Here are the shots I got sitting next to Pete on the Shenandoah Pizza boat. Fun times. Check out Monday’s News Leader for a column on our adventures.

My friends Saren and Susan are responsible for this latest obsession. On our walk last week, when we were hiking around the woods with the dogs, we got around to one of our favorite subjects…food…and I forget how… but it was revealed that I did not own a crock pot. Not sure how I made it through this first half century without one  but, after another mile or so, they had convinced me that I NEEDED one.

After my usual compulsive internet researching and two horrific days of trudging through the land of Oz…aka…obscenely overstocked retail zoos…I collapsed in a shopping meltdown and ordered this one on line…

She arrived on the anniversary of my grandmother’s birthday which is a very good sign as she was a wonderful cook…so in her honor I have named her Phyllis.

And, since Pat nursed me through the melt down with such grace and good humor…I decided that the inaugural feast would be her favorite…pulled pork.

The goal is to be able to make suppers that I can throw together in the morning and let cook all day so that when I come home from the studio the cooking is done. And so that if I lose track of time and forget to stop painting…Pat can eat dinner before midnight. Phyllis passed all the tests.

An elegant look, clean simple design, easy to use, easy to clean, big enough for meals that can last for days, and…yes Susan and Saren, I thank you !

Bon appetite…

Mi se părea că am o bucată foarte subţire de lamă în plămânul drept; seara, când mă puneam în pat simţeam cum aluneca spre lobul superior, o vedeam foarte clar dacă închideam ochii, în spaţiul dintre pupilă şi pleoapă; pentru o secundă se muta acolo şi aproape că-mi era frică să clipesc; apoi respiram şi-mi dădeam seama că aerul o făcea să vibreze, că se mutase iarăşi în plămân, şi că dacă aş fi vrut, aş fi putut să-mi mişc pleoapele în voie. gândul că aş fi putut mă făcea să nu mai vreau. mă grăbeam să adorm, respiram atent, încercând să controlez poziţia lamei care se răsucea foarte uşor, secţionând capilare, de fiecare dată când respiram. în somn mă răsuceam pe o parte, uitând de ea, şi mă trezeam cu o durere ascuţită în stomac. mă ridicam din somn ca dintr-o stare de leşin; până la baie ajungeam sprijinindu-mă de mobile, aproape fără să deschid ochii, încercând să rezist. înainte să ajung nu mă mai puteam stăpâni, muşchii abdomenului se comprimau ca nişte pistoane care explodau în gât. vomitam cu capul aplecat deasupra chiuvetei până când auzeam sunetul clar al unui bucăţi de metal lovindu-se de pereţii din porţelan ai chiuvetei. apoi îmi era mai bine, durerea se dizolva, aş fi putut să mă întorc în pat. aş fi putut să adorm liniştit. nici nu ştiu cum se întâmplau toate astea. apoi, imediat, era dimineaţă şi trebuia să mă ridic din pat, să mă îmbrac şi să plec. Făcând toate astea, aproape că nici nu simţeam bucata foarte subţire de lamă care se mişca imperceptibil undeva, în partea de sus a plămânului drept, secţionând capilare de fiecare dată când respiram.

A fost odata ca niciodata….

Un bloc de 10 etaje, intr-un cartier dubios respectabil. Mai mare dragul sa il privesti, asa, falnic cum se inalta el, imbracat in coji de var si acoperit cu o manta facuta din cel mai pur grad de prabusire in caz de cutremur… In acest minunat bloc vietuiesc cele mai variate specii de bipede, diversificate atat dupa varsta, sex si etnie, cat si dupa nivelul de cocalarizare. Una din familiile de bipede si-a luat calabalacul si s-a mutat, lasand un apartament gol in asteptarea de noi chiriasi.

Asa…

Cei 4 fantastici care este, se afla si se gaseste – adicatelea io, za love, sora lu’ za love si al ei izbit – au purces fericiti la aflarea vestii catre acest rai de la etajul 8  pe pamant. Ca in orice poveste, sperau si asti fantastici sa traiasca fericiti pana ii da proprietarul afara la adanci batraneti in sus-numitul apartament.

Pana cand, intr-o minunata seara de noiembrie, soseste taica Faraonu’ [ izbitu' lu' sor-sa lu za love; are fatza de faraon, sa stiti!] acasa. Obosit, dupa munci si alte alea, cu o mutra de parc-ar fi mancat cacat pe batz, incepe sa imi povesteasCA CA azi a gasit in cutiuta postala din dotare un bilet pe care scria cu litere de om scolit in vremea comunista: ” NU MAI FACETI GALAGIE DUPE ORELE 10!”. Si ramane Faraonu’ nostru putin intr-o rana, asa. Ca el credea ca biletul e declaratie de imensa dragoste de la baba de la 9, care cam are caii plecati din grajd de felul ei.

Booon!

Si pleaca Faraonu’ la munca. Si munceste ca apucatu’. Si se intoarce acasa. Si in hol da cu bobarnacu’ deeee…cine credeti?!?!? De His Almighty Highness, Herr Administrator. :->

“Buna seara!” [Zise Faraonu' cu un zambet usor gripat. Timp in care il plesneste beculetu' din cap si isi da seama de la cine era de fapt scrisorica de amor gasita de dimineata.]

“Buna seara! Dvs. locuiti la 8, nu-i asa? [Si fara sa mai astepte raspuns, ca era evident ca stia..] Stiti, as avea ceva de discutat cu domnia voastra. Dom’le, eu unu’ ma culc devreme. Pe la 9-10 asa. Si voi astia de stati deasupra mea, imi deranjati somnu’. Chiar azi-noapte nu am putut sa adorm decat dupe ora 12. [Faraonului deja ii crapase vezica de cat rasese in gand.] Dom’le, nuj ce scaune, ce aparaturi aveti in camera de deasupra mea, da’ nu se mai poate! M-am foit de pe o parte pe alta ascultand la scartaiala scaunului vostru! Sa nu mai zic ca stiu cand plecati,cand veniti,ce vorbiti,etc etc. Ar fi bine daca ati face liniste dupe orele 22, ca sa fim oameni cu bun simt fata de asti mai batrani!”

Faraonu’ deja fierbea. I-ar fi zis el ceva de muma si de morti combinat cu “Iti mai amintesti ba boule cand erai tanar si te futeai pana rupeai patu’??? E, si noi suntem tineri si sa fie a dracului de treaba daca nu ne futem, cum ai facut si tu!”, dar s-a abtinut, ca sa nu iasa scandal. In schimb:

“Da, inteleg. O sa incercam sa umblam mai usor!” [ Sa vezi ce usor i-as fi umblat eu cu shutu' in coaiele alea seci...!!! X( ]

Eu, Tiwi, dupa ce am ascultat cele povestite de taica Faraonu’, am pufnit intr-un ras d-ala isteric, cu batai de pumn in masa si picioare aruncate in podea [asa,ca pt linistea lu' herr administrator]. Mai aveam un pic si incepeam sa am spume la gura si sa intru in criza. :|

Dupa care m-au apucat ucenicii lui Hades de creier si au inceput sa scuture. Asa se face ca a urmat o culegere de mame, tati, surori, frati, morti, raniti si alte neamuri, bagari, scoateri, infigeri si retrageri, cacari, pisari, matarangi si paduri amazoniene[ambele dintre picioare].

V-ati prins cred, ca respectivul scaun era patul meu. Si ca nu se dadea nimeni la 12 noaptea cu scaunul prin dormitor, ci ca aveam si io treaba, ca mai toti oamenii, si ca nu e vina mea ca patu’ plange. Acuma io cred ca omu’ a vrut sa fie discret, da’ nu i-a iesit si sa zica ceva de scaun, nu de faptu’ ca doi deasupra lui se jucau de-a Adam si Eva. L-as intreba io pe omuletu’ asta fara creier: Herr Administrator, tu cand te futeai cu nevasta-ta, i-o dadeai la tanti Mitza levitand, ca sa poata sa doarma vecinii?!? Si iti faceai program de secs, totdeauna inainte de 10 pm? Ai pretentia ca si noi sa ne fericim levitand ca sa sforai tu si sa-ti lasi balele pe perna?

N-AI SA VEZI, CUAIE! Si invata in pula mea ca se zice “dupa”, nu “dupe”, coshcorog dat cu naftalina in cur!!!

Micul Thomas, cel mai bun elev din clasa o intreaba pe invatatoare daca poate sa-i vorbeasca dupa ore.Ea accepta.

-Ce vrei sa-mi zici Thomas?
-Cred ca sunt prea inteligent ca sa raman in clasa asta,ma plictisesc!As vrea sa trec direct la Liceu.
Directorul scolii este informat si il intreaba pe Thomas daca vrea sa treaca niste teste.
Thomas accepta fara sa ezite si testarea incepe.
-Sa vedem Thomas:3×4?
-12
– si 6×6?
-36,domnule director.
-Capitala Japoniei?
-Tokio!
Testul continua inca o jumatate de ora,Thomas nu face nici o greseala!
La sfarsitul testului,domnul director este multumit dar profesoara intreaba daca poate sa-i puna si ea cateva intrebari..Amandoi accepta.Profa incepe:
-Thomas,vaca are 4 si eu am 2 ce este?
-Picioarele,doamna.
-Corect,ce gasim in pantaloni tai si nu gasim in ai mei?Directorul se mira de intrebare…
-Buzunare,doamna
-Bine Thomas,unde au femeile parul cel mai cret?Directorul se pregateste sa intervina chiar cand Thomas raspunde:
-In Africa ,doamna!raspunde copilul fara sa ezite.
-Ce este moale dar cu mainile unei femei devine tare?Directorul deschide ochii mari dar inainte sa vorbeasca,Thomas raspunde:
-Oja pt unghii,doamna.
-Ce au femeile si barbatii in mijlocul picioarelor?
-Genunchi,doamna!
-Bine si ce are o femeie maritata mai larg decat una celibatara?Directorului nu-i vine sa creada ce aude.
-Patul,doamna!
-Care parte a corpului meu este des cea mai umeda?
-Limba dumneavoastra,doamna!
-Ce cuvant care incepe cu litera C….. inseamna ceva care poate sa fie umed sau sec si pe care barbatii
le place sa-l priveasca?
-Cerul!spune Thomas
Directorul sufla usurat,transpirat decide sa opreasca testul si spune:
-Nu o sa te trimit la liceu o sa te trimit direct la Universitate!Chiar si eu as fi picat acest test…..

Morala: Cu inaintarea in varsta devenim perver

Women have worn this name over the past few centuries – but whether they appreciated her quiet qualities, it’s difficult to say.

Thanks to Rachel for suggesting Patience as Name of the Day.

In thinking about True in my last Sunday Summary, I found myself musing about Extreme Virtue Naming.  Some choices are mainstream; others are engagingly retro or sophisticated.  A few – I’m looking at you, Chastity – seem to tempt fate.

Call Patience somewhere in the middle.  She’s not as universal a good as Honor or Hope.  But with names like Felicity and Mercy sounding current for the first time since Plymouth Rock, Patience almost fits in.

We all know that the average small child can’t summon much in the way of patience.  But is patience an inspiring virtue for a child?  From the Latin pati – to suffer – patience carries a whiff of martyrdom.  In recent centuries, patience has also meant the ability to endure, lending more appeal to Patience as a modern virtue name.  Add in a sense that a patient person is steadfast, and all of a sudden, Patience is a sister to Constance.

Like Grace, she’s a virtue name with a hint of spirituality.  Patience is one of the seven heavenly virtues.  The quality is extolled in the Qur’an as well as the Old and New Testaments.

Despite two male saints Patiens from the first and fifth centuries, there’s little history of the name’s use until the Puritan era.  Patience appeared in the US Top 1000 a few times in the nineteenth century.

Then, after nearly a century out of the rankings, she reappeared in 1994.  Patience peaked in 2006 at #579, and as of 2008 charted at #771.

Lest you link her success to parents searching for an alternative to Nevaeh and Faith, remember that 2004 was the year Halle Berry donned black leather to play Catwoman.  The film was a box office flop, but it reinvented Catwoman’s backstory.  Instead of socialite Selina Kyle, she starts out as a timid worker bee at MegaCorp called Patience Phillips.  She risks her life to save an alley cat – only the cat turns out to be the pet of an Egyptian goddess.  When Patience meets an untimely demise, the cat returns the favor, rescuing shy Patience and unleashing her inner tiger.

Halle Berry can make anything fashionable – little wonder Patience got a bump from the film.

There’s also:

• A Gilbert & Sullivan comic operat called Patience, though the name is not worn by any of the characters;
• Sisters Patience and Prudence McIntyre, a singing duo in the 1950, best remembered for their rendition of “Tonight You Belong To Me”;
• From Guns N’ Roses to the cast of the musical Dreamgirls, more than one act has recorded a song titled “Patience”;
• And, of course, the single-player card game solitaire is also known as patience.

Just like a clumsy Grace might find her name troubling, an impetuous Patience might not appreciate the mismatch.  Pat and Patty both make for rather dated nicknames.

 

And yet there’s something sweet about Patience.  Fueled by the GNR song and the rise of virtue names in general, Patience doesn’t seem completely outlandish.

Continuam cu luna octombrie din prima parte a “Trilogia Cocainei”.

2 octombrie

A rupt patul de la el din camera de la futaiul cu Cristina.(Corbu’s the
man). Cine-i Cristina? Exact si intrebarea mea. Raspunsul clasicului in viata: u don’t wanna know.

4 octombrie

Urasc tot ce vad, si vad tot ce urasc. In tipicul meu spirit de fronda, la geogra  la lucrare m-am dus in prima banca. Bineinteles ca n-am putut sa copiez. Cum popeasca (honestly, asa o cheama) e o javra fara sharm sau inteligenta, o s-o pocesc si la geografie semestrul asta.

6 octombrie

Am dat lucrare si la chimie, duca-se-n mortii ma-sii de moarte de viata. Am umplut foaia numai cu X si 0 (cate unul la fiecare problema; la ultimul exercitiu ca era mai monstruos, am dat 2 scuipati).

In an exclusive interview with Not the News Ireland Pat Kenny has revealed that he will take a leave of absence from RTÉ following being berated by audience member Alan O’Brien on the latest episode of RTÉ’s Frontline. “The wounds are for me still too fresh”, the 61-year old former Late Late Show host said in a phone call from his very modest Dalkey dwelling. He has spoken of his heartache and the mental anguish endured since being confronted by Mr. O’Brien on the evening of the 9^th of November. “After seeing my therapist in the Beacon Clinic, I have been advised to take some time off to recover from what has been a very, very traumatic experience”.

When asked about how his family are coping now they are effectively without a bread-winner he talked candidly of the implications: “It will undoubtedly be an adjustment for Kathy and the kids, my salary will be reduced as I am taking a leave of absence so I may look into securing a welfare payment relating to my now debilitating mental condition.” The broadcaster talked of his difficulty of looking directly into a camera lens: so visceral are the memories of that night. “If I’m near a camera or a microphone I find it difficult to convey any semblance of a personality or a shred charisma, I have been left scarred and I just feel that right now I cannot meet the demands of my job”.

In what must be his most revealing interview to date he then went on to talk with difficulty of the rapidly approaching Christmas period:  “Well as this is my first year without [The Late Late] toy show for some time I’m without the usual option of just stealing what toys I like form the set and now that the government have stood by their decision not to give added child benefit at Christmas it will be a tough few months ahead.”

Mr. Kenny is due to return to his €600,000 per year RTÉ position in January 2010. RTÉ’s Director General Cathal Goan was unable for comment when we contacted his office in relation to the prospect of an RTÉ fundraising event in aid of Mr. Kenny.

Blondie, Donna Summer and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons have all been confirmed for the 2009 Seaside Summer Concert Series and the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series in Brooklyn, NY.

Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, The O’Jays, Robin Thicke, Keyshia Cole, Teena Marie, Sean Paul, Gladys Knight and Anita Baker will also perform throughout the series, which runs until August 27.

The seaside shows will be held every Thursday 7:30 pm at Asser Levy/Seaside Park at West 5th Street and Surf Avenue in Brighton Beach. Chair rentals will be available for $5 or concertgoers can bring their own chairs.

Martin Luther King Jr. concerts will be held Monday nights at 7:30 pm at Wingate Field on Brooklyn Avenue.

The lineup is:

July 16
Salute to 40th anniversary of Woodstock: Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Mountain, John Sebastian

August 24
Caribbean Night – Sean Paul, “King of Calypso” The Mighty Sparrow

“Patul este asemenea unei carti. Te strecori intre cearsafuri ca intre doua pagini si devii tu insuti o poveste frumoasa.”

here I am, la…tara! din cand in cand vin la tara, nu mi-e straina atmosfera asta, doar am crescut la tara…

imi place (nu prea des, ce-i drept) simplitatea ei, faptul ca ma deconecteaza, ma gandesc la altceva..

asaaaa..stau in pat, e foarte cald, am o soba mare in camera, e incinsa rau (ce dracu’ k nu esa de frig afara ?!?) – asa se face..patul si soba sunt pe peretele din dreapta (cum stau eu), in fata mea este asezata o masuta cu o oglinda maaaare (nu-i rea, trebuie sa recunosc) + obligatoriu in sezonul asta o vaza mare cu crizanteme portocalii !! Apoi mai sunt dulapul asta cat toate zilele si o masa cu televizoru’ p ea – nu stiu de ce, dar eu imi imaginez ca asa e la orice tara! Din punctul meu de vedere, astea sunt elemente obligatorii k sa constitui o camera adevarata de tara: pat, soba, masa, dulap (tv-ul este, bineinteles, optional)…A!! si sa nu uit covorul ! Da covorul, k doar nu va gandeati la parchet…ha!

DAR- si asta e motivul pt care am numit asa postul asta- eu sunt tot cu laptopul in brate, k sa contrastez puternic cu atmosfera descrisa! Si cand spun cu laptopul ma refer de fapt la cele 2…asta pe care scriu, al lui dragos – k numai cu el ma pot conecta la acest deosebit internet de o inimaginabila viteza, de 1 mb si al meu pe care ascult muzica ..muzica mea, muzica ce-mi place…(acum trebuie sa mut cablul de incarcare de la unul la altul, a dracu’ baterie proasta, putin mai tine !) Da, stiu k ar fi fost o varianta, dar…nici macar nu incerc sa deschid youtube! Si ma rog, la modul cel mai serios, sa nu pice’…si sa am o seara luuuunga, plina de internet!

PS: ce sa nu faceti cu laptopul la tara : nu incercati sa-l inchideti brusc pt a omori musca aia nesuferita care se plimba pe taste….fuck…

I am loving the new Postman Pat advert for Spec-savers. If you haven’t seen it yet .. here it is….

There is also a fascinating making of too …..

I grew up on Postman Pat. It was one of my first introductions to animation as a child and what probably got me hooked on doing it myself. So was delighted to see this advert and am very envious of the people who got to work on it.

Em reunião realizada na Secretaria de Emprego e Relações do Trabalho (Sert), em Araraquara (SP), no dia 9/11, juntamente com sua diretoria, decidiu-se:

• Atendimentos Seguro Desemprego: 10 por dia;

• Cadastros Emprega São Paulo: 10 por dia;

• Trabalho interno: 8h às 9h / 15h30 às 17h;

• Horário de atendimento ao público: 9h às 15h30.

Certo da compreensão de todos, agradecemos.

Carlos Alberto Damas

Chefe do Centro Integrado de Atendimento ao Cidadão (Ciac)

Got to California Speedway at about 4:30 and signed in. After signing in, they led us into this lounge, it had chips, some fruit, drinks, etc =) and nice ass lounge chairs hahah. Waited about 15 min ish for the other people in our 4:15 group to show up, then they led us into another room where a presenter explained car physics, tire contact patch, and other BS.

Then it was off to the autocross course to get some driving in!! The selection of cars included: IS-F, IS350 F-sport, IS350, GS430, GS430 F-sport, IS-C, and IS-C F-sport. I started out driving one of the two IS-F’s there, I took out the gray one =).

Inside the IS-F. There wasn’t really any time to fiddle around and turn off the traction control. There was almost no wait time to start the session. Also, I was surprised that they allowed us to drive the cars by ourselves hehe.

The IS-F’s initial straightline acceleration didnt really wow me. It was super smooth. The handling was OK i guess, it was only my first lap so I didn’t really have any baseline to compare against. I did knock over two cones though. It seemed like it rolled quite a bit.

After the IS-F I hopped into a red IS350 F-sport. This car truly amazed me LOL. For some reason I felt it pulled harder than the IS-F. After 4500-5000 rpm it seemed like it had VTEC and like it just opened up. It was really quick. The F-sport comes with lowering springs, anti roll bars, exhaust, intake, and other stuff. The upgrades really helped as the car felt much more planted and composed than the IS-F. The exhaust note is beautiful too, it was louder than the IS-F and had a nice burble.

I was hoping to hop into the normal IS350 after but time ran out and we were quickly ushered to the pits of California Speedway to begin hotlaps for the infield track in an IS-F with an F1 driver dude. They loaded the car with three people, it was Pat and me in the back, and a random dude in the front. The driver was named Mario something. By this time, the track was completely dark, so the only lighting on the track was from the car’s headlights. The experience was pretty cool, we were doing around 110 ish according to Pat on the bank. Mario missed one turn though because of visibility issues hahaha. The car rolled quite a bit with all the extra weight but still seemed quite composed. Mario hit the apex’s pretty well.

(hotlap in IS-F with Mario)

After the hotlap, picked up a free T-Shirt, then headed over to the LF-A. Gahhh this thing is pretty gnarly. The exhaust note is beautiful.

Hai guyz, this is mah new kar.

Pat’s in his new car.

What you are looking at here is fking CARBON. They popped the rear hatch and wABOOM. Somebody mentioned they should just leave the car unpainted. This car had a matte black vinyl job. But damn, so badass.

love the seats! Freakin beautiful + super comfortable.

Pat’s Z and the LF-A in the background getting loaded. Pat’s Z is freakin LOW LOW now hahah, very sexy.

Free shwag, also got a Firestone spring pen thingy, but forgot to add in pic.

(oh ya, you know you love my flowery bed sheets)

Final word: Thanks Roy for telling me about this awesome event. Sorry that you couldn’t go, happy bday to your dad. Thanks for the ticket for Pat. =)

I can finally report that the staining of the house is complete.  The neighbors are very happy that they don’t have to look at my ugly, brown house anymore.

Actually, that’s not true.  There are three windows that need their trim painted.  I think for the most part I can consider it finished.

Here are some pictures of the staining in progress:

The part under the eaves is Navajo White.  I don’t know where paint names come from, but at least they aren’t quite as ridiculous as nail polish names.

Dad had to get on the roof to paint some of the trim.  Don’t worry, I was ready to catch him if he fell.

The main color is Parchment.  Much more attractive than the plain wood.

The trim color is Sagebrush Green.

I must say, I’m very glad the staining is done.  It was quite a project and standing on a ladder all day is really more tiring than it sounds.  Thanks to Mom, Dad, Timm and Pat for all the help!  You each get a root beer float next time you come to visit.

Mi-e somn. Atat de somn ca abea imi mai tin capul drept. Doua ore dormite si toata ziua la facultate. Ma simt mai obosita ca niciodata. Ce dor mi-a fost sa ma simt asa. Parca nu-mi vine sa ma pun in pat atat de devreme. E usor trecut de 23:30.  Piciorusele mele nu mai au rabdare si vor sa se intinda in pat. Simt ca va fi o noapte frumoasa. O noapte cu mult somn.

Noapte buna