Out to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse with Mistress.  We’re enjoying some excellent food, and a chef who is playing to the audience of an 7 or 8 year old girl.  I think those guys get a little cynical about performing for adults (we’re less easily impressed, and less inclined to show it, no?) but pull out all the stops for the little ones.

Towards the end of dinner, we’re discussing what to do back at the apartment.  Mistress mentions having a certain drink I mix for her.  I think about it for a moment.

“Yeah, I should have enough stuff to make you a couple.  Especially if I drink jack and coke or something.”

She smirks at me sideways.  ”If I let you drink.”

I pause for a second, processing.  We’d been pretty kink-free most of the day.  ”Aw, that’s mean.”

Her eyebrows go up, and she gets an arch tone.  ”You’re lucky I let you eat here.  I could have made you watched me eat, not touching your food until we got home.”

I’m nearly speechless…I’m biting my lip and grinning at her with slightly lowered eyes.  ”You wouldn’t do that…”

“Wouldn’t I?”  She finishes her water.  ”I’d probably make you eat it from your dog dish.  You’d have to be really good to deserve a fork.”

Katie’s home (YAY!!!) and we played Take Two this afternoon.  The first round, I beat her by some 60 points, but that was due not to my great skill, but to an error on her part.  She had crafted a nifty puzzle that included a word starting with H.  The problem was that the H she used had a T in front of it and nothing behind it.    I think she had originally had some word there like THAT or THEN, but had later disassembled it to form something else somewhere else.  Then, when she went to count her points, she realized that that whole section of her puzzle had to be discarded (boo hoo).  To add insult to injury, it had included two Xs that were both used twice.  Major bummer.

Well, Katie was NOT willing to stop after that, so we played another round.  A round in which she staged a grand comeback.  But get this, the final score after both rounds was:  Mom 580, Katie 590.  I came very close.

I wouldn’t consider Paranormal Activity a movie. I’d consider it more of a cheap haunted house attraction. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Paranormal Activity and its agenda, that being to scare the living crap out of every audience member. I’m saying that you really can’t review this movie from the normal stand point of a critic. I can’t analyze a plot, a theme, acting and directing very much because thats not what this film was going for. The film was going for a realistic ghost story. The kind you tell around a campfire and it succeeds when looked at from that aspect.

There’s not much to work with, as I stated before, when it comes to character and story. There’s a couple and their being haunted. The guy gets a camera to catch whatever it is in the act and that’s the footage we’re watching. The movie did its job. It was trying to be an entertaining movie with compelling characters, it was trying to scare you. There have been movies that can do both, such as The Shining, but that wasn’t what Paranormal Activity had in mind. Maybe they could’ve went with story and character development, but instead they went with realism and in this rare case. It really works.

I’d like to state that I’d never watch this movie again unless it was with completely different people in order to get their reactions, that’s really the only entertainment I could possibly get out of this film after the first viewing. Other than that, I would never sit down intending to have a nice relaxing evening by watching a movie and pick Paranormal Activity, not because I would be so terrified, but more so because there’s no effect or entertainment value after your first viewing for obvious reasons.

Grade: B

I believe that when Carroll first wrote this book, he may not have intended it to be a children’s book. Many of the topics in the book do relate to adult matter in society. Everything seems to be geared in the direction of a fairy tale, but with hidden undertones. The White Rabbit encounter could really represent how adults have to rush through their lives to reach their goals. They have to work, they have to take care of business, and they are always late. There is so much to do, and so little time to do it that their lives become very stressful. The White Rabbit represents that stress. The caterpillar represents perhaps individuals in society who are more dependent on society taking care of them. They choose not to accept the responsibilities that society puts on them. These individuals want to be like Peter Pan. They never want to grow up because growing up means having more weight on their shoulders.

Children in general are oblivious in knowing how stressful adult life can be. When they are young, they believe that their parents will do everything for them, and they won’t have to worry about anything. However, when they start to grow up and mature, they begin to grasp the stress put onto a parent. They also realize all of the challenges that adults face daily. While Carroll uses child-like symbols to represent daily activities, is he really talking about it from the perspective of a child? Is he really using a childhood story to “mock” the daily grind of adult life? I believe that Carroll intended this book to be more of a social commentary, and not a children’s book. By writing it as a children’s book, he could get by with making fun of, perhaps the issues that were present during his lifetime.

In The Annotated Alice, there are many instances where symbolism plays a major part.

For instance, when Alice encounters the King and Queen, the whole kingdom is represented by a deck of cards. Within the deck of cards, you had each of your social classes. The gardeners were the spades, the soldiers were the clubs, the diamonds were the courtiers, and the hearts were the royalty. Perhaps, Carroll assigned each of these different suits of cards to represent the social order of the time period. He was basing it on political system of England at the time, which included a monarchy. He may have exaggerated the fact that the Queen had a strong personality, and she could be influenced by those around her.

It seems rather ironic to me that Carroll uses a deck of cards to represent the society. As you well know, when you build something out of a deck of cards, it has no strong foundations. It could easily be blown away or torn down. Carroll could have been implying that the society of England was crumbling at the time that he wrote his book. Maybe, he saw the society to be weak. Therefore, he based this segment of Alice’s journey on a deck of cards. Even as far as going into the trial of a pawn stealing the tarts, Carroll was perhaps ridiculing the political and legal system of the time.

I haven’t written a review of a horror movie before. So, let me start with this one. No, this is not one of my fav horror movies. No, it didn’t scare or shake me to the core. But it made an impact which has compelled me to pen down my thoughts about the same.

Horror, horror everywhere,
when Micah and Katie shifted,
they didn’t know what was in store,
and Micah was acting as if he wanted more

The doctor came and Katie relaxed,
But the ghost of the past won’t let her slack,
Micah experimented with the camera and the mike,
but the activity within the house only got spiked

Micah still didn’t believed in the s***,
kept mocking the ghost until it got pissed,
Katie mourned and carried a heavy load,
and Micah brought a seance board

The ghost shut doors, the chandelier got shaky,
Micah still didn’t listen and kept it infuriating,
they searched the attic, they searched the outdoors,
they shouted out loud,
but only their voices echoed

The light went on, the light went off,
a thud on the floor, an eerie silence,
A surprise was waiting,
a dreadful anticipation hung all over the place

But still they didn’t leave,
Micah confident to scare the shadow off,
But Katie believed in the supernatural,
that made the haunt even worse

The climax was devastating,
spine-chilling and shuddering,
someone got dragged and someone got stabbed,
But in the end, we got our dues back

Photographed by tommy.chang

Michael Jackson Memorial. July 7, 2009.

– License

Even though Katie hasn’t officially moved out, it has now been pretty close to two weeks since she has really stayed here, and Sara officially moved into her new apartment last Saturday, so for all intents and purposes, I guess that Jim and I are now officially empty nesters! How very weird this is. We knew that this would end up happening sooner than later, especially as Katie turns twenty in less than three months, and Sara less than four. Our babies were growing up, and itching to spread their wings.

Obviously, there are a whole range of emotions that I am currently experiencing. Most are good. I am sad that my girls are really and truly adults now, ready to begin lives of their own, but this is very much tempered with the fact that I also know that they are indeed, well and truly ready to begin this part of their own life’s journey. Both girls are exceptionally mature and responsible, with solid heads resting on their strong shoulders. I’ve got to trust that we’ve managed to equip themselves with the tools that the shall need to lead happy and productive lives. Mixed with this sadness and melancholy is a huge boatload of motherly love and pride and confidence!

Yes, our home has felt somewhat empty – not to mention extremely quiet – since their departure, but there is also a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what this chapter of Jim’s and my life will bring to us. Kind of liberating for the first time in almost twenty one years! Obviously, all of these positive feelings couldn’t be possible had we parted any other way but the way that we did. Their decisions to move out on their own came from a place of strength, and no other place. We parted in the absolute best way that one could imagine – no angry words or fights or any sort of bitterness imaginable.

It is due to this that I can look to the future with great optimism and hope. I know so many children that leave home for the wrong reasons, and I consider us extremely lucky and fortunate that this was something that I knew was unlikely to occur in our home. I love both girls so very much, and no matter what the outcome, they know that they can sleep securely each night knowing that the welcome mat will always be there should they decide to return home, no matter what their reasons.

Getting everybody organized has been the main reason keeping me away from my computer this past month and a half, plus dealing with the preliminary trial of our attackers. This, unfortunately, has not gone near as smoothly as the other, and in fact, the prelim trial has yet to conclude, and has now been held over until the last week of January, next year. Much more on this matter very soon.

Just wanted to stop by quickly to let anyone who still actually bothers following me to know that I am still healthy and happy and right on course with my recovery, and then some…

peace, love and happiness…

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national holiday tradition, and has been so for the past 83 years, and this year the tradition continued.

This year, the parade route returns to its roots with it ending at 34th street right in front of the Macy’s store. This is different than it has been in recent years.

 There is a list of performers that include Katharine McPhee, Jane Krakowski, and we have Spiderman, Kermit and Spongebob floating down the parade route. Ziggy Marley, the son of the legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley, performed a song with his daughter on a float decorated as a pirate ship.

Ziggy Marley and Daughter awaiting performance at Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade today

 Ziggy performed his new song ”It’s Family Time” while holding his daughter in his arms so she could reach the mike…very cute.

Katharine McPhee, sporting her new sassy blonde ‘do, performed her new single “Had It All.” Jane Krakowski performed a Christmas tune. She may play a ditzy spoiled celeb on “30 Rock,” but in real-life Krakowski is quite the songbird.

Teen superstar Miley Cyrus made an exuberant appearance waving to her throngs of excited fans that lined the parade route waiting patiently for the international superstar. She looked great, in light of the bush crash tragedy that killed her long time tour bus driver this past friday. Today was much happier times for her.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade aired on CBS and NBC at noon ET/9 am PT.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING…NOW GO EAT….

A Thanksgiving sunrise

Samson’s snoring woke me up at dawn. Good thing! – I caught the most beautiful red sunrise. Isn’t it gorgeous? Five minutes later and I would’ve missed the show. 

This time tomorrow I’ll be on a plane headed east. In about a month I’ll get to meet up with Bethany in Cincy and see in person all the beautiful things she’s been posting. 

I hope you are enjoying good food, friends, and family today. Happy Thanksgiving!

I like spankings.  Love them, really.  While I can definitely get enough of spanking at one time, I always seem to want more almost as soon as the first one is over.  Knowing this, Mistress and I discussed the idea of punishment spanking early on in our relationship.  We’d both agreed, in principle, that it was totally possible to make such a fun activity into an unpleasant one.  Now we were going to put it to the test.

Mistress put me on my hands and knees, not the most comfortable position for me to maintain…and very far away from her.  My favorite spankings are when I’m across her lap, able to put my hands on her legs and feel her under me.  Having no physical contact changed the atmosphere immediately, and I already felt like a naughty boy, and not in the fun sense of the word.

She asked if I needed a warm up, and I declined…partly because I knew that’d make it hurt more, and the effects last longer.  It hurt, and as predicted not in a warm fuzzy way.  The first couple smacks with the flat of the hairbrush were bad enough to make me catch my breath, and even though Mistress rubbed me it didn’t take away the burn.  She spaced out the blows so I felt the full effect of each of them, and I was grunting and squeaking in no time.

I was also feeling sobs welling, and that’s something I’ve only felt once before during a spanking.

About this point, Mistress started asking me questions.  I honestly can’t remember her exact words or even the real flow of the conversation…but she was guiding me through a litany of sorts.  Asking me (I think…) why I was being spanked, if I understood why, what I was going to do about it.  She was gentle, and when at one point I told her I didn’t know what the right answer was she just rubbed my ass and told me what she was looking for, and I agreed to it readily after she spanked me again.

I think it was this call and answer routine that actually coaxed the tears out.  I didn’t break down and start crying…but my throat was uncomfortable thick, I was trembling, and sobs were catching in some of my replies.  I had tears welling, and I think one or two did drip down my cheek before Mistress was done.  I almost wished the dam would break…but it didn’t happen, and I’m not sure why.  Maybe things weren’t quite intense enough for that.

Not even during the grand finale, after Mistress had heard the answers she wanted from me and she started spanking me rapidly.  I was crying out, shifting, taken aback by how intense the pain was.  A long pause, and some rubbing, and she told me I was finished.  I immediate curled into her lap, sobbing a little and a few tears leaking out.  It took a little while for my trembling to stop, and my breath would hitch a few times before I got Mistress home, but I already felt lighter.

Honestly, I felt a little like I was floating.  The headspace Mistress put me in was incredible…it wasn’t exactly a happy place because of why I was there, but it was a clean place.  I didn’t have the weight of my guilt over the money, or the fear of what could happen if I didn’t get things straightened out stinking up my mind.  I didn’t feel like a failure anymore, I simply felt I’d make a mistake that could be taken care of.  I felt a little sheepish for needing the correction, but I did feel corrected.  I’d been called out on my behavior, and promised my Mistress I’d fix it.  It made an incredible difference in my state of mind and my outlook on the problem.

Revisiting it in my mind has been enough to make me a little teary all over, and to feel incredibly grateful to be with my Mistress.  The fact she didn’t hesitate to agree to my request, and managed to punish me in a way that made it her own (and not simply a fantasy fulfillment situation) is just amazing.  While I hopefully don’t need many of these spankings, knowing she has this sort of power over me is comforting.

In short, I’m very thankful for my Mistress.  For this spanking, and dozens of other reasons.  Happy Thanksgiving, all you kinky kids.

Another rainy day calls for another unusually bright color. I lean towards dark colors more often than not, but this is one of my favorite brights.

I’ve had it for over a year and it’s a color I would more likely wear on my toes – but it’s pretty, it has a bit more shimmer than yesterday’s choice. Flashbulb is a flirty and fun deep magenta with a gorgeous opalescent microglitter. Love it! It reminds me a bit of Koala Berry with more shimmer.

This is basecoat +2 coats (no top coat today).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Katie

sleep dont weep...

setelah bioskop bandung diserbu oleh para twilighters, tidak ada bioskop yang tidak ngantri dimanapun, oleh karena itu saya pergi ke blitzmegaplex berharap antriannya tidak segila bioskop 21. sesampainya disana justru tidak ada film new moon yang sedang diserbu para penggemarnya, oleh karena itu akhirnya saya menonton paranormal activity yang kata orang “the most bla bla bla” sebelumnya saya sudah membaca banyak review film ini dari kebanyakan orang, dan langsung mendapat gambaran bahwa film ini tidak jauh berbeda dengan Blair Witch Project maupun REC yang terlebih dahulu memakai gaya “kamera hand-held”, tapi karena tidak ada pilihan lagi akhirnya saya pun menontonnya.

bercerita tentang sepasang kekasih yang tinggal di suatu rumah dan sering diganggu oleh makhluk gaib! si pria pun (micah) akhirnya kesal dan ingin melakukan penelitian dengan merekam kejadian yang ada di kamar mereka ketika tidur, apa yang sebenarnya mengganggu kekasihnya (katie), tapi kenyataan di kamera nampaknya lebih mengerikan dari apa yang mereka rasakan.

yah, siap siap banyak terkejut dan teriak, karena memang film macam ini banyak menyimpan kejutan, apalagi ketika mendekati ending, tapi buat anda yang sudah menonton 2 film yang saya sebutkan sebelumnya mungkin sudah tidak aneh lagi, anda akan terkejut tapi tidak akan sehisteris orang orang mungkin, yang saya salut mungkin efek “penampakan” yang sangat halus dan bersih seperti benar benar sedang menonton rekaman yang ada penampakannya. ya lumayanlah buat penghilang kesal karena tidak jadi nonton new moon. watch and scream!

]]> http://ostrichfeathers.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/skins-series-4/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:54:44 +0000 Dan http://ostrichfeathers.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/skins-series-4/

Popular teen-themed channel 4 television show Skins is due to begin broadcasting its fourth series in January 2010. The show, which began broadcasting on digital station E4 in 2007, has built up a large number of devoted fans. Every two years the cast is replaced with a new set of core characters. About A Boy star Nicholas Hoult starred in the first series as Tony Stonem. The new series will be the last featuring the current cast, which includes Kaya Scodelario as Effy Stonem. There will be eight episodes in the new series. The show is also a hit in the states where an American version, set in Baltimore, is currently in development. A big screen version may also soon be made as it was announced, in May 2009, that Film4 and Skins production company, Company Pictures, are in preliminary talks about producing one. I’m looking forward to the new series and will be disappointed if it proves to be the last one they make. Thanks for reading.

Saturday my sister and her husband had their housewarming party. If was very nice. The neighbors were very nice. Friends and family were there. Of course I must have been very hungry, because most of my shots were of food… Here are a few snapshots from the event… (and my two best boys!)