Just Joking!

Rating: All in Fun. . .
Do NoT tRy To AdJuSt YoUr CoMpUtEr. It Is ApRiL fIrSt. . .
You may not be able to adjust it anyway, as it may have crashed--thanks to the Conficker worm.
I'm not really a party pooper--I like a good joke; however, I guess I've never understood the point of April Fool's Day. I once read that historically it goes back to the old calendar and the new year began on April 1, not January 1. People who continued to celebrate April 1 as the new year were called "April Fools." I don't know if that's the truth; it's certainly plausible. I am just too lazy to look it up.
Still, what's the point of pranks? A good prank now and then is sure to get a laugh; in fact, I'd love to "get them good" for once. Who? Anyone, I just can never pull it off with a straight face.
Still, the April Fool's Day pranks seem futile. It starts with the elementary school children: "You have a spider on your shoulder." Yeah, yeah, that one gets old after about 5 minutes.
They tend to become a little more elaborate in junior high and high school, but with more elaborate comes the tendency to be more mean-spirited as well.
Aside from newspaper comics and some TV shows, do many adults pull April Fool's Day pranks (aside from the afore-mentioned malicious Conficker worm)?
Fortunately, it lasts only a day.

Book Confessions Meme

I saw this on a couple of different blogs, but since McCain (Paul, not John) said that if I read it I was tagged, I guess I must. To quote him: "Bibliophiles unite! Enjoy."
Book Lovers True Confessions MEME
Book Confessions Meme
1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down? If the book requires much thought, I will use a bookmark. If the book is a novel, especially one I have previously read, I generally remember my spot; ergo, I will not mark it with anything. I will place it open face down if I will be back briefly. Never do I bend the corner. The book corners tend to rip off that way, and I loathe that.
2. Do you lend your books?Sometimes. I may have to bug the person to get them back.
3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!I If the book is mine, I may or may not write in it. I frequently wrote in my college textbooks.
4. Dust jackets - leave it on or take it off? Generally I leave them on. If I want to take the book with me and the dust jacket may get messed up, I will take it off and replace it later.
5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book? I prefer hard cover, but I'm too cheap to always buy hard cover.
6. Do you shelve your books by subject, author, or size and color of the book spines? Yeah, right. My books are loosely shelved by subject. I may shelve them by author if I can. Often they go where they fit.
7. Buy it or borrow it from the library later? Usually buy, but recently someone reminded me that the library is cheaper. I could always buy it later. . .
8. Do you put your name on your books - scribble your name in the cover, fancy bookplate, or stamp? I sometimes write my name in the cover. I'd like to label them eventually.
9. Most of the books you own are rare and out of print books or recent publications? I don't have much rare. Some are out of print, most are either recent publications or reprints of older books. Some are ones I picked up cheap or free.
10. Page edges - deckled or straight? Deckled seems pretty cool, but aren't those a little more expensive?
11. How many books do you read at one time? Often two at a time, but sometimes as high as three.
12. Be honest, ever tear a page from a book? Never on purpose.

Christmas Dinner

I think I gave up the diet for Christmas--at least this, I believe, is the reason I put pencil in hand and composed this little poem to the tune of Jingle Bells.

Turkey, turkey, ham,
Green bean casserole
Pickles, olives, yams,
Butter on my roll,
Gravy on my mashed
Potatoes, if you please,
Darling, pass the cranberries,
And the bowl of peas.

Gingerbread, gingerbread,
Peanut butter kiss
Raisins in persimmon bars
These cookies never miss

Now some mincemeat pie,
And the apple too.
Pumpkin with fresh cream
Whipped up with love by you
I am really stuffed
I won’t eat for a month!
That was Christmas breakfast—
I wonder what’s for lunch. . .

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Random Stuff (sorry, Mrs. Mills)

Rating: NSS
If you run out of ideas of things to look up on the internet, here are a few (with editorial comments).

First stop, this quote of Albert Einstein from Quotations Page: “If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.”

Apparently I need more Z in my life! (That's Z, not zzzzs.) Ergo, I have TWO blogs. . .

It was theme song day on 106.5 the Arch yesterday. At 5:32 pm they played “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, which is the theme song to Issues, Etc; at 6:37 they played “Who Are You” by the Who, which is the theme song to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Check it out for yourself. Just type in 11/20/2008 and 5:32pm.

I bemoaned the fact that The Morning Show on MPR was ending in December. Apparently they’re planning on keeping the format as a webcast and on an HD station. Whew. The good news is, it’s not going away; the bad news is, it will be a 24-7 format. Sorry, people in my office!

If you’re truly bored, you can read the news story and watch the newscast segment about the first female “Catholic” priestess to give birth. Apparently she is part of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, which is not recognized by the pope. The priestess’ husband is a pastor at a United Church of Christ congregation, which makes their son truly ecumenical.

It's Proven

Rating: NSS
Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find the outcome of my accent test. I guess I still have my California accent. I still say "cot" and "caught" sound the same. Now how does one measure the Minnezohtan that still slips in from time to time?

Everything on a Stick

Rating: NSS

It's happing now and I'm missing it! The greatest event of the summer, and I am taunted by the realization that even though it continues for the next week. I was taunted yesterday by the radio--or at least the computer broadcast, as The Morning Show broadcasted live from there. I was going to go, but it was blocked by the Republicans--at least their convention.

What is this place, you ask, this event, this not-to-be-missed spectacle of food, fun, people, wonder, and awe? It's the State Fair of all State Fairs, of course. Some say it's not the greatest in the country, some say it's too expensive, too crowded, too--whatever. I say bring it on!

Food on a stick? Sure! Live TV broadcasts? Yeah! Getting to see your favorite radio show live? Of course! Animals, baby animals, midway games, barfelous rides, every 4-H project imaginable, free entertainment, chocolate chip cookies in a bucket, ethnic handicrafts, display upon building of display? Yes siree! What is a better way to spend a summer day than at the fair? Sigh.

Did I mention the butter sculptures?

Don't it Seem That Way?

Rating: CNS

I think that some people I know would agree and wear the tee around me!

Check it and other interesting stuff at this fun-loving website. Remember: Don't take life too seriously--no one ever gets out alive!