a fake gun and making the police chase him from pillar to post. <br />
<br />
They released him that night into his POS father's care after his father promised to take him to the hospital off-base for a full psychiatric evaluation. The father, being the trustworthy shit-heel that he is, did not do this. <br />
<br />
So the next day, Psycho showed up at Billy's school, told the secretary that he was waiting for his sister, and sat in the hallway to wait for Billy. Luckily, Billy's teacher knew that we had been having some problems with Psycho so she sent Billy to the office to wait for me there. The problem was, I was under the impression that Billy's first day of Reading club was that day, so I was late coming to get him. Psycho sent a little boy over to beg Billy to come with Psycho and Billy's teacher told the little boy that that was not going to happen, Billy was going to stay right where he was until I got there, so Psycho ran off. <br />
<br />
I pulled in about 10 minutes later than I should have, and I could already feel myself beginning to lose it. I grabbed Billy and got in the car, and as I was pulling out of the school parking lot the police called me to let me know that Psycho was "missing" and we should be cautious and call the police if we saw him. When I pulled onto my street....there he was; walking away from my house. I called the police to let them know that he was at my house, but I hadn't even hung up the phone yet when a police car and Psycho's father arrived to get him. They immediately released him to his father. <br />
<br />
And I completely broke down. After two months of dealing with this situation - constant vigilance for my kids safety, sleeping like crap because I was worried about the kid coming in at night plus the nightmares that stress always gives me, and the feeling like it was never going to end - that no one cared about the fact that this boy was literally terrorizing us and they just kept releasing him back to the asshat who was more than happy to let him continue rather than actually put some effort into helping his own son; I had had all I could take. I sent my boys to their room and sat outside on my porch and cried. <br />
<br />
My husband, who had also received the same warning call that I did, came home immediately. I updated him on everything that happened and how they had just released him back into his father's custody once again and we decided that it was possible that we needed to make some arrangements to keep the boys safe since nothing was being done to help. We decided that we were going to see what are options were as far as sending the boys to my mom's until we could get some resolution about our case. If we couldn't do that, then I was going to ask my brother to come up and help me keep an eye on everything. <br />
<br />
I called my mom and let her know what we wanted to do to see if that was feasible on her end, and then I went back to the school to talk to the boys' teachers to see how we would have to arrange things if they left for a while. They were both awesome. They offered to help in whatever way they could, and if they think I'm probably an emotional basket case, they haven't shown any outward signs (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">though they'd be well within their rights, I kinda was an emotional basket case that day<span style="font-size: small;">) That meeting was probably the most productive meeting I've had during this entire situation. The school's guidance counselor is amazing. She listened quietly while I told them everything that happened, got up and started making phone calls. She got me an appointment with the base commander for that afternoon, hooked me up with a civilian police liaison for the school, and worked with the principal to block Psycho from school grounds permanently or the county will press trespassing charges against him. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The meeting with the base commander was a lot more of the same run around I had been getting from the investigators: "It takes time to build a case", "Psycho's parents are really aren't lying to us about the measures they're taking to control him, it's just really difficult with him", "You're safe now, we got him back with his parents already", blah blah blah, etc, etc, etc. </span></span><br />
<br />
Little did I know, my mother - who was extremely upset that things had progressed to the point that I was crying - was on the phone screaming at investigators and sending emails to the base commander and the White House. Her conversations with the investigators got her about as far as they had gotten me. She was blown off and condescended to like we were being irrational and over dramatic about the situation and there was nothing to worry about. <br />
<br />
Her email to the base commander was pretty effective. He got it the next day, and immediately got on the case. By that afternoon, my husband and his Chief were called in for a meeting where Brandon found out that Psycho's father had indeed been lying...more so than we even knew. He had lied about taking Psycho to the hospital the night of the gun incident, he had lied about precautions he had supposedly been taking so Psycho couldn't get to Billy, and he had lied about what branch of the military his wife was in.....his wife (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">whom I still have never seen<span style="font-size: small;">) was not even aware that Psycho had been in trouble. She found out about everything that had happened about 5 minutes before the base commander informed her that he was moving her family out of the neighborhood. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her emails to the White House were also pretty effective. A White House liaison called her directly, got all the details of the case, and then promised to follow-up with the commander here....and he did. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So it took two weeks, but they finally moved them. They moved them 2 miles away about a block from the boys' school. *insert exasperated sigh here* For a week after their stuff was picked up and moved from their home, they came back every day to "clean"....and every day they came back right at the time that Billy came home from school. The following Monday after they were completely gone, Psycho was back at my door. He approached Billy outside at a place where he goes to ride his bike, and then tried to sneak into our backyard when Billy ran home. The police didn't even bother coming. They just called his father to come get him. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The base commander got involved again and gave them another last warning or he was going to move them completely off base. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Three weeks went by, and we really thought that maybe things had ended...until Sunday. Our doorbell rang, and Brandon opened it without checking to see who it was. And there stood Psycho. The police came, and so did his father. We did our well known dance routine all over again. And they released him to his father and left. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This time douche nugget stayed behind to talk to us. He wanted us to stop calling the police every time Psycho came to our house. We explained that that was what we had been told to do by the base commander and the cops, and that it was what we were going to continue to do because past experience had taught us that he would do nothing to stop Psycho from coming to our house regardless. He told us that we were doing nothing but causing unnecessary paperwork and keeping a spotlight on him and Psycho. (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">A well-needed spotlight, IMO<span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span> </span></span>He told us that Psycho was seeing several different people to help him now and was doing so much better and he wasn't violent at all, he just couldn't believe that Psycho had ever or would ever hurt Billy. When I said that he had hurt Billy in the past and while I was sympathetic to his plight regarding Psycho's mental issues, I still had to protect my children. He became belligerent at this point and said that really it was Billy who mean and violent and Billy had threatened to kill his entire family and that Billy was always in trouble and no one liked him. When I told him that I didn't believe that Billy had ever been violent or threatening towards his family (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I mean really. If you knew Billy at all, you'd know that was the biggest crock of shit ever. I'd sooner believe that <b>I</b> went and threatened his whole family, knowing full well that I had never been anywhere near his family, than I would believe that Billy ever had.<span style="font-size: small;">) and that Billy had never been in trouble and has tons of friends, he said, "Well, you can see how easy it is for rumors like that to get started can't you?"</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">After a few minutes of me and the twat waffle standing in my front yard arguing with each other, my husband just told him that he needed to leave. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wish I could say that that was the end of it. But let's be honest, this seems like it is going to be something that we are dealing with for a while. Until one of us leaves this area. And we still have a while to go. </span></span>Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-77578249115364069432012-02-21T20:19:00.000-08:002012-02-21T20:19:59.794-08:00So much awesome!Saturday night, we loaded up and rolled on up to B'town to see the Roller Derby!! <br />
<br />
I think I have found my niche y'all. <br />
<br />
I have a pair of skates picked out. They have summer work-shops that they offer to get you ready to try out. I really want to do this. <br />
<br />
I've also been chewing on a few names. I have it pretty much narrowed down to three:<br />
<br />
* <b>Nightshade</b> - it's tried and true, I've used some version of this alias since I opened my very first email account way back in the 9th grade. <br />
* <b>Maleficent Seven</b> - it's a play on the Magnificent Seven. Maleficent is by far the best thing to come out of Disney ever. And given my known adoration for the Queen of Evilness herself, my hubs suggested that I go for something that included her. <br />
*<b> Malice Cooper</b> - I suggested this name to someone else once, and it's stuck with me. She didn't dig it, but I still very much do. <br />
<br />
I'm so stoked about this. I can't wait to get those skates and start practicing. Woo!<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uRy8qVMQ2SA/T0RsUrGPR9I/AAAAAAAAATI/R9L8IXUkvr0/s1600/Roller-Derby+demotivational.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uRy8qVMQ2SA/T0RsUrGPR9I/AAAAAAAAATI/R9L8IXUkvr0/s320/Roller-Derby+demotivational.png" width="217" /></a></div>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-27227344247106837492012-02-19T17:28:00.000-08:002012-02-19T17:28:20.788-08:00Amy Poehler is one of my girl crushes.....<iframe frameborder="0" height="347" id="NBC Video Widget" src="http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1386256" width="512"></iframe>Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-24196710362184185542012-02-05T14:39:00.000-08:002012-02-05T14:40:38.579-08:00Groundhog Day?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gwLz0XhziBE/Ty8B1KA8vZI/AAAAAAAAAS0/a68IsMUpgPw/s1600/Groundhog+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gwLz0XhziBE/Ty8B1KA8vZI/AAAAAAAAAS0/a68IsMUpgPw/s320/Groundhog+Day.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Y'all remember this movie, right? Where the dude get stuck reliving the same day, over and over...until he finally learns some important lesson, or gets eaten by the groundhog, or something. (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I didn't actually finish the movie. I'm one of the rare birds that finds Bill Murray completely unfunny.<span style="font-size: small;">) I feel like I'm starring in some demented remake of this movie. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">You see, Psycho came back again today. The cops had to be called again...making this the third time they've been here in two weeks. I won't even hazard a guess at how many times they've been over at Psycho's house, because apparently he's gone on a crime spree this week. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">He came, he threatened us with a very realistic looking cap gun (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">seriously, why don't they paint those things a color that screams "I'm obviously not a real gun!"??<span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span>, he tried to kick in our door, he broke into our neighbor's car, he took the police on a multi-block 20 minute chase. But today, they finally arrested his ass. </span></span>I'm sure more updates will be forthcoming. I have a feeling that I'll be doing this dance a couple more times before it's over. Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-84370399678277708722012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-31T09:01:33.917-08:00Now I'm crying!Tears of laughter. Seriously, this is by far the hardest I have ever laughed at anything Kristen Bell has ever done. This is hilarious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t5jw3T3Jy70" width="560"></iframe><br />
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"He's coming to the party?!" OMG, I can't breathe.Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-52157907964770853382011-12-02T18:23:00.001-08:002011-12-02T19:20:54.964-08:00'Tis The Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6nT06eWkMw/TtmJ3VNywXI/AAAAAAAAAOM/3IP1rqgsH24/s1600/xmas_tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6nT06eWkMw/TtmJ3VNywXI/AAAAAAAAAOM/3IP1rqgsH24/s320/xmas_tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It's that time again folks. Time to pull out the winter coats; chop down a a tree (or prop up a fake one) and cover it and every other thing that holds still for more than 5 seconds at the time with lights, colorful ornaments, and garland; drink hot chocolate and eggnog; and bitch about whether people say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays".<br />
<br />
Best I can remember, this whole rigamarole got started because some store decided to use "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" as a greeting. Which makes sense. Not everyone who walks through their doors celebrates Christmas. There are quite a few holidays that take place this time of year.....Jesus is not the reason for the season for everyone. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5CsYlejzNh4/TtmNx2mQ3sI/AAAAAAAAAOU/vrIGOzWDfLk/s1600/Jesus+is+the+reason+for+winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5CsYlejzNh4/TtmNx2mQ3sI/AAAAAAAAAOU/vrIGOzWDfLk/s1600/Jesus+is+the+reason+for+winter.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
I have never, EVER, heard anyone complain that someone said "Merry Christmas" to them. But every year, shortly after Thanksgiving, my inbox/Facebook page/message boards blow the fuck up with shit like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
WHAT A CROCK OF S***..... We can't say Merry Christmas... now we have to
say Happy Holidays. We can't call it a Christmas tree, it's now called a
Holiday tree! WHY???....Because it might offend someone...Well.... If
you don't ike our "Customs" and it offends you so much, then LEAVE.... I
will help you pack. Why do we h<span class="text_exposed_show">ave to
change our "Traditions" because of you??? We already have changed enough
of them to support "Your Traditions" ....If you agree with
this...please post this as your status!! I AM A PROUD SOUTHERN AMERICAN
CITIZEN... MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR :) !! Do you have what
it takes to repost this?</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<i><b>~No, random citizen who started this bullshit chain, you do not have to say Happy Holidays just because other people do.~</b></i><br />
<i><b> </b></i><br />
And this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
DO NOT CARE IF THIS DOES OFFEND SOMEONE… AND IF IT DOES, DELETE ME
PLEASE :) THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE…I AM SICK AND TIRED OF EVERY YEAR WHEN
CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND; THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE CHRIST OUT OF
CHRISTMAS BECAUSE IT MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE…WELL, HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE
CHRISTIANS?...WHAT ABOUT OFFENDING US BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING OUR CHRIST
OUT OF CHRISTMAS?...CHRIST IS CHRISTMAS!...IF YOU AREN'T CELEBRATING
CHRIST THEN WHY ARE YOU CELEBRATING?...CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF
OUR SAVIOR!...CHRISTMAS IS ONE OF A FEW HOLIDAYS LEFT THAT CELEBRATE
"MY" CHRIST!...LEAVE "MY" HOLIDAY ALONE!...AND TELL EVERYONE MERRY
CHRISTMAS, NOT HAPPY HOLIDAYS!...</span></span></h6>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<i><b>~This one might be the most infuriating, because it is the dumbest. Please, please, explain to me how saying Happy Holidays is "taking Christ out of Christmas"? Again, Christmas is far from the only holiday celebrated this time of year. So piss off. ~</b></i><br />
<br />
The best response I have seen to this was on a debate board on Cafemom. A member by the screen name of "romalove" posted this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b> </b></i> <br />
<div class="clearfix forumReplyBody">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> I continue to think people have this all wrong.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Giving
greetings is not supposed to be a declaration of what is happening with
you, but what is happening with who is being greeted. Do you go around
wishing other people Happy Birthday on your birthday because you are
celebrating? How about Happy Anniversary on your special day, do you
wish that to others?</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="clearfix forumReplyBody">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">So, in
that vein, if I know what a person is celebrating, I wish them to enjoy
the holiday they participate in. That means Jews get Happy Hanukah,
Christians get Merry Christmas, and anyone else or someone I don't know
about gets a Happy Holidays.</span></span> </div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="clearfix forumReplyBody">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">People are
sometimes to bent on clinging to things they feel are important to
themselves that they forget what the real meaning of something like a
holiday season is. It's to be kind to each other, no matter what you
celebrate, that's the bottom line.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<i><b>~ Bravo! Thank you for being a rational voice in an otherwise completely irrational argument.~</b></i><br />
<br />
I always buy cards with "Happy Holidays" on them rather than "Merry Christmas" because quite a few on the people on my "I like you enough to go out of my way to mail you something" and "you're family and even though I never talk to you any other time of the year, one of my closer family members guilted me into sending you a card" lists celebrate Christmas. But now, I get a little thrill of passive aggressive rebellion every time I mail one off to anyone who has emailed or posted some of this Christians are the Poor Persecuted Majority bullshit. I'll call it an extra Yule gift for myself. <br />
<i><b></b></i><br />
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<i><b></b></i>Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-34267687811707802092011-10-12T16:27:00.000-07:002011-10-12T16:27:32.412-07:00WARNING: This video is kinda explicit....but still awesome<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYKVwikC.html" width="480" height="300" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYKVwikC" style="display:none"></embed>
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30 Seconds to Mars - Hurricane<br />
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I'm slightly obsessed with this band right now.....I might need an intervention soon.Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-7868841768677287092011-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:002011-10-03T15:25:49.428-07:00MissRepresentation<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28066212?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/28066212">Miss Representation 8 min. Trailer 8/23/11</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2551167">Miss Representation</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Felt the need to spread the word!Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-57438976506916803682011-10-01T18:13:00.000-07:002011-10-01T18:13:05.095-07:00She really is starting a lot of shit lately...So, I had been resisting the urge to go anywhere near <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> for a while now because I knew, <b><i>I knew</i></b>, if I did I would get sucked in and all addicted and stuff. So I resisted, and resisted, and when The Bloggess (arguably the BEST blogger in the cyber world) let it slip that she had a Pinterest page....I <b>still</b> resisted.<br />
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Until my best friend, Krystle, told me how awesome The Bloggess' (Bloggesses'? Bloggess's? whatever) Pinterest page was. Then I <i>had</i> to go look. And it was. Really, really awesome. <br />
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And I am completely and hopelessly addicted. <br />
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Damnit. <br />
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She kick-started our descent into becoming football crazed. She's almost solely responsible for the existence of this blog. She's a regular little shit-starter, that one. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTe6xaUcxO4/Toe6Snj-McI/AAAAAAAAAMY/u7avF5UXG_E/s1600/See+if+I%2527m+Available.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTe6xaUcxO4/Toe6Snj-McI/AAAAAAAAAMY/u7avF5UXG_E/s320/See+if+I%2527m+Available.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-79949914572529301752011-09-25T09:58:00.000-07:002011-09-25T09:58:44.517-07:00Things to think about at 2am....So a little bit ago, I stumbled across this:<br />
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<script src="http://www.targetmap.com/JS/topup/javascripts/top_up-min.js" type="text/javascript">
</script><script src="http://www.targetmap.com/JS/topup/javascripts/topUpUtilsMapgenia.js" type="text/javascript">
</script><a href="http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=3073&embed" id="rep3073" style="height: 423px; text-decoration: none; width: 554px;" toptions="width=1024,height=768,type=iframe,layout=dashboard,effect=transform,wmode = transparent"></a><br />
<div style="height: 423px; width: 554px;">
<a href="http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=3073&embed" id="rep3073" style="height: 423px; text-decoration: none; width: 554px;" toptions="width=1024,height=768,type=iframe,layout=dashboard,effect=transform,wmode = transparent"><object height="423" id="test" width="554"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/>
<param name="FlashVars" value="titleReport=The Penis Size Worldwide (country)">
<param name="FlashVars" value="imageUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.targetmap.com%2Fdata.aspx%3Fmethod%3DgetThumbMap%26reportId%3D3073%26big%3D1">
<param name="FlashVars" value="anchorId="rep3073">
<embed width="554" height="423" name="miniApp" id="test" src="http://www.targetmap.com/MiniAplicacionEmbed.swf" FlashVars="titleReport=The Penis Size Worldwide (country)&imageUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.targetmap.com%2Fdata.aspx%3Fmethod%3DgetThumbMap%26reportId%3D3073%26big%3D1&anchorId=rep3073" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object></a></div>
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A map of the average penis sizes across the world.<br />
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And I noticed a trend that the larger penises were around the warmer climates, and it made me wonder; is it possible that,<b> ancestrally</b>, penises were kinda like goldfish? In that they grew according to the space available?<br />
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Look at the map. All the notoriously warmer climates like Central and South America and Africa are all varying shades of green while things get noticeably pinker the further north you go. So was the northerners need for warmer, more confining breeches similar to raising a goldfish into a little glass bowl? Whereas, the southerners, running around in what was basically a crotch curtain, have the aquatic equivalent of a goldfish raised in a pond? <br />
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#thingsthatmakeyougohmmmm<br />
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<b>**This is not a scientific interpretation of this study. Obviously. I completely eliminated India and China from the information because I couldn't figure out what their problem was. Initially, I started to backtrack and say that maybe the greener countries were more sexually, um, free? (Hence the smattering of green up there in Europe) But then I remembered: India invented tantric sex. And have you seen some of the crazy shit that comes out of Japan??!** </b><br />
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Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-13269091193671105112011-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:002011-09-12T19:45:36.321-07:00These people simultaneously piss me off and scare the crap out of me.....<a href="http://imgur.com/aVn40#.TmvmHE47mRs.blogger">Dominionist fuck wit describes newest fad in Christian "courtship" (read: human property exchange). </a><br />
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These types of beliefs are a lot wider spread than most people realize. Google "Dominionists", "Quiverfull", "Vision Forum", "Bill Gothard", and a plethora of others. Apparently, Sharia Law would look pretty good to these people as long as it's <i>their</i> holy book being imposed on everyone else. <br />
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You should also go read some of the stories on <a href="http://nolongerquivering.com/">No Longer Quivering</a> (where I first saw the blog inspiring link) for several examples of why this is a colossally bad idea. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--SPdH7rhuWk/TmwJ8XdwOmI/AAAAAAAAAMU/68vbeN12F4U/s1600/Fascism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--SPdH7rhuWk/TmwJ8XdwOmI/AAAAAAAAAMU/68vbeN12F4U/s320/Fascism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-2139201068608991832011-09-10T17:39:00.000-07:002011-09-10T17:39:18.353-07:00Hallelujah!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LBoivtWmedU/TmuYHCecMCI/AAAAAAAAAMI/52feJ4pKYi0/s1600/Fall+Path.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LBoivtWmedU/TmuYHCecMCI/AAAAAAAAAMI/52feJ4pKYi0/s320/Fall+Path.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's Fall!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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My favorite time of the year is upon us. I'm pulling out my boots, buying football shirts and hoodies, and eating soups and chowders. I <b><i>love</i></b> this time of year. <br />
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And the best part of Fall: Halloween. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RN-rFzfkRPM/Tmv5Ss14FQI/AAAAAAAAAMM/X6ZcI_zNv_s/s1600/Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RN-rFzfkRPM/Tmv5Ss14FQI/AAAAAAAAAMM/X6ZcI_zNv_s/s320/Halloween.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have the added bonus of being back in my hometown with all my friends and family for this year's Halloween. My oldest brother has made the really awesome decision to get married on Halloween Day, so I will finally have the excuse I need to pull my kids from school and expose them to the awesomeness that Halloween can be when it's not regulated and controlled within an inch of it's life. <br />
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I'm ridiculously excited about this. <br />
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I am hoping that now that Climax Baptist has a different preacher than the asshole that "banned" Halloween when I was a teenager, Climax's Halloweens are once again spectacular. I'm not holding my breath though, and I am totally willing to leave the city limits to find fun and debauchery for myself and my kiddos. <br />
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It would be the coolest thing ever if someone could find us a hayride to go on. That would ROCK! <br />
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Unfortunately, my hubs will spend this Fall apart from us. He has to go on a TDY for a while, so me and the boys will be holding down the fort. Everyone is full of sympathy and concern.....but really.....it's not going to be that different from when he's home now. His job ensures that we see him on the weekends and that's pretty much it. So, we'll miss him but we're gonna be fine. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-inJeB8phKsg/TmwCi9trbYI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/3HKTWNXr5as/s1600/I%2527ve+got+this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-inJeB8phKsg/TmwCi9trbYI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/3HKTWNXr5as/s320/I%2527ve+got+this.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-32677232625387605112011-09-03T18:24:00.000-07:002011-09-03T18:24:54.407-07:00It's my birthday!Today starts my last year of being "twenty-something". I'm completely cool with that. I'm looking forward to this year and what it might bring. <br />
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I realized recently that I actually <i>miss</i> being around people. <br />
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You read me right. Ms. "People Make Me Stabby" would actually like to have a social circle again. <br />
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Today, nothing would have been better than having a few drinks around a bonfire with a bunch of friends. (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Although the cake that my husband made me was a very close runner up.<span style="font-size: small;">) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have a game plan though. And one of these days, this hermit caterpillar is going to be a social butterfly. </span></span> <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ie6Rlhv87lE/TmLTOxp4QgI/AAAAAAAAAME/D8Kz0A9v9JY/s1600/Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ie6Rlhv87lE/TmLTOxp4QgI/AAAAAAAAAME/D8Kz0A9v9JY/s320/Butterfly.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
<br /> Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-34377372141813202452011-08-28T15:01:00.000-07:002011-08-29T20:58:30.737-07:00I used to wish I had a few trees in my yard; but after last night, I'm happy with my two sage bushes and morning glory vines.Hurricane Irene came through last night, uprooting hundreds of trees nearby, flooding the low-lying areas, and causing us to spend $200 that we didn't have in hurricane preparation. Luckily for us, our house (and neighborhood in general) survived the wind and rain without so much as a power outage. <br />
The neighborhood next to us was not so lucky. Huge trees uprooted and fell over on cars, fences, and a couple roofs.<br />
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Hurricane Irene is responsible for 18 deaths across 8 states. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/hurricane-irene-leads-18-deaths-191720639.html">(Yahoo!</a>) <br />
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I count myself as particularly lucky that I could get my kids up and celebrate my youngest son's birthday today. We have no damage, no power outage, and we still have our lives. And while we breath a sigh of relief that Hurricane Irene "was overblown hype" and not nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be, the friends and family of those 18 people just lived through a nightmare they will never be able to forget. <br />
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Edited to Add: The death toll has now climbed to 38. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/irenes-toll-jumps-38-vt-towns-battle-floods-222140755.html;_ylt=AifivinVY_NtYzsS7_X5opqr9HQA;_ylu=X3oDMTBzNzhkbGsxBHBvcwMyBHNlYwNBcnRpY2xlIFRvcFN0b3JpZXM-;_ylg=X3oDMTM2dHZ1YjdnBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDYjJmYWZiYzYtZWUzNC0zYTE4LTkxZTQtZGVhNzhiNGQ5ZDRmBHBzdGNhdANlbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50BHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0Aw--;_ylv=3">(Yahoo!</a>) Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-72171796794140499932011-08-25T09:42:00.000-07:002011-08-25T09:42:01.932-07:00I forgot the funniest partMy youngest son, Aidan, is slightly high-strung. He is absolutely convinced that the earthquake only hit the elementary school, and it <b>had to be <i>someone's</i> fault. </b>So he's adamant that he will not be going back in that building. And yesterday, while we were waiting outside to pick up the boys from school, the Vice Principal came up to the group to chat. Aidan turns my face to make me look at her, all the while slitting his little green eyes at her and making his angry face. When I asked him what his problem was, he said, "<i>She</i> made the building shake. <i>She</i> was standing in the hall when the building shook." LOL<br />
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I did my best to convince him that it was not her fault, that everywhere shook, not just the school. And that it was the ground that made everything shake. I'm not sure how convincing I was. We'll see if he continues to hold a grudge. Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6253233368017541396.post-43932365375472171312011-08-25T08:57:00.000-07:002011-08-25T08:57:05.733-07:00Sheesh, what a weekThis year, my two oldest are attending a brand new, state-of-the-art, elementary school. This place is kinda badass. It is huge. There's not a chalkboard in the entire building. Everything is done on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board">smartboards</a>, which is going to allow them to expand how they teach (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">which will be awesome for my oldest<span style="font-size: small;">). They even have a rock climbing wall in the new gym! All in all, we're very excited about the new school year. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So Tuesday, I load up the kiddos, and we go to the official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony followed by an Open House where we were able to meet their new teachers. There's no telling how many people were there. We were packed into that building like sardines. And since all but one of the grade levels are on the second floor, that's where the majority of us were..............when the earthquake hit. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Did I mention that they just finished building this building at the beginning of the summer? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Y'all, we thought that building was coming down. "Earthquake" never even entered my mind. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had been talking to my son's second grade teacher at the building seemed to sway like a strong gust of wind hit it, and the teacher said, "I hate when tall buildings sway in the wind." And then it did it again, only stronger, and I said, "Yeah. That's not cool AT ALL." And then it started full-on shaking, and she got this panicked look on her face and was all, "I think we need to go." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">My 3 year old, who was in the middle of getting a drink of water out of the fountain in her room, turned, <i>spit his drink everywhere</i>, and came running at me screaming. My older two turned white as sheets, and I pushed them out the door and down the stairs to the outside. People were yelling, kids were crying and screaming, and all I could think was, "Damn, I was really looking forward to them going to school here."</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6-Iu3fVmv0/TlZs7HfYXcI/AAAAAAAAAL8/tgJoirKXuf8/s1600/3175-images-200x200-rl20-icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6-Iu3fVmv0/TlZs7HfYXcI/AAAAAAAAAL8/tgJoirKXuf8/s1600/3175-images-200x200-rl20-icon.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Needless to say, we all made it out of the building in one piece. People calmed down when they realized that the building wasn't collapsing under the weight of every family in the neighborhood. When word got around that it was an earthquake, there was a collective moment of "What the fuck?? An <i>earthquake</i>? <b><i>Here??</i></b>" and then people started filing back out to their cars and heading home. </span></span><br />
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<b>**</b>My husband, who works on the top floor of a 9-story building made mostly of glass, was also fine. Although much more shaken than we were.<b>**</b><br />
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So, all in all, even though the West Coast is giggling hysterically at our major freak-out over a little 5.9 tremor, I have to say, we had a very stimulating day. Now I have to go pick up my kids and go buy hurricane supplies. Because apparently Mother Nature doesn't think our week has been exciting enough. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oETinKxJuOE/TlZvzczuGMI/AAAAAAAAAMA/sXZaqkODzLY/s1600/Hurricane+Irene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oETinKxJuOE/TlZvzczuGMI/AAAAAAAAAMA/sXZaqkODzLY/s320/Hurricane+Irene.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><b> </b><br />
Nightshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15812234271680390072noreply@blogger.com0