smelly people in libraries

BBC news stories again:

A rule that will allow public libraries in the US city of Dallas to ban people who are considered to smell badly has drawn criticism by charity groups.
Under the guidelines, which come into force in February, sleeping, eating, loud talking, fighting, bare feet, sex and washing will also be banned.

Since when have these been OK in libraries?

I love this kid.

An American 16-year-old has secretly travelled to Iraq on his own as part of his school project.

Farris Hassan from Fort Lauderdale was studying a high school class in "immersion journalism".

This is what they call taking things to heart.

The Kite Runner

I just finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseneini. Actually I read the entire thing in one sitting and it isn't exactly a flimsy book. I read the first 1/3 but then I got this strange awakeness so I decided to read more, then I couldn't put it down because I was at a good part, and then my eyes started to burn with every turn of the page, but I was already 2/3 of the way done, so then I had to finish it. The Kite Runner is about a boy growing up in Afghanistan who deals with some heavy issues. I would definitely recommend it.

'Nun Bun'

I wish I would find a food item with the image of a religious person on it. From the BBC:

Christmas thief steals 'Nun Bun'

The famous bun has been preserved with shellac.
A cinnamon bun that bears a striking likeness to late Catholic nun Mother Teresa was stolen from a US coffeehouse on Christmas Day.
The owner arrived to find that the famous flaky pastry had vanished from the shop in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bongo Java coffee shop sold T-shirts, prayer cards and mugs with the bun's image until Mother Teresa wrote a letter asking the sales be stopped, before her death in 1997.

A. Who would buy those things?
B. Poor Mother Teresa's last wish had to be to stop the commercialization of her image on a bun. Something is very sad about that.

Fabric and Sewage

Today we hit all the after Christmas sales! I got a sewing machine for Christmas so we stopped at Joanne's to get fabric and stuff to supplement it. I want to make a dress, pajama pants, and a jacket. I put up a picture of some of the stuff I got, plus a pic of my Christmas outfit (that matches my bedspread freakishly well).

Earlier we went to the mall, and at the BON TON I said "Look, Michelle, sewage is dropping from the ceiling. Don't stand under it. I turn around for a second to look at something and when I turn around she is standing right over the giant stain on the floor where ugly brown water has been dripping out all day. I say, "What are you doing? I told you not to stand under that," and what does Michelle do? She looks up, and a big drop of sewage drops on her face. That made my day.

Awwww, Sherman

Awww, look at Tara's big puppy. Isn't he sooo cute? Awwww. Who's the cutie? Who's the cutie? Cute things have a way of reducing people to baby talk. An interesting concept, eh?

I think I am still resentful of never having had a real pet when I was younger, other than a tank full of fish and Tuddle the turtle. I had caught grasshoppers in the field beside our house every day of the summer to feed Tuddle, and walked him in the grass in the back yard, and let him swim in my blue kiddie pool, while I stuck my feet in the water, but then one day when I came home from school, I found him out on the porch, frozen alive in his container of water-turned solid ice. A bit of a tragic experience for a child.

NYC

We had lots of fun in NYC. Sure, it was cold and the subway was closed down, and we had a few bad things happen, but for the most part our trip was successful. Everything started out fine, the traffic wasn't as bad as we had expected, but after I got off the bus, the door closed and Tami and Emily kept going. My life flashed before my eyes as I figured I had been abandoned in New York City, left to fend only for myself. Fortunately they stopped again and we met back together. First we got standby tickets for the View because they are giving out Christmas presents to audience members, but they ended up turning away even ticket holders. Next we walked around, got Starbucks, ate at Rachael’s, went to Macy's, and tried to get tickets to Letterman. Little did we know that they interview you when you sign up for them. They asked how often we watched the show, so we lied and said a lot, of course, but then they wanted to know what our favorite bits were, and we morons just sat there like lumps on a log, looking at each other. Needless to say, we didn't get those tickets, lol. Finally we made our way to Rockefeller Plaza to look at the Christmas tree and NBC studios to go to Conan! They threw us free t-shirts so that made us happy. We had very good seats to watch the show, but I was a little disappointed with the stage. It is so grand, and seemingly large on TV, but kind of small and crappy in person. Conan is really skinny and tall, but he seems like a very cool guy. Tami had the lucky red mark on her chair so she had to crawl out of her seat while a member of their staff sat between Emily and me. So the side of my face made it onto TV, how exciting! After Conan, we went ice skating in Bryant Park which was a nice outdoor rink. That was definitely fun. Then we made our way to a comedy show, but after walking 20 blocks we decided we had hit a bit more of shady area and decided not to go any farther for fear of our well-being.
Then it was time to go home but at the restaurant I had put the directions down on the table and apparently the waiter had taken them away with the plates. Soooo, we had no directions on how to get home! Obviously we took the NJ turnpike south but after never finding a place to turn onto I-78, we stopped at a service center and asked 'Joe' for directions. We had to go way out of our way north to get back to Pennsylvania, believe it or not. And after napping at a Wendy's we finally made it home!! I'm glad we decided to go even despite the strike. Fun, fun.

Why a strike today?

WHY? why? why? Someone hates me. All NY transportation services went on strike today which just happens to be the day before we planned to go.

Why? Who is it that wishes malice on us? Those Conan tickets were so hard to get, we planned our whole trip perfectly even at a minimal cost. Fortunatly NJ transit is still working, which we were planning on using anyway, and a "contigency plan" is supposed to be in place by tomorrow morning for the subway and buses. I know we can still go and still have fun. This will not hinder my last piece of excitement in the year 2005, I will still go to NYC, and that is final!

(Picture is from the subway in March-I love the blurriness, doesn't it just say I'm on a speeding train deep under the surface of the earth?)

CONAN

So, I am a little perturbed. We are going to a taping of Conan O'Brien on Wed, and who are the guests? Tea Leoni and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Who on earth are those two people? One is a B list actress and the other an old woman who wrote a political book or something. Why is it that the day we choose to go to NYC there are crappy guests that I've never heard of? At least there is still hope for the band, I can't find listed anywhere what band will be playing, but I am thinking good thoughts...

Giant Paint Cans and Strippers

LOL, I found this article on the web- I live near this giant paint can, but I particularly like the part about the protesters versus the strippers.

Giant paint can
Off Interstate 81 , there's a big refinery-style tank painted to look like a can of latex housepaint.

Impossible to get a picture, so be prepared with a telephoto out the car window.

From a hypertour in 1996, we have this interesting note: "At the exit across from the can, there was a hand-painted sign: 'PORNO PROTEST THIS EXIT.' On the east side of I-81 is a new strip joint. While protestors picketed in day-glo orange vests out front, tattooed beauties sunbathed out back, facing the can. There's nowhere to park without being arrested or set upon by the protestors!"

...An interesting dilemma, just to take a picture of a giant paint can.

Christmas Blues

Christmas is in the air. I can feel it.

I tend to think that Christmas is overrated. We break our bank accounts, spend time with those lost relatives that we never really liked in the first place, waste time writing on cards that get thrown away, eat too much till we're sick, pretend that we like crappy presents that people get us, lie to children about the existence of fat man in a red suit, wrap presents that get ripped open, buy Christmas CD's that you can only play one month out of the year, talk for hours to people that only want the gossip on you to share at the next family gathering, baby-sit other people's kids so they can relax while you want to rip your hair out, answer questions about what you want to do with the rest of your life, and ultimately if you are feeling bad; it only doubles during the holidays, and all for what? To celebrate the birth of the Christ child? Who are we trying to kid? That isn't what Christmas is about in America. That is what it should be about, but it's not.

If we really wanted to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I'd sit in my house with my family and do nothing, well... maybe go to church, or volunteer somewhere...but I'm sick of all the Christmas glamour that is really just hollow attempts at being happy. Are people really more happy at Christmastime? or is that just what we tell ourselves to not feel like Scrooge? What has happened to Christmas being about a birthday party for Jesus? I don’t remember singing the happy birthday song at Christmas parties, ever.

Cookies Galore

Today was the annual cookie-baking-marathon at my grandma's house. Ugghh, I never want to see another cookie again. I'll be seeing cookie dough in my dreams tonight.



When I went outside for a break an Amish buggy was coming by so I snapped a picture; only in Pennsylvania.

Done I am

So today was my last final and I am done with my sophomore year now (at least here at Shippensburg University). I'm little ruffled though because I raced through my test so that the professor could catch a train out of here. I really would have liked to have read what I wrote because I was just writing like a madwoman. Guess I won't find out how I did until I see my grade. Man I hope its an A, or even an A- or even a B+, my GPA needs the help.

Blog Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday dear Jenn's Blog,
Happy Birthday to you!

Moonlight Masquerade's first birthday, *tear*
It's just so special.

Music Genome Project

Whoa, I found the music Genome Project on Pandora . It is so awesome. All you gotta do, is type in a song/artist you like and it will come up with a whole stack of other stuff you should check out. I'm sold; this is a good idea.

An illusion or delusional?

Stare at this optical illusion for a while, and you'll really think you are losing it. But, you gotta admit; it is pretty cool.

Survivor Stephanie loses again

Noooooooooo, it was supposed to be Stephanie who won Survivor. I am so disappointed, she was my hero...

Found this cool place on cbs.com where people make up their own captions for funny survivor still frames (They will probably only make sense if you are a Survivor fan and have been watching this season--Meaning I was rotfl, but you prob won't be.)

Blanket of Snow

Brrr, it's cold outside. Today, from a lack of a more constructive activity to do, I went outside into the backyard and took pictures. Snow makes everything so pretty... until the smog and pollution of cars turns it black and sloshy.

Mental Exhaustion

Sorry its been so long since I posted. My classes are done!! Whoopee. "Hell week" (as I like to call it) is over. All my art projects and portfolios, papers, and exams were this week, save for the one final I have next week. I also have portfolio reviews, some meetings, and loose ends to tie up, but other than that I am home free until the end of January. I am soooo mentally exhausted and my back is killing me from being hunched over the computer and art stuff all week long. Thursday I didn't sleep a wink writing a 10 page paper and finishing a huge final drawing. Thank goodness I can relax a little this weekend. Ahhh, it feels good.

Christmas decorations- blog style

Had a rough week.
Also decorated blog for Christmas. Ho ho ho.

Thanksgiving Vacation

So we had a great time at the beach, like I said before. Somehow it is just strange to see people sitting on the beach in lawn chairs, with giant blankets on. That was us too. One day the temperature got up to the low 70's. I got to go swimming in the hotel pool and sit in the hot tub which was quite fun. We went for walks along the beach. We picked up lots of seashells, and stole a few. Actually my dad saw a big bag of seashells underneath the pier in the rafters so we decided to take it and hope no little kid would come back looking for it.

We stayed on the 12th floor of a hotel overlooking the water so I attempted to rise early enough to watch the sunrise but that didn't happen. I actually got my own room and my parents got their own, the two being separated by a little kitchen area. I watched some movies, read my book, and did do a little art work. We ate at a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner that did include turkey, but I preferred the ribs. Black Friday we went shopping of course at the outlets. They we sooooo packed, people swarming everywhere. And we checked out those beach stores that have huge discounts during the off season. We drove all around Myrtle Beach, and just had a lovely care-free vacation.

Messages in the Sand

I had a nice Thanksgiving. The nice thing about it was that we had no schedule. We did what we wanted to when wanted to. We got listen to the ocean and dip our toes in. It was so relaxing.

This is what we woke up to on Thanksgiving morning. I rolled out of bed, went out onto the balcony and some kids had written Happy Thanksgiving in the sand. Can it get any better?

Happy Turkey Day!

At least I have tonight to hang out with friends that came home for Thanksgiving vacation! I'm excited to see everyone that I have missed (and those I haven't too, ha ha).
Goin' to Myrtle Beach in the morn. We should be going somewhere warm, but there's no reasoning with my parents. Who goes to the beach when it's likely to snow there? Hopefully I'll get seashells and it won't be too bitterly cold to go golfing. I probably won't have access to a computer to blog, unless there is one in the hotel; so adios and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over -
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

- Langston Hughes, 1951

Hike and Good Company

This afternoon a group of us from the honors program went on a hike. We had a nice time even though it was really cold. The view was spectacular from the top of the mountain; quite nice.
Tonight my brother-in-law (Tony) and his friend Pablo came over to hang out. They were telling us about the conference they had gone to and also about the human flesh (Body Worlds) display in Philly that stirs so many heated debates. I think it is awesome that they use the cadavers for the common people to appreciate. It's not like they killed the people to inflate their veins with plastic, they probably just donated their bodies to science after they died. Who cares what happens to your body after you are no longer in it?
Anyway, then my dad made poor Pablo sing and play his guitar for us which was absolutely wonderful. He played us some songs that he had composed himself.

The color of Thanksgiving

I have redecorated this site in honor of Thanksgiving, hence the corn, turkey, and earthy tones. I spent the past 5 hours doing it, so you had better appreciate it. I could have been doing something useful with my life, but no, I wasted it on changing the colors of my blog. And the sad thing? I actually feel as if it was time well spent. I had much more fun doing this, than say writing a paper or finishing a real assignment.

Creepy IM

I am in the computer lab right now. I got a strange IM that was like, I see you. I looked around the room, no one that i knew. The reply comes, I'm watching you. I canvas the room again, but no one. Now I'm starting to get freaked. I look around again and BAM, I saw them...

No, really it just turned out to be Katey in the glass room beside the computer lab. Shame on you Katey, for freaking me out. Then her prof thought she was crazy for laughing out loud when no one was around, and the people sitting near me think I am crazy for laughing at the computer screen and pointing at someone through the glass. Wow, that was strange.

Dracula

Tonight Dr. Kungl and I held a book discussion on Bram Stoker's Dracula. I think it went well, a good number of people showed up and the discussion was interesting. I never thought I would be the type of person who would like a book such as Dracula, but I think it is deeper than the stigmatized pop culture version of it. There was more than fish net stockings and sharp blood sucking teeth. Actually, the women in the story were portrayed more as innocent virgin type beings rather than the sexualized vampiresses we associate with Dracula today. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Stoker doesn't objectify women in the novel, but at least it doesn't make you feel dirty after reading it, as I'm sure some the movies based on it would.

Glow in the Dark Pork Chops

I found this story to be intriguing,

"Australians have been told there is no need to panic after a recent "glow-in-the-dark pork chop" scare.
A caller to a Sydney radio talk show sparked fears of radioactive contamination in the meat supply.
The New South Wales Food Authority said the glow was caused by the harmless pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria.
Food authority head George Davey said he understood people would be "shocked" to see their meat glowing in the fridge but said the bacteria were safe. "

I don't think I'd eat glowing meat, even it is 'safe'. That is just disturbing.

The Notebook

So I felt sick all day again today but I bore through it and actually went to class only to find each and every one of my classes today were canceled. After dragging myself in to the university, I was ready to learn! Now I'm just hostile.

Tonight I went over to my sister's house for dinner and a movie. Tara cooked stuffed shells, yum, and we watched the Notebook. Boooo, the ending was sad. What is with that? When you need a pick up, you always get a push down. Depressing things are not what I need right now.

Nauseous

Blah, I felt so sick today at school. You have never really puked until you have puked in one of the toilets in a public restroom. Luckily no one came in while I was spilling my guts. It was strange, the sickness hit me all of the sudden. I am feeling generally better, but still nauseated.

I learned something new today while looking up how to spell nauseous. I'll pass the enlightenment on to you:
The word nauseous is properly used only to mean “causing nausea,” and it is incorrect to use it to mean “affected with nausea,” as in Roller coasters make me nauseous. In this example, nauseated is preferred. Nauseous is widely used to mean “feeling sick,” it appears that people use nauseous mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect. In its “correct” sense it is being supplanted by nauseating.

Mini Golf and Softball

Yesterday afternoon was a prime time for being outside at the Links. Emily and I played mini golf and hit some softballs at the batting cages. It was a good time even though Em did win; I'm telling you, the back nine always kills me.


Sexy batting helmet you say? Bah ha ha Emily.

Today I spent all freakin day at a quiz in Highspire. I got hardly any of the work done that I planned to this weekend. But what's new?

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday at Jazzman's Emily and Tami gave me lovely birthday presents. Awwww, isn't that sweet? It made me happy.

Then at night my family and I went out for Chinese food and then had ice cream birthday cake. MMMMMMM

The other pic is my mom not wanting to get her picture taken. Ah ha ha, I love it, it is just too perfect.

Phillipine Madrigal Singers

The Phillipine Madrigal Sigers came to Ship on Tuesday night, so we all went to hear them. I thought the concert was great. They sang a cappella in a bunch of different languages; very unique.
Then Wed. I went to a poetry reading by Michael Ryan. He is a famous poet, and he read us some of his selections. I personally enjoyed "Airplane Food." Too bad none of my friends share my interest in poetry. We pay activity fees anyway, so if you've already paid for these special speakers to come why wouldn't you go, irregardless of whether you get extra credit or not?

Empire State Building & MoMa

Forever, again, and I have not posted. This week has been double trouble, super dooper busy. I still will continue on with NY details that I haven't given yet. I will neglect to tell you about my week becasue there is so much that I wouldn't even know where to begin.

So in NY, we went up the Empire State Building and the view was spectacular 86 floor up! (even devoid of fog) While there we also did a simulated skyline tour of the city in one of those rollar coaster like seats that jerk you around in front of an Imax screen. That was interesting.

Probably my favorite part; we visited MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) and I was utterly shocked at how many masterpieces that museum houses. There are countless Picasso's; paintings by Mondrian, Van Gogh, Chagal, Warhal, and every other great modern artist there is. Please excuse my spelling, I'm too lazy to look them up.


We at two different nice little restaurants in Manhattan. The one we at in the second night offered us their special so I decided to be adventerous and order the quail. (I suppose I have a fascination with strange meats) Perhaps I should have asked the price first. I ended up eating 30 bucks worth of a tiny strange little bird that actually just tasted like chicken.

Today my visa came in the mail, so the NY trip was indeed successful. Whoopi.

Bad Birthday

Sigh, this is one of the worst birthdays ever. As I was driving into school today a police officer pulled me over because my inspection was past due. Then as he was handing me my citation he was like "oh, and happy birtday" as if you would say it sarcastically. He probably read it on my license and felt guilty for pulling me over. Sigh, and then I was late for class too. I don't like birthday's anymore, they used to be fun, and it meant I got presents. Now they just mean I am getting old. Once you hit 20 your life just goes downhill. Sigh

NYC revisited

Back from a great time in New York City, I have lots to tell you about our trip, so I will break it into more than one entry.



These are some street and building photos, day and night. Plus there is one of the billboard of Beauty and the Beast which we saw on Broadway. It was great, I really liked the candle guy, he was the best character. I think we picked the right show to see. We knew the story and the stage effects were excellent. We waited in line at the TCKTS booth Saturday morning to get the tickets. Street performers entertained us with music while we waited. We had a blast, I'll fill you in on more later.

Blue Streak

So I had an art class today and we are doing painting. Apparently I swiped my face with paint brush, because i had a fairly large streak of blue paint down the side of my face. That class lasted three hours, plus I had 2 tutoring session afterwards. Can you really mean to tell me that none of the 15 people in the class, none of the tutors, secretaries, tutees, or random people on the sidewalk would say "hey, you got blue paint on your face?" I have been walking around like an idiot for 5 hours and no one said a word. Not even a hand motion to indicate there's a big strange blue mark on your face. Did they think I put it there on purpose? That I enjoy the look of a blue stripe because it brings out my eyes? Jeepers people, can't you help a girl out?

Yay, off to the Big Apple in... 7 hours. So excited

Ahhhh

I have literally spent the past 9 staight hours of my life drawing. I have 33 sketchbook drawings due tommorrow morning so I have been working since 7:00PM to get them done. I even started working on the assignment this past long weekend, and it still came down to me wanting rip my hair out by the end. There is no winning when it comes to this kind of stuff. Being a perfectionist is a plague, and I'm not even an obsessive perfectionist. I would say my disease, as we'll call it, is mild.

Happy Halloween

Score!!! No Classes Today! Shippensburg University is not operating due to an electrical problem or somthing. I am missing 3 classes. Yay, this makes a 3 day week for me since I'm skipping classes on Friday to go to New York. This so rocks, and today is Halloween too. Since we have all day free, we are going to see a movie in Carlisle instead--The Legend of Zorro with Antonio Banderas (who is from Màlaga) Score, an extra long weekend!

Sunday: A day of the week

Today seemed like a really long day, but not necessarily in a bad way. I went to church, then we went golfing at Conocodell, but we only played 9 holes (Err, we may have thrown in an extra two, but I'm not admitting to anything). It was a perfect day. The weather was excellent golfing whether, and the sun made the trees look golden. I then went to quiz practice, my grandparents came over with food from the Treat, and then I watched Grey's Anatomy that we had recorded. And now? Now I am blogging and trying to get ready for classes tomorrow. That was my day, aren't you enthralled?

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we had a pumpkin carving party to carve jack-o-lanterns. Yay, fun. Emily and I went shopping beforehand and I had a little shoe buying miscommunication. Usually people don't buy 3 pairs of shoes in one night, 2 being exactly the same...

Then we carved pumpkins. Martha Stewart told us to cut holes in both sides of the pumpkin so the candle is a lot easier to set in. It worked!
Can you guess whose pumpkin is whose?
Mine is the friendly pumpkin, and Emily's is the santanic, evil one. Go figure. It took me half the time to carve my pumpkin as it took Emily to do hers, and hers looks like it want to kill you whilest you sleep. It wants to be the master of your soul!
Tami worked on separating the goop from the seeds, which we toasted and ate later. Yum. Katie came too, and chatted a bit. Overall, a good pumpkin carving night!