Still more Not-Politics...

In light of the pending elections, I looked up the word "suffrage" (which means 'to vote') and "suffer" (which means 'to sit in commuter traffic') and found the similarities quite frightening:



Go to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and have some fun yourself. "Republican" vs. "Democrat"? "Liberal" vs. "Conservative"? "Regular" vs. "Decaf"? It's your choice.

Autumnal merriness...

I love the fall. I love the cooling climate, the crisp air, the return of fog. I love the crunch of a fresh apple, the warm spices and comfort foods, and caramel. (Sure, you can get caramel all year round, but there's something about that smoky, burned sugar taste that goes with fall.) I love the twilight and pre-dawn colors of the sky, and in the fall you don't have to get up as early to appreciate them. The turning leaves, the sweaters, the snuggliness of it all...

And of course, Halloween. Today I took the kids and Denise to the Adobe Pumpkin Farm in Petaluma for an afternoon of Fall Wonderfulness. This place is a bit on the crazy side for pumpkin patches--almost a carnival more than a patch. There are two haunted houses, a hay maze, and a corn maze. There were three little barn-buildings-turned-shops, and a coffee shack. There are little booths where you can get snacks (cotton candy, caramel apples, fresh-popped kettle corn, and funnel cakes). There is a "train" ride that tools about the 30-acre farm, as well as a hay ride. There are demonstrations of old farm equipment, still running. There are jump castles, a pyramid of haybales to climb on, and a rock wall, as well as several live performers wandering about.

Oh, yeah--and pumpkins. TONS of pumpkins.

They also have fresh autumnal flowers growing onsite, peppers and olives. (You can even get some fresh, home-pressed olive oil in one of the barn/shop places.) If you are in the area, you should stop by for a visit. The pumpkin prices are pretty high as opposed to getting them at a nearby supermarket, but the experience is more than worth it. And hey--who says you have to buy them there? But you may want to--there were still several you could pick right off the vine. And that is a fun experience.

Not-Politics, again...

Good lord, I do love me some articles on Cracked.com. Them boys shore do crack me up. I would submit quotes to you, but I fear it would be like telling you the punchline to a joke, so instead I plead with you to read the following:

An Interview with McCain and Obama in the year 2012

or ?

If that don't make you wanna start a militia and revolt, you ain't been paying attention.

Somewhere in my youth or childhood...

I have a new someone-special in my life, and wanted to take the opportunity to share some things about her. Her name is Denise, we met in theater a few years back, and she is a beacon in my life. I recently found a scrapbook of some of the events leading up to our current relationship status:

Here is Denise, introducing herself to me:


(actually, that is her as Helene in Sweet Charity at the Sixth Street Playhouse. We met while doing this show.)

This is a photo of her picking up a donut and some coffee for me:


(actually, that is her as Dawn in Lobby Hero at the Sixth Street Playhouse, a show that is not about the coffee.)

Here she is, upset over not having cream for the coffee:


(actually, that is her as Suzy Hendrix in Wait Until Dark with the Raven Players)

This photo was taken at the hospital, when she was giving me the prognosis on my donut poisoning:


(actually, that is her as Caitlin O'Hare in Over The River And Through The Woods at the Sixth Street Playhouse)

An image taken at great personal risk to the photographer, of Denise at a secret ritual to bring me back from the dead:


(actually, that is her as Hecate in Macbeth at the Loading Zone, a show we did together)

And here is a photo of our first kiss:


(actually, that is her as Hecate in Macbeth again, with yours truly as the doomed Scottish lord)

I hope she will take as much joy from this post as I have from knowing her for as long as I have, and that she will be as encouraged by it as I have been by her constant support, friendship and love.

(all photos culled from www.deniseelia.com)

Clip of the week...

Okay, I am going to save my political rants for another time. There are too many of them, and you won't be happy after reading them. But I will go so far as to say I am not voting Republican OR Democrat in a couple of weeks, so this clip is not a bid for you to support Obama or anyone else.

What this clip is--well, it's an old friend of mine who happens to have a brilliant lyrical sense, and a good sound going with his band. I get really unhappy whenever anyone brings up the election (which means I'm unhappy a lot right now, unfortch), so the fact that he made me smile with some of his turns of phrase should say something.



Enjoy!

If you think YOU have a case of the Mondays...

...be grateful you aren't this viper in Taiwan. Apparently some firemen found a poisonous snake that they were keeping in a cage. They also found a mouse, which they thought would make a nice snack for the reptile. Round One:



After nearly thirty minutes of fighting, the foot-long viper "proved unable to land a killer bite", however, and the mouse KILLED IT.



Now THAT, ladies and gents, is (as the kids nowadays might say) some serious shit. I am not sure even how to tag this post. Click either image for the story in last Thursday's Telegraph.

Oh. My. God...

Starting in November, you can ride on a real live Airship! Airship Ventures is bringing a Zeppelin NT to the California bay area for "daily sight seeing flights, advertising operations, corporate and event occasions and scientific missions." (Scientific Missions? Woohoo!)



You can take one of two tours from the airport three blocks from my office to see the Russian River Valley or Alexander Valley (both are one-hour journeys round trip), the San Francisco bay (departing from North Oakland airport--also one hour), or even a two hour jaunt from Moffett Field to see the entire San Francisco peninsula.

It's expensive, but man do I want to go. Wouldn't it be a blast to charter a flight with a dozen friends, have champagne and dress up 40's style? I am getting all twitchy just thinking about it...

Lucifer, your lunch is ready...

Apparently, the Dark Prince loves him some Carl's Jr. I ordered a medium size chili burger meal with a Dr. Pepper, and here's the receipt:



Don't know what possessed me to eat there, but now I feel the need to exorcise. (See what I did there?)

Clip of the week...

Hockey is back! This weekend the NHL season opens with two games overseas. While I find the idea intriguing, mostly it seems like another gimmick by the NHL commissioner to drum up more support. But hey--they're on the ice, and it's GAME ON baby!

The game is fast, unpredictable, and just plain crazy. If you're a casual watcher, you might think a lot of the goals you see are just plain lucky. Take a look at this and you may re-evaluate your stance on just how much skill it takes to play this game:



If only he had played like that when he was still with the Rangers. Ah, well. Drop that puck!