A ... Mmmm ... Blast ... from the Past

There are many, many times in my life that I wish my brain worked just a tad faster. Today one of those times hit right as I was waking up.

I don't even know what brought this to mind as I was waking (the dream I had was not of a particularly political/current events nature, so I'm running on the assumption that I woke to a newscast this morning).

Do you all remember when all the rage about Iraq was the allegation that they were looking for Yellow Cake in Niger? A single line came into my head. Here's the set-up for it;

(A dark haired man, carrying a box under his arm, knocks on a door. We hear a voice, with a thick middle eastern accent, from within;)Come in.

Delivery Man:(Approaches desk. Sign on desk says "President". President is seated with his back to delivery man. Saluting;)Your yellow cake is here from Niger, Mr. President!

President: (Neither turning to face delivery man, nor rising from his chair.) Leave it on desk.

Delivery Man: Of course, Mr. President. (Salutes, turns on his heels, leaves room, closing door after him. Cut to shot of yellow cake box on desk. A hand reaches in, grabs a piece of cake.)

(Cut to shot of chair back with President's hand swinging out of view to where we assume his mouth to be. There is a crunch and a loud explosion. Cut to scene outside door in hallway with camera rocking from explosion. Guards rush into room. They stop at doorway. Cut to back of chair. Chair slowly turns to reveal Saddam Hussein, hair sticking up and away to the back of his head. Eyebrows and moustache are smoking, face covered with patches of soot.)

President Hussein: Hey! Where's the cream filling?

A Brand New Blog from Yours Truly

I started (yet) another blog at about 3 o'clock this morning. The story of its creation is posted there. I'd recount it here, but it's a half an hour before I need to clock in to work. I'll post the link to it here ---> David_St_Hubbins. It's a Xanga blog, and I know absolutely nothing about Xanga. So, click on over ... It's an interesting story ... But I wish I hadn't gone through it myself. Let me just say that there are some real winners out there in Computerland.

Humpday Quote of the Week!

Karate is a form of marital arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.

-----Dave Barry

A Lost Weekend

Nope, it isn't what you think. I haven't had a "drink" since August. It's just that I did almost absolutely nothing this weekend. I did two loads of laundry, visited my grandparents (and got some pictures of them and their toy poodles), and nothing else. Somehow I managed to squeeze all of that into two whole days!

I only wrote a grand total of six paragraphs for my Yahoo site. (I did no writing at all on the little project for the Velma_Dinkley forum. Looks like I'd better be careful when I get back into college next semester ... I'm not performing up to expectations in the face of a deadline.)

Enough about me, though. It's the beginning of a new week. This particular week is Thanksgiving, traditionally the beginning of Christmas shopping season, but lately that's been pushed back to Halloween. I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. And a safe shopping season. (I know that's what this season has been turned into ... And that it happened long before I was born. I have nothing more to add that many of you haven't heard before.)

Quite a Reaction ...

Have you ever done anything that wound up getting a bigger reaction than you expected? Boy, have I ever!

I'm talking, of course, about the relationship stuff I've written about. What I've let out this past week is what goes through my head to help keep myself laughing ... Laughing at women who complain about men, men who complain about women ... And myself, too. I'm not above the fray.

I must say that I don't feel like competing with anyone, especially the guys who fear commitment. (The only thing I fear about commitment is that it won't happen. So, not having a commitment in my life at the moment, I'm living that fear out. It's not so bad after all.)

The last thing I want to do is act like something I'm not. I've been on the receiving end of the game playing, and I'm not about to subject someone else to it.(I am a sincere fellow, really ... So, when I try to feign something, it doesn't work.)

What I am wanting to do, however, is explore cliches about life through my writing. And, with the input I've gotten from (well, only two of) my responders, I should be able to explore at least one element of our modern society in greater depth.

I hope to have fun doing it, and I hope it's fun for everyone else, too.

To Quote from Billy Joel ...

If you'd say goodbye to me tonight
there would still be music left to write
what else could I do
I'm so inspired by you
that hasn't happened for the longest time

Once I thought my innocence was gone
now I know that happiness goes on
that's where you found me
when you put your arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time

Humpday Quote of the Week

Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object. (The Fall)
-----Albert Camus

I Don't Feel Like Writing, But I'm Going to Do It Anyway.

Well, today started one of the busiest weeks of the year at work. We do twice the workload of an average week at this time of year. Thankfully, it ends Friday.

I would like to thank Pua for pointing out to me the nature of that article I wrote about the other day. Your point was in the margins of my mind, and is well taken in the form you presented to me. I almost never see any articles about men in my situation ... When we're mentioned, we're mentioned almost in passing. In fact, I can say that I've never really read an article of the sort posted a couple of days ago that made me say, "Hey! That's me all over!" So, instead of feeling let down, I now believe it's up to me to write that article.

I'd just like to know one thing, Pua ... And any other woman out there for that reason. How do I compete with the guys who are afraid of commitment and/or comfortable with staying single all their lives? I mean, they sometimes must wind up stringing women along for years at a time (and boy do I know that feeling) who could be right for a fella like me ... But, she's devoted to someone who won't settle down with her ...... Right? .....

Ach! I'm worn out on this, anyway. If I figure it out, fine. If I don't, I'll wind up pretending to be trapped with the kind of woman I wanted in the first place.

That might work ... Pretend to be afraid of commitment! That way, I can be a part of the norm!

And, my name will be Norm Maenstreem! Commitmentphobe!

...Please take the time of posting into account after you've read this...

Just Don't Confuse Me with a Genuine Guru

I've just finished blundering my way through setting up a wireless network at my house. This is the first time I've done an entry on the computer my grandmother gave me just for fixing it. I blundered my way through that, too.

Maybe if I keep blundering like this in the rest of my life, I might actually get somewhere.

I'm blundering through the story I'm writing for the Scooby Doo forum on Yahoo. I've got four different versions of chapter one, two of chapter two, and I have no idea how to get to chapter three. I don't even know how many chapters there are going to be. And, it's due on the 30^th of this month. At least it's informal (and it gives me a good idea of how I'm still dealing with deadlines ... Seeing as I've been working on it for about month and a half.)

Humpday Quote of the Week!

Happiness ain't a thing in itself -- it's only a contrast with something that ain't pleasant.
-----Mark Twain

Just When I Thought I Couldn't Get Any More Embittered About Our Society....

I read this; From a story on Walmartconnect.com

Startling Trend For Men in Their 30s
By the time they reach their late 20s and 30s, men are far more likely to be single than women, according to researchers from Edinburgh University in Scotland. Almost 20 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 44 are single, compared with just 6 percent of women, reports Medical News Today.

People who know me ... Imagine how I felt when I read the next part ...

Why are more men choosing to not marry?
The researchers aren't sure, but suggest it may be a combination of a fear of commitment and rising career demands.

Fear of commitment, eh? Tell me ... Do you take into account all the men out there who spent (wasted) their 20s waiting for a woman who actually was the one afraid of commitment? How about the ones who have lost love in other ways? Hmm?

Fear of commitment isn't an issue in my case. For seven and a half years, I was with only one woman. I haven't been with anyone since, and I am not afraid to have it happen again. (If the next one jerks me around as badly as the last one did, she'll be gone one hell of a whole lot quicker. I'll not be 38 years old and have someone tell me that "It's too soon" to be talking about marriage after nearly eight years of dating.)

Listening to My First Ever E-Bay Item

I normally don't advertise anything on my blog (seeing as the adbar isn't paying its way), but I have to go on about this.

I've had an e-bay account open for I don't remember how long, but I put in a couple of bids last week ... And I wound up winning one of them! I'm listening to it right now. I don't know if this title and artist means anything to any of my readers, but it's Todd Rundgren's 'The Individualist.' It has one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs he's ever written on it.

It also has some of the angriest he's ever written, too. He continues that dichotomy on his newest album, 'Liars.' I recommend both to anyone who's ever heard of Todd Rundgren or any of the people he's produced (Hall and Oates, the Tubes, XTC, Jill Sobule, Grand Funk Railroad, Duran Duran, Meatloaf ... Ok. So, he's produced people from across the Rock spectrum. Not everyone who likes his production projects is going to like his own music. So, I'd recommend finding samples on the internet first).

So far, just to drop a track name, my favorite song is 'Beloved Infidel.' If you want to save yourself the trouble of searching, I've posted a link to 30 seconds of each of the tracks of the album I'm now listening to...

Cold Sores. Gotta Love'm

Well, gang, another outbreak has crept up on me. I was feeling fine when I went to bed (I'll admit, an hour earlier than usual.) However, when I woke up today (two hours later than usual) I had a nice little burny-itchy sensation on the right side of my bottom lip. It's raised up a little now, and a blister has already started forming. I'd rather have a full blown flu than this. I hate itching ... Especially when scratching is impossible because it hurts to even touch the area.

I should have known I was getting sick in the middle of the night. I usually get some really weird dreams when I'm getting sick (and I'm talking weirder than helping the Mystery Inc. Gang escape Hades.) The memory of this dream has faded into almost nothing now. All I can recall is that I was walking around the deserted streets of a big city at night. Every building I went into was the same. It was that pub I used to go to every Sunday night to play the trivia contest. All I would do was grab one of those free local magazines, take a seat at a table, and start reading. That's it. No real action. Strange, huh?

My Vote's In. Is Yours?

Of the 819 people registered to vote in my district, I'm guessing I was number 710. That's only seven and a half hours into the election. Looks like those election officers will be getting off right on time tonight. I really don't know the make up of this district (it appears to be a very comfortable middle class neighborhood), but as I understand things, a turn out like this is a good sign for the Democrats. (There are an awful lot of Kerry/Edwards signs around the district.)

The one disappointing thing is, though, that I know there are a lot more than 819 people in this district who could vote if they wanted. I think we as a people could get a lot more done if it weren't for apathy. But, who wants to fight against apathy? I know I don't feel like it.