October 29th:
Simple stuff you can do to feel happy... just roll your cursor over various images at The Body Shop's Body'Zine. Just pick on, like, "Wear orange -- it cheers you up because a gullible part of your brain is then kidded that the sun's out."

More election fun at the Presidential Candidate Debate Warp. Just click and drag a little. I made George W look like a capybara and Al Gore look like a can of soup.

Cabby ticketed for 3-year-old in backseat. But no action was taken against the parents. The cab driver is the one who noticed and called the police. I'm thinking maybe the kid was trying to make a break for it and asked the driver not to tell.

Here's the real wishlist link. Duh.

October 27th:
Do you remember those folding fortune-telling paper things we used to make? Oh sure you do. Like in third or fourth grade. Anyway, the digital folding Chinese fortune teller at gingerblue.com is just beautiful. And fun. And the "fortunes" are a lot better than any we ever made up. (For instance, here's what I got: The answer to your most pressing and important question is: yes.

And if you're in that kind of mood, the electric Buddha is another fun place to get some enlightenment. My wisdom here: All that is created is impermanent. Let Absolute Reality be your guidepost.

One time Brian was searching for change for laundry but I thought he'd said he needed money for Audrey. Well, ever since then Audrey has become this fictional character. She works with him. She's slutty. Etc. We have lots of Audrey stories. Little did we know that 3Com has been spying on us!!

Oh my god. I did it. I created a wishlist at Amazon. I keep thinking I'll just use it to look at while I'm at the library, so I'll know which books to look for, but lately I've been adding toys to it. (If 3com puts out a purple Audrey, that'll be on the list.)

October 25th:
Dubyafy any web page! The Dubyafier translates the webpage of your choice into George W. Gibberish. Too fun. Here's a paragraph pre-dubyafied:

Well, on Saturday we did get to the Japanese paper store, and I spent like $40 on paper. Woohoo! Well, I got thread too, and a notebook.

Well, or something, on Saturday we did get to the Japanese paper store, uh, and I spent like $40 or 42 on paper, or whatever, which is the great people of America. When I was coming up, woohoo! God bless America! Well, or whatever, I got thread too, or whatever, and a notebook.

October 24th:
If you came here looking for a spanikopita recipe, I posted my very favorite one here. My friend Joanne gave me the recipe, and it's very, very good. In honor of her I have called it "Joanne-ikopita." Enjoy.

October 23:
It's bad enough when the NHL players get out of control on the ice, so it really bothers me to read about Roy being arrested on some domestic violence charges. Dammit.

Well, at least he didn't try to bribe the cops.

The Raiders are 6-1 after beating the Seahawks yesterday. I told you, the Magic 8 Ball NEVER lies. They will be AFC Champs.

The cookbook I'm making for the lofi book trade (run by Nicole of TextTrap) is almost complete. If you'd like a copy, (as a trade or for cost/postage) please email me. It leans more towards zine than book... but I'm happy with it. Okay, thrilled. Maybe even delighted.

October 22nd:
George P. Bush's Hunky Hispanic History Minute is a cartoon that will crack you up. Really. It's a comparison of Cesar Chavez and George "The W is for Wastrel" Bush. My favorite has to be that Chavez "picked heads of lettuce" while Bush "is as smart as a head of lettuce."

Oh, about the voting thing. Check your state's number of electoral votes. If you live in one with only a few votes, like Wyoming, you're probably okay to vote for Ralph Nader. Or if you live in one of the states that Bush is definitely going to win (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming), you can also vote for Nader. Otherwise, you gotta vote Gore.

I don't think there is any way that Nader can win, but I want to vote for him. Even though I think the race is really between Bush and Gore, and I hope for Gore to win that one. Also.. this way the Green Party can get the 5% needed to get matching funding for the next election.

I loved taking the rem lyrics quiz, and you know I got 100%. I took it again though and got 90%, but only because the test (?) thought "keys cut, three for the price of one. Nothing's free, but guaranteed for a lifetime's use" came from Ignoreland. Please.

October 21st:
Even more Ayun! She's got a new piece up at hipMama, Culture Vulturess, a review of books she found to read while waiting for her baby to be born. Well, during the final two or three days...

I'm not thrilled that Zhitnik was suspended, but maybe his absence will help Buffalo win the next four games. I am still chanting, "Trade Zhitnik; sign Peca. Trade Zhitnik; sign Peca. Trade Zhitnik; sign Peca."

My friend Valerie (Go look at her pages. They are just beautiful. She helps me with my arty stuff, but her own stuff is much better.) and I talked about going to the Real Witches Ball in Columbus, Ohio, although it's probably too late to plan it now. So maybe we can go to the Solstice celebration, which I'd rather do anyway.

Are you a god? I took the little quiz and got this:

You might very well be a God, but you can't be sure. Try going outside every day and hurling thunderbolts around the park. Randomly choose a city to be destroyed. Think happy thoughts.

October 19th:
Thanks to Elizabeth and her big mail art list I've been wanting to get in to this. And now after reading even more... UTNE Reader's article Going Postal, I'm convinced I would love to do this. Now I just gotta get, you know, talented at doing artsy stuff.

I was at UTNE looking for an official link to their "zine of the year" list because I heard that hipMama was on it and so was East Village Inky! Yay, Ayun!! (Order your copy from ericka.)

October 18th:
Brian and I are practically giddy since we received his "approval of petition" notice from the Department of Justice. While quizzing him about the USA (no, he's not taking a citizenship test so I'm not sure why I was quizzing him) I came up with a mnemonic to remember the Supreme Court Justices:

Really Serious Solicitors Sit On The King's Great Bench.

Rehnquist, Scalia, Souter, Stevens, O'Connor, Thomas, Kennedy, Ginsburg and Breyer.

I received a copy of Memory and Dream (the zine) and I am in love. It's filled with great art and great ideas. I think I'm going to subscribe. And I want to get her other zine, ArtMom.

Clairol will give you a haircolor prescription if you just answer a few questions. I ended up with "Happy Honey," and yes, I love that name but since they didn't offer a free box I'm going to stick with "Champagne Cocktail." They do offer some lame magazine and a $1 off coupon, good only in the US.

October 16th:
Oh Donna, you're breaking my heart...

‘[The ads] cut through the clutter of all the messages bombarding teens and get them to think for themselves about the risks and responsibilities of pregnancy.’ — DONNA SHALALA, Health and Human Services secretary

October 15th:
I am craving Dead Men's Legs. Creepy name, yummy ingredients and just in time for Hallowe'en.

Saints aren't just for Catholics, you know. I love this site. I think I want to collect and trade Saint Cards.

Test for today: The Greek God Quiz. Brian ended up as Hermes...

Men who embody Hermes' qualities are friendly and can bring great gain -- often unexpected -- to people. Hermes men are not especially heroic or dignified, but they are clever and witty. Hermes men are full of energy and spontaneity, and delight in spurring friends out of their routine. If you are with a Hermes man, no doubt he enjoys discussing his dreams and goals and encourages you to value your own.

October 13th:
The real reason Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada earlier than the US has nothing to do with the harvest. It's all about being thankful for the start of the hockey season. Oh yeah.

But, still no Peca. Here are his Top Ten Contract Demands. Read them. Write to pickleboy@sabres.com and tell him what you think. I don't get what he's trying to do (unless it's that year off with no hockey and no pay thing I mentioned earlier). Thanks Fred for the link and for the number one suggestion on the list. I don't know what he won...

I love The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey, and you can go here to get your own. "L is for Louise who swallowed some tacks." But I wish the cartoon looked more like me...

Whak-a-Bruce is more fun if you know someone named Bruce, but.. well, it's hilarious anyway. I think this silver-toothed, hockey-helmeted, drooling, head-banging kid was on everyone's school bus, not just mine. Weird. Oh, and watch him sing "Bruce is happy." Nothing really rhymes with wrote, but don't worry... Bruce is happy.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and yeah, I'm going to get my first mammogram. (yipe!) But.. according to Heather, I can get a free "freshly squeezed" t-shirt if I send in the receipt from the test. Not the best reason to get it, but it helps.

More new journal entries up. Sorry Sarah, I keep forgetting to post that here.

October 4th:
Not only does sending your kid to parochial school (where they wear uniforms) save you from too much time at the malls in August and arguments every morning, you can totally avoid issues like the school going nuts and instituting a shirt ban. I can't believe kids would want to wear confederate flag shirts at all. And yeah, they are offensive. If the school is going to ban them and all the boards and parents agree, okay. But. To then equate the FUBU shirts with that flag.. as if they were equally offensive? Sounds like the board is just trying to please everyone, which is a good way to get into trouble.

More tests -- draw a house and discover your personality, and find out your secrets based on your beauty and fashion preferences.

New new new: I added some weblogs up there with my list of links. loobylu, beyond fake, c@mpheatwole and kelli, (yes, That Girl Kelli.) I just found the meaning of this, a journal. The site is beautiful and I already adore. Oh, and there are two (or maybe three) new entries in my own journal, velvet days.

I'm out of here for four or five days. Be good!

October 3rd
Oh my. How do I want to spend money today? I was looking around the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston website and found the Hepburn Tiara. Oh my god! I doubt I could carry it off the way Audrey did, but I've had friends who purchased cheap tiaras at thrift shops or junk stores and wore them for fun. This one is supposed to look like the one Audrey Hepburn wore in Roman Holiday and sells for $95! (Before s/h.) Now really, where are you going to wear that? A wedding? A debutante ball? To a Los Angeles Kings game?

And then I found the Fresco Cow from the art exhibit on the streets of New York City. This one is by far the coolest, and last time I checked the high bid was $15,200.00. No idea about s/h on that one.

But you know, I would love to have the Mckenzie Brothers Diorama. Bob and Doug were some damn fine hosers. Good Canadian kids. But did you know that SCTV stole the idea from these two guys who actually did have a "Great White North" show on a community access cable channel? I doubt the guys ever saw a loony of the money Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas made off of their idea!

Sarah suggested that I link to new journal entries from pitas entries. I just uploaded "conversations with the enemy."

October 2nd:
Okay, really. The whole essay on Canada in the Olympics is quite funny. I tried to make it sound serious but interesting and I think I failed. Trust me. (And not just me!) It mentions Pamela Anderson, so you know it's gotta be good, right?

October 1st:
I just watched the US Men's Basketball team win Olympic gold. Yes! Vince Carter is so amazing and I so bad want to go to a Raptors game now. Brian said, "I don't get basketball." Hmph.

Oh, and yes, it's weird living in a country that doesn't pile up a stack of medals everyday. But.. I just read this editorial about how to get Canada up on that podium more often. It's an excellent idea. The essay is a bit wordy, but read through all of it and it'll make a lot of sense.

"How sleep deprived are you?" I scored 19 points: CAUTION! You're running dangerously close to being sleep deprived. You should begin to monitor your sleep habits carefully. Naps are not a bad thing, nor do they mean a person is sleep deprived. Duh!

I joined two new webrings -- blogging mommies and journal blogs. While I was checking out various rings and other people's links, I discovered outlet. I'm hooked. Why didn't I find her site sooner?